On a Sunday

Just a regular Sunday!  Church this morning, fun in the nursery for H and C, and an easy going afternoon to follow.  It was just me and the boys most of the afternoon, Daddy has finals this week - so he had to go do a little work.  Even when it is just us three, these boys keep me entertained!

C is getting more mobile these days, he stands up and will think about taking steps, and I think maybe today he actually took a step, but he collapsed pretty quickly.  He has discovered the joy (?) of leaning.  He will stand up near a wall or cabinet and then turn around and lean his heiny against it.  He smiles and giggles when he does it, he must think it is a funny trick.  

 

He started climbing a little too!  If there is a little toy, sometimes he will sit on it or stand on it, but today he discovered that it was fun to climb on brothers art tray!  He looks so pleased with himself!  We may have to move it for the next little while...

H is getting into more these days too!  He is really into drawing and tries to draw specific things.  He drew his first person the other day, too!  He's been growing in his vocabulary - he tries to take part in our conversations, and is really wanting to help us - help us make beds, cook, and more!  He is thinking a little more outside the box these days too...or inside the boxes?

H loves to help Daddy grill!  He likes to get a little dish of "all y'all" (olive oil) and follow Daddy around in case he needs it.  Cute!

Baby Lee came to visit yesterday (we love trading babysitting with our neighbors!!!!) and H loves being a little Daddy to him, bringing him toys and his paci, and C thought he was funny and would giggle every time Baby Lee would move or make a sound.  

This will be a busy week - we'll keep you posted!

Double Decker

Today was Oxford's annual Double Decker festival, and of course we had to go!  We went last year (H looked so young last year), but don't remember it being too great.  But last year H was a lot younger, and I was largely pregnant. This year H is really into all things fun, and C is old enough (almost one!!!!) to have a little fun too!

 

 This year we decided to ride the Double Decker bus, and it was great!  They took us through the square, through campus and town and then back to the festival.  C loved it!  He wanted to be holding on to the rail and would start to cry any time I took him off of it.  He was also really trying to grab the hair of the girls in front of us.  H has a thing for hair, and theirs was just too tempting. 

H said "Hey, Hi, choo-choo, What are y'all doing?" over and over to all of the people walking down below.  Some of the kids were sitting quietly, but there was constant chatter coming from our area.

Fun!

After some delicious BBQ nachos and lemonade for lunch we headed over to the kids area and let H jump!  He loved it until it was time to go...

You want a kiss?

Little Monkeys

 Our neighbor, Clara Hartwell, got a climbing dome for her birthday.  H loves to climb on it, and C loves to cruise around and through it.  It seems like most afternoons we end up at their house - their yard is like a playground!  A dome to climb on, a Little Tikes cottage and slide, a sandbox, bubble machine, chalk, and another mama to talk with!

 C, doing a little exploring.

H hanging around.

The other kids are a little too young to be able to climb all around, so they will just hang and swing on the structure, but H is a monkey and climbs all over it!  I just have to keep reminding him to use two hands and not to get too silly on it. 

 C likes to cruise!  H has never been a pacifier baby - he would just use it to go to sleep or if he was hungry, but now that he knows how to easily get it, he has it in his mouth more often.  I'm glad he can make himself feel good, but I don't know if I like him having it more.  

"Hello over there!"

On a pretty afternoon

 It was so pretty outside this afternoon.   We took our snacks (and my camera), and enjoyed the beauty.  We saw some bumblebees, butterflies, cardinals, and mosquitoes! 

They boys were being so sweet and loving.  

I enjoyed capturing these cute pictures. 

 

They were giving lots of hugs and kisses

 

 Sharing their snacks, and being cute boys

 And then all of the pictures started looking very different...

 These ones look a lot more like the silly boys I know!

 I'll let you decide what is happening here

 

These boys keep me on my toes every day, there is never a dull moment.  

I am also thankful for the sweet moments when they cuddle and love.  

Up, up and away!

This weekend there was the Up, Up, and Away festival in Tupelo.  We decided to go and check it out.  They were supposed to have hot air balloons, but it was too windy during the day to have them out.  We were a little bummed about that, but it was still an awesome day!

We asked H if he wanted to ride a pony there, and he was excited.  When he climbed up on it, he looked very pleased with himself and the situation.  He was smiling, and after the first rotation when he came around to where I was, he said "Get me, Mama."  Then next rotation, "Mama, come get me!!" The third and fourth rotation he was leaning more and more on Daddy.  Then Daddy got him off, because he was looking like he might cry.  Maybe next year we'll be more ready for it...

