What Are Little Boys Made Of

Hello Winter

2012-02-13T20:23:00.000-08:00

Not sure why I haven't felt the need to update the blog lately, but here's a few pics of what has been going on in our world...

Jan 14th - The boys love to sit on the storage bin outside. They were shooting bad guys, guess I was one of them!

Jan 29th - me, my mom, & sister at a family baby shower for cousins Megan and Bridget, who's due dates are about 2 weeks apart.

The little girls at the shower: Addison, Abigail, & Laney

The stars of the party with the wonderful host, our new cousin-in-law Megan

Feb 1st - such a great brother day! The boys got along great and when one 4 wheeler battery went out, here's how I found them:

I was shocked that Jonathan then switched to let Jace drive, but notice he's still holding on to the handles!

Last week, Jonathan's school celebrated their 100th day. He glued cereal to his 100 poster to hang at school. It was a good use of a healthier cereal the kids won't eat!

Today we stayed home, although our school did not have an official snow day. The boys could not wait to get outside and I was able to hold them off until about 10:30. I forgot how long it takes to bundle everyone up, put on snow pants, and snow boots. I think we are outside for about the same length of time it took to get warm clothes on, then back off. Jonathan wasted no time in making his snow angel. So glad this year we had adequate snow gear and fun snow sleds! We got about an inch of snow but it was enough for the boys to slide down the hill in our backyard!

A pet free home again

2012-01-30T20:12:00.000-08:00

Today, our dog Juna went to live with my niece, her boyfriend, and their two dogs. Juna hadn't been getting along well with the boys, especially Jonathan for over a week. For some reason, he started to give the boys dominance warnings by popping up in their faces. Then, he always seemed to be after Jonathan, wanting to show his dominance. On Saturday, he snapped at Jonathan and then acted very strange at the glass door towards the boys, biting at their fingers through the glass. My niece claims Juna is getting along with the other two dogs and doing great on his 1st day. I hope it works out. I have never given away a pet and was a little sad to see him go. If it had been just myself and Jason at our house, Juna would have been a great pet. The boys were ok with it since they hadn't even been around Juna much for over a week and I don't think really bonded with him during this short month we had him. Jonathan did however ask if his cousin was trading her dog (boston terrier puppy) for Juna. After telling him no, he then asked when we would go look for a new dog. The plan is not very soon and I will admit the house is less stressful for this mom this evening!

Took Jace back to the dentist today. Wasn't going to announce to the world that I should get the worst mom award for my 3 year old needing two (yes, TWO!) cavities filled after his first dental cleaning, but this is a blog of our life so decided to add it in. Both of his corner teeth on top had small cavities and it was totally all my fault. The evening after his dental cleaning, I had to make a huge effort to clean his corners that I had totally been missing so I could definitely see how the cavities formed. At first I was puzzled since we brush Jace's teeth twice a day since his teeth have come in. When I brush Jace's teeth, he constantly moves around, tightens his lips, and makes it a little difficult. I thought I was doing a good job but was totally ignoring those corners. So two cavities filled later, lesson learned. Jace did great at the dentist and didn't even need to be numbed. He had the gas and did everything he was told. He was in and out of that chair in about 30 minutes. Hopefully, it will be a long time, or never if we are lucky, before he needs any other dental work!

Dental Appointment

2012-01-20T07:07:00.000-08:00

Jace had his first dental appointment yesterday. I decided 3 is the magic number to start taking my kids to my dentist for regular checkups. The office is not foreign to him since he's been coming with Jonathan for two years so I was only a little surprised when Jace asked if he could go first. Of course Jonathan had no problem with that. Jace was an excellent patient and did everything he was asked to do. Even though Jonathan watched Jace, he still had issues when it was his turn and wasn't totally comfortable with everything so the hygienist decided to skip the xrays. Jonathan does have his first loose tooth, which concerns me since he seems too young for that milestone. The dentist assured me it was fine and most kids get their first loose tooth between ages 5-7. After the exam, the boys got to pick something out of the treasure chest, which Jonathan did not forget about! We also took home fresh baked cookies, which seems a little odd for a dental office to give out!

Watching cartoons while waiting for the dentist to look at their teeth:

A very crowded trip to the zoo

2012-01-16T19:56:00.000-08:00

Today was an unusual warm day for January so I met my sister and cousin Erin and their kids at the zoo. Saying the zoo was crazy busy is an understatement. I have never been to the zoo with so many people but when you have a nice winter day plus a school holiday (MLK Jr) PLUS $1 gate admission (that I did not know about), what else could we expect! The boys had a great time seeing their cousins.

Jonathan, Abigail, and Jace

Jonathan, Abigail, Addison & Jace

The kids insisted on visiting the petting zoo, the place I usually try to avoid! Abigail and Jace had fun brushing a sheep.

Family Game Night

2012-01-08T20:21:00.000-08:00

We had my sister, niece, 6 cousins, a couple spouses, and five of their kids over Saturday afternoon to hang out, have fun, and hopefully play some games! We tried to keep the kids upstairs most of the time (8 kids aged 8 and younger, they did pretty well) as we played Apples to Apples. My cousin Kari brought it and it was a great group game! After a few people left, the remaining eight adults played one round of guesstures, which was also fun. It was a little crowded at our house, but I would definitely host again! The dog even did well since he hasn't even been here for 2 weeks in a big group. But why do dogs always have to bother those who don't want to be around a dog the most???

Most of the kids - Jacob, Abigail, Addison, Jonathan & Jace

The cousins who were left at the end: Amy, me, Sarah, Erin, & Kari

The spouses: Jasson, Jason, & Joe (could we seriously have any more Js in our family??)

My cousins Erin, Amy, and Erin's husband Jasson

My sister Sarah and cousin Jarrett, at least someone liked the dog!

Me and Erin

Bridget & Erin - think I got a good picture of everyone except for cousin Megan and David. I'm sure she would be just fine without me posting the one picture I took of them! That very pregnant momma was taking it easy, as she should!

New shoes

2012-01-06T20:01:00.000-08:00

We went to the shoe store after school today since it had been awhile since Jonathan had new shoes and I was pretty sure his old shoes were too small. I was right. Jonathan switched his old size 12 for size 13 and told me the shoes did not fit because he couldn't feel the end. His poor little toes! Jace went up a whole size to 11, and are the same ones Jonathan picked out. Jonathan picked out black with red sketchers (he was very vocal in picking out his own shoes) because his friend Collin has the same pair. It was a good choice, the pair was the cheapest sketchers so I talked Jace into the same ones. Of course I wasn't thinking how annoying it will be to get the correct shoes off our shoe rack when we are running late on our way to school every day!

Juna is fitting in nicely although he proves he is young sometimes by playing a little too rough with the boys when he gets a little excited. He has scratched Jace's back and popped him in the mouth. Sorry Jace, you are just the right height for Juna. Jason takes him for walks in the neighborhood once or twice a day. The only thing he has torn up in the house is the carpet in front of the back door. There is a little piece missing where the carpet meets the tile but the carpet is old and ugly so it needs to be replaced anyways. Jonathan prefers calm Juna but will try to coax the dog into following him around everywhere.

Riding our 4 wheelers in the backyard is now more fun with the dog chasing the boys all over the yard. Fun for the boys, exercise for the dog!

Juna & our last day of 2011

2011-12-31T16:56:00.000-08:00

Jason and I have been on the fence about whether or not we wanted to get a dog. We've been dogless for almost 4 years. We knew we wanted a large dog and narrowed down our choices to lab, golden retriever, or German shepherd. Ultimately deciding the lab would be the best fit, we filled out the application for a lab rescue. Then, I found a golden retriever/lab mix named Anna (my aunt Anna just passed away this month) that I was sure we were meant to have so I also filled out the application for her from the golden retriever rescue. I looked on another website and found a young German shepherd/lab mix named Junior (which happens to be the name of Anna's husband) at an animal shelter. The information on this dog said he was house broken, had lived with kids, and we liked the fact he was part German shepherd. This dog did not require an application and was the cheapest so went to see him. He did growl at us when we first saw him in his cage, and then almost peed on his when we took him outside, but he quickly seemed like he would be the perfect fit. We took him to petsmart for dog supplies, we had nothing left from our previous dogs. We just had to close our eyes at the total and sign the machine. Our first couple of days were rough and I wondered if we would be able to keep Juna since he snapped and barked at Jonathan twice and barked at Jace once but it seems like he was just nervous, scared, and adjusting to his new environment. I hope that is the case. He is very well behaved, smart, calm, hasn't barked much at all, and we hope he remains a member of our family. He did bark when Jason came to the back door, which we saw as a good sign. We can't figure out why a family would surrender him to the shelter, especially since they had spent some time in training him. We did shorten the dog's name to Juna, since he already responded to Junior.

The Boys at their new art work station (table from my parents):

We think Juna is a lab body with colors of a shephard, which is exactly how the vet described him also!

On Thursday, Juna started coughing and appeared he didn't feel well (maybe another reason for snapping at the boys?) so we went to our first vet exam. Juna has kennel cough, which is basically an upper respiratory infection that his highly contagious among dogs. After a shot and getting two bottles of pills, we have really faced the reality on how expensive it is to own a large dog. We did find out he is a little older than what the shelter had been told (9-12 months instead of being born in June 2011) but that actually works out for us since he shouldn't get much, if any, bigger at all. He already weighs 64 pounds! I'm so glad my parents were already planning on coming over Thursday afternoon so I didn't have to take the boys with me. I think I waited longer to see the vet than we normally do to see our pediatrician!

My parents, Abigail, and the boys:

Today is New Years Eve and the 70 degree afternoon couldn't be better, although my little coughers (Jonathan and Jace) could do without the wind. The boys had fun playing outside and even got to hit a few balls at the driving range with dad. Other than that, our evening is no different than unusual and Jason and I will most definitely not see the ball drop at midnight tonight. We had thought about inviting a few people over but after all our dog expenses this week, we decided against spending any extra money. This is our life now, the American dream: a house, two kids, and a dog. Good bye 2011, Hello 2012!

2011 Christmas

2011-12-27T13:28:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas Eve with Jason's family and the boys got WAY too much stuff! Jace was so cute by asking me who he needed to think when he opened a gift (after I would tell him to say thank you). This was the first year both boys were really into Christmas and Santa. They woke up Christmas morning all excited about Santa leaving presents as well as eating cookies and drinking milk. After we opened up our presents at home, we drove to my parents house to celebrate Christmas day. Immediately cousin Abigail had the boys tearing into all their gifts and I think it was all over before we had even been there 30 minutes. The kids had a great time playing with each other and mom and Chuck were great hosts as always.

The boys with granddaddy:

Christmas morning - trying out Jonathan's new golf set

They got their own recliners from Nonnie and Pa!

Christmas Day - Abigail and Jace

Jonathan and Abigail, great weather for a walk around the neighborhood!

My mom and her grandkids, we can't forget about sticks!

Cookie making #2

2011-12-22T15:49:00.000-08:00

I am definitely not cut out (hehe) for cookie making with the boys. I don't have the patience for it and in turn, I don't think they have as much fun as they could have. We also don't have a rolling pin so that makes it tough for the boys to flatten out their own dough. Although we made cookies with cousins, making cookies again at home gives us an activity to do, as well as make cookies for Santa. We did survive today, Jace even dropped a ball of dough on the floor (good thing I made two batches!), and I even let the boys eat a couple cookies they decorated. Jace decorated his pretty quick but Jonathan took his time to decorate his cookies. It was a great day to stay in PJs!

Jonathan's decorations -

My mom gave me new cookies cutters this year. In addition to these gingerbread cuties, I made Christmas trees and stars. We like to make letters and numbers too!

The boys, especially Jonathan, love art work. Jonathan likes to draw, write letters, color, and cut paper. He will draw pictures of himself and try to write words. Today, he wrote dad's name all by himself!

Yesterday, I had to take the boys with me to the grocery store. A short man wearing a red shirt walked past us very quickly. Jonathan asked Was that an elf?

Last night, I told the boys it was time for their bath. Jace asked if his hair needed to be washed and I told him yes, it stinks. He says Does it smell like a horse? Well, I hoped not!

Christmas time events

2011-12-20T08:21:00.000-08:00

Nonni and Flapper gave the boys a gingerbread house they put together last weekend with Jason. They did a great job this year decorating, although they were way more interested in eating the candy instead of putting it on the house!

Saturday afternoon we took the boys to a park to enjoy the decent weather. A marker was put in at the park for an Indian, who was the boys' great-great-great-grandfather. Very fascinating!

On Saturday night, we took the boys out to see Christmas lights for the first time. Might sound crazy, but the boys have always gone to bed early so we have never worried about going out to see lights. We drove thru a park that had 3 miles of lights and went through a couple of neighborhoods. Jace stayed awake during the trip but Jonathan, who didn't get a nap, fell asleep as soon as we left the park.

2011 Annual Family Christmas Party

2011-12-19T06:59:00.000-08:00

Although we were still filled with sadness of losing my aunt Anna last week, my cousins decided we should proceed with our Christmas party plans on Sunday since that is what their mom would have wanted us to do. The 12 great-grandkids had a blast climbing on hay bales and going for a ride to see cows on the ranch. It is so nice we all still get together to celebrate Christmas and I hope it never ends.

All the grandkids in our family - we realized it has been about 10 years since we took this age order photo (Todd, Amy, Jarrett, Ritchie, me, Erin, Jennifer, Cory, Kari, Sarah, Bridget, Matt, Kirk & Megan) that our parents used to make us do EVERY year!

Although we complained about taking the annual grandchildren photo, we now make our kids, the great-granchildren also take an age-order photo: Zoe, Jacob, Abigail, Kiley, Addison, Jonathan, Mason, Laney, Jack, Jace, Ramsey, and Iris. The only kids missing are Cory's baby twins who couldn't make it to the party.

It was a little chilly but the kids (and some moms and dads, myself included for the 1st time!) had a great time on the hay bales! Jace was his usual fearless self and thought he could jump over any space. Luckily, dad followed him around and made sure he didn't fall.

Cousin Ritchie and uncle Phillip taking (almost, sorry Iris!) all the kids out for a ride to see cows.

2011 Annual Wellness Checkup

2011-12-15T14:57:00.000-08:00

Monday was the annual well visit for the boys with Dr G. The boys did not think it was fair that when you have a birthday, that also means a trip to the doctor and potentially getting shots! I agree but that is how it is. Jonathan weighed 45 pounds (80%) and measured 45 1/4 inches tall (90%). He had to get 3 shots (required to start kindergarten) and threw a big expected fit. Jace weighed 37 pounds (90%) and measured 39 inches tall (85%). To compare, Jonathan was 39 1/2 inches tall and also weighed 37 pounds at his 3 year old visit. Jace got lucky and didn't have to have any shots on this visit. The vision, hearing,and everything else tested normal.

Jace Happenings & other fun facts

2011-12-11T05:58:00.000-08:00

Jace was in his Christmas program at preschool on Wednesday. He was excited to get to his room with his friends but then didn't want me to leave, which is typical Jace lately. He did really well during the performance. My pictures didn't turn out but the video is super cute! Jonathan did not like sitting in the audience, especially since some of his friends (who stayed in the preK program at the school) were in the program. Jace and his friend Colton waiting for the program to start:

Since Jace turned 3 and usually wakes up in the morning dry, I decided it was time to get rid of pullups. It's been three nights and he is still waking up dry! Go Jace! I told him if he would sleep in his own bed ALL night, it would be perfect!

For the first time ever, I bought the boys snow pants and snow boots. We probably won't get any good snow this year now, but if we do, we are ready!

Yesterday was the annual Christmas cookie making at my cousin Erin's house. Due to illnesses, it was a smaller party this year with Erin and her kids, my niece Abigail, Erin's friend Tenley and her two girls, and of course me and the boys.

The "A sisters" - Abigail and Addison!

The "J brothers" - Jonathan, Jacob and Jace! Jacob said they were the J brothers so the girls decided they were the A sisters. I guess it is fun to have kids that all start with the same letters!

