weekly happenings from britton-leyton land

A few funnies from the past week that I wanted to write down before I forget:

1. After school one day, we were sitting in my Mom's office chatting when Britton announced he needed to potty. There's a restroom right across the hall, so he went in there and asked me to come (for some reason lately he's needed my presence in the bathroom with him). After he finished his business, he reached for the toilet paper which was just resting on the wheelchair rail (not on the little paper dispenser roll thingy). When he pulled, the entire roll went into the toilet.

EWWWWWWWWWWW.


So here we go again with my germaphobic tendencies. As I'm standing in the doorway talking to my Mom about where the rubber gloves were because I WAS NOT reaching my hand into the germ infested PUBLIC toilet without some serious protection, Britton starts saying "here Mommy! I got it!" I turn around and Britton is holding up the soaking wet toilet paper roll he had just fished from the toilet with his bare hands. You know where this is going, right? Subsequently, (while I was actually somewhat grateful that Britton handled the retrieval process) I made Britton wash his hands no less than 18 times and use half a bottle of hand-sanitizer. You know, just to be safe. :)

2. If you know me at all, you know I have serious love for the Denver Broncos. Obsession really. I wanted Terrell Davis at my wedding. Which is a whole other story because PJ actually saw my beloved TD in an airport a few years ago and told him as much. TD said, and I quote, "Oh man, you don't want me at your wedding." Oh, but yes I do (did)! It's not that I am attracted to TD in some form - I'm just wowed by what he did on the football field. I mean seriously - how can you like football and not think he's a stud? I'm in awe really. My Dad has told me for all of my 30 years that the Broncos are the best. I've been to a number of games (Thanks Dad!), including MNF and I WILL go again. I'm a face-painting (yeah, I'm that fan), Bronco-loving fool. Seriously. Ok, moving on... Anyway, I've been telling both boys since the days they were born that we love the Denver Broncos. They are the one and only team in the NFL they are allowed to cheer for. And if they want to play football someday, great. But it will be for the Broncos or Mommy can't cheer for them. :) They each have a small wardrobe made up of Bronco gear. And while PJ's family has feebly tried to bring the Dallas Cowgirls into the picture (sorry Garcia's - no offense), let me just say all efforts have failed. Any clothing with so much as a Dallas Cowboy logo on it still has tags attached (and is in the attic). So, now that you have the full picture of my complete obsession, here's the story. We are in the car the other day and Britton and I have the following conversation, completely out of the blue:


BK: "Mommy, we love the Broncos."
Me: "Yep, that's right. They're the best." (Even though this year isn't exactly living up to my standards)
BK: "So in the car yesterday Daddy told me that we like the Dallas Cowboys better than the Broncos."
Me: Smoke coming out my ears. No words - I'm seeing red at this point.
BK: "But I told him that the Broncos are the best. I don't like those cowboys."


That's my boy. :)

MNF 9/05 - The Broncos beat the snot out of the Chiefs, and I was there to witness the beatdown. :)Britton sporting his first Bronco outfit years ago...

see jane run!

I know this is a blog for my boys, but I had to throw this in... This past Sunday, I competed in the Route 66 marathon relay with several friends. We had such a fun time going from relay exchange to the next (I didn't get to go to as many as I would have liked due to timing, etc) and cheering each other on. We have been planning this since like May - seriously. So we've said that we were not "in it to win it," but "in it to finish." Ha. I should have known better. It just so happened that the 4 other women on this relay team with me are every bit as competitive as I am (which is pretty darn competitive - I DON'T LIKE TO LOSE. EVER.) So we all had trained at a fairly similar pace - about 9-10 min - although we hadn't all trained together. We estimated our times beforehand so we would all know when to be at the relay exchange stations, and we all overestimated. We all hauled booty!

So are you ready for the results? Wait for it....
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Our pace was pretty darn fast if you as me - 8:51!!! And we finished with an overall time at just a little over 3 hours, 51 minutes (about 10-15 min faster than we thought we would finish). And get this - we finished THIRD!!! Wow! We didn't stay for the award session because we figured there was no way we placed. But we were like 30 seconds behind the second place team, and 2 1/2 minutes behind first! I couldn't be more proud of us. :) (And yet the competitive side of me keeps saying "if I'd only run a little faster we could have had second")

As for me, I ran the last leg of the relay, which happened to be the hilly section. It went up through Woodward Park (which I'm now referring to as Mt. Woodward - it almost did me in), past St. John's and up Cherry Street. My pace was at just over 8.5 minutes - which is pretty fast for me, especially on hills (I know, slow compared to a lot of people, but good for me)! The funny thing was that I crossed before any of my team (or husband) got to the finish line to see me finish! I couldn't find them when I finished, and finally found them 20 minutes later - staring down the street looking for me to come running around the corner. I had a good laugh when I came up behind them!

