Birthday Party for Pop Pop

Pop Pop had a special birthday this week, and we celebrated with a special birthday dinner!  The Parmesan meatloaf, steamed green beans and salad were super yummy.  The Stein's cake was extra super yummy!  The birthday boy with his cake . . .

. . . while we sang Happy Birthday with gusto!  Lincoln picked out the party plates and napkins, and he also gave the instructions about how the cake should be decorated.  His favorite color is green right now, so the cake had to be "banilla" with only green writing.  

 Daddy got the Charlie Brown Christmas train down from the attic with all of the other decorations, and the boys were so excited to set it up under the tree.  That one is a Pop Pop specialty, so no one touched it until he arrived!  Some of the boys were patient during the construction, but they were both pleased with the end result. 

Happy Birthday, Pop Pop!

Thankful for Christmas Songs

After the Thanksgiving clean-up, Daddy and Bubbles pulled all of the Christmas boxes out of the attic.  On Friday afternoon, I began decorating with lots of excitement.  I love having lots of lights, trees, ornaments, decorations, and music.  The boys were super happy to wake up from their naps to Christmas song books. 

 They have definitely filled the house with Christmas Carols!  I'm glad we have several musical books because they don't always agree on which song should be played.  I've been doing some crazy mixed-up songs . . . Jingle Bells mixed with Up On the Housetop, or Deck the Halls mixed with Oh Christmas Tree . . . it's not always pretty!

Our big tree in the formal area looks great, except there are no good ornaments on the bottom third of the tree.  I'm quite understanding of the need of children to play with ornaments in their reach, so no good ones on the bottom!

The tree in the playroom is full of Sesame Street, Mickey Mouse, snowmen and nutcrackers, and the boys love it!!  I'm pretty sure that none of these are breakable, but they will definitely test that!  I bought jingle bell garland for this tree  . . . I'll hear the tree jingling if they mess with it unsupervised.  What a nice and decorative alarm system!

We are all really getting into the holiday spirit!  Lincoln's class has been practicing Christmas songs lately, and he sang Jingle Bell Rock and Feliz Navidad tonight.  I ran to get the camera to record them, but then he cried.  I'll try again EVERY.SINGLE.NIGHT until I get this on film.  It's hilarious!  It's pretty cool that Thanksgiving was so early this year so we can begin our Christmas celebrations even earlier.

Thankful for Thanksgiving

As Lincoln said at his Pre-School Thanksgiving Feast, we are thankful for Thanksgiving!  Minnie, Bubbles and Ally drove in on Wednesday to greet two happy little guys.  They were waiting outside with bubbles and smiles. 

The bubble machine really got Lincoln in a dancing mood, while Beau was off trying to catch bubbles in his little shovel.  We all had a great time catching up and playing on Wednesday.

Ally helped me with lots of cooking on Wednesday night.  She kept me company while I made the baked potato casserole (usually Daddy's specialty, but he was out!), cornbread, cupcakes and icing.  I gave her the important job of sauteing the veggies for the dressing . . . ironic because she picks out those parts when she eats it!  When the boys woke up on Thursday morning, I busted out Pinterest for a new breakfast idea: use a can of Grand's biscuits to make waffles in the waffle iron.  Weird, I know, but they were soooo yummy.  I think the grown ups liked them significantly more than the kiddos.  While I worked on the rolls (seriously, it's so much work - the yeast, flour, rising, kneading, and on and on) and an apple pie, Daddy made his cheesy green bean casserole and got our smoked turkey all ready.  It was sure to be a great meal!

Only Mommy and Daddy were allowed in the kitchen, so the others made their own fun.  Linc and Beau (especially, Beau) love to pretend cook right now.  They put the play food in their little pots and pans and cook lots of meals.  Beau's favorite is soup, made with any disgusting combination of ingredients.  (Think hamburger patty, orange slice, cauliflower, and avocado - gross!)  They prepared their own Thanksgiving dinner while we cooked and enjoyed a lovely picnic.  How fun!

Of course, Daddy took a picture of the table and everyone ready to eat.  The food was super yummy, and we all ate too much!  Seconds are a necessity on Thanksgiving, right?  Lincoln and Beau were pretty happy with the selection.  Neither of them like casserole type things, but they loved the turkey and rolls with a nice fruit salad on the side. 

Daddy says that we've definitely got this meal down perfectly, and we can't ever change anything.  Yikes!  There was still fun to be had after all of the cooking and eating . . . stay tuned!

Beau is 20 months!

