Seriously, is he old enough!

Will and I were touring preschools today and we just kept saying....we can't be old enough for this right. We can't have a child who will be 4....nope we can and well we do and it is completely crazy. It just seems like yesterday he was just a peanut! Where does the time go? We have one more preschool to see next Wednesday but right now we have our top 2 and would be happy at either of them. Now, how to pay for it?

Crafting....

The crafter in me comes out when my to-do crafting list gets smaller, although it is not completely empty. I still have 2 big & simple projects to do before Christmas if possible. When I am done I may move onto some of the crafts I found on blogs today. I don't spend much time on the computer playing around, since there isn't much time, but I was at my parents today and so I got a little free time and found some awesome and fun sewing/crafting blogs. I can't wait to check out some more! I will have to add them to my blog lists.

M is almost 2!

Yikes! I can't even believe it M is almost 2. It seems like just yesterday he was my little baby and now....almost 2. He is a little boy now and growing up too fast. I yearn for his baby days sometimes and other times am so happy we're all mobile, even if that means me trying to go in 2 different directions.

Now, to figure out how to make his 2nd birthday cake. We started by making E some pretty spectacular cakes and now well we will need to do that for M too. I was thinking a dinosaur out of cupcakes or creating a train cake. I think I will head over to Ubake sometime this week and get some chocolate filling for in between the layers if I do the train cake. Any ideas? Feel free to toss them my way.

Figures!

Yep, yesterday we took the boys all the way to Dodgeville for an H1n1 vaccination clinic. I was tired of waiting for Dane County and our health care provider to get theirs. So, I decided to find somewhere else to do it. Of course, this morning our health care provider is accepting appointments for the H1n1 vaccination. Ah well, I will hope to get the second dose at M's 2 year appointment.

Right on the money!

Yep, we (Will and I) were right on the money in picking M's birthday gift for this year. We decided to get him a ride on car toy. In an effort to save some money we also decided to find it on craigslist. I searched every week for a couple of weeks and finally found one that wasn't too far away and worth the money they were asking. Will picked it up on his way home from a convention and we hid it in the garage under a big blanket. E never even asked about the appearance of the big blanket. Well, today Will had the boys and they were driving through a Madison neighborhood when he spied the same car we purchased out on the curb. Neither of us are too proud to make someone's trash our treasure so he pulled over and put it in the car. E noticed and was super excited and as Will was asking him to keep it a secret E says to M "M, look we have a new car, turn around M it's back here." M, of course, turns around and he beams. He is so excited about it. So, after all our hard work we were foiled by a free ride on car on the side of the road. M is just so happy to have his own car. I had actually been wondering if we could just give it to him early since the weather was so nice. Looks like I got my answer...it's all in the signs...sometimes you just have to let the world decide for you.

M's language & other stuff

M's language has exploded. On Halloween his first 4-word sentence ever. "mommy daddy help me". He can say so many things and puts 2 word phrases together all the time now. We are practicing the colors but everything right now is "geen". I was so proud the other day because I asked him what color his cup was and he said "geen". He was right. Then I asked him what color E's cup was and he said "geen". That's when I realized everything is "geen". He was a "saurus" for halloween and he would roar. He knows some animals and their sounds but sometimes everything just quacks. He really likes ducks. He can jump on 2 feet and actually leave the ground. He has no fear and jumps off of stuff.

He loves to say "ow, bodie yickin" followed by "no, no bodie yickin". He is overly dramatic and everything hurts and causes a lot of crying and then comfort from only mommy, daddy will not do. He is a rough and tumble kid that loves to wrestle and climb. He is getting so big...so much like a boy and no longer a baby. He will be 2 in less than a month. Yikes! He is growing up so fast.

Pumpkin Patches and fun with friends and family!

The Little Farmer with our friends the C's

Green Thumb with cousin MM

The funny things kids say!

Well, I have some stories, comments, conversations with my oldest that are bound to make you laugh.

We have a new name for the taint here at our house, well technically it could only be used for the male taint. E has named it the penis chin. Wait, he has good reason for this name. He has butt cheeks and he calls his butt hole his "butt mouth", so of course he is missing a chin. He decided his taint is the "penis chin". Just in case you wanted a new name for your taint, now you have it.

Oh, and he also asked his daddy. "How come I don't have any fur?" Yep, daddy is furry.

Halloween!

E & M so excited about their rockin' costumes!

Now I remember why....

Today, E was slightly under the weather. We decided to stay home and see if he got a fever or other symptoms, which he didn't and by the end of the day we were all stir crazy. I was calm as I didn't have to get anyone going or anywhere on time but by the end of the day E was a mess. He was crying and crabby. It was not a pretty evening here. I can't wait until tomorrow, when we get out of the house.