So here's a pic - this is after the race, which is why we all look so lovely, and my face is bright red. We had some really cute pink fleece with our team name on the back - "See Jane Run..." Looking forward to next year girls (when we will for sure be "in it to win it!")!!! From left to right - Kristy, Courtney, Kizzy, me, Rachel.

top 10 reasons I love being mommy

I realize we haven't been around much (we missed several birthday parties, church, etc, thanks to numerous factors over the last month), so what better way to catch everyone up than to steal a little bit from Letterman (whom I find absolutely hysterical - gotta love dry humor) and give the "Garcia Top 10 happenings" from the last month:

10. Leyton eating baby food! We finally started veggies this month, and I can report they are a hit. I can't shovel them in fast enough for him most days, and I love, love, love the funny faces he makes with each new veggie "discovery." He gets his arms moving so much he occasionally hits the spoon or my hand as I'm trying to get the food in his mouth which in turn catapults it to somewhere else - me, my face, his face, the floor, dog, Britton, you get the idea. I'm getting very efficient at scraping carrots, green beans, and peas from most surfaces in my kitchen.


9. Britton learning something new every day. In the last week: he's ridden his tricycle around the block (with Daddy of course), successfully navigating curbs, sidewalks, and driveways to perfection. He learned how to UNBUTTON his shirt! (Seriously!?! I struggle sometimes with this one even) He learned how to ride his cousin's "big boy" bike with training wheels (good thing "Santa" already had this one on the list). And one I'm super proud of - he hasn't had an accident at night in almost 3 weeks! He's been potty-trained for almost a year, but nights were harder. He's a very deep sleeper, and still had some trouble keeping dry at night. One day he decided he could do it, and by gosh, he did. This mommy couldn't be more proud of my little man.

8. Leyton = Daddy's boy. He still only says "Da Da" and says it constantly when PJ's around. He loves for PJ to just carry him around, and loves the games PJ plays with him. I really enjoy watching them together!

7. The pumpkin patch! We went a few weeks back and the boys had an absolute blast. Leyton enjoyed taking in all the colors and happenings around him, and really loved getting to touch all the new and different textures. (Hay was not his favorite, but he loved the smooth pumpkins!) Britton wanted to go "ONE MORE TIME, DADDY!" through the haunted house, and enjoyed being "king of the pumpkins." He fed the animals as well, although he wasn't a big fan of the goat licking his hand. :)

6. Britton and his sheer excitement for carving the jack-o-lantern. PJ and I carved them a few times before we had kids, and it was never PJ's favorite activity - in fact, I'm pretty sure he did it just so he didn't have to listen to me whine insistently. One year, he decided he could "power" through and decided to use his drill to carve. If you were lucky enough to witness the drilled jack-o-lantern, you know it was quite a sight. ANYWAY, point here is that he really got into carving it with Britton. He bought a special kit, and they spent forever hollowing it out and carving. It turned out really good, and Britton was so proud of their work.

5. Making Halloween cookies with Britton. Ok, I totally cheated here, but Britton will never know the difference. I planned to carry our Christmas tradition into Halloween and make homemade sugar cookies and let Britton frost and sprinkle (he loves doing this at Christmas), but I just ran out of time. PJ had been begging for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies (apparently Kristy had made a batch, and PJ was dying for some after he had one over there), and I decided that would fit the "Halloween Cookie" bill nicely. Britton was quite the assistant, and really enjoyed the taste-testing. :)

4. Leyton and the big ol' belly. Ok, I know this is stupid, but we have conversations about Leyton's belly several times a day. We had trouble getting Britton to gain weight (still do actually), so to have such a chunky monkey in Leyton, we are more than thrilled. I was cracking up when I put a new shirt on him this morning - it's sized 6-12 months (mind you, he's 7 months, so we are well within the range here), and I could BARELY get it over his gut. The sleeves are a little long, and the shirt itself is plenty long, but it's so tight around the middle it resembles a leotard. PJ finally just pulled the front up and left his "milk" belly hanging out. We could not stop laughing. I love it, I love it, I love it. (And I also love to kiss the super cute belly)

Note the rolls on his tummy - and yes, I cropped the picture - this is a G rated blog people!

