Tickling Bros.

The boys have recently been having fun tickling each other and giggling! It's so cute to see them playing together. Oh, and this video shows off one of Sam's new tricks: waving bye-bye.

Art Time Fun!

Here's a big "THANK YOU" to Aunt "Jen-Jen" for this Crayola set that she gave Alex for Christmas. It has everything: markers, paints, colored pencils, crayons. Add a few stickers to that and these boys are in heaven!!

Sam-in-the-Box

Balloon Wars

Boys 'n' Bubbles

This is one of the ways we deal with cabin fever!

Video Catch-Up

This week I think I will post some videos that I have been meaning to get uploaded.
I think they are spread out from the beginning of February until just yesterday. This first one is from Sam's bday party.

The Germies Have Invaded!!

Well, we've been fighting the germies since Monday. And yesterday, a few boxes of kleenex, about a million sneezes, and many many coughs later, we visited our new doctor. This would be no big deal if it wasn't for the one thing at the dr. office my kids fear most in the world......the scale. Yep, you read that right, the scale. Not needles, though they don't love those, not the stethoscope...the scale. As soon as they are supposed to sit or step on one of those they cry like I am trying to remove a limb. So weird!! At this doc office since they are no longer infants, the nurses will let me hold them and then just subtract my weight, which is much easier. So, after we got victory over our arch nemesis, we were able to see the doc peacefully. They both have viral infections, and Alex has his first ear infection. So, hopefully in 4 or 5 more days they will be back to normal. For now they are two quite pathetic little boys. They aren't eating well, don't have much energy, and are very clingy. Sam keeps falling asleep and taking little naps at the weirdest times, and Alex has found out how to snuggle himself up on the couch with a blanket very comfortably. Yesterday Alex's throat was really hurting him and he would hardly eat anything, so Daddy brought him a vanilla shake--this was the first thing that brought a real smile to his face all day!!

Sammy's 1st Birthday Party!

"Hap-dy Heart Day!" as said by Alex

These are the sweet Valentine's we got from family & friends!

Ryan got me a pot of beautiful mums this year so that I can plant them in the flower garden in a few months--I just have to keep them alive until then!!

Ryan picked Cherry pie as his Valentine's Day dessert this year.  It is our tradition to have a special Italian meal on Valentine's Day in honor of the sweet little Italian restaurant  we went to on our honeymoon.  I forgot to get a picture of it before it was devoured, but this year I made Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Manicotti and it was delicious!!

One of our heart shaped pancakes we had for bfast.  

Some of our V-day decor.  The kids are old enough to begin to appreciate party decorations and though I am not a terribly sentimental person, I do like making holidays special for them!  So we had special decorations and meals on Saturday.  It was fun for all of us!

Oh, I don't think I've posted a pic of my new dining set before this one!  Don't you LOVE it?  I do.  For the past 5 years we have been using a very nice dining set that the Coons gave us.  It's a great table and chairs that are very sturdy and will hold up through my boys' teenage years, I'm sure.  It's just WAYYY too big for my current little eat-in kitchen so it's safely sleeping in the storage unit until we someday get into a bigger house.  Anyway, I had been musing about looking for a smaller dining set since we moved here, and my mom found one on clearance for about 1/3 of the original price and gave it to me for Christmas.  I LOVE it...did I mention that already!  It is just what I wanted: mission style, black, round, elegant, simple.  And it give us soooo much more space in the kitchen.  So, here it is with some of our Valentine decor.

Sam the Man

Well, our Sammy has been proclaimed as healthy as a horse by the doc today.  I told him that the kid sure eats like one!!  He is now 31 inches tall and 24.5 lbs.  Not bad!!!  :-)  He is growing up so fast.  The doc was pleased with him being off the bottles now and his transition to table food.  Yes, he puts those 7 teeth to very, very good use!  The doc asked if he uses his fingers to pinch food and bring it to his mouth.  I said he can but typically it happens more by the fistful!  Sam is getting proficient at climbing, running, and generally keeping up with big brother as much as he can.  He is, of course, already learning how to push Alex's buttons--he likes to take his toys and run laughing while Alex chases him, screeching.  We're trying to put an end to that little game!!  He learned to clap his hands yesterday and gets a kick out of his new trick.  He sleeps from 8:30pm until 8am and generally falls asleep quietly talking to the stuffed animals in his crib.  Overall he is a healthy and happy baby and we are so thankful that God has given him to us.  (and big brother is learning to love him, too!)  The pics above are of Sam and his favorite little friend--he carries this doggy all over the house and randomly drops to the floor to give him hugs and kisses.  What a goof!

More of Betsy's Wedding

Chad & Betsy Thompson...the happy couple!

The bridal party trekking through the snow!!  Though they will be gorgeous pictures in front this this old stone library...we were very, very cold!!

We bridesmaids were getting  a little giddy by about 11:30pm when we had been putting together little favor boxes for a few hours already!!   They turned out so beautifully!

Wedding dresses are so complicated!

Awwww!

At least Matt could help Amy stay warm!!

Sensible Shoes!!!

Betsy's Wedding

I was gone last weekend for my friend Betsy's wedding.  Jen & I drove the 13 hours together and listened to some pretty good books on tape to make it go faster--hopefully someday I will get to hear the end of the second one!  The wedding was gorgeous, went very smoothly, and provided a good opportunity to get caught up with several old friends!  (we all thanked Betsy for having a wedding so we could get together!!)  Matt was a groomsman and Jen & I were both bridesmaids so we got to spend a lot of time together.  Betsy let all her bridesmaids pick out their own black formal gown for the wedding which was really cool.  The variety in the dresses is going to look really nice in her pictures.  Speaking of pictures...we took some out of doors--and yes...it was freezing!!!  Betsy, you owe us big time!!  I have some more pics I want to put on here, but don't have any more time today so this post will have to be continued...