TWO!

My baby is two today. TWO. 2.

It seems impossible that the little man I brought home not so long ago has grown and changed so much, in just two short years.

He is my happy baby. My crazy baby. My naughty, mischievous baby. 

 Colin goes full force all the time. He is commits 100%. He laughs at 100%. He screams at 100%. He runs and wrestles and jumps at 100%. There is never a time when I do not know what he is feeling.

Colin loves his big brother. He does everything that he does. Everything. Colin is Jack's little parrot, repeating and doing everything that he does.

Colin REALLY loves his puppy. Puppy does not leave his side most of the day. He goes to the mall with us. He sits at the table for dinner. He goes on car rides with us. He goes to the zoo with us. Puppy has to get changed when Colin does, get his hair combed, eat his food. Puppy also gets more snuggles and kisses than anyone else in the family.

Colin's newest little thing is to tease us and tell "jokes". They are quite amusing. He has a wicked sense of humor already. He will tell you that he turns 5 today...and laugh. He has been telling everyone that he turned 5. I have no idea why, but he thinks it is SO funny. And when his little voice says, " Nooooo, I five!", it is kinda funny.

I am looking forward to seeing the changes in Colin over the next year. He keeps me moving and active, but he also keeps me laughing.

Happy Birthday, my sweet Colin! We love you SO much. You bring so much joy and laughter into our lives. Thank you for that! We look forward to watching you grow big and strong!

Things that happen when it is 102 outside...for weeks...

Like much of the country, we have been living in a high 90s, 100+ heat index summer. For weeks. When it is over a hundred with high humidity, it is too hot to do anything besides stay inside or pour continuous cold water over you outside. Anything else is just miserable. So, this summer the boys have been doing lots of thing to occupy themselves inside.

Things like playing music with Daddy. Harmonica, bongo drums and guitars are passed around and much music is made.

The activity of writing on the windows with window markers quickly turned tribal... and decorating our faces. Bath time quickly ensued.

Boys and their stuff animals watch WAY to much television.

Finger painting turns into color exploration. Purple, green, blue and red turn into a real nice brown, in case you are wondering.

Naughty boys sneak onto the counter and get into the Nutella jar. Naturally, it happened right after I put him in his first outfit of the day.

On the one glorious day that it was in the high 80s, we booked it outside and hit up the zoo. It made everyone much happier.

And that is how we have been occupying our time.

I am SO ready for some cooler weather.

And for the weekend!

Happy Friday, friends!

12

My Husband and I had our very first kiss 12 years ago today.

How is that for some mush on your Monday? 

Friday Favorites: Reading

My boys love books. I love books. My husband loves books.

I am so happy that my boys like to read books and have books read to them.

Countless times I have heard Jack reading books to himself (well, not actually "reading" but repeating memorized pages), Colin paging through his chunky cardboard books. I walked into Jack's room to find these two little dudes reading in bed and took this picture.

The tastes of books in our house varies greatly.

Jack prefers Super Hero type books or funny story books.

Colin prefers any type of animal books.

Ryan prefers non fiction.

I prefer fiction.

Here is just a few of our most loved and read books.

 I have this ENTIRE book memorized from reading it so much. All 64 pages. SO much Go Dog Go for my boys.

Another Favorite. I really like this one. Not a lot of words, but plenty of action.

I loved Frog and Toad as a kid. We just got some of these books for Jack for his birthday and he really likes them.

 We have a lot of Sandra Boynton books at our house. They are bright, colorful and cardboard, so they work well for my over-active boys. Blue Hat, Green Hat is probably their favorite Boynton. They laugh SO much with this book.

Probably the most loved book we own. I randomly picked this up at Old Navy of all places, and both Jack and Colin have memorized it before they were 18 months old. It has the perfect cadence and makes the best train noises. Perfect for little boys. I have heard both boys repeating the book to themselves while playing with their toy trains.

Of course there are TONS more books that are read and re-read.  Too many to name and count. These are just some of the top ones for my little guys.

Happy reading and happy weekend!

Awkward and Awesome Thursday

 We were at a Naval Museum...if that helps make it less awkward.

~Awkward~

~Bathroom etiquette. Walking into bathroom, saying hello to co-worker, going into stall. Co-worker than deciding to keep talking to you...
~ Detoxing
~ Curling my hair and getting all ready for the day. 45 minutes out in the humidity, I look like a drowned rat...but it is not raining.
~ "Peanut Butter Jelly Time"
~ Hearing giant bees and dragonfly hit my windows...for hours.
~ The speed of the flies in my house. I fail every time.
~ Husband playing a few hours of basketball...in MY puma socks... and the blisters to prove it.


~Awesome~

~ Detoxing.
~ Baby showers with elephants and pink polka dots.
~Colin playing with plastic animals and calling them "Doo Dies", aka Good Guys. All of his toys are "Doo Dies".
~ Dancing and singing party in the living room. 19 minutes past bedtime worth of it.
~  Kiddie pools filled with boys and toys in the summer.
~ Dinner out with the ladies...and no kids...
~ Being able to exercise again after my six week recovery.
~ Napping children.

Puppy. To Colin, there is nothing that is more awesome than his Puppy.

Happy Thursday, folks!

*Awkward and Awesome was originally done by The Daybook.

Golden Fourth

My boy is four today. It's his golden birthday! I am kind of in shock right now. He is so big. His legs are long and lanky, no a trace of baby fat left on them. His face has slimmed out, those kissy little checks just a memory. His once baby blues have settled into a beautiful greenish blue hazel. He is handsome and sweet and intelligent.

Some of of my favorite things about Jack is how expressive he is. He really does talk like a 45 year old male. But it just not the actual words that he says, it is the way that he says them. Eyebrows dance and burrow, hands in constant motion, head tilting one way and than the other. It fascinates me. I am desperate to catch it on camera, but the second I pull out any sort of camera, he stops and gives me a fake cheesy smile, or makes a ridiculous face.

His imagination has taken off lately. Stories, "dreams", jokes. He is constantly coming up with new things every day. Usually some sort of superhero is fighting some sort of dragon/dinosaur/bad guy.He explores, examines and studies the world around him. I look forward to all the new discoveries that we will make this year.

Happy Birthday, Jack. We love you more than words can say and are SO very proud to call your our own.

Jack four years ago today, at one, two and three.

Calling All Superheros!

 

We had a superhero party at my house this weekend.

Not one superhero. ALL the superheros,

A little boy was turning four and needed to have all the superheros at his party.

They were more than happy to oblige.

 

Mini superheros needed to cool off and shoot each other with large water guns.

 

All the playing and saving, taking a little break was needed.

We even got our lawn mowed a few times!

My first attempt at a fondant cake (and three layers, for that matter) Turned out pretty well, if not a little lumpy and bumpy. Jack loved it and it tasted good, so that is really all that matters!

The birthday boy anxiously awaiting his cake.

Singing Happy Birthday to the birthday boy! Also the only family photo we got the entire time.

Colin takes a hands on approach to cake eating.

Mommy with her favorite superhero. I can't believe that my baby will be FOUR!

Present time. Lots of superheros. Lots of help from the friends.

Colin knows how to end a party in style.