A typical weekend

Thought you'd like to see what a typical weekend in our life looks like:

Wake up, check. N comes charging into the room looking for Daddy. Breven wakes and announces that he has waited long enough and his bottle had better be ready and waiting for him. The manufacturer must have put some kind of drug in our bed since neither Aaron nor I can ever seem to just get out of bed. Somehow, books, blankets, trains, cars, stuffed animals, pacifiers, bottles, and anything else that Noah can fit onto the bed make their way into the bed until there is barely enough room for all of us to sit/lay down.

Get ready, check. Breven hangs out in his "hot tub" while we get ready, to ensure that big brother can't get too close to little brother and upset him (take his toys away and hit him on the head with them).

A little yard work, check. Noah loves to be right there figuring out how it all works.

Breven spends some time with his toys while I make meals and get things done around the house.

Sand is dug into, scooped up, dumped out, sprinkled around and somehow worms its way into every part of Noah.

Spend time with the boys. Noah was giving an impromptu performance.

And of course, what day would be complete without some munching on the toes. Now that he has found them, he is constantly got them in his mouth.

Ahh! Thank goodness for weekends.

My big helper

Note to self: when you ask a 2 year old to get some toys for his little brother, remember that he will bring every available toy for him to play with!

What is making those fingers turn blue?

BLUEBERRIES!!!!

Thats right, its finally blueberry time again! We went with our friend (and neighbor) Lori and had so much fun!

Mama and her boys

So, when we got the the field to pick, I tried to give one to Noah to eat, but he wanted nothing to do with it. Then, somewhere along the way, Lori got him to finally try one and then we couldn't pick them fast enough. As fast as I was putting them in the bucket, they were disappearing even faster! I looked down and Noah's shoveling them into his mouth by the handful!

And a little later, I looked down to see Noah slowing down enough to actually pick and putsome in the bucket. And he is a really good picker. His bucket was full of big, ripe blueberries. (Lori's a good teacher!)

We managed to pick 18 lbs of blueberries! (and Lori only took 4 lbs of that!!)

So we have been finding all kinds of ways to eat blueberries: muffins (of course!), blueberry buckle, blueberry cobbler, baby food for Breven...and tons of them we froze for later.

Responsibilities

Another aspect of our little boy getting bigger-responsibility! Say it with me-'sponsibilty. (thats atleast how Noah says it!)

We found this wooden chart and LOVE it! So far, this has worked really well and its helping Noah understand that he helps out too!

In case this doesn't open, here are his current responsibilities:

-take out the trash

-put toys away

-set table

-make bed

-empty dishwasher

-say please and thank you

-a special family responsibility (okay so its not really special, but we needn't go into the details:))

Keep up the good work, Noah! (and leave the extra magnet "stickers" alone!):)

Feet

Hiya! Have I told you about my newfound passion? No, well allow me to demonstrate. Got the camera ready, Mama?

My feet! I just can't believe I didn't know about them before. My parents have really been holding out on me!

They just taste so yummy...you're really missing out if you don't try it.

And what a good stretch you can get at the same time!

Hmm...hold on, just found a good spot!

Calming week

How's this Mommy? I think Breven looks like this when he plays in here.

Noah has found a renewed interest in an old favorite. He just can't quite figure out how to get back out, though.

And when I brought this back up, he couldn't wait to hop right in. But, yep, same pesky problem...how to get out?

I'm already working on my chefs degree...tonight for dinner-milk!

And I looked over at lunch the other day to see this:

Awww! Makes the heart melt!

And as my Dad always used to say, "A quarter to the first person to find..." Breven.

This has been such a good week. I am feeling more settled back in to our normal life, and the boys are thriving. They are sleeping better, having less meltdowns and rediscovering all of their old toys. Its hard to think the summer is almost 2/3rds of the way done!

Flowers

Mark 9:37 "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."

