The apple doesn't fall far from the tree . . .

When our children our born, we are excited to find out who they will look like, what characteristics they will have, who they will take after, etc . . .  It has been interesting (and sometimes like looking in a mirror) to see what temperaments and "types" our boys have/are.  In the last week or so, we have discovered a similarity in sleep habits between Jacob and myself.  (some of this post is going to be a bit embarrassing for me, I hope you enjoy)  When I say sleep haibts, I mean dreaming.  And when I say dreaming, I mean nightmares.  When I was little (and yes I admit, when I say little I mean from when I was a toddler until, well, the present time.) I would often wake up in the middle of night, screaming bloody murder about a bug (usually a spider) in my bed, in front of my face, etc.  My parents have even found me in my closet hiding and screaming.  The older I have gotten, the less it does happen.  It did take Cody a few times to get used to it.  It must be freaky to wake up to your wife screaming bloody murder about some spider.  Anyway, enough about me.  It seems that Jacob has inherited (if in fact you can inherit nightmares) from me.  On a few occasions now, Jacob has woken up in the middle of the night, screaming bloody murder, about spiders and crabs in his bed.  Cody goes in to check on him and I lay in bed and laugh.  Not because I have no compassion for his fears, but because I know this is what it was like for my parents and I know we are in it for the long haul.

Check my photo blog too!

Spring Time

One thing I enjoy about spring time is the babies everywhere!  And I don't mean human.  Well, I do, but that's not what I'm talking about this time.  When we go for walks at the park or by the canal, there are tons of new baby ducks and geese.  I think they are SO cute.  Of course not as cute as my babies. :-)

"Rrrrraaarr"

"I'm ridin' it gansta style."

"Oh yeah.  I am pretty cool."

Baby Geese

Not sure what Aidan is doing.  Jacob is giving Rosco the stare down.

Baby ducks

Goose family

Zoo time

The weather in sunny AZ is about to become very sunny and hot so the boys and I headed to the zoo for what may be the last comfortable day there.  I grabbed the camera and we had fun taking pictures.  Well, at least I did. :-)  Let the adventure begin!

"Strike a pose, there's nothing to it . . ."

Checkin' out the turtles and fish

I would be willing to bet that Aidan was thinking, I wonder if I could fit under here.

Ronan was having fun too!

Watching the bird go for a dip . . .

"I see you!"

We were walking out of the frog exhibit when Jacob ran ahead.  When I walked by this big open window he was standing on the other side with a big huge grin.  It was so cute how proud of himself he was.

Just a big huge stump with two cute boys.

"HHmmm, where should we go first?"

The truth comes out, Ronan was really hatched.

And I made Aidan sit on the egg until it hatched . . . 

My little tractor drivers!

Two cute boys on one big swing!

While we were walking, I turned around to this.  I asked Jacob what he was doing and he told me he was being a turtle!

 

"Brothers gotta hug!"

My two cuties

Checking out the big fish before we left

Charitytees.com

Cody's co-worker, Nicole, gave this bib and onesie to Ronan when he was born.  The bib is still big, but the onesie fits.  Nicole is the founder of Charitytees.com, an organization that supports the fight against breast cancer.  Nicole lost her mom in 2002 to the disease.  I know that we all know someone who has battled or is battling this terrible disease.  Please take a look at the website, another fun way to support the fight!  I love all of the great sayings she has come up with.

This post is honor of so many in our life that have fought the battle:

Mimi Davis, Kelley Liljegren, Nancy Nelson, Susie Ulrickson, Belle Bradford, Jane Baker, Lori Bridwell

and all the other women out there fighting.

"Save Dinner"

"Save my future wife's itty bitties"

4 days apart

We were lucky enough to spend time with some good friends that were in town visiting family.  Lisa and Jason Miller, along with their kiddos, Indie (2) and Eli (11 weeks) came in from Minnesota for Lisa's moms birthday.  They have been in town since last Thurday, but Aidan has been sick so we weren't able to get together until today.  (And of course they left tonight :-(  )  I was excited to get Ronan and Eli together.  They were born just days apart.  Ronan on January 23 and Eli on the 27th.  How fun would it be if they grew up being great buds!

E: "Dude, how long is this picture thing going to take?"

R:"Just smile and then maybe she'll stop."

I'm pretty sure I heard Eli do the fake cough but say something else thing. I could have sworn I heard "cough*cough*enough*cough"!

R: "Dude, you're right, this is taking for ever!  I'm sorry, she can get carried away."

E: "You've got to be kidding me.  I thought we were done!"

R: "Welcome to my life dude, welcome to my life."

Photography

I posted a few pictures on my photography page and hope to continue to do more.  Enjoy!