Happy 5th Jonathan! Happy 3rd Jace!

2011-12-05T19:58:00.000-08:00

Today was Jonathan's 5th birthday, Jace's 3rd birthday, and Abigail's 8th birthday. Jonathan got to take cookies to school and his classmates all signed a huge card for him. Jace got to stay home with me, as part of our usual Monday routine, but we did all eat a cupcake for the after school snack! We then met Sarah and Abigail at Olive Garden (one of the worst experiences in a VERY long time with service!) and didn't even try to ask about a birthday dessert. We did however make them sing (what happened to the OG song??) and they brought one plate with a blob of whipped cream and strawberry sauce. I guess that was better than nothing?

I ordered a Zebra for Abigail since that is her school mascot, there is an "A" on the zebra's hot pink skirt!

Jace & Jonathan with new presents from mom and dad - I got a John Deere tractor and trailer for Jace and a Jeep with trailer for Jonathan. They have done a really good job of sharing....so far!

I'm three!

Sunday was my parents work Christmas party. The kids get to take a picture of Santa and get a present. Jace, Abigail, Jonathan & Ramsey (her daddy works for the same company) waiting first in line (there are a lot of kids!) for Santa:

On Sunday, we had three of Jonathan's friends and one of Jace's friends over for a birthday party. I hadn't planned on having a party in December (remember our half party back in June?) but Jonathan kept bringing up inviting kids over for his birthday. Having six little boys in our house was an experience that I probably will not do again. Jason was such a good sport. He ended up being the only dad here and spent most of the time upstairs playing with all the boys while I chit chatted with the moms downstairs.

Jace, Colton, Collin, Blake, Jonathan & Jaden:

New birthday bikes from Nonnie & Flapper! Jason had to put the bikes together.

Hello December!

2011-12-01T11:02:00.000-08:00

This year has gone by super duper fast and here we are already into December. It's a hectic time of year with Christmas shopping, holidays, and birthdays. We have something planned every weekend this month! Backtracking to November, we spent Thanksgiving Day at Jason's parents. The boys had a great time enjoying the nice weather by riding their 4 wheelers and playing with their new remote control cars a cousin had just given them. Guess he was cleaning out his closet??? We made our annual wreaths and Jason decided my wreath needed a re-do so he had his first experience at wreath decoration. Only he also hot glued stuff to the wreath, which I never do! I realized this year I really don't do much at all with the wreath making. Jason's mom buys the wreaths and makes everyone a nice pretty bow from the ribbon of their choice, someone brings ribbons and stuff to decorate with (usually we save stuff from last year, which I always forget at home!), and then Aunt Marilyn hot glues stuff to the wreath. My only part is trying to lay out stuff on my wreath. I was told I needed to bring decorations to use next year. Hopefully I don't forget. We went to my parents on Friday and I finally got to participate in the wreath making with my mom and sister. We haven't seen my family for Thanksgiving in a couple of years. Again, mom bought the wreaths, had the decorations, helped decorate mine (with the help of Jonathan), and she hot glued my decorations on. Actually, mom and my sister pointed out I don't do much with the wreath making. Ha! Maybe it is all my big master plan! On Sunday, we had our annual family get together with mom's family at Erin's. We bring a dessert to share and plan our Christmas party. Most of the great-grandchildren came so we had 13 (out of 14) kids ages 8 to 6 months. We played Wii dance games and had a great time until the boys got a little wild and crazy by jumping on furniture and rough housing in the living room (a BIG no-no at Erin's). I guess I'm just more used to it!

Jace at his grandparents on Thanksgiving Day:

Jonathan at his grandparents on Thanksgiving Day - he said he wanted to sit with his granddaddy and then went right to sleep which is very unusual for him. He is used to napping every day again since he takes daily naps at school.

The Grandkids in Jason's family: Jace, Tsinia, James, Jonathan & Kayli

Friday at my parents - mom with her grandkids!

My cousin Cory's twins finally came to a family event! Nick and Nate are 6 months old, keeping up with the tradition of having kids born in pairs in our family!

Most of the great grandkids in my mom's family: Ramsey, Kiley, Jonathan, Jace, Jacob, Iris, Mason, Abigail, Addison, Laney, the twins, and Jackson. Two of my cousins are pregnant so we will be adding #15 and #16 around March-ish.

Parks

2011-11-17T11:20:00.000-08:00

Met my cousin and her family at the park last weekend to take pictures of her kids, Jacob and Addison. The park was beautiful and the kids were AWESOME so I was able to get a few really cute pictures. They are GREAT subjects!

On Sunday, we stopped at a new park we've never been to near downtown. It is small but the boys had a great time trying to crawl on the rocks. It was warm but extremely windy so Jonathan spent the night coughing! Oops!

After we got back home, Jonathan insisted we go on a leaf hunt in the woods behind our house. I don't really like being back there at all since I now we could possibly have mountain lions in our area but we did it anyway. Jonathan didn't pick up a single leaf, I think he just wanted to go on a nature hike.

Jace showing me his belly button:

A day with a good friend

2011-11-09T09:18:00.000-08:00

On Monday, my friend Amy and her son Jackson spent the day with us. Amy and I first became friends in 6th grade MANY years ago but it was our first time to meet Jackson, who will be 2 in February. We had a fun day of watching the boys play together. They now live in Canada and it was great they had time to spend one day of their vacation with us.

After our friends left, I let the boys paint (a gift from Jason's parents). I sent the pictures to Grandma, who said it looked fun, not a lot of mess. Well, it is the color wonder paint that only works on paper but the boys, especially Jace, use WAY too much paint! I'm still not sure if the globs of paint have fully dried yet!

I always tell the boys they are not the boss and to quit telling us what to do. The other morning when Jace woke me up a little too early and demanded I get up, I reminded him to quit telling me what to do. Jonathan said I'm not telling you what to do mom, I don't want to pay the bills because that isn't much fun. I would totally have to agree!

Last Soccer Game

2011-11-05T16:15:00.000-07:00

The last practice on Tuesday was parent participation night. Jason participated WAY more than Jonathan!

Today was Jonathan's last soccer game of the season. A friend from his preK class was on the opposing team and he had more fun chasing her around the field than actually concentrating on the game. He did however get the last soccer kick that went right into the goal! Go Jonathan!

Family Photos & Halloween

2011-11-01T09:25:00.000-07:00

I asked my aunt Linda if she would take family photos of us and Sunday was a great day at the park! I had to bribe the boys with candy but they really did a good job, posing for pictures for about 45 minutes.

Jason carved the pumpkins Sunday evening. Jonathan didn't want pumpkin on him but did clean out his pumpkin with a spoon. Jace wanted no part of that stinky stuff!

Trick-or-treat Grandma and Granddaddy! Jason dressed up at work with two coworkers as an 80s rock band. They placed in the top 10.

Trick-or-treat!

2011-10-30T11:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we finally bought our pumpkins from our friends pumpkin patch. Jonathan said he wanted to go on the pony ride, but then changed his mind so Jace went on his first pony ride and kept asking to get off. Think we'll skip the pony rides from now on. Of course the boys just wanted to fight over who was going to pull the wagon with our pumpkins.

Later, we put the boys Halloween costumes on (Batman and Optimus Prime) and went downtown with Nonnie and Flapper to join my sister, niece, cousin Erin and her two kids at the 1st annual Halloween trick-or-treat event put on by the town businesses. The boys had fun and I think they really enjoyed going with their cousins. They all got to climb through a firetruck, just before the firemen had to take off.

Jace, Jonathan, Jacob, Addison, and Abigail:

This morning we met my aunt Linda at my favorite park for family photos. She took lots of photos and I can't wait for her to give me a disk! The boys did great with a bribe of candy and a promise of throwing peanuts to squirrels. Here is one of the few pictures I took while we waited on Linda to switch her camera lens.

1st Field Trip & Fall Parties

2011-10-29T06:58:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, Jonathan went on his first field trip for the school year and even got to ride a school bus for the first time! His class went to a pumpkin patch and although it was a little chilly, it was a lot of fun. The classes rotated around different stations: games, hay maze, petting zoo, and story time. They also got to each pick out a small pumpkin to take home. I took Jace along with me. He hasn't gone to school this week since he is getting over a sinus infection. He missed the pumpkin patch field trip with his class, that was also yesterday, but at least he got to participate with Jonathan's class.

Jonathan and his friend Jaden:

Yesterday, Jace and I went to Jonathan's fall party at school. Jonathan got to wear his Halloween costume to school and I saw at least two other students dressed in the same Batman costume. Of course one had the belt, and pointed out Jonathan did not have the additional accessory. Oops! The kids each got a plain sugar cookie and then had icing and sprinkles to decorate their own. Very clever!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-24T16:58:00.000-07:00

Despite our colds, the boys and I went to a pumpkin patch at a farm today. It's a great place for photos! Of course the hay, wind, and smell of animals did not help our runny noses and coughs but I did get a couple cute pictures. No pumpkins yet, waiting on Jason to pick those out since I seem to pick ones that aren't good for carving.

Fall Break

2011-10-21T16:24:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, we drove to the Great Wolf Lodge to stay at the indoor waterpark with our friends Doug, Anne, Collin, Colton, and baby Clara. We could see the waterpark as we were checking in and the boys couldn't wait to try it out! They loved the slides at the kiddie area and kept sliding head first. There was also a fort with water squirting everywhere that Jonathan did not like. We had to go to the top for slides that even Jace could go on, but had to watch out for the huge bucket on top that dumped several gallons of water when it got full. Jace liked those slides too and we even talked Jonathan into going down one time. There were five big slides that Jace was too little for and Jonathan had no interest in going on the ones he was tall enough for. Jason did two of the big slides and I did one. The park also had an indoor wave pool the boys liked and one of our favorite spots was the kid hot tub for warming up! They keep it 84 degrees in there but we all were really cold and shivering most of the time and the boys lips even turned purple. If we ever go back, it won't be until Jace is big enough (48 inches) for all the slides and definitely won't go back unless it is warm outside so we can enjoy the outdoor section as well as not deal with the cold.

Eating at one of the hotel's restaurants - definitely a little overpriced (and not that great either) for everything at the hotel, but isn't it always?!?!? At least the boys all got wolf ears with their kids dinner!

We also went to Legoland for a couple hours and the boys really enjoyed playing there and racing the Lego cars they built. The boys also got to watch their first (mini) movie, complete with 4D glasses!

1st parent teacher conference

2011-10-18T13:15:00.000-07:00

I had my very first parent teacher conference with Jonathan's teacher on Monday night. She has a class of 21 preK students and Jonathan is 1 of 5 that can write his name, which is also the longest name! The teacher said he was doing really well and was a very patient and nice student. I told her he only shows his bad attitude when he's with me. Jonathan has a new friend in his class, Jayden, and his teacher said she's never seen two kids get so close so fast. They like to do everything together and ask her politely every day if they can sit together at lunch. The teacher said there is another little boy who is trying to make it a threesome but sometimes Jonathan does not let the little boy play with him and Jayden. I guess Jonathan is the boss.

A wedding celebration

2011-10-18T13:10:00.000-07:00

My cousin Ritchie got married on Saturday so the boys got to go to their first wedding. They did really well, and luckily it was a very short ceremony! Those are definitely the best! The boys were then dropped off at home with grandma and granddaddy so Jason and I could enjoy the reception. It was a great party!

Super Jace

2011-10-14T07:51:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned Jace thinks he's a BIG kid?? I think he truly thinks he's just as old and as big as Jonathan. The child has done everything early his entire life and my mom made a good point when she said "and he's only been around for 2 years and 10 months" when I told her what Jace can do now. Wednesday night, Jace said he was ready to take his training wheels off his bike. We've noticed he balances really well and doesn't always rely on his training wheels. As soon as Jason got him on his big boy bike, Jace rode all over our front yard! He rides so fast, which helps with his balance. Jace didn't have any major crashes, YET, even though yesterday, he was putting his feet down to stop and trying to jump off the bike before it fell over. He is such a dare devil. I told him he could not ride his bike anymore if he was going to stop it like that, it's just a matter of time when he breaks something I think. Of course taking off is the hardest part for him but I'm sure in the next week, he'll be doing it!

Sunday at our friends house - their grandpa had made this train for the kids. They loved it! The boys rode together the 1st time, but then got in their own seats the second time around.

Jace's picture day at school was yesterday. I was so glad his hair looked pretty good, it's always a surprise in the morning.

Back to my favorite park to feed the squirrels. The squirrels weren't very hungry but at least I got a few pictures.

Soccer Saturday & Super Tuesday

2011-10-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

Jonathan has soccer games every Saturday until November 5th and Jace has his intro class also on Saturday for the next couple of weeks. Jonathan's soccer practice is on Tuesday evenings, which is also the day for swimming lessons so on Tuesday we come home for about an hour after school, go to swimming lessons (which also includes a 40 minute drive, crossing my fingers we don't get stuck in too much 5:00 traffic!), go home to eat QUICKLY, then go to Jonathan's soccer practice. Super Tuesday and Soccer Saturday it is!

We are in a terrible spot right now with major attitude problems from Jonathan and sometimes Jace. Last Saturday, Jonathan's 2nd game, he threw a huge fit with major attitude (which is something he is doing VERY frequently these days) and refused to play. He ended up sitting in our van with Jason for about an hour while Jace and I watched his team play for about 30 minutes, and then went to take Jace's soccer pictures and wait for his class to start. Hopefully he realized sitting in the van with dad is not as fun as playing with his teammates!

I've had problems with Jace and his swimming lessons for awhile now. In August, he started his new private lessons with Miss Ashley, his first time without me in his class. He would cry for part of the 15 minute lesson and then be fine. A few weeks ago, his tantrums became much worse when it was time for his swimming lesson. He didn't want to go at all! Yesterday, he was already throwing a fit about his lesson before we ever got to the pool and was crying and whining by the time we got to the pool. I didn't make him get in yesterday with his new group class and teacher (switched last week) and tried to make him see how much more fun he would have swimming. We are going to try one more week and if he throws a huge fit, I will drop his swimming lessons. Jonathan has stated he will continue his class. Yay!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-08T07:26:00.000-07:00

We went to the new pumpkin patch on Thursday with our friends Anne, Collin, Colton and baby Clara. Although a little small, it's a nice place with games, cute places to take photos, a hay maze, and the petting zoo. The boys had a great time.

Family Bike Ride

2011-10-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

Today was our first family bike ride on the bike trail. Since the boys love to ride their bikes, Jason pulled ours out of the shed, did some cleaning and airing up tires, and had to replace both his tires. My bike, which I can't even remember the last time I actually saw it or rode it, must have GREAT initial tires for my "vintage" (as Jason called it) Schwinn. Poor Jace had to work twice as hard to keep his bike going at a slow speed. About half way through our first mile (of two), he said he was tired. He also ran his bike off the trail and had a small crash because he was watching me behind him. The little trooper got right back on and kept going. Jace is not ready to remove his training wheels yet but I'm already encouraging him to try to balance and not rely on the training wheels the entire time. He's getting pretty good too! I think I definitely see two little boys receiving new bicycles in a couple of months!

Fair

2011-10-03T07:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took the boys to the fair. Jonathan wouldn't try the funnel cake, or much else at the fair. We did watch a dog show the boys enjoyed. They went down a slide (with dad, who also had to pay $4 to go!), went through a small obstacle course, and rode airplanes. I think we spent $24 on three rides!

My cousin Ritchie is getting married in a couple of weeks so the girls got together for a fun shower for his fiancee Megan. It was so much fun!

Ribbon Week

2011-10-01T12:39:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was ribbon week at swimming lessons where the boys are "graded" by what they can do in the water and get different colored ribbons for each milestones. Jonathan got THREE new ribbons and Jace got his graduate ribbon from.....hmm....not really sure, the tot class maybe? Jace was given permission to join a level 1 group class that is usually not available until age 3. He's been in private lessons with Miss Ashley for two months and still cried for at least half the 15 minute session. He will start his new class with a new teacher on Tuesday. Hopefully he is happier being with a group than one-on-one. My only concern - when Jonathan started lessons in January, he was a level 1 and Jace is far more advanced than Jonathan was at that time.

