Labor Day

So this post is really late...2 weeks later to be exact, but hey. Better late than never, right?!

Aaron's brothers, sister-in-law and niece flew in Wednesday night before Labor Day. We had so much fun eating, playing, laughing and hanging out. And the boys got in a little golf along the way. Its funny to think of how this tradition is changing each year-I'll have to post pics of all the years later, but we're adding new members all the time:)

Isn't she cute? It was so much fun to have a little girl around the house

for the boys to play with.

Breven got to have a buddy during Noah's gate time.

These 2 are only a month apart and it was fun to see how different they are.

We pulled out our remote control cars and had a little fun. Noah really enjoyed it and seemed to have no problem using the remote.

Breven on the otherhand, could not get the concept down. He couldn't figure out why he couldn't lift and carry this big huge truck. And the several times that Aaron made the truck move, Breven was not happy that the truck would suddenly run away from him:)

Showing the boys how a lady rides:)

Getting some snuggles in with Daddy.

Which, btw-he no longer calls us Mama and Dada. Its already progressed to Mah-mee and Dah-dee. Kinda makes me sad...

One afternoon, while we were grilling out, the adults were all in the kitchen for a minute and we turned to find that the kids had discovered a new source of fun. They got drenched. Or should I say, Breven and E got drenched, Noah somehow managed to stay pretty dry. But they had a ball. They were out there for atleast half an hour, if not longer just splashing and laughing together.

Putting on his happy face, getting ready to skype

Uncle Flip Flop is the go-to book reader...but he does such a good job at it:)

I really enjoyed my time with Chicku. Not only was another female finally in the house for a while, but we got some great quality time during the week. We had to take 2 cars wherever we went and the boys were nice enough to let the girls take the car while they all drove in the mini-van with all the kids.

Have I mentioned yet that I Love this little girl?!?!:)

Too bad we didn't get a better picture of it, but they loved to hug each other.

And this one's just for fun...cause it makes me smile:)

Smores with Lori

You know, there is nothing like a gooey smore and bonfire on a chilly night. We had so much fun and I've come to discover that you can only enjoy them if you get half of it on your face:)

Yummy

Looks like Noah's a little stuck on himself

He wanted to look just like Daddy, goatee and all. (even if it is the wrong color:))

NIght and Day

Who knew God could give me such opposite children in EVERY way!

And I couldn't love you any more

Take time to smell the roses

We love flowers at our house. And anytime we find any, we definitely take the time to smell them...

Do you take time to smell them too?

Playtime in the crib?

Hey, Brev. Whatcha doing in here?

Mind if I come in?

Oh, wait. You don't really want me in here?

Well, what if I stand waaaay over here?

Okay, Noah. Just don't mess with any of my animals...

Being silly

Wait..what are we supposed to be doing again?

You really think I can take a serious picture here, Noah?!?!

Can I try using a shoe

They definitely help me to see the world a little more clearly

The joys and pains of growing up

So we were getting ready to go work with our neighbor in the garden and I looked down at Breven and this is what I see. (In case you can't see it, its the right side of his forehead). Its a goose egg the size of a quarter. I thought I was pretty good with handling bumps and bruises, but this one made my stomach churn just a little...

And I love this part of them growing up. They're happy and having fun together.

and being a bit silly in the process.

and maybe growing up just a little too fast...

Corn

I love fresh sweet corn. I really wish I could access my aunt and uncles sweet corn during the summer because it tastes amazing. So what's second best to fresh sweet corn? Frozen sweet corn in January! And so, with that being said, I have a problem for you to solve:

Me

+

one equally crazy friend

+

12 dozen ears of corn she bought at a road side stand

+

3 rambunctious boys

+

4 hours worth of sweating, boiling, cooling, de-earing, and bagging

=

86 cups of corn!

I think we're set on corn for a while and I won't even try to show you what the house looked like from the aforementioned rambunctious boys left to play on their own for 3+ hours.:)

Rockstar

Took B to have his 18 month pics done last week and what started out as a great morning quickly became something much more different than I had in mind.

Side note: I've learned that when taking pictures for one of them, I need a great distraction for the other (i.e. the portable DVD player). It allows me to focus solely on the child being coaxed into smiling and the other doesn't feel neglected.

