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 Things They Say

Here are just a few examples of the conversations going around our house these days:

• Tyler is getting very ready for preschool. On our way into church today we saw a school bus. Tyler then informed me that "we still need to get my supplies for school right mommy? And I need to get my haircut. I also need to go to the doctors and make sure I am ok. I almost forgot about that one mommy."
• The other night Justin was tucking the boys into bed. They were talking about them growing up and getting bigger. Tyler asked about his toys getting bigger with him. Justin explained that he would get new bigger as he got bigger. Like instead of his ride on car he would get a real car. Tyler then worried that "the toys would break the roof of the house".
• This one really isn't a conversation, but cute nonetheless. Carter is doing great at home potty training but not wanting to go at church. I think it has more to do with stopping playing than anything else. The other day the finally convinced him to go if they brought his fairy dress up skirt to the bathroom with him. Today it was a car (at least he isn't always dressing up).
• Along the dress up lines, Carter finds any of my shoes (although he seems to go for sandals the most) and he puts them on. Then he tells me he has his"dancing shoes" on.

Potty Training Update

We have had our good days and out bad days. On Saturday Carter was just being stubborn. I would put him on the potty and we would sit there for 10-15 minutes just for him to get off and have an accident 5 minutes late. So we made him a potty chart and on Sunday he was perfect - not a single accident even when we were out and about. Today I had to work so we went to church. He was acting stubborn all morning nut only had one accident and one success. He is also waking up dry in the morning and after nap. I am very optimistic that he is going to get this down in no time as long as his stubbornness doesn't get in the way.

I have a lot more to catch up on - the boys have the greatest conversations these days. Hopefully I can get to them (and still remember them) this week!

Third Time has to be a Charm

For the third and FINAL time, we are potty training Carter. We were talking about it at dinner last night (we were going to start this morning) and he decided he wanted to wear big boy pants NOW. So we head upstairs, put his underwear on and haven't looked back. Since he did so well last time I am thinking this should be fairly easy. He had one accident last night, but then stayed dry in the car as we drove around for an hour or so. Today no accidents at all and he wanted to stay in his big boys pants during nap, so hopefully this will go well. He isn't telling me when he has to go but I have noticed that times that I insist he at least tries and he fights me on it are the times he really doesn't need to go. So I am thinking he gets it. Either way we are sticking it out this time - no turning back no matter what happens.

Building Away

I love watching Tyler play lately. He creates such stories and now acts them out. The other day I caught him downstairs playing with his Little People Circus. He drug out all his animals to be in the circus, then all of his people who were watching the circus. He also had a parking lot with every car or truck we own lined up and some on a road leaving the circus. He then made the animals put on a little show.

Today he was playing with his Lincoln Logs. Usually Justin and I help him build the houses up but since he didn't ask for my help today I let him go and just watched. He made himself a little farm. He out the windows and doors on and even put the animals inside. The best part was listening to him as he was building. He was acting out the part of the builder. He would say things like "and the window should go here ok?" Once he put the horses in the barn he became the farmer and was talking about the horses - all of this to himself. When I took the picture he let me know that he wasn't done yet and told me it still needed the roof. He is going to finish it after nap time. I LOVE that he can play so well by himself and that he was such a great imagination.

Sweet Boy

Carter has always been one to be sensitive of others. He always asks nicely for things and usually doesn't have issues sharing. He will also say sorry, even if he isn't the one who should be saying it. The other night at dinner had to be one of the sweetest things I have seen. Tyler was having a hard time with using proper manners at the table. Once he finally was able to sit with us, he ate a piece of bread and then wanted more. He told him that he had to eat his courtesy bites of his ravioli before having another slice of bread. Carter then asked for a slice of bread and since he had cleared his plate we gave him one. Carter picked up his piece and set it on Tyler's plate. Because Tyler still hadn't even taken one bite of his dinner I took the bread away. Carter started crying immediately. He just wanted Tyler to be able to have a piece of bread. He sat there upset until Tyler finally ate his bites so he could give it to him. I hope Carter never loses his generosity and love toward others.

