Outnumbered & Loving It

The Blizzard of 2012

2012-01-22T22:11:00.000-08:00

That would be the headline on the news, anyway. Last week was very snowy around here! So much so, that I didn't drive my car out of the driveway for an entire week. I don't think that's ever happened in my adult life. While it was fun, I'm happy everything's back to normal now. Cole gets to go back to school tomorrow, which we're all very excited about! Don't get me wrong...I think that boy is the bee's knees, but he's gotten pretty used to staying busy with a lot of structure at school, so we've all been a bit antsy this past week!

No offense to Cole, but I wouldn't have pegged him as a little snowboarder. His balance hasn't always been the greatest! Our neighbor girls brought over their cool little snowboards and he gave it a shot. Over, and over, and over again. We had to force him to stop after hours for several days in a row! He got pretty awesome at it too, if I do say so myself! Wishing I would have tried it sooner, I stuck Brady on one the last night of our beautiful snow. Also, to my surprise, that little 3 year old actually rode the board down the driveway! Go Brady! Unfortunately, there's no way in hell I'm going to have a snowboarding family - not for real, anyway. I can't afford that type of hobby and Mark and I aren't "snow" or "mountain" people, so the boys will just have to stick to the driveways & hills at the golf course for now. That is, until they get jobs & cars, and then they can go ahead and take it up as an official sport. Sorry, kids. That's just the way it's gonna be.

Now, sit back and enjoy some snow photos!

I really should start blogging again...

2011-11-19T23:47:00.001-08:00

It's only been 8 months since my last post. That's not so bad, right?!? Yeah, okay, that's pretty bad.

I can't even recall everything we've done in the last 8 months, but 1 huge change is that Cole's in school now! We decided to send him to all day kindergarten this year and it's been wonderful! Last night he said he was really sad it was the weekend, cause he really wanted to go to school. Pretty awesome to have a kid that loves school that much! He's reading so well already and constantly improving. He continues to amaze me everyday.

We have new neighbors that moved in over the summer. It's a mother and 11 year old daughter and we just adore them. The 11 year old girl comes over before & after school and is a wonderful addition to our family. The boys look forward to seeing her every morning and love playing with her. She said she's always wanted a little brother...well, now she has 2! And even better, she can just come play with them when she wants and when she gets tired of them...she gets to go home!

Cole is still taking karate and really enjoying it. He's been in the youth karate class for a couple of sessions now which puts him with older kids. He has gotten much better at keeping up this last month. I'm still taking karate too, and loving it! It's pretty neat to be able to practice together - although we need to do that quite a bit more than we do!

Here are some pictures of the boys I've taken recently. I'm gonna try to get back to updating the blog again. Don't hold me to it - I know I've said that before! Hopefully I can actually follow through this time!

Karate Kid!

2011-03-29T23:02:00.000-07:00

Cole had his belt testing last week for karate. Today was the award ceremony, and he was promoted to yellow belt! He was absolutely FLOORED by this! I'm so proud of him! He's done such an amazing job, and I'm so happy that we made the decision to get him started with this last fall. He's now moving up to the youth karate class, which is for 7-16 year olds. That freaks me out, considering he's only 5, but he says he's up for the challenge. I've been taking the same style karate classes since the beginning of the year, so I'll be able to help him practice at home, which should make it go a little smoother!

Here are a few pictures from the class & ceremony.

We're still alive! Not sure where to even start...

2011-03-07T13:39:00.000-08:00

So, it's been 4 months since I last posted. I've been getting worse and worse about updating this blog as time goes on. I'd love to say that I promise I'll get better about it, but quite honestly, I don't trust myself enough to promise something like that! I'll try, though, cause 4 months is pretty rediculous!

Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Valentine's Day & anything else I may have missed since November!

I thought I'd show you what our latest art project was! It only took about 4 days from start to finish...I may have underestimated the time & mess factors when I started this! We made masks out of a milk jug! I cut the jug in half, and for the side without the handle, we made a nose out of foil & masking tape so it would look like a face. We then mixed up a nice gooey flour/water/salt mixture, dipped strips of newspaper into it and proceeded to paper mache the whole jug. It took a couple of days to dry (longer than I thought!). The boys and I painted and decorated them using random art supplies & a hot glue gun, which I went ahead and let Brady operate! Ha! Just kidding! Only I got to touch that! The boys told me where they wanted things glued on and I hot glued them on for them.

Here are some pictures of the process and the final product! They are now hanging on our wall and look so cool!

Happy Halloween / Happy Birthday!

2010-11-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

How am I so bad at updating this? Goodness! The boys both just had their birthdays, and it's pretty hard to believe I have a 2 year old & 5 year old running around here! It seems like Brady was just a little baby! They're both doing excellent. Cole is in karate and LOVING it! It's absolutely amazing to watch him progress. I thought it was going to be something that he just wouldn't learn well, based on the first couple weeks, but now, he's doing so well! I'm so glad I enrolled him! We'll definitely keep him in it as long as he's having fun. Brady started a little co op preschool once a week. I stay there with him the whole time. We did the same thing with Cole at this age, and it's really great for his social development. It's also teaching him a little structure, which is wonderful!

The boys had their annual Dr. appointments today (boo for shots). Cole is pretty close to average at 40 lbs / 42.5 inches (40th / 50th percentiles). Brady, on the other hand, is not so average! He is 32 lbs / 35.25 inches (90th / 70th percentiles). The kid is a football player, even the doctor said so! They're both very healthy and doing great, which is always a nice reassurance! Here's a couple pictures, since it's been so long!

Karate, Haircut & Bread Making!

2010-09-21T22:11:00.000-07:00

What a day, huh? Cole had his first karate class, I gave Brady a new haircut & Cole and I baked 2 loaves of bread!

We started with the haircut. Brady has been known to boycott said haircuts, which is the reason I let it get SOOOO long this time around! But to my surprise, he sat there and was totally cool with it! So cool, in fact, that I got to take my time and really give him a nice haircut! Of course, he's so squirmy that I couldn't get a great picture of it, but I've posted my best shot up next to a shaggy before shot!

Next up, Cole and I made some bread! Again, to my surprise, it turned out wonderfully! We brought a loaf over to Gigi (my grandma, and kiddos great grandma). She loves it when we bake, cause she always gets some! Or maybe not, sometimes...if what we bake isn't so wonderful! I try not to share those items, though!

Last but not least, Cole had his first Karate class today! He's been looking forward to this for such a long time! It was awesome! It's gonna be so good for him, both challenging and fun. And cute, if I do say so myself!

Cole's riding a bike!!!

2010-09-01T16:41:00.000-07:00

With no training wheels! We bought him a balance bike about a month ago, which he rode maybe 10-15 times, and now look! He got on a real bike and rode it. This never would have happened without that balance bike - well, it would have happened eventually, but no one wants to ride a bike with training wheels when they're in high school!
Here's the proof! Sorry about the shaky video...I was walking, and my camera doesn't have image stabilization - hope you don't get sea sick!

Brady's new potty seat!

2010-08-25T07:31:00.000-07:00

Check out how cute this little thing is! Brady saw it, pointed to it and said "poop". He wanted to sit on it and try immediately! Of course, nothing happened when he sat on it, but he thought it was pretty cool. This should help in our potty training venture. Not sure when I'm going to try, but I thought it'd be pretty awesome to have him out of diapers before his 2nd birthday. I'm sure I'm dreaming, but I won't know until I try! Wish me luck!

And here's a picture of the boys at the Children's Museum yesterday. Everytime Brady sees this dog, he says "ride it"!

It's been so long!

2010-07-27T22:56:00.000-07:00

Wow, over a month without posting? Where do I even begin? I suppose I'll just post some cute pictures I've taken this month & give a brief synopsis of what we've been up to! For the 4th of July, we went over to a party on Whidbey Island. We walked on the ferry, which was very fun for the boys. They played on the beach quite a bit and had a wonderful time. We've been having lots of pool time in the back yard when the sun is out! We got a new pool, and it's a huge hit, especially with the slide in it! Just last weekend we went to Picnic Point Park/Beach and it was wonderful. I'll definitely be heading back there very soon! Then the next day we went to the zoo. What a fun weekend! Alrighty, that was plenty of talking, now onto the pictures!