Today Jonathan had his 1st soccer game. They played 3 on 3 without goalies and the other team scored many more goals. I think we definitely need to practice some at home!

A visit from Nonnie and Abigail last Sunday -

Playing at the park with Laney and Jack on Wednesday - the boys have three of the same shirts that they LOVE to wear at the same time! It's definitely not something I pick out, but I'm all for it if it reduces the whines and cries when trying to get dressed.

4th Annual Soap Box Derby

2011-09-25T09:34:00.000-07:00

Recent conversations between Jonathan & Jace:

Jace:Hey Jon!Hey Jon! Hey Jon!
Jonathan (finally!):don't call me that! Call me Jonathan!
Jace:Hey Jon-a-than! (HEAVY sarcasm)

After I got off the phone, Jace asked his usual question - mom, who is it?!?!? I said it was Dad, he's on his way home. Jace - hey Jon, Dad is on his way home to play with you. (silence) Jace-hey, Dad is on his way home to play with you. Say YAY!!! (silence) Me-YAY!!!

Conversations between little people are hilarious!

Saturday was the 4th annual soap box derby. Jason has entered every year. This year, he entered the adult novelty category with his modified J Train (a picture of J Train and crew also made it on the front of our local newspaper!) and let nephew James enter his original car in the youth competitive race. James went down the hill three times but unfortunately didn't place in the top 10. The boys and I had to miss some of the action to take Jonathan to soccer for picture day and a scrimmage. He didn't want to play but ended up participating and having a great time.

Riding with daddy for a test run down our street - they didn't get to ride during the actual event

Posing for the newspaper camera-

Watching the race with granddaddy - a nice sunny day=sunburns!

Jason had a lot of family support! His parents, sister, and niece Kayli; my uncle John and aunt Karen, cousins Bridget, with Laney and Jack, and Jennifer, who's boyfriend had entered his son. I think she actually came for them. :) Jack insisted on sitting between Jace and Jonathan and pushed Jace over to make room.

Pulling J Train up to the starting line - James rode in the back for the first and only run since they were sure J train would keep up the speed. Several cars had to get multiple pushes to go down the road.

Jonathan kicking the soccer ball so the photographer could take action shots. My pictures could have been great if I had my better zoom lens with me!!!

Soap Box Derby drivers in training - this is Jason's original soap box derby car. He cut off the front this year so James could start his race from the ramp.

1st Soccer for Jace

2011-09-20T11:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Jace had soccer for the first time. He's in an intro to soccer class for 2-4 year olds. During most of the 30 minutes, Jace stood by me and refused to participate, something I did not expect at all! He did run around during the game of tag and sort of chased the coach (who happens to also be Jonathan's soccer coach) when they were told to do so. The boys have switched places for my soccer expectations. I expected Jonathan to be the one standing on the side, and he did great! I expected Jace to jump right in the mix of other kids. Another dad asked if Jace wasn't in the mood to play. I told him (and had to remind myself!) that Jace is just 2. At what point do I have to stop using his young age as an excuse?!?!? Jonathan did really well his first time as Jace's spectator.

On Sunday, I hosted a family shower for my cousin Ritchie's fiancee Megan. Now our family will have two Jasons, two Megans, and a lot of little boys with similar names: Jonathan, Jacob, Jackson, and Jace. We like to make it fun for someone to join our family! The shower was a lot of fun and the kids were good too, even though Addison did pop out a slightly loose tooth!

The kids - Laney, Addison, Abigail, Jace, Jonathan, and Jacob (Jack refused to be in the picture - he really wanted to sit in one of the new chairs)

The girls: Erin, Bridget, me, Megan, Sarah, and Jennifer

Had to take pics of our family after Jason came home:

With my mom and sister:

Soccer Van for a Soccer Mom

2011-09-15T09:21:00.000-07:00

Not sure why a minivan has to be associated with soccer, but technically we are currently a soccer family! Jonathan had his first soccer practice Tuesday night and he did really well by participating and having a great time. I never know if Jonathan is going to participate or not. He said he loves soccer so hopefully this short fall season goes smoothly. He will practice on Tuesday and have games on Saturday. I had to explain to Jace that he wasn't playing on Tuesday, but that Jonathan would have to watch Jace play on Saturday (Jonathan's games don't start for two more weeks). Jonathan's comment - I'm not sure I like this. This will be the first time Jonathan has to sit and watch Jace do anything.

Jonathan has attempted a few times to ride his bike without training wheels but always got frustrated and wanted the wheels back on. Jason was convinced Jonathan was ready to remove the training wheels for good since he noticed Jonathan does balance a lot when he rides and doesn't use the training wheels all the time. On Monday, Jonathan's friend Blake's mom posted a picture on FB showing Blake riding his bicycle without training wheels. I told her I was going to use it as motivation for Jonathan and it WORKED!! I showed Jonathan the picture and he went outside to tell Daddy he was ready to take off the training wheels. Jonathan is doing really well and the training wheels will remain off this time. Now, he just needs a bigger bike!

Yesterday, Jace's teacher told me she looked up Jace's birthday, thinking he had an early one, to see if maybe he could move up to the next class since he is so advanced for his age. But she said he definitely has to stay in the 2 year old class since it will be 3 months before he turns 3. Jace does seem much older than his classmates.

Jace had a rough day yesterday. In the morning, he was diving over the chair and landed right on his face. After school, he was riding his bike and scraped up his arm when he made it crash on purpose. Jonathan was riding his bike and trying to make sharp turns, which resulted in him falling over. So, little brother can't be left out and would make his bike fall over too. Later, while we were still playing outside, he scraped up the other arm. Jace is definitely 100% a rough and active 2 year old!

Road Trip!

2011-09-11T14:38:00.000-07:00

This morning we got up and drove 1.5 hours to visit the other state zoo. It is a really nice zoo. We rode the tram for about half the time and it was nice to get there early when it wasn't so crowded. We saw the baby elephant and the awesome new Elephant habitat, which the boys could care less about. They had more fun in the children's petting zoo and playing on the playground.

Yesterday, we took the boys to a bike trail. Jason and I walked two miles while the boys rode their bikes. They did pretty well staying to one side (it can be a busy bike trail!) until the very end.

After my trip to Myrtle Beach, I asked the boys who was more fun: mom or Nonnie. Jace immediately says mom, which I'm hoping he meant me. They had both called my mom (Nonnie) "mom" a few times while she was here. Jonathan sat there for a few minutes looking like he was really thinking, points down the hall (Jason was out in the garage), and says dad.

We were enjoying the nice weather outside on Labor Day and the boys were drawing with their sidewalk chalk. Jonathan wanted me to see what he drew (he has really started to love drawing!) and when Jace asked him: What is it? Jonathan proudly says: Me! It does look exactly like Jonathan! ;)

School is going well for both boys although getting back together with a whole bunch of kids, time of year, and the fact we've had a huge change in weather (100s to 80s for the high), have caused my kids to have the usual runny nose and cough. Besides not being able to stay 100% well, my only other complaint is Jace's teachers can't seem to remember to put his pull-up on for nap time. Jace won't always take a nap but when he does, we bring home a bag of wet clothes. I think Jace is the only one who doesn't wear diapers all day and hopefully the teacher and her assistant will start to remember. Jace has also been in time out a lot this past week for being too rough with his friends and sometimes hitting. His class has mostly boys in it and his teacher says Jace is not the only one being "too handsy". I told Jace he can put a quarter he found in his piggy bank as soon as he had a day without timeout. Of course I've also explained to him that he can't hit.

Lately the boys have started asking if "things" exist in our world, like dinosaurs, bad people, whales, whatever they might hear or see on TV. They have also started complaining with a HUGE Awwww! when we say something they don't want to hear.

Beach Vaca Take 2

2011-09-03T19:18:00.000-07:00

Jason and I went on a second beach vacation! Jason found out about a big golf tourney in Myrtle Beach and decided that is how he wanted to spend one of his weeks of vacation. He wanted me to go also but there was absolutely no way I could leave the boys for a trip that lasted from Sunday until Saturday! Is he nuts?!?!? Why is parenthood so different for moms vs. dads??? I talked to my mom and she offered to stay at our house with the boys so I could go on the trip for a few nights. Jason flew out on Sunday, I went on Thursday, and we came home together today. The boys were excited to see us but they also had a great time with Nonnie and Flapper and wasn't as devastated without me as I thought they would be. They ACTUALLY survived! Ha!

Jason spent Monday - Thursday playing in the golf tournament at different golf courses around the area. We did go to the convention center on Thursday evening to hear the speaker and hopefully win a prize but after two hours, I'd had all I could stand of golf! Friday morning, being the best wife that I am :) I told Jason I was ok with him playing MORE golf on Friday morning while I hung out by the pool. I think he played 8 times in 6 days?? He went to a par 3 course so he wouldn't be gone as long and he actually enjoyed it. We ended up spending most of Friday at the pool and managed to squeeze in a walk on the beach. We had to get up early on Saturday to drive for two hours to the airport. We spent most of Saturday traveling. I'm so glad I was able to go on our first trip to Myrtle Beach, even though it was a short trip for me.

View from our hotel room:

Cute pics of the boys:

super saturday with a splash and soccer registration

2011-08-27T17:36:00.000-07:00

We bought a discounted ticket to the waterpark a while back and totally forgot about it. Since it expires on Labor Day we decided to use it today! We had the best time at the not-so-crowded waterpark, even though we spent most of our time in the kiddie pool. Jonathan played with other kids which made me happy as this is something he NEVER would have done last year! Jace was just as happy as could be doing is own thing, interacting with kids when he wanted. Jace loved the kiddie slides and went down the all several times. They also got to show off their swimming skills in the other pool and we all braved the waves at the wave pool. We were there about 3 hours and I never would have guessed it would be so much fun!

Jonathan brought a note home yesterday about soccer registration so before the waterpark adventure, we headed to the community center to register both Jonathan and Jace for fall soccer. Jace will be playing the intro program and Jonathan is in the under 5 group. I hope they have fun, the schedule isn't too hectic, and we are happy we've signed them both up. I'm a little worried about Jason traveling and being a "single" parent with two young boys at the soccer fields!

This evening we had a great dinner with my parents, sister, her boyfriend James, and niece Abigail. We went to Olive Garden of course and had a great time as always. I'm just wondering how expensive that bill was that Chuck paid for everyone!!! Thanks Mom and Chuck!!!

School

2011-08-25T19:44:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, we met Jonathan's new preK teacher and looked around the school. He had told me he wanted to try out the playground slides but I told him we wouldn't be doing that. Big Surprise when his teacher asked if we wanted to try out the playground! Jonathan is a gray koala bear and he picked the cow to be his spot on the rug, which is the closest to the board. I thought he would have picked the car, shark, or something along those lines but I think he was just nervous and ended up on the cow. Jonathan's great grandmother and his teacher's great grandmother were sisters so I guess that makes them 4th cousins???? I have no idea the proper names of extended family members.

Tuesday was also the big day of stitches removal. My friend Anne is a RN and said she would come over to remove the stitches. Four stitches came out ok but the fifth was really tight and by this point, he'd had enough pinching and was done. We decided to hold him down and get it over with but we actually made it worse and made his chin bleed. Lesson learned - when you have a young child that needs stitches removed, just take him back to urgent care. We ended up skipping swimming lessons (of course Jonathan wouldn't have been able to swim anyways) and getting the last stitch out at urgent care. It took 2 nurses, with my help holding his legs, to get it out but it went fast.

Wednesday was our last official day of summer and the boys and I spent a few hours at Erin's pool. The boys loved jumping in and swimming back to the steps all on their own. It was very fun for all 3 of us. Wednesday night was orientation for Jace's preschool. I met his new teacher and think she's going to be great.

Today, Jonathan started preK and Jace started back at his preschool with a new teacher. Dropping both of them off was a smooth transition. They both seemed to have a good 1st day and Jonathan was excited he got to write his name (he prefers to write his "short name" of Jon) on the board. Jace's teacher said he's a good helper and talker. The only bad part of our day came when it was time to pick Jonathan up. It was total CHAOS!! Mob of parents blocking the halls, I had no idea what was going on (we were instructed to pick up our kids from their classrooms but somehow it changed), and the parking lot was a complete disaster. It took me about 30 minutes to pick Jonathan up from school today. I hope the school gets all the kinks worked out!

Stitches

2011-08-20T08:26:00.000-07:00

What do you do when it's going to be over 100 degrees and your friend's baby is only 8 weeks old? On Thursday, my friend Anne and I decided anything outside would be too hot for the baby so we decided to take our boys to a local indoor pool. The boys and I have been once before and I thought it was the perfect place to play with a kiddie area. Jonathan and Jace get really excited when they get to play with Collin and Colton and our play date started off great. Then, Jonathan comes around the slide/tower crying and I could tell from across the pool that he had a really bad cut on his chin. I was surprised it didn't bleed a lot and was so glad my friend Anne, who's a RN, put a bandaid on it for me. We changed clothes and hit the road to find a minor emergency center, with Jonathan crying the entire time. I couldn't understand if he was in a lot of pain or mad because we were leaving? He got 5 stitches to close up his chin and instructions to return on Tuesday to have stitches removed. Oh, and no swimming until the stitches come out. Hmmm....temps are expected to be around 100 degrees or higher so we definitely have to change our plans for the next several days. At least he will be good to go by Thursday, which is his first day of preK.

Friday, we met our friends again at the aquarium. The boys enjoyed seeing their friends again and Collin was happy to check on Jonathan. They came back over Friday late afternoon (Jason's out of town and her husband was working late so we figured why not get together AGAIN?!!?) and we ordered pizza. The boys played well, for the most part, upstairs. Maybe we'd seen too much of each other in two days???

Tidbits: the other day Jonathan said something that sounded like What in the hell...I'm not sure where he heard that from but when I asked him to repeat it, he wouldn't. So I asked him, did you say hen? He said yes, so I've caught him a couple other times saying what in the hen? Of course I'm trying to discourage it but at least he hasn't realized he's saying the wrong word.

Jason was watching golf and showing the boys a golf magazine (could we possibly get any more golf please!). He told the boys about a player who wears all orange on Sundays. I asked Jason where he was from. Jace says he's from the TV.

On Wednesday, we met Sarah and Abigail at a splashpad. Lots o' fun!

Summer is almost over

2011-08-16T19:30:00.000-07:00

Today was the boys second class of the new swimming lessons. Jace has a 15 minute private lesson with Miss Ashley and although he did GREAT the 1st class, today he wasn't so happy about his lesson. I think he still did pretty good for the most part. He can definitely swim better than I thought. Jonathan has Ms. Glenda, which is who Jace had for his first teacher. Jonathan is also doing really well and swam far across the pool today where he can't touch.

Yesterday we had our last family pool party at cousin Erin's house. The morning started off a little cool and the water was too cold for me to get in! The kids didn't swim as much either but I'm not sure if it was the water temperature or were just ready to do something else. We've had a great time seeing (most of) the kids this summer and playing in the pool.

Having fun with cousin Abigail:

Jonathan and his Nonnie - Jace had NO interest in putting his watering can down and taking a picture!

Our Weekend

2011-08-07T18:51:00.000-07:00

Thursday-another day of swimming with Addison and Jacob, Jonathan swam down and touched the bottom of the pool, the boys had a great time watching their great dane, Patches, run around the back yard

Friday - play cafe (they watch your kids in the play area while parents relax on the other side of the short wall) with Collin and Colton followed by an afternoon of bowling with cousins Addison, Jacob, Laney, and Jack

Jace asked to see himself sleeping in the picture. Oh, so that is what you were doing!