3. Leyton's new TEETH! That's right, we have finally departed the land of the toothless. Britton had teeth at 5 months, so I was getting rather concerned when Leyton hit the 7 month mark and still no sign of pearly whites. They finally showed this past weekend, and we were so excited. Leyton on the other hand, not so happy. But with the help of a little Tylenol, he's beginning to see the light. :) I don't have any pictures of the new developments yet, but I'm working on it... He's not real cooperative with open mouth pictures.

2. The return of Calcifer (I'm sure I'm butchering the spelling here, but it's pronounced "Cal-si-fer"). This is our fire in our fireplace. Last year Britton was suddenly scared of the fire, and PJ and Britton had just watched a movie called something like "Hal and the moving castle" where the fire in the fireplace was alive and was named this... Anyway, PJ told Britton that was our calcifer and that seemed to calm Britton's nerves. He knows not to get close, and requests "Calcifer" at least once a week - even in the heat of summer (obviously he doesn't win that one).

1. Britton is still a snuggler. Even though I swear he gets bigger every single day, he's still my baby and I tell him that daily. He will still crawl in my lap and read a book or watch t.v. for a few minutes. I know he won't do that for much longer and I treasure every minute (even when I know I have 80 million things to do and no time to sit).

boo!

Well, I'm behind as usual. Both boys have been sick in the last few weeks, PJ and I played in a soccer tournament, and we all went to Dallas for a wedding a few weekends back. Needless to say, I have some catching up to do... Anyway, I'll start with Halloween and work my way back. I'll eventually get caught up - maybe when the kids are in college.

For Halloween this year, my Mom and I (ok, mostly my Mom) had a lot of fun making the costumes for the boys. Britton said months ago he wanted to be a wizard, so we tried to come up with something for Leyton that sort of went with that... PJ suggested an owl, like in Harry Potter, and we ran with it. Carisa and Ella were nice enough to loan us the owl costume Ella wore a few years ago, however we had to make a new hat - apparently Leyton has two brains in there as he has a rather large noggin. :) So here's a few (ok, ok, a bunch) of pics from Friday night...

Grandpa and the little hootie:


Wizard BK trick-or-treating at GiGi's house:

The magic boys:

Britton, Nina Kristy, and the cutest peanut I've ever seen - sweet Mark Thomas:

Mommy and the wizard after he finished gathering the loot (he seriously came home with a ton of stuff. Not only candy, but money?!? Someone gave him a few bucks along the way. Must have been for the stellar magic tricks he was performing. If you were lucky, he didn't smack you in the head with his wand while casting his spells)...

The hippie (AKA: Grandma Cindy, who scared the life out of Leyton with her new look):

The handsomest little wizard I know...

Bronco Love

This picture just melts my heart. The boys just love each other so much (and the Broncos of course, although Mommy had absolutely NOTHING to do with that... wink, wink), and I really liked this angle on it... Actually, I was trying to get a cute pic of the boys in their Bronco jerseys last weekend, and Leyton pooped all over his as I was getting ready to take the picture. So I was left with one cute mini-Bronco and one in a diaper. I didn't really expect anything good out of the remaining pics, but I just love this one.

Here's another - this is from this past weekend, when both boys actually had their jerseys on long enough for a picture together!

Paging Daddy

In the last week, Leyton's learned several new tricks; the biggest being his first word! Drumroll please.............. Yes folks, he says "Dada." And no, he's not just babbling, he directs it at PJ and only says it to PJ. It's pretty darn cute, and I LOVE that he's talking. But someone please explain to me, WHY OH WHY have both of my children chosen to say "Dada" before "Mama?" Have they forgotten who carried them (very uncomfortably, I might add) for 9 months and endured child birth? Seriously. Here's a video of Leyton talking to PJ... It's not the best, but you can hear me trying to get him to say it, then you hear PJ walk up behind me and say "boo" (he's making faces at him from behind the camera) and then Leyton starts in with the "dada dada dada." He then moves on to the gibberish, but you get the idea.

His second trick is a little funnier - he imitates Mimi (ok, not really, but it sure looks that way). I was almost on the floor laughing when I saw this one. He just looks at her and laughs, all the while holding his feet.

