Pack the Mall and Story Time

Wowzers - our morning yesterday (Saturday) was busy - but fun! We got the boys up early and headed down to Decatur. They were a little blurry eyed when we got in the car, but got excited to have their Apple Jacks - in a cup! We told them it was like we lived on the Axiom (from WALL-E).

Our first stop was the mall. We took part in the DMH "Pack the Mall" walk to support the Heart and Lung Center. The boys in their choo-choo wagon were a big hit with the walkers. Grandma Carol and Aunt Barb walked with us and the boys did really well. They liked looking in all the store windows (most of the stores weren't open yet).

They especially liked playing at the play area. There were not a lot of kids there and a lot of area to run around. It was a pretty nice setup with seats all around the edge for parents to sit on (or kids to run along) and only one entrance. Logan made a break for it a couple of times, but was quickly thwarted in his escape attempts! They loved going down the slides - head first of course. Nick would always go down feet first, but Logan and Alex were always head first on their tummys! They loved all the tunnels too.

Our next stop was Target for story time. In celebration of Dr. Seuss's birthday, they were having a party of sorts. The local TV news anchor was there reading books to the kids. They also had treat bags and cookies for everyone. Again, the boys did great. Nick and Alex especially liked the cookies and proceeded to get icing all over their faces. Logan found a new favorite toy (for a while) in the pencil that came in the gift bag. But of course the best part was Uncle Brandon in the big Dr. Seuss hat!!! Oh yeah, and Alex won a free book from the raffle they had (although Nick has been more attached to the book than Alex).

The boys sat and ate their snacks while the gal read the book. Right after we got there, the local TV camera man came to the store to get some footage of the event. Brandon said the boys even ended up on the news that night!

The boys did great all morning and were wiped when we headed back to Grandma's house for lunch. That didn't last long though as they had another burst of energy before naps finally came. I thought this was a good picture of Alex and Grandma playing "get you" with Grandpa...

And Nick coloring with Brandon...

It was fun to be out and about and having so much fun. I was very ready for a nap though once the boys were down for theirs...

Dinner Entertainment

So, here is a short video of our new dinner entertainment. The boys have done something like this the past couple of nights. If anyone can figure out what they're doing (or what they're saying), please, please, please let us know!!!

They are doing really well eating at the table. They will even start to pull their chairs over to the table if we haven't already done it. More eating at the table has also created the need for a "not at the table" list, which continues to grow. Some of our favorites: 

Don't eat like cookie monster. He makes a big mess. Eat like Elmo instead. (Not really sure how Elmo eats, but he's not as messy!)

Don't act like monkeys (accompanied by very shrill monkey sounds).

Don't hang upside down in your chair.

Don't hit your brother. (or) Hands to yourself.

No "Ready, Aim, Fire" at the table.

... 

I'm pretty sure this list will continually grow longer and longer. It is kinda odd sitting like a family at the table for a meal though. Kinda nice too! Now if only we could increase the number of 'toddler approved' items on the menu!!!

New Washer = Tons of fun!

Last week we got a new washer and dryer. Not only can we now do even more clothes in fewer loads  - they left us the box from the washer! That has been tons of fun for the boys to play in!

We had to move the old washer to the garage for a few days before uncle Brandon came to pick it up. We barely have room in our garage for our cars, so we had to move the choo-choo wagon out of the garage to make room for the washer. Since we don't really have anywhere else to put it, I brought it into the living room. That night the boys found it and wanted to sit in it to watch TV. Who am I to argue - it has seat belts!

When Brandon came up to get the washer, the boys had a blast playing with him. He would jump out of the tent and growl like a dinosaur. We're BIG on dinos right now! Poor guy - when he left, he didn't have much of a voice left... but the boys LOVED it and slept very well that night!


Ever since the new washer arrived, Alex has been fixated on the dryer. Any time we go upstairs he chants "dryer, dryer" and wants to open the closet to see it. I can't blame him. It's pretty cool to watch the clothes spin around and around and around...

Valentine's Weekend

This weekend has been so nice (and busy)! On Friday, Adam (and the boys) got me some flowers and a big Mrs. Fields cookie with icing. He's so sweet! The boys enjoyed the cookie too - although mainly just the icing. On Saturday, we started the morning by going to the Children's Discovery museum. Aunt Audrey was nice enough to come with us. Everyone seemed to have a great time. The boys really like the blocks they have on the 3rd floor. They like to climb into the buckets full of blocks (below).

We love playing with Aunt Audrey!!!

After the mueseum (and naps) we loaded up the van and went up to visit Grandma Judy and Grandpa Barry (and Cody - the dog). The boys hung out with grandma and grandpa while we went to dinner. The boys love running back and forth through the house. I'm guilty of encouraging it too - let's just say they were very tired when they were done. Nick even started asking for a nap! I suggested he sit down and I'd get him a drink. He sat down right there on the kitchen floor and said "have a seat!"

They must have still been tired this morning because they were all in a pile with Dad when I went down to get them for lunch!

I even caught Nick and Logan quietly reading books this morning. Notice that Logan is actually having the T-Rex read the book to him.

After lunch we went outside to play in the snow. I love playing in the snow with these guys!

I started to make a snowman. This is Alex's version - lay on top of the pile mom made!

Logan found out how yummy snow tastes!

Tonight we ended it with a little fun :-p  Hope everyone else had a great weekend too!

Random pictures

The following picture is a somewhat rare moment... Two boys sitting nicely next to each other and playing.

Alex sitting on Lucky (the horse):

Logan:

Nick:

Bath Time

I had to share these pics. We were getting ready for baths and undressing while Adam was running the bath water. Once they're undressed, they want their diapers off. Nick will either grab my hands and drag them to the tabs of his diaper - or just pull an Incredible Hulk and rip it right off! Either way, they were ready and the water wasn't and they weren't happy. I decided it was the perfect time to take pictures!

They boys really do enjoy baths which is nice. Recently Alex has decided he doesn't like shampoo in his hair, but quickly forgets about it once it's rubbed in. Logan tries to help us out by washing his brother's hair too. He doesn't usually wash his own, but he likes to wash a brother's head.

Coffee

It seems the boys like coffee. Occasionally, grandma or grandpa will offer them a drink - when I'm not around of course. Logan especially jumps at the chance for some. After waking up from his nap, but still laying in bed this weekend, Adam teased Logan "Do you need some coffee to wake up?" Logan jumped up and was ready to come downstairs for coffee. (He didn't get any.)

Later that day, the boys were fixated on Adam's coffee cup for some reason! It was the hot, new toy to play with.

Imagine this scene (from Office Space):
Alex to Nick: Soooo, did you get the memo about the TPS reports?
Nick: NOOOOO! Not another memo about the TPS reports.

I still don't see what's so great about the stuff. For now, we'll keep the caffeine to a minimum. They already have enough energy they can't burn through fast enough!