Saturday - braved the tax free shopping weekend and bought the boys new sneakers, Jace size 10 and Jonathan size 12. Thought we got a great deal until I later realized Jonathan was already wearing size 12 shoes (surely his feet grew?!?!?) and found a slightly used pair of Jonathan's old size 10 sneakers. Way to go me!

Sunday - another brave day for us: we decided the heat (it got up to 10-something again today) wasn't going to slow us down and went to the zoo. They had cooling stations all around the zoo with cold water to drink and a few misters. Great way to cool off! The zoo also had two free water slides for the kids to enjoy. I think the slides were the boys favorite part!

Swimming lessons

2011-08-02T16:15:00.000-07:00

Friday was our last summer session and both boys moved up a level. On August 9, Jonathan will be starting level 2 and Jace is doing private lessons at the same time. Jace could move up a level and do the next group level but there weren't any good times for me to choose from. So it was either make Jace sit out until December (regular group lessons start at age 3) or enroll in slightly more expensive private lessons (and not lose all the great progress he's made this year) so we could do classes at the same time that I liked. I'm excited I will no longer have three bodies to change after lessons!

Saturday, Nonnie and Flapper stopped by and brought the boys a box turtle they had found, AND skateboards. What were they thinking?!?!? The boys had fun sitting on their boards and rolling down the hill.

Monday was my cousin Matt's 30th birthday and we celebrated with pizza and cupcakes at our weekly pool party. It was a lot of fun but the heat was ridiculous! When we left at 2:00, the car said it was 108 degrees! I think the normal for this time of year is mid 90s.

This is how we do it! Jonathan does not like to be where he can't touch without his "floaty" on (he rarely will put on arm floaties).

Abigail, Jonathan, Jace, and Jacob - the last ones (out of a small group of 11 kids!) out of the pool on Monday:

Today was the final enrollment for Jonathan to start preK. I found out who his teacher is, filled out more paperwork, and bought a Tshirt for field trips. We go back in a few weeks to see his classroom and meet his teacher. Both Jonathan and Jace both go back to school on August 25th.

1st bowling experience

2011-07-28T09:13:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night, we went to the bowling alley for a fundraiser a the boys had so much fun bowling for the first time! We played with Team Zebra - Sarah, Abigail, Cathy, and Chuck.

Saturday night - Jason stayed home with the boys so I could go to Kirk and Jamie's wedding reception. Such a great party! Cousins Ritchie, Kirk, and me

Sunday - Jace walked around the house singing 75309, he didn't have all the numbers but I couldn't remember when we had last heard that song! Sometimes I don't realize I've been singing a song until the boys start singing it. Later that evening, we got together with two friends from high school and the boys had a lot of fun playing with Emily.
Jace, Jonathan, baby Zeke, Emily, Marie, and Cody:

Monday - weekly swimming party with most of our cousins at Erin's house. This has really been enjoyable for all of us! All the kids (9 + Ramsey when they can make it) in the pool gets a little crowded but they all have a really good time.

Tuesday - told Jace he was in trouble for not listening to mom (from not keeping his hands off the dishwasher). On his way to the time out chair, sipping his OJ, he says, can't hear you mom, drinking my juice. Apparently drinking juice impairs his hearing capabilities!

This summer has been brutal! Too much heat and we were in the running for the most consecutive days over 100 on record!

Today is the boys last day of the summer session but school starts in about three short weeks! I've started telling Jonathan he will be going to a new school and that his BFF Collin won't be going there too. Jace gets to stay at our preschool and I will meet his brand new teacher the day before class starts. This summer is going by so fast.

Beach Vacation Part III

2011-07-19T19:50:00.000-07:00

Final Beach Blog!!!

Wednesday - Jason and I decided to go parasailing for the 1st time and take Abigail with us. We went out on a boat with 9 other people (went up in four groups of 3) to the bay. I was a little scared but so glad we did it! We also took a dolphin cruise aboard SeaBlaster with the entire clan wearing our matching shirts (complete with ALL our names on the back). We did see dolphins on the cruise.

Thursday - the boys picked the pool over the beach so we spent a few hours at the pool with most of our family. Then, we moved to a different pool for our last evening cookout together. After dinner, most of us went to the beach to hunt for ghost crabs (was that the crab Erin caught?? She was definitely our navigator!). I have no idea what one is but every night we watched people on the beach with flashlights and thought we should join the fun! The ocean was full of jellyfish and the kids had a great time scooping jellyfish off the beach and catching the jellyfish from the ocean. They filled five buckets, and they eventually let them go. Jason got stung and I'm shocked more of us didn't get stung with us walking the jellyfish beach when it was dark!

The pier - the boys were not excited about it!

Gulfarium -

Friday - We were the only ones staying Friday night so we planned on spending the morning at the beach. As soon as Jonathan's shorts got wet, he freaked out and we discovered a rash on his legs (from sand? dampness?) so we had to have a change of plans and stay out of any water. We went to the Gulfarium (small aquarium) and watched a short Dolphin show and a sea lion show. We walked the pier and saw dolphins. After napping (which Jonathan slept for 3 hours - finally waking up because he fell off the couch!), we attempted the drive to the outlet mall but after sitting in bumper to bumper traffic, decided on a short visit to see an alligator (all small alligators) farm at Fudpuckers. Definitely could have passed on that one!

Saturday - a morning thunderstorm ruined my plan for a last quick walk on the beach so we loaded up and stopped at an airforce museum on the way to the airport. I think Jason could have stayed a while! We had another easy day of traveling and although I miss the beach view from our condo, the beach, and the daily pool time with family, I'm glad to be back home.
View from our condo living room:

Beach Vacation Part II

2011-07-17T11:53:00.000-07:00

Monday - I told my cousin Megan we should meet at the beach by 8 AM and take family pics for each other. Not the best idea since it is already so warm by then! We were all quickly sweating and had to deal with the sun in our faces. Evening is definitely the better time to take pictures!

After the hot morning shoot, it was time for the beach again! Followed by an afternoon swim at the pool - this seemed to be our routine most days!

On Monday evening, the rest of our group all arrived, and we had to meet them down at the beach! We were the only ones who stayed in a beach front condo and loved the view! Plus, it was nice to have a close place to use the restroom or get something we forgot.

On Tuesday - we did the same routine with everyone, and enjoyed a family cookout at one of the pools for dinner. Lots of fun! David buried Jonathan in the sand:

Beach Vacation Part I

2011-07-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

On Saturday July 9th, we flew to Destin Florida for a fun filled family vacation that we had planned with 20 additional family members. This was Jace's 1st time on an airplane (Jonathan's gone twice - at 5ish months and 16ish months) and he did great. Both boys did. We had a much smoother day of traveling than we expected. Do you see anything wrong with this photo???

The boys and Jason both wore OSU orange shirts. A little boy told us Go Pokes and then told me I was wearing OU. HAHA - not very good planning to wear a shirt that could have been for the rival state team, and definitely something we didn't even think about it before that comment. Smart kid! When we arrived in Florida, we decided to get the grocery trip out of the way and Walmart was a complete MADHOUSE! I'm surprised we made it out alive with our goods, well, somewhere along the way, we lost our eggs. That evening, we did let the boys briefly play in the sand.

The boys definitely don't know about sleeping in on vacation. We stayed up later than usual but started every morning early, usually around 6. Sunday morning, we played on the beach.

Those waves were brutal! Cousin Megan arrived on Sunday so we hung out with them at the pool that afternoon and enjoyed a nice walk on the beach later that evening. Jonathan was such a swimmer on our trip! He (and Jace) really enjoyed going to the pool every day to practice their swimming lessons.

Lots of Family Time

2011-07-06T16:28:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we went to the in-laws lake house for a belated birthday party for Tsinia (18) and James (15) and also to celebrate Tsinia's high school graduation. The lake has high levels of toxic algea so not having any contact with the lake water was recommended, which we of course followed. I didn't want the boys anywhere near it! We also got to see our brother-in-law Virgil, who is stationed in South Korea.
Jason's sister Jamie and her family, along with Jonathan and Jace:

Then, it was on to my parents house to celebrate my sister Sarah's 32nd birthday. The kids had a blast jumping into the kiddie pool and running down the big hill, even though Jace couldn't keep his shorts up and Jonathan took a bad tumble that ended with a flip on his face. He was fine and was ready to do it again.

We celebrated July 4th with a family cookout at my uncle Phillip's house. The adults survived the heat while the kids got to play on the waterslide. Jason lit a few fireworks after we got home and Jonathan does not like the loud noises AT ALL! The boys and I had a sleepover in Jonathan's room so I could put a huge fan in their room to muffle the loud fireworks two of our neighbors, and others, were shooting. I was amazed the boys still slept right through all the noise.

Yesterday, I took my niece Abigail to a waterpark and we had a lot of fun. She wanted to go down the really big slide but I wasn't sure about the height requirement so I told her we had to pass on that one. I already bought a discounted family ticket to go back to the waterpark but after going without the boys, I might just have to leave them behind next time too so we can do all the slides and not have to worry about little ones.

A fun filled family Saturday!

2011-06-26T16:30:00.000-07:00

We had a great busy day on Saturday. We left early to get to the kids haircut place as soon as he opened at 9:00. We were back in the car by 9:15, after paying $36 for two fabulous and quick haircuts! I do agree the haircuts are WAY overpriced but you can't put a price on the quick service or the tractor seat the boys get to sit in while they watch cartoons. This also results in absolutely NO crying which is a total bonus! After the haircuts, it was off to a nearby park, complete with a splash pad. It was so much fun for the boys and hardly anyone was there until we were leaving. A tick did crawl across my leg as I was sitting on a bench. Weird because I expect to see ticks at our house by the woods and the only one of us who seems to be a strong magnet for any and all bugs (mainly ticks and pesky mosquitoes) is poor little Jace. I had to pull a tick from his belly button the other day, and this was after I coated him with bug repellent/sunscreen.

Back to Saturday, after Jace's nap, we went to our swim school to enjoy family swim time. Jason has never been able to come to our swim lessons, and so far hasn't been able to join us at Erin's pool, so the boys really enjoyed showing daddy what they can do. Jonathan was very impressive and I even got to watch him do things I hadn't seen yet. He would jump into the pool at the shallow end, where he could touch, all by himself. He was also constantly going underwater and doing his best to swim underwater and back float. Jace is a little daring and scary! I have to stay close because he thinks he's ready to swim across the pool! He had a great time jumping off the diving board (1st for us) to Jason. We practiced going underwater and swimming to the side of the pool, things we do in our lessons. The back float didn't go so well, which he did really well on Friday with the help from his swim teacher. The boys are loving the water and that's what is important!

What in the hello.....

2011-06-21T10:35:00.000-07:00

....is a phrase from Jonathan this past week. Not sure where he heard it from, it is definitely not something we say. When I gave him a look, he then said what in the world?

Some pics and tidbits:

Jonathan is learning how to be 100% independent in the bathroom. After going to the bathroom last week, he then tells me he is ready for high school!

Jace will take our letter W or M refrigerator magnet and he knows one side is M and one side is W.

Our 14th wedding anniversary was on the 14th and Jason brought home a box of chocolates and sent flowers. No celebration dinner. Jason just got into town the night before from being gone for a week and the one person I asked to watch the kids had a busy schedule on Tuesday. I think it's definitely time to have a babysitter!

Swimming lessons started again last Friday. We've gone over to my cousin Erin's house a few times to swim in her pool too and the boys are doing GREAT! Jace will jump in and try to swim, although he is a little too brave for me at times. Jonathan is going to need more time in the pool to get back to where he was in May, but I know he will with all the pool time he's going to get this summer.
The boys with cousins Addison, Jacob, Laney, and Jack - we get together at Erin's with most of our little cousins every week.

Today is the 1st day of summer as well as the boys 1st day at summer school. They are going Tuesday and Thursday for the next six weeks. They were so excited this morning!

Jonathan has had a lot of interest in what words start with lately. We met mom, Chuck, Sarah and Abigail last weekend for dinner and here's what Jonathan copied from Abigail (Flap is what the boys call Chuck)

Splash Pad

2011-06-07T07:44:00.000-07:00

The boys are officially another half year older. On Sunday, Jonathan turned 4 1/2 and Jace turned 2 1/2. It's crazy how fast our summer break is going!

We went to a splash pad on Monday and took Aunt Pat and cousins Addison and Jacob with us. The boys didn't have quite as much fun as I thought they would and spent half the time playing in the dirt. I did have to show my momma bear side to two girls who thought it was funny to squirt the water cannon right at Jace's face. The splash pad has two cannons that don't reach each other so one girl (I'm awful at guessing ages but would guess 11ish?) was blocking some of the holes so it would reach Jace, who was at the other cannon and wasn't going to budge. I had to go tell her (she came with a small group of kids, no adults) she was not going to squirt him in the face and that he was only two. She moved and shortly after, I didn't see the kids anymore.

I discovered Monday evening Jonathan has his first pink eye. When he woke up Monday morning, it was pink and a little matted but since it wasn't oozing stuff, I thought maybe it wasn't pink eye. Jace is the only one in our family who has had pink eye, twice, and his eyes have always been really nasty and constantly producing yucky stuff. I was telling Jason if Jonathan's eye didn't look better by tomorrow or started oozing stuff, I was going to take him to the doctor. Next thing, Jason says, his eye does have stuff coming out of it. Hopefully we didn't spread too many germs around today, but I don't believe that pink eye is as HIGHLY contagious as reported.

Welcome Back 1/2 Birthday Celebration

2011-06-05T06:48:00.000-07:00

After celebrating the boys birthday last December with a very busy weekend, we decided to bring back the 1/2 birthday celebration! Who knew we would be experiencing early August like weather during the first week of June! Whew, IT WAS HOT!!! I don't think the kids minded since they were able to play in the water while the parents (and grandparents - Nonnie and Chuck) sweated on the deck. Jason did a great job cooking all the food and doing most, or just about all, of the kitchen work. We had planned an indoor party with inflatable slide and jumper but reconsidered saving our $300 and had to downsize our party list. We had too many people for a party in our backyard. Besides the heat, I thought everyone had a good time although next year, it might be a good idea to find a pool to use or start saving to have that indoor inflatable party!

Season has ended

2011-06-03T05:46:00.000-07:00

Our first wee ball season is officially over. We played our last game on Tuesday and the majority ruled no to make up the two games that were rained out. It worked out because the weather is definitely showing signs of summer and Jonathan had no interest in playing at all this week. I think he went out to the field briefly on Tuesday and just wanted to complain that he was hot. Of course he was, it was almost 90 degrees (I think), very humid, and full of sunshine. We were ALL hot but he was the only one complaining. You'd think he sat in the a/c all day and didn't ever play outside, which we do daily for the record! On Wednesday, we took our team pictures, or individual ones anyways, and Jonathan wasn't too thrilled with that either. All I can hope for is a decent picture. A couple of parents have asked if Jason plans on coaching again and all I can tell them is, I have no idea. Taking on a team is a lot of work, and wee ball is the easy year! Jason and I always think how nice it would be to just have to show up when and where I'm told. Parents who have never stepped up to coach a team or take control of a kid event have no idea. I am not management material and have zero patience for those who don't want to pay attention to things we have already told them via email or text. The saying is there is no stupid question and after being part of management for our wee ball team, I disagree! With that being said, it's totally up to Jason and my suggestion is he needs to recruit more of the parents to be official assistant coaches. I'm sure if it comes down to coaching so Jonathan can play (if he's willing to participate in EVERY game!), Jason will accept the challenge.

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-05-31T09:51:00.000-07:00

We went to our 2nd story time today at the library. Sad that last week was our very first trip ever to the library! But we did join the summer reading program and the boys really enjoy looking at different books.

Last Thursday, we had our end of season (early) party for our ball team. Our sponsors let us use their building and had a jumper and inflatable slide. It was fun, although a little tough making a group of excited 4 year old boys wait their turn. We still have two more ball games to go this week and I think that will be it. We had a game that was rained out but I think Jason wants to tell them Wednesday will be our last one.