Beau is the sweetest, cuddliest, cutest, bossiest, boldest little guy in the world!!!  He is exactly sure of what he wants at all times, but that doesn't always go along with Mommy's plans.  He lets me know when he disagrees, and we try to figure out how to work through that.  He's just the most confident kid I know!  Apparently, I have slacked off on his monthly updates.  He weighs 29 lbs, and loves to eat.  He NEVER misses a meal.  He's rarely ill, but an ear infection will slightly interrupt his love of eating.  He still eats, mind you, but he's a little more selective.  He wakes each morning demanding milk and pancakes . . . don't let him down on that one!  It's a horrible way to start the day if Beau doesn't get his yummy breakfast.  Lincoln tried to convince him recently that Halloween Pop Tarts were good, but Beau wasn't convinced!  He's a great eater at school, and a great eater at home.  I can't even begin to document all of his "smarts"!  He can count to seven all by himself and to twelve with a little help.  He loves to walk up and down steps while counting.  He can sing the entire ABC song, and only a few letters are mumbled together.  He can identify green, red, blue, yellow and pink.  He has had all of the shapes down for a few months.  Beau is mostly a little repeater right now.  I can't say anything without him repeating it!  His favorite phrases are: Beau do it, Mommy do it, Beau diaper change, Beau wash hands, Beau no bossy pants, Mommy bossy pants, Come here Mommy show you, sit Mommy to read, and that's all I can remember right now.  He dropped his milk cup in the car today and needed me to retrieve it.  I told him I had to wait until we stopped.  He said, "Mommy wait.  Stop light.  Stop sign.  Red."  What a smartie!!!  He hangs on every word that we say repeats everything.  Beau is the best little 20 month old ever . . . at least in my book!   

Guys (and families) Get Together

The holidays are good for several things . . . good food, time at home with family, and fun visits with friends.  Sunday night we got to visit with some friends that we don't always get to see!  The Ericksons were in town from Austin, and we were so happy that everyone could get together for lots of fun.  We headed over to meet the Ericksons, the Eoffs, the Hoggs, and the Robisons.  I think I counted nine "older kids" and two "babies", so we were a busy group!  Don and Nina have an awesome roller coaster in their backyard that all of the kids loved!  Jane and Clare gave it a try right away.  (My pictures are terribly blurry, but all I had was my iPhone and the light was fading.)

 Caroline was a great little hostess!  She was telling Linc and I a really funny story, and Linc loved it!  She was a pro at the roller coaster, too.

The two constants at the fruit/cheese tray were Miles and Beau!  They were obsessed, while the other kids were come and go.  At first, Beau would just grab a handfull and run back to my lap, but then he saw that Miles was posted up at the table and shoveling the food in at lightning speed.  I guess Beau decided that Miles was a (hungry) kindred spirit, and they bonded over snacks!  Miles was so polite to hold on to the tongs . . . but they were too slow!  I think these two guys would be besties if they had the chance! 

While Mr. Jon was cooking dinner, the kids took a break to build blocks inside.  Lincoln doesn't seem bothered at all that all of his friends are girls, and I think they are happy to take him in.  (Well, as long as they are playing blocks.  Nobody gave him a tutu or princess shoes when the dress up bin came out later in the night . . . thanks for that!)

After a yummy dinner of burgers and hot dogs, Lincoln was ready to try out the roller coaster.  He loved it!!!  I think Santa may need to know about this.  (Again, the picture quality is terrible!!) 

Beau rode the roller coaster a few times but was fine with watching the other kids for a minute.  I guess he felt that the Snickerdoodle cookie from Ms. Hayley was more important than the roller coaster.  I agree! 

It was full-on disaster when we tried for a group picture!  Lincoln was screaming that he didn't want to leave after the picture, Beau was crying because Linc was crying, Graham wasn't thrilled to be in Clare's lap, and Miles was trying to escape Caroline's grasp.  I mean, really what did we expect???  This is the best I could get! 

 The guys were much more cooperative in their picture.  Oh, my how their pictures have changed over the years.  I have seen elementary, junior high, high school, college, engagement, wedding, and reunion pictures of these guys, and they just keep getting older and wiser . . . and more handsome!

Thank you to the Ericksons for hosting us.  It was so much fun, and we love getting together.  I hope we can make time to do this more often!

School Thanksgiving Feast

It's officially time to begin celebrating the holidays!  There was a Thanksgiving Feast at school on Thursday, and one little guy was super excited.  Lincoln's class had been practicing so many fun turkey songs, and they were thrilled to sing (actually, scream!) them for the parents in attendance.  Some of the kids made pilgrim hats, some made turkey hats, and some made Indian feather hats.  Linc chose to be an Indian, but he kept pulling his "feathers" out!  I can't believe how old Lincoln looks in this picture.  I mean, he looks like a big kid!    