Go Fish

It's been a while since I've posted and I'm a little behind! Britton has been sick recently with Croup, so we've had to keep him home for days now - he's getting a little stir-crazy! So, on Saturday, since he was no longer running a fever or coughing, PJ decided to take him fishing for the first time. Britton was way excited to go to the store with Dad to get the necessary equipment... New CARS fishing pole, net, worms, lure, etc. He practiced casting in the house (Leyton and I were running for cover - but don't worry, no hooks!), and off they went. PJ called within an hour to report Britton had caught his first fish! He had a wonderful time, and begged PJ to take him again on Sunday... Here's a few pics from their adventure. Note the look on BK's face, he's a little concerned about holding the fish, but still trying to smile. Hysterical.

Let's ride the Power Lines!

Yep, that's a direct quote from my son at the Fair this year, referring to the Sky Ride. We spent the better part of Wednesday afternoon taking the boys to the Tulsa State Fair and they absolutely loved it. This was Leyton's first experience in the Snugli, and it went over great. He was thrilled to be on Daddy's chest, watching all the people, bright colors, rides, etc. We didn't hear so much as a fuss out of him for 3 hours! We purchased a Ride Bracelet for Britton and headed straight for Kiddie Land. He rode a ton of rides including the Carousel, Flintstones Train, Giant Slide (with Mommy - we had a blast) and even his first roller coaster. Ok, the roller coaster was not exactly a thriller, but bigger than the normal kiddie roller coasters you find at amusement parks. And the best part - Mommy rode it with him (anyone that knows me at all knows I DON'T do rides - just ask Crystal and Brian, who drug me onto the Texas Cliffhanger years ago. I think there's evidence on someones camera showing the absolute fear of God in my eyes on that thing)! And of course we didn't pass up the food... We shared a Turkey Leg, Funnel Cake, Apple Fries and several fresh squeezed Lemonades! We also walked around inside and enjoyed watching the Kenyan Acrobats perform. All in all, a wonderful experience for the whole family!!!


Oh, I guess I should say why Britton wanted to ride the "power lines." In recent months, he's noticed the power/phone lines all around town and has been asking about them quite a bit. We talk a lot about why there are there, what they do, who's house they go to, etc. So when he saw the cables that the Sky Ride operates on, he was just certain they were power lines! We of course got some funny looks when he yelled "let's ride the power lines" on the midway. :)

Leyton enjoying the view on the midway...

Britton and Mommy about to ride the "roller coaster:"

On the carousel:

The whole family:

Check out "Mr. Fancy Pants" - He's 6 months today!

I can't believe it - Leyton is already 6 months! Everyone told me time would go even faster with the second one (I didn't really believe it), but holy moly. I swear I just had him yesterday. I look back over the last 6 months and can't believe how much he's changed (and how much our family has changed)! At his 6 month check-up (which was a little early - 9/15), he weighed in at 16 lbs, 5 oz, and was 26.5 inches long. That's about the size Britton was at 9 months! Leyton's developed such a sweet personality! First and foremost, he loves his brother. They really are two peas in a pod. No one can make him smile quite like Britton, and I already see him watching what Britton does so very closely; I'm sure he'll be trying to do things just like big brother very soon!


Leyton has the cutest rolls you've ever seen, and he's quite the cuddle bug, which of course we love. He is perfectly happy to sit on your lap and watch the world go on around him. He has a big smile for most everyone, although he doesn't like to get too far from Mommy and Daddy. He loves to play with his feet, and the t.v. remote is also a huge hit lately (Britton had the same fascination - sign of things to come?!?). He's sitting up all by himself (started this around 5 months), and is finally rolling both front to back, and back to front. He's starting to reach for things when on your lap (dinner plate, etc) and is really into putting anything he can get in his mouth. He does the "push up" move on his stomach and is trying to pull his knees underneath him already! I'm not ready for that! I tell him regularly that crawling is not allowed for at least another month and a half! My days may be numbered though... Britton was crawling at a little over 7 months...


We started cereal this week, and he absolutely loves it. And I mean L-O-V-E-S it. We laugh because he looks like a little bird - as soon as he sees the spoon he starts leaning forward with his mouth open and making noises - it's hysterical. He's not the best napper (his naps are pretty short!), but he's a wonderful sleeper at night (12-13 hours straight!), so I can't complain. He loves the exersaucer, johnny-jump up, being outside, and just playing with toys on a blanket.


We couldn't have dreamed of a better baby. I am enjoying every minute with him, and love to see what each new day holds for him, but it makes me said to see he's not a newborn anymore... Before I know it, he'll be a toddler... :(


Happy 1/2 birthday little buddy! We love you Leyton!

