Just Life!

Not much is going on around here. Although the days seems full - there is always either meals to be made, diapers to be changed, kids needed to be cuddled and rocked for naps, fights that need to be broken up, thirsty kids, lego to be built and played with, parks to be visited, cartoons to be watched, tickling to be had, etc. So even though our life isn't busy with school and other stuff - there is ALWAYS somthing that needs to be done!

Tonight, Jack fell asleep watching cartoons at 6 pm and then willow just fell asleep while me and dave were talking - that was at 7 - so 2 kids in bed (grayson is at my side asking me what I am doing - he is next to go to bed!) I fear Jack and Willow will be up by 5 or 6 a.m. not my favorite hour! But it is nice to have them in bed early.

(**Side note - what I thought was going to turn into a lovely evening for me as the kids were in bed, I guess willow just wanted a 20 minute nap and wasn't really ready for bed!! love that!) but it is almost 9 - all kids are in bed and I guess I get an hour before I need to go to bed! - oh what is that - I hear Willow again!!!! - off I go....!)

my computer got stolen by Crazed Chicken Pirates....

Okay, you might have wondered what has happened to me! No, I have not been abducted by crazed chicken pirates. I think I have just been too lazy to blog. But seeing that I have a new baby I am going to use the excuse that I have been too busy!! Plus, we have been reading "Henry and the Crazed Chicken Pirates" book non-stop. Jack loves the line "but what if a parrot poops in my eye and I can't see". He's got the book memorized. I recommend you get this book from your library, it is hilarious to read!

Willow is now 4 months. Time flies by. She is such a good and easy baby! I love it! Makes having 3 much easier. She is rolling around all over the floor. She already is moving her legs and knees and is never in the same spot that I put her down in. She spits up like crazy and seems to miss the blanket she is lying on and gets the carpet. She is a great sleeper which makes mama happy and must more patient with all the kids (which I am sure the kids appreciate!) She laughs hysterically when the boys jump in front of her. She loves watching Jack! Her hair is growing and is crazy looking everyday. But I love that hair!

Jack has just got a new bike with training wheels. He saw this Hot Wheels bike on a commercial and fell in love with it. The handle has a handlebar that you can rev like a motorbike. He just rides his bike around - revving the handle. He has had a few spills but is learning how to use his brakes to stop! We have 2 boys who live beside us the same age as Jack and Grayson and they just ride bikes all day! Jack is also loving Lego right now. He loves building things and just plays and plays with the planes and cars that he builds. And he loves Lego.com.

Grayson is mama's boy. He does not leave my side too much. At playgroup he stands right beside me. He hates going to nursery but slowly enjoys it when he does stay. He sits with me when we are outside playing with neighbors. He is so shy around strangers. Oh, but he loves Jack. Sometimes they play so nicely others not so nicely. Mostly, it is Jack getting upset because Grayson isn't doing what he wants and Grayson just doesn't understand what to do. A 4 year old trying to communicate to a 2 year old how he wants to play a made up game or have a race - the 2 year old just doesn't always get it. And then they both get frustrated! or mostly Jack.

As for me and Dave, nothing is too new or exciting. Dave started working on getting our raised garden ready for planting as well as getting things ready so we can get our back fence finished next weekend. Can't wait for our fence to be done!

I am just enjoying being able to take the kids outside to play everyday! Sunshine and parks make for happy kids and happy mom!

I couldn`t just pick a couple photos of the kids so here are a few.

More pics to come later, we just created a family band this morning - jack was on piano, grayson on drums and willow the lead singer...I`ll post pics soon!

Halloween 2010

So Grayson's new word now is "treat". He looks at me numerous times throughout the day and says "treat?" He know where his bucket full of candy is and wants it. He has a sweet tooth like his mom. Luckily he opens up a little chocolate bar, takes one bit and says "all done" or opens a sucker, licks it and says "all done". So at least he isn't eating too much. Jack is much more sensible about his bucket of candy. Its easy for me to say "just one" and he'll listen. He doesn't have such a sweet tooth. Grayson would eat candy all day!!

We went to our Ward trick or trunk activity on Saturday night. Jack was dressed as a knight and Grayson as Batman! Grayson was sooo excited to put on his costume. He loved it. It must help when you have a brother who is excited to get dressed up. Because I remember Jack at Grayson's age and he wanted nothing to do with getting dressed up and going out trick r treating. Grayson, on the otherhand, once he saw that if he walked up to a car trunk, someone would put candy in his bucket, he was all over it. He didn't stop, he just kept going, didn't care where we were. Jack, had a great time too, but some of the cars were decorated pretty scary so after doing about 1/4 of the cars - he was done. Grayson just wanted to keep going.

