Oops

I know it is April and I have not posted since February, I guess I just get lost in everything else going on. Maybe it is the never ending delay of Spring, the weather plays tricks on me. We will have an afternoon of 70 degree weather, nice and sunny and then bam, back to 55 and rainy for another week.

So here are just a few pics and I will post again soon.

Out the window

Lately Brady thinks it is pretty cool to try and spit. Yes, I so very much agree with this lesson his Dad taught him (note sarcasm). Every boy needs to know how to spit right, but at 3?

Anyway, I was zooming around Home Depot with both boys driving the cool racing shopping carts they have there (they love them and ask for them at every store we go to). Pretty soon I notice Brady leaning over the side and making some awful noise. I ask him what he is doing -

"Spitting out the window like Daddy."

Thanks Jamie, now I have to try and explain why we only spit outside not in the store.

Oh from the mouths of babes

I love listening to conversations the boys have with each other or with us. Here is how it went the other day as Jamie was on the floor playing with the boys.

Jamie: Oh Colby, you are such a dork.

Brady: What dork is he....Happy?

I could not stop laughing - I am sure there many more laughs to come.

What were we thinking?

For some odd reason we decided to take a vacation in January, not really peak travel season. Originally we were going to go to Hawaii for a week and enjoy the sunshine, golf and ocean. Plans changed and we ended up going to VERMONT instead for 8 days (yes, Vermont in the middle of the winter - sub zero temps vs 85 degrees) - first WHAT WERE WE THINKING?

To get to Vermont from the Northwest we took a direct flight to Boston - averaging 6 hours on the plane with a 16 month old and 3 year old. Oh yeah, a teething 16 month old. On the flight there, I was at one point that mother that all other parents look at and feel bad for. Or that mother that people without kids wonder why she cannot control her child. One can only walk up and down the aisle with a screaming child for so long. I even resorted to standing in the restroom for a bit hoping it would drown out the screams, but then I feared someone would think I was abusing him. Finally he zonked out on his Dad for a couple of hours, ah peace for everyone. Not only did we have a long plane ride, but it was followed up by a 2.5 hour car ride to our final destination. Again - WHAT WERE WE THINKING.

As if that travel was not enough, once there we decided to head to Maine to see more family. We headed out in a snowstorm for what should have been a 3.5 hour car ride instead turned into a 5 hour car ride. Luckily the boys were good, I was the one in the foul mood because more time in the car. Once there, we were in a hotel room with a still teething baby who did not want to sleep. Jamie and I both took turns driving around Maine during the wee hours of the morning to get a baby to sleep - again right around the zero degree mark. WHAT WERE WE THINKING.

Finally after arriving back home adjusting to the time difference did not happen. For 4 days Colby was up between 4:30 and 6 ready to go for the day. Needless to say, I was not at all ready for the day and could have used many more hours of sleep.

Lesson learned, we are done vacationing until the boys are at least both 3.5 years old (so basically 2 years)! That is unless another opportunity for Hawaii comes up!!!

Christmas so far

With the holiday season here, I thought I would give a quick update on how ours is going.

-Brady and I made a gingerbread house (well really it was a kit, but who cares). I did not realize how difficult and time consuming the houses are. I made the mistake and tried to move the house from the table to the counter before it was set, I thought the boys would knock it over on the table. Silly me, I was moving it and it all fell apart with a few pieces crashing to the ground. Before I could get them all picked up, Dexter found and ate 1/4 of the back panel. I had to do a quick repair job with graham crackers and lots of icing. B and I decorated the house and I had to let go of my particular ways and let Brady put the candy on because he wanted to so bad. It actually WAS a cute house, but it was very easy to tell I had lots of help from a 3 year old. I say "was" because Dexter decided to make it a treat for himself one afternoon when we were out of the house. I did not even get a picture.

-The Christmas tree. We went to a cute little tree farm not far from our house to pick out the tree. After much searching we found what we thought was the perfect tree. Jamie started to saw it down and I reached in to hold it so it did not fall on a child. Inside was a birds nest, yes a nest - luckily no birds or eggs. We took the next out and loaded it up to take home. After 2 tree stands - it is still crooked.

-Decorating the tree has been interesting with the boys. I started with putting the breakable decorations up high and ones that were ok to touch lower, they stayed on the tree all of one day. All decorations are now on the top 1/2 of the tree, I have to admit it looks pretty funny.

-Back to baking, I decided to make sugar cookies and have Brady help decorate. I used to love doing that as a child, however I am pretty sure my mom did not have us decorating at age 3. Brady was not into frosting the cookies, instead he just wanted to put on sprinkles. He loves his sprinkles, most cookies are more sprinkles than frosting. Colby watched and ate the whole time.

That is the Christmas update for now, more to come I am sure. Pictures to come too.

Missing Maddie

Today we had the horrible task of deciding to put our cat, Maddie to sleep. We will miss her.

Maddie was a cat that loved to be left alone yet you knew when she wanted something. She had the loudest howl I have ever heard from a cat. Mostly she would exercise her lungs when the rest of us were trying to get some shut eye. Many nights I woke up to her "singing". I remember one night shortly after we were married she was singing. I got up to quiet her down to find her in the kitchen with a dead mouse - yes a mouse in the house - I guess she wanted to give me a present.

Maddie put up with a lot in the last 3 years - since the boys came along. She never once scratched one of the boys even though they sometimes loved on her a bit too hard. Or thought she was something to drag around.

If you have a pet hug them, we never know how long they will be around to make us smile. We miss you girl.

Halloween

So I am late posting pics from Halloween but here we go. This was the first Halloween where Jamie actually took the boys trick or treating. Brady walked and Colby followed in the wagon. From what Jamie tells me, Brady did not quite understand the concept of trick or treating. His understanding was that it was a social call. After ringing the doorbell and getting an answer Brady would follow it up by saying "hi" and wanting to go in and chat (with complete strangers). I am not sure he ever really understood what he was suppose to do. However, he does know that he does not at all like scary masks and still talks to me about the "scary guy."

For those of you who remember Brady's first Halloween costume, yes it is the same turtle. I could not part with the costume yet. I LOVED that costume and it fit Colby so perfectly this year. As a middle child I swore I would never recycle costumes to my children, but I had to get one more use out of this one. Mom and Dad - I now understand.