Love Fest

Today has been one of those days where to the boys nothing is better than each other. It started this morning when Tyler was writing out his valentine's for his class party on Friday. And yes he wrote every single name himself - even Mrs. Obernesser - and I was very proud of him. He then wanted to make one for Carter as well. Well once he was done writing them the boys both went downstairs to make each other "surprises". The other one hid while the other worked on the surprise. Carter made a very big tower for Tyler out of legos and Tyler made Carter a bathtub out of his wood with his workshop. Very sweet indeed. Then nap time came around. Usually they are in different rooms so Carter can get some nap in and Tyler can have quiet time. When I went up there to check on them I found they were both playing in Carter's room. Usually I would separate this but they were playing so well I let them be. I later learned they built a zoo together. They actually played nicely together for the full hour and half quiet time, quietly in their room! Right now Tyler is outside playing in the snow and Carter is actually asking to join him. Life is good.

Love It!

Today was a wonderful day. Tyler was so helpful and caring all day. I got lots of "let me help you mom" and "mom I used my manners". I also got lots of "thank yous, pleases, and sorrys" things that have been lacking as of late. But the best part was getting the hugs, cuddles and kisses all day. I even got "you are the best mommy in the world" from Tyler. Love it!

Then tonight Justin was hanging up a towel rack in the bathroom. The boys and I were in there "helping". I told the boys that I had my favorite three boys in here. Tyler looks at me and says "and I have my favorite girl" and that I "was his girl". Carter then says that daddy "is his boy". So sweet. Carter then says "Jesus wanted you to be a girl mommy". When I asked him if he thought Jesus wanted me to be a girl so that I could be his mommy he says "yeah cause people need mommies". He then went on to say to say people need daddies and brothers and sisters. When I said but you don't have a sister and you are ok, he responds "yeah Tyler is my brother and my best friend". Life is good.

Alli The Hippo

Tyler is always creating stories. Yesterday he found a wood chip and decided it was a hippo. He played in our wheelbarrow that was filled with rocks, dirt, and rain water and made it his hippo's home. Today when we went out he went straight over to get his hippo. He then told me his hippo was named Alli and it was a girl hippo. Before we could go run errands I had to convince him that Alli would be better off taking a little nap in the sun instead of getting in the car with him. I guess its good that most of the time when we go to the zoo the hippos are napping!

Today has been a great day for Tyler. We have been having a hard phase with him lately. He is getting angry easily, hitting, even biting sometimes. He isn't letting up on Carter when they are wrestling and Carter is done and he just gets in moods where he all of a sudden he has a ton of energy and goes crazy and can't settle himself down. So we made him a behavior chart. He starts out the day with five magnets and anytime he shows that he can't control himself he loses one. He doesn't get one taken away for going to time out, but if he hits me when I put him in time out, a magnet is gone, for example. If he has any magnets at the end of the day he gets a sticker and eventually the stickers add up to prizes. The first three days he didn't get a sticker at all. He then got a little better each day and start earning stickers and yesterday he received his first prize - a Popsicle.

Today he has been a complete angel. Not only is he showing self control, but he isn't whining, he is doing things the first time we ask, and just being a sweetheart. Carter was doing a puzzle and Tyler went right over to help him. Carter took a toy Tyler was playing with and Tyler asked him to not take the plane and offered him another one, instead of getting angry and grabbing or hitting as he would have done last week. I love days like this. Life is good.

A Hiking We Will Go

Justin had the morning off to day so we headed off to Palmer Park for a nice family hike. We have been wanting to do this for a while and I am glad we finally got to it. The boys were so excited to go hiking in the woods. At first we had to keep getting on them for running ahead of us, but then we all had a nice hike through the woods. Carter loved seeing a cactus and then would point them out whenever we saw another one (which were a lot) by yelling "Look! Cactees!". Tyler liked finding butterflies and bike tracks (which he thought were snake prints) along the trail. Tyler got tired sooner, but Carter could have gone all day if we let him. I shouldn't be surprised as he is the one always wanting to go on walks. Once we were done with our hike we went and played on the playground a little bit before having a picnic lunch. After a stop for some ice cream on the way home (a prize for Carter's potty chart) the boys had great nap and are still talking about our hike. What a great morning!

