Just some smiling faces

We've been resting around the house these last couple days. Both G&G have sinus infections-thank you weather change-and haven't been feeling good. A box of crayons and a stack of paper always puts smiles on their little stuffy nosed faces. They are feeling better now after 4 days of antibiotics and lots of cuddles and snuggles from Greg and I.

Choo Choo....Our day with Thomas the Train

Gavin and Grayson are crazy about Thomas. We have Thomas sippy cups, Thomas bath toys, Thomas backpacks, Thomas books...etc. So when I heard Thomas was making his annual tour to Grapevine Railroad Station, I immediately got tickets and planned the day! Papa and ShooShoo joined us for the fun. G&G has special Thomas shirts to wear for the day too. G&G had a blast. We took a 20 min ride on the Thomas train. The boys liked the conductor who punched their tickets once we were on the train (remember Polar Express?!) After the train ride we went to the Lego tent where Gavin played with wooden Thomas the train sets and lego sets. After that Gavin had super fun in the Thomas bounce house! The grandparents bought G&G a Thomas train whistle which they most mastered. (uhh, thanks?) We had a great time and thankfully the weather cooperated too! Since we were in Grapevine we continued the fun with lunch at The Rainforest Cafe. Grayson loved LOVED LOVED the moving animals, especially the elephant and gorillas. Gavin, however, was scared this time! G&G had super fun and enjoyed their special Sunday.

Evening out with the Kindla's

The Howard Family had so much fun tonight! We started our evening at the Kelly Circus in Frisco with Bryce, Casey and Carter (oh, and future Baby Girl Kindla). The circus was great. Gavin and Carter enjoyed it alot! They had horses, tigers, dancing dogs, elephants, clowns and much more. Grayson got bored but enjoyed the festivities going on outside of the big top. Grayson rode the ponies two times and loved it. (signing 'more pony' over and over until Greg took him for another ride!) Then Grayson rode an elephant! WHAT a big boy! After the circus we went to Gatti Town Pizza in Frisco for dinner and games. Oh, can't forget the 3 train rides before we ate dinner! Grayson also rode a carousal horse for the first time. Gavin 'played' skee ball for the first time too. He got frustrated with rolling the ball, so he just walked up and threw them in! The boys had so much fun as well as Greg and I too! Bryce and Casey are super fun. G&G loved playing with Carter. We actually broke curfew for the boys too! We always 'respect' their bedtime and have then in bed no later than 8PM. Tonight was special - we didn't get home until after 10PM! Thankfully the new Pilot has a DVD player so they were pretty content on the way home watching Jack's Big Music Show!!

PS: Gavin is doing great sleeping in his big boy bed! He continues to lay down after I cover him up and goes to sleep-no problems!! (yet....we'll see!)

Crib, you are outta here! We got a big boy in the house now!

At 2 1/2 Gavin has never tried to climb out of his crib. He's always been a great sleeper. Since 4 months old he sleeps through the night for 12 hours. Sweet little boy loves his sleep. So I ask myself, "why am I wanting to put him in a toddler bed?" Well, the sheer fact that he is a BIG boy, he's 41 inches tall and weighs 40 lbs. HE is BIG and it's time. He's potty trained and just really growing up in conversation and behavior. Now we still have our toddler moments, but overall, I see such a change in Gavin from the McScreamy toddler last year to now. WOW! So we made a big deal about changing his crib to a bed this week and last night was culmination of all the talk-we took the front of the crib. Papa came over and took the front off while G&G were in the room. They both loved this and immediately jumped into/off of the bed. Giggles and chatter prevailed as they discovered their new found freedom! We did our rituals for bedtime-brush teeth, potty, kiss and hug everyone (Papa andShooShoo were over for dinner) and then I cuddled Gavin in the glider and we talked about how big boys stay in bed once tucked in. He seemed to understand, but I wasleery . I covered him up and he told me "God bless you Mommy" and off went the lights. I sat watching the monitor like a new Mom with a newborn all night. It was a definite flash back experience for me! I am proud to say my big boy slept through the night I didn't get out of bed once. WOW! We'll see how the weekend goes-knowing my boy though, he'll getadventurous this weekend and venture out.....

Fun with Papa

We made a all day big deal about Gavin's crib-to-toddler bed transition. We started with a fun filled day playing with Mommy, Papa andShooShoo . The boys had a blast. G&G pulled out some old toys - soft blocks - and were super silly with them! Gavin and Papa (and nowGrayson) love to build towers with legos. Now Gavin has incorporated his gorilla mountain animals into the architecture.

Gavin calls Papa and ShooShoo

Gavin loves to mimic Mommy on the phone. He picked up the phone and pushed redial and got Papa and ShooShoo on the phone. The conversations goes like this:

Gavin: Papa ShooShoo come over and play with me.
(Gavin hands the phone to Grayson)
Grayson: Papa? ShooShoo?
Gavin: My Papa My ShooShoo
(Gavin runs off with the phone!)

So funny!

Caught red handed....

So, I've posted many times how my boys love books and how I love to buy books for them. We have a large bookshelf where they kept in the playroom (AKA my old dining room). I, of course, have the organized by type and style. For instance, board books are kept on the second shelf-baby Einstein, touch and feel, etc. Hardback books are kept on the third shelf - to keep Grayson from ripping the pages out. Gavin has always been very careful with any type of book. And on the bottom shelf are the cloth books and some spiral books (pat the bunny, etc.) Okay, scene set and you all know how type A I am. So I really do keep these organized.

While I am hanging up laundy and folding G&G's clothes in their rooms they both are yanking books off the book shelf at rapid speed and laughing hysterically. I wasn't gone but maybe 5 minutes and this is what I came back to:















And this is where they both went: (this is the naughty corner. when G&G are sent there they are expected to stand on the brown and stay there for 2 minutes. If they step off before their 2 minutes are up, the clock restarts.)

