Thursday, September 29, 2011

Scenes I witnessed before 8:30 AM

~  Muppet getting her temperature taken, with a zip tie.

~  M helping K put on underwear.

~  K feeding M yogurt.

~  K "folding" laundry.

~ Buzz Lightyear getting a thorough exam and a shot, by a fully gloved Matthew

* Apparently their doctors visit from the previous day was still fresh in their minds.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

+/-

+  I have gotten more snuggle time with baby K the last 12 hours than I ever dreamed possible

-  Of course the only reason he is sitting still and needing said snuggles is the fact that he is sick.

+   Loving the changing leaves, cooler temperatures and occasional decreased mosquito population.

-   The summer to do list is getting compounded by the fall to do list.  So. Much. To. Do.

+   Getting a little paycheck has been nice these last few months.

-   Figuring out this whole working from home thing has been more challenging than anticipated.

+  These little boys are growing and changing at such an insane pace.

-   These little boys are growing and changing at such an insane pace.

+   I am right on target for my half marathon training.

-  A sick baby this week just might throw me off schedule.
  

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Building a Memory



We decided to celebrate the boys birthdays together this year and the common theme we came up with was construction.  These guys are happiest when they are working on a project so we set out to build an awesome birthday for our little guys.

First up was getting tattooed at the TATTOO TRAILER, we didn't want any of our little workers being too clean cut.


We came up with an activity utilizing some old fence pickets and lots of imagination.....













Our end product...
a whole gang of picket people!




Then an intense round of

follow~the~leader.




A little candle blowing out by the 4-year old....



and the 2-year old.
Cake and ice cream
2 of the dads took on the stump removal project on the to do list while Willie showered!

Not really sure what poor soul was in the bathroom when Matt tried to saw them out?
These boys had an awesome day, special thanks to those who shared it with us. 

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Happy 2nd Grey Bear

...to this!
From this......




















Happy 2nd birthday my little bear.  I am not sure how you are already 2 but the calendar tells me its true.  It really seems like yesterday I was holding your little snuggly newborn self in my arms.  You truly completed our little family and we love you more than we can say.  You have changed so very much in one little year.  A few of your accomplishments include:

Your vocabulary is literally astounding.  Your favorite phrases/words include; hold me, rock me, go outside, are you mama/papa/Matthew? (meaning where are you), I eat noodles, see motorcycle, see tractor, ride bike, I go tee-tee, my underwear, I got mama, get mail, turn on flashlight, it's dark in there, need blanket, want my juice, need my hat, Matthew and choo-choo.

You are our eater and will eat almost anything but your favorites are berries, yogurt, cheese, hummus, chicken, noodles, ham, chicken, risotto, hot dogs, peanut butter, oranges, plums, kiwi and ritz crackers.


You are very independent and are already pulling the I do it myself thing, which is cute...and not.

You love your brother, Muppet the dog, helping mama in the garden or the kitchen, going for rides on mama's bike, reading books, swimming, working with Papa, playing with play-doh, playing dress up, building train tracks and taking baths,

You are a very loving little guy.  I have said it before but it needs saying again, one of the absolute best gifts I have gotten from you boys is the random unsolicited kisses and hugs.  It makes me think that just maybe we are doing a little something right.  You kiss and hug everyone, me, Papa, Matthew and even Muppet the dog has been on the receiving end of your loving.  You still prefer me to lay down with you and let you hold my hair to go to sleep, which I do most nights.  You like being rocked and request it on a daily basis.

You can count to ten and I think you know blue and red colors.  You are good at picking up toys and an awesome stirrer of ingredients...not that you can tell that by what ends up on the floor!   You love watching the birds outside the kitchen window while helping out.







 Oh...I almost forgot, you are almost potty-trained.  I wish I could take the credit for this awesomeness but sadly I cannot, big brother has been instrumental in teaching you how to use the potty.  Needless to say we are thrilled with almost being out of the diaper business...way to go little buddy!

  

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Banner Elk

We spent Labor Day weekend with some dear friends in the North Carolina mountain town of Banner Elk.

Despite the fact that we started the 6 hour drive 7 hours after we planned to, the weekend shaped up to be EXACTLY what we needed.  We did some hiking, wading, shopping, apple picking, domino playing and sightseeing but mostly we hung out and relaxed while the kids played in the rain, built lego creations, climbed trees and created varying amounts of mayhem.

The kids loved the jeep and thought it was a jungle gym on wheels..which I guess it kinda was!




Enjoying his apples.


 Sweet sweet boys!
 Hood dwellers

Hiking help





Sunday, September 11, 2011

Back to School

The little monkeys started preschool last week.  



They were more impressed with their big boy backpacks than anything
and kept asking for me to "cheese" them.

 He is no longer capable of a normal smile these days.

 It was a perfect cool rainy fall day and getting to wear their raincoats totally made their day.