H forgave us for the horse incident when we brought him over to the bouncers.  As you can see, he was very happy!  He jumped and jumped, and went on the slides over and over.  There were about three huge bouncers, so he never got bored.

C was happy to have the pinwheel that someone at the festival gave him.  He cried when anyone tries to take it away from him.  People kept commenting on the sling (which I am continuing to love) and were surprised when I said it was very comfortable to wear, they said they were surprised it was comfortable because C isn't exactly skinny, and looks like he hasn't missed any meals.  I love the ring sling and my chubby little guy!  He is a trooper!

H got to sit in a helicopter.  Cool! 
He was a little nervous about it, especially after the horse incident.

There were some army guys having fun with an awesome robot.  I have no idea where they were, but they made the robot come over to H and look at him.  It sent out it's arm.  He gave his pinwheel to the robot and then put the pinwheel in the wind so it would spin.  The robot was kind enough to give the pinwheel back too.

What an exciting day!  Horse rides, bouncers, helicopters, pinwheels and robots....  It's hard to beat that!

Wow!

 What a week!  I can't believe it has already (just about) passed.  We've been busy playing with friends, riding bikes (Daddy gave me one for an early birthday present and we've been enjoying it!  Our neighbor calls us the Lance Armstrong family because we all have bikes now.  Hehe!), and chasing little boys around!

This one has decided that a toy screw would work just as good as a Little People Dalmatian or a paci.  He is also getting around a little easier and faster these days!  A lot of spider crawling (with straight legs) and a lot of cruising around the furniture gets him where he wants to be!

One of our visits to Daddy this week.  A few days out of the week he is gone all day - from before the boys wake up until after they are asleep, so we go visit him at school on those days.  We've found that it helps H to have a little better of a day if he can see Daddy.  We love him!  And it is fun to visit him - see all of the people at his office or run up and down the hills!

 He wore himself out!

I can't imagine that it was comfortable.  I went in to rock C back to sleep one night and saw H asleep hanging out of his bed.  He is our wild child right now.  He is fairly calm at home when it is just us, but when we go to the nursery at my womens group or at church, the number one comment we get it "He was sweet, but he sure does have energy (is hyper, is busy, etc.)"  So it is nice to see him still and asleep!  I hope all of that energy will even out one day.

It is nice that this one is pretty easy going - at least for now!  I don't know if I could handle two wild boys right now!  C was resting his head on his hand while he waited patiently for me to come get him.  

I hope the weekend doesn't fly by as fast as our week did.  

Enjoy!

Easter

 

HE is risen, y'all! 

Share the news!

(the pastor said this at church - I liked it!)

Happy Easter!

I think our actual Easter will be pretty low key, but on Friday we celebrated a little.  Daddy was off work, so we all went to the library for a special bunny puppet show and then an egg hunt.  There were so many kids there!  C and H normally are really into the puppet show, but with so many kids (and two very talkative ones behind us) it was a little hard to focus, but we made it through!  It was helped by the fact that his buddy, Payton, sat next to him.  

 

 Watching the show.

C loved playing with and eating his Cheerios.  

He won the hearts of some of the children and mothers aroun us.

The egg hunt.  Chaos!

You can't see H, but can sort of see N to the right of center...

Checking out the eggs

After a puppet show, egg hunt, and trip to the park - this little boy was wiped!  

He looks like such a little man with his legs crossed  like that.  Where did my baby go???

Happy Easter!

Brothers

 We may have the same ideas

Or do our own things

But we're in the boat together!

somewhat Wordless Wednesday: Rainy day fun

 View finder projector in H's clubhouse

 Crawling in the tunnel

Dominoes!

Turtle Release

After all the littles had their naps, H was so excited to show everyone the turtle.  He pointed out it's feet, head, eyes, and tail multiple times.  He seemed fascinated by the tail.

Millie's granddaughter, Amelia wanted to see the turtle swim, so we put some water in the wheelbarrow and let him loose.  The water really brought out the design on his shell.  Poor little guy though, I am sure he didn't know what to do with all of the fingers poking at him and grabbing him.  The kids all wanted to take turns holding him, so we had to make sure that no one grabbed too hard. 

 

H was sooo excited to show Daddy when he came home.  He had to point out all of the cool features once again.  

We decided to release the turtle in the pond across the street from us. 

We made quite a dramatic procession over there, and H showed me right where he was going to swim.  "He's going to find his mama."  

I had talked to my mama about the turtle, and she showed the blog to one of her co-workers and friends, Liz, and she knew right away that the turtle was a Red Eared Slider - she has them in her yard in California.  So neat that we have the same turtles here that they do there!  It's a small world!