February 2013

February - just another cold snuggly month in our lives...

G enjoyed many a "nap nest"

These are his two favorite loveys...

We found a puffy sticker bucket. 

Who puts stickers on paper anyway?

Please notice the toy hand.

With a death grip on his two favorite policemen figures.

On this day we napped at opposite ends of the couch. It was sweet.

I love G's hair...

They love reading the playmobil "magazines" (booklets that come in the box).

J's first solo castle.

I loved watching his process.

And I'm sure he loved that G wasn't bossing his every move.

Nap nest.

Toy hand.

On this day, February 12, 2013.

G decided on his own to give up his bink. 

Binks are for babies. Big boys get to enjoy big boy toys.

So here he is, the next morning, enjoying his playmobil swat team police van.

We knew that he was old enough to not have his bink (and knew we needed to get rid of it). But since he's not just a year or anything, we didn't want to just take them away. As with everything in life, G has his own plan. We tried potty training so many times and he would refuse. When he was ready it was a piece of cake. So we kept talking up big boy toys and letting him know that as soon as he wanted, he could just "try" to sleep without it...we weren't going to pressure him. What do you know, he decided at dinner and it was a done deal. We told him he could just ask for it if he changed his mind... 

I mean, it took him like 3 hours to go to sleep and he said that "lovey missed his bink friend" a few times - but no tears and not once did he ask for it back. We were so shocked and proud of him!

The only downside - the naps in the nap nest pretty much ended... 

Sometimes he'd fall asleep, but not as often.

We got another big snow.

The boys had a blast "sledding" down the front yard in their snow suits!

Always in costume...

December 2012

The real reason I can't get anything done...

I seriously love my little people - they are such a joy and a treasure!

But sometimes I just want to go from the sink to the fridge by myself.

They went through a little phase of G reading to J. 

Easily the sweetest interaction for us to watch!

They were so proud of how they got all of their pirates and playmobil people set up on the ship.

You know... just a shirtless pirate... in December.

(side note - G NEVER wears a shirt - even in winter.)

The Silhouette Man came to our city. 

I'm absolutely in love with these. He captured my sweet boys perfectly!

We still have a cat.

Silly Mable.

Christmas morning prep. Matt took setting up J's computer very seriously.

I think Legos are going to be big.

He did these by himself. 

Like, he followed the instructions and then brought me the finished product.

This present was a big hit. 

Best gifts ever! They live in these...

(seriously, I'm blogging in August 2013 and G wears his hat almost every day.)

We got snow. The boys (big and little) had a blast!

May

I'm so close to being all caught up! 

May was fun. It was busy. We spent a lot of time outside.

 Oh Jackson - you love doing everything that big brother does...

Dressing up is pretty big around here.

 I became an Independent Stylist for Stella & Dot jewelry.

It's so fun sharing such unique jewelry with friends old and new!

 Happy Mother's Day to me!

 We played outside. Every day.

 J loves to see himself on the phone pictures...

 My little chocolate monster. This kid is my child with his love for sweets.

 We watched these baby birds from eggs until they left the nest. So cool!

 G in his "end of school" program. It wasn't so much a program as a group of kids standing on the stage while music played in the background. They refused to sing. 

But they were so darn cute just standing there!

(G is in a mint green striped shirt on the second row just left of the center)

 My littlest. We enjoyed our Monday mornings together.

 A self portrait on one of our zoo trips...

We went like three times a week. No joke.
The hippos are always a hit.

April 2012

 I found him like that - he got himself up in the chair with that blanket and piled it up. Love him.

 I know this picture is weird... I only included it because I had a pretty major ear clog that took up like a week of our life. I seriously feel for the hearing impaired - it was miserable. Even Matt was tired of me talking (complaining) about it. I was advised to try "ear candling" by several professionals and we did (see above.) Even after several candles I ended up at the doctor for it to be flushed. Such a weird experience for sure.

 Easter Egg hunt!

 We celebrated Easter Sunday with some friends at my parents' house. It was so much fun! And look at that face... just melts my heart.

 Sweet Will. Such a cutie.

 Look at these two. Sweet friends. I think this captures their personalities perfectly, ha!

 We played outside a lot this spring. I got the boys some buckets to just transfer water and/or dirt around in. Big hit. And also doubles as hats which is a bonus.

 Jackson loves him some books.

(And also I discovered Instagram. Be ready for more phone pictures.)

We love Chick-fil-A! That's the face of a child who just fell in love with lemonade.

March 2012

This month started off with a bang. It was such a pleasant time full of zoo trips, walks, sunshine...

 And then Jackson had our first major accident.

Head vs. Glass door panel.

 It wasn't pretty.

It was terrifying.

 Oh hello pediatric ER. 

At least he is one adorable tiny patient!

 Every time he looked down at the IV cast thing on his arm he got so so angry.

Quite comical given the circumstances.

Sedation and 10 stitches later he was good as new. Thank goodness for those little bandages that the Dr. glued to his head... He was right back to himself as soon as we got home. Complete with running, falling and wrestling. He is one tough cookie.

I think Spring may be my favorite season. Sunshine, nice breezes... Perfect for long walks. I love that my boys don't seem to mind the jogging stroller (they don't know they can protest) so I can enjoy some exercise with them buckled in. And check out those chucks... they love their shoes!

 We headed to the zoo with Matt's parents a couple of weeks after the stitches incident.

Who can resist pleasant weather and a chance to see that face?!

 They absolutely love the zoo!

 Jackson doing some light afternoon reading.

 Hard at work. He is just like big brother - loves him some dress up!

Graham's dreams do come true. We visited the police station with some friends and even got to talk to a police officer! She was really sweet to the kids. Their favorite part was obviously the sticker badges and getting to see the lights and sirens. Kids are so funny.