Around here

 H was so excited when Tatum came to pick him up from school!  Tatum was pretty excited about it too! 

 Story time at Square Books Junior on Saturday.  It has gotten crazy busy there on Saturdays!  If you notice, C has a pair of pink sunglasses around his neck.  He loves glasses and doesn't care what color they are! The boys don't really go for the story, they just love to play in the kitchen with the toys. 

 I found an awesome kids croquet set at Goodwill this week for 99 cents!  H and I have had a good time playing it after C goes down for his nap.  We've been using wool dryer balls for the game.  Wool dryer balls no only cut down on clothes drying time, they have entertained the boys, Leonard and Tatum, and are great for indoor croquet!  They were a good investment!

 Playing with their Woody Click set.  I had as much fun setting it all up as they are having playing with it.  H was making all the people have a party in the house and C was making the construction vehicles go "rrrr, rrrr, rrrr."  That sounds very descriptive of the boys personalities!

 We've been going one afternoon a week after the boys nap and Daddy is done with work to have a family outing - appetizers and Shirley Temples.  The boys look love it and H looks forward to it all week long.  Someone called them the Blues Brothers with their glasses on.  We sat by the window and everyone walking by smiled and laughed when they saw the boys!  Then H started to wave at everyone who walked past.  I think C ate almost a whole plate of curly fries (twirled fries as H says) by himself!

Half dressed, boot wearing best friends!

Little things

 C thinks the doggie door in the gate is for him

 He is our little music man!  He loves to play the piano and banjo (a toy one).

He's doing his camera face

 Big brother makes a good teacher.

This morning it's how to put stickers on paper. 

 I didn't know that it was such a process or could induce such laughter!

 Leonard staring at Tatum.  I find myself wanting to tell him like I tell the boys: "Y'all are best friends, you love each other.  Let's be sweet!"

C is very into climbing these days - bathroom counters, stools, pianos?  I don't remember H being so into climbing when he was this age.  I'm thinking it's time to go ahead and lower the crib all the way down, just in case he decides to try to climb out of it!

Two for one

Two new tricks:

A song and a climb. 

Enjoy!

Have to keep an eye on these two!

Snow day!

We were not expecting snow today!  We've had sleet and rain the last couple of days and icicles (ice cubes as H calls them) everywhere, but we were not expecting snow today.  What a surprise to find a white world out there!

 H came out of his room this morning saying "while we were sleeping it snowed outside!  I was surprising!" 

 

Snow ball fight!  We had a little one, and then H decided it would be great to throw them against the wall.  C liked the snow until his fingers were too cold.  It was much more successful than H's first snow experience!

 H and Daddy built a snowman after me and C warmed up inside.  It was little but cute! 

What a fun morning, and I am so glad that we enjoyed it while we did, because about an hour later it was all melted away!

Progress!  

After over a day of Leonard hissing and growling every time Tatum got close, I think they are on the way to becoming "best friends" as H says.  

It's a(nother) boy!

Meet Tatum, the newest little boy in our family.  

Two months old, two pounds big, dachsund mix.  Lot's of cute!

One day last week, a little bit out of the blue, me, N and H all said maybe we should get a dog (we hadn't talked about it with each other, just had all been thinking about it ourselves) so we discussed it and decided it might be an okay time - no infants in the house, I'm home most of the day, we have hard floors, the boys would love it, etc...

 The boys adore him!  They spend most of their time trying to love on him, play with him, chase him, put socks on his back (apparently the funniest thing ever!), etc.

 

H and Tatum are best friends!  H loves the dog and is so excited to play with him and hold him every time he is around "I want to take care of him all the time."  And Tatum gets so excited to play whenever H comes around and will crawl into his lap any time H sits down. 

 C is learning, but is still excited for the puppy.  I still can't tell if C is going to be gentle or clobber him.

Previously when H would tell us we needed to bring a puppy home, we told him "Maybe when you are five."  This morning H asked me if he was five now! 

 This morning, C really wanted the puppy to come out of his kennel.  Thankfully he was just out of reach!

