Sunday Spencers Series

Daddy/daughter breakfast time where apparently we're not going for style in the hair department.  I'm not confident a brush was even used....my apologies to the staff and patrons at Spencers.

10 years too soon....

I envisioned this conversation happening when Ryan was about 13, fully engrossed in teen drama, but not at the ripe old age of 2.5.  I was all excited to pick up Ryan from school today, as we got loaded in the car I asked her all about her day:  who she played with, what they had for lunch, what she did in gym class, the usual....Her response:
"Mom, I don't want to talk right now"
Sigh.  At least I have Reese, right?  She still likes to talk to me.

Oh happy day....

Parents, you want some cheap fun?  Break a kitchen cabinet (no I didn't intentionally sabotage).  One of our cabinet doors came unhinged and you give these girls an inch, they'll take a mile.

Reese's very own kitchen sled

 Surveying the damage

 After a hard afternoon of pan playing, time to relax with some ice

And truly, the title for this post.....oh happy day because in two weeks time the Stiff's will be proud owners of NEW, get ready for this, NEW STAINLESS STEEL appliances.  For the kids of course, not for mom and dad.  Happy dance!

Let there be light!

You'd think the sleeping issues in our house would be due to the baby.  Oh no.  As we've said many times, Reese is a sleeping connoisseur, it's Ryan who likes to party into the wee hours.  In my next life, I'm developing a crib for toddlers/young adults.  One in which you can't escape.  One in which you sleep all night.  Somewhat akin to a jail cell.  Anyway, bed time has been a b*tch for oh, 4 months now.  Dare we say we finally discovered the trick last night?  Drum roll please.........a nightlight (whatever, I know, parenting 101, but we Stiffs can be slow).  I put one in her room, it illuminated the entire city of Kirkwood, she said "oooh pretty lights" and then stayed in bed without protesting and fell asleep.

Of course she woke at 4am to urinate on her floor, but who doesn't do that, right?

Reese x 3

No not triplets (but wouldn't that be fun) - just 3 pics of my favorite 10-month old for your viewing pleasure....  The crazy chica took a step the other day.  Of course it was for Grandma.  Of course.

Hotel de Britt

In order to not reveal our whereabouts, therefore alerting internet stalkers hellbent on burglarizing the innocent citizens of Kirkwood, I did not blog last week while the girls and I checked into Hotel de Britt. Can you tell I am the daughter of the Director of Public Safety?  Anywho, while Grant spent a torturous 8 (yes, E-I-G-H-T) days in Cabo San Lucas for work, the rest of the Stiffs packed up and spent a 3-day weekend at my parents house in the equally glamorous West County.   While dad had beaches, Ryan and Reese got a sweet new computer setup all for themselves.   Grandma & Grandpa hooked the grandkids up with their very own (older) computer to use (aka - bang away at the keyboard).

 While locations may change, one thing doesn't.....time-outs.  Ryan still had her fair share even at Grandmas.

 And if one weekend at the oh-so-accommodating Hotel de Britt wasn't enough, we checked back in last Friday night for one evening before Dad got home and while Aunt Barbara was in town!  The girls had a blast and Babs got some great practice as her first bundle of craziness is due May 6th.

Not only did we miss dad because he's dad, we really missed his words of wisdom and sound parenting. As the girls were both playing in Reese's crib and Grant and I were cleaning our room, I wondered if the girls were okay......he said "as long as we keep hearing two voices, we're okay"

Rear view....

God I love these thighs, can't get enough of 'em. 

Dare I even venture to say that as she grows and becomes even more mobile (when allowed, she has set some speed records getting to the top of the stairs), those rolls are slowly diminishing?  Say it ain't so.......

Seriously people, how great is Photoshop for ridding this pic of Ryan's feet in her little house slippers.  Yeah, that's right, when Ryan is at Grandma's she has 'house slippers'.  Someone get the girl a silver spoon please.



Coffee talk....

Ryan was introduced to a Britt-family staple this weekend....coffee (especially coffee after dinner).  The girl knows her coffee talk, she knows how to brew it in the Keurig but she's never sampled the good stuff.  Well, that is, until this weekend when her bestie, Grandma, gave her a little bit in her very own coffee mug.  Decaf, of course, as Ryan doesn't need any more help in the energy department.  My grandparents would be proud, she enjoyed every last sip, begging for more.

