While I have a minute or two...

So...its 9:30pm and I'm waiting for the last batch of cookies to get out of the oven (can you say "self sabotage" anyone??) and I've decided to blog for the first time in FOREVER. I feel guilty over not having blogged in so long but then I think, does it really matter? Does anyone even read your ramblings?? Probably not so then the guilt goes away. :)

Tonight, this post is devoted to my boys. I have to. I adore them. They make me laugh and make me want to pull out my hair - but not at the same time.

I remember thinking to myself when Kade was little that he must be one of those serious, observant babies. He wouldn't just give up his smiles and belly laughs freely - you had to work at it. But now I think, I just wasn't entertaining enough for him. He needed a brother! Kade and Connor keep each other laughing all day long. All Kade has to do is look at Connor sideways and he is laughing so hard he's snorting. I love how they think the other is the funniest thing in the whole world. I hear this doesn't last so I will treasure these moments!! They also like to snuggle - I'll walk away for a moment or two and come back and find them like this. And it melts me.

A little info on what these little guys are like at the moment...

Connor at 8 months:

- He's a chub. He has the softest, squishiest cheeks that are irresistible (poor kid is always getting squeezed). He is in the 95th percentile for both weight and height and has already outgrown his first car seat (which we thought would last for at least the 1st yr).

- He is a rolling machine. His favorite hiding spots are in the family room corner under our tree, squished under the recliners, in my closet and halfway under the couch (he's too chubby to get all the way under). He is oh so close to crawling - I give it another week or two. Yikes.

- He loves to yell "GA!" and everything is ba ba ba. He also has two extremes - either he is laughing and smiling or he is yelling (not a happy shout but an "I want something NOW" kind of yell). The yells usually mean a couple things - 1. I am hungry and you are not feeding my face fast enough... 2. I am tired and you missed my sleep window because you were sidetracked by something else... and 3. I have rolled under something and I am stuck - please get me out now mom.

- He ADORES his brother and is always looking around the room for him.

Kade - 4 yrs next month!!

How do I sum up Kade?? There are so many parts to his personality. He is extremely inquisitive and an observant boy. He is always asking what certain phrases or words mean that he hears (whether its in an adult conversation, on tv or while we are out and about). The other morning while we were eating breakfast he turned to me and asked, "Mom, what is God's plan?"

- He boosts my self esteem on a regular basis by telling me things like, "You are amazing, you can carry my box of toys upstairs all by yourself!" or "Wow Mom, you are incredible because you gave me more pretzels - I sure am lucky!" My favorite, "Wow Mom, you are sooo strong - you lifted the stroller out of the car!" That's right. He's so smart. :)

- He LOVES to make his brother smile and laugh and thinks its the coolest thing when Connor reacts to his silliness. He will make the same sound over and over, or pretend to fall until it actually starts to hurt - just because it gets his brother to chuckle. He is extremely protective of Connor also which warms my heart and I hope that will not change over time.

- Kade is extremely interested in learning how to read right now. We are working on it and he is loving it. I didn't want to push it but he's initiating it, so...why not?

- This kid has an insane amount of energy. He doesn't walk - he runs. I think Cross County will be in his future.

- Despite his need for movement, the one thing that can keep this kid still is the computer! He would play on the computer for hours if you let him. It is definitely something we have to keep on eye on!

- He has many identities throughout the day. One minute he is Iron Man, the next Spiderman... I have to call him by his correct superhero name which gets tricky since they change constantly.

The picture below is one of my favorite most recent pics of Kade. Dress clothes, elbow and knee pads, rain boots and painting the sliding door with bubble solution...what more can I say?

It's About Time...

So I am lame and I haven't blogged in a LONG time...After being kicked in the butt by a few of you I decided to get my hiney in gear and try to do a little catch up. I'm not really going in order because...well, I'm confusing like that... :)

The Fourth
For the past couple of years we've been lucky enough to spend the Fourth at my in-laws house on the lake. It's a blast for the kids and the fireworks are amazing to watch over the water. I have to admit that I do miss my own family's tradition of taking the boat out on the Sound, playing cards, making fun of each other and eating way too much food... But now it seems a new tradition has started and my side of the family has decided to join in the fun.