4th of July!

Backyard pool party!

Picnic Point!

Zoo!

Susie...

2010-06-18T19:19:00.000-07:00

...is apparently this frog's name. Cole carried it around for a solid 20 minutes before I convinced him it was probably a good idea to let it go. I still can't believe it let Cole carry it around for so long!

Don't do it, Cole!

2010-05-29T23:47:00.000-07:00

Phew! This is much better!

MUSCLES!!!

My sweet, sweet boys!

We've been having great fun lately! The boys are playing so nicely together, and Mark and I have so much fun just sitting back and enjoying their craziness! Cole is truly the BEST big brother. Brady loves everything that Cole loves, which means that he wants all of Coles toys. Although this doesn't always go over well, for the most part, they are sharing.

Apparently I need to have a little girl (no, this will not actually ever happen), because I decided to make a dress - just for fun...just to see if I could. I think it turned out adorable. Anyone have a little girl who would wear it? I tried to get Cole to put it on, but that was a no go! Here it is!

Cute Pictures!

2010-05-11T23:18:00.001-07:00

Nothing much to report from here, but here are some pictures I took of the boys on Mother's Day! Oh yeah, Cole got a new bed that's HUGE! It's really awesome, though and he loves it!

18 Months

2010-04-27T23:36:00.000-07:00

Can you believe Brady is now 18 months old? I sure can't! I have to share something that I think is so exciting that he did yesterday, on his 18 month birthday. For quite some time now, he's been telling us that he's going to go poop right before he does. I've tried sticking him on the toilet before, but haven't ever stuck with it. Well, yesterday he told me, so I put him on the toilet. 3 times. And the 3rd time, voila, he pooped! He was so proud of himself, and we were so proud of him too! He kept wanting to try today, and really put in a good effort, but never managed to go. We're going to keep trying, cause I have a feeling he might actually be able to do this! At 18 months...wow...I'm impressed! And how exciting would it be to never have to change poopy diapers? I could definitely live with that!

Busy, busy!

2010-04-20T23:03:00.000-07:00

That's what we are! All day, every day. If we're home, the kids are always busy, busy, busy - especially Brady! That kid just never stops moving! The house constantly looks like a tornado has blown through, so my down time is getting shorter and shorter each and every day!

We've started working with Brady feeding himself. I got this cool new bowl and utensils that we can bend towards him to make it easier for him to feed himself. Here's how he's doing!

And just cause I'm a nerd, I have to share this! About a month ago, I stopped at a garage sale (getting excited it's that time of year again...like I said, total nerd) and bought the kiddos a tv/vcr so they can watch movies in the play room occasionally. We used to have one, but the screen went out. Anyway, I only paid $10 for it, which is an incredible deal. Unfortunately, we don't really have many VHS tapes, so that was going to be what I would hunt for at sales this season. Well, I went out to 2 sales this past weekend, and check out what I got for $11! 23 movies! Excessive....well, obviously. But how cool is it that we have so many choices?!?

First beach trip of the year!

2010-04-12T21:26:00.000-07:00

And boy was it coooooooooold!!!!!!!! It ended up being a pretty short trip, cause we were all freezing the second we got there. I made some chicken tenders, cut up some strawberries and brought our big blanket, and we had a nice family picnic dinner on the beach. Cole played in the sand a little and threw a bunch of rocks in the water. Brady had his first experience trying to walk in the sand, and was very unsteady! All in all it was a fun little trip, but I think I'll wait until it warms up a bit more before heading back again! Here are a few pictures I snapped.

States

2010-04-09T09:55:00.000-07:00

Cole's new thing is learning geography. He can't get enough of it. He brings us the Atlas to read him when we tell him to pick out a book. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining...but come on, he's 4! What are his teachers going to do with him when he starts school (in a year and a half)???

He has now learned all of the states. Just this morning, he had out his state puzzle (which I have to limit his time putting together) and asked "Think I can put it together without the puzzle?" Apparently the answer to that question is yes! In case you can't tell, each state is a seperate piece.

February Pictures from Dana - FINALLY!

2010-03-28T18:58:00.000-07:00

We headed up to Dana's studio in February for some more great pictures of the boys! Sorry I took so long to post them! Thanks again for beautiful pictures, Dana! Sorry there's not many of Cole - he wasn't in the mood, but as you'll see, Brady sure was! Here are some of my favorites!

Afternoon at the Museum

2010-03-17T22:55:00.001-07:00

For the first time since Brady's been walking, I braved the Children's Museum. Just the boys and I. We had a fantastic time! It's definitely more challenging keeping track of 2, but nice to not have to carry Brady around the whole time. My back appreciated that! Here are some of my favorite pictures. My camera setting switch kept getting hit in my purse, so the quality is wierd on some of them...sorry.

My flash wouldn't stop going off for this last one, but it was such a cute thing, them walking down the street together, I posted it anyway.

Oh, Happy St. Patricks Day! To celebrate, we decorated cookies with green frosting and green sprinkles, and had green cornbread with our soup for dinner. Cole enjoyed both very much! And so did Brady - here's proof! (See the green frosting on his face?)

The Giant Pacifier

2010-03-16T22:47:00.000-07:00

My little guy is getting very resourceful, don't you think? What a goofball! He thought he was hilarious (and I agreed)!

Chase

2010-03-01T14:18:00.000-08:00

The day has come. Cole finally has himself a chase partner! Thank goodness, cause mommy and daddy are getting kind of tired of running in figure 8's around our downstairs! Brady is definitely up for the challenge, and will probably be picking up speed in the next couple of weeks. Look out, Cole, here he comes!

And here was their first game of chase (kind of) on foot today.

Look Who's Walking!

2010-02-23T20:08:00.001-08:00

Come On Brady!

2010-02-19T14:49:00.001-08:00

You were just pushing like there was no tomorrow when you were wearing your diaper! Now, I sit you on the toilet and you pretend you don't have to go?

About 1 minute after the diaper went back on, you'll never guess what happened...okay, maybe you will.

Just like his brother

2010-02-18T21:20:00.000-08:00

Brady wants to be just like his big brother. And as different as they are (and they really are quite different), he is just like his brother in some ways. Cole used to do this exact same thing. He wanders over to the bookcase, empties it, sits in the pile and "reads". He is in heaven. There is no point in putting them all back on the shelf until he's sleeping, because he'd much rather they all be back on the floor.

Here he is in all his glory.

I knew the picture of Brady seemed familiar! Here's one of Cole when he was only 2 weeks older than Brady is now, and even in the SAME PAJAMAS! I just posted this before I even realized they were wearing the same thing. Wow, how crazy!

So Sweet

2010-02-12T20:45:00.000-08:00

Update from Arizona

2010-02-04T22:29:00.000-08:00

Well, the boys and I are safe and sound and Grandma and Grandpa's place in Arizona. I was quite a sight to see getting them on and off the plane. I had Brady on my back in the ergo carrier, my backpack on my front, holding the car seat over my head while leading Cole in front of me. I really wish someone would have gotten a picture! We did it much more smoothly than I thought we would have! Now, if we can get home without incident, I'll be a very happy camper!

As Mark and I suspected, it appears that Brady will be walking by the time we get home. He began standing unassisted for very long periods of time today, and taking a few steps many times. I can't wait to see what happens tomorrow! I hope he doesn't face plant, because it's all tile floor here - scary!

Here's a couple of videos. One of us at the pool today, and the other of his standing and taking a couple of steps.

He's getting so big!

2010-01-26T22:58:00.000-08:00

The weather here has been amazing! I bought this bike for Cole last summer, and it was so big for him that we hung it from the ceiling in our garage, expecting to take it down in the spring, at the earliest! Well, his little bike was just looking so little this week, so I took down the big one, and he's JUST big enough. Doesn't he look like such a big boy?

Cole is very much enjoying being able to teach his brother new things. Sometimes this is good, and sometimes, not so much! Here he is trying to show Brady how to "escape" from the school bus that's between his crib and closet. So much for sitting him in there so I can run to the bathroom really quick! Thanks, Cole!

Pure Joy

2010-01-21T23:14:00.001-08:00

The many faces of Cole

2010-01-09T20:18:00.001-08:00

Think a costume box was a good idea for Christmas? I'm gonna go with yes!