The Count is On!

The boys are very excited to go on the airplane and see Oma and Opa in about a week. We have been talking up a lot of how they will get to play with their cousins and go to the beach. To help alleviate the questions of when we will leave we made another count down chain. Now the boys ask me all day if they can take a chain off or not.

Both boys have had some issues with listening lately (Carter running away and Tyler just being defiant) so today I was very proud of them. As we were getting ready to leave church I had quite a few errands to do since my boss was gone. There was also a funeral service going on. I told the boys that they needed to be very quiet because of the service and stay near me as I ran around putting everything away (this entailed going into multiple rooms). The boys did great. When they wanted to say something they talked at a whisper and I didn't have to ask them once to stay by me. As we walked out the door Carter grabbed my hand and then Tyler grabbed Carter's. It's a good day.

More Flowers

Like last year, I once again found cute little pots with flower seeds in them at the dollar spot at Target. The boys have been asking me to paint and plant them for a while now and we finally got to it today. Tyler loaded up his pot with paint covering every piece of it with at least two different colors. Carter painted some on the pot, but ended up more in his hair and on the newspaper. At least they had fun doing it. I am going to try a little experiment with them and only water them when they ask me to. Lets see if these will grow into something or not.

On another note I must saw that Tyler had a great morning. We have had some issues with him - not listening, getting angry again easily and not dealing with that anger properly, talking back, just over all disobedience. Today however when we went up upstairs to get dressed he did it right away om his own with no complaints, He then cleaned up his room the first time I mentioned it. He has had a couple time outs, but they were pretty minor infractions. Carter is having a tougher day today (still won't nap without that pacifier) so its very nice to see Tyler behaving so well. I hope this continues and Carter takes his lead and follows suit.

Recap

On Thursday Nana came up to visit. She made us a wonderful dinner Thursday night and the boys had fun showing off their baseball skills. On Friday we went to the mall and Nana watched the boys in the play area while I did some shopping on my own - so nice. Then during naps (and after) I was able to get my nails done and do a couple other errands. On Friday night she also watched the boys while Justin covered state track and I got to go to Leah's shower. I had a great time spending time with the girls, and it was very nice knowing the boys were home playing games as happy as can be with Nana. She then helped me out at soccer and then headed home during naps. It was a great time and I enjoyed all the help. The boys had a great time as well.

Today we headed to the park, which was quite crowded as a nearby preschool was having their field day there as well. The boys behaved mostly. Carter had one time out incident for not staying near me and then running away when I called him back. But overall the boys had a great time. Tyler wanted to do everything on his own and impressed me with his pumping skills on the big swings. Carter is still my daredevil and wants to try to climb on everything. After some time at the playground we played some football in the grass. Tyler was into this more that Carter, but we all had fun none the less. The weather has been gorgeous and I think that is putting all of us in good moods. Life is good.

A Climbing We Will Go

Today Justin had the day off so we took full advantage. The weather was beautiful, so we went to Garden of the Gods for some "hiking on rocks". The boys did great and we all had a great time. It is so fun to watch how much more they can do now from just a few months ago. They scampered up rocks pretty quick and had no problem handling the soft ground. The boys also loved finding bird feathers throughout the park on different rocks. We then went out to lunch where the boys behaved great and headed home for great naps. I love days like this, life is good.

Fun Family Day

Yesterday Justin didn't have to work, which was the first Saturday since Christmas and probably the last one off til mid March or April so we took advantage of it. After soccer class we headed up to the Aquarium. We stopped for lunch on the way and Carter burst into tears because he wanted to "see da fishys". After Justin promised him that we were still going to see them he was fine again.

