Tuesday, November 16, 2010

The Children's Discovery Museum

After DJ painfully posed with Bob the Builder so his annoying mommy could take this picture he & Gavin were off for a fun-filled busy morning . . . First thing on the agenda was helping Bob build a fence! A task he took very seriously and stayed focused on for quite some time.
Gavin took on about 30 activities in the time it took DJ to build this fence. I had a hard time taking pictures of my busy boy. He loved pushing this wheel barrow around (for about 30 seconds). Then he was off to push buttons (He loved hearing Bob, Scoop & Dizzy talk to him so this lasted about 1 minute)
His favorite activity of the day was watching balls hover over this air machine. I Don't know how long he would have stayed here because this activity was very popular & we practiced sharing--a skill that needs alot of work right now. He loved the ball waterplay area as well!
Of course big brother loves the water area too!

Monday, November 15, 2010

A Beautiful Monday!

It was just too beautiful to stay indoors and do housework all day (as the original planned entailed). We packed up the stroller and headed off to the wonderful trail near my parents house that leads us to two parks! DJ packed he and Gavin PB & J sandwiches (which he made himself!) and juice boxes to enjoy at the park.
Gavin found the bag of pacifiers in the bottom of our stroller and thought he needed all of them for the ride home!

The house is still a mess but we had so much fun and the boys will hopefully be a little more manageable at home for the rest of the day!

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Just one cute picture please!!!

My mom got a new camera (much better than mine) so I thought I'd try it out for my Christmas Card photo. I put it on "auto" (I think) and tried to get the boys to cooperate for just a few seconds (at the same time) so I could capture that perfect shot. They are obviously not getting how important this is to their mommy even after she offered them candy, a trip to the park, toys and much more!

We are still going for session #2 on Monday! Wish me luck! Off I go to read the user manual for my mom's camera. (There is one hopeful from this session I did not include just in case it becomes "the one")

Happy Halloween!

DJ and his pirate Aunt Tammy
Fireman DJ and Dorothy


It was hard to keep up with DJ & Brooke (who just about sprinted from house to house)
Gavin tried hard to keep up (Lauren was a great helper all night).

Gavie is still running up to me saying "twick o tweet" especially when he wants a bite of what I'm eating. (we may be re-thinking this "twick o tweet" stuff although I really don't want to the boys love it! DJ says it's his favorite holiday! (yeah, I know, another reason to re-think this!) At least all the candy turned into a preschool-at-home lesson for DJ. He and Grandma spent waaaay too much time the day after Halloween sorting and counting all his candy a million ways! Thank you Grandma for turning this Halloween stuff into a great math lesson! Oh ya, and in case you were wondering DJ and Grandma counted 132 pieces of candy!

Adrian & Allison's precious children!

I just came across this adorable picture snooping through my mom's computer & thought I'd share it with you. Aren't they precious! I think T is there in spirit right between Madeline and Hailey (no I'm not crazy just an Aunt missing her sweet nephew!)Left to right: Clara, J'onn, Adrian III, Madeline, Presley, Hailey (who will be 16 in May!) & baby Cory. I love you and miss you all so very much!

Happy 2nd Birthday Gavin!

Gavin celebrated his 2nd birthday with his Middleton cousins since his mommy and daddy were there to babysit the gang while Kyle and Amy enjoyed a weekend away. Life is always a party at the Middleton house so it was the perfect place to celebrate! When we arrived to babysit Adia had already made Gavin a cupcake tree--Thank you Adia! (Her mom had taken the sugar tub to the cabin so she got creative and used Agave syrup in place of sugar for the frosting. It was actually pretty good and healthier too. Adia is always thinking outside the box!)

Big brother right there to help blow out the candles. Thanks for the cool phone Aunt Amy!
Playing with one of Gavin's birthday presents in the tub
An energetic Aunt Stacey watching the kids take a bath (thanks for sneaking this shot in Avery!)
Gavin, thank you for filling our home with so much energy, joy and laughter for the past 2 years! You are such a great blessing to our family and we look forward to seeing all that God has in store for you in the future (although we are not in a hurry for you to grow up so please take your time!) We love you Gavie!

DJ

DJ's night time routine includes: brushing his teeth, using the bathroom, reading stories with mom or dad (sometimes he is lucky and gets both of us!), getting water to have near his bed, saying prayers and of course getting mom or dad (usually dad) to build him a "pillow house" which he goes to sleep in every night! I took this picture through "the door."

DJ is our little builder and sometimes spends hours (especially when Gavin is not around) building quite detailed structures with his legos. Here he is working on a house with a garage.
So proud of his Lego house which he actually got to complete since Gavin was in bed and mom let him stay up extra late that night (since he was on a roll building things)!

Fun at Nana & Papa's House

DJ loves spending time with his "BIG BOY" cousins, Terrance & Trey. Trey giving DJ a ride.
Gavin (our little mischevious monster) was caught throwing cars in Nana's pond!
The boys love feeding the fish!
Voted best spot to relax & enjoy a glass of wine by Daryn & Stacey
Serious Bocce Ball players!
Note to Nana & Papa/Mom & Dad: Thanks for providing our family with such a warm & fun place to hang out!

Let's Bowl!

The kids all ready to bowl! A strike for beautiful Lauren!
DJ ran from the moment he grabbed the bowling ball to the lane where he threw
the ball down (more like a baseball than a bowling ball . . . it was really loud!)My sister had the best form! (Although it was her hubby that killed us)
Erin was a pro at the "Granny Bowl" technique (Do you like Marc's official bowling gear?! At least he lived up to the look!)