After all of the singing, we got our seats for the Thanksgiving Feast!  The teachers had written on the paper covering the tables what each kid was thankful for.  Billy said he was thankful for his Mommy, Chris said he was thankful for toys, and Lincoln said he was thankful for Thanksgiving.  I'm thinking that he's just giving a summary of being thankful for Mommy, Daddy, Beau, all of our families, etc.  The boys were super excited for the Feast!  (I think he lost a few more feathers from his hat!) 

It's definitely no secret that Lincoln definitely does not eat school food.  I pack his lunchbox each day with a (semi) nutritious lunch, or he would starve!  Ms. Shaye had discussed the Thanksgiving Feast with Linc earlier, and he agreed to eat the Feast like the other kids.  When she began filling his plate with corn, green beans, turkey and rolls, he began freaking out!  He looked up at me with tear-filled eyes and said, "Mommy, I just can't eat this school food."  No problem . . . lunchbox to the rescue!  He happily munched on turkey, apple slices, blueberries, popcorn and a cereal bar.   

Daddy went to Beau's room to see how he was enjoying his Thanksgiving Feast, and Beau was chowing down on turkey, dressing, green beans and rolls.  (Again, sometimes they are like night and day!)  Ms. Jennifer told Kevin that Beau's eyes had gotten pretty red and swollen throughout the morning.  Beau had an ear infection almost two weeks ago, and we finished the round of antibiotics on Tuesday.  Perhaps the medicine didn't fully cure him, so we decided that Daddy would take Beau to the pediatrician to get him checked out after lunch.  Beau stopped to visit the scarecrows on his way out, and he love to squeeze their hands.  He wore his best Thanksgiving shirt today! 

The pediatrician determined that Beau's ear infection wasn't cleared up, and Beau and Daddy headed out with a new prescription.  He never complains about his ear hurting, and he rarely runs a fever.  The only symptom he shows is red or goopy eyes.  Beau and Daddy had a fun afternoon, and I'm so glad they got a little bonding time.  I guess that today I'm thankful for turkey songs, awesome lunchbox fare, a quick doctor visit, Daddy being in town to handle the doctor visit, and medicine . . . oh, and lots of Goldfish and Teddy Grahams.  Beau isn't the least bit bothered by his ear infection, so I'm thankful for that too!  I hope we've got the right medicine to clear him up because we have a lot of Thanksgiving fun planned!

Brotherly Love

Lincoln and Beau seem to be inseparable these days.  They always want to be in on what the other is doing.  I love that they are so close in age and can take part in the same activities with minimal troubles.  After church on Sunday, we headed to Cindi's for brunch.  It was still warm and perfect for spending the wait for our table outside in the fun chairs.  At one point, I asked them who was ready for pancakes . . . I got two loud shouts of "MEEEEEE!" 

 The weather changed pretty quickly to super cool (almost cold), but we managed a little outdoor fun.  Lincoln was super proud of his Razorback hoodie.  Beau kept repeating "hoodie" over and over, then he just switched to "Go, Mommy!" because I stopped pushing him in the Jeep to take their picture. 

It seems like they can't get close enough!  I don't know why they decided to hide behind the chair, but they were loving it!  They both (almost) cooperated when I asked them to look directly at the camera and cheese out.  Each time Lincoln took a drink from his cup, Beau would grab his and take a drink too.  He mostly adores his big brother!  Sometimes I think they are like night and day, and other times I think they are so much alike! 

I know that being so close also brings on so many disputes . . . luckily, those are less frequent than the fun times.  I try to talk to Lincoln about setting a good example for Beau, and I try to point out to Beau when Linc is displaying good (or bad) behavior.  So far, Beau only comments on the bad.  He loves to tell me "Lincoln trouble" or Lincoln crying", but he never reports that Lincoln is leading him on some super giggly adventure.  I guess I have to hear that on my own.  I think they are the best brothers ever!

Bookworms!

Sometimes a reading lesson is necessary . . . and Lincoln is always happy to be the teacher!  The boys both really love their books and definitely have their favorites.  Beau's favorites right now are Brown Bear, Good Night Moon (still!!!), Counting Numbers, I Love You Through and Through (my favorite!), and Cookie's Christmas Cookies.  Linc already knows the words to Beau's little books, so he loves to read to him.  Beau is not always happy about that, but he sat patiently while Lincoln read him all of his favorites. 

Lincoln's favorites change more frequently, and he always chooses books that I like.  Right now he's into Biscuit books, Mickey's Pet Shop Pup, A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Saggy Baggy Elephant, and High Five Magazines.  We visit the library every few weeks for new Berenstain Bears and Franklin books.  Those take a while to read, and Beau just doesn't have the patience yet.  I try to save those for when Beau is busy.  I'm glad Beau was tolerant of Linc's bossy reading lesson, and I hope there are many more!

Wild Wednesday

I managed to capture two cuties squeezed into a little chair sharing a brother moment.  The moment lasted about 5 seconds then they were off like maniacs to their next adventure! 