The boys loved the aquarium. Tyler says his favorite part was feeding the sting rays, even tho he was scared to get to close to them. Carter's favorite part was the jelly fish, although he really seemed to enjoy seeing the shark's teeth as well. On the way home Tyler told me he was growing up. When I told him that he was and asked him if he should go to school next year he started crying and said "no I want to be a sting ray when I grow up". He then took off his socks and shoes because sting rays can't wear those.

After some quiet time I took Carter to go pick out a movie for Family Movie Night. I had a lot of fun taking just Carter. He did very well in the store and helped me pick out Madagascar 2. He then sang for me all the way home. After some pizza for dinner we settled down with popcorn and watched the movie together. The boys seemed to like it a lot and didn't even get nervous. Life is good.

Zoo Fun

So yesterday was another gorgeous day so we got to do one of our favorite things. We headed to the zoo. Like always the boys had a great time. I had them both walk to through the whole thing and they did great. I think this is even more impressive considering our zoo is on a mountain. They did get a little cranky towards the end, but held my hands the entire way.

Unfortunately a lot of our favorite things they didn't have at the zoo right now because its winter time. The elephants and zebras weren't out and either were the otters or alligators. Also the train and carousel were both closed. However we went and saw the hippos twice (both times they were sleeping) fed the giraffes, and saw the gorillas play, and got scared when the Crane made a noise we weren't expecting. The boys fell asleep on the way home, but work up once I tried to transfer them, so the rest of the day was a little whiny with all the lack of sleep, but all in all a great day!

I tried watching some of the Inauguration with Tyler. They both recognize President Obama, but don't really get who he is obviously. I tried talking to Tyler about the significance of how he is our first black President. When he came on the screen Tyler asked where his black dress was. I am very glad he doesn't see skin color yet and left it at "he has a black suit on". I am going to hate to see this innocence go, however I am very proud that our boys will never know a time when a black man couldn't become President.

Gift of Giving

Today the boys and I went out to get their presents for their Angel Tree kids. This is something we do every year since Tyler was born. The boys each pick a child from the Salvation Army tree (I try to help them pick a little boy about their age) and then we go pick out gifts for them. I am really trying to emphasis to Tyler and Carter why we give gifts and I think at least Tyler is starting to get the concept.



While we were at Toys R Us, he was more interested in playing with the Thomas the Train than helping me pick a Thomas toy out for Franky (his little boy). However Carter helped me pick something and we were off to find something for Timmy (Carter's child). Tyler was then more into it. As we were waiting in line I tried to explain one more time that the reason we give gifts is because we want to show others the love God showed us when we gave us the gift of Jesus. As we were leaving the store Tyler, in an excited little voice says "lets go give the kids their gifts!". I was happy to see he was excited to do it and not disappointed that he wasn't going to get to keep the gifts. We went to the mall dropped them off and had some lunch. As I was sitting there watching them eat and share food nicely, I was taken aback at what good boys I have. That we made it through another year with all the commercialism around us and they were more excited to give their gifts than to even ask for anything. Maybe they don't know yet they can ask for gifts, but I hope that's not the case. They have also had a blast making gifts for people and keep talking about wanting to give their gifts to everyone. Of course they ask to open their gifts up as well. I know it will get harder every year, but I pray that the boys will always have a heart of giving, like they do now.

Say Cheese!

I have been unsuccessfully trying to get a picture of the boys together for our annual Christmas photo card. What is it about being two years old that makes kids not want to smile? And then when the two year old decides to smile the three year old either thinks its a good idea to strangle the two year old or start having a meltdown. Below are some of our attempts.

Grandpa and Grandma came for a quick visit with Aunt "Dawnie" on Saturday morning. Carter loved cuddling with Dawnie and Grandma. We eat out to breakfast to the Cracker Barrel and Tyler loved watching all the animated snowmen with Grandma and Grandpa . Both of the boys behaved very well during breakfast always love seeing them.