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. Spent Saturday back on the jumper and slide for our friends' 2 year olds birthday party. Then on Sunday, we had friends Jami and Brian over that we hadn't seen in awhile. Their kids are 1, 6, and 8 and the kids all had a blast playing in mud puddles in the yard with the sprinkler. Monday, we went over to my cousin Erin's house and the kids all played in the pool. I thought the water was freezing but none of the kids seemed to mind. Poor Jace had an accident on the driveway Monday morning and banged up his face. Luckily he didn't hit his mouth.

Short and Sweet

2011-05-25T19:53:00.000-07:00

Week 2 of our summer break.....had huge plans to go to the toddler time, well it is for ages 2-5, at the community center but the boys had no interest in listening or minding, so we didn't go. I made a few threats about not going and after the 3rd incident, I decided it was time to follow through. I think I was the one severely punished since I had to listen to both whine and cry about how they would listen and how much they wanted to go for about an hour. Maybe next Wednesday will be better. Jonathan had his routine dental cleaning yesterday and did really well, doing everything he was asked. Of course, the dentist doesn't have much to say except to mention a few things that could possibly be an orthodontist type problem down the road. Jace is finally getting his 3rd 2yr molar and I'm a little shocked he's still "missing" two teeth. I keep reminding myself about what they say...the later the teeth come in, the better. Time will tell if it is true since Jonathan's teeth have always come in earlier.
A couple pics from last Sunday - my mom's back yard is a big hill the kids had a blast rolling down:

More space

2011-05-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

Jace has really starting to show his huge imagination with his story telling! He will tell me conversations he has with people, like someone said something and his response. Or someone tried to do something and what he told them. The other day he told me his grandma was going to spit and he told her We don't spit! Too bad she doesn't read the blog, she might get a kick out of that! This evening, he was pretending to serve Jason barbecue sandwiches, which is funny because we NEVER eat barbecue so I have no idea where the idea came from. He said there are a lot of people here, I have to get more barbecue.

Jonathan spelled his entire first name and last name for me, now we just need to keep practicing how to write it! We worked on putting our alphabet flash cards in order the other day by singing the ABCs. I told my sister about our summer learning plans and that I hope Jonathan can put the letters and 1-9 numbers in order on his own. I don't doubt he will be able to do it, but she did bring me back to reality when she told me some kids don't know those things in kindergarten!

I was looking forward to getting out of the house Saturday afternoon, enjoying some time alone, and instead of soaking up the sun, I spent the ENTIRE afternoon at a Toyota dealership! Ugh! I refuse to spend that much time at a dealership ever again in my life! But, we did leave Jason's Toyota Tacoma there and drove home a 2011 (slightly used) Toyota Sienna. Yep, we now own a minivan and we LOVE it! We all have adequate space and room to spare. The only two things I would change is the white color and cloth seats, oh, and the smell. It's not a new car smell, and it's not a bad smell, but it definitely needs to go away. The boys absolutely love it and constantly ask if we can go play in the van. For Jason, who took my 4Runner, this is the first time he is truck-less and possibly a tad bit sad about it.

On Sunday, we drove the new van to my mom's to celebrate her birthday. Chuck and Jason caught a few fish in their neighborhood pond that the kids all got to hold before throwing the fish back in the pond.

Look how Jace's feet don't even touch the driver's seat when Jason is driving (the middle row seats do move back in a Sienna)! Jason couldn't scoot the 4runner seat all the way back because he smashed Jace's legs which is one of the reasons we looked at a roomier minivan.

Kite Makers

2011-05-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

Jonathan wrote his first (he prefers to write just "Jon") and last name today all on his own. He also knows his phone number. We have some work to do to make sure we know all our letters and numbers well but he's definitely ready for pre-K!

Jason made a kite today using, among a few other things, trash bags! It flew great too until it took a nose dive and broke one of the corners. Thankfully he had brought along a backup kite to fly. On his way to the car to switch kites, a bicyclist asked where he could buy one of the kites. Hmmm....something to check into? LOL

I have to announce we now have twin baby boys in our family! My cousin Cory just found out he's the father of identical twins born on May 3rd. How exciting! Babies in our family are usually born in pairs. There are now 14 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren in our clan. We also have two cousins who got engaged this year so maybe our family will be growing again in a few years?!?!?

Summer Break Begins

2011-05-13T16:31:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wish I had hidden cameras everywhere so I could capture some of the things the boys say or do! In the car ride home from school, Jace was eating fruit snacks from his class and Jonathan really wanted the bag. After Jace finished, Jonathan says How did you eat all that? Jace says FAST! We have to remember Jace is not quite 2 1/2! The boys are constantly doing normal sibling stuff that drives me nuts, like fighting over the same Hot Wheels truck, even though we have about 80 other cars/trucks/vans/etc. Lately, Jace gets very concerned about Jonathan touching "his" toys if he has to go to the potty or something. He always says he doesn't want Jon Jon to touch his toys! He will actually bring the toys into the bathroom, paranoid the entire time that Jonathan will rush in to snatch them. Now, Jonathan does sometimes like to take toys from Jace and tease him or make him cry, which just makes Jonathan laugh and want to do it more. Yesterday was the last day of this school year, only five short (ha!) weeks until the summer session starts, the countdown is on! I'd like to pack up and spend the next couple of weeks on the beach, who's with us?!?!?

Batter up - I kept telling them their distance wasn't going to work. Can you find the ball in the photo? Check out Jace's stance! Jace might have been able to play wee ball, some of the kids on the opposing team can't be much older than him. Maybe it will work to have both boys on the same t-ball team???? You can also see the path the 4 wheelers have made in the back yard around the swing. Oh well, I'll sacrifice the yard for boys who are having fun on their toys!

Our Weekend

2011-05-10T19:39:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we decided to go to my inlaws lake house and see how spending the night would go with the boys. The inlaws were staying in town so it was a great time to take advantage of an empty 2 bedroom house right on the water. The boys had a good time and we checked out the new pontoon boat. I think they enjoyed throwing rocks into the lake best! I will have to admit we won't be spending the night anytime soon, especially if anyone else is there. The boys and I slept in the king bed in the master bedroom and it was definitely a rough night! Don't let that comment think we sleep soundly all night at home, because we don't. But, the boys sleep in their own beds for most of the night here and it is an adventure sharing a small space with Jace because he is not a sound sleeper. Our summer beach vacation is going to be interesting with our sleep arrangement!

Since my parents only live 30 minutes away from the lake house, they came over on Sunday with my niece Abigail so we could all enjoy the lake before heading to our big Mother's Day family event on Sunday afternoon. Chuck caught a couple fish for the kids off the boat dock. It was a great morning.

Sunday afternoon was spent at uncle Phillips house with most of our big family. The kids played in the hose and quickly made a huge mud hole. Of course that is where my boys hung out most of their time! They had so much fun playing with cousin Mason. I'm not sure Jace ever got into the hole but all the kids had a great time playing together and someone commented it was one of the best times that everyone got along without whining or fighting.

Monday was our last swimming lesson for this session so it was also ribbon week. A couple of times throughout the year, the swim school gives out ribbons to the students marking their accomplishments. We are continuing our lessons this summer. Jace still isn't a huge fan of going underwater. We definitely have a few things to work on but I am hoping we have plenty of opportunities to practice this summer!

Teeth, tball, and a spring program

2011-05-05T10:41:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, I took the boys to the zoo thinking it was a great idea to get out and enjoy the great weather. The boys were not in the best of moods and Jace started to ask if I would hold him and saying he was reading to go. He ran a fever off/on all weekend and I discovered he FINALLY has his top 2 yr molars coming in! Maybe that is the reason he's been a little pill lately???

We had our 2nd wee ball game on Tuesday. Go Dodgers!

Yesterday was the spring program at our preschool. Yee-haw! The boys did great and the cowboy theme was super cute! I'm so glad the music teacher passed out suckers; can you guess which color Jace got? Only one more week of school left.

Easter

2011-04-29T05:21:00.000-07:00

Hoppy Easter, just a tad late.....Easter was good. I think Jonathan would have eaten his entire basket of candy at one setting if I had let him! We'll just start calling him Mr Sweettooth. We spent the rainy Sunday driving to the in laws lake house and spending a few hours with Jason's family as well as my own. We invited Mom, Chuck, Sarah and Abigail and it was very nice having everyone in one place!

We had to go to the shoe store this week and get Jace a new pair of tennis shoes. He refused to wear his nice pair of shoes that I bought him because the sand and dirt from playgrounds would get in his shoes. Good job Mom for buying him a nice pair of shoes!

After multiple days of clouds and rain, yesterday was a GREAT day full of sunshine! The boys and I went to my favorite park. I was hoping to get a few cute pics and we also took a bag of peanuts to feed the crazy squirrels. Jonathan would only pose for ONE picture, on his terms in the spot he picked, and I had to be quick! He sat down and said Mom, here's your one picture!

Bye sweet baby, hello terrible 2s!

2011-04-22T12:03:00.000-07:00

The other morning, Jace had to go potty and whined that he didn't want daddy, only momma. So I told him NO whiny today! He said I not whining, I talking. He has definitely hit the terrible 2s phase in FULL FORCE! I told Jason our sweet little baby is all gone. I have been hit in the face this week after Jace threw a huge fit leaving the photographer's studio (for our Easter pic shot with live bunnies!) because I told him he could not have a (another - he'd already had one that morning after going to see the doctor) sucker. That ride home with enjoyable with a screaming crazy child sitting behind me! Then, he got made at me because I couldn't put his broken banana back together and bit me. I will definitely have to figure out what works best when Jace gets in this mode. Jason converted Jace's toddler bed to the full size bed and we got the new mattresses on Monday. Jace did have his toddler bed and our old queen size bed in his room and he would play games at bedtime and want to go from bed to bed. Anything to prolong going to sleep, right?!? He's doing pretty good in his big boy bed that he and Jonathan love the fact that their beds now look exactly the same. Well, almost, Jonathan noticed an extra set of screws on Jace's headboard where Jonathan has holes. HA! Jace has only fallen out once and hit his face on the side rail but I think he enjoys sleeping in his new bed, if the allergy cough would just go away and let him sleep!

We had a cookout on Sunday and invited a few family members over, as well as Jason's boss and his family. It was fun and I had a lot of people who were great with helping with the setup and especially the cleanup! My cousin Amy and baby Iris (well she's almost 1 1/2 but still the baby of our family!) were in town and it's always great to see them!

Jonathan had his first wee ball game Tuesday evening. Our team has 14 boys that are mainly 4s but we do have a couple of 3s. We played the only other team in town and they have 16 girls and boys. Our game is everyone gets to bat, then we switch positions, and we do all that twice. No outs are called and the parents are very involved in the game. We play every week for the next 6 weeks and I hope I can leave Jace at home with Grandma for at least one of the games so I don't have to worry what he is doing! Even Grandma told Jason Jace had been a "pistol". This was the same day we had our Easter picture taken and the huge meltdown with the face slap so by the time the game was over, this momma was D-O-N-E! Jason asked what Jace did and I could only say nothing, he was just being the "new" Jace. Let this be a warning for those who still have their sweet toddlers.....take full advantage of this precious time period!

Jace didn't go to school this week because of his awful cough so he missed out on his Easter egg hunts. On Wednesday, we went to school for Jonathan's egg hunt and I took extra eggs for Jace so he could play. Jace has always thought he's just as big as Jonathan and would never understand why he couldn't participate!
With friend Collin after the egg hunt:

On Thursday, Jace and I went with Jonathan's class on a field trip to the children's museum. We've never been and I have to admit, I was disappointed. It didn't have as much stuff as I expected and most of the stuff seemed worn out or didn't work well.

Back to being just a Mom

2011-04-14T19:55:00.000-07:00

Today was my last day of work for this tax season and I'm looking forward to not having to worry about the returns assigned to me. My boss already threw the question out there, wondering if I will come back next year. Hmmmm.....we will definitely have to talk about that MUCH later! Although I look forward to getting the neglected house back in order, I definitely don't look forward to doing all the actual work! What do I have planned my first week without work??? Three Easter egg hunts at school (two for Jonathan, one for Jace - since all the kids don't go every day, most activities are planned for two days during the week) and then taking both boys on Jonathan's class field trip on Thursday.

Jonathan's first wee ball game was scheduled for last Tuesday and we were so excited about it. Late Monday night, Jason got a message saying our game had been cancelled. I'm not surprised with the way they have handled everything else with wee ball. I guess the one other coach (part of the baseball organization also) told their team (Jon's classmate is on the other team) on Sunday afternoon they didn't want to get the kids burnt out playing the same team every week. We are only playing for eight weeks, I think the players would be fine with it. Back to the organization, I will definitely look at all the options when we sign up for Tball next year.

Jonathan's teacher has started writing Jon on most of his papers and school projects. I'm ok with it, but I'm wondering if she shortened or if he made the request? He's learning how to write his name and I would sometimes tell him just to spell Jon. He does practice on his "long name" as we call it at school but I think everything else just says Jon.

Jace has hit the terrible 2's. He will scream, cry, stomp his feet, throw himself down on the ground, etc when he doesn't get his way. So far, it's not extremely difficult to change his focus and time out does wonders most of the time. He also wants me to do just about everything for him, unless daddy is willing to do something Jace wants to do, like take him outside. Jace wants "momma to do it" when it comes to brushing his teeth, getting him out of the tub, putting on clothes, going to the potty, whatever. This power struggle has only just begun. I also forgot Jace calls the color orange "oranges". So cute, maybe I should focus on that when he's throwing a huge temper tantrum in my face!

A busy week

2011-04-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

I felt like we were extremely busy last week! Monday morning started off with swimming lessons, and then wee ball practice that evening. The boys and I have either run errands after school or played at the park, which means nothing gets done at home but the warmer weather has been wonderful! We played at the park with cousins Bridget, Laney, and Jack on Wednesday. We enjoyed the zoo with cousins Megan and Ramsey on Friday morning. I only have about a week left of work so I'm trying to squeeze in as many hours as possible. Jonathan asked to have his training wheels removed from his bike and is doing GREAT! He can ride his bike, he's just not fully confident yet. Little brother couldn't be outdone...he jumped on the little bike and decided it was time for him to become a bike rider also! Our tricycle will be looking for a new home soon! We also had our deck stained and it looks fabulous. You would never know which part was the "old" and which the "new". We hired Jason's cousin Harry and Jason helped so the work would be done as soon as possible.

With cousins Laney and Jack:

With cousin Ramsey:

I think they were "working" on their truck:

Goodbye March

2011-04-02T19:29:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe it is already April. Jason's 35th birthday was March 30 and it just might have been one of the worse ones for him. First, he's swamped at work as usual and also had to prepare for a big meeting that was the next day. On top of that, he had to leave work 3 hours early to pick the boys up from school so I could attend an uncle's funeral. THEN, he calls me to let me know Jace threw up ALL over him. Not a good day. We had to cancel our little birthday celebration of pizza and cake with his parents and our sisters. We did get to sneak a piece of cake without Jace knowing and I will have to say I followed the directions well and the cake was DELICIOUS! Back to Jace, we had a rough night and Thursday morning he was finally able to get a smidge hydrated and snack on a few crackers. Follow that up with myself getting sick on Friday afternoon and Jonathan waking up sick in the middle of the night Friday. Luckily, this mean tough bug takes a HUGE bite but quickly fizzles out. This morning, Jonathan and I were able to get somewhat hydrated and eat so we were well enough to soak up some sun in the backyard this afternoon!

Sleeping - for the first time in about four years, I have been sleeping back in our bedroom downstairs! I don't like the kids being upstairs "alone" but the three of us could not continue sleeping in a queen size bed any longer! I had to ask Jason to take over because I knew I would cave in too easily. A couple weeks ago, Jason was off work for spring break so he slept upstairs in the game room to make the boys go back to their own beds. I stayed downstairs. I had my doubts but the boys are doing GREAT and I definitely can not ever go back to co-sleeping!