Nice relaxing bath before bed

2010-01-05T23:13:00.000-08:00

Yeah right!!! (And yes, myself and the bathroom got soaked)

I'm the luckiest mom alive!

2010-01-03T23:18:00.000-08:00

Cole declared this his new "favorite TREAT"! His words, not mine! (It's scrambled eggs with broccoli, in case you couldn't tell)

And here's a picture of Brady being VERY messy at lunch this afternoon...he prefers to play with his food rather than eat it, as of late. Wonderful.

Brady has started to get the hang of the rough housing with daddy. As soon as Mark lays down in the family room and Cole comes in for the tackle, Brady gets a huge grin on his face, comes storming (speed crawling) into the room and jumps right on in! It's so cute! My boys are so lucky to have such an awesome, loving daddy! I'm pretty lucky too!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-28T22:41:00.000-08:00

We had such a wonderful Christmas this year! Everyone was so generous towards our family and got us all such nice gifts! We are so fortunate to get to spend time with everyone from both of our families. We got to spend Christmas Eve at Marks parents, Christmas morning at home, and Christmas afternoon/evening at my parents. It was so much fun this year with Cole being the age he is. He helped pass out the presents and loved giving as well as receiving! Brady really didn't care about opening presents, but stayed pretty occupied with all of the attention he received from everyone.

Brady and Cole got a kitchen, and my mom snapped this picture as Cole pulled the paper off. Priceless!

And here's a video montage of Brady's new skill...walking while pushing carts. The wooden cart was a present he got for Christmas, and it's absolutely awesome! It got him walking forward (not just cruising around furniture) for the first time, and now he's unstoppable! The boys got the shopping cart to share and are both enjoying that very much! Brady pushes it sideways, though...but hey, whatever works!

The Best Santa Photo Ever!

2009-12-16T21:20:00.000-08:00

What an exciting day!

2009-12-13T23:04:00.000-08:00

Saturday was a CRAZY day, and a REALLY fun one! First off, Cole's preschool had its Christmas program, which Cole has been so excited about for such a long time! Straight from there, with a quick clothing change, we headed to The Moore Theatre for the Imagination Movers concert. Wow. It was amazing! Those guys are great! All of the kids had a great time, and so did all of the parents! It's a true live show, so they're all playing instruments and singing live, which is just refreshing. And, they were excellent at it too! Cole had a great time, and it was so much fun to watch how much he was enjoying himself! We were up in the balcony, and if you can believe it, Mover Rich showed up and high fived Cole, along with almost every single kid up there. He spent lots of time running up and down the stairs trying to let every kid get a high five. How cool is that? I hope he has some good hand sanitizer, though! Okay, onto the pictures. And I've also included a video from the concert (mostly of Cole singing along with them), so enjoy!

Cole on stage at his Christmas Program

Imagination Movers concert

Oops, it's been 2 weeks?!?

2009-12-02T22:17:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in 2 whole weeks! Of course, there was a holiday, so that has to count for something, right? Wrong, I'm just lazy. I cooked absolutely NOTHING for Thanksgiving. We mooched off of everyone else this year. I did feel a bit guilty about it, but not nearly as guilty as what happened right after thanksgiving. My mom sent a big ole bag of leftovers (leftovers are quite possibly better than dinner itself, in my opinion) home with us, which I was really looking forward to eating the next day or two. We came home at midnight, put Brady to bed and then went to bed, only to wake up in the morning and realize that our big ole bag of leftovers was still sitting on the kitchen floor...I almost cried.

Brady's crib was once again on a recall list last week. This also happened earlier this year. When it happened earlier in the year, it took almost 3 months to get the repair kit, and the recall was for maybe 200,000 cribs. This one, however is for 2.1 million cribs, with a SINGLE 1-800 number for all 2.1 million people to call for their repair kit...um, no thanks. So, I bought a new crib. Yeah, it sucks, but considering that he'll be sleeping in it for well over a year still, it's worth it. Plus, I never thought I'd praise Walmart, and someone might want to come and slap me silly to make sure I'm okay...but I found this great crib on "web special" on their website for $100 and just $.97 shipping! Wow! And not only that, but I ordered it last Tuesday, and received it on Monday, and there was a holiday! Pretty amazing, if you ask me! Wanna know something even more amazing? Okay, so I'm totally gloating here - guess how long it took for me to put it together? From start to finish, with NO help??? Come on, guess! Okay, I'll tell ya. 29 minutes! And yes, I timed it, cause I'm a big dork, and wanted to brag about it! Don't worry, my husband has already informed me that I'm totally lame, and nobody cares.

Now for the pictures of the ~~kiddos~~ 1 year old from the past couple of weeks!

Cole WILL NOT let me take his picture, so I promise I'm not just playing favorites or anything!

Oh wait! I found one of Cole - about this picture - seriously, if you have a boy who might want to hang out with Cole, send me a message, okay? He's actually doing a princess wave with a crown on at a princess party in this picture. Mark LOVES that I'm posting this!!! I may have asked him to princess wave for the picture, but honestly, I didn't expect he'd actually know how! (Sorry Mark, and Cole in the future...)

Does it get any cuter than this? I don't think so!

Brady kinda likes Cole's cars...in fact, he likes to just dive in like this. This was the first time, so instead of helping him, I ran and got my camera, like any good mom would do. Don't judge - you'd do the same thing (right?)

Brady hanging out in his new crib

My Little Men

2009-11-14T23:51:00.001-08:00

I have a 4 year old and a 1 year old. Wow. They're getting so old so fast! And guess what? They're starting to play together! I caught them in the play room together today and snapped this picture!

I had to post this picture of Cole because it's funny he's wearing such a girly apron & chef's hat! I made it for Samantha for her birthday, and had Cole try it on for size. Now he wants to know when he's getting a set for himself! I'll have to go find some VERY boyish fabric so daddy will be okay with him having his own set!

And lastly, after I was done with the apron/hat, I decided to enhance one of Brady's onesies by adding a tie. Check out my little man!

Happy Birthday Cole!

2009-11-07T15:55:00.001-08:00

Wow! Cole is 4 years old!!! How did that happen? He's had such a fun day so far, and I'm pretty sure he just fell asleep in his room...we had him go have a little quiet time. We had family and a couple of friends over for a little party, and it was wonderful! Again, I didn't get many pictures, but will post more after my mom and sister email me some of theirs!

Happy Birthday Cole! We love you so much!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T10:34:00.001-07:00

Look what we had for breakfast!

Birthday Pictures!

2009-10-26T23:10:00.001-07:00

We had a family party for Brady yesterday, and he did so great! He opened his presents quite well, actually, kneaded the cake, licked the frosting and just had a great time in general! Here's a few pictures I took. I made the cake (which I might be a little proud of), so of course, there's a couple of pictures of that! My sister took some, so I will post those better ones as soon as I get them!

Opening presents!

Stripping down to the diaper! Cake's next!

Getting ready for the cake!

See the post below for Brady's cake smashing picture! (I know Dana got some great ones too, so more coming soon)

And here's the cake!

Happy Birthday Brady!!!

2009-10-26T09:01:00.001-07:00

More pictures coming soon!

Look who's FINALLY crawling!

2009-10-24T08:27:00.000-07:00

Little Monsters!

2009-10-19T11:51:00.001-07:00

Look how great of a big brother Cole is! He puts up with quite a bit of poking, pulling & grabbing from Brady!

Check out these guns!

2009-10-09T21:04:00.001-07:00

Our very own UPS man!

2009-09-30T17:50:00.000-07:00

We got Cole's Halloween costume today! How cute is this? He's so excited to be a UPS man! I really wanted Brady to be a UPS package, but didn't figure he'd like sitting in a box...so I decided that wasn't such a great idea after all.

How big is Brady?

2009-09-23T20:50:00.000-07:00

SOOOOOOOOO BIG!

Weekend at the Beach

2009-09-20T21:20:00.000-07:00

We took off for Ocean Shores on Saturday morning, and just got home earlier this evening, and boy, did we have a blast! We went with a bunch of friends, and the kids (the older ones) pretty much occupied themselves on the beach the whole time, so it was pretty awesome! So, I'm just gonna post a bunch of pics so you can see how much fun we had! Sorry so many...I took over 200, so it was pretty hard to narrow it down!

