Noah has definitely hit that pre-terrible two stage. Lately it has involved slapping everyone (Mommy, Daddy, Grandma Chris, Ellie, Fred, inanimate objects) and frequent whining/ screaming sessions. Fortunately he's still pretty darn cute even when he's having a tantrum. 
There were a lot of fun activities up at the lake this weekend. We had Fred and Philie there as well as Michelle and Bob, my parents, Val and her niece and Webster, and Noah and myself. And Emmett and Kathleen stopped by to help judge our cooking competition. So the boys had a great time playing, running, swimming and making my parents bathroom the boys lockeroom. Uncle Bob, the great role model that he is, brought candy cigarettes for the boys and taught Noah how to hold them. Awesome. We also had a "fruit dessert" competition. My mom entered a trifle dish, I brought a cherry chocolate cake, and Philie entered a berry pie. My mom crushed us, and everyone left with full bellies and a sugar high. All in all, a great weekend. Make sure to scroll down to the next post to see the video of Michelle and Bob wii-ing. The picture of Philie and Kathleen spooning here is when Philie was giving Kathleen a tutorial. Good times. Here's a clip of some of our weekend fun. Friday/Saturday nights there was much wii play. Emmett masterfully schooled us all in bowling, Philie shocked us all in wakeboarding, and my dad made us all chuckle with his kabuki/wakeboarding moves. Here's a video of what I would refer to as "marriage counseling" with Bob and Michelle.
Our beloved 3 year old pitbull mix, Ellie, has had bad seasonal allergy issues since she was young. We tried managing them with a variety of drugs, steroids, baths, etc. to no avail. So finally this year we went to a veterinarian dermatologist (yep, they exist) and got her a full allergy test just like humans get with the skin prick test. She did very well and we found she is allergic to a bunch of different weeds and trees as well as dust mites (gotta keep the house clean). And finally wool, so all of you planning on getting her wool christmas sweaters, you'll have to come up with a new plan. So now we have to give her allergy shots every 3 days, sheesh! It's like one of those mastercard commercials. Allergy test for dog: $350 (plus $100 for sedation), Allergy shots for dog: $180 for 2.5 months worth (will get cheaper as we can space shots out), Ellie being able to finally regrow hair on her butt: priceless. Oy, the lengths we go to for our animals!
When Fred was over last week the boys started blowing/humming into buckets and watering cans. Perhaps we have a future french horn player on our hands? Fred seems to be pretty good....
The boys have been enjoying some outdoor time since the weather has finally warmed up. We have a nice setup with the sprinkler on deck, the pool, and the picnic table. It works well for us and keeps them busy. Last week, Fred was wearing a new swim shirt that resulted in blue shoulders, so no no you don't need to call DCFS, he doesn't have bruises all over. I'll be posting some video of them shortly. Thank goodness they're both water boys. In other news, Noah has now given up his pacifier (AKA his "fafa"). He's been a bit crabby, but overall it's been going well. Hope everyone is enjoying August!