On Sunday night, Dave took the boys and they went and did just a couple houses in our neighborhood. Our neighbors went all out and decorated their houses and lawns this year. Daily, me and the kids would walk or drive by and look at all the houses. Again, Jack was pretty scared of most of the houses - I would be too at that age! But Grayson, he knew if he knocked he would get candy. And he was so cute saying "trick or treat"! But quickly their buckets got full and they came home to indulge in what they got.

Brothers!

Here are just some random pictures from the last few weeks. Grayson loves following Jack around lateley. Whatever Jack does, Grayson wants to do. Whatever Jack eats for breakfast, Grayson must have too! It is so cute! Grayson has started talking quite a bit too! So cute! These guys love to hang out! Their favorite is to hide under covers and have me look for them. And before Grayson goes to bed he has to climb into Jack's bed. He wants to sleep with Jack so bad. He hates it when we take him out. Soon they'll be sharing a room and Grayson will be so happy!

Just thought I'd share some random pics!

Cabin 2010

Okay, so Ryan wants more pics of the kids. I know, I am a lame blogger. So, here are some pics from the cabin this year. The kids had so much fun at the cabin with all their cousins and grandparents and cool auntie Robin!

We're Back!

WOW, Can you believe it? I am actually sitting here writing on this blog which hasn't been touched for such a long time!!!

Summer has come and is almost over! I can't believe it - it just flys by. I guess when you are sick for so many weeks - it would just fly by. We had our ultrasound for Baby #3 (which Jack calls Baby Brent from the movie "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"), everything looks good. Dave and I both guess that the baby is a GIRL so that is our prediciton!!! He/She is due January 2011.

Grayson is now 19 months. Loves to play with cars. Jack when he was little lined up cars all day long - he would have parking lots of cars but Grayson is a zoomer. He likes to drive the cars everywhere. Up the stairs on the chairs, anywhere and just makes car sounds! He has started over the past month nodding his head yes and no when I ask him things. Which I love. Communication is so much easier. Plus it is so cute!

Jack is 3 1/2. He loves cartoons! Loves puzzles! and cars and building dams and rivers in the backyard dirt pile we have. And loves swimming!

Okay, so here are some up to date pics!

(these two pics below are from FHE last Monday - we talked about missionaries and missions and then we dressed them up to look like missionaries - Jack loved it!)

(grayson dressing up in Jack's batman costume!)

(jack is AMAZING at puzzles - this is 100 pieces -
he does it at least 3 times a day if not more - and all by himself)

(the boys watching them pour concrete in front of our house - I came by to see what they were doing and it was so cute to see jack put his arm around grayson and was explaining what they were doing!)

Boys Will be Boys....

What boys like to do at our house:

1. WRESTLE - ALL DAY LONG!




2. WHERE COLANDERS ON THEIR HEAD.

3. SEE BROTHER WEARING COLANDER AND MUST GET ONE FOR HIMSELF!

4. GIVE HUGS!

5. AND PLAY ALL DAY - - - THANK GOODNESS FOR BED TIME.

Grayson is almost 15 months now. The past few months have flown by. He walks, climbs the stairs, can say a few words (apple, mama, mine [which he says to jack often]). He wants to do everything and be everywhere jack is except when he is out in public or somewhere new then he just wants to be with me. Which I love! Right now I think he is going through a growth spurt - he loves to sleep. He sleeps all night, sleeps in, takes long naps, goes to bed early...I love it! He is so much happier now that he sleeps well! He is at such a fun age - I really love this age. He can understand some things like "go get mommy your shoes" or "where is your milk".

Jack is happy and crazy as usual. He is constantly batman or spiderman. He is going through a stage where he has to change his outfits a million times a day. He will jump off anything, couches, ottomans, beds, etc pretending to be a superhero and always is asking me which superhero i am and grayson is. He puts on Dave's socks and pulls them really high somehow he turns into a superhero that way. He just loves to play with kids and play and play.

Thought I'd better post some pictures of the kids since I haven't for a while and Grayson is growing so fast and is so super cute!!

Robin.

The Best of Friends

Just a quick post to put some updated pics on the blog. These guys play together so well. They love to wrestle and love to ride around on this car together. Grayson loves it when Jack jumps on the couch, he laughs so loud.