Itsy-bitsy Leyton - The day we brought him home. Check out how big the socks are on his feet (and these were preemie socks!). He was a mini one at 6 lb, 3 oz...

Leyton in his crib last week - check out how much he's grown!








This cereal stuff is YUMMY!

He loves Mimi! (...Including her ears, tail, or anything else he's quick enough to grab!)

Lisa = OCD

I've had several people comment recently that my 'strange' habits border on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Now any member of my family will tell you this is old news (they've been saying that for years) but for some reason this is coming up repeatedly lately. Am I really getting worse? So for my own reassurance that I'm not nuts, I'm going to list the big ones. So come on people, SOMEONE agree with me that these are perfectly valid concerns. And no making fun of "psycho Lisa."
1. I have a thing about bare feet. Or sandal feet for that matter. Two rules in the land of Lisa - NEVER go barefoot - even in your own house. That's the purpose of slippers. Seriously, I have a real problem with this. My 3 year old even wears slippers around the house now thanks to me. Your feet might get dirty! (Hmm... Maybe that should indicate that I should clean my floors more often?) Which leads to the second part of my foot quirk. If you wear sandals, flip flops, anything without socks, you had better wash your feet before getting into your bed. Now that's just disgusting. I have images in my head of germs leaping off the ground onto your feet when you walk into a public bathroom (which is a whole other quirk in itself) or anywhere else in public, so why exactly would you want to then put your feet in your bed?? Yuck. Even PJ knows better on this one. And yes, Jenn and Kori, I can hear you laughing already on this one.
2. Ketchup on napkins. Yeah, this one probably officially labels me as C-R-A-Z-Y. But I blame my mother and sister entirely. For years when we would go to McDonald's or anywhere similar, they would put the ketchup on napkins. EWWWWW. I swear this scarred me for life. It's just been in the last 2-3 years I've been able to eat ketchup again. I won't go into the details on why this is so disgusting in my twisted mind (b/c that will then force me to re-live the events of the past and go back to not eat ketchup again and I honestly kind of like it now), just take my word for it. If the only place you have to put your ketchup is on a napkin, just do me a favor and skip it altogether.
3. Hand Sanitizer. Yes, I'm a bit on the germ-a-phobe side of the street. You can never have enough. I have it in my purse, in both boy's school bags, and in the car. Oh, and did I mention I even have it in the wipe form for tabletops at restaurants, etc? I think I should own stock in Bath & Body.
4. Styrofoam Cups and "good" ice. Anyone that knows me at all knows this is my thing. There are a very limited number of establishments from which I will purchase a drink. A paper or plastic cup isn't going to cut it - they sweat everywhere and your drink is watered down 30 seconds after you buy it. I have been known to drive WAY out of the way (or ask PJ to - and he's generally kind enough to oblige) just to get a drink from a specific restaurant (Chick-fil-a being the currently fav, followed by McDonald's, Burger Street, and Sonic). My Mom even has Styrofoam cups at her house, partially for me and my nuttiness. And yes, I realize this is not the "Green" way to do things, and I don't want the lectures. I'm not a green or crunchy kind of person. I admire those that are, and I have no problem with it, but I'm just not. Plain and simple. I don't do things intentionally that are bad for the earth, so don't read too much into that. But I'm not above Styrofoam cups or plastic water bottles, and I don't have my own reusable shopping bag. I like the paper ones at Reasor's. :) Shoot me.
5. Public Restrooms. Now I don't think this one is "out there" at all. If you aren't slightly disgusted by public pottys then I'm concerned. However, I admit I'm a little over the top. I have this theory that you get more germs by touching the handles on the faucets, soap dispenser, and paper towel dispensers than you are actually washing off, so I choose instead to use my hand sanitizer. So before anyone freaks out here thinking I don't wash my hands, read that sentence again - I USE HAND SANITIZER rather than wash my hands in the germ-infested sink. :) Now the beauty of this little "quirk" is that my gymnastics days are coming in handy. I can successfully (oh yeah, I'm proud of this) enter a public restroom (including opening the door), take care of business and walk out only touching the lock on the stall door and the toilet paper. That whole deal of being rather flexible thanks to gymnastics has worked out well for me. So glad to see I can still use my skills. :) You wouldn't believe the looks I get when I use my foot to open the door. But honestly, I just don't care.

Hmm... I guess that raps it up. Re-reading my little list, if you think I'm OCD, yeah, you are probably right. Oh well. It's me - take it or leave it. :)