Too smart!

Uugghh....so my 3 y.o. has already figured out one of my tricks. Yes, I employ tricks to get him to do things but it seems he is smarter than I thought and figured this one out pretty quickly. When he hasn't drunk enough milk I require that he drink while I count to 10. Well we all know how to make it look and sound like we are drinking a lot and really aren't, so does he. I think he figured it out a couple of months ago but wasn't sure until just a few minutes ago. Looks like I will need to employ drink races, like I did with my cousin Jon Paul, to get him to drink his mealtime beverage. I will also need some more tricks as that one will get old soon too.

St. Patrick's Day is when?

Coming from an Irish family the date of St. Patrick's Day is etched into my memory, my husband on the other hand is a different story. He decided to lighten my load and take M to the grocery store and do the weekly grocery shopping. I don't relinquish this often because it means having to be really specific on the grocery list and I know we don't save as much money either. Anyhow, he took M and on the list it said corned beef, I had mentioned we were having rueben sandwiches and apparently he didn't hear that, he looked all over the meat department and there was one brisket left (this should have been his first clue). (Clue #2) He was thinking that it was kind of expensive and he knows I usually buy it when it's on special. (Clue #3) Sauerkraut, rye bread and swiss cheese were also on the list.

After a trip to another grocery store to get the deli corned beef he mentioned that when he was looking for the brisket he said to M, "why does she want this? Is it St. Patrick's Day soon?" A woman gave a little chuckle, at the time he thought it was because M is so cute but upon retelling the story he realized she was laughing at his stupidity.

Maybe now he will remember that St. Patrick's Day is in March.

The first of many...

Yesterday when I sent E into a timeout he exclaimed the three dreaded words of a mom, "I hate you!" My my sweet little 3 year old proclaimed his hatred for me over a timeout for who knows what, I can't even remember anymore. I just ignored the comment & went on with life like he didn't say anything. I hope that little ploy extinguishes itself for now but I know they will resurface at some point in his life. I know then those 3 little words will pack a much harder punch and be much harder to ignore. For now he is just testing us.

Is feeling badly about letting the blog fall by the wayside...

Yep, I feel badly. Not only because I know there are people that were reading it but because family members relied on it to keep up-to-date with the boys. My family that don't live nearby used it as a looking glass to see what was going on. It is now my goal to update it at least twice a week. If nothing else it was a way for me to keep track of the boys milestones and funny comments. Oh how I miss that! So, here it goes....time to get back to blogging.

Too long and so much has changed...

Wow, so it has definately been too long, in fact an entire summer since I last wrote. Since my last post my little sister got hitched, M has started talking up a storm, and E is completely diaperless.

So let's look back at the past 2 1/2 months. My sister's wedding was gorgeous. A little rainy but completely beautiful. My mom altered my dress well enough so that I no longer looked pregnant, which I am not, and my boys were the absoulute cutest children at the wedding (okay so I am a little biased) baby J was pretty darn cute as well. My husband also looked fantastic...we were quite a handsome family if I do say so myself. E performed his job as ring bearer. There was a little concern as he fell asleep literally minutes before pictures as I was getting him into his tux, but he woke up just 10 minutes before he had to walk down the aisle and was all business and ready to go from then on. It was hilarious....oh and he did not walk down the aisle but sprinted instead.

M is now talking like crazy....let's see what can he say. Here is the list for (my future reference):
Mommy, Daddy, Eyi, Bo-ie, come, dit (sit), pease, dank you, Nana, Pa-pa, Weeya (Will), Dosh (Josh), No, Yes, nuk, moak (milk), duice (juice), rain rain go way, car, car deat, food, and I am sure there are many more.

E is diaperless 24/7, which is completely awesome. He had been diaperless all the time except at night. He was still wetting a diaper on most occasions. Then one night as we were getting him ready for bed he declared he didn't want to wear a diaper. Well, we have a waterproof sheet on his bed so we figured why not. Turns out that kid knows his body well. We have been diaperless for well over 4 weeks and he has only had 3 accidents. Hip hip hooray!

Other than that not much to tell here. We are enjoying the summer with Will off and are really excited about our venture to eat more local food. We are also attempting to preserve more local food for the winter.

Wow, time flies!