Congrats Lindsay and Randy!

On Sunday Justin and I went up to Denver to celebrate Lindsay and Randy getting married while Nana watched the boys. I am told they were great for Nana, which is always music to my ears. We had a great time at the reception catching up with old friends and having a fun night out. Justin picked out my dress and shoes himself and I even got my hair done!! Thanks for watching them Nana so we could have a night out!

Nana and the Zoo

Nana came down this weekend to see us and to watch the boys for us on Sunday. On Saturday we decided to take a trip to the zoo. It was teddy bear days at the zoo which meant the boys could bring their teddy bears to be checked out. Tyler got his checked out by Miss Colorado even. They also had free face painting and best of all an EMT with his fire truck! The boys of course loved it. Although they wouldn't walk to anyone. After the bears were declared to be in good health we went on to see some animals. They boys got to ride the ponies, the carousel, and the train. We also feed the giraffes and saw the hippos swim around. And even better treat was getting ice cream at the zoo thanks to Nana. We had a great time.

After some short naps we headed over to Leah and Seth's house to celebrate Leah and Marj's birthday. The boys had a blast running around and playing with everyone. They even made up a new game called dork polo. A kid would ride on an adults shoulders with a ball and throw a ball to another kid. Because two and three year olds can't catch very well the ball would land on the ground and the adult would have to dip down to let the child pick up the ball from the ground. It was a lot of giggling, screaming, and laughing from both the adults and the kids. The boys slept very well that night!

Dirty Boys

Man I need to catch up. On Wednesday the boys were getting back to their normal schedules a little more. That night we headed over to the Hancock's for a surprise party for Kisa. Kisa and the kids didn't arrive for a few hours after we got there, but the boys still had a blast jumping on the trampoline, playing on their swing set, and rolling around in a dirt pile they had. Needless to say they were filthy when we left and needed baths before bed even though it was way past bedtime.

Home Again, Home Again

On Saturday we had another low key day of playing outside on the swing set and packing to go home. After a great trip at Oma and Opa's we headed to the airport early Sunday morning. You could tell the boys were tired and they weren't the best behaved on the plane. However we all made it back in one piece. The boys have been adjusting back to life at home. I had to work Monday morning and the boys were up at 4:30 (gotta love the time change). There have been more tantrums and a lot less listening lately but I hope they will be back on track soon. They boys talk about our trip daily. If they see a picture of some tower it must be Obama's big tower. They love to tell people about the beach and they ask almost everyday when they will get to go back to Oma and Opa's house.

Big Towers

On Thursday we had a more low key day to recover from the fun day the beach. Justin and I took the boys to the mall play area to play and ride the carousel and then home for naps. The only official (meaning not in a car) they took the whole trip. After a yummy dinner at my favorite place in Maryland we put the boys to bed earl and got ready for the sights the next day.

On Friday we headed into D.C. Justin wanted to see the new WWII memorial and the boys wanted to see President Obama's house. They boys loved riding on the "train" into D.C. and as soon as we got off the train they spotted the Washington monument. Carter had to go see the big tower and touch it. From there the boys loved looking at all the fountains at the WWII memorial, however Justin probably would have liked more time there. From there we went to see the White House where the boys decided the the President had a very big yard. After some lunch we headed over to the Natural History museum and me up with one of Justin's friends from high school - Jen. Carter really liked the dinosaurs, especially the stegosaurus since he had one on his shirt that day. Tyler seemed to enjoy looking at all the different kinds of bugs. From there we headed to the Air and Space museum and Tyler was in heaven. He kept wanting to go on all the airplanes. His favorite part was getting to ride in a flight simulator. Once we were done there the boys were getting pretty tired. We said good bye to Jen and started to head back to the subway. Carter refused to walk anymore (they had been walking all day) so Justin put him on his shoulders. Within 10 seconds Carter was asleep. He didn't wake up again until we were back to where the car had been parked. Tyler also fell asleep on the train for the last 20 minutes of the ride. We got home to where the boys were almost to tired to eat and after taking Dickens for a walk they went right to bed.

