Bad Parents

Nate and I are seriously bad parents. Poor Link had an awful birthday this week. His party on Sunday was stifling hot. On Monday, the AC was out and it was too hot to do anything fun. Thank goodness Memaw and Pappy were here to make it a little fun. On Tuesday, he took to school Harris Teeter cookies (in the container I bought them in) for snack. ALL, and I mean ALL, the other parents at his school send in full out cakes with goody bags for their kids b/days. We get a goody bag a week...it's crazy! Then today, Nate walks upstairs holding the balloons we bought him on Saturday. We hid them downstairs for the party and forgot about them. This is yet another reason we should not have more kids. Poor Link is definitely the second child.
*On a side note...don't mind the mess on our table. Nate is in charge of putting together ten goody baskets relating to Military Movies. This has been a challenge!!!

4:30 pm

We were home a little late today, 4:30. I came in to dog pee on the floor.....not the best way to start the night off. I pulled our little floor cleaner out and spilled OLD dog pee all over the floor and my leg. Again....not the best way to start the night off. I called Nate to rent a steam cleaner to clean the floor up tonight. I ran upstairs with the boys to shower and change clothes. When I got out of the shower, Ethan was in his jammies and Link had taken his pants off. I thought it was a brillant idea, so I put my jammies on! It was just what I needed. I had found a recipe from Dutch Girl Cooking called Kay's Pork Strips and decided to try them. DELICIOUS!!! Now we just have to clean that nasty floor downstairs, give the kids a bath, get them to bed, and relax. Jammies at 4:30 are always a good idea.

Pool boy

This is just a snipet of Ethan jumping in the pool. He is getting better everyday, but he is still a little scared of the water. Tonight we decided to let Link get in the pool. The water was so stinking COLD...Link was miserable. He cried and cried, so I held him and Nate tried helping Ethan. Nate was a new person with him in the pool and he held him differently, so it was like day one all over again. His favorite part of the lesson was jumping in the pool!!

HOT....stinking HOT

Link's b/day was overshadowed today by the HEAT and NO AC!!! His cheeks were red all day!
I put a fan on Ethan while he was coloring at the table. He looks so sweetly at me and says, "Oh...thanks mom...it's HOT!" The AC man came...spent twenty minutes...and we are back in business!!

PARTY!!

This toddler is two tomorrow! We had his party today since Memaw and Pappy were here.
There is a playground down the hill from us with a covered pavillion. The boys love going down there to play, so we thought it would be perfect for the party. We scheduled the party for after church...noon. Little did we know that it would reach 90 degrees today. By the time we walked down there, everyone was sweating and hot! We ate pizza, attempted to play on the playground, and opened presents. Lincoln was excited to eat his cake. I got behind the cake to get a picture of his face while we were singing. The whole time I was thinking that he was loving the attention of us singing to him. Until, he reached his hands up and I realized he was digging into the cake.

Lincoln kept crawling up into the stroller saying "bye-bye." Ethan actually layed down on the picnic table. Memaw and Pappy wore these boys out this weekend!

My picture

At dinner, Ethan said, "Hey. Take my picture for the blog." We made it back to swimming lessons tonight. Ethan did GREAT!
We made it nine days healthy. School called and Link had a fever today. We think it is hand, foot, and mouth. Tonight he cried, "bobo" and then pointed to the potty. I put him on the potty and he pooped! YEAH!!

two years later....

Right before Lincoln was born, Nate and I were just beginning to be able to workout while Ethan played. Today was the first time since then, that I was able to workout for twenty whole minutes while both boys played on the floor. It was awesome. Sorry, there are no pictures. We had a busy night!
After working out, we went out for dinner and to the toystore. Ethan picked out a toy for Lincoln's birthday. They are also beginning to play with the same toys. So, it works out perfectly when Ethan picks out a toy he wants because you know Lincoln is going to love it, too!
I know he's not even two, until Monday...but I am loving this age! He's communicating better and can play without me or Nate for a good amount of time. Ethan is an amazing brother. He is turning out to be a responsible, thoughtful little boy! Life is good!

First Swimming lessons

Notice the death grip I have on him...I was able to loosen the hold a little bit on him by the end of the thirty minutes. The class was a beginner class to basically get him used to the water. We did lots of floating and kicking and at the end...get ready for it....JUMPING into my arms in the water. I think it was perfect for him! Now...cross your fingers I can get him back on Thursday.

Just cooking.

Me: Nate, Whatcha doing? Nate: Oh you know....just cooking.
Why is it guys think putting four balls of meat and a couple hot dogs on the grill is cooking?

This mess in the toy room happened in approximately five minutes. Once they had no more room to move....they tried bringing it out into the living room.