One of the highlights for the kids was the inflatable water slide that Darren (Logan's brother) brought with them. The boys LOVED it and spent almost the whole day going up and down and splashing each other. They need to make a bigger one so the adults can jump on too! :)

I think the picture beneath speaks for itself. The kids weren't the only ones who had fun with the toys.

My sister-in-law Mary is awesome and is always making really cool crafts and fun things with her boys. They made these fun shirts by using different types of noodles and paint.

Once the sun started to set, the fireworks were close at hand. You can see the excitement on Kade and his cousins (Lydia and Mac's) faces as they anticipated the show. Or was it the prospect of staying up late and getting to eat all the smores their little hearts desired...


So my dad, months in advance started to work on his pyrotechics (fireworks show). He had huge plans this year. I don't know what got into him but he was like a kid at a candy store. Maybe it was because for so many years he was deprived of lighting things off when we would celebrate on the boat, but regardless, he was pumped. It took quite awhile to set up and get everything just right, but it was well worth the wait. I wonder what he'll do to top himself next year... I'm a little frightened to be honest. :) Here's a pic of him starting to set it all up.


And here's pics of us all waiting... :)

Sarah, Eric and Baby Ian


Lil' sister Alisa

Sis-in-law Sarah and my niece Monica

The Kiddos


Don't let this grumpy face fool you - we had a great Fourth of July. Thanks family for making it so much fun!!!

Kade's Fun in the Sun Birthday party - minus the sun...

I can't believe my little guy is three!! Each day is an adventure with this kiddo (and no - this pic is not from Halloween - he loves to get into "character"). :)

For his birthday we wanted to do something fun and laid back. We decided on a sun filled water slide/sprinkler, kiddie pool party at my parents. However, the weather did not like our plans... When we arrived to set up it had started to rain. Not good. I started to stress a little, but in the end it all worked out. Instead of water toys, the kids played on the swings and slide, blew bubbles, harassed the chickens, beat a pinata with a bat and ate some tasty food.

Thanks to all our wonderful friends and family who celebrated this special day with us. I wish I would've been able to spend more time talking with all of you, but I think the kids had fun and after all, that's what it's all about right?! We love you little kid!!

And the Winner Is...

As promised - I'm about to share with you my family's Christmas Sweater Creations...

Warning: some of the pictures below are slightly inappropriate (mainly my parents sweaters) and you will most likely never look at us the same way again.

We decided to unveil our creations one couple at a time. After seeing them all in their glory we decided that it was just too hard to choose one "ugly" sweater. We needed to have several categories: Naughtiest, Cutest, Most Creative, Ugliest, Hottest, and Tackiest.

Here we go....

1st couple: Sarah and Eric
It's hard to see in the picture but Eric's sweater had hoops in it to make the shape of the tree and was seriously blinding us with his lights. I think the bows are a nice touch. :)

Sarah won the award for the "Cutest" sweater. I bet some old lady out there would actually buy this sweater and wear it for real. I want to borrow her snowball earrings. Couple #2: Alisa and Brien
Alisa and Brien were Santa's Special Helpers. Alisa won the "Hottest" award although we debated whether Brien should have tied with those legs of his. :) Alisa's shirt said "Gangsta Wrapper" which gave it just the right ghetto touch.

Couple #4: Terah and Jared
Terah's sweater "Death to Gingerbread Men" won for "most creative" and would have won "Creepiest" if that was one of the categories. :) It had an LCD screen with a sweating, baking gingerbread man in the middle and dismembered gingerbread men all over the front and back. It's hard to tell in this picture but there are drowning men on the bottom. Oh and you can't forget the ones being hung by a noose from candy canes. Yikes.
Jared won "Tackiest". If you see this pictured enlarged, it is easy to see why. The santa's face is actually a picture of my mom's face and the body is made from Budweiser cans. Classy.

