Fun and Photos





At my house, busy boys are happy and kept out of mischief boys.  As a result, I spend a lot of time thinking of what we can do.  The last while since Michael went back to school, we have done lots to keep us busy.  We go to Story time at the library weekly and playgroup.  When we are at home, these are some of the things we do:

 

 

 We do a lot of music playing with pots and pans

One of Eli's favorite things to do with Mommy is cook.  He loves to help me add ingredients and spend time in the kitchen helping.

Tupperware fun!  I never thought we'd have a picture like this of John Ellis because out Tupperware cabinet is not very tall.  We have one just like this of Eli at our old house.  I guess John Ellis had to be like his brother.

Playing with Daddy.  I have never seen my boys happier than when Daddy comes home.  I think Eli's favorite song is "I'm so Glad When Daddy Comes Home!"

John Ellis loves to snuggle with a blankie when he is tired.  Sometimes they both join in the fun.

 

Hiking in the fall leaves for playgroup

John Ellis dressed up for Halloween

 

Eli the firefighter for Halloween

Eli turns 3!

Well, it happened a month and a half ago but Eli had his third birthday.  We celebrated it on the Saturday before since his birthday was on Sunday. 

 

 

We started the day with breakfast in bed (a tradition in Michael's family).  He is finally old enough to do it.  He thought it was great and still asks sometimes for breakfast in bed.

 

 

Then it was time for presents.  He loved his new garbage truck.

 

 

His favorite thing was his new tricycle.  He birthday falls at a great time for after the summer clearance.  Everyday he asks to go outside and ride his trike!

 

Blowing out the candles on his tractor cake.  We invited our good friends the Bensons over to eat pizza and cake.  Eli and Hugh are best buds and their birthdays are only a couple weeks apart.

 The tractor cake I made.  I was pretty proud of it since I am not a cake baker.  It was actually pretty tasty too.

 

It's a girl!

We found out a couple of weeks ago that we are having a little girl.  She should make her debut on or around January 20, 2013.  Although, I am secretly hoping for sooner since Michael starts the Spring semester on January 14th.  That could be tricky!  We are excited for her to come and meet her crazy older brothers.  It should be lots of fun!

What I am up to

I don't often say much about what I am up to, but I guess I just assume that everyone knows kind of what I do.  I take care of little people all day.  The thing is I do find time for a few other things....thankfully.

I have been participating in the Mind Body Sole program this summer at the library.  It has been quite a challenge.  I have to read 26 books and articles and run 26 miles or walk 52,000 steps by September 10th.  I finished the steps long ago.  I walk a ton a day chasing the kids, but it is harder to find time to read.  I am hoping to finish in time though.  I don't think I've ever found a program that combined my two loves running and reading.

I love to collect and find new recipes to try.  My favorites right now are broccoli cheese soup and Cafe Rio salad.  I can give you the recipes if you like.  Although my kids can be picky they still get to try all my new experiments.  It is fun to look for new things on Pinterest and Allrecipes.

I have fun with my boys.  We go to the library for story times.  We go to play group and play dates.  I love to take them on walks.  I love to play with them.  It reminds me of growing up with my big brothers.  Boys are so much fun!

The biggest thing for me lately is that I am expecting baby number 3.  It has been a challenge chasing two and not feeling at tip top shape.  I am 19 weeks along.  Baby should make his/her debut in January sometime.  I will find out in a couple more weeks if the boys will have a baby brother or sister.  We'll see.

Potty Training and Two

Well, since my last two posts were about the other two boys in my life, this one is about my little Eli who is almost three.  Back in June we did some potty training action.  Although it was not fun, he took to it very well and it is now doing great.  I guess I had heard enough horror stories about the process that when it went well I thought maybe I missed something.  Granted he still has the occasional accident and such but he seems to be doing well.

He has also been very defiant and crazy the last while.  He went through this stage of a week or so where he fought me on EVERYTHING (i.e. going potty, sitting in his carseat, taking a nap, getting dressed, brushing teeth, and so on).  I am glad that is letting up and he is once again able to be persuaded to do those things.

He is so smart and curious about everything.  He loves to go to the library and check out books especially Curious George and his new found favorite Arthur.  He loves going to see friends at playgroup and nursery time.  He loves to "go somewhere" as he says.  He gets couped up in our apartment and really likes getting out to go somewhere.

He surprised us recently by being a model boy when a babysitter came to watch him before bed.  At times I can really catch a glimpse of him beyond toddlerhood and as a big boy.  He is really growing up.  He can sure be a trial to me some days, but I sure do love my blond-haired blue-eyed boy!

