These last several months have been filled with two ever-changing boys who are consistently the highlights and lowlights of my days. They are so funny, clever, smart, strong, sweet and loving. They can also test their boundaries with the rest of them ... well, J tests boundaries. T just doesn't sleep through the night yet.
We have taken a few small trips, mostly to visit family. My grandmother passed away in February after a long and sad, downward path with dementia. I was able to spend a lot of time with her in her last few days, although I wish those last few days had been the Grandma that I remember and not the person she had become. Ross and I were able to go out for the funeral. While I would've loved to make it a family affair, it was best that the kids stayed here. Luckily they had some eager grandparents of their own to hold things together while we were gone. We also took a short jaunt to Florida for my sister's wedding. That was a scary endeavor but ended up working out rather well and I was so glad to be able to be there. And then we went and visited some family back in the midwest just over the 4th of July. All have been very fun, always nice, and of course we were glad to be home each time.
We've...well, I've been slowly working on lots of house projects to turn this house into a home. Every time we have lived somewhere, by the time I got ideas of how I wanted things to look, we were about to move. So this time, I've been able to take my time and really get into some projects I'm proud of. And, thanks to Pinterest, I'm really proud of my DIY capabilities that have been stagnant for quite some time. I like how things are progressing and am excited about my budding ideas of things to come.
Big deal things...we added another member to our family. Penny the dog. We impulsively went to the humane society on a weekend and Ross fell in love with her. In his suave way, he convinced me we should bring her home. We did wait 24 hours though (so not THAT impulsive). The next day we took the boys to meet her to be sure that she did well with them and that they didn't have any weird reactions to her. She has been a lovely addition to our family!
I had to say goodbye to my old vehicle - it was a good one and I had a lot of good times in it. But it just was not as practical for a family of 4 as I had initially thought. It also was getting up in years and beginning to be "off" more than it was "on" so we decided to make the switch. One day while we were just out browsing - I wanted to know exactly what I wanted before I made the switch so I was dead set on doing lots of browsing, test driving and researching - we drove a couple vehicles that I was not that thrilled about. I convinced Ross to look at a minivan. He was not thrilled. I have always wanted a minivan (yes I know, I know...). But once we started looking it through, we were both hooked. So now, we've joined the ranks of the young family with 2 kids, living in a suburban neighborhood where all the houses look mostly the same, driving a minivan, and with a dog. Oh dear... All I can think of is the theme song to that show Weeds ... "little boxes on the hillside...and they all look just the same". Silly as some may think it is, I'm rather happy with it all!
We enjoyed Easter with the kids and did a really fun Easter Egg Hunt at church which J could not get enough of. In April both of the boys were baptized and it was just so special!
J did some classes at the rec center this spring - swimming and gymnastics. He was a huge fan of gymnastics because there is an episode of Curious George doing gymnastics with his buddy Alli. The swimming was not that much of a hit. Often we visited a gymnastics place near us so J could use up all his energy before nap time. The place just opens its doors for toddlers to run and play and try out the equipment. It was awesome. They're closed for the summer but I'm positive we'll go back.
Speaking of summer, our neighborhood pool is open and it's awesome! Last year we didn't go because T made his grand appearance the day we moved in here and put the kibash on any plans we would've had to go. The boys have loved it and so have I!
So onto the boys. J is about to turn 3 and amazes me daily with how quick he is to pick things up. He is quite the talker and just seems so smart. His current favorites are monster trucks, trains, rockets and cars. He is learning how to recognize letters and the sounds they make. T is about to be 1 already! He started crawling at 6 months, walking at 10 months and is seriously on the move. He is brave and bold and is not afraid to be physical. He is talking some but it doesn't seem like much in comparison to his brother who never stops talking. He says Mama, Dada, Ball, Train, Tree, Chicken, Duck, Lion, Dog, Giraffe, all done, more, and a whole lot of jabbering. They are playing together and it is so sweet and just melts my heart.
Now the pictures. :)
T, the big time sitter at about 4-5 months
Being cute in the bath
Too cute for words
Crawling!
Put his bike helmet on during his nap (backwards)
Playing together in the bath
J showing T what it's like to be a big kid at an Easter Egg Hunt
Cuteness and trouble
Getting so big!