So, I brought along the DVD player and a movie Noah had chosen and while waiting for our turn, began to set him up in a corner with his movie. Turns out...the DVD was still in the player back home. No DVD. Note for next time: check the movie case before taking it with me.

I considered running out and grabbing one of Target's $5 movies but in the mean time he found a motorcycle similar to his at home and I stupidly thought it would hold his attention.

Ummmm...sorry Mommy, you just made your second mistake.

So what was supposed to be an "easy" picture session turned into:

"Noah, please don't throw the ball at Breven while he's getting his picture taken"

"Breven, stand on the red dot"

"Smile, B"

"Okay, B. How about a snack. Will that make you smile?"

"Noah, please go behind the camera. These are pics of B right now"

"Breven, get back on the red dot"

"Noah, why don't you go play with the motorcycle again?"

"B, smile!"

"Noah, please stop throwing the balls"

"Breven, want a snack? Smile for the camera and you can have it."

"Noah, stop messing with the camera cord"

"Breven, you need to stand on the red dot"

"Noah these are B's pictures. You'll get yours taken later. Please get off the red dot"

"Breven, smile!"

"Noah....please sit still!!!"

"Breven. You need to sit still too!"

Okay, so you get the idea...I was EXHAUSTED after that. I don't know how the picture people do it all the time!

And while trying to keep them both in their respective places, Noah kept asking the lady to take a picture of him like a rockstar. We finally agreed to let him pose for 1 picture...

...so this is what a rockstar looks like.

Let the creative juices flow

I have wanted to get a kids table for our living room for a while but could never find the right one.

Turns out, the one I finally found is perfect. There has been more coloring since we got this table than ever before.

Help us to seek you, Lord

Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord,

have never forsaken those who seek you.

Psalm 9:10

Some days you just need a little help...

...To make it through the day

Solution for 3 year old woes

Due to

A: the overwhelming comments of frustration from a certain 3 year old at a certain 1 year old in his room and destroying his railroad creations

and

B: the cries and screams of a certain 1 year old about being constantly pushed from said room

We, the parents, have decided to make our lives just a little simpler by adding gate time.

Every day Noah can have 30 minutes of gate time in which he can play uninterrupted and then any other time Breven wants to come into his room, he can't complain or try to push him out. So far, its actually worked really well.

The only thing I didn't really realize:

...he ends up spending the whole time looking over the gate at his brother

Family tattoo day

Because of Uncle Robb's generous love for Noah, we have a bunch of fun tattoos and thought it might be fun to have a family tattoo day.

(I sure hope that sentence doesn't come out of my mouth in 20 years because those might not be so temporary:))

Noah's modeling his monster truck

(take note of the pajama's still on in the middle of the day...definitely a great day at home:))

B and Daddy model their own tattoos: a sherrif's badge for Daddy and Breven declares his love for Mama again.

Now on to find a great place to show off all our tattoos...

(Note from the editor: while Mama did participate in the family tattoo day, as she is the main photographer, her proof will just have to rest in the multiple witnesses Sunday who thought the tattoo was real)

Different expressions for different situations

Hey, Mama. I wanna show 'em somethin'. Can I?

Sure, B. What do you want to show them?

This is what I normally do...

This is what I do when I don't like what's for dinner...

Wait, Mama. My turn. I wanna smile for the camera too.

This is what Noah just did.

This is my "I have to clean up all my toys and I really don't want to" face.

And this one's just because I love you!

It happens so fast

I was going through pics the other day and came across this one of B in January

I think all the running he's doing these days is taking all the baby out of him.

Silly boys

And these are just pics from our trip that made me laugh....care to add any captions?

If I look at this long enough, its gonna open up, right?

Mama, the table grew!

My boys are destined for work in construction.

5 cookies from Papa and counting.

Yeah, that's right. I rock this hat.

All boy

We went to the zoo today and after touring all the different animals, I asked Noah what he liked best about the zoo.

His answer:

"I liked the backhoe (working around the zoo), choo-choo and skid loader."

Huh. Maybe I don't need to spend money going to the zoo. Rather, I can just drive a couple of minutes, pull out some folding chairs and let him watching all the construction equipment working down the road-for free.