Couple #5: Mom and Dad
I'm not sure what to say about my mom and dad. They both won hands down for "Naughtiest".

Upon closer examination it's not be hard to tell why they won in this category. I am still in awe of my dad's motif - he created every last bit of it. My mom made him make some alterations - I guess it wasn't PG 13 enough. I don't want to know.

Couple #6: Logan and Leah
So, our battery on our camera conveniently died before Logan and I walked the runway. When my sister emails me a pic from hers I will post it. You'll have to rely on the group pic and my descriptions for now. :)

Logan's sweater vest and mock turtleneck were deliciously horrible and the blinking Christmas lights on the bottom added a special flare to his ensemble.

Nothing says "Ugly Christmas Sweater" to me more then a sweater with cats on it. So you can only imagine how excited I was when I found one. It worked too because I won "Ugliest" (and tied for naughtiest - perhaps it was because of the tights in lieu of pants). :)

And there you have it. Can't wait to see what my family will come up with next year...

Snow Days, Early Christmas, and all I want for Christmas...

I learned something new this week - Kade loves snow just as much as his mommy!

The first day of snow he kept saying - "I want to play in the snow! I want to throw snow at you!!"

And so he did. (Note the concentration and sheer force of his throw. Even his nostrils are flared in effort to nail me with the perfect snowball...)

Soon his friend Amber became his partner in crime.

No one was safe after that. I got hit pretty good a couple times. Luckily their aim wasn't too high- snow on my legs and in my coat pocket I can handle. In my face...not so fun... :)

I told him he can't go skiing or snowboarding until he is 5. However, watching him playing in the snow these past couple of days I might have to reconsider. He loves being in the snow so much! It was like pulling teeth trying to get him to come back inside.

However, he will come in out of the snow if it means he gets to play with one of his favorite friends - Olivia.

And if it means he gets to decorate and eat sugar cookies with her...

And pose all cheesy in front of her Christmas tree...

Besides the fun in the snow we were able to celebrate Christmas early with Logan's side of the family. We all ventured out to the lake up at his parents house for some grub, gifts and games. Why do they call food "grub" by the way? To me, it makes it sound kind of dirty, like grimy or something. I used it purely for the purpose of Aliteration but I think it just made it onto the "words I do not like" list next to bunions. Anyways sorry for the tangent...

Below is a picture of Kade, and his two cousins Monica and Halle. He ADORES these two and asks for them constantly. They are very sweet and patient with him. :)

Here's the whole gang. They did remarkably well considering there were fifty cameras in their faces with each adult saying "Look over here! Smile at me!" (okay not fifty but at least four or five) :-)

Our little guy had almost as much fun playing ON his presents then playing WITH them...

Except for this one... His grandma ran the presents by us beforehand and I thought - how fun! He loves music - he'll love the recorder. And he did. A little too much. Do you know what a recorder sounds like at 7:30 in the morning? I do. Not good. Shame on me...I should have known better.

Next came the gift exchange for the adults. Logan's mom (Carole) opened what turned out to be the favorite of the party: two nerf guns. It was quickly got stolen from her and I think everyone there got hit at least five times each. And that was before the kids got a chance to play with them...
Lastly, what can a party be without a little rock n' roll. Logan's brother Darren was the only one who had never played it before. From the look on his face in the picture below you can tell he's hooked now...

Okay...So now it's time for the last part of my post tonight. Drum role please...
"What I NEED for Christmas":
A pair of stretchy pants (oh and some self control).

Please note the picture below. It only shows one tenth of the damage that has been done in our house these past couple of weeks. Three cookies a day plus a piece of pie each night is probably not a good idea right...?
AHH! BLAST YOU SUGAR!! YOU ARE PURE EVIL!! And I am weak. :)