More photoshop fun......

Before

 After

 Old school before (yes, that's yours truly)

 Attempted semi-salvaging of old, yellow-y scanned photos

Just for the heck of it.....

Reese - 10 month update

Let's just take a moment and talk about the Reesers....this morning was tough, my little baby switched rooms at daycare.  She is no longer a 'newborn' - Kleenex please.  She is now in the room in which babies are turned into walking/talking little humans, complete with table food.  It just amplifies the harsh reality that this little nugget of love will be one, ONE, in two months.  As Clark Griswald so eloquently said, "I wouldn't be more surprised if I woke up with my head sewn to the carpet".   People!  I can't believe we're coming up on one year.  Never has the saying "time flies" felt more appropriate.  But boy have we enjoyed every second of this girl's life so far - at 10 months Reese is contemplating walking, she's a cruisin' for a bruisin' all over the furniture and is standing for what feels like an eternity all on her own.   There isn't a meat, my little carnivore doesn't like.  Healthy appetite would be an understatement.  Laughing, smiling, patty-cake, peek-a-boo, and waving bye-bye are her favorite activities.  She is a sleeping machine - we really lucked out on this one.  We have a test at night to see if she's ready to retire....I stand a foot from her crib, lights off and if she tries to swan dive out of my arms into bed, she's ready.  That's it.  Lay her down, make sure her blanket is nearby and we'll see her 12 hours later.  I could go on and on, if you want the full low-down on Reese Bentley, give me a call:)  In the meantime, I'm going to wallow in self-pity at how fast time passes you by and your babies grow up.   Don't mind me, teary-eyed in the corner with a box of doughnuts. 

Band of Stiffs, take two....

Two of our eight readers have asked for video of Ryan's foray into music.  Ask and you shall receive.  A few notes of course:
1.  Please disregard the 1960's style wood paneling in our 'toy room' - I know you're sitting there wondering if there are dead bodies buried beneath the floor, for the record, we aren't sure, but we doubt it.  This room is a 100 square foot mess.  Definitely a DIY project in the making.
2.  Let's not kid ourselves, it's not a DIY project.  It's a PSETDI project. 
3.  'Pay someone else to do it' project - and that we are, hopefully by the end of February
4.  There were a few videos to choose from, but I went with this particular version b/c it best shows her fondness for a particular beat on the keyboard, remember from yesterday....#3.  And it's a dandy, I hope you enjoy.
5.  Reese was already asleep, so sadly you miss our happy clapper.
6.  Daddy's jingle bells didn't make the cut on this version either.  A big disappointment, because, boy can he jingle those bells.
7.  That's what she said.
8.  Our little songstress chose "Jingle Bells" over the "A-B-C's" for this session. 
9.  I would have preferred a less-holiday specific song given it was January 12th, but you try directing a toddler. 
10.  Without further adieu:

Band of Stiffs

Thanks to Santa and a few family members, the Stiff clan is now in the music business.  Drum sets, keyboards, microphones and even a photo album that came complete with jingle bells attached.  Ryan's latest pastime....playing music - 'come on guys, let's play music'.  And we all have very (VERY) particular roles in the band.  Ryan, of course, is lead drummer and singer.  Only she is allowed behind the beloved drum set.  "I play drums like Marina" (Fresh Beat reference, you are extremely lucky if that one went over your head, trust me!).  Mom is on keyboard - "mom you play keyboard like Shout" (another Fresh Beat friend).  Oh, and mom has no latitude to play her own tunes, Ryan has a very particular beat she prefers from the 1982 stockpile of pre-recorded tunes on the keyboard itself (#3 if you must know).  "My music mom, my song".  Dad gets the jingle bells from the photo album.  Reesey gets to clap.  That's it.  The girl isn't allowed to touch anything else.  Ryan kicks off every session with the oh so appropriate "a one, two, one, two, three, four" while hitting her drumsticks together over her head.  We are a mean, mean, singing machine.  Watch out Jonas Brothers. 

Mickey Mouse Waffles at Home!!!

Anything that anyone has ever considered.."good", "funny" or generally "cute" about this blog is due 100% to my wonderful, beautiful, tireless wife Leslie.  Accordingly, I will do my best to not bring the overall quality down with my post.