Our boys will never, ever, ever have wonder if they are smart or handsome. We tell them all the time. Today we were at the table and somehow the subject of Nate's PHD came up. I told Nate that the only person smarter than him was ME, of course!! I looked at the boys and asked, "Now, who is the only person smarter than Daddy?" Then, I pointed to myself. Both boys, simulataneously, smiled and raised their hands! I guess now we need to work on modesty...for all of us!

I can't wait to go to the museum

Today was forecasted to be beautiful, warm, and sunny...and it was! We decided last night to head to the Natural History Museum. The boys love looking at the dinosaurs, elephant, and bear in their Goodnight Washington DC book. All morning Ethan said, "I can't wait to go to the museum."
We took the Metro to make the day a little extra special. This boy was in heaven as you can see from the ear to ear grin.
Once we got in the museum we went straight to the elephant. We let Link out of the stroller and he RAN up to the elephant. I wish I could type the sound he makes (it's an elephant sound). We went up to see the Hope Diamond and the boys kept running over to the rail to look at the elephant.
About two seconds after we took Lincoln out of the stroller, Ethan starts saying "My legs are tired." He basically wanted to ride in the stroller. SO, our two year old walked while our four year old rode in the stroller. We even had to tell him to get out to look at stuff. What a goober!
We left after about an hour and half. It was such a nice day we decided to eat on the Mall. We found a stand with hotdogs and tables. While we were sitting, Ethan decided he wanted to take my picture. I thought it was pretty good! I think he takes after his mommy! :)
We were right across from the Smithsonian Castle...which is the information building for the Smithsonian. We had never been in there, so we walked over after lunch just to look.
They basically have a sampling of display items from all the other museums. Lincoln was in the stroller, so Nate had to carry Ethan. They had a Steeler helmet from Franco Harris. Link saw the helmet and YELLS, "Daddy oo-ball hat." He knows his Daddy too well!
Outside the castle was a gorgeous garden of tulips. The first picture was taken there. Ethan took a couple more of me that were also great!

Introvert and Extrovert

So, tonight after dinner, we decided to head to the school near our house to check out the playground. When we arrived, it was fairly crowded. The playground was pretty large and had a little area for my guys and then a middle size section for bigger kids and then a really big section for even bigger kids. It was definitely a two man operation, since we have dare devil Lincoln. He was all over the place. Ethan was torn between wanting to play and feeling the need to take care of his little brother. He followed him everywhere. After Lincoln got a feel for the playground, he started looking for "friends." He and I have a totally different idea of what "friends" are. The boy found the bullies! The first bully looked about three. Lincoln walked up and said, "HI!" The boy pushed him. He sat on a bench next to the boy and just smiled....the boy shoved him off the bench. He bent down right in his face to smile at him and the boy threw mulch in his face. (in case your wondering...I took Link away from the situation each time and he kept going back for more-the last time Nate got involved). Then, a little girl about five went up to him and took his hand. He was grinning ear to ear and following her around...until she sat him down and poured mulch in his hair. Her mother quickly stopped her. FINALLY, he found a fourteen month old and started following him around. BUT, his mother kept taking him away. Anytime Lincoln got close to another kid, Ethan tried to pull him away or he would just leave Link there and leave himself. We told Ethan that this was going to be his school when he was almost six. He told us that he thinks he will like this playground. I sure hope the bullying doesn't happen this bad during the school day.

Spring Teaser

I refuse to believe that the gorgeous weather we had today will last. I am afraid the minute I start to think Spring is here the cold will return. This afternoon we made a trip down to the playground.

The LOOK

Nate and Link LOVE giving "the look" to us!

A couple crazy boys bouncing.

Eat your veggies!

So Ethan is practically a vegetarian. He finishes fruit and veggies before anything else on his plate. The above STINKER-LINKER despises vegetables. I have become a great pureer. I can sneak puree veggies in everything. Tonight I decided to try a trick that worked like a charm on Ethan when he was Link's age.....the M&M bribe. He has started requesting the M&M's by color soooo I thought this would be perfect....hmmmm not so much. I tried asking him to eat a whole green bean for an M&M...NO. I broke it in half and he actually put it in his mouth....but quickly spit it out. By now he's mad and really wants it....so I break it into the tiniest piece EVER. He goes for it...he swallows...SCORE!! He takes three more bites (all for M&M's). The three bites equaled a half of a green bean. I go for a bigger piece. The green mess you see on his lips is the green bean he chewed and spit out. Guess we'll keep trying but I'm not holding my breath.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! Last year when we celebrated Easter, we were in PA with snow on the ground. Despite our cheery faces, we are COLD! It was only 47 at noon. Ethan loves wearing his boots on Sunday. This is what I saw before pictures this morning. He needed a little help this morning. Ethan sat with us during church today. He colored and sang and had a grand ole time! Lincoln has been constipated for about four days now. So, church was not as enjoyable for him.
During the Easter Egg hunt, Lincoln cried "BOBO" while his brother ran quickly and found all the eggs.
We rushed inside and ate a quick lunch. Lincoln finally went after lunch. He is a NEW child!!!

