Tired little monkeys

Bath time must have been exhausting tonight. Will is sleeping with his behind in the air with his thumb in his mouth (his favorite way to sleep lately). Nate is on his back with his binky.

Let's play Will

Natey is asleep so I get big D all to myself. Can I play? Can I eat the camel?

Will and Nate update

Our little smilers are doing well. Will is quite the inch worm traveller. He is now on the traditional hands and knees and rocking. Nate is content to stay in one place. Will may be more physical but Nate is our talker. He also seems to be the thinker. Both boys are 13 pounds. They are quite scrawny for 7 months (real age is 9 months). While they are lightweight,s they are still growing fine without concerns. They loved pureed foods and talking with us at the table. Both are genuinely sweet and easy going boys. They love Derek's toys which is bringing lots of talks on sharing. They are still wonderful sleepers (woo hoo)!

Sawry baby

In a house with a 2 year old, sometimes somebody gets run over. Usually it is a baby and usually it is not on purpose. Today D ran over Will and yells sawry baby. Just to make sure Will (in orange) is ok, he wants to hold him and give him a snuggle. Then D decided that Natey needed a snuggle too. Natey got D back for Will and poked D in the eye. There is a lot of trampling and a lot of lovin' around here.

The zoo

On Saturday Mike suggested we go to the zoo. Usually we go during the middle of the week and Mike misses out. It was a chilly morning but we had a blast. D loved the snap snaps (alligators) and the penguins. We even rode the zoo train. We haven't taken it before. It is a 35 minute ride. We got on in the nick of time as all later stops had tons of people waiting. All 5 of us were on a bench made for 2 but we had enough room. D loved the train and Will and Nate were great on it as well. We had a great morning.

Holding both brothers

The present

MIke had a very sweet idea for a birthday present for me. I think they are adorable. The back story is even better so whenever I look at the frames I will giggle.

Mike's idea was to have the boys put their handprints on the frames so he could decorate them. All the supplies were ready. I was to hide so he could work his magic... but really I needed to help. Have you ever tried to get 3 boys under 3 to do handprints- both hands? Ha! Mike was bummed that he had to ruin the surprise to get my help. So last weekend, I held the boys and Mike dipped their hands in washable blue paint. Ha- we all looked like smurfs for a few hours! D was a riot. We should have done his last (lesson learned). D spent more time washing his feet in the bucket than his hands. His "helpfulness" also was pretty funny. The bottom line.. we laughed very hard trying to do this. Then Mike took away the frames and added the names and the dates. In hindsight, I should have let Mike do it on his own and set up a video camera. It would have been a you tube sensation!

It is such a sweet gift. The frames came out great and it was fun!

The Beach

On Sunday we went to the coast. After a great lunch at our favorite fish place, we hit the beach. It was fun to watch D have a blast. He loves running in the water and playing in the sand. It is funny how watching your kids have fun brings more joy than doing something fun yourself. Will and Nate were not their usual happy selves but they were a bit fussy- but we still had a blast. Will had a rough ride home and we had to stop several times. Finally we got home and Will was much happier in our arms.

Happy to you

I had a great birthday weekend. On Saturday, Mike and D made me banana chocolate chip for breakfast. Then they made me happy to you (D's words) brownies for my dessert. D enjoyed singing and blowing out the candles. It was quite hot out so we went to Magness to hike in the afternoon. It was an awesome day.

Hey that is my foot you are eating!

Well you put your foot in my mouth so I sucked on it!

The injury and the empathy

Mike and Derek have a nightly ritual of hide and go seek meets tag meets the WWF (or WWE or whatever it is called now). They run, scream, and laugh hysterically. Well Monday had a hitch. MIke was running, looked back for D, and kicked the door. On the way down, he hit his arm on the door knob. Apparently he barely missed the dresser with his head (which would have included a trip to the ER according to Mike). Well the situation called for an ice pack. D needed an ice pack too to be like Daddy which I am sure is just empathy in disguise (ha). D couldn't quite reach the floor so a solution was created. How adorable do they look with matching "injuries." Unfortunately for Mike, in the process of getting on and off the couch repeatedly D kept stepping on Mike's bad foot.

I couldn't stop laughing throughout the whole thing. I felt bad that Mike really was hurt and has a nasty looking toe to prove it, but the whole thing was hysterical (D must get his empathy from me ha).

Bye bye convertible

Mike traded in his convertible. There was much thought and many months that led to the decision. MIke LOVED hi s2000 but did not have many opportunities to drive it (having 3 small kids may be a part of it). We now have lots of need for lumber and mulch and all things yard related. So hello pick-up! Mike loves his new truck. It also has room for 3 car seats!! Derek thinks the truck is super cool. He loves to talk about the red pick up. When the boys are older we will get a convertible again!

Working like Daddy

Move over Daddy I need to work too.

Playing with babies

Will and Nate were playing with their baby gym when Derek invaded. He moved them over and climbed in the middle. I had to take pictures of how cute they all looked.

A carrot explosion

Will and Nate are doing well eating solids. So far they have enjoyed avacado, sweet potato, pears, pumpkin, zucchini (not a favorite), and rice cereal. They really do not enjoy the rice cereal.

Yesterday we tried carrots (Will is in the yellow bib), They went everywhere. The boys were covered in carrots but they really liked them. I am enjoying making baby food again. I am not making as much as I did for D but we certainly have enough.

Tractor bliss

On Sunday, we went to the county fair. I thought Derek would love the animals after our recent outing to the zoo where he loved petting the goats. On the way to the animals, we saw tractors. Animals, who need animals? We have tractors. Big tractors, little tractors, but oh fun! Derek would run from one to another to sit on them. He kept saying that one Daddy that one. Can I buy this one? (Hmm 65000 may be out of our price range buddy).

We did eventually see the goats and sheep which were just ok. The cows were big and a bit intimidating up close for D. We did find a reptile exhibit that Derek loved. They even had a snap snap (his word for alligators). Derek got to touch it! It was very exciting from the safety of Daddy's arms.

We ate a fair lunch of corn dogs. In the spirit of the fair we introduced Derek to the funnel cake. We had our yearly fried food experience and felt nauseous all afternoon. It was fun and worth it. The best part of lunch though was the big atvs bringing supplies. Derek would ooh and ahh over each one.

Will and Nate were a delight of course. They watched everything with big eyes from the stroller. They were not too sure about the animals.

Fun awning

On Saturday, Mike put an awning on the slide to protect it. We have also been warned by grandparents that the boys may try to launch each other off the fort so an awning may help hinder that as well. After a final inspection, Mike and Derek decided it looked good.

Derek already found things to launch out the side of the awning. So far the soccer ball has gone through. The watering can did not fit. It is a riot watching Derek carry different things up the climbing wall. He is quite good at doing it.

While they worked, Will and Nate hung out. I cannot seem to get a picture of both of them sitting up at once. They seem to be taking turns. Just when I think I have got it, one topples over. Well at least they giggle about it.