 We figured that for whatever reason C does a little better holding Tatum if he is wrapped in a little blanket.  I have had to work with both boys to not try to shove bones in his face, or poke his eyes. (Reminds me of when C was a baby!  Had to make sure no one was poking his eyes or shoving things in his mouth!) Not the best picture of C, but you can tell how happy he is to be holding the puppy!

A car ride: from H's camera

 

H took his camera with us on a little car ride.  He did a pretty good job documenting our little trip.

 That's Daddy.  He's driving.  I moved the chair up a little.

 

That's brother in his car seat.  He likes to say "this."

 I don't know what that is.

Daddy had to get gas in the care because the car was running out of batteries.  

 That's Mama's hand.  She held it out.  I like to give her five.

I told Mama to say "picture!"

New year, new you!

Right after the New year, we took a little trip to Louisiana and had a great time!  It is always sooo good to see friends and family, (and shop a little too!).  I didn't actually take any pictures, except for this one. 

 H was watching a show on the DVD player and fell right asleep on Nanny's couch!  It is exhausting to entertain all of his people!

 

 C had his belated 18 month well child visit.  Sweet little boy is up in the 8th percentile for height now!  48th for weight and 76th for head.  And 101st for cuteness!  Healthy little guy.

 We have had so much rain and gloom lately - after a very rainy day we put boots on the boys and went out and splashed!  They were so happy!  Somehow they decided it was a great idea to style each others hair with puddle water (thankfully it was a bath night) but at least their feet were dry, and it was almost 70 degrees outside.

 C sitting on his drum, and H breakdancing. 

Getting ready for supper on their new table!  It was actually Daddy's when he and Uncle Duane were little boys!  The boys loved the table!  PawPaw and Missy had it out at their house when we went to their house and they fell in love.  They gave it to the boys and I think this will be a good thing for us.  They actually sat still all through supper tonight and ate really well.  I thought they would be up and down so much it would be a complete failure, but this might be good for us. Thanks, PawPaw and Missy!

Fun!

Mama, brother has a moohawk!

Can I have some more fire in my hair?

(I guess it does look a little like flames!)

C was so happy to have hair like his brother, 

although I'm not sure he knew what all of the excitement was about!

Happy New Years!

 Why don't you come sit with us in our little patch of sunshine here in Oscar, Missiskippy (Oxford, MS) and have a New Years Picnic with us?  

We have some very good chefs on staff here! 

I made our little kitchen for H a couple of years ago, right after we moved here, and it has grown a little bit since then!  There is a lot more food, some more kitchen gadgets, and a refrigerator (bathroom medicine cabinet in excellent condition I found on the road side).  I had thought maybe H had outgrown the kitchen or was just done with it, but then C got really into in, and H is back into it again  - which made me very happy!

 

 Come on!  We will mix you up some desert, or fix you a plate from our overstuffed picnic basket!

 

 Protective headgear is a must in our kitchen!  You never know when something might go flying!

Our house now is a little limited on extra space, but the perfect spot for our little kitchen is nestled against the wall, a little bit up under the counter where C's seat hangs.  The boys' mail carrier also delivers there. 

 Take a seat!  Some little critters also decided to join us!  

A test for something that H likes is if he asks "Can I sleep with it?" Sometimes we have to say no, especially if it might prove messy or pokey.  His two blankies, Monkey Bar, Puffer, and Yellow Belly joined us for our picnic. 

 The boys put their aprons on when the real cooking started!  H made some delicious toast and coffee, and C whipped up some wonderful Petit Fours.  We will need to start a diet tomorrow!

Here's a sandwich for you!  Bread, cheese, jelly, peas, cucumber, some cow butter.  

Is it yummy or yucky?

We had some friends over for jambalaya and fireworks last night.  If I had gotten any good pictures, they would have been of H covering his ears and having a blast during fireworks, and C with his face buried in my neck and whimpering because he didn't like the noise and lights.  We had a great time, and I spent today the way I'd like to spend the rest of 2013 - quiet devotional time and a little run in the morning, and the rest of the day spent with my two favorite littles!  

Happy 2013!