Even though it was Easter, Ethan had to put on his seven shirt and ninety-five pants! Tomorrow it's back to work and school for us. We had a great Spring Break!

Toys....toys...toys!

Lincoln's birthday is in a few weeks. So, Granny decided to make a stop at the toystore to get his gifts. Fisher Price was having a phenomenal sale yesterday so they loaded up on all the microscopic pieces they could find!
This was the coolest firestation! They also got a submarine and some pirate accesories to go with their pirate ship. I have to say the toys were really cool....and kept them really busy!
Last night she volunteered to keep the boys so Nate and I could go out. I let Nate pick the restaurant. He picked a crab house. After an hour and a half of eating 12 crabs, my fingers were sooo sore and I started to feel a little bit full. We left and headed to the movies! She leaves at lunch today and we have to get ready to head back to work next week. What a bummer!

62 and beautiful

was the weather....I know you were thinking about my mother, but she's way younger. (Yeah that Mandy is a real hoot!)This little boy did his usual wake the company up at 7:00 (on the right side as he says). He had her get his breakfast ready and get his movie on.
We played awhile and then did some errands. We grabbed lunch and they ate amazing AGAIN today! After lunch, we made a quick trip to the playground. We finished up our DC tour tonight. We left too early for the night tour...but we drove around for a while...got a snack...and then FINALLY it was sort of dark enough to see everything.
We left DC around 8:20, but as soon as we got on the interstate traffic stopped. We did a detour and made it home by 9:00. It should take us about 15 minutes. Sooo...she got the Old Town Alexandria tour as a bonus! :)

Granny's here!

Granny landed in Alexandria today! The boys and I picked her up from the airport and headed to lunch. Ethan made a liar out of me at lunch today. For the past four years my mother has heard me complain how my kids don't eat. We went to a a really neat Chinese restaurant. Ethan ate an entire adult honey chicken meal and part of Granny's sesame chicken. Tonight for dinner he also finished his grilled cheese and some fries.
We headed down to the cherry blossoms tonight. We were afraid that the blossoms would be gone. They were not like they were last week, but many of the blossoms were still intact. We walked to Jefferson and mom and I went into the monument. While we were at the top, Nate kept pointing to Washington Monument and it appeared that he wanted us to take a picture. We did....and he kept pointing...so we kept taking pictures. When we got to the bottom, he showed us that he was pointing to the White House. We never saw it. There was a great shot, however.
The cherry blossoms were so pretty under the sunlight.
After we left the cherry blossoms, we drove down the length of the mall and up to the Capitol. We were able to stop at a couple spots so she could take some pictures. By this time, Lincoln was asking for his apple. Ethan was ready to go eat...and we were getting hungry! We are definitely going to have to make it back down this way tomorrow night. I don't think any of us realized how much we wanted to show her!

I was hoping this picture would show you the HUGE knot on his noggin! He fell as soon as we got home this afternoon. He is giving you his "look!" Daddy loves it when he does this!

Dentist

Today was Ethan's first "REAL" dentist appointment. He went back when he was two for emergency dental work. Today was the real deal. Ethan and I had appointments scheduled at the same time. Nate went so that he could go in with Ethan. Neither Nate nor I had a clue what they were going to do with him. So, we did the best we could preparing him. He wasn't scared at all upon arrival. Once he got back to the room, he sat down fine. Once the hygenist asked to look in his mouth the brakes started! The dentist came in and was able to count his teeth and do a quick lookover. He did not let them clean his teeth, but the dentist made a deal with him to do it this summer when he comes back! I know I had low expectations, but I was thrilled that he let him in his mouth. He did have some decay, but they're baby teeth right! The dentist called them practice teeth. We know what to do better and have four months to prepare him for the next time.

Well needed rest!

Ethan got his wish and was able to see his Memaw and Pappy. His mommy and daddy got their wish and were able to sleep in and nap everyday!
Saturday the boys played and played and played! On Sunday, they found Easter eggs left by the Easter bunny at Memaws!
Lincoln mowed Memaw's grass!Both boys went for tractor rides with Pappy!
Ethan is already planning her visit to our house for Lincoln's birthday.