The train museum

All aboard!

I'd like to introduce you to our train crew for the day...

Noah, "The Speedster" engineer

And Breven "The Cool Cucumber" brakeman

We're on a busy line today, so be sure to keep all hands and feet inside the train at all times.

Looking good, Speedster, let's get this train crusin'

And later we'll have a photo opportunity available to those that would like it:

Easter and time with Uncle Flip

Bunny kisses!

Can you see the blue lips? Yeah, thats the M & M juice from all the M & M's he ate:)

Uncle Flip Flop wins for finding the bunny first!

What's on your mind, Mr. Bunny?

Oh, wait! There's a second bunny. And this bunny looks as grumpy and thoughtful as the last bunny. Where did all the happy bunnies go?

Helping Uncle Flip Flop brush up on his art skills.

And looks who's starting to walk. Definitely not on his own, but he's finally interested in trying it out

One of Noah's favorite things, playing a game!

And its finally time to get back into the sandbox! Noah has been asking for weeks and he was in heaven!

And we're introducing it to Breven now who loves it just as much! Except for when Noah dumped sand over his head.

Message to the grandparents!

Hi, Nonni & Papa and Lolli & Poppi! Mama told me you guys were all planning to come out to see us soon. And we can't wait!!!!

We play well with others. See, these are our friends, Mr. Andrew and Miss Brittany and look how well we're playing with them!

Noah's learning all sorts of new games that he can't wait to show you. He's even learning to play the drums! (they really do have an app for everything!)

And I'm learning to work and build just like you, Poppi and Papa! Maybe when you guys get here, you can give me some tips and tricks!

We have no problem relaxing either. We'd be happy to help you all recover from your crazy normal lives!

And just look at all the fun toys we have to play with when you get here.

Breven? Bre-even? Hey, is there anything else you want to tell them?

We love you and can't wait to see you, Nonni & Papa and Lolli & Poppi!

Update on the boys, novel version

So I sat down today to write an email update about our family and after writing it, wanted to document it for those who are interested (don't worry, I'm not under any false impression that anybody besides the grandparents truely care :))

Noah is growing by leaps and bounds and I swear that little boy says more words in the first few minutes upon waking up than I could hope to say in a week! I want to get a counter just so see how many he really says in one day. I'm still trying to find his mute button:) We just got him a bunkbed set from Aaron's boss and he is in 7th heaven. He has been carting all of his most prized posessions up to the top bunk and I have to convince him that that bunk bed won't hold anything else.

He has been developing such a compassionate heart. He is so sweet with the little girl we are watching and often when one of the kids is crying, he breaks out in a version of "Jesus loves me this I know". But he also takes great joy in finding ways to frustrate his little brother. He so wants to be the Daddy and tries to tell B 'no' all the time. Whenever he goes by B, he does something to him, whether its hit him on the head, straddle him, push him over...its proved to be quite the challenge.

Following a friends advice, I let him start watching a couple of shows on PBS and he's finally got his alphabet down and can recognize all of his letters. GO TV! (never thought I'd say that, but it has definitely done something I couldn't accomplish with him:))

We have just started playing games with him and he can't get enough. We've been playing Candyland, Chutes & Ladders and Mancala. And instead of candy for Easter, he got to trade the eggs he found in for a SuperWhy game that I think he really liked. And I'm looking forward to a little variety:)

Breven is going at his own pace. He is teething right now so he is pretty crabby a lot, but he's also been a lot more snuggly, so I'm trying to cherish every moment. He is not interested in walking yet, but he can definitely get where he wants to go.

He's just our quiet little observer and has started to really pick up on things in the last week. Within the last 2 weeks, he's learned to: sign more, sign please, show you his tongue, belly, eyes and nose.

And he loves the bath tub. Anytime I turn the water on, he's tugging at his clothes trying to get them off:) With as big as he is getting, it won't be long before he does the superman and just rips them right off:)

He is definitely our eater and after the dairy allergy Noah dealt with, feeding B is SOOO easy. He hates baby food and wants whatever we're eating. And if I'm in the kitchen cooking, he's down at my feet whining because he wants to eat what I'm making:) I think he would be quite content to just sit in his highchair all day and have a constant stream of food. I've had to actually work on finding other ways to deal with him when he's like that because its just so easy to give him something to eat:) Look out fridge...B's on his way!

His new "toy"

Hi! I wanted to show you my new toy, well really its my bed, but its a toy too.

See, I got bunk beds! Isn't it great?

This is where I sleep. Doesn't it look comfy.

(and it turns into a great golf cart during the day)

But the best part is the top bunk. You can see so much from up here and its such a great fort!

I even got hurt trying to help put it together.

(Isn't the guy on my bandaid silly looking? Do you know where his arms went?)

Wait, Mama! You can't fall asleep in my bed!! You have to wake up now!

Happy Easter!

Easter is definitely not about the candy, the bunny or the hunt. Rather, Easter is the celebration of something so big, so huge, so amazingly beautiful that its hard to comprehend. To think that Jesus, knowing full well what was expected on him, obeyed his Father and submitted himself for our punishment. Jesus paid a debt I couldn't begin to pay.

During the sermon at church yesterday, it was presented like this: Say someone came to your house and offered to pay off not only your mortgage, but pay your kids college tuitions, all your debt and even send you on an amazing vacation. How could you possibly thank this person? Would it even be possible?

How much more do we appreciate Christ and that debt that he paid for us. That debt is so much bigger than a mortgage, college tuition, and any other debt I could accumulate.

Do I live my life in an ever present state of thankfulness for what the Lord has done? Do you?

Okay, after some pretty heavy thoughts, now on to a little fun:)

And how many pics does it take to get one good one of both boys? Lets count:

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

NINE!

Actually, this is as good as we got. Seriously! I think Breven forgot his name there for a little while. You just can't come between a little boy and his chocolate. Once he discovered the eggs had food in them, he was unstoppable and ate everything that was in his basket. Luckily, there were only a few M & M's in each egg, otherwise who knows how much of a sugar rush he could have gotten:)

Learning, growing and enjoying the warm weather

Hanging out with Mr. Pat. He's just so much fun to play with. Now, Noah thinks that the only true way to bowl on the Wii is to kick while you're in mid-swing. Thanks, Mr. Pat.:)

That smile is when you know you should start paying closer attention

Both boys love to play with this. Its a mixer that you put various combinations of magnets on to make different recipes.

We were supposed to have a picnic with friends but it got cancelled so what do you do? Bring out that packed lunch and have a picnic on the floor.

B's getting some great skill building time in with Daddy. Now, if only he could hang up that picture for me to free up a little of Daddy's time.

We love to have dance parties together and this is Noah's favorite prop.

He spent forever on the porch that day. It was really nice out side and he was waiting for a friend to come over and I think he stayed on that litle stoop for close to an hour and didn't want to come inside!

And some rare photos...quick! Catch 'em while you can:

Playing side by side

I LOVE this new phase we are getting in to. They are starting to play so well together.

Even if that means they are playing separately.

A different understanding of side by side:) I love that they are in each others rooms.

And although Breven still isn't sold on sharing his precious bath time with Noah, he'll tolerate him for a little while:)