Restroom Etiquette

So today I took the boys, all three, to the zoo.  Just me and the boys.  Really not too bad.  They all did great.  Jacob even walked the entire time!  He's growing up to be such a big boy.  Aidan actually listened and was allowed to walk too.  There was even one time when he told Jacob to "Wait for Mommy!"  Shocking, since he is usually running in the opposite direction.  Anyway, when we first arrived at the zoo, I needed to use the restroom.  I had Jacob walking and I was pushing the big double stroller so opted for the family restroom.  Assuming it was available, which it was.  Now, correct me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression that family restrooms are for ONE family at a time.  Am I right? (If not, I will apologize right now for the rant that I am about to go on.)  I explain to Jacob that I need to go to the bathroom and he starts to freak out.  He is doing great with potty training, but is still uncomfortable going anywhere but home.  I think he thought I was going to make him go.  So here I am, pushing the big stroller and trying to wrangle a screaming 3 year old into the bathroom when a woman and her son walk up and offer to get the door for me.  Nice enough.  However, she continues to follow me into the bathroom, which allows time for Jacob to run out.  I grab him and turn around to her walking into the stall.  She does ask, "Is there another one for you?"  Well, yeah, but it's a mini toilet for kids with no door.  Whatever.  I took the high road and told her to go ahead, but steaming a little inside.  Was I not going in there first?  Did I not have three kids, one of which was throwing a fit the entire time?  And isn't it a ONE family bathroom????  Because I could not lock the bathroom door because she was in there with me, Jacob tried to escape.  So I had to take him against his will into the stall with me.  Screaming and all.  (He continued to try to open the stall door too) What a way to pee.  As she left she said "Have a nice time today" with the underlying tone of "I know what kind of day it will be with a cranky 3 year old.  Whatever.  AAGGGHH!!  I don't know why, but this situation really got under my skin.  What is the deal with people?  Despite the beginning of our time at the zoo, the rest of it was very nice.  Sorry, no pictures though.  Maybe on solo trip number 2.

 

Gluten for punishment, part 2

In my quest to keep my boys happy and entertained I once again ended up with more work for myself.  I am not so naive that I didn't see the mess coming.  That's the problem, I see fully in my mind what is going to happen and yet I create the activity anyway.  It sounds like so much fun for them that I forgot about how much "fun" it will be for me.  Haha.  I really don't mind.  The messes the boys create make for great picture opportunities.  And I hope great memories for them.  I came up with this idea from the Children's Museum and then my friend Jacqui confirmed it was a great activity in a previous post.  And it does clean up easily.

(And yes, they do not have any pants on - the joys of potty training!)

Is it only my boys that decide to squish together in the container of rice and beans?  Uh, guys, you're not supposed to sit in it.

The mess.

The "Roo"

Just a couple pictures of my sweet Ronan.  He was asleep in the swing and I decided to get a few shots of him.

Happily dreaming

Practicing either his Elvis sneer or his "You wanna mess with me?" look.  You decide.

I love little toes!!!  ( You would never know I have a foot fetish!)

Palm Sunday

At church this morning, the kids sang a song entitled "Bull Frogs and Butterflies", which has an Easter theme.  Instead of carrying in palms, they all carried bullfrogs and butterflies that they had made.  The youngest kids, Jacob and Aidan's age came in last.  The first picture is of the group before the boys arrived.  I'm not going to lie, my boys didn't really enjoy it.  Jacob refused to wear his hat and Aidan stood facing the kids, frozen in fear.  When they saw me taking pictures, both came and wanted to sit with me.  So, I have just one or two pictures of them up there.  It was funny.  Oh well, they will have plenty of chances to show off their skills later.

The crew

It appears in this picture that Jacob is wearing his hat but it's actually a hat on the person behind him.

The entire group

Poor little man.  He stood that way, frozen, for several minutes until I tried to coax him to turn around, and failed.

God grant me patience . . .

Yes that is Aidan and yes that is lipstick.  Need I say more?

Glutton for punishment?

Cute boys in undies, check.  Paper and finger paint, check.  Big mess to clean up, check.

I am trying to keep the boys entertained while we stay home working on potty training.  We can play outside, but our backyard is torn up at the moment.  We do go out front to play too.  Anyway, if I can find a fun activity to do inside, it gives me time to get some other chores done.  (plus the potty isn't far away)  However, the fun activities I offer them seem to create more work in the long run.  I really don't care, as long as they have fun!

"The Porcelain God"

The last two days have been filled with potty training fun.  ( I do say that somewhat sarcastically)  I won't bore you or gross you out with all the details.  I am training, or attempting to train, both boys at once.  So far, it's been what I expected.  For us it hasn't been a "not one accident" trial.  Jacob is doing great at telling me when he needs to go - it takes several attempts to actually go though.  Yesterday he held it all morning, until 12:45pm.  He has yet to poop on the potty.  Now Aidan will poop on the potty and is good about telling me he has to go.  But he will pee anywhere - on the couch, in the bathtub (mind you, not while taking a bath, he just crawled in and peed), outside, etc.  Just not on the potty.  Although if I can catch him, he will try on the potty.  It's kind of like having a puppy.  We'll get there.  I have cleared my schedule and we will be home working on it until we get it.  I didn't take any on the potty pictures yet, I didn't want to embarrass them or make them feel any more uncomfortable on the potty.  But I did get some cute pictures of them playing, cute bums and all.  And of course one of the Roo, taking it all in, scheming for when it will be his turn to potty train. . .