He's a Licensed MFT!

Every state has a different guideline for licensing MFT's and Connecticut and Ohio are quite different.  So when we got here to Ohio Michael, had to be sure and meet all of the requirements. Ohio actually has two levels of lecensure and so all that was lacking was taking a test.  Well, of course he passed!  He was worried because he didn't have as much time to study as he would like, but he passed.  Then he applied, had a background check and took another test about ethics and such.  Now, he has a little paper that says he is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.  I am so proud of him!!!  It was a lot of hoops to jump through.  He is actually well on the way to meeting the next level of licensure too due to all the work he did in Connecticut.  I am grateful for my hard-working husband and all he does to support me and the little boys.

John Ellis is one

In June, John Ellis had his first birthday.  He was his usual happy self, and loved his cake and all the new toys.  In the while since I have written on the blog, he has gone from an inch worm crawl to crawling and now standing on his own and even taking a few steps.  A few months can change a lot with little people.

Eating cake... I made pizza but he loved the cake much more... especially the icing. 

The happy birthday boy. 

I just love his smile.  He is such a happy little boy!

Trying to figure out his new toy.  After opening one toy he just wanted to play with it, just forget the rest.  The hardest part was keeping Eli from getting too upset about not getting toys too.  Thankfully his grandparents sent him a book.  It really helped.

When he gets tired before a nap you can often find him laying like this on the floor.  If there is a pillow on the floor, he will crawl over to it and lay down on it.  It always lets me know its nap time!

He and Eli have really bonded lately.  They love to play together more now and sometimes don't want to go to bed at night because they would rather play some more.  I sure love my little boy and I can't believe he is one already!



Fun Times

So much fun has been had in our house since I last posted.  We went to a park called Preston's Hope north of us.  Eli particularly loved the sandbox.  He could have stayed all day.

Eli inside a play fire station

Eli digging in the sand.  He gathered up all the buckets there by the end and filled them all with sand.

Eli and Daddy at the top of the slide....which he didn't go down

Daddy and John-Ellis watching Eli in the sandbox

We also had a visit from Aunt Joni and Uncle Chase.  We all went up to Kirtland for a visit.  That was at the beginning of March.  The kids did remarkably well considering how long the tours are.  We had a nice visit with them and Eli still asks about Joni and Chase.  He sure loves his Aunt and Uncle.

Here we all are at the Newell K. Whitney Store



John Ellis and his cute smile!



Eli has become a tower building master.  He built this all on his own without my help.

John Ellis doing the inch worm crawl

Both the boys just love their Daddy.  He knows just how to make them smile and have fun.  John Ellis just laid down and cuddled up to his Daddy here.

 

We also had a visit from my parents for a few days.  It seems like whenever they come the kids seem to take giant leaps in development.  Just after they left John Ellis started crawling all over!  Eli started absolutely loving the playground.  He wants to go everyday and loves the slides and climbing all over.  I guess some of Grandpa's bravery rubbed off on him.  Thanks Grandpa!

 

We had a nice visit with them.  It is always nice to have family come and the kids love it.  They love all the attention and fun outings.  We went to Cuyahoga Falls National Park with them and saw some neat wildlife.  We also had yummy pizza.  Eli still talks about Grandpa ordering pizza.  I love that kids enjoy the little things.  It is neat to see him starting to really remember family and talk about them.

All in a day

Our lives are pretty simple most days. It is the same day in day out as a stay at home mom. The things that make the day are the little things that happen. I love how the kids enjoy the little things. Who knew that a box, a dish strainer, or some blocks could be so much fun!? I love watching them learn and put things together. They are really beginning to interact more.

Eli giving hugs to John-Ellis
Eli showing off his tower. He did that all on his own. He loves building with blocks!

John Ellis is really on the move now. He scooted himself right under the couch. He will be crawling soon.

Boxes are always a hit in our house.

My boys all in hats.

John Ellis in his new high chair

Eli put this dish strainer on John Ellis' head and it was a perfect hat. Whenever he sees the camera, he hams it up and smiles. He is so photogenic too.

Thank goodness for the small moments that help me get through the day in day out craziness of caring for kids. I sure love these little guys!

Under the weather...

I am sure you can relate to this senario... Your whole family is sick and you tirelessly help to care for them until everyone is better. During the process you are extra diligent about hand-washing and cleaning and disifecting everything and then over time you get lax. In your mind you think, maybe we will be good for awhile. Several weeks pass and all is in the clear. Then someone starts to sneeze or have a runny nose and it all starts over.

We have all been sick this past little while. The baby had RSV and then the rest of us have