Each Sunday I try to take Ryan to our little breakfast spot Spencer's Grill.  It's been around for a really long time (see photo evidence below) and they serve pancakes in the shape of Mickey Mouse.  Aside from a little grub in our tummys, it's a chance for Ryan to sharpen her Smuckers Jelly packet stacking skills as well as her "pincher's of power"...she uses those to make the little creamers explode.  The waitresses all know us by name and they all either love our little terror or the big tips Dad leaves amongst the wreckage....probably a little of both.

My mom loves hearing about this little outing each week for many reasons, one of them being that her Dad, My Grandpa Bucko, served Mickey Mouse pancakes at the dinner he ran for over 30 years...Bucks Grill.

Thanks to my moms wonderful friend, Carolyn, we now have a Mickey Mouse waffle iron of our very own.  I just brought it home from my last trip to Dallas and we took it for a spin this morning....here is how it turned out!

What...you don't stir with one hand on your hip??

Juice is always a priority - "I do both Daddy"

Hurry up with the photo - I've got Mickey to eat!

Note to all readers - Leslie doesn't allow Ryan (or me) sit on the counter on most mornings....this morning was special - it was a Mickey Mouse Waffles morning!

Thanks again Carolyn!

Friday night Photoshop fun....

Obviously still learning but loving the new software!  I can hear you Photoshop experts scoffing at my abilities (and hopefully in a few weeks/months I will chuckle at my first attempts myself).  But until then I have my hands over my ears muffling your laughs.

Modest...

Me:  Ryan, I love you.
Ryan:  I love me too.

We're all God's children, right?

Well I suppose that includes our friends at Yo Gabba Gabba as well.  In last nights' prayer roll call before bed, this is what Ryan had to say:
"Please bless mama, dada, reese, muno, grandma, papa, foofa, ella, barbara, broby, john, jack, plex....amen."

For those of you not versed in DJ Lance talk, Muno, Foofa, Broby and Plex are not usually mentioned when we chat with the big guy upstairs. 

And Ryan had a boyfriend named Eamon (pronounced a lot like 'amen') at her last school so the girl is all sorts of confused when prayer-time comes around.

Open the flood gates....

Oh, little Ms. Drama.......trying to get a picture of Ryan and her sister, you would have thought I told her we were ridding our house of televisions.

 So for those of you kind enough to get the girls something for Christmas, please know I am not being rude by the delayed thank-you card for such generous items.  I would prefer send you all a cute pic of the girls as the card itself.   However, we have had a few issues:
A.  We were out of town for almost a week after Christmas (no excuse, but I'm using it anyway)
B.  Grant so kindly gave me Photoshop Elements for Christmas but I have yet to really learn how to use it, although I am adamant I use it to create my photo thank-you card - so bear with me until I advance past chapter 1 in my little instruction book and can actually take the online video tutorials
C.  The drama.  Can't get a nice pic of both girls to save my life (see below) and I'm not that advanced with Photoshop yet to just fake it and make one up
D.  At this rate, you will receive my thank-you card by Reese's first birthday

Reese thanks you though - she's always willing to sit and smile:

Side story - apparently Reese is Ryan's new pet dog.  I have heard her on a few occasions now saying "sit Reesey, sit...good puppy" and then patting her lovingly so on the head. 

Hotel Fun!

Not knowing how the girls would fare on the road-trip to Dallas, we played it safe and opted to stop in Tulsa for the night on the way down.  Mom and dad killed it.  They were the coolest-people-ever in the eyes of Ryan and Reese.  Thank you to the Hyatt Place Tulsa for elevating our parenthood status!  From the minute they walked in the hotel room, you could see their eyes light up - shifty little Ryan knew immediately she had a run of the place and Reese followed suit.

Couch jumping!  This sport has been banned in Missouri but apparently those nice Oklahomians still allow it...

 Reesey loved herself some bell cart...smooth ride, good tread on the wheels, this ones a keeper.

 Ryan getting into the swing of things....

 literally

Tears of joy and happiness....Reese was laughing so hard she looked like she was crying

 Can we just move in here mom?

The face of the happiest hotel toddler you can find (pre-haircut...of course)

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