Matt and the boys headed down to Texas this week for the funeral. As much as I wanted to be there, it seemed like the better idea would be to stay home this time. We aren't quite up for that much traveling with Natalie just yet.
I was a bit worried about the boys behaving for the funeral, but I got multiple reports from family members about how great they did at the service. (They didn't really have any nice clothes, so Matt took them shopping down there to get some appropriate clothing. Don't think look like handsome young men?)
Of course, as serious as they took the occasion during the service, they are still two little boys who are a teensy bit silly and goofy. Look at these cheese-tastic smiles they were giving their Nonni!
It's pointless to go to Texas for less than a full week, so they did get to have some fun hanging out with the family while they were there. And of course, they got to eat at all of *my* favorite spots!
Matt thought he was going to end up being the "boring" parent compared to when I take the boys to Texas and they go to all kinds of fun places. I told him to take them on an outing or two and they would be just as happy. So he ended up taking them to the Dallas Zoo and they had a blast!
Well they *were* having fun until one of the birds landed on Henry's head. Poor guy didn't want that feathered creature up there and the bird didn't care one bit. Oh well...
Other than that, I promise they had fun! I got several short video clips of them playing with their cousins and overall being little boys hanging out with their dad. (I am very concerned about the level of rough-housing I keep hearing about...!
I had plenty of free time (as much as you ever have with a baby!) while the boys were all gone, so I decided to be productive and move them into one room. We have been talking with them about combining rooms since it looks like Nonni will be up here quite a bit helping out with Natalie. Matt had talked about building them bunk beds because their current beds are both so big that they eat up the whole room.
I figured it wouldn't hurt to have a dry run with room sharing to see how it went before committing to the bed building. Here's hoping they are excited and don't flip out when they see what I've done...!
I also had a spectacular failure with making almond brittle. You ever have one of those moments where you know something is a bad idea, but you are rushing and there is a baby crying and you do it anyway? Yep - that was me today. After making almond brittle in the microwave, I turned on the cold tap water into a super hot bowl - those cracks show thermal shock is indeed a bad thing!
Natalie didn't seem to mind the extra time with her mommy, though she definitely got more tummy time than usual since all of my time could be focused on her. She's not the biggest fan, but look how awesome she is doing today! I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact I put the popsicle on her lips to let her feel the cold/taste it and she is staring it down trying to will it to come back... ;)