Ansel locked me outside today!

Well, today was a little crazy. We stopped by the store after our walk (Ansel was out of milk.. so I went ahead and did a little grocery shopping while I was there). After we got home I took the kids in, put Matthew in the exersaucer (he's a fast little crawler!) then went out to get the groceries. LUCKILY I had my phone with me at least, because when I got to the front door, Ansel had shut it! (and apparently also turned the lock in the process) Slight moment of panic...but at least my phone was on me so I called Cody (took me 10 minutes or so to get through to him) and TRIED to walk Ansel through the process of unlocking the door. He was distraught though that I couldn't come inside and after trying to turn the door knob a few times with no luck, I could just hear him screaming on the other side. At this point I was pretty sure I wouldn't get him calmed down enough to figure it out so I called my friend (who's husband works with Cody) and had her get her husband to have Cody call me. (If I call him at work.. he'll only answer if he's not on the phone. If he's on the phone then usually he'll call me back when he gets done... but I couldn't wait for him to get done.. two little ones inside!!!) Anyway.. Cody came and saved the day :) (Although I was out there for 40 minutes or so because he works in Joplin! 40 minutes wouldn't have been bad if the kids were out there with me, because it was a gorgeous day outside.. but knowing they were in there by themselves was a little stressful! Now... had Matthew not been in the exersaucer.. I think I would have completely panicked!!!) It all worked out.. but now I need to remember to ALWAYS have my keys on me just in case.. and maybe we'll have a little family night teaching Ansel how to UNLOCK the front door :)

Improvising

My friends and I have been going walking everyday, only I don't have a double stroller yet since I've been watching Matthew everyday. (I'm not alone though.. one of my friends that goes with us has two small children.. one that's pretty new, and hasn't gotten her double stroller yet either)
Anyway, at first Ansel would ride up top (like a shopping cart), but the other day he decided to climb in the basket at the bottom and that's actually worked out quite well! He and Olivia (the other toddler that comes with us) will also get out and walk sometimes..or look at flowers..or rocks..etc! (It takes much longer that way though!!)

Hide and seek

I was washing Lexi's bedding the other day when I realized Ansel had found a new hide out. (Luckily I'd just cleaned it well) Yes.. both Lexi and Ansel were in there at one point! We couldn't get him to come out... so Daddy decided to get him out.. only his plan didn't quite go as expected. (Daddy didn't realize Ansel was coming out butt first until I grabbed the camera.. not to mention Ansel was gripping the inside of the crate trying to stay in longer!)


The last couple of pictures were some cute ones of Ansel and Lexi after church one day.

Trying to take after Mommy or Daddy?

Let's hope for Daddy on this one! Even little boys raid Mommy's mascara. This happened just a few days after Daddy got his lovely little basketball wound (4 stitches and a black eye.. the black eye part showed up a little later)

Birthday cakes are so much fun...

It was a few weeks back, but here's a couple of pics from Cody's birthday. We had a variety of Thai food (Cody's favorite..mine too actually) for dinner. As soon as Daddy got home from work.. Ansel ran over yelling, "Daddy, birthday cake!!" over and over. He was pretty excited about it and usually is.. as you can see from pictures earlier this summer from my birthday and Aunt Rachel's birthday.( Yes.. it does appear that my cake is going up in flames.. too many candles this year!) I have so many birthday pictures of him on the birthday person's lap.. I think it's been his designated spot since he was a baby!



In the last two pictures.. Ansel decided he really liked Daddy's cycling shirt he got for his birthday.

Cute kids

I liked this picture of Ansel and Matthew. Matthew's the cute little 5 month old we've been babysitting. Ansel's pretty good with him, although he does have his little jealous moments (when he'll yell, "My Mommy!!") I think it's good for him to learn he has to share sometimes!
When he's not being jealous.. he'll talk sweet to him, kiss the top of his head, and he likes to lay down on the ground next to him. I have to sometimes remind him to give Matthew his space! (Which is funny because those of you who know Ansel know he's very particular about people invading his "bubble".. He likes his personal space, unless it's HIS idea to snuggle up to someone or say hi. (He does still love to snuggle though... at least with us) He's not always friendly, however, when people come up and say hi to him and he'll sometimes scream "No, Mine!" (As in his personal space I guess) I'm not sure how to fix that problem! But if he initiates it, he will act sweet as can be. (Giving cheesy grins and waves and kisses.)
Matthew's a strong little guy though and growing up fast. He's already crawling and even got his first tooth about a month ago! (Completely different from when Ansel was a baby! He was a year old when he started crawling (9 months adjusted)! Matthew's also a very good eater when it comes to baby food. (another phase we totally skipped.. Ansel wouldn't touch the stuff! It wasn't until we introduced finger foods that he'd try something other than milk.) Anyway, it's been fun seeing his personality emerge.

I think I need a laser light!

Grandpa Miller had a red laser light that seemed to keep both Ansel and Lexi entertained!