Red Ribbons

I have definitely grown more confident in taking the boys out by myself. Today I decided to take them to toddler story time at Barnes and Noble. When we got there, a second grade class was in the middle of their story time. There was a stage behind the woman reading the story and what did my child decide to do? Run up on to the stage and dance! All of the kids burst into laughter and needless to say I was mortified. I immediately ran on to the stage and tried to get him to leave. He did not go easily. He threw a huge tantrum in front of everyone! Again, mortified. I know I am usually dealing with a wild man, but this morning was way over the top. He calmed down just in time to work on a craft with the other toddlers. The craft involved ribbons, which completely fascinated him. He grabbed two red ones, and took off. Those two ribbons made him so happy as he danced around the children's section. Many people complimented him on his ribbons and he would respond with "red" or "two" or even "thank you." He is now upstairs napping with his two red ribbons and I am exhausted as well. Hampton was a dream during our outing.

Finishing the Unfinished

So after an exhausting week, my gracious and loving man took over baby duty today. I wanted to relax, really I did-but sometimes I have such a hard time with relaxation. So instead, I took on a project that has been bugging me since we moved into our house. Our playroom is pretty much organized the way I want it. I like that most of the toys are up high and out of reach, therefore Everett has to request. The toy bins are categorized as well. I have ended up throwing a lot of Everett's toys in the unfinished part of the basement (our storage) to get them out of the way and I pull them out every so often. It was the unfinished basement that was killing me. Everything was strewn about and it became our dumping ground. Everytime I thought about organizing it, I became overwhelmed and decided against it. But today I had the time and the energy (thank you Starbucks!) and went for it. It took about 3 hours and I totally forgot to take a "before" picture, but believe me-it wasn't pretty. And my goodness I have a lot of speech therapy materials, which was really fun to go through.

These toys are the ones I keep out of sight, but will go to when Everett gets bored or disinterested with his other things. The toy I bring out could be something he has had for awhile, but to him it is novel and therefore more interesting. This stuff was the most fun to organize. I also got Hampton's toys ready to disperse when he is of age.

So I am very proud of the organization. I know now where everything is and even found some old, forgotten items in the process. Eric keeps laughing at me because I keep wandering in there to look at it again. What can I say? Organization thrills me to no end!

Thursday

We had a good, but very long day. It started at the crack of dawn when Hampton decided it was time to get up. Hampton had a very "off" evening and got up every 3 hours to eat. He may be going through a growth spurt. It didn't help either that he protested naps all day long as well.

Everett is getting so good at recognizing and saying the letters of the alphabet! I am so proud of him.
I caught a smile today!

Hampton enjoyed some tummy time this afternoon while Everett napped.

I baked some cookies during Everett's nap and then surprised him when he woke up.

I really have been writing these past few posts for Eric. He has been out of town all week for work and comes home tonight. Needless to say I cannot wait! It has been a good, but very challenging and exhausting week. If anything, my babies and I have bonded that much more.

Wednesday

Today was another good day with the babies. This morning we went to toddler story time at our local library. It was our first time and it was so cute! Everett definitely got into it and loved just watching all the other kids. Afterward we went to the playground across the street. I am so glad I had some sunscreen because Everett's fair skin would have been burnt to a crisp! He loved digging in the sand with the shovel. We only suffered a minor meltdown when it came to leaving due to low blood sugar, fatigue, and being a 2 year old. After nap we had a snack. Everett's new favorite is fruit with marshmallows. If Everett has another word for something, it is usually a pretty close association. However, he consistently labels marshmallows as "knees" and I have no idea why. He could be saying "these" but I am not really sure.

Balloons are also cheap entertainment at our house, as well as stickers.

Everett playing with his train set.

Hey chubby baby! Look at those cheeks-don't you just want to squeeze them?!?

Today's attempt at getting a picture of both babies together.

Everett did not inflict pain this time, however when I set Ev next to Hampton, I noticed that Hampton's eye nervously twitched. Seriously.

Everett showing me his muscle.

Tuesday

Today I had another great day with my boys. I started the day off with dressing them in coordinating outfits and attempting a photo shoot. I don't do this often because I am terrified for Hampton's safety! Everett just has a love (borderline obsession) with his baby brother. He "wuvs" him oh so much. I guess so much that he has to hurt him! Everett: "Hug Hantin."
Me: "No No Everett! No touch!"

Hampton: "Why!?!?"

Well anyways, after that I soon realized Everett was out of diapers so it was off to Target we went. It's funny- going out with the babies all by myself can either make me feel like Superwoman or a mess of a woman. There is at least a 30 min prep time. It is a lot of work. However, I do love Target so it was worth it. I could form a mom's community group based on the amount of mamas walking around that store with their babes at 10:30 on a Tuesday morning. I guess we all needed to get out of the house!

My baby boy in the front of the cart.

My big boy riding in the back. I barely had room for the items I needed!

In the baby aisle I stumbled across these. Um, is this for real? I later told Eric who was disappointed I didn't purchase them. So funny!

I did find a new beverage I decided to try out. Very refreshing.

After we got back it was lunch and naps for both babies. Then I got a bit of a break and caught up on The Bachelorette. After naps we all played downstairs for a while. Poor Maggie had to go to extreme measures to remind me she needed food and dragged her food bowl of her crate. Pitiful looking, but what a smart dog!

Hampton just relaxing and letting it all hang out.

During one of Hampton's afternoon naps, I brought out a new magnet toy for Everett to play with. He immediately started to sort out all the letters according to their color.

We then ended the day with meatloaf for dinner, bath, story, and lots of snuggle time! I now feel completely exhausted, but completely content and overwhelmingly blessed!

Family, Friends, Food, Fun!

We have had such a fun and relaxing weekend! On Saturday our good friends the Burkes came down up from South Carolina to visit. This was their first visit to our new house. We were so excited to meet their new guy Silas and for them to meet our guy Hampton. Time with the Burke family is always a guaranteed good time. We cooked out for lunch and the two big boys played hard. Then the babies (all four of them) really gave us a nice treat and slept at the same time so we could visit for a couple of hours. We have some great memories with Chris and Amy back in our Louisville days before kids. Now between us, we have four boys! We are a lot more busy, tired, and maybe even stressed out....but we still have so much fun!

Big brother Everett
Big brother Wyatt

I caught the big boys deep in discussion over lunch.

I love this picture. Amy and I look like we are saying "Come on and take the picture already! This won't last long!"

The little brothers

Then on Sunday morning we went to church. Everett and Hampton did wonderful in the nursery! Everett's adjustment to the nursery is such an answer to prayer. It only took two years-ha! He still cries at drop-off, but he is always a happy boy at pick-up. After his nap, I took him outside to play with his water table. He loves it. He does not understand however that the water is supposed to stay inside the table. He just dumps it onto the deck.

On Monday we just stayed at home and relaxed. We did some chores, cooked, and napped. Eric had to also get ready for an upcoming trip he is going on for work. We had some Memorial Day plans, but they got cancelled due to the weather. I am happy we just ended up spending a full day at home though. A nice 3-day treat!

Blogging Buddy

As I was just writing the previous post, this is where my Hampton sat. I know he is naked, but he just spit up all over his outfit....and well he loves to be naked!