Tanny, Tanz, Tanzen...

Tanzen is a character! He tends to be higher maintenance than Makett, and is usually within a ten foot radius of me. Suffice it to say that sleeping isn't one of his hobbies-- he needs one to two less hours of sleep per day than Makett, so we get some extra bonding during naps every day. Tanny is a sweet big brother-- he'll take Makett his blanket, toys, treats, etc. He is very animated and is usually doing something silly, we love his classic Tanny faces.

Tanny's hobbies?

Driving and playing hide-and-seek--sometimes simultaneously...

Getting inside things-- laundry basket, boxes...

Collecting sticks-- the bigger, the better...

Water ballet... inevitably if he goes outside with Brandon, he comes in wet and naked...

Pictured above: 3 Tanny features-- the Tanny face, the love of wearing hats, and playing with balls

Generally Tanny doesn't have a long attention span for books, however, I found him this bug book at a flea market, and it's his favorite.

Finally a trait he got from his mother- he loves trying on shoes!

This is my friend's key chain- a tiny sandal, which he was determined to wear

Another Tanny face...

Out on the Town with Daddy!

Brandon has eased up on the studying a bit this summer, and we were overjoyed to be able to play with him ALL day on Saturday! We went to the Academy of Natural Sciences-- who can resist big, dead animals? Not us!

I love all the sculptures around the city

Very tempted to jump in the fountain

The butterfly garden...

Tanzen LOVED the bears...we had to rip him away. Impressive, as they were stuffed...I prefer the ones at the zoo that can move!

You can do it, we can help...

...That's the power of the Home Depot!

Ya...the attorneys for Home Depot would probably cringe at this picture...we know that toddlers aren't supposed to play on the fork lift that's been abandoned in the aisle, but try telling them that!

We are ALL about tractors these days!

"Just take pictures before you clean it up"

A dear family friend gave me great advice when I was pregnant. She has 6 kids, the youngest are twin girls. Her advice? When twins conspire to create disasters, take pictures before you clean it up.

I thought of her today. I had a bucket of disgustingly dirty soapy water. The boys were playing in the other room, I dashed to the kitchen to rinse out the rag. They were laughing like crazy, I was relieved to hear laughter instead of shrieks, so I lingered long enough to refill my water bottle...then walked back to see this:

Dirty soapy water on everything, dripping down their faces, and the boys squealing with delight over every filthy splash.

So, thanks to Kathy, here are your pictures!
I'm sure they'll out-do this caper soon...

Out-sigh? Out-sigh?

Makett and Tanzen's favorite place to be is "Out-sigh". As soon as we come downstairs they run to the back door and ask, "Out-sigh? Out-sigh?" Someone was giving this pool away on trash day, and with some scrubbing it's our favorite place to play.
Brandon didn't think it wise to let them drink Philly water from the hose, but the boys thought otherwise

What can I say? He's sure entertaining!

Catching bugs to put in our buckets

Memorial Weekend

Brett and Shelby were kind to let us invade their house over Memorial Weekend. It was a great weekend to be in DC. Brandon was kind enough to go to a parade (Brandon lists his love of parades right before having his hair pulled out and toe nails ripped off). I LOVED the National Parade...they had veterans from each war, and I couldn't help getting teary as the WWII vets came rolling by, bent over and proudly wearing their uniforms. I am continually in awe and grateful to the military for sacrificing so much.

I couldn't believe how sweaty Tanny and Ketty got...
Notice how he's using Brandon's ears as handles?

A highlight for the boys: riding the metro!

Makett loves Shelby, and was content cuddling up on the blanket during our Sunday afternoon picnic

Watermelon!

We're still trying to get through all the Smithsonians...good thing we have 2 years left. This is the National Museum of the American Indian.

Big fans of the instruments
Sweaty boys!

Brandon and I aren't really into burgers, however, we'd eat them a lot more if we had a "Good Stuff" burger joint near us. Wow.Brett was kind enough to share his fries with Tanny and Ketty. They discovered the perfect condiment- water. It'll probably be the newest trend- zero calories!

Visitors from the West...and the South

Brandon's sister Cindy (purple shirt) and her husband Steve came to visit, along with his brother Brett and his wife Cindy. It was short but fun!

We're collecting pictures of us with visitors at the Liberty Bell.

We actually went somewhere new-- Brett and Shelby showed us this cute historic street called Elfreth's Alley

Silly Ketty

Another first- our first time eating a cheese steak from one of the touristy places-- Gino's. I was happy to find out that the cheese steaks on our block are better!

Cindy and Steve at Independence Hall (one place I haven't gotten tired of touring-- each guide says something new and I love it!)

The highlight for Tanz and Ket-- horses!

We loved having them visit and look forward to living closer in the future :)

Classic Philly Driver

Apparently Tanzen has been around Philly drivers too long.

I could give you many examples, but we'll stick with just a few:

...of people passing me across the double line to go around me when I stop at a red light (and I mean very red-- I'm guilty of sketchy oranges)

...of people making left turns from the right lane, or right turns from the left lane (you see how this poses a problem to the people who are already in the right or left lanes?)

...of people zooming through red lights a minute into their redness (which explains my most favorite sign-- "Wait for Green"). Honestly, it's so difficult it needs to be posted.

**my apologies for the fuzzy cell phone pics!