Our little scooter

2009-09-18T16:03:00.000-07:00

I put Brady on this little ride on toy for the first time yesterday, and he really surprised me!

Mmmm...Yummy...

2009-09-16T22:25:00.000-07:00

Thank you for these scrumptious pictures, Dana!!!

What a week!

2009-09-12T21:25:00.000-07:00

We've had a great, but very busy week! Cole started preschool on Tuesday, and really seems to be enjoying it. He says his teachers are very nice, and apparently his classroom has a really good box of cars & trucks on the bottom shelf! Woo hoo! Not sure if anything else really matters! Okay, just kidding...

To add to the big week, we got Cole a new big boy bed! I always thought twin beds were small until I saw Cole in it! It looks huge! He has been sleeping so well in it! And falling asleep earlier too, so we're very happy we made the switch! We did hear a big boom one night before he'd fallen asleep, and when Mark went up there, he said he'd fallen out...oops. Mark asked if he was okay, and he said "yeah, I'm good, I just slipped right off" and got back in and went to sleep! Silly boy!

Here's a little photo session I had with Brady the other day - he was being quite the little ham!

Tonight, we took a trip to Willis Tucker park. We hadn't planned on getting wet, but it just looked like too much fun! See for yourself! These boys are so fun!

Being cheap paid off!

2009-09-05T20:15:00.001-07:00

We've always wanted to get a good size toy box, but I could never get myself to spend the money on a nice one, and didn't have much luck looking on craigslist either. Well, my thriftiness finally paid off! Yesterday, I found a nice white on with one of those non finger pinching or head crushing hinges on the lid! Where, you ask? Oh, come on, did you really have to ask? A garage sale, of course! It was VERY girly when I brough it home, with flowers, butterflies and lots of pink and purple on it. You'd never know it now, though. I got everything off of it and let Cole help me decorate it tonight. We had leftover wallpaper border from Brady's room, so that's what's on the bottom, and earlier this summer, I picked up the dinosaur wallies that are on the lid at another garage sale, knowing we'd find a use for them somewhere! So, here's the final product! It looks brand new, doesn't it? And the best part - it only cost me $5!

September? When did that happen?

2009-09-02T22:20:00.000-07:00

How is it September already? I'm not quite sure what happened, but I swear it was just July, like last week! We went to the Fair this week with Lisa, Samantha & Jake. It was pretty fun! Cole won a stuffed animal, so that was pretty exciting! To my surprise, he wanted to go on the kids roller coaster - by himself! Adults are not allowed, so I figured he'd bail, but he went and LOVED it!

Today, I took the kiddos to the park for a little bit, and was so proud of Cole. He wanted to pretty much try everything, and did so well, too! Last time we went there, he ended up crying half way through everything, because he got scared, so we've definitely made some progress! Yay!! Oh, I got a new camera! What do you think? It takes great pictures, but I still have a lot to learn to really take good ones!

Oh, these boys are so great!

2009-08-20T23:41:00.000-07:00

Just look at them! And just an FYI, no, Cole's not naked...he was REALLY hot, so we were letting him cool off by running around in his undies...boys...

Look! I'm on You Tube!

2009-08-20T23:31:00.001-07:00

So, a couple months ago, the band played a little show in Kent. Dave, our biggest groupie ever (we love you Dave), offered to record the show for us, and he's now posted 18 songs on You Tube. I'm being daring even sharing this with you, but here you go...the one song I sing lead on. You'll have to go search for the others on your own! I'm not that generous! Oh, and sorry it's so quiet...Lars doesn't like to turn me up ;)

Incoming!

2009-08-08T23:39:00.001-07:00

Cole and I went to Safeway tonight, and when we walked out of the store, there was a hot air balloon on it's way down right across the street! They ended up landing in a construction zone in the middle of the Highlands neighborhood! I can't believe they managed to get down safely, hardly missing the power lines, trees & houses!
I took this picture from my phone...not a good one at all, but better than nothing!
Oh, and I don't think anyone was injured or anything, so I didn't feel as bad for jumping in my car and driving into the Highlands to see where it touched down! Had someone been injured, I'd have felt like an ambulance chaser... ;)

Cole's New Bed

2009-08-07T22:05:00.000-07:00

I went out garage saling this morning, and got a few really great deals! First off, I bought a Kettler trike (for when Brady's ready to start riding) for $6! I got home and looked them up, and they're like $200 new! I got myself a Talbots linen dress (super cute) and Mark and pair of Express Jeans for $1 each. But, I think the best deal of all is this tent. It's one that collapses into itself if you twist it just right - then squeezes into a tiny little bag. It also has a little air mattress & sleeping bag that fit in it. I got it thinking instead of bringing the pack & play places, we could just bring this for Brady to sleep or play in. Apparently Cole thinks it's his new tent...which is just fine...they can share! Both Cole and Brady played in it this afternoon, and Cole is now having a campout in his room - sleeping in it for the night! I paid a whole $3 for it, and I think I got my money's worth already! What do you think?

9 Months!

2009-07-29T17:02:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it, but Brady is 9 months old! We had his checkup yesterday, and he's doing great! He's now 17 lbs 9 oz (8th percentile), 27 2/3" long (25th percentile) and his head went from the 20th to 30th percentile, so he's working on that Harbak head! He's got a LONG way to go to catch up to his brother...in all 3 categories! Cole was 25 lbs at his 9 month appt!!!

Here's a picture of him enjoying spaghetti for the 1st time!

Cole shares his cars with Brady! But...only if Brady's pacifier is in his mouth, and there's supervision!

Everybody's doing it!

2009-07-26T23:38:00.001-07:00

Our friends thought this was a WAY cool idea too! Syndey, Samantha & Jakey agreed that this was a ton of fun, and they were all at it for a good couple of hours when they came over last week! We're gonna have to do this again this week, since it's supposed to be so hot!

Blueberry Pancakes for Dinner?

2009-07-21T23:35:00.000-07:00

Yep! And they were scrumptious! As I was making them, I got to thinking - I bet Brady could eat one of these! And boy, did he! Here's the video and pictures to prove it!

Slightly upset when it was gone...

And on another note, it's been HOT these past couple of days! We have quite the fun set up in the back yard for Cole. He has so much fun going down the slide into the pool. Tonight, it was very hot, so I filled the pool with VERY cold hose water (I still can't believe he went in it!) and here's how crazy he got! I have to say, I think the swim lessons over the past 2 weeks have certainly made a difference in his comfort level in the water! Don't you think?

Brady's First Haircut!

2009-07-09T22:58:00.000-07:00

And it's a pretty lousy one...but hey - he's so wiggly, he didn't hold still for even a half of a second! His hair is so fine and so thin that it was very hard to cut evenly. That being said, here's the before and after shot. I think it still looks better now, but I need to cut on it a bit more before I'm satisfied.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Sun, Sprinklers & Ice Cream!

2009-07-03T21:52:00.000-07:00

It's GORGEOUS outside, and I LOVE it!!! It was so nice out today that we got out the crazy sprinkler for Cole to run through as long as his little heart desired! When he was all done with that, we came inside for a little, and then I surprised him with an ice cream cone. So, I think I might get some major criticism here....but I think this was the first ice cream cone Cole's ever had. Yeah, super bad mom, huh?...I got my clue that he'd never had one before when he asked what it was (the cone, not the ice cream). I said "it's the cone", and then he asked "can I eat it?" Yeah. He's had ice cream - I'm not totally nuts - just not his own cone before. So, needless to say, it was a wonderful evening, and he was extremely excited! Oh yeah, we ended the evening by playing a board game, which daddy won - good job daddy! Here's some pics of our fun in the sun!

Other than that, I finally got Cole signed up for swim lessons and they start next week. I cannot wait for them to start so the kid will stop pestering me about it! He asks several times a day if we're going to swim lessons today. Preschool ended a couple of weeks ago. Cole had a great year, and can't wait to start up again in the fall! For a father's day present, the kids answered a set of questions about their dads on a piece of paper that they each gave to their dads on father's day. Man, was it funny! Here are a couple of Cole's answers.