Lindsay and Randy were in town Saturday night and the boys once again did very well when we went out for dinner. They had a blast watching Randy draw them pictures and have Lindsay eat them up. The boys always seem to do their best when company is around and today was no different. I am glad other people think my kids are as well behaved as my bias eyes are. Life is good.

Little Angels

The boys have been so good lately. We have had our moments, and Carter for sure is in the middle of his independent stage, but for the most part that last couple of days have been great. Yesterday we needed to clean up the toy room. Tyler immediately came down and cleaned up every single toy without one complaint - he then asked what more he could clean. Carter also helped some.

Today was a day full of errands and the boys did great. They held my hands thru the stores, played nicely a the play area, and then didn't have a single complaint when it was time to go. They also did great at the supermarket. Helping me find the items we needed, having nice conversations back and forth, and didn't whine when I said we wouldn't ride the horse today (there was a wait). Once we got home Tyler helped me bring the bags in and then took all the groceries out of the bags and helped me out them away - without any prompting from me!

The boys are loving seeing all the Christmas tress and lights and listening to Christmas songs. I was singing Away in a Manger to them as we were getting in their p.j.s, A few minutes later I hear Tyler singing his own song to the same tune. It went something like this "Because Jesus loves us, because Jesus loves us, because, because Jesus loves us." He then sang Jesus Loves Me before going to bed. Life is very good lately!

My Little Helper

Tyler has always been a great helper. He loves to help clean. Whenever I am cleaning up the kitchen he needs a baby wipe to wipe things down with me. He also helps me clean the tables at church everyday. With laundry he helps me put the laundry into the washer, then into the dryer, and then helps me sort it all. The other day he found a new way to help - dishes.

We had just finished lunch and I was cleaning off the table when Tyler scoots his chair over to the sink. He then takes our sponge, turns on the water, and starts cleaning his plate and rinsing out his cup. He does the "dishes" at least once a day now. It usually consists of him filling his cup with water and then pouring it out - over and over again. Since Tyler does the dishes, Carter likes to try too. Unfortunately he doesn't have it down quite yet so usually water is all over Carter when he is done.

The boys have been having issues lately with not staying in their rooms at bedtime, not falling asleep at nap time, and then coming out of their rooms way to early in the morning. This weekend we tried to work on these things. First we put some toys up in their room. Before now the boys didn't have any toys in their rooms except for all the animals they sleep with. So we put up quiet toys - books, puzzles, cars, and legos. We told them they were not to play with the toys during bedtime, but they could play quietly during nap time and when they woke up in the morning. Next we got a wall clock for their room. I put stickers on the 7 and the 12 and told them when the hands were on the stickers they were allowed to come out. I was anxious about this, thinking it may make things worse, but I thought we should at least give it a shot.

So far it has worked great. Tyler is great at cleaning up his toys in his room so far and on Sunday he played so quietly in there I thought he was asleep. When I went to check on them Carter was dead asleep and Tyler was happily playing. So that he could get some sort of a nap I put him in our room (where he naps most days now) and he was out in less than 5 minutes. In the morning I usually have to tell them once or twice to go back until the hands touch the stickers, but then they happily play in there until then. We are still working on not coming out of bed during bedtime, but its starting to click in I think. I am very impressed on how well they are doing with this. Life is good.

Bowling!

On Monday Justin and I both took the day off to celebrate Carter's birthday. We had planned on going to the zoo or Garden of the Gods. However we woke up to cold, rainy skies. We decided bowling would be a great option B.

The boys were somewhat confused at first. Whenever we mentioned bowling they would run to the closet to get their plastic pins out. Once we got to the bowling alley they had a blast. I was very excited to see that they had little bowling shoes to fit them -absolutely adorable.