The last picture is of Jack in his cowboy gear - he found some old pajamas and put them on and then needed the cowboy hat to be pulled out to complete the outfit.

Jack is now potty trained - yaaaa - it was so easy - but I guess that what happens when you wait until he is 3. So its nice to just change 1 person's diaper per day.

Grayson is getting bigger (25 pounds). He is walking more and more each day. Talking more. He loves any toys with buttons that he can push and make sounds with. Likes to dance with us! And loves to eat. He out eats Jack at every meal.

That is it for now I am off to RD for the weekend as Dave and friends drywall the basement.

And Off He Goes!

It has been a long January. The kids got sick right after the New Year and then of course I got sick with whatever they had! No fun! How can you avoid getting sick when the kids cough and snot and saliva all over you! Its inevitable! But my cold lasted over 2 weeks. I have been feeling so so so awful. Counting down the minutes until Dave would come home at night so I could just go to bed! But now we are all healthy - let's stay that way.

On a happier note, last Saturday, January 16, 2009, Grayson turned 1. I can't believe how fast this year has gone. I have to say I have said many many times over this past year, I can't wait until Grayson is 1. He was not an easy baby for me especially for the first 6 months especially compared to Jack. I just was not prepared for it and knew that once he was bigger he'd be happier. And is he ever. He is so happy and loves to play. His favorite time of day is after Jack goes to bed and we get to play just him and me for a while! He is so funny and cracks us up. And Jack is amazed every time he walks. Jack will say..."look mom, look, he's walking". He still prefers to hold on to walls or crawl but he definitely walks around quite a bit lately.

Grayson's birthday was a quiet one! No big party. But we still had lots of fun. We invited a family over who have a son Jack's age and a baby a few months younger than Grayson (both boys). I made a Mexican Fiesta with Shredded Chicken Soft Tacos, Chips, Guac and nuggets and fries (okay the fries were for the kids and not Mexican!). We ate, opened presents and just hung out. It was quiet, but fun.

Since its a new year, I put Jack into some new activities. He takes a swimming class (all by himself - no mom). He has lots of fun, although last week he wanted me to swim with him in his class and wouldn`t let me go. But after a few minutes he was fine and was off swimming like a fish. Its so fun to watch him in his own class. Grayson and I get to swim and play while Jack takes his lesson. Grayson loves to swim too. I have to say swimming is one of our family`s favorite activities. We go swimming quite a bit (waterslides, baby pools, wave pools), we love it.

Jack is also in an indoor hockey class. This is a hilarious class. They really teach the boys to play hockey. They start out with stretching and a running game warm up and then they practice different stick handling and puck handling drills and then the boys split up into 2 teams and play hockey. It`s hilarious because the dads who bring their boys are so into the game. They are yelling when the boys have the puck `go go go, take it to the net` or whatever hockey dad`s yell. Then there are the boys who just stand there running but not usually in the direction of the puck just running around...Jack falls into that category. He is just too sweet and soft to push kids away and steel the puck. Jack loves it. Dave got Jack some indoor hockey sticks so they practice downstairs in the basement.

That`s what we`ve been up to the past couple weeks!

Enjoy the video and pics!

(dad and grayson - hang out time!)

(We made donuts and donut holes.

Jack loved making them and eating them! So easy to make!)


(The boys looking very eagerly at Grayson`s new birthday toy)

(Brothers!)

More Christmas Activities

In terms of our 25 days of Christmas activities things went a little wonky this last week as I was sick for the first part of the week and then the boys caught the cold the last part of the week and are still getting over the runny nose, cough, cold. But we pushed through and tried to do somethings. Not many pictures were taken but here is what we did.

Day 8 - Letter to Santa. Well we attempted this. Jack was not too interested, perhaps when he can write it will be more fun. He drew on the page for a few seconds and then was done and I didn't push the activity. So poor Santa will have no letter from the boys but at least the boys saw Santa at the mall!

Day 9 - Make a Christmas Craft. What we actually did: Drove in a snow storm to Cross Iron Mall to see cousins and Grandma. Played there for the afternoon. Drove Home in a Blizzard. Left the mall at 3:30 and arrived home at 8 p.m. due to traffic.....THAT WAS FUN! NOT!

Day 10 - Make cards for cousins. We did start these but Jack was more interested in putting the stickers and stuff in his coloring book than what I had planned so we went with that!