How tall is your daddy? 5 feet

What's your daddy's favorite TV show? Mariners

How old is your daddy? 105 years old

What's your daddy's favorite place to go? Work

If you could take your daddy on a trip, where would you take him? To the store

What's the best thing about your daddy? He plays with me

When's your daddy happy? When he's making happy stuff like cars

and our VERY favorite...

What's your daddy's favorite thing to eat? NOT BROCCOLI!

And one last picture... I caught Brady "tuning up" Cole's guitar the other day!

Little Drummer Boy

2009-06-22T23:09:00.001-07:00

Brady figured out how to play his little drum and he LOVES it! He goes nuts with this thing and it's so cute! I love that he can sit and play with toys now!

Cole's having so much fun with his new bike and he's getting so good at riding it! I'm so glad we decided to just skip over the tricycle!

And to finish the post - Have you ever opened your mouth this wide for something this green?

Does this make me a cool mom?

2009-06-16T08:23:00.000-07:00

Or just a little nuts?

Cole first got a "The Incredibles" book at a garage sale, and really seemed to be enjoying it. Since he was enjoying the book so much, and I own the movie, I thought I'd let him watch it. He loved the movie, to my surprise, since it IS a bit scary. That evening, I was going through all of the clothes in his bins of clothing we've bought in the past for future use (meaning larger sizes), and what did I come across?

How perfect was that?!? I had completely forgotten that we had these jammies! He didn't take them off at all yesterday, and insisted on making him a mask and addressing him by the name "Dash" only. He also highly recommended that I have a mask as well, and take on the mom's stretchy super powers. So, what was I to do? I found an old black shirt & made us masks! We played super heroes all day long! It was very cute! Cole even went to the post office like this...I got some strange looks!

And look at Brady! He's getting so strong! If he has support behind him (the couch), he can stand for a really long time!

He's also realized how loud he can be....yippy...not really...he's soooooo loud, it's unbelievable! In the grocery store last night, people were making comments like "wow, I can't believe he can possibly be so loud" or "boy, he's sure a big talker". I get a headache in the car from this, and it's actually made Cole cry in the car, because it actually does hurt our ears! Oh, well, at the same time as it not being enjoyable, it's also very enjoyable, cause it's so cute, watching him figure everything out!

As I mentioned earlier, I was going through clothes in Cole's room. He was "helping" me, diving into the piles and requesting to wear very odd combinations of clothing items...here's how he ended up - and it took some convincing to get him to change!

Look at these crazy boys! I love that they're interacting with eachother, and having such a good time together already! Brady pretty much puts everything in his mouth...including his brother!

Cole's New Bike!

2009-06-05T22:36:00.001-07:00

So, we've been fighting Cole to ride his tricycle since the beginning of last summer, and he either doesn't want to ride it, or tries, gets frustrated and quits a minute into it. Riding trikes and bikes is supposed to be FUN, isn't it? I got to thinking that maybe if we just skipped the trike and went straight to a bike that he might be able to do it...and I was right!!! We got this little bike yesterday, and he's getting really good at it! Here's a short clip from his first ride on it!

Day at the beach!

2009-06-01T16:21:00.000-07:00

What a gorgeous day!!! In the 80's and it's forcasted to stay that way for at least another couple of days! Woo hoo! We headed down to Edmonds with our buddies today and had a blast! Well, tiredness set in at the end, and cause a bit of stress, but all in all, it was a great time! Here are some pictures of the kiddos enjoying the sunshine - and the beach, which was a first for Brady!

I'm in love!

2009-05-24T22:35:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow's gonna hurt!

2009-05-24T17:53:00.001-07:00

Look what I did today! I don't think I'm gonna be able to move tomorrow!!! That was some serious digging - not to mention, I think each brick weighed at least 30 lbs! Now I can't wait to plant flowers in my new little garden! Any suggestions? I think a small japanese maple in the center would be cool...hmmm...

After all, this is YOUR blog! (Well, your name, anyway)

2009-05-20T22:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry, Cole. Posts have been pretty Brady-heavy lately! But to be perfectly fair, I've tried to take pictures and videos of the kid, but he hasn't wanted me to...but apparently Grandma's allowed to. She kidnapped Cole last weekend, and he had a super good time! Here's some pictures she emailed me. Enjoy! I LOOOOOOVE this first one of Cole and Grandpa!

Wow, he must have been tired!

2009-05-19T18:09:00.000-07:00

30 seconds before this picture, he was jumping!

You'd think I never feed this kid...

2009-05-19T11:09:00.001-07:00

This is really long, so watch what you please...he's like this with every meal, and eats SOOOO much! And I can't shovel it fast enough for him! How in the world is he so tiny?

Posing? Already?

2009-05-15T15:57:00.000-07:00

Yep, here's Brady posing for the camera! It's a beautiful day today, so Cole, Brady and I had a picnic lunch in the back yard! It was fun! Cole wouldn't let me take his picture - I'm not favoring one child! But if I do say so myself...he's pretty cute!

Brady started using a sippy cup this week - and to my amazement, he figured it out on the first shot! He doesn't quite get how to hold it, but he tries really hard! And look at all of his hair! It's getting crazy!

Our spunky little guy!

2009-05-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

I really should have a video here, now that I think about it, but I just wanted to post about how much Brady has changed over this last week! He's a spunky little guy now, and constantly entertains us! He talks, squeals and fake coughs all day long! He also is showing clear signs that he's gonna be quite the little go getter! If he wants something, he ~~gets it~~ attacks it and shoves it in his mouth! I can't believe his teeth haven't cut through yet, cause he drools and chews on everything! He's just such a joy to be around now, and is even starting to play with Cole a little bit! They are so cute together, and just adore eachother!

Today, Cole's preschool had a Mother's Day party, and Stacy (who always has her camera, and I never have mine) took this picture of Cole and I. Thanks Stacy!

Beautiful Pictures of the Boys

2009-05-01T22:39:00.000-07:00

On Easter, Dana took a whole bunch of pictures of Cole and Brady (although, mostly Brady). Have I mentioned how I'm the luckiest mommy in the world to have a sister that takes pictures like these of my boys? And all she gets out of the deal is...hmmm...well...some good auntie time with my boys! Pretty sure I'm getting a great deal here!

Enjoy!

And, in other news, Auntie Dana and Allison kidnapped Cole a few weeks ago and took him to the Pacific Science Center for the day. He had just a little bit of fun! Here's some of her pictures from their day of fun!

And this is my absolute favorite! He was having so much fun!

Umm...Happy Easter??? A couple weeks late!

2009-04-15T23:13:00.000-07:00

I wrote this post a long time ago, couldn't get pics to upload and then forgot to post it altogether! Oops...so, here it is, a couple weeks later!

We had such a wonderful easter! And, it was spread out over a whole week, which Cole thought was pretty awesome! We had a our 2nd Annual Easter Egg Hunt/ Party at our house on saturday, and it was tons of fun! The kids had a hunt in the front yard (the dads hid the eggs), ate more candy than I'd like to think about, decorated and ate easter cookies & played with ALL of Cole's toys. The dads got to drink beer, so it wasn't too miserable for them ;)

On Easter, we headed up to my moms house and she made a lovely easter dinner. Gigi, Auntie Dana and Allison were there also, and we all had a very nice time! Cole's easter basket from grandma was full of dinosaur figurines (buried in the easter grass), and he hyperventilated every time he found one...seriously, it was one of the funniest things I've ever seen! Dana took some wonderful pics of the kiddos that will follow shortly in my next post!

In other news, Brady sits up all by himself now! Sometimes he'll last a minute or so, and other times he topples over in seconds, but he's doing really good! Last night, he rolled onto his stomach while sleeping, and tonight he's done the same thing. I'm going to try as hard as I can to not worry about it - if he rolls to his tummy himself, he's probably strong enough to move around if he needs to in the middle of the night. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm referring to the "Back to Sleep" campaign that lowered SIDS rates by 50%...but what can you really do if your kid rolls every night? Well, nothing really. So I guess I'll just have to chill out and not worry about something I have no control over!

So, without rambling anymore, here's the easter egg hunt pictures I promised...

Our sunny day at the park!