We let them start off with the bumpers. After dropping the ball a few hundred times, they both understood that they needed to make it to the black line before putting it down. Tyler did great from the start - always getting at least a couple pins down (thanks to the bumpers). Carter was lucky if his ball didn't stop halfway. At one point it even started rolling back to us. So we got a ramp. Carter couldn't quite get the ball on the ramp himself, but still liked pushing it down. Tyler ended up with 2 spares thanks to the ramp.

More than bowling they seemed to enjoy just running around the bowling alley in the disco lights. We had a great time as a family and hope to do it again soon. Family days always make great days!

The Birthday Day

On Monday night we took Tyer to Red Robin so he coud get his free birthday dinner. At the end they brought him ice cream and sang happy birthday to him. He slid down in his chair whie they were singing, but I think deep down he liked it. He started eating his ice crea, when Carter asked for some. Without our asking he passed his spoon over to Carter - such a great brother!

On Tuesday Justin took the day off so we could spend Tyler's birthday together. Of course we did what Tyler wanted, which was go to the zoo. As always the boys had a great time. The carousal and train were closed so the boys rode on the ponies instead. 'Cause you can't go to the zoo without riding on something. They also got to pet the goats, watch a turtle go on its walk, and help water a gecko.

At one point we were looking at the hippos when Tyler slipped and hit his teeth against the rail. It started bleeding immediately. So far it isn't loose or anything and we are hoping it won't turn black. I guess only time will tell - it is only a baby tooth.

Tuesday night all of Tyler's favorite people came over - Steve, Melissa, Heather, Leah, and Drew. We had pizza and brownies and Tyler got to open more presents. We are so blessed to have such great friends that love our kids so much. It was a great day!

At the Park

This morning there wasn't a good football game one so we decided to go to Fox Run park for some fun. The boys played soccer for about 2 minutes and then it was on to the playground. They got to try out a tire swing for the first time which they both seemed to enjoy a lot. They of course also climbed on everything and did a lot of swinging. Tyler now likes to swing on the big kid swings by himself. He is even starting to pump his legs a little. The park wasn't to crowded but the boys still has to wait some before they got to swing or go down a slide. I am happy to say that they did a great job being patient. After some playground fun the boys had a picnic under one of the pavilions, which they boys always think is so fun to do. After lunch it started raining so we went home with no complaints for nice naps. A great fun morning!

All Grown's Up

I seem to say it a lot but everyday I see how much both of the boys are growing up. Sure they still have their moments. Carter is still the tantrum king and Tyler enjoys pretending to be a baby lately, but for the majority of the day I am amazed at the things they do and the way they act.

We went to the park the other night. Carter climbed on every single piece of equipment all by himself. My heart stopped a couple times as I saw him climb ladders that are so far above my head that I can't reach him. However he seemed to do them effortlessly. We went to dinner tonight and Carter drank out of the straw cup instead of his sippy. He didn't spill a single drop.

Bath time has always been hard for Tyler. He hates having water poured on his head. He got a little better through the occupational therapy where he would just cry during the actual pouring (instead of screaming and insisting to get out of the bath). Tonight Justin put soap in his hair. He then moved over to Carter to put the soap in his hair. At that time Tyler grabbed the cup and poured the water on his head - rinsing his own his hair! He repeated this step three more times. Justin did one final rinse without a sound from Tyler. Also today at nap time he stayed in his underwear and kept them totally dry. What a big boy he has become!

On Friday we were outside playing as usual. Tyler then starting bringing me flowers. Carter followed suit bringing me some grass. My first bouquet from my boys - and how beautiful it is. They are growing up.

Butterflies?

So there I (Justin) was….minding my own business Wednesday night when it happened. Meredith asked a question I’d never imagined I would have to answer: “On Saturday, do you want to take the boys to the Butterfly Pavilion?”