As you can see the week wasn't going as planned! But I knew all 25 days would not get accomplished!

Day 11: Shop for a toy for Grayson. On Friday morning we ventured out to Zellers where Jack was to pick out a toy to give to Grayson for Christmas. He was more interested in playing with toys then getting something for Grayson but he did eventually pick something out for Grayson which he was excited about! Although we did not leave the store without Jack having a tantrum and lying down on the floor by the enterance not wanting to leave. But I am pretty used to that! I think I bribed with him McDonalds if he would get up! What a great mom eh?!

Day 12: Make Gingerbread House. Okay well we didn't actually get that done but we did make a christmas craft for a couple of his cousins which Jack was very into and had fun and grayson was happy to hang out and watch! (see pics below).

Day 13: Nativity Lesson. Well I wasn't able to get the nativity for this lesson but that was okay we had the missionaries come over and give a little lesson on what the meaning of all the Christmas things are like the meaning of the tree, candy cane, presents, star, etc. Jack was actually pretty interested and listened well.

Day 14: Christmas Mom and Tots: Today we just went to the church and played with his nursery friends. Jack did not end up going to bed until midnight last night and woke up at 7:30 so I was a little terrified to see how he would behave at the play group but he had fun. Only melt down was that he didn't want to leave. But he was so tired and needed bed! He fell fast asleep as soon as he got home - so did Grayson. Love the afternoon naps!

I promise more fun things are planned for this and next week.......and I will take pics but that summarizes this last week.

Birthday Party and Christmas Day 7

Christmas Day 7: Visit Santa at the Mall

Today, we got bundled up and trekked to the mall even though it was freezing outside. Jack was very exicted to see Santa and tell him what he wanted for Christmas. Grayson on the other hand was not so excited to see Santa, as you can see from the photo. But I think this is a typical Santa photo. Surprisingly Jack smiled so easily not like family photos the other day where he cried the whole time. Grayson is just at that phase where all he wants is his mom no one else.

Jack is totally getting into our Christmas countdown. Every morning he starts off with a chocolate from his advent calendar and then asks where the envelope is. So that is nice that its not just me enjoying it.

Jack turns 3!

Jack is now a BIG BOY! As I repeatedly tell him. Big boys dont whine or fight and they listen to their moms! I think he had a good birthday. I hope he did anyway. He got to spend it with grandparents, lots of cousins and a NEW cousin!!!! (Jody you know what I am talking about!!!shocker!!!) Auntie Lisa made him a cake which was very impressive and it was a lot of playing and having fun! In the morning Jack woke up to balloons at his table for breakfast and presents. He got a submarine which he was eyeing at Walmart for a long time and he was so excited to get it!

I am so grateful for Jack in our family. He is really just a good boy! What an easy easy baby he was. Just played and slept and didnt really fuss! Loves to play! Loves his brother! Loves to sing. We sing all the time as we drive around town doing errands. We love him!

25 Days of Christmas.

So I thought I'd do something fun with Jack and Grayson this year or maybe it will turn out to just be fun for me but we'll see how it goes. We are doing an activity advent. There are so many ideas out there to do this but this is what I came up with. Something easy for me to put together. I came up with 25 activities for me and the boys to do each day for 25 days! I put each activity in an envelope and then in this vase I had. Each day, Jack takes out the envelope for that day and there is an activity listed inside. Things like bake cookies, visit Santa, write a letter to Santa, buy a toy to give away, etc. Hopefully, I will capture lots of those activities on film and post them here. So is what we did for December 1 and 2, 2009.

December 1 - Put up the Christmas Tree and Decorate.

Today, December 2 - was nothing too Christmasy - it was to go to the church mom and tots group christmas party. Jack was very excited to find out he got to go to the church and play!

Jack is getting very excited for Christmas - it makes me so happy - the other day we were walking through Michaels and i could here him singing "Santa Claus is coming to town" The Polar Express movie has really got him excited for Christmas. All he wanted to do while setting up the Christmas tree besides sit in the tree box (he loved that - it was his train) was play with the bells and he wanted me to be Santa and I would give him the FIRST GIFT OF CHRISTMAS. So cute! Grayson - well all he wanted to do was tear the tree down. Our tree is very light and pretty small. He could easily with one hand pull that tree down so after the kids went to bed we had to baricade the tree. Ottoman, exercauser and toy bin are now surrounding the tree - it seems to work!

Off to wake the kids from naps - or else they'll never go to bed tonight!

Robin.