2009-04-08T15:02:00.000-07:00

We had a couple of beautiful days - 70 degrees - yes, you read that right! It was a whopping 70 degrees at the beginning of April! Did I mention that it also snowed 2 days already this month? What is going on around here? We took full advantage of the 2 nice days and I got some gardening done (oh my, I'm so overwhelmed and so far from being done), and took the kiddos to St. Edwards Park to play. We had a fabulous time! I'm not sure what Cole's deal was, but he kept sliding through the middle hole in the tire swing - I mean, seriously kid, hold on! Somehow he just doesn't get that - so he wouldn't keep his bum scooted back, and just slowly slip until he fell through. I figured he'd learn after the first time, but apparently not. When he fell the 2nd time, I cut him off! What a great park, though! Here's some wonderful pics of the kiddos!

Brady wearing a cute little hat (compliments of Alex)

So, Brady has been moved to the big bathtub FINALLY! He made such a mess in the kitchen splashing in the little tub, I'm surprised it took us this long to stop using that little tub! He had more fun at bathtime in the big tub than I've ever seen him have before!

Cole went on his first easter egg hunt of the season, and I think we have at least 2 more to go...like the kid needs more candy! I think our eggs are just gonna have stickers and toys in them this weekend! I will post pics of the many easter egg hunts after easter has come and gone!

That's about it for now. We went on a nice walk today, but it was VERY cold out! We were all wearing shorts yesterday. I guess I just need to wake up and look out the window to decide whether I'm dressing the family in summer clothes or winter clothes! So, I guess we're going back to our typical april weather - the clouds are very dark, and I'm sure the sky's gonna open up and dump on us pretty soon. Cole really wanted to walk to the store or starbucks, but I was too afraid to get that far away from home, just in case it started pouring! That would have been a sight - me attempting to run a mile in the rain with my 2 screaming kids, not even wearing coats! I'd get the best mother of the year award for that one for sure!

I love my boys!!!

2009-03-31T19:09:00.000-07:00

How could I not? They just melt my heart!

Boom...Oops...

2009-03-30T15:38:00.000-07:00

Waaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!! That's what we heard, and this is what we saw. It's just so funny, cause he said oops, then realized it kinda hurt! He was trying to walk on all 4's like a dinosaur (big shocker...he's totally obsessed!), and jumped down & slipped at the same time, resulting in his head catching the rest of him on the wood floor - ouch! Instead of calling it a goose egg, I told him it was a dinosaur egg, and surprisingly, that made him stop crying & start laughing, forgetting all about the ouch factor!

What's going on around here

2009-03-24T15:14:00.000-07:00

Look, Brady has hair! Cole was bald for like 2 years, and Brady already lost his baby hair and is covered in new fuzz! And it's not blonde like Cole either! Just had to share...

Brady is now a roller - both directions, and he does it pretty darn easily too! He's trying to figure out army crawling, but can't figure out how to combine the arms and legs yet. He'll reach with his arms, and push with his legs, but doesn't really go anywhere, cause he only does one at a time. I'm good with him waiting awhile to start being mobile, though! Oh, boy, not looking forward to child proofing again!

We've just dipped into solid foods with Brady (yes, pun intended- hardy har har), but only done a little rice cereal & banana maybe 4 times. He LOVES it! Here he is eating bananas...and the bowl when he was done - and he SCREAMED when it was gone! He wanted more! I wasn't planning on starting for another month, but when we're eating, he's started letting us know that he wants to join in the fun too. He watches every bite from the dish to our mouths, and leans towards us, and sometimes tries to snag our food right out of our hands! So, I'm giving him little bits here and there, but will still wait until he's 6 months for 3 meals a day!

And here's just a few pics of my boys!

Going Green...

2009-03-18T15:02:00.000-07:00

...For St. Patty's Day, of course! We were very festive and green, from our clothes to our food. We made a green dinner - if you could call it a dinner! We just took what green food we had in the house, and added some food coloring to the rice, and called it good. Believe it or not, Cole cleaned up his plate and thought it was very yummy! Ha ha! Then, for dessert, we made green milkshakes, and that was a HUGE hit!

Here's the boys in their green - of course Brady had to wear his green diapers! And the nasty looking green dinner...

Dinosaurs

2009-03-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

So, kind of a long video...but I can't believe Cole knows all of these dinosaurs! He has about half of them memorized, and the others he pronounces incredibly well after we say the name. I didn't even get to the pages he knows the best! We are happy to encourage his love for dinosaurs, because it's really the only thing he's been this excited about that doesn't involve cars! Mark took him to the library last week and they came home with this book. I just can't believe what this kid can memorize, cause as many times as I've read the book with him, I still only know the T-Rex!

Here goes...(he has many more memorized towards the end of the video)

Rockin' & Rollin'

2009-03-12T11:19:00.000-07:00

Here's Cole Rockin'

He's obsessed with this Pink song, and this is the best he's done for the camera so far...he totally rocks out & sings way more when I'm not recording him! Oh well, this will have to do for now!

And here's Brady Rollin'

Yep, my little boy's growing up so fast! Can you believe I caught his first time on video? Crazy, huh? Now, pretty much every time I lay him down, he flips over - then gets really mad, cause he doesn't like to be on his tummy! Silly boy!

One Handsome Firefighter & My New Favorite Picture!

2009-03-10T22:25:00.000-07:00

Cole, that is...well, the firemen weren't so bad either ;) Last week, a house in our neighborhood had a fire, which we watched burn, and boy oh boy, did Cole have questions about that! Anyway, the fire station decided to have a community meeting to discuss what happened and answer questions, so I thought it would be good for Cole and I to go. While the meeting was going, he got to go with the fire fighters for a tour of the station and the trucks! That seat is up SOOO high in that fire truck! I'm surprised it didn't worry him to be up that high! And, I'm sure you noticed, to top off the exciting evening, they gave the kids cookies - it really doesn't get much better than that!

And here's my new favorite picture!

Brady's 4 month stats

2009-03-04T21:45:00.000-08:00

We had Brady's 4 month appt yesterday, and all in all it went well (Brady disagrees, since he got shots...), other than we found out he has his first ear infection. I had a feeling he did, cause he's been really sick, was starting to get better, and then got a fever again. Poor little guy! He's already feeling better today, though! So, about his size - he's tiny, but following his own little curve nicely, so the doc isn't worried anymore! Yay!

Okay, here's the stats:
Weight: 11 lbs 10 oz (3rd percentile)
Height: 24 1/3" (25th percentile)
Head: 16 1/4" (20th percentile)

So, he could not be more opposite of his brother, who was 16 lbs, 25 1/4" and had a giant head at this same appt! I have to say, it's nice having a little guy! It was fun to have a roly poly too, but this is much easier on my back! And the fact that he doesn't have a giant head makes it much easier to dress him!

So, we'll probably be starting some rice cereal in about a month (I wanted to wait until 6 months, and the doc wants me to start now, so he said we could compromise and do 5 months) - can't wait to take those pictures!

FINALLY! Some pics of the kiddos!

2009-02-27T16:23:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted about the kiddos! Everyone's been sick around here - thanks to Cole for bringing every virus known to man home from preschool! Hopefully when this cold goes away, everyone can stay healthy for a while! So, since the kids have been under the weather, we haven't been up to a whole lot, really. Auntie Dana came over and took Brady's 3 month pictures. They are so good! Thanks again, Dana! We love them!

Brady is 4 months old! Can you believe it? He's still a little peanut - not quite sure what he weighs, but I know it's not much! He has his 4 month appt next week, so post the stats then.

Cole just LOVES going to preschool. He tells me all about it each day when he gets home, and it's just so much fun to have him involved in something that he really looks forward to going to! It was really hard to explain to him why he had to stay home when he was sick. The whole day, he just kept saying that he felt good and was ready to go to preschool now...poor guy!

I actually went into work last saturday and am going again tomorrow. It was the first time I've left Brady through a feeding. Crazy to think about really, that I've never been away from him for longer than 2 hours in 4 months! It was quite nice to pretend like I was a normal adult for a few hours, though!

Alright, enough blabbing - here are some pictures! It's a no brainer which ones are Dana's! Brady has some great expressions!

Pucker up, baby!