Animal instinct kicked in. Like a solitary zebra on the African Savannah that’s just caught the scent of a hungry lion in the searing, hot breeze I froze in hopes that the savage beast would not see me.

Then it came again. Closer this time.

“Honey, I asked if you want to take the boys to the Butterfly Pavilion on Saturday.”
Still frozen, I glanced to my left but saw only fangs and hair. Knowing there was no chance to outrun the menace I tired diplomacy. “Do I really have a choice?”

So as we were discussing our departure time for Saturday morning I had a thought: I still have to take Tyler to a game for completing a line on his potty chart. Knowing that the Sky Sox were not in town and the Rockies would not be back in town until Monday I thought I might be able to salvage part of my Saturday. I suggested we go to the Denver Broncos training camp. We could pass it off as a football game for Tyler and kill two birds with one stone (but no butterflies, that would be frowned upon).

On the way to Denver we asked talked Tyler into putting the butterflies on hold long enough to go watch some football. When we arrived we had to take care of first things first – Tyler went potty in the port-a-potty. This chart is really working some magic with this kid. He’ll pee anywhere but his pants at this point!

We grabbed a seat on the ground (they don’t have bleachers around the practice field) behind one endzone and watched the Donkeys, er Broncos, run plays from midfield. The boy’s favorite part was the long pass plays, seeing the ball and players running towards us. Tyler told us several times that he wanted to catch a ball. But alas, being professionals, nobody overthrew their receiver by the 30 yards that would have been necessary for Tyler to have a shot at catching a ball. Later we moved to the other endzone to watch them practice their red zone offense.

As they wrapped up practice we headed out to see some butterflies and other critters. After stops to see stick bugs, bees and two inch long cockroaches the boys declined the opportunity to hold a tarantula, but did enjoy seeing mommy hold it. We checked out some starfish and horseshoe crabs and said hello to Nemo and Dorie (as far as the boys knew anyway) before reaching the marquee attraction….butterflies.

We made two trips around the pavilion; a greenhouse filled with tropical plants and humidity, as butterflies buzzed the tower repeatedly and lounged on branches and railings.

The boys really enjoyed searching through the plants and finding butterflies of all different sizes and colors. After we left the pavillion the boys climbed on a replica of a honeycomb and a rope spider web. On the way out I asked Tyler what his favorite part was. Without hesitation he said “the butterflies.”

Despite my early apprehension I had a lot of fun seeing them running around, exploring the pavilion and marveling over the butterflies and looking at the birds and turtles. We finished off with lunch before the boys fell asleep in the car on the way home. Overall it was a fun day…even it was centered on butterflies.

Splish Splash

On Thursday it was once again very hot so the boys and I went to the Sprayground - a playground with sprinklers. The boys weren't to sure of it at first. They would barely get their hands in it. Eventually Tyler warmed up some, but he never ran all the way through them. Carter would have rather played on the real playground equipment than in the sprinklers. The also had a really fun tunnel that both boys loved going in again and again and again. All in all it was a great time and we plan on going back again soon.

Today we went to the zoo and it was the perfect day for it. It wasn't crowded at all and the weather was very nice and cool. Almost all the animals were out and playing. Of course we fed the giraffes, and we also let the boys go on pony rides. They really loved it - although I think during the time Tyler was scared to death.

The best part of the trip tho was seeing the hippos. Of course Tyler remembered to wear his hippo shirt so he was so excited to see them. They were outside and just getting into their pool when we came back to see them the second time (they were eating breakfast the first time). One hippo had a 60 gallon plastic jug that she carried into the pool and then splashed around in the water with it. She was swimming all over the pool and even ran into another hippo a couple times since she was going fast. We even got splashed by the hippo a couple times -so much fun to see!! At the very end of our trip we saw the elephants and they were also in the pool. None of us had ever seen elephants swimming before and it was fun to watch. We had such a great day together - I love days like these!

Tonight is another big night for Tyler - picture and details to come soon.