Spiderman and Norm

We've started attending church last week. Last week was our first week and the kids were sort of shy. Lex introduced himself as either Alexander or Lex every time. This week, however, I'm thinking he's a bit more comfortable as he introduced himself as Spiderman and introduced Nate as Norm. Um, not sure where that came from!

camping

Well, it's Memorial Day weekend and it's been absolutely gorgeous outside. We have quite literally spent all day every day outside this entire weekend. This morning, Erik thought it might be a fun time to take out the old tent and camp out back with the kids. After we got home, he started a fire up in the pit and brought out the tent to air it out. Oh my goodness did the kids go absolutely crazy when the saw it! Beyond excited does not even begin to cover it. We spent all day outside and the kids had an absolute blast. We cooked burgers on the pit and topped off our dinner with some toasted marsh-a-mellows (according to Nate). Once the kids were nice and sticky, after playing in some dirt, they wiped their hands on the ground. Not sure if you've ever had the experience of wiping off caked on marshmallows with sticky grass or not, but it's not as easy to clean as one might think. Oh well, who cares! After this weekend, I've realized that Lex and Nate truly like being barefooted. Bailey takes her shoes on and off, but prefers them on most of the time. I can already tell, however, that my boys are going to be "those kids" that have permanently dirty feet in the summer. At least we're all having fun!

Awesome Mom

I feel like I should write this down as I do plan on printing out this blog and binding it for my kids. With that being said, I'm sure my children will go through a period or two of disliking me greatly. Right now, they tell me I'm awesome. I want to *remind* them of this! LOL
Anytime we do anything that is slightly different from our daily routine, Lex is continuously telling me how great it is and how I"m a great and awesome Mom. Nate just keeps saying great Mom and this is fun over and over again. I love those moments!

Doctor appointment

The boys had their 4 and 2 year old check ups yesterday. It was quite the adventure. Nate did not, I should probably repeat that, DID NOT enjoy it at all. He was quite fine with Lex getting weighed and measured but as soon as it was time for him...let's just say the next town over probably heard his screaming. Oh well, such is life, right? Lex is big enough now to do the eye exam, which he did quite well with. Nate screamed throughout the entire visit. He clung to me like I was going to drop him over a cliff! But, finally his turn was over. Lex, was a champ. He loves going to the doctor, that is, until shot time! He likes to talk, a lot. Did I mention he likes to talk a lot?! He likes to tell everything that happens from Daddy being at work to me drinking coffee. While he was chatting away, he told the doctor that Nate gets in trouble for throwing food and milk. I told Lex that we really didn't need to be bringing that up right now. Lex leaned over to me and whispered, "But I need to tell somebody!" I couldn't help but laugh. I pretty much didn't need to do any talking at all since Lex could, and did, answer all of the questions regarding both him and Nate. They both cried with their shot, but it was over quickly. Now, neither of them need shots again until they are 5 years old, right before kindergarten. That's only one year for Lex...yikes!!!

My own words bite me in the butt

Well, it's happening. My children are using my words...on ME! Yep! On one hand, I find it hilarious. But, on the other, kinda gets on my nerves. I'll give a few examples:
1. Today, Lex did not have his shoes on. They were laying in the yard. So, he walked over and was going to ride his bike to get his shoes. At the time, I did not know it was his plan so I told him he had to wear shoes while riding his bike. No response. I told him again. No response. I told him again. He finally got off the bike to walk towards his shoes and said, "Will you just calm down about the shoes?"
2. Nate is constantly talking on pretend phones. Every time I am on the phone, especially with Erik, he wants to talk. I am forever saying, "just a minute." Well, he now says that to me while talking on the phone. "I talking to XXX, just a minute." Well, excuuuuuusssee me! Sheesh!

child proof doors

We have the child proof lock on our car doors. The kids know that an adult has to open it for them. Well, a while ago, Bailey wanted to open the door for Lex and Nate. I should mention here that Lex finds it *hilarious* to quickly lock the door as we are about to open it. So, as Bailey goes to open the door, Lex locks it. Bailey looked at me and said, "Huh, that's a pretty smart car. It even knows when a child is going to open it from the outside." I wanted to laugh hysterically at this! But, I kept my cool and said, "you're right, that's why adults open the doors for you." The things kids say...

Cowboy boots give attitude!

While shopping the other night, I found cowboy boots on sale in Nate's size. For the heck of it, I had him try them on. OMGoodness! Hilarious! He instantly changed his walk to a strut and took off down the isle! He refused to take them off so he wore them the rest of the day. Later on, we went to our fabulous mall here and he and the rest of the family were waiting for me in the corridor while I paid. Well, apparently he was tired of waiting. He put his hands on his hips, looked at Erik and said, "I'm going home." Then, he strutted right down the corridor and opened the door! I was not aware that cowboy boots gave such an attitude to two year olds!
Yesterday, his outfit of choice was a onesie, a spiderman wristband (worn on his wrist) an "I love America" bracelet and his cowboy boots. He is definitely a trendsetter. Totally cracks me up!

Gone for a while...

I've been MIA for a while. First my dryer broke and then my 'puter got a nasty virus. For someone who works on the internet and surfs while working....losing a computer is like stopping crack in the middle of a hit. "What?! You mean you want me to unplug it right now and don't turn it on? I've been using it in safe mode? What?! No safe mode either!? Do you realize that I'm looking at my computer and still having withdrawals?" Ah...I digress...
Here's what's been happening in our neck of the woods:
Having no way to work, meant doing stuff around the house. So, Lex and I got our garden in. Well, Nate "attempted" to help and I say that loosely.
Both boys had (yes, I said had) really clean rooms.
I vacuumed a lot.
I read two books.
I wrestled a lot.
I snuggled a lot.
I decided that these two boys have more energy than our entire city. Seriously. Where the hell do they get it from? And how the hell can they start with the loudness and energy so early in the morning? I love the fact they they have kid sized vacuums, etc. But, I think they need to be in working order. Kids have too much energy to "pretend" to clean. Seriously. Make that vacuum work! :)

Leamon Boys Birthday Bash

Right now, it was much easier to combine the boys and have a combined birthday party. So, we opted to have the Leamon Boys Birthday Bash this past Saturday. Thankfully, the weather held out and it didn't rain. We had chips, veggie platter, lots of pizza and ice cream cake! The cake was the hit of the party! Actually, upon thinking some more, the bubble machines the boys received were the hit of the party! Kids and adults both got quite the kick out of them. It was a bit hectic while they opened their gifts so I'm not sure who got what from who, but they really loved it all! We were definitely blessed to have an awesome birthday party.

Turning Four!!

Lex turned four this past Saturday. He is getting to be so grown up! He came into our bedroom in the morning and told us he felt older already. LOL He definitely got bigger and grew overnight now that he was four. He rushed downstairs and opened his gifts. He got a Cars tire fishing game, Spiderman scooter and an outdoor soccer kit. He loved them! He really wants a new big boy bike so we will be using part of his money to buy that next week. But, for now, the Scooter is definitely the favorite gift. He rode it all over the house and we took it outside that afternoon. Erik set up the soccer goal so we played with that too. Such a big boy he is getting to be. So bittersweet...