Happy Fall Y'all

We went to a pumpkin patch and apple orchard over the weekend. The boy were so excited to see pumpkins. Benjamin walks around saying "it's almost punkin time!" and Ethan says "punk" for pumpkin. They had so much fun -- except for this picture (when mommy told them to sit still so I could take their picture)!

Ethan found the gravel tasty.

They had a mini corn maze for the little ones. Evan was kind enough to escort the boys through.

A rare picture of Brian and me together.

Evan "escorting" (and by escorting, I mean chasing) Benjamin through the maze.

Benjamin and Brian going down a big slide. I believe that it was at this exact second that Brian realized he bruised his tailbone. Do you see it in his face???

The boys looking like apples....I was not able to persuade Papaw to pose as an apple.

Stay tuned for part two of the pumpkin patch -- pictures of Papaw with the boys and Ethan venturing out a little!

2 1/1 Year Old Entertainment

Yes, those are stickers. Enough said!

We ended last weekend with some time outside. All of us are dried our from the 19 inches of rain we got in 36 hours. Fortunately for us, there was no damage to our house or vehicles -- the rain was just an inconvenience for a few days.

As I have mentioned, Brian is doing much more traveling now and we love spending every minute with him that he is home and able to play with us.

This weekend is set to be one with lots of outside time -- and maybe an adventure or two thrown in for good measure!

Staycation

Ok -- so I am having some blog challenges this weekend. This pictures are out of order but I can not move them around, as I usually do. So, please bear with me. (I have load the pictures three times now!)

Our staycation has been fun. We went to the Aquarium and ate dinner ITP (we took Papaw, Gebee and Uncle Evan along for the fun as well). Here is a picture of Ethan waiting for our wonderful dinner after the Aquarium.

Ethan got very tired of walking at the Aquarium -- it is much more fun to be carried then ride in the stroller. Ethan is still working on some teeth and does not always feel well.Benjamin loved looking at the fish and sharks. He also thought it was cool to see stingrays up close. They allowed visitors to touch the stingrays. We have been working on a "one-finger touching" rule at stores. Benjamin still needs some work on our rule; so we decided that touching the stingrays was not a great idea.

Benjamin and Gebee at dinner after seeing all the fish. Benjamin was pretending to order his dinner by looking at the "menu."

Benjamin is telling Papaw all about the "nemo fish."We also enjoyed a breakfast out one morning. Ethan truly enjoyed the chocolate chip pancakes (it may be hard to see, but that is chocolate smeared all over his face).

Benjamin preferred the turkey sausage to his pancakes.

Due to the rain here during our staycation, we spent a lot of tine just playing on the floor with the boys. It was so nice for all of us to be together for a few days. Brian's travel with work is getting ready to increase and I know that the boys will be missing him, as will I!

Big Changes

Sorry we have been MIA lately. There has been lots going on at our house. Ethan has been cutting teeth. He is way behind on teeth and we are glad to see some progress. But, he is in a lot of pain. Only two have broken through. It looks as if there are 3-4 more teeth coming. Ethan won't really let us get close to his mouth! And, here is a shot of sleeping Ethan

Ethan has discovered the joy of playing in the pantry with the paper products! He has also learned to close himself in the closet and then he laughs.

Perhaps the biggest and best change at home has been Benjamin finally going poo poo on the potty. He has been pee peeing on the potty for about 2 months now with no accidents. Finally this week he poo pooed. Benjamin was so proud of himself -- he also enjoyed all the praise we gave him (the blue M & Ms didn't hurt either). Even Ethan clapped for Benjamin.

And, last but not least, Benjamin is now in a toddler bed. At some point in the next few months, Ethan will be moved to Benjamin's old crib with rail taken off. Both Benjamin and Ethan love Benjamin's new bed -- they climb in and out of it over and over. We have not had a single problem with Benjamin getting out of bed -- though we know that it is coming soon!

Brian is taking the end of the week off from work and we are doing a staycation -- look for more pictures to come soon from our staycation adventures!

A Conversation with a 2 1/2 Year Old

Tonight we had several bad storms come through right at bath and bedtime. Neither of the boys enjoy a rainy evening. After much screaming and many tears, the bath was over. Then I attempted to put lotion and jammies on two little boys who were stuck like glue to me (and fighting over who could clutch to me tighter. We made it down stairs for some ice cream and the winds kicked up again. We all had to sit under the blanket and snuggle -- in fact, Ethan fell asleep.

Overheard at our house tonight:

Mommy: Benjamin, the rain is watering the flowers. They are thirsty and need water. Have you ever seen a tree drink from a sippy cup?

Benjamin: No. (then the thunder starts again). Mommy, it's just a little bit of funder. That's all.

Mommy: You are right --just a little thunder. You are safe in the house. Hey, look at the trees, they look like they are dancing (we had pre-school music on to drown out the thunder) to the music.

Benjamin: No mommy, that is the wind blowing the trees. Storms comin'

Alright then. Needless to say, Benjamin stayed up a little later until the storms went! Here are the boys during a break in the storm, awaiting ice cream.

A few random shots from the weekend -- we love to get on the floor and play!
We stopped by the little rides at the mall -- the boys are fascinated with convertibles these days. Papaw has one and the boys love to see "the top come off." They wanted to ride in the convertible. Once the car started moving, Benjamin wanted out.

Riding solo did not seem to bother Ethan!

Rainy Friday

Friday was rainy and gloomy here. The boys spent most of the morning in their jammies and discovered stacking Kleenex boxes provided much more entertainment then their toys!

Brian took a break from working at lunch time and agreed to be the horsey to two young cowboys.

Then, after dinner, the skies parted and the sun came out. We took a trip to a nearby burger joint for some delicious frozen custard. (It was really good, but not as wonderful as Bob Joe's Frozen Custard in Detroit).

The boys love getting custard and squealed the entire way there!

We stopped by a little park on the way home. Benjamin learned what an island is -- there was a bridge to a little island. And, Ethan heard a bunch of ducks quacking and he quacked back!

We were glad to see the weather for the rest of the weekend -- sunny and hot!