Yep, I'm adorable!

You want me to do what?!?

What's that bright light that keeps blinding me?

My Boys (all 3 of them)

My little boys

Naked tummy time (only way he tolerates it!)

99 Things

2009-02-22T16:28:00.000-08:00

Saw this and thought I'd give it a try!

Here are the rules: Bold the things you’ve done and post on your blog!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Our Trip to Arizona

2009-02-06T15:42:00.000-08:00

Well, we're back from the sunshine, and it's FREEZING here! It was pretty much in the upper 70's while we were there, so in my book, absolutely perfect! It was so much fun getting to spend so much time with grandma and grandpa! We sure miss them not being here! For those of you that don't know them, they have a condo in Arizona that they stay at in the winter, and a house here that they'll come back to in April.

Of course we were all sick there - why does that always happen on vacations? It made for an interesting couple of nights, but we're all doing well now, other than some seriously stuffy noses. Cole and I shared a room, and Brady slept in the dining room in a pack n play. Have you ever had to share a room with your preschooler? I don't recommend it! Dang that kid is a crazy sleeper! Constantly tossing and turning, snoring, talking, yelling...you name it, he did it in his sleep! And if I moved, several times, I'd hear "Mommy, what are you doing?" like he was sitting there waiting for me to move to talk to me! I was just like, seriously kid, I'm trying to get like and hour of sleep! Needless to say, I got a bit sleep deprived, but still had a wonderful time! I came back just as white as when I left dreary old Seattle, which isn't ideal, but I didn't quite feel right about sunbathing while holding Brady!

Oh, and believe it or not, we survived the flight both ways without even a hiccup. The kids are both wonderful travelers, and we even got compliments from fellow passengers! I'm sure when others see a mom with a baby and preschooler, they think they're in for the worst, so I'm sure it was a pleasant surprise that no one was screaming or really even making a peep then entire flight! Biggest challenge in the air was changing Brady's poopy diaper and taking Cole potty - we both don't fit so well in the tiny box they call a bathroom!

So, I'll cut to what you really care about - pictures! And lots of them!

The boys on the airplane

Brady and Cole with Gigi

Brady and I sitting by the pool

Cole sprinting to the park with Grandpa

Cole and Grandma after some serious playtime at the park

Brady completely missed the park...little guy slept through the whole outing!

Mommy and Cole

King of the playground

Riding on Grandpa's shoulders (with Leo of course)

Me and the little peanut

Check out Cole in the pool! He did great swimming with the little ring!

Taking Brady swimming for the 1st time

Cole in heaven - a car rug, cars and sunshine...it just doesn't get any better

Grandma and Brady

Grandma and Brady having a long conversation

"Talking" Brady

2009-01-16T22:01:00.001-08:00

Okay, here's a video of Brady "talking". He loves to be a part of conversations now! It's so much fun!

My Wonderful Little Boys!

2009-01-08T20:10:00.000-08:00

I just had to share this picture, cause I love it so much! Brady's smiling so much lately, and I just can't get enough!

This next picture is of Brady and Cole laying on the floor. Cole went and laid next to Brady and looked at me and said "Mommy, we're playing together". It was so cute! And the last one I had to add is just another one that I think is adorable! I might be a bit bias, though...

First Day of Preschool

2009-01-06T21:16:00.000-08:00

Cole started his new preschool today! He's been so excited for it, and had a GREAT time! Thank goodness Stacy brought her camera and waited for us to arrive so we could have pictures of his first day. I can't believe I didn't bring my camera...thank you Stacy!

I can't believe how excited he was for me to leave him all by himself. It must have made him feel like such a big boy! He's been so enthused about it all day that I haven't heard him talk about anything else. He colored, played with cars (are we shocked?), sang songs, played in the gym with all of his friends (as he puts it), had a snack ("just crackers - I didn't like the water" is what he told me), & bounced on balls. Sounds like lots of fun to me! Oh, and this evening, he told Mark and I that he didn't listen to his teachers...hmm...we asked him about this and couldn't get any details, but we're pretty sure he's tattling on himself, cause he's sticking to his story that he didn't listen when he should have. He's gonna be the difficult one for the teachers, I'm afraid! Hopefully he'll pull it all together, and this will be a really good learning experience for him, and get him listening when someone asks him or tells him to do something. That's why it's nice that I'm not there, because he'll be disciplined by someone else and not act up just cause mom's around, which is what he likes to do currently!

After preschool, we went to get lunch and ice cream with Sydney, Stacy and Alex, to to round off our very special day! He'll go every Tuesday and Thursday, and is very much looking forward to Thursday already! I feel this was a very good decision to enroll him in this preschool - I'm very anxious to see what he learns and experiences these next few months!

Here's the pictures I stole from Stacy's blog!

Cole and I - dropping him off

Cole with his teacher, Mrs. CarpenterCole and Sydney with their bros after preschool
Eating ice cream - yummy!!!

Cole the Homemaker & many more pictures

2009-01-04T22:49:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd share a couple videos & pictures I took this week. The first one is of Cole vacuuming our family room. He LOVES to vacuum with this little vacuum, yet, he's still completely scared of our regular one...go figure. Look how good he does, though!

Brady's starting to babble quite a bit, and his cute little personality is starting to show more each day. I tried to upload a video, but can't get it to work for some reason, so I'll try again for the next post.

I just had to show off Brady's eyes - and can you see the eyelashes? I think he's gonna be just like Cole in that department (yay!)

Brady got a Bumbo seat from Santa, and though he's a bit young for it still, I thought we'd try it out - he looks like he's on a roller coaster or something!

Yes, we have a car problem...well, Cole doesn't think so, but seriously...he's 3 and has the most insane car collection I've ever seen! But look - he actually does play with them all!

My boys are bonding! Cole can't wait until Brady can play cars!

And saving the best for last - Grandpa and his boys - isn't this such a great picture?

Merry Christmas & More Snow!

2008-12-29T22:25:00.000-08:00

Snow Angels!

Sorry for the late posting, but Merry Christmas! Boy, we sure got a lot of snow, didn't we?!? It was fun for about 2 days, and then it just started getting old, especially when I got stuck trying to get off of our street...

Cole decorated these little car cakes...they turned out so good!

Christmas Eve ended up being at our house, last minute, because of the snow, but it was a lot of fun. You don't realize how out of control the house has gotten - with a baby and 3 year old - until you have 12 hours before 6 people are coming over...phew! Obviously our house needed a good cleaning, so although it was crazy to try and do it in such a short amount of time, it was REALLY nice to get it done! We need to make sure to have company over once a week so the house will get cleaned good once a week! Marks family came over and we had a really nice dinner, and everyone got great gifts! And the best thing for us - we didn't have to go anywhere! We had a mess to clean up, but cleaning sure beat driving this year. With Brady being so young and the fact that he HATES the car ( go figure, huh...both of my boys are that way...what are the chances?), we try and avoid long trips!

Bob the Builder

Daddy and Brady after a long day

On Christmas, we woke up and opened presents from Santa, then headed up to my parents house. I can't even tell you how scary that drive was! We were sliding all over the place on the road up to their house. I decided to stay the night with the boys, and my dad drove Mark and my sister home. We went home the next afternoon, and the roads were much better, thank goodness!

Cole opening his stocking Christmas morning

Opening the "Biggest Cars" that he asked for from Santa

Grandma and Grandpa's house - more presents!

And again, an exhausted Brady (and Mark's sleeping too)

Snowman Attempt Gone Wrong!

2008-12-21T11:35:00.000-08:00

So, earlier this week, Cole spent a couple of days up at my parent's house. Grandpa decided to take Cole out to build a snowman, but since the snow wouldn't pack very well, they built a tower with the intention of carving it into a snowman the next day. Well, they never got around to the snowman carving, so over the next few days, the tower began leaning...and leaning...and leaning. At some point, a chunk fell off the top, creating an important piece of the final product. I'll tell you one thing - It's not a snowman - and I'm pretty sure I don't need to tell you what it is! Seriously, we all have gotten some REALLY good laughs from this, as inappropriate as it may be!

Here's Cole & Grandpa building their "snowman"

And...their "snowman" several days later...

I know, I know, potty humor, but you're laughing, aren't you???