To the Zoo

2011-04-02T19:22:00.000-07:00

March 23 - we went to the zoo with our friends Anne, Collin and Colton. After a fun-filled day at school, the boys were exhausted!

Wee Ball Practice

2011-03-22T18:58:00.000-07:00

We had the first wee ball practice yesterday. Jonathan did great, all the kids did great. They practiced catching and batting, then Jason ran them all around the bases telling them what each base was. I had my work cut out for me....I had to keep two two-year-olds (Jace and our friend Colton) away from the practice area. Colton's brother, Collin, is on the team, their dad, Doug, is assisting with coaching, and mom Anne works every Monday evening. Pictures to come.....

Today is my birthday. I wish I could post that I did something really cool and exciting, but no....I did meet Jason for lunch at Olive Garden and then took the boys to get yogurt after school. After dinner, we polished off the rest of the cake my family had brought over this past weekend. Woo-hoo for the birthday celebration! At least I was able to skip work today. And one more thing to highlight my day - my sister informed me I am just five short years away from being officially "middle-aged" in the medical world. Thanks sis!

First Sleepover

2011-03-20T19:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took the boys and Abigail to my parents house so the boys could spend the night for the first time. My mom said everything went well and the boys slept fine. I was so worried the night was going to be so rough with lots of crying. When I spoke to the boys on the phone this morning, Jonathan said he wasn't even ready to come home yet! I also realized Jace definitely turns on the waterworks for me at night and puts up a huge fuss just so I will give in and not make him sleep alone! Little stinker. They took the kids fishing at a pond and Jace caught his first fish! A good size too!

So what did we do???? A friend of mine, who shares my birthday, had plans to go to the casino with a few friends and invited us to celebrate. After finally checking out Dave & Buster's (which was very disappointing), enjoying a pizza at a new restaurant, we finally headed to the casino, a little earlier than planned. We had never been to the casino and it was very smoky and very loud. Are my ears STILL ringing this morning???? I realized I am definitely out of the party scene and would much rather have people over for a game night. It was nice to see a couple friends we haven't seen in awhile and my sister and cousin Jarrett also came. I think the next time the boys spend the night somewhere, I will definitely have a much calmer, quieter evening planned. If that makes me seem boring and old, I'm ok with it.

Mom and Chuck drove the kids to our house this afternoon and Sarah showed up with cake and ice cream! What a nice early birthday surprise!

Spring Break

2011-03-18T16:52:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day of Spring Break, and it seems like this week moved fast, for the most part anyways. Jason took the week off so I managed to squeeze in a few hours of work on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the boys and I had plans to go with Sarah and Abigail to visit family on our dad's side. A couple of cousins were there from out of state and we got to meet their sons, Merrick (2 next month) and Jude (9 months). It was a good trip, although poor Jace had an awful cough all day long! He woke up that night with a slight fever so I took him to see Dr G on Thursday. He did want to give Jace a breathing treatment because he sounded so wheezy but said he probably was suffering from allergies. It's going to be a rough spring for Jace I think.

Today, we went to the mall to get Jonathan tennis shoes for wee ball. His feet haven't grown since the last time we had him measured (Jan?) and he wears size 11.5/12. Jace went up half a size to a 9 but no longer needs wides, which shocked me!

Tomorrow, we're taking the boys and Abigail to my mom's house for thy boys first sleepover ever without me or Jason. Well, except for the time when my mom stayed at our house for three nights with Jonathan when Jace was born. I know the boys will survive, even if the night is extremely rough, but I can't help but be a smidge nervous about it. They live almost 2 hours away so it won't be easy to run and get them in the middle of the night, which I doubt my mom would call me anyways unless it was REALLY bad. Hopefully it goes well and this opens up a whole new door in our world for the boys to spend the night on occasion at Nonnie and Flappers house.

At Aunt Linda's - she always gets them something. I told her it's a bad habit to start since they will expect presents every time!

Happy St Patrick's Day!!! Jace did have a smidge of green on his shirt but I'm not sure why Jason wasn't participating!

Spring is springing...

2011-03-13T16:51:00.000-07:00

As it gets closer to the 1st day of spring, we were teased with wonderful 70ish degree weather this weekend. Perfect weather for playing outside with family! My cousin Amy and her family from Houston came to town for the weekend so I invited a few family members over to enjoy the nice afternoon.

Here's Jonathan & Jace with their cousins: Ramsey, Abigail, Addison, Jacob, and Iris

Today, Jace pointed out our kitchen window, yelling Look Look!! We hurried to look out the window, as if to see one of the many deer we see ALL the time. We didn't see any wildlife but Jace still sounded excited and kept telling us to look. I finally had to ask him, look at what? He said popcorn! Popcorn is out there! He's right - there is a tree with white flowers (doesn't look quite like a Bradford pear, but maybe it is?) among all the other thick brown woods behind our house.

Batter Up!

2011-03-09T12:41:00.000-08:00

Where does the time go? It's definitely harder to keep up with the blog when I don't have much time to myself. I don't know how moms work full-time. I feel like I'm in a whirlwind just working while the boys are at school!

We had our first wee ball meeting last night to meet the kids and collect the money that needs to be paid for the team to play. Jason was hoping to tell the parents more information on our games and practice but he's still waiting to hear from the league organizer. There are 15 boys on our team and all but one showed up, with all but one of those paying the $20 due. I'd say that was pretty good! We are supposed to start weekly games in April so hopefully Jason will know all the details soon.

On Monday, Jace and Jonathan both started different swimming classes. Jace moved up to the next level (which meant changing times) and we had to change Jonathan to a different time so that meant he had to get a new teacher and new kids in his class, which I thought was going to be a disaster. Since starting the weekly lessons in January, Jonathan has thrown a fit every Monday morning and usually throws at least one fit during class. To my surprise, he had the best class EVER on Monday! He didn't throw a single fit and really seemed to like the "new" class.
Their new goggles - apparently the goggles are also needed to watch cartoons!

The boys are doing great with learning letters and numbers. Jonathan can almost spell out his entire first name correctly and the other day I found a paper with Jon written on it.

Our sleeping arrangement continues to be ridiculous and the boys are still sleeping with me upstairs. I think I need to recruit Jason for next week and have him help me deal with the nightly crying from Jace. Next week is spring break and Jason took the week off. Maybe I'll have a better report soon!

This is how Jace usually eats his quesadilla, obviously I did put all the pieces back into a circle. He also eats his sandwiches that I cut into 1/4 the same way. Hmmm....what does this mean????

I had wanted to get a necklace with the boys names on it for quite some time and finally came across a 20% off coupon to use at a local store. I swapped out the pearl for the December birthstone charm, and then decided I didn't like the charm either. Now I have my aquamarine Jason bought me for my birthday one year on the necklace. The only problem is, I don't like my necklace as much as I thought I would but I still plan on wearing it frequently.

Another ribbon, but it was Jace's turn!

2011-03-01T19:35:00.000-08:00

Jace finished his first swimming session and received his ribbon yesterday! The swim school has certain milestones students have to reach in order to get more ribbons. Jonathan is still in his level 1 class that he will be in until May but as he completes the steps, he gets a ribbon during ribbon week, which i think is the last week of the month? Jace will be starting the next class on Monday and will remain in the flippers class until May. I'm so proud of both of them for how long they have come since January!

Yesterday as we were driving to Wendy's after swimming class (I know, it's a bad habit we have started but we don't get back home until close to 11:30 - and things will change next week since we are moving our swimming lessons up by 30 minutes), we were behind a truck with a 4-wheeler in the back. The boys were very interested in it and Jace decided the 4 wheeler was "daddy size". I'm real big into telling Jace he needs something in Jace size or to take small Jace size bites.

A few things

2011-02-27T19:52:00.000-08:00

When I picked up Jace on Wednesday, the first thing he and his friend Colton mentioned was a playdate at our house. Let's remember both boys are only two! Then, as soon as we go outside to get the other kids, Colton runs up to Jonathan and says something about coming over, so then we had the four year olds getting excited about it! I guess they all had a great time on Saturday and wanted to play again so guess what we did on Wednesday after school?????

The school finally had their Valentine's Day parties on Thursday (had to be postponed because of all the snow!). All the classes were together in one big room and I was extremely glad both boys tables were close together.

Friday morning was a fun play date with our cousins Laney and Jack. Then, I had to work Saturday morning since I missed Wednesday due to a doctor's appointment, that was rescheduled due to snow! Those huge snow storms really messed up my week! Saturday evening Jace finally smacked his head on our fireplace. Since having little kids around, I've always known our fireplace is a HUGE hazard and I was just waiting for someone to really get hurt. Jonathan has scratched his face on it but has never hit it too hard. On Saturday, Jace was spinning around in the living room. I had told him to quit but went to get the phone when he smacked his head, probably due to being dizzy. I think it could have been MUCH worse but he did get his head behind his ear pretty good. Not enough to go to the doctor but the cut looks awful. This injury added to the bruise he got on his face Friday night from jumping off the ottoman and hitting Jason's knee. At least I have one cautious child......do I need to state that it is NOT Jace?!?!?!?

I do have to share a special thing my kids have that they don't even realize yet. They have a great dad. We signed Jonathan up to play Wee Ball (which is a laid back intro to T-ball for 4 year olds) but were told we might not get to play since no one wanted to coach. Jason stepped up and is taking on a team, along with the help of his (retired) dad and our friend Doug, who is Colton's and Collin's dad. Surely between the three, our practices and games should be covered. We will play on Tuesday evenings from April until June. I just hope we all have a lot of fun. It's definitely going to be a busy summer!

Swimming Lessons Ribbon

2011-02-21T11:44:00.000-08:00

Work has been a little better and I really didn't mind going to work on Saturday to make up for not going in on Thursday because of a doctor's appointment. At least I can wear jeans on Saturday. :) Week 1 down, 8 more to go.....

The weather was great on Saturday and our friends came over to play. The boys even let Collin and Colton drive the 4-wheelers! I think they all had the most fun digging in the dirt.

On Sunday, the boys practiced hitting golf balls with dad in the back yard. Then, we had a nice visit with Nonnie and Flapper (my parents) who brought Valentine Day gifts of NERF guns and a Wii game. There are currently NERF bullets on my picture frames on the fireplace mantel, thanks to Jason....not the boys....

Jonathan received his first ribbon at swimming class today! He is really excited about it and his teacher said he did really well today. We only have one more class of Jace's session and we will be signing up for the next one. We are definitely going to be ready for the pool this summer!

Officially it's winter

2011-02-18T10:59:00.000-08:00

It will officially be winter for another month but we are getting a tease of spring-like weather this week. On Tuesday after school, the boys played in the last pile of snow we still had in the yard. Their fingers and toes were frozen, but they didn't seem to mind.

Yesterday, the weather was fabulous! Jason came home in time to go with me to pick the boys up from school. They were excited to see him since he's been gone since Monday. We spent the rest of the day outside and thought it was a great idea when Jonathan wanted to eat on the deck. It's going to be difficult if we have to endure more cold days this season but I do have to remind myself it is still officially winter.

What a day

2011-02-15T19:46:00.000-08:00

The boys and I got up this morning around 7, which I would usually see as a bonus, but that only left us about an hour before we had to leave the house. Breakfast, preparing lunches, and getting the three of us dressed in an hour is doable, but tough. We barely made it to our 8:20 appointment to enroll Jonathan into the pre-k program that starts in August. They tested him while I filled out the small mountain of paperwork and said he was a quiet sweet boy and ready for school. Yay! Our pre-k program is all day so Jonathan is basically starting school next year. After signing WAY too many papers, we were off to drop the boys off at their preschool. Lucky for me, we had a smooth and easy drop off so I could go to work. It definitely was a tough day at work even though I only worked about 4 hours. Some things are familiar but I'm still having to deal with the frustrations of starting a "new" job since it has been so long since I worked and some of the technology, although cool, has changed. Then, it was time to pick the boys up from school and go to the grocery store, which turned into one of our worst shopping experiences! I'm sure part of it was because I was tired but I had to fight them both through the entire store. Today I had a glimpse into the life of a single working mom and it is definitely tough. I am very lucky to not have to work and think I will be looking forward to April 14, which will be the last day of my contract, unless I collapse sooner. Tomorrow will only be school for the boys and another fun-filled day of work for me. It should go much much smoother.

Ready for a dog?

2011-02-09T13:10:00.000-08:00

Um.....NO! Jonathan woke up on Monday focused on wanting a dog for some reason. We haven't had a pet since Jonathan was 1 and he doesn't remember our dog. He kept asking me and Jason if he could have a dog, why couldn't he have one, etc. He told me he was four and could take care of the dog all by himself. I asked him how he would pay for all the things a dog needs and his solution is, I would have to give him the money he needs. My mom called to see what to get the boys for Valentine's Day and I told her Jonathan wanted money so he could buy a d-o-g. Jonathan came running into the room and said I'm going to go look for money to buy a d-o-g. I asked him what that spelled and he said DOG! His looking for money means getting money from our change bucket. Hopefully he forgets about wanting a dog because he won't be getting one anytime in the near future. I told him I definitely would not get a dog or talk about until both he and Jace are sleeping in their own beds all night. He then said he would try, but later changed it to wanting to sleep with me in my bed.

Jace is doing so much better but still has a runny nose and awful cough. We took Jonathan to his swimming lessons but skipped doing our class. Of course Jonathan threw a fit because I made him go and Jace whined because he wanted to get into the water.

Playing with daddy during the Superbowl -

Gifts from Singapore - Jason was in Singapore for the Chinese New Year and bought us these. Our family was born in the years of the dog, dragon, and rat.

Jonathan desperately needs a haircut and we now refer to the back of his head as the birds nest!

Plus 1 - Abigail played with us yesterday since school was canceled for the 6th straight day due to snow and Sarah had to start her new class. GO SARAH!

Yes....no......maybe......

2011-02-04T16:57:00.000-08:00

Jace's new phrase is yes, no, maybe when I ask him a question. He's even managed to tell me this once yesterday with a slight grin even though the poor little fella doesn't feel well at all.

We've had quite the adventure today, finally venturing out for the first time since Monday. Jace hasn't felt well since Monday so we took him to the urgent care place in town. He has a slight case of pneumonia so he got a breathing treatment (try #2 was successful since he fell asleep), two shots, antibiotic prescription, as well as an inhaler. AN INHALER! How in the world am I going to get this child to use an inhaler?!?! This is why I do not like it when we can't see our regular doctor (who's office has been closed all week due to the snow) or another pediatrician. I think doctors who don't specialize in children don't know what it is like to really deal with children.

So since I mentioned the snow....and we saw more snowflakes coming down today, unfortunately. Our area has hit a new snow record and it has almost totally shut down everything! The roads are terrible (I got sideways today in my 4x4 going downhill) and the temps are freezing so all this snow (over a foot) is here to stay for awhile. It was pretty and cool to see that much snow but it's time for it to go away.

Jason left on January 21st for Singapore and was scheduled to be back home on February 1st, which was the day of the blizzard!!! He got stuck in Dallas, after traveling for almost 24 hours. On Thursday, the 3rd, he finally rented a 4x4 and drove home. It took about twice as long, but he made it.

The other day, we waited until Jace attempted to take a nap (we definitely haven't been sleeping well with all the coughing and congestion) and let Jonathan go outside. He lasted about five minutes!

Spring Tease

2011-01-29T05:33:00.000-08:00

I know years from now, one of the things I'll miss is the conversations between the boys while they are young and wonder why I didn't constantly carry my video camera around with me at all times:
*this morning Jace to Jonathan: you crankypants, you cry all the time
*the other night after taking a bath, Jace kept telling Jonathan that he was the big guy and Jace was the little guy.

Photos from our week - Jace wanted to go fast!

Jonathan playing at the park with his friend Collin after school.

We had a bit of a heat wave yesterday with temps in the 70s! Granddaddy stopped by to finally see the boys ride their 4-wheelers and play a few games. Jonathan asked why he wasn't going to play golf!

Playing in their favorite dirt pile in the front yard.

