Early Morning, By Walker

Walker gets up early, very early. Much earlier than anyone else in the house is ready to get up. One morning this week he got the camera and took pictures to document what he did while he was the only one up. He also seemed to take the time to figure out exactly how to work the camera.

Upside down and too much flash.


Right side up and too much flash.


The perfect early morning face.


Breakfast, upside down.


Breakfast entertainment.


I guess the next step was to take the camera to the computer and try to upload the pictures, but mommy and daddy interrupted him.


This kid never ceases to amaze me.

Any Old Thursday...

Between the rain last week and the cold this week the boys and I have been spending a lot of time in the house.

Thursday morning did not start well. The boys were going a bit stir crazy and I was not feeling very patient. I knew they needed something different from the everyday to do.

A while ago a friend had posted on her blog, Blessed with Boys, about using baby food as finger paints. I didn't have any baby food, but we did have instant pudding. So, I whipped some up and got the boys ready to play.







The boys behaved as I would have predicted. Eli was covered and ate as much as he played with. Walker had a good time, but asked me to wipe his hands about 10 times and he didn't get pudding anywhere but his hands.

A few tips for anyone else who wants to do this... 1. Sprinkles are the bomb. They start to melt in the pudding and make really cool colors. 2. Soy milk never really makes pudding. That is okay for paint, but not for eating. It just never sets up.

After the pudding paint, of course the boys went straight to the bathtub.


We had gotten some of the Kandoo soap and shampoo for Christmas that is green, so we continued the body painting in the bathtub. It is the only time Walker has ever willingly done the actual washing part of the bath time.

After the bath I instituted Pajama Day. The boys then decided that their sunglasses would be the perfect compliment to their pajamas.







After a lunch of turkey and cheese sandwiches we settled in to watch Wall-E. The boys love that movie. Eli is so cute, he won't let you say Wall-E without saying Eve and he was so excited to be wearing his robot pajamas while watching the movie with robots. :)

It turned out to be one of the best days we have all had together. I am so grateful for the unexpected blessings God gives me everyday.

Deceptively Delicious

For Christmas 'Aunt' Sara got me a copy of the Deceptively Delicious cookbook. I have been wanting one for a while and was excited to try out some of the recipes. The idea is that you steam and puree vegetables and keep them in the freezer and then add them to your meals so your kids (and being honest here, the mommy) will eat their vegetables.



I tried the Italian Meatloaf and the Mashed Potatoes earlier this week. Those were recipes in my comfort zone, so I thought I could be successful. Dinner got rave reviews! Walker ate every bite of a huge serving of meatloaf and Eli loved the potatoes. Jason and I enjoyed it, too. And, bonus we got two complete meals out of it that everyone ate, even the second time around. Now here is where the deception begins, the meatloaf had carrots in it and the potatoes had cauliflower in them, and no one was the wiser. I can't wait to try out some more of these recipes.






I would love to hear if anyone else has tried or uses these recipes with your family and what has been successful or not.

Start Them Early

The other night after dinner Jason and the boys disappeared into the living room. I thought Jason had put in a movie, but when I checked I saw something very different.



Jason had taught Walker how to play the XBOX in about 3 minutes, wow. Eli was mesmerized by the view. I'm sure there will be many more scenes like this in the future.





I thought we would have a few more years before this big boy activity began, and continued...for about the next 15 years.

My Three Sons

On Monday we were able to see our precious little one. It was very reassuring to see him and find out that he is healthy and growing just as he should be. We invited a few people over that night to watch the ultrasound video and guess whether this baby would be a boy or a girl. There were a few holes in my plan and this little guy made it pretty obvious, but we still all had a great time celebrating this little life.

We let Walker "read" the paper from the ultrasound technician. I had been practicing with him, but I didn't count on her putting the picture in there and distracting his focus, but he eventually got there.



Dessert set up for the Pink or Blue Party.


Grandma Jayne and Eli waiting for the movie to start (or maybe just for the cupcakes, hard to tell).


"Watching" the ultrasound while 4 little ones ran around.



We are thrilled to be welcoming another little boy into our family. I love the way Walker and Eli have each other and I cannot wait until this one is big enough to join in.

There is one small problem with discovering we will have another little boy. We are fresh out of boy names. I think we did pretty well with Walker and Eli (if I do say so myself), but we are at a standstill with this little one. So, any great suggestions out there? I welcome all ideas, but am not making any promises.

Christmas 2008

We had an absolutely wonderful Christmas season this year. We celebrated at several family Christmas parties, and the boys really had fun being a part of the group.

It is amazing the difference a year can make. As a family we were all so relaxed this year and really able to go with the flow and enjoy everything.

Of course, the boys were spoiled by all the people who love them. It is so neat to see them learn how to operate the new toys and figure out different ways to play with them all. It is also of note that they pretty much are playing with everything together and then they move on to the next thing, together. I know next year will be different with a six/seven month old scooting around, so I am enjoying this time.

Discovering the Christmas morning loot.


Mommy loves all the books Santa brought, and that the boys love to read them.


Trying to play with everything at once.


A giant box from Uncle Matthew and Aunt Elaine in Japan.


Yea!, for giant fluffy dogs.


Posing so Uncle Matthew and Aunt Elaine can see how happy we are.


Helping Daddy build his rubber band airplane (and maybe you don't let your kids sit on top of the tables, but hey, don't judge).


Walker making sure Daddy is doing it right.


Working as a team.



Walker and Dandy playing with Grin's Polar Express train.

The Perfect Visit with Santa

The boys made the trip to see Santa this morning. The trip went perfectly. They both sat happily in Santa's lap and seemed genuinely excited by the whole thing. Walker did get a little shy and only spoke to Santa in a very soft voice. He did have a lot to say, just no one could hear it. Eli just smiled and enjoyed the moment.

Jason and I were excited that it went so well and I know we will cherish this memory for years to come.