This weekend my little sister gets married and while I have a ton to do I thought I would get a little nostalgic. Maybe it will help me in writing my toast! Oops, I'd better add that to the to do list. It seems like just yesterday that we shared our teeny tiny room until I was a junior in high school. Then, we finally moved into a room that gave us a little space. None the less, since I was 6 we shared a room. My sister is nutty....I remember taping "radio programs" with Kate and Christy. We found them years later and just cracked up. We did all sourts of nutty things. There were nights we talked for hours, even during the years when we despised each other during the day. We'd listen to music and obsess about boys. Ah, the memories. Now, she is getting married and although she now has a steady and amazing man in her life. I know that we have a bond of sisterhood no one can break. Our conversations have moved on to more adult topics and we've matured a bit in our obsession with boys but we are and always will be the only sisters we will ever have! She is the best and I am so excited to share in her day!

Here are some vacation pics....I will post more later

As you can see from the pictures the weather was all over the map.

Looking forward to vacation!

Oh how I am so waiting for our vacation. It is our first vacation as a family and I can't wait. It will be so nice to get away and be at the beach. I am hoping for some great weather. Who am I kidding? I really just want to see the sun. In looking forward to the vacation I realized just how big my boys are getting.

Let's see...M...well he's been walking now for 7 months and I just realized that it wasn't until 15 months that E even started to walk. M is an opinionated kid with wants and needs and man does he throw a fit when he doesn't get his way. E never really tantrummed and M boy oh boy does he ever. M is also a complete ham, he just cracks me up. He has a completely different build than E, with his short stockiness. E is thin and wiry. M loves to kick a ball and he is good at it. He can dribble a soccer ball as well as his brother. He LOVES animals and will just lay on his doggie as long as he will let him. I know he will want a million pets. Loves his nuks and those will be a challenge to give up. M can charm the pants off anyone just like his brother could at this age. He is laid back, except for the demands and just goes with the flow. He idolizes his big brother and learns everything and I mean everything from him. He has figured out how to make a quacking noise and when he hears the theme song to Word World, a PBS show, he dances and shouts "wor wor". His language is coming along. Now we have Momma, da, Bo, Iye (brother's name), NO, da (that)....hmmm, I know there are more. He loves to dance and climb...he is my climber. I will take bets soon on when he will be out of his crib.

E....boy oh boy that language is never ending. He has become a bit sassy and his behaviors can be a challenge but he is a great and very sweet kid. He is easily riled up so we'll see how school goes. He loves words and rhyming. He loves to dance and run. He loves all kinds of music. One of his current favorites is "Flogging Molly". He loves the Irish rhythms. He loves to read books and race his cars. He is releasing some of his love of "Cars" the movie but it is still by far his favorite. He has a sharp memory and remembers all kinds of things. He recited the first 3 pages from one of his new favorite library books "Zen Ties". He is crazy smart and boy oh boy school will be fun! He loves to learn.

Ah, my boys....I can't wait to take all of my boys to the beach...only we aren't telling E until the morning we leave. He is far to excited and won't sleep if he knows anything new is happening.

Loving it...

I know E can be rowdy but man you just gotta love that kid. Despite is complete rowdiness and aptitude for pushing all my buttons I just can't help but love him all the time. He is a beautifully sweet boy. Today, I asked nicely if he would please pay quietly while I was trying to get Max to sleep. At first, it was a no go but then after pulling out some puzzles he sat quietly at the table. At one point, he waved to me and quietly said, "Hi momma." He was such a sweetheart. Oh how I love that boy.

His new nap schedule allows us to have a little alone time before he takes his nap. He and I get to play a game or two and then we sit and read as he dozes off to sleep. I love that time. Oh how I love my boy....both of them but I think it's time to gush over E!

My boy!

So, I am learning all sorts of things about E. Turns out if he sits in the front at storytime he focuses and pays attention much better than sitting further back. He really does the best right up front with the kids that sit right in front of the librarian. I also learned that he can be a little s*** and knows how to push buttons. I guess I already knew this but figured he only pushed my buttons. Here is how I learned of E's aptitude for pushing other people's buttons:

Library time a week ago:

Okay so we got there late and all the kids and parents were already sitting and so E did not climb past all the adults to sit up front with the kids. Instead we sat with some friends. E was pretty excited to be sitting with his friend and wanted to entertain. He also was sitting further back than usual and not as engrossed in the stories as he usually is. Anyhow, we were also sitting next to a 5ish year old boy who would shhhhush E & his friend any time they would talk, no matter how brief. E started to notice when the little boy would shhhush them and then would talk and then watch out of the corner of his eye when the boy shushed him. He did it over and over again. Finally, the dad of the shushing boy figured out what was going on and got his son to stop and then so did E. I tried to stop E previously but he doesn't like to be told what to do, especially over and over again. That's my boy....look out kindergarten! (Thank goodness I have a little time before then.)