I {heart} today

My mom had to go out of town and I stayed home to watch the kids.

Today was better than any day at work.

We started the morning off by meeting a friend (and her friend, along with their kids) at the zoo. It was a little chaotic getting there, but I managed to be only about 15 minutes late. E had a lot of fun and was able to be a little social with the other two boys. He even saw some mandrils, baboons, and orangutans close up. G started crying as soon we we entered, so I had to throw on my Moby instead of keeping him in his car seat. G slept the rest if the time we were there.

After arriving home, I got E ready for bed and was able to hear him say the entire alphabet! (he did it again later in the day all on his own.) E took a short one hour nap and G took a 30 min nap. Just long enough for me to make lunch and start working on an invitation project.

Once they were both awake, we had some fun play time and I was able to capture some sweet photos of the boys together.

E also surprised me by counting to ten! G fell asleep again around 3:30, so E and I made chocolate walnut cookies and played. We had such a fun time laughing and being silly.

Every time I get to spend time with them at home, it makes me realize how much little time I get to spend with them when I'm at work. Today I spent 13 waking hours with them. On work days - it's 3.5, maybe 4 - but I'm getting ready/cooking dinner half of that time. I usually don't even get to nurse G or see much of E before going to work.

I am so thankful we had such a great day today.

my sister rocks

I love having a family member that is a talented photographer. (I try to pretend I am, but she really is!) **All photos in this post were taken by my sister.**

Since she had Veteran's Day off from work like I did, she asked if I wanted to take the kids to the parade that day. It was fun to get out of the house with the kids and I knew E would really enjoy it. We met up with one of my sister's friends and her two kids.

We waited over and hour and a half because we thought the parade started at 9, but it really didn't start until 10. Whoops! The kids did really well and just played on the grassy area in front of Chili's.

E was checking out the airplanes overhead.

E really like watching everything go by, and we even got him excited about picking up candy that was thrown. He didn't really get it at first! He liked the motorcycles and trucks, but would cover his eyes when they revved either engines. My sister covered E's ears and he seemed to be better.

G was awesome too. He fell asleep quietly on the car ride to the parade and then slept in the Moby wrap the whole time we were there - close to 3.5 hours!

Thanks for the outing! It was a great idea!

How is it...

That my baby boy has already outgrown 3 month clothing?

I came home today and he was wearing a 3-6 month onesie. For bed, he's wearing 6 month jammies - and they are tight in length!!

blueberries

E has been addicted to frozen blueberries lately. Last night, he devoured at least a cup worth of them.

Saying "cheese".

His fingernails are still stained today.

photo fun

There's nothing I really have to blog about right now, other than the fact that I want to show off my cuties.

I think that's a good enough reason for a post.

::sigh::

After a grueling day yesterday and feeling like a bad mom, today (especially tonight) was much better.

Saw a crane (as in the bird) when I pulled into school
Had a yummy coffee from McDonald's
Students were pretty good at school
Came home
Nursed the E who now says "I want Mama milk!" when I get home
Nursed G
Played horse back riding with E and swung him upside down
Heated up dinner (leftover pot roast and mashed potatoes)
Put G down easily
Ate dinner with my family
Then played a family game of hide and seek that made E squeal with happiness

Off to have some cake...with my heart filled with joy. Love my family and days like this.

Halloween 2011

This year we went and carved pumpkins at Paul's sister's apartment on the 30th. Paul did an amazing job carving out the pumpkin, E had fun decorating cupcakes and playing with his cousins, I had a blast taking pictures, and G just had a blast - a poop explosion.

Watching Dad scoop out the insides.

Helping scoop out the insides.

Cousin Ben saying that his pumpkin is the best.Grandma Marie holding a clothes-less G.On Halloween, we went up to Paul's other sister's house to have pizza, chili, and to do some trick-or-treating. E did really well at the first house, although he didn't want to leave. I think he wanted to get more candy from them.

I guess my flash is too bright.

The second house had a man answer the door with a monkey/gorilla type mask. As E and Paul were heading to the door, E put his arm over his eyes as he held Paul's hand. Paul ended up carrying him to the door and E had his face buried into Paul's neck.

By the time we went to the 4th house, he was starting to get the hang of it. Unfortunately, by that time we needed to head back home. We let E have a bite size Snickers and a mini sour Twizzler that night. (This morning he woke up asking for candy...go figure!)