Big Time. It's official.

Hola friends and family,

I wanted to write the entire blog post in Spanish to commemorate the great debate going on relate to illegal aliens in Arizona. Unfortunately my Spanish is terrible and asking, "how much does this cost?" or "where is the bathroom?" doesn't make for much of an interesting post. So on to the things which do...

Big Time: Any of you who have read the blog for a while know we have many nicknames for Easton. We use whatever fits the best, but during this past weekend Easton officially proclaimed himself as, "Big Time". When we go to church, the park, or any other public place Easton introduces himself to every single person. He says, "My nickname is Big Time"! But since he has a bit of a stutter when getting the sentence out I interpret and then the person invariably says, "Oh wow, it's nice to meet you, Big Time." He smiles and shifts his weight back and forth indicating he's proud of himself for being so friendly, but still somewhat shy. What a charmer... I don't believe it is common for super heros to give their own nicknames so this fits well with the precedence.

Friends. Friends are interesting! Easton and Layla's best friend (besides each other) is Layla Ruth. She tries to give Easton hugs and kisses each time we meet, but he is reluctant even after knowing her this long. Over half of his life! The two Layla's usually go off and play by themselves. They are like two teenage girls who giggle and chat, but in their own little language. Our Layla looks a LOT like cousin Daphne in this picture for some reason. Don't you think?


Airplanes: The balsa wood airplanes box should have an age limit on it. There isn't one. Trust me I checked. If I had to put an age limit on it, I'd say it should be somewhere above 4 years old. Neither of them understood the concept around winding up the rubber band and holding the propeller until it was time to let it soar through the air. I quickly gave up on that and Easton was perfectly content to swish it around in the air.


Layla on the other hand destroyed hers within the first 5 seconds of my excellent assembly of the planes. I'm serious about Miss Distructo. This is the first picture I took of her and you can see the entire tail section is already gone!


after 2 minutes her plane was in more than 30 splintered balsa wood pieces which she carefully laid in a nice neat row in the grass.

Pirates: This is what happens when "5 and Diner" hats get misused as pirate hats. Kendra dealt with giggling Captain Hook and his cheery sidekick, Mr. Smee. Both with cream cheese all over their face.


Summer: The thermometer outside and in the pool both say, "Summer is HERE"! The 4 Webbs went to a newly discovered local splash pad for some sand and sun fun. I saw an odd swap of bravery and cowardice between Uno and Dos. Here is a pictorial representation of Layla's modus operandi as it relates to spraying water. Run away! Run away!


Easton couldn't get enough of splashing through the deepest puddles he could find.



Layla put herself on the sidelines for a bit to sit next to Daddy, which I didn't mind one bit. What caught me off guard was the way Layla crossed her legs like a proper girl. She folded her arms and was talking with me in full sentences about how she didn't like the spraying water.


Meanwhile Easton kept on trucking through the Rings of FIRE! It adds dramatic effect if you say that in a scary voice. "Rings of FIRE!"


At one point Easton convinced Layla to run the gauntlet with him and I loved watching the two of them psych each other up to go through it together.


Pool at home: Kendra has fond memories of swimming for hours and days on end at GG's pool. I think that is why she is so excited for Easton and Layla to experience the same childhood memories. Whatever the case, both of us agree it is very good and healthy to get the kids out of the house and do stuff. whatever it is. Just do something. I feel bad for toddlers who's parents put them in the corner with a toy and ignore them.

I'm a big fan of getting down on their level when inside the house to play and interact. The other half of the "well rounded" child philosophy (according to me, the non-expert) is to get out and have adventures. Sometimes getting "out" of the house simply means opening the back door and jumping in the pool.


Layla is looking more and more like Mommy every day.


Uno and Dos both request to be thrown into the air and for rides on my back across the pool as fast as I can paddle.


The water wings are strictly precautionary. They are just as happy to hold onto our shoulder or face without any floaties at all. The professional swim lessons are still ongoing for another few weeks. Here is an example of the "monkey walk". They know to swim towards the edge of the pool and use their hands to shuffle towards the steps. Easton demonstrated for me. :)


I'm amazed by the progress so far. This will be our fourth summer at this house and I expect we'll get more use out of the pool than ever before. Right now it is only 82 degrees and that's still far too chilly for us Arizona natives to be comfortable. Bring on the heat!

Puda Vida. See you soon.