Beach Day!!

On Wednesday Oma, Opa, the boys, Justin and I headed to the beach. We weren't sure how long the boys would want to stay at the beach, but we packed plenty of stuff just in case. Its a good thing we did, because the boys LOVED it. As soon as we got there and got everything set up they wanted to go into the water. The had a blast having the waves come up to their legs while Opa and daddy held their hands. It was great having four adults there as well as we could go up to the boardwalk in shifts for food and the boys could play the whole time.

They also loved the sand. They made sand angels, dug holes, and even got buried in the sand. The boys did not mind having sand all over them. Carer at one point hid a cracker in the sand and then both boys shared eating it up - yum yum. Also at one point Carter was caked in sand. Every single crevice on his face had sand on it - he couldn't even close is mouth. The best part of the sand was when they got a bucket of water to make mud. They couldn't believe we were telling them to play in the mud. After a little while Justin helped them make a sand castle. The boys thought it was so neat. Plus every time Justin would go fill up a bucket with water the boys would run after him and then run back up the hill to dump the water out. The boys played in the water a few more times and because they were so sandy they both got dunked a couple of times, and they still loved it. I would think Tyler would be crying because he didn't like the water just for him to turn around and I would see that he was actually laughing in delight.

Once we got changed and cleaned off we headed for dinner and then home where the boys feel fast asleep. I am sure glad we went to the beach. It was so much fun watching them enjoy it so much. Thanks for taking us Oma and Opa!!

Ice Age

On Tuesday we took the boys to their very first movie in a theater. We have been wanting to do this for a while but there haven't been movies that I thought the boys would like but not get scared at. I did have some apprehension with Ice Age 3, but the boys did very well. They got to sit in little boosters seats and each got a kid pack of popcorn, lemonade and a little candy. They did a great job of being quiet during the movie - only Tyler asked a couple questions. With about 20 minutes of the movie left Carter did fall asleep, but I would call it a success! Tyler liked his kid pack so much he ate every bite. When we was done with it he handed me the empty tray. He then started getting out of his seat. When I asked him what he was doing he told me he had dropped two pieces. He didn't complain when I told him he couldn't have them off the floor, but man does this boy like his treats.

Cousins!

On Sunday we headed over to Todd and Jessie's house for some playtime for all the cousins. They were having so much fun playing that my boys didn't even want to stop to eat. It was somewhat chilly as it had rained in the morning but all the kids still wanted to play in the pool. Carter only lasted a few minutes before he was to cold but Tyler kept going no matter how much he shivered. Once we finally convinced them to come inside they ate some dessert and played some more. It was so much fun seeing them all play together and to finally meet baby Asher.

On Monday,Acacia and Shiloh were so sad that everyone had to leave, so Jessie brought them all up to ply at Oma and Opa's. Again the kids had a blast. They played on the swing set, played baseball, ate popsicles in the grass, and just had a great time. Oma, Jessie and I took all the cousins to Chick-fil-a for dinner and then said goodbye to Jessie's gang. When we got back we had Tyler,Carter, and Toby watch a movie together so that all the adults could have one nice meal made by B.J. The boys did well watching the movie and we had a great dinner.

Happy 4th of July!!

We got the boys up nice and early (5 am) to head to Denver for our flight to Maryland. The boys did great on the flight, but didn't nap at all. They were so excited to see Oma and Opa once we landed. They did fall asleep on the ride home but woke up as soon as we got to there house. After some lunch Toby woke up and the boys had a great time playing together. For fireworks we headed over to a hotel that overlooks a lake. We all had a nice dinner buffet there and settled down to watch the fireworks. It was a great show and Carter really enjoyed the, Tyler however thought they were a little loud and looked away for the majority of them. We all had a very long day, but the boys were loving every minute of it.