I love the beauty that God bestows upon us. Reminders of just how creative He really is. How many different flowers, plants, animals and even people are in our world? I think if it would have been up to me, I would have stopped after just a couple of different flowers or animals. Thank goodness God didn't stop there, especially since he knows we are a people of variety. And how he lovingly cares about and knows each one.

Thank you, Lord, for these simple small reminders. Help me to see the world as you see the world. Help me to remove my human blinders and find ways to glorify you. Amen.

Must they all get bigger? Now Breven too?

Noah's not the only one getting bigger.

I've noticed a big difference in Breven since we've been back too. He is becoming more and more aware, more chatty and gaining more control over his muscles. He has starting playing in his exersaucer and loves it.

He's also started something else...

Solid food! He had his first bites of cereal on Saturday and wasn't so sure he liked it. More ended up on his face and bib than in his mouth, but atleast its a start.

Now, how to get him to figure out how to stop using that little tongue to push it all right back out!

The bumbo has been a great seat for him to use as we start this whole process.

Yumm! Who knew a spoon could taste so good! You've been holding out on me, Mommy!

And I'm having to come to terms with something long before I would have liked.

Breven is to the point of being almost solely bottle-fed. I had to stop nursing Noah around 7 months and had hoped that this time, I would be able to skip the bottle process altogether. But unfortunately, God has other plans and so Breven's now on a formula diet. This has been really hard for me to accept and I've tried everything I can think of to prevent it, but in the end, I have to keep reminding myself that atleast I have a healthy baby.

And the good news is...so far, he doesn't seem to have the same dairy allergy that Noah had! YIPPEE!!!!

Growing up

Gone are the days of my first born being a baby, and even a toddler. He is now officially (atleast to me:)) a grown up boy.

Upon returning from our trip, there were several new changes for Noah to make. First, he would no longer be sitting in the high chair, he now has a booster seat where he can sit right at the table.

And now, his crib has been changed into a bed.

It may seem silly, he's already 2 1/2. What's he still doing in a highchair and crib anyways?, you ask. Well...its hard to accept that my child can be old enough to make such big changes. (and yes, they are big to me!) Its the last remnant of his baby/toddler-hood and I haven't quite come to terms yet that I have a little boy in the house instead.

I love you, Noah. I love your laughter, your curiosity, your imagination and even your stubborness. You are my first born and will always be my special baby boy. I can't wait to see how much more you will change in the next couple of years and what else you can amazes us by doing.

Welcome to the beginnings of manhood.

Back to reality

Welcome back to real life:)

Last chance with the family

Upon returning from our trip to Kansas, we spent the last day with family, trying to squeeze it all in. In the end, we got some great quality time, but alas...it is never enough!:)

Finally getting a chance to see Grandma Langness. Unfortunately, Noah was cooperating for a normal picture, but this one turned out pretty well.

I love that arm draped over Papa's, like he really does want to know how the camera works. (or he's already practicing kissing up to Papa to get a cracker:))

By the end of our trip, Noah was EXHAUSTED! When he's tired he doesn't sit still for more than 2 seconds, so this was a rare position to find him in. Camped out on Papa's desk, right in the way of where Papa was working.

And its time for "Caspers" bath:) One last bath in the sink. He LOVED them, I think he would have stayed in there all day if we would have let him.

One last squeeze with Papa

...for both boys:)

And a cuddle with Nonni too.

And then its on the plane...he's such a big boy!!!

Langness family dinner 2

Party time at the Langness'!!!

We enjoyed some yummy indian food. I love to try new things and this was a great way to spend time together and enjoy some ethnic food too.

Lolli, Poppi and their grandkids. Notice that the only good pic of all the kids includes a rock on top of Lolli's head. (perhaps she can start a new trend?)

And the whole Langness crew

Cousins...and a few good men required to keep them contained and together long enough for a picture.

I love the serious faces she gives...its hard to get her to smile, but when she does, look out-you'll be smitten!

And if nothing else, atleast these 2 share one thing in common...a bald spot!