Boys and Farts....

G&G love making "tootie" noises at each other. I've tried to stop it and tell them it's bad manners, but c'mon, they are boys. So I've had to accept the fact that boys like, what we call toots, but what I'm sure they will call farts later. They think it's so funny when they toot! Any when one of them starts making the noise with their mouth, it's a full-on competition who can make the louder noise (mind you they are getting sprayed with spit while they are doing this...lovely!)

So Greg decided to show them -see picture below-how to make fart noises without spitting all over the place. Well, G&G picked up on this demonstration and immediately started making fart noises with their hands- see picture below. Greg just thought this was great and so funny, so of course G&G kept doing this (they love an audience!) I walked it and about fell over watching my 3 "boys" making fart noises in the bathroom. Seriously, this was one moment when I thought to myself....."too much testosterone" in this house!!

10 signs that I am getting old(er)!

I have committed this blog to my children, however my aging is directly related to the children, therefore, I feel it necessary to give them the credit for my aging mind and body!
I have been recently catching myself saying and doing things that made me stop for a minute and say "WOW, I am getting older!" And I guess at 35 years old, I am doing just that!
Here is my top 10 signs that I am getting older:

1. I am enjoying coffee at 3PM. Not only do I enjoy it, if it is not available, I will brew it. I actually seek out the bean now at times of the day that I used to think only old people drank coffee.
2. I notice more more spiders on my legs than in the back yard. Yes, those lovely spider veins. Partly due to birthing 2 approx 9lb boys only 13 months apart and partly due to my job as a RN on my feet for 12hrs/day 3 days/week. Whatever the reason....they are showing up! I liken it to a road map....heck at this rate, who needs a mapsco!
3. I start getting anxious when I am not showered and dressed for bed at 9PM. Heck, that used to be the time I was just getting ready to go out!
4. I complain about how young girls dress in short skirts and too much make up. I mean really, who lets these little girls dress like that. OPPS, I did used to be one of those too!
5. My feet get cold and I like to put socks on them.... this reminds me of my Nanny who ALWAYS had a pair of snuggly "footies" on during the day. I rarely wore shoes let alone socks when I was younger!
6. I feel a hugs sense of accomplishment when the laundry is complete. I actually strive for this goal on my days off when G&G are napping. WHOA, I could have cared less about laundry when I was younger and given any amount of free time would definitely not be spent doing laundry!
7. I care about the lawn and landscaping. I used to giggle inside when I'd see older people working so hard on their yard. I'd think those people have no life if all they want to do is have a nice yard....yea, right there with ya now!
8. I look for clothes that cover up my midsection now...not clothes that show as much as legally possible! I used to love my flat and toned abd with my cute belly ring. Now, I try to minimize that muffin top and the belly ring....long gone....
9. I have grown to appreciate a glass (or 2) of wine nightly. I never liked the way wine tasted when I was younger. I drank mixed drinks, heck the fruitier the better. Now those said drinks would make me puke!
10. I have trouble falling asleep. REALLY, what kind of joke on adulthood is this. I mean the older we get the busier we are and the more stressed out we are. I am so dog tired at the end of a toddler filled/ICU RN day that I am literally fantasizing about falling asleep. Then when I finally lay in bed, I am wide awake and can't sleep. CRAZY!! Remember how you used to be able to fall asleep when you were younger????
    

All that said; I love where I am in my life now-sleep deprived, footie wearing, coffee drinkin', baggy top wearing, spider veins and all. It's the best place I could be...wouldn't change it for the world!

What a fantastic Daddy!

Greg is a great father. I mean really great. He's always been hands-on with the boys...night feedings, changing diapers, taking them to dr. apts, taking them to the park, bathing and putting them to bed, etc, etc. The list really does go on and on. I am proud of him and I know our boys love him so much! Gavin has a hug/kiss ritual he does every night and ONLY with Daddy. It's so cute.
Our boys love books and I love to buy them great stories. I recently purchased some 'ole' school' books including "The little engine that could" and "We're going on a bear hunt". Both the boys love these stories. Greg is also a great storyteller.....I tell you, he's just a fantastic Daddy! Lucky G&G!!

My little Puppy!!

Grayson loves after bath time cuddles and being wrapped up in his character towels. His new favorite is the puppy towel. Once I have the hood on his head he shakes his head back and forth really fast so the ears will flap. The entire time he is doing this he is laughing. It's so cute!
What a happy little boy!

Elmo at Nokia Theater

Last year I took Gavin to see Elmo's show "When Elmo grows up" at Nokia Theater. He had a great time and loved seeing all his 'friends.' This year we decided to make a family event of it and take Grayson too (and Greg of course!) We had a great time. The boys loved seeing all their 'friends'-Elmo, Cookie Monster, Zoe, Grover, Ernie, Count, Bert, Big Bird, Oscar, Abby, Tele, and many more. This years show was called "Elmo's Green Thumb" and was about taking care of the Earth and planting his new friend (plant) names Sunny. The songs were great - yes I bought the CD - and the dancing was super cute. It really only got rocky during intermission when they brought out Elmo mylar balloons ($10 each). G&G love balloons and were so excited until the show started again and we had to - per overhead instruction - put the balloons under the seats so everyone could enjoy the show. Needless to say about 1/2 the theater was filled with toddler screams as Moms and Dads has to take the balloons away and stuff the large mylar Elmo's under the seats. It was awful! Poor planning is all I can say about that; why didn't they just sell the ballons at the end of the show?? Crazy!! Anyways, they chilled out shortly after the show started.
Super fun time for G&G and exhausting time for Greg and I! Ah, the sacrifices of parenthood!