A workin' mom

2011-01-25T19:06:00.000-08:00

So it begins...almost.....I had my first official day back at work today for a couple hours of procedure training. It was weird since I haven't worked a tax season since 2006 but thankfully a few of the programs and procedures seemed somewhat familiar, which I can't say about the staff. A few people are still there but as far as my (tax) department goes, my only remaining co-worker left is now the manager. My first day of tax work will be on February 15th and I will only be working until April 14 for a few hours a week while the boys are at school. As I was getting ready this morning (and realizing I'm going to have to be a little more motivated in the morning!), I told Jonathan I was going to work today. He asked is daddy going to come home and take care of us? I think Jonathan was a little upset dad wouldn't be picking him up from school. I did manage to make time this morning to get on the treadmill and I could hear someone going upstairs. Jonathan shows up a few minutes later and he had dressed himself. He had on a pair of tan khakis and an orange/gray shirt with cars on it, which is one of his favorite shirts. It is definitely not an outfit I would have matched together but I thought it was better to let him wear clothes that didn't quite match instead of fighting about it. I had asked him if he wanted to put on jeans, which of course he didn't. Before kids, I never understood why parents didn't seem to care if their children looked presentable to strangers, and I think I have definitely become one of "those" parents. I usually refer to us as being the crazy hair family since Jonathan desperately needs a haircut (he usually has some crazy mess going on in the back), Jace has a mop of hair that is getting darker I might add, and I more often than not, have a bad hair day. I now have a completely different view on seeing a child wearing crazy clothes or with crazy hair.

1st Sleepover

2011-01-24T19:42:00.000-08:00

This was the best sleepover ever! My little (second? once removed? My cousin's son)cousin told me this on our way downstairs after he spent the night on Saturday. It was the first time we had someone stay the night, and it was Jacob's first official sleepover as well. I told him staying at his Nana's didn't count. Jason was out of town so it was me vs the boys. My boys were in rare form and ALL over Jacob the entire time he was here and the boys did get a little rowdy at times. Jacob mentioned he was trying to defend himself several times. Jacob (he's a very calm, laid back 7 year old) was very good with the boys and even taught them a few things about basketball shooting and defense. Jacob was the perfect guest and easily went to bed at his usual time of 8:30 and didn't make a peep until 7 the next morning. Jacob and Jonathan were supposed to sleep on Jonathan's bedroom floor but Jonathan only made it until about midnight. I told him he needed to go back to his room with Jacob, but he wanted nothing more than to lay in his usual small spot next to me. Hmmm....how much longer is this crazy nightly routine with my boys going to continue???? I do think we aren't quite ready for a true sleepover. I asked Jacob when do the boys get to come to YOUR house? Then, I told him having both would probably be a little much for his parents so maybe we'd just send one. Jacob said he'd take Jace because Jonathan is too whiny, like his sister (who's 5). I'm glad Jonathan wasn't paying attention to our conversation!

Playing the Wii - my boys have definitely become video game junkies in the short month since I got the Wii for Christmas!

I think I mentioned Jace is definitely changing lately. He's becoming more aggressive while he's playing and is starting to fight back with Jonathan. I'm finally starting to hear from Jonathan that Jace is after him or has done something to him. Truth be told, Jace is going to be a rough little kid. I doubt I will have to worry at all about him in almost any situation.

We had swimming lessons again today. Jonathan started out with a huge fit because he didn't want to go under the water. After class, Jonathan showed me he COULD go under water! His teacher said Jonathan had jumped in the pool and gone under a few times. I never would have guessed Jonathan would have made this much progress in only four classes! Later he told me he doesn't want to wear his ring anymore either! Last year, he finally felt comfortable enough to float around a pool in his ring. He has never worn floaties. I know we'll have a swimmer by summertime!

Snow Day

2011-01-21T16:10:00.000-08:00

School was canceled on Thursday due to snow and the boys were begging to go outside and play! Jason came home a smidge early so I didn't have to play with the kids in the cold. Yay! I bought Jace a new pair of smaller gloves but he still had a tough time keeping his hands covered up. Next year, I will definitely have snow boots and gloves that fit and stay on!

Why does staying home seem so much worse when you feel like you are trapped at home??? The boys and I made sugar cookies yesterday afternoon to help pass the time. They probably didn't have too much fun since I wouldn't let them make a HUGE mess when it was time to decorate their dinosaurs and trucks. I had fun making name cookies, which I let them eat this morning after I made them pose for a picture!

I went over our uppercase letter flashcards with Jace and he only got TWO wrong! He's going to be reading and counting, but we are definitely lacking in our knowledge of colors. It seems I quit talking about colors once Jonathan knew his at age 2 and Jonathan seems to have a harder time now on his colors. I have some work to do on teaching my kids what they need to know. I finally signed Jonathan up for T-ball today. I hoped one of his classmates would be starting a team but the teacher didn't know of any so we will just get stuck where they put us. The boys are definitely changing so much lately, especially Jace. He's becoming more ornery and fighting back with Jonathan. He wants Jonathan to do more stuff with him, like go downstairs together in the morning or play with their toys. It is cute to hear him say Jon, come on.

Tuesday Tidbits

2011-01-19T11:00:00.000-08:00

*Jonathan did GREAT in his swimming class yesterday, after whining that he didn't want to go at all. His teacher said he even went under water, which totally shocked me!

*Since Abigail was out of school for MLK, my sister and niece came over yesterday. I showed them video from our family vacation back in June. We were all on the balcony and a few of us were throwing bread to the hungry seagulls. Abbie kept hearing herself talk and was all focused on needing to see what she was wearing! Really?!?! You are seven! I told her she was a little diva! I had showed her another video when she was over one day and she concentrated on her shoes.

*Jason's sister and her kids came over Sunday afternoon. The boys absolutely LOVE playing with cousin James (he's 14) and he seems to enjoy playing with them as well. Maybe he is just happy to get out of his house with all girls?

*Jason said something to Jace the other day and Jace told daddy, I'm not a big guy, I little guy.

*Jason will be out of town and thought it would be a good idea for all of us to go out to dinner on Saturday. We've really tried to stick to our budget plan and not spend so much money at "wally world". Confession - the overspending is usually ALL me. :) My kids are not the best company at restaurants so I suggested we call his parents and see if the boys could come over. We enjoyed a quiet dinner date.

*My sleeping arrangement has gone straight to the pooper again. Somehow (and I realize I only have myself to blame) the boys and I are back to sleeping in the spare bed in Jace's room. To make matters worse, for the past week or longer, Jace wakes up before 10 and is hysterical until I hold him. This is when I go back to sitting in front of the TV with a heavy child on my chest and continue watching my show until we both go to bed. I was allowing this to go on since he had a sinus infection, then a cold, and now that he is better, I have no excuse except just complete laziness for letting this routine continue. I keep threatening myself that I will start sleeping back downstairs in my own bed and the boys will just have to deal with it. To be continued....

Let it Snow

2011-01-11T09:31:00.000-08:00

I am definitely not a big fan of being cold and playing out in the snow. I know I used to love it as child, but I would be willing to give up a few things if I never had to go through another cold winter or even see snow. Yesterday, we saw our first snow of the season. We didn't get much but the boys were extremely excited about it and begged all day to go outside. Luckily, Jason came home a smidge early and they all went to play in the snow. I'm not sure who had more fun. Jason was throwing snow onto the arbor and the boys thought it was really funny:

Poor Jace - we couldn't keep the gloves on his hands. I meant to buy the boys snow boots and adequate snow gear in the slight chance they would get to play in the snow.

My mom and Abigail came over on Saturday and we just had to let the kids ride the 4-wheelers in the cold. They all took turns driving the slower truck so everyone got a chance to ride fast!

Jace gave up his security blanket all on his own. He quit asking for it so I quit offering it and I think it's been a week since we've mentioned his "blanket". Jace's attitude seems to be changing into the stage of the terrible 2's. Jonathan is still in cranky 4 year old mode so I am not looking forward to two with bad attitudes. Look what Jace did:

Ha! That was our art project when Jonathan got to go to the store with daddy. Jace happily destroyed my masterpiece! He knows all the letters in his name now and has told me once that means Jace. Jace had his first official swimming lesson on Monday. He did really well and I am convinced he will be an excellent swimmer. He seems like the huge kid in a class with a 16 month old girl and 10 month old Cody, who is our friend's baby. Jonathan was not excited about the thought of going to his class and told me at home that he wasn't going to do it. He changed his mind at the last second when I told him he had to sit on our towel while he watched Jace(with me) do his class. Jonathan threw a little fit that lasted for the first few minutes of his class but then seemed to do ok. There is now another boy in his class. I really hope he wants to learn how to swim. My advice for new moms - enroll in swimming lessons as early as possible. I know everyone will not like the water or have much interest in learning how to swim but I do think Jonathan would be a great swimmer by now if I had enrolled him at an early age. He likes the water but we never did much swimming until last summer when he was already 3 1/2.

Tidbits from our week

2011-01-07T19:18:00.000-08:00

The boys started swimming lessons on Monday, well, Jace's 1st class was orientation. Jonathan was the only student in his class and his teacher thought he did well for his very first class. I'm worried I have not done the right thing with him by starting swimming lessons at a much younger age. Kids under age 3 have to do the parent participation class so I am not at all worried about Jace, who doesn't have much fear of the water anyways.

I let the boys ride their 4 wheelers on Thursday, until Jonathan's battery died. As soon as Jace got on his, he kept saying go faster so I unlocked the high speed and he was definitely a little dangerous! He almost rammed into Jonathan and then rode his 4 wheeler in the flower bed in the back yard. At least the faster speed prevented him from getting stuck on the hills. I knew it was a matter of time since he figured out Jonathan's went faster.

It's been a little rough this week for Jace. He was on antibiotics for a sinus infection and as if that wasn't enough, he came down with a nasty cold on Monday. I kept him home from school this week.

Jace is doing well on his potty training although we haven't had one accident free day yet. Besides naps and at night, he hasn't worn a diaper or pullup during the day since we started potty training on December 20th.

Bought Jonathan a new pair of shoes, size 11 1/2 shoes, which my mom thinks is HUGE. It's funny because the saleslady brought out a pair of shoes that is the exact model that Jace just got out of! The boys love to match things and we had to come home to compare Jon's new shoes with Jace's old shoes. The new StrideRite shoes were on sale for $20 so it was definitely a good day to shop! The only problem is, the new shoes really make it noticeable to me that Jonathan is quickly outgrowing the length in his size 4 jeans.

I booked our vacation plans today. We have reserved a beachfront condo and will be going on vacation with some of my family members. I know it is going to be a blast to spend the day on the beach with all the kids.

Happy New Year 2011!

2011-01-02T07:11:00.000-08:00

Jace is starting to learn his letters with the help of a DVD I actually bought for Jonathan, who doesn't have as much interest in learning his letters. Jason asked Jonathan if he also wanted to learn his letters but he said No. Jonathan did surprise me and write Jon all by himself so hopefully he'll want to learn more letters soon. Jace sat in front of our TV this week and picked out letters S,O, and Y. I pointed to those same letters on my shirt and he told me what they were, and then amazed me when he pointed to the "K" and "W". I'm going to work on the letters in his name next. I've never heard him say J but if I show him one, he'll say "me". Jonathan has had a tad more interest in learning his numbers and knows the number 4. I did realize we need to watch what say a little more carefully since Jonathan said Jacey is really smart! I'm not saying I don't agree that it is totally true, I just don't want Jonathan to think he's not smart just because we aren't constantly saying it about him, once he knows what smart means.

Jace is doing wonderful on potty training and now says uh-oh when you'd better get him to the bathroom. Crazy to think Jonathan wasn't potty trained until the beginning of this year (I know, a tad later being 3, but he didn't have any interest at all) and now we are working with Jace.

The new year's celebration came and went and the excitement of our celebration was a trip to the mall. Dillards is one of Jason's favorite stores and they have a huge sale on January 1st so he got a few pants and socks for work. We didn't even stay up until midnight to ring in the new year.

Last Thursday, the weather was a little warmer than normal so we let the boys ride their new toys. Daddy thought it was a good idea to let them ride on the hills in the front yard but Jace isn't heavy enough to keep his moving. Jace did figure out Jonathan's isn't locked out of the fast speed and he drove Jonathan's around in the backyard. I'm sure it won't be long before Jace wants to be able to drive his faster all the time. Jonathan was so happy to ride his 4-wheeler!

4-wheelin'

2010-12-26T19:18:00.000-08:00

Jace finally figured out how to do a somersault all on his own. My aunt Linda gave us a gymnastics mat and wedge but until today, Jace could never quite do a somersault on his own. He was so proud of himself, he kept doing it over and over and over. Of course Jonathan had to do one also and say his was better. That's one of Jonathan's latest things, saying he can do things better or faster. I always tell him it's not a race, especially when it comes to eating!

It was very cold today (in the 30s) but we decided to let the boys try out their new 4-wheelers. I don't think they minded the cold too much. We thought Jace couldn't touch the pedal but he had no trouble at all driving his. Jace's 4 wheeler is locked out of the top 5mph speed so he can only go 2 mph. Jason quickly had to unlock Jonathan's and let him have the full speed. Since we already have a Power Wheels truck, Jonathan is a very good driver. I am so glad grandma and granddaddy got Jonathan and Jace each a 4-wheeler. At one point, Jason took Jace off his and asked if he was done. He said No and got right back on. These new toys are going to be so much fun!

Christmas Celebrations

2010-12-26T07:30:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas Eve at Jason's parents house this year. The grandparents bought each of the boys a really cool Power Wheels 4-wheeler that I think they are going to LOVE! Jace isn't quite tall enough to reach the pedal but we knew they each needed their own. The 4-wheelers have a 130 pound weight limit so we will definitely never need another power vehicle! Granddaddy forgot I told him new batteries needed to charge for awhile before riding but it didn't matter since it was too wet and cold to go outside. The boys also got large trucks (a trash truck and cement truck) from Aunt Marilyn they really enjoy too. Boys and their cars and trucks.....Jason got an unlimited golf membership for 2011. I told him he could play everyday, he just needs to bundle up two little people to take along. :)

Jonathan was done taking pictures:

Christmas morning was spent at our house and Jace lost interest in opening up all the gifts. Jonathan had been saying all week that Santa was bringing him a race car. We never quite figured out what he was talking about but he didn't seem upset that he didn't get one. Then we headed to my parents house to spend the rest of the day. Abigail was so excited when we got there, she started helping the boys open up their presents. We all had a GREAT Christmas with our families and we all got WAY too much stuff! Now it's time to recoup from eating all the goodies for the past two days and find places for all the boys new toys.

Santa cookies and a house

2010-12-24T06:16:00.000-08:00

We made our first gingerbread house yesterday, or at least Jason did with the boys and cousin Abigail. I just took pictures and waited until we could clean off our table and make our sugar cookies. Yesterday was also the first time I made sugar cookie dough so we could decorate our own cookies, and I think it went pretty well. The kids had fun so that is all that matters. Then I made two more batches of cookies (different flavors of course) to take to our parents house for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so we have TONS of cookies to eat!

Annual Christmas Party

2010-12-22T10:57:00.000-08:00

Jason got back home on Friday (after being gone since Monday) and we went to his department's Christmas party at Charleston's. A couple coworkers asked how I liked Jason home more and I mentioned how his scheduled isn't all that different. It is true, he has still been traveling a lot although now he seems to be home on the weekends. The party went better than we had expected and the boys had fun playing with aunt Sarah and cousin Abigail. Jonathan was very focused on us being back home before he went to bed. One of his new things is asking how long it will take for us to get somewhere, or get anything done, or how long it will be before someone comes over. When I prepared him for our "date", I told him we would be back home at his bedtime.

On Sunday, we had our annual family Christmas party with my mom's side. It was a lot of fun and the kids usually have a blast playing with all the other kids. They even got to take a short ride around the ranch to see the cows.