A game of Extreme Hide and Seek was on the agenda! 

 In between all of the wild and crazy fun, I caught Beau looking sweet.  I think he was begging for a snack at the time and had turned on the charm.  Beau is tall enough to open the pantry door, and I'm not happy about that.  He's always in there looking longingly at the yummy snacks . . . that Mommy put on the top shelf out of his reach!  If I don't catch him in the pantry and move him away, I find him walking around the house with his favorite things from the bottom shelf:  a canister of baking powder shouting "cookies" (because there is a cookie on it), a box of pasta shouting "tini" (because he loves Daddy's meat sauce with rotini), or a bag of croutons shouting "too-tons" (because he loves to eat croutons)! 

Everyone took a snack break with Cheez-Its and fruit punch (crystal light - the boys don't even know what sugar free means!!!!) before we returned to our wild fun.  Fun night with fun little guys!

Workout Buddies

I have a very enthusiastic group of workout buddies!  Pop Pop made them wooden "weights" so they could really participate, and they really exercise with gusto!  As soon as they see the DVD going in, they run for their weights and scream "essercise" over and over!  I know it's weird that they are only wearing underwear/diaper while exercising this evening, but we had just finished playing dress up in our Halloween costumes . . . because Halloween is never really over when such fun costumes are around!  The guys were really trying to mimic Jillian and do the stretches properly.  Nice form!

They got a little off the directions, but still had a blast lifting their weights up and squatting down.  I giggled watching their skinny (Linc) and chubby (Beau) bodies going through the moves! 

I actually try to NOT work out while they are awake . . . they may be the cutest workout buddies, but they are not good company for an intense and focused workout.  Lincoln likes to "help" push me with push ups, Beau likes to crawl under my legs during squats, Lincoln asks me 700 questions during the cardio segment when I can't breathe, Beau sits on my stomach during the abs portion, Lincoln needs me to stop and get him a drink of water, Beau pushes the buttons on the DVD player to mess up the feed, and on and on.  I guess I should be glad that they are interested in exercise, and that I am setting a good example for an active lifestyle.  Maybe they will develop more focus and take these workouts more seriously as they get older, and hopefully I will have two awesome workout buddies!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Instead of an action-packed weekend full of birthday parties and sports activities, we had a low key weekend of just fun.  The boys and I shopped a bit on Friday morning and played outside with water balloons after naps.  These two can really play so hard, and they are learning more and more to play well together!  I wish I had taken a picture of the scene I found in Linc's room at one point . . . they had moved the two "little" chairs into the center of the room to face each other, and Linc had called a meeting!  He had a little plastic cup and a small spatula, and he said he was making coffee to drink like Bubbles.  Beau was hanging on Linc's every word!  Linc "made" the coffee and they took turns pretending to drink it, and all the while Linc was giving Beau plenty of warnings about not breaking the glass (no, it was plastic) coffee cup. 

We made a trip to the bank on Saturday afternoon, and it wasn't as exciting as Lincoln had hoped.  He decided to hop up in a chair and check out the nearest Forbes magazine! 

We went to Bandito's for dinner, and it was super fun!  The boys got their own side of the table all to themselves, and that's never happened!  Of course, I brought their dinner and a movie!  They had a grand time watching It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, and dining on grilled hot dogs, green beans, rolls and apple sauce.  Mommy and Daddy were the real winners because Bandito's food is adult-yummy! 

Beau and I made a late evening stop at CVS Pharmacy, and he immediately zeroed in on some clearance Halloween pumpkins!  Because it was just like his trick-or-treat pumpkin, I guess he thought it was like Halloween night all over again.  He totally trick-or-treated all over the store.  He grabbed the pumpkin and walked up to the candy aisle and said "trick-or-treat" as he grabbed a pack of M&Ms.  He then spotted a pack of batteries that he needed and politely said "trick-or-treat" again as he put the pack in his pumpkin!   

Beau was collecting the most random things in his pumpkin!  We found the condiments, and he was thrilled!  He grabbed the ketchup bottle with so much excitement but was a little hesitant with the mustard bottle.  He asked me if "mutard" was a candy, and I told him we could pass on that one. 

Linc has been singing like crazy these days.  I usually listen to sports radio, but when the Rangers season is done (too early) I take a little sports break for a month or two.  We've been listening to regular radio for a couple of weeks, and Lincoln has already picked a few favorite songs to learn.  He sang Beau and I a super cute remix that I had to share! 

We had our family photo session on Sunday afternoon, and the boys were really cooperative.  We had practiced what we would say instead of "cheese" - the most popular were "macaroni and cheese on your head" and "pepperoni"!  I think the session went well, and I can't wait to get the proofs from Ms. Claire.  I think a pretty low key weekend was good for all!