Snow & Christmas Goodies!

2008-12-14T22:52:00.000-08:00

Snow! Snow! Snow! Yay! Our first snow day of the year, and the first year that Cole was brave enough to touch it...yep, that's right, Cole has always hated the snow! Anyway, this year, we walked outside and he immediately started running through it. He was throwing it in the air, rolling in it, doing snow angels, and he even did a somersault down the little grass hill! We had a lot of fun! I bundled Brady up big time and put him in the Bjorn so he could enjoy his first snow day too, but he just slept through the whole thing. I think I'd fall asleep if I were that warm and cozy too!

We made it a real fun day by coming inside and drinking hot chocolate to warm up, which was a huge treat! Then we wound down a bit and went off to nap time (well, just Cole...I wish I could join him!). Usually he goes to his room and plays for at least 2 hours, but not today. Today, he played for about 30 mins and then passed out, so I know he had a good time in the snow, cause he exhausted himself!

After his nap, he and I made 2 loaves of banana bread. He was a great helper, and even used the hand mixer with a little assistance from me. Gigi (Cole's great grandma, my grandma) is coming home for 2 weeks tomorrow, so we wanted to deliver her a loaf of bread to eat while she's home. Mark went and got a pizza for dinner, to keep our fun day going. It was very yummy! We all sat down and watched The Santa Clause, then Cole and I dipped pretzels. What a day, huh? It was tons of fun and really got me into the holiday spirit!

Here's some pictures of our day of fun! Oh, and we got some great smiling (sometimes a bit cross eyed...) from the little peanut today, so I have to share! Check out Brady the Reindeer - my mom bought him this bunting and we're getting a TON of use out of it. Cute if I do say so myself!

Santa Pictures!

2008-12-12T18:48:00.000-08:00

So, we finally faced the crowds and headed out to see Santa at the mall today. Boy oh boy, was it a trip...and not really in a good way! Cole seems to have slipped right back into the same phase he was in this past summer - doing anything and everything he's not supposed to, running off in public places, having meltdown temper tantrums constantly and making life difficult for everyone! I don't know what it is, but I sure hope it passes quicker than last time, because I thought I couldn't handle it before, but now I have a 6 week old also...yikes! So, we got our pictures taken and I had to yell at him to stay with me the whole time we were in line, and then afterwards, he kept running off so I couldn't see him. I sure wish he understood the consequences of getting lost, because it's scary when you're in such a crowded place! Well, enough of that venting. We didn't get a great picture, and they wouldn't take another one, so here's what we got. The girl taking the pictures kept telling Cole to say something like "macaroni" and then she'd take the picture while he was saying the word, so he always had a funny look on his face...oh well. Can you tell I had a fun day?!? Sorry!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2008-12-11T13:14:00.000-08:00

We got all of the decorations out and up! It's so much fun to decorate with Cole! He's just so excited about everything this year, and it makes me really look forward to the years ahead, as he starts to understand whats really going on! This year, we put up a christmas village for the first time and just love it! Also, we were given a train to go aroubd the tree by a friend of my moms...you can only imagine how that excites a little someone in our house!

So, here are some pictures of the final product.

First Smile!!!

2008-12-08T22:22:00.000-08:00

Okay, so Brady had his first smile last Tuesday, but we finally got a picture of it today! He started making cute little happy noises along with the smiles today, and it's so cute! I can't believe he's already 6 weeks old! He was weighed last week and was 7 lbs 13 ounces...still our little peanut!

Congrats Stacy & Family!

2008-12-08T22:14:00.000-08:00

Baby Alex has arrived, and he's a cutie! He was born yesterday morning, and we (Brady and I) went to see them tonight. Everyone is doing really well. It was so amazing to see how old Brady looked next to a newborn! I can't believe how fast they change and grow! Anyway, congrats to Stacy, Anthony and Sydney on their new addition to the family! Now Brady has a little buddy!

Family Photos & Cole's 3 Year Pictures

2008-11-26T23:14:00.001-08:00

Here are some of the pictures I promised I'd post as soon as I got them. They are so cute! Have I mentioned how awesome it is to have a photographer as a sister??? In case I haven't...it's AWESOME!!!

Overdue picture posting

2008-11-21T17:48:00.000-08:00

I know, it's been a long time since my last post...so I'm just going to post some pictures that have been taken in the last couple of weeks. We really haven't been up to much around here, just trying to survive the sleep deprivation!

Brady is still a little peanut! He was weighed on wednesday at 3 1/2 weeks old (I can't believe he's already almost a month old...crazy), and is only 7 lbs even. He's actually gaining weight right on track at this point, but definitely not above and beyond what he should be like Cole always did! He's still wearing preemie and VERY small newborn clothing, and even small newborn clothes are pretty big on him! I just hope he's into 0-3 month stuff by christmas, cause we have several outfits for the holidays in that size! I'm sure he'll start chunking up soon. He eats around the clock, so I think he's in a little growth spurt right now. He got his first cold already, so that really stinks, but I think he's already starting to get over it. Lets just hope he is, cause I could really use some shut eye!

Cole is the BEST big brother! He really is doing amazing. He absolutely loves his little brother and enjoys playing with his little fingers and toes. He's always asking where Brady is, and makes sure he keeps good track of him at all times - already protective! "He's so cute" is a line I hear at least 5 times daily, and it's just precious! Cole won't stop talking about how good of friends they're gonna be when he gets bigger and that they're gonna play trains and cars and have lots of fun together...lets just hope he still feels that way in a year!

I'm getting a bit more comfortable having 2 children. I've taken the two of them out on errands a few times now, and it's already getting easier - but still far from easy! It takes us FOREVER to get out of the house. I honestly don't think I'm capable of getting anywhere before 11am, seriously...it's rediculous!

Oh, I bought a double jogging stroller so I could go for walks with the 2 kiddos, and we took our first walk today. Cole is very excited about it and thanked me the whole walk for the new stroller. Brady is in a giant (well, it's 0-3 months...) warm bunting, so he looks a bit silly, but hey, it kept him nice and cozy!

Last week, Cole, Brady and I went to Dana's photo studio and had pictures taken. I haven't gotten a copy, but am very much looking forward to seeing them! I think she got some really good ones, and I'll make sure to post them as soon as I get them! She came over a couple nights ago and attempted a little photo shoot with Brady, but he wasn't having it. I've posted 2 of them below - he lost it when we took the pacifier, so this is what we got. They're precious, though - thank you again, Dana!

Happy Birthday Cole!!!

2008-11-09T15:03:00.000-08:00

Yeah, yeah, I'm a couple days late...sorry little dude! At least it's still within the week! Cole had a fantastic birthday! It all started on Wednesday when we had a little birthday playdate at Lisa's house for Cole and Samantha (her b-day's tomorrow). It was great fun! Then on Friday, his actual birthday, we had my mom and dad and Dana over for a little cake, ice cream and presents. Then, on saturday, Marks mom and dad, brother and sister in law and nephews came over for pizza, cake and ice cream and more presents! Sounds like a great birthday week for a 3 year old, huh? Not bad if you ask me!

Happy Birthday Cole! I can't believe you're already 3!!!

Here are some pictures of the festivities!

Dana's pictures of Brady - The day he was born

2008-11-09T14:42:00.000-08:00

I should have posted these long ago, but I've been a little busy! Here's a few wonderful pictures Dana took at the hospital about 8 hours after he was born. Oh how I love having a sister who's a photographer! Thank you so much, Dana!!!

A Week of Firsts!

2008-11-01T17:27:00.000-07:00

This has been such a busy week! For obvious reasons! Brady has had so many firsts already, including Halloween, of course. For Halloween, we went to the Mill Creek Town Center, where the businesses open their doors to trick or treaters. It was very crowded, but a good time! Cole was an Elephant, and little Brady was Cole's Peanut (he named himself Peanut, cause elephants love peanuts, so we thought it was appropriate). Grandma Pleasant made the Peanut costume, and did such a great job! It was really cute! Everyone kept thinking I was holding a fake baby, cause he was sleeping the whole time.

Well, I'll go ahead with the pictures of firsts...

First Thumb Sucking

First Night in the Cradle

First Brotherly Love

First Bath

First Halloween