Our grandmother wanted everyone to take a family photo so we had my cousin's boyfriend take our photo. I thought it was a great idea since the last photo we took was 8-9 years ago and it has about 5 people that are no longer in the family plus it was before all the great grandkids. Here we all are, minus a few who couldn't make it. Our child (Jonathan of course) was the only one who threw a HUGE fit about taking the photo but Daddy finally grabbed him and made him sit in the photo. I guess he showed us by turning his back to the camera (lower left).

Jonathan has been working on spelling his name recently, well I have focused on the shorter Jon, even though he doesn't know most of his letters yet. I had ordered a learning DVD on letters and Jace still enjoys watching it more than Jonathan. Since we are on Christmas Break, I decided to try potty training, which we started on Monday afternoon. Jace did great the first day, going to the potty every time Jonathan did. Yesterday was a disaster. I think we might be making a smidge progress today. Jace really enjoys flushing the toilet and I've told him he can flush it after he uses it. So, he has told me once it was pee pee time and actually went. A sleep update - the boys are doing great!

Sleep Training 101

2010-12-14T18:30:00.000-08:00

So I finally did it and found the willpower to make my boys sleep in their OWN beds! Well, I did have to recruit Jason for support so we camped out upstairs in the game room last Saturday (where I am still sleeping). I'm happy to report the boys have slept in their own beds in their own rooms every night since then. Jonathan is doing great, considering he just turned four and has rarely slept by himself all night. So far he is still getting out of bed at least once but easily goes right back to his bed. Jace is a different story and is getting up 2-3 different times at night, and then cries and fights being put back in his own bed a couple times before going back to sleep. Overall, I will have to say it's going MUCH better than I expected....for ALL three of us.....I thought surely I would give in and I've only had Jason's help one night since he had to go out of town early Monday morning.

We had our first sugar cookie making/decorating experience at my cousin Erin's house on Saturday. Erin has been doing this on the Saturday of the parade for a few years. It was a little chaotic for me but the boys really enjoyed it. The boys and I are going to try it again at our house next week and hopefully cousin Abigail can join us since her social calendar was already booked at the same time as Erin's party.

Not wanting to have much to do with Santa at mom and Chuck's work Christmas party:

Treats & Shots

2010-12-10T18:47:00.000-08:00

As we drove past the high school football stadium today, Jonathan said he wanted to play football because he's four now....and he's tough. He kept saying he could take down the little guys AND the big guys. My focus will be to deter my boys from football; that sport is way too rough for this momma!

Another year.....another annual visit to our pediatrician.....Here were the boys stats from yesterday: Jonathan weighed 43 pounds and 43 inches tall, which was in the 95th percentile for both. Jace weighed 32 pounds and 36 inches tall, which was the 90th percentile for both. Their numbers are a little off since I didn't take their shoes off. I was thinking about it and then the nurse never said anything. We didn't have any major concerns and Dr. G said his usual statements of how well the boys are doing and everything seems great. Well, he did ask if everyone was eating and sleeping ok so I had to tell him definitely not! I told him the boys were sleeping with me and none of us (except daddy who sleeps in his bed downstairs....alone....never hears a thing) are getting adequate sleep. He said basically what I expected - it's normal, we all go through it, and the best gift I can give is to let the boys learn how to go to sleep on their own. I think we have that part down since going to bed isn't a huge issue, the issue is staying in bed all night. I'm still searching for the will power to make the boys stay in their own beds all night. I also told him the boys don't eat vegetables at all and sometimes they will only eat bread at dinner. He said they seem healthy and not to worry about it but to keep offering them different choices. I also found out Jonathan still does have the tube in his right ear although Dr G said it will probably fall out soon. The boys each got one shot although Jonathan could have received three more to get all his shots current before he starts school. We're hoping to enroll Jonathan in the Pre-K school program next year. I will probably regret having to take him back to Dr G and torture him with shots but I thought that sounded like the better idea at the time. Jonathan was already crying when he realized the nurse came back to do something to him so I made him go first. Jace only cried when he was poked with the needle and had quit crying by the time I put his clothes back on. Everyone was happy again since the nurse brought suckers.

The boys also both had their Christmas parties at school on Thursday. I dropped off our snack (I signed up for cheese sticks) in Jonathan's room and went on to Jace's room. They were already enjoying their treats and had so many goodies on their plate, I didn't even open the snacks I brought. Jace didn't even eat half of his plate, partly because he wanted down as soon as I got there. I did leave one of our snacks for the class to use on a different day. I have no problem with the kids enjoying their treats but I must be the only one who thinks the kids get WAY too much stuff at the parties.

Final (professional) pictures taken for this year

2010-12-07T19:08:00.000-08:00

I picked up the boys school picture proofs today and both did great on picture day. Jace actually took photos on both days (not all kids go every day so the photographer was there on two days that we are at school) but Jonathan just did one day. When I told him it was the 2nd picture day, he asked if it was going to take as long so we told his teacher he didn't have to take pictures if he didn't want to. Now I have to decide between 6 good pictures of Jace. I kind of wish some of the pictures weren't so cute!

After school today, we had our final professional photo studio appointment at Picture People. For some reason I feel a need to document every thing that I can of Jace while he's still a tot since there will definitely not be any more babies added to our family. I also noticed my portrait club membership expired today and wanted to take one more advantage of the discounts. I was worried about our session since the boys have taken SOOOO many photos lately and both were cranky after school. The teachers told me Jace had been cranky all day at school. Hmmm...my guess is he's cutting his 2 year molars or he's exhausted since we aren't getting any good adequate sleep. Jonathan was cranky because he fell asleep in the car, which is usually what happens when he's in the car for too long in the afternoon. To my surprise, the boys took a few really great photos and I'm glad we kept our appointment. It was totally worth it!

Big Birthday Weekend

2010-12-05T18:52:00.000-08:00

On Friday, the boys and I went to my sister's house for Abigail's 7th birthday (1st slumber)party with her friends. Abigail really wanted the boys to stop by and what kind of aunt would I be if I didn't go see her?!?!? We went early and took cousin Addison with us, who was invited for the sleep over. As soon as Abbie's friends started showing up, it got a little late and a little "girl" crazy for us, so it was time to go. The boys did have a great time playing with the balloons and all Jonathan focused on was the cake of course!

We had the boys birthday party at our house on Saturday. It's hard to believe Jonathan is 4 and Jace is 2. We invited over all our cousins we play with and our school friends, Colton and Collin. It's nice having a toy room upstairs to send all the kids too! I never went up there and I'm pretty sure some of the parents cleaned up the room for us. Didn't you???? The room was WAY too clean after 9 kids had been in there playing. Jonathan and Jace both received so many wonderful new toys. We really appreciate everyone who came to celebrate with us!

On Sunday, the boys were invited to my mom and stepdads work Christmas party, complete with gifts from Santa. Jonathan got a guitar and Jace got an animal safari truck. Great gifts! We always seem to get really good gifts from the party. We had a lot of fun playing all the games and even played our first round of miniature golf as a family. I think all three birthday kids had a great time on their birthday.

December 3rd - All the cousins at Abigails party:

December 4th - party pics at our house:

The birthday kids enjoying their cupcakes and ice cream - Abbie was so tired after her slumber party that she slept most of the time they were over on Saturday. I had my other niece's taking pictures for me and I forgot to get a good picture of Abigail with the boys or a good picture of Sarah and Abbie! They also had to leave early since Abigail was in the Christmas parade with her Girl Scouts troop.

1st Christmas Program

2010-12-02T20:35:00.000-08:00

The boys were in their first Christmas program at their preschool last night. Jace's class went first and they were supposed to sing Jingle Bells. Jace did a great job of shaking his bells but I didn't see any tots singing. Jace did get a few laughs from the crowd when he tried to climb up on the set. He finally noticed daddy and came to get us after the song. I took him back to his section crying and by then, all the tots were crying so the teachers took them back out of the chapel. I guess it was to be expected - a chapel full of people and the tots couldn't go to their parents once they saw them. Jonathan did a great job too and we were so happy to see him singing and clapping with the group. All the kids were back on stage for the last song and then it was a MAD HOUSE when the music teacher announced everyone could come get their kids. I definitely think they should have let parents of the tots go first. I had a very difficult time getting to the other side of the stage to get Jace who was happily sitting on the steps. We took a few pictures that didn't turn out too well and tried to videotape the program among the growing number of parents who came down the aisle in front of us to get pictures of their kids. Hello - that's why I got there EARLY so I could have a good VIEW of my child and not your head! Oh well, Jason said those are the people who fly past you on the highway when they know their lane ends because of construction. He's probably right.

Photos Take 2 & 3

2010-11-30T19:48:00.000-08:00

I scheduled an appointment today for the boys to have their picture taken with cousin Abigail. The boys also had pictures taken at school today and Jace's teacher said Jace was ready when it was his turn and was the only one in class who smiled for the camera. Hmmm....can't wait to see what that photo looks like! Before we left the house, Jonathan asked where we were going for pictures and I told him JCPenneys. Later in the car, Jonathan asked me where was Jonathan's Penney? It took me a second to get what he meant since I did say we were going to "Jacey's" Penney. I had to call my mom and tell her about it immediately! Jace was Mr Smiles for the photographer but was constantly scrunching up his entire face when we told him to smile. All three kids did great although the photographer we had seemed new and not so great. We had two different backgrounds but Sarah and I forgot to get individual pics done on the 2nd (Christmas theme) background so that one we only did group shots. Oh well, there's always next year.....

Thanksgiving weekend

2010-11-29T19:48:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, my sister and I took all three of our kids to our aunt Linda's house to celebrate Thanksgiving. The drive was 1.5 hours long but it seemed like it took FOREVER to me! We had a good time seeing our aunts, cousin, and grandmother we don't see very often.

Aunt Linda and cousin Laura with Jonathan, Jace, and Abigail. Still unsure why we brought home several stuffed animals, along with a tumbling mat and wedge. I think Linda was trying to clean out some space the same way I've been getting rid of old toys and baby supplies from our attic!

For Abigail's birthday, we (along with my mom and Chuck) bought Selena Gomez tickets for her and my sister. She was so excited to be going to her first concert! Sarah even put make up on her! Abigail had a blast enjoying her early birthday present.

Sunday was our annual Thanksgiving get together with all my mom's family. I didn't take a single picture so we'll have to settle for a promised picture of the boys trimming the tree with daddy:

Something I forgot to mention - Jason absolutely LOVES his mom's homemade pumpkin pie. Jonathan tried it this year and seems to like it too, which makes daddy smile. :)

Black Friday

2010-11-26T19:51:00.000-08:00

No, I did not get up early this morning (or stay out late last night) to stand in any line, waiting for a store to open to get a deal. I've never shopped on Black Friday but won't say that I never will. If I planned out the gifts before hand and found a really good deal, I would throw my elbows around and fight a crowd at a store. Hmmm....maybe I would......but it is Black Friday today. Jason decided it was a perfect day to trim the tree, although I had already decided it would be best to wait until next weekend, after the boys birthday party since our living room is small. The boys were very eager to help daddy but Jace did accidently hit his new ornament from Grandma on the fireplace and busted a corner off. Oops! I don't think Grandma reads my blog so it will be our secret. :) We realized we still haven't bought a stocking for Jace. Really?!? A BIG OOPS! We made our stockings for Jonathan's 1st Christmas and our 4th stocking says Abbie since she (along with my sister and parents) spent Christmas morning with us that year. I do think it's time that Jace should have his own stocking since this will be his THIRD Christmas. Pictures to come later.....

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T19:28:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving with Jason's family this year at his parents house. It was a small gathering of eight, that included Aunt Marilyn and Uncle David. Jason's mom's family is not very big anyways and Jason's sister and her family are still living in South Korea. I meant to have someone take a decent picture of all four of us together, but totally forgot. At least we have some other family things planned this weekend so we have other opportunities to take pictures. I think Jonathan was a little bummed there weren't other kids there to play with, which is what he's used to when we get together with all my mom's family.

A few weeks ago, I moved Jonathan's bed into Jace's room thinking the boys would like sharing a room and it would be easier to keep them both in their beds all night. Well, it didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped and the boys were still ending up with me. Then on Monday night, they talked, laughed, and got out of their beds for almost an hour before I separated them and they finally went to sleep. So Tuesday evening, Jason and I moved Jonathan's bed back to his room. They both went to sleep faster being in their own rooms. Jace had still been using pacifiers when he slept but I had started telling him that he's too big for a paci and we need to get rid of them. Tuesday night, I didn't mention the pacifier but gave him two security blankets and he never asked for a pacifier. He did so well Tuesday night, I threw all the pacifiers away. He has asked for one a few times since then but seems to be OK accepting the fact that the pacifiers are "all gone". I have one item off my checklist (the pacifier) and now all I need is for both boys to sleep in their own beds all night and then to potty train Jace when he's on Christmas break next month.

We all know the number of ways men and women are different. Here's how moms and dads take pictures with their children differently. It's almost as if the boys are posing with someone they don't know. Oh wait, dad does have an arm around one of them!

Two Parks

2010-11-22T19:43:00.000-08:00

Today was another warm November day so I took the boys to my favorite park. I told them, well Jonathan really, if they were good and would take a few pictures for mom, that I would give them a special treat. For the most part, they did well and that to me means they didn't run too far from me and actually sat still for a second for a couple pictures. I did let Jonathan have a piece of candy while Jace took his nap and promised we would go to a park with a playground after Jace woke up.

So after we all three had a delicious smoothie, we headed to a great playground, or technically our second park of the day. There was one little girl at the playground when we arrived and I will have to admit, it was great (almost) having the park to ourselves! My cousin Bridget and her two kids joined us. The boys called Jackson this morning to wish him a happy birthday (he turned 2 today!) since we didn't know at the time we would see them this afternoon. Here are the boys with Laney (she's about 9 months younger than Jon) and Jackson:

We think Jace is done with his kitchen chair booster. He has started to refuse to sit in it at all and takes one of our chairs. He really thinks turning two (which happens in less than two weeks for those who need a reminder!) will make him officially a big boy! He was so funny at both parks today. I would try to make him hold my hand while walking down the rock steps and he kept telling me he could do it. I also tried to help him at the playground and he kept telling me I got it, even though he almost fell down a short ladder. Oh this next year is going to be SO much fun!

A warm November weekend

2010-11-21T19:27:00.000-08:00

Here's my random post....it was a windy but warmer than average weekend so we tried to spend a lot of time outside even though Jason and I feel like we're getting a cold. Yesterday, the boys just played in the yard and had a great time throwing leaves at me and running down the hill. Today, we went to a park and I attempted to take cute pictures to use on our Christmas cards. I don't love my choices but if nothing else, I did take a few I could use if we don't get a chance to take more pictures outside. The park has a couple of trails through the rocks and the boys loved going "rock-climbing".

On Friday, the boys and I were wrestling and Jonathan knocked Jace over. Of course Jace ends up busting his lip AGAIN and as I'm cleaning the blood off of his face and making sure he's ok, he says wrestle???

Jonathan told me he wants a cat, not a dog. And Ramsey (cousin who has a cat that Jonathan loves) can come over to pet it. He even told Jason this morning he wanted to go buy a cat but daddy said he'd never have a cat. I like cats and we had cats growing up but I'm not sure I could deal with all that cat hair anymore! We'll have to convince Jonathan to get a dog or be a pet free family.

Jonathan's tube finally came out and he said it was from his left ear. He had tubes put in both ears back in April 2009. At one of his last doctor visits, the doctor said both tubes were in but one was moving and should fall out soon. Jonathan was messing with his ear and brought the tube over to me to find out what it was. I've worried this whole time that Jace would find the tube first and swallow it before anyone knew about it. Yuck!

My friend FINALLY sent me the pictures she took when we went to see Thomas the train last month. Here's Jonathan and Jace along with their friends Collin and Colton. This was the last thing we did and it was getting close to nap and lunch time. The boys definitely looked tired!

Running down the hill in our front yard yesterday:

Rock climbing at the park today and trying to find Grandma and Granddaddy's house on the other side of the river: