Long Weekend

Oh man did I love our Memorial Day weekend!  Sort of.  I started a pretty miserable cold midweek last week and have just barely fully recovered.  It's a bit ridiculous.  It was just a cold but man did it take the energy right out of me.  And then I lost my voice...blah.  No fun.  But by Monday I was feeling over it.  So even though my body was still sick I was done taking it easy.

Saturday, we did a little grilling for dinner.  And we had the kids outside playing for some time.  Ben was killing us in this new hat of his so we had to take some pictures.  And by we I mean Jacob.  Pretty sure I was in the house lying down while said cuteness was captured.

See that play structure behind these cuties?  That was our Monday project.  Monday we replaced the top two boards of that ladder and several of the boards on the platform.  It's now all sanded and ready to be stained as soon as we can get a few days without any rain.  Should be a fun addition for our backyard.

Jacob has also been working on taking the boards of our garden apart because the boards were rotting away.  Apparently he was getting a little bit of help from Ben too.

Ben thinks he is big enough to ride the tricycles we have.  He's not really.  But he sat on this thing for a good long time.  At least as long as Isaac would allow it.  

They did sit peacefully for a few photos.  Pretty adorable.  I love the picture above.  I think Ben is saying "ruff."  He must have heard a neighbor's dog.  I just think these boys couldn't be any cuter.  Sometimes I'm sad they are growing so fast but sometimes I enjoy the changes that come with age.  I can't believe Ben is going into nursery in a couple weeks.  And Isaac will be 4 before you know it.  Crazy!!!

Ben just loves Isaac.  Even when Isaac is behaving in a less lovable way.  And Isaac really loves Ben too.  They ask for each other often.  I love how Ben says Isaac, "Zaza."  It evolved.  He used to say "Isssah" but it's pretty consistently "Zaza" now.  

We also enjoyed our first Popsicles of the season.  And for Ben, his first Popsicle ever.  It clearly had to be documented.

For the record, he loved it.  He ate that Popsicle in it's entirety.  And boy were both boys a mess when they were done. Nothing a bath can't fix.

I also really loved that these boys were red, white and blue, just like the Popsicles.  Happy Memorial day and bring on summer!  We are ready.

May in a Nutshell of Photos

Well, I guess I haven't posted pictures in a while.  My camera was loaded!  But actually, only from the past couple of weeks when I decided I wasn't taking enough photos.  :)

We were given this adorable puppet theater as a Christmas gift this year.  The boys don't take it out too often but when they do it is a big hit.  I love it, and they love it too.

That little cheesey face is so cute!

And Isaac was all business about the alligator snapping.

We also have had a lot of spring thunder storms lately.  This particular mid-day storm included some pretty decent sized hail.  It was some serious entertainment for about 10 minutes.

And then there was that time Jacob dragged all the camping gear out in preparation for Fathers and Sons camping.  Two little boys in a mummy bag are pretty adorable.

Sarah invited us to go swimming at one of the local indoor pools.  It was a hit, well at least for Isaac it was.  Ben, not so much.  Isaac was a little too fearless and kept getting mad at me saying he knew how to swim and to stop grabbing him.  Um....no, no you don't know how to swim mister 3 years old and never had one single swimming lesson.  Practice in the bathtub does not an experienced swimmer make.  Just sayin.

But they sure looked cute in their swimming gear.  Isaac insisted on the swim shoes even though we were going to be inside.  So naturally Ben insisted too.  I insisted on the swim shirts because it was chilly outside and I had them all ready to go before getting to the pool.

And these are the fun pictures of Fathers and Sons camping courtesy of Jacob.  The report I got about the trip was that it was really good.  Isaac did well and had a lot of fun.  He loved having a glow stick at night.  He slept pretty well, despite the chilly weather.  He still went to bed late and woke up early so both he and Jacob were pretty tired when they got home.  I guess it rained all night too.  Jacob's report was that he did not sleep well because of the rain and worry about Isaac being too cold.  I guess he kept checking on Isaac throughout the night.  Cute little Dad.

When I first saw the above picture I couldn't believe how old Isaac looks.  He really is getting so big.  Weird.  These kids grow up really fast!

Cute little selfie!

I also love the picture of Isaac just sitting and staring at the forest.  Adorable.

And then he crashed the whole way home.  Which, was a good thing I'm sure.  Poor tired boy after his first real camping trip!

I'm not going to lie.  I enjoyed the evening of just Ben and I (Jacob has a potty trained rule about camping...).  He hadn't napped well so I put him to bed early and then it really was just a nice evening to myself.  I watched some shows and finished binding a quilt for Diana's baby expected in July.  It was nice.

The next day though, I was ready for the older folks to be home too.  It gets kind of lonely when there is only a not yet very verbal toddler at home.  And I was getting a little worried (okay, a lot, I worry, it's what I do!) about Isaac and Jacob.  Whatever, they were fine and arrived home just at the point where I was going to start making phone calls to other ward members or something crazy.  Kidding.  Sort of.

We've enjoyed some really nice days too.  Not every day has had rain, just most.  On one of the nicer days I let Isaac and Ben play in some water.

This picture of Isaac on the towel warming up brings back a lot of fond childhood memories for me.  Nothing like the warm towel on warm pavement after chilly sprinkler water, am I right?

Shortly after taking these pictures I had determined it was enough time in the water and  time to go inside.  I emptied all the containers and told Isaac to come in.  I grabbed Ben and began changing his clothes.  Isaac hadn't followed me inside, go figure.  I decided I'd just deal with it after Ben was dressed and warming up.  Then I heard the hose turn on.  I still ignored it...And that was the problem.  It ended in Isaac spraying water through my open window onto our chair and carpet and all.  I was pretty mad even though part of the blame is my own.  Needless to say, we haven't done any water since then.  I'm not sure how long the water freeze out will last...good thing it's been rainy again most afternoons I guess.

Lately Isaac has been saying "Mom take our picture.  We are ___________"

This fill in the blank was "we are on the same chair."

(Ben is less of a fan of the closeness can you tell?  He's trying to remove Isaac's arm in both the above and below pictures.  Awesome.)

"Mom, take our picture! We are both holding milk cups!"

There has also been a lot of quilting going on in this house.  The Relief Society president (Carol Van Shaar) and I started a quilting "block of the moth" club for our RS sisters.  So, I've been cranking out a few blocks for display purposes.  Sadly, I've not photographed them yet.  I've also completed the baby quilt for Di, as previously mentioned.  I do have photos of it but I'm not posting them yet because I want her to see it in person first.  And finally, I finished this top (pictured in pieces below) for Sarah's baby due in August.  I'm not worried about posting this picture because I know she doesn't read this blog...well, at least I think that's true.  I guess if she does read it I've spoiled her gift.  I've got the bug for quilting again.  And I'm taking more care to be precise and iron and not cut corners.  And I like it!

Jacob has been doing "science Saturdays" with Isaac once or twice a month.  I think they both love it and I do too because then I get some time all to myself while Ben is napping and they are sciencing.  I also love it because the two of them are cute together.  I like watching the daddy-son interactions.

And I guess that sums up our May thus far.

The rest of May and our early June will be spent in preparation for our big family trip to Oregon at the end of June.  I am hoping to do a deep clean on the entirety of our home.  Jacob isn't thrilled that I've mapped out how we'll be spending a chunk of our evenings.  We also inherited an old wood play set that I think is the perfect size for our weird shaped back yard.  Unfortunately, it's a bit of a project we've taken on.  There are several boards that need replaced and the whole thing needs a good sanding and new coat of stain.  So, between that and cleaning we will be pretty busy.

Differences

I wanted to write this little example of how Isaac and Ben are different before I forget it.

This morning Ben wanted to play with pony beads.  I let him have a few in a zip top back and gave him a muffin tin.  He carefully put a few in the tin at a time and then back in the bag and so forth.  I noticed one time he had lost track of one of the beads and was diligently searching the kitchen floor to find the missing one.  This went on for 20 minutes or so before he was tired and ready to move on to his next activity.

Then it was Isaac's turn with the same set up.  I had moved the muffin tin into the living room.  Isaac dumped all the beads into the muffin tin with them spilling out onto the carpet.  He then grabbed all the beads in his hand and and dropping them on the floor.  Shortly thereafter he stuck one up his nose.  Game over.  5 minutes of chaos and done.

That sums up these boys pretty well.  And I love them both with all their differences.

Mother's Day

I had a really good Mother's Day yesterday, though I didn't take a single picture.  Oops.  Jacob did a great job at helping the kids make my day special.  They made me heart shaped cinnamon toast that was delicious.  They also made really cute cards with their hand prints.  Isaac even wrote it all himself.  Jacob showed him the letters and then Isaac would copy it.  He spelled out "I love you" and "this much."  It was really well done.  They also picked out some candy bars for me to attach to the cards.  Good job boys.  Good job dad!  I also didn't do any dishes all day, I don't think I changed a poopy diaper at all, and Jacob made me chicken coconut korma for dinner.  Yum!  We also got to spend an enjoyable evening with some friends in the ward, the Van Shaars and the Bills.  I am grateful for good family and good friends.

I guess after today I feel a little guilty they spoiled me so much.  I was not my best mothering self today.  I am blaming it on little sleep but I really made some pretty poor parental choices.  It was one of those days where you just really hope all the other good days out weigh the one bad one every now and then.

Isaac has been biting again for the past week.  It makes me so angry and sad when he hurts Ben and others.  I lost it today and I bit him back.  I guess I would have felt better about it if it was really a deliberate decision, but it wasn't.  It was out of anger and frustration.  I don't even think I talked about it well with him to send a clear message that he needs to know biting hurts.  It was just stupid.  I do hope it helps the situation and doesn't make it worse.  I guess it would serve me right if I had to try and undo some damage from poor parenting on my part, but I hope that's not the case.  Blah!

So, now let us talk about some of the adorable things these boys do.

Ben is just killing me with cuteness.  He is at the best age!  His language is developing so quickly and I love that.  My most recent favorite additions to his vocabulary are "ding dong," "oh bummer," and calling dogs "woof, woof, woof."  So cute.  He still is all about copying his older brother and he is even more of a dare devil than Isaac was at this age.  He has no fear of anything.  He thinks he's way more capable than he is.  His favorite game is to climb up on the arm of the couches and then fall onto the couch.  He doesn't really get a chance to play that game very often.  I put an end to it pretty quickly.  It scares me.

The other day we were walking home from the mail box.  Ben started heading up the driveway of our neighbor so I told him to turn around.  He stopped, turned a full circle, and kept trucking up the drive way.  He definitely understands everything, and is often obedient, even if it is literal.

He's also really cute with books and his blankets and bears.  He loves his night time routine.

He also loves his morning routine.  Jacob usually gets him out of bed and let's him walk into our room.  But, before he does that he usually grabs his books that are on the footstool in his room from the night before, shuts all doors, and then comes to our bedroom.  He likes to look at the books and snuggle on the bed for a few minutes before he's ready for his cup of milk and breakfast.  He is so funny about putting things in their proper place, like shutting the doors.  He really is just adorable.

Isaac.  Oh Isaac.  He is at a tougher age for me.  But, when I stop to really focus on all the good things about him there are so many!  His imagination is growing every day.  It's fun to see him play differently with his same toys.  And He is often good at including Ben in his play.  He has been cute about giving Ben hugs and kisses and Ben just laughs with delight to have positive attention from his big brother.

Isaac is so curious about all things and still asks a million questions.  He wants to know how everything works and the reasons for every decision I make.  We do a little "school" time occasionally that Isaac just eats up.  Last week we learned about spiders and ants, per his request.  I love reading to Isaac too.  He would want me to read to him all day if I had the time.

I also love Isaac's developing sense of humor.  He rather enjoys his knock-knock jokes and equally enjoys making up his own jokes.  They usually get a good laugh from Ben, if no one else.

Isaac would live outside if he could. I love that he is old enough that I can send him out on his own for little amounts of time at least.  He loves helping with the yard work too.  I think it's his favorite time of our Saturdays.

Most of all I love snuggling with Isaac.  He often wants to sit in my lap and have hugs.  I'll miss when those hugs are less appreciated.

The other day Ben and Isaac were playing outside with some hand me down digger toys we were recently gifted.  They were playing so well and having such fun.  I was sitting on the patio enjoying the sun but more than anything I was enjoying watching them play.  I had one of those experiences where you appreciate the beauty of the moment and at the same time are sad it won't last forever.  I know when these days are past I'm going to miss Isaac's constant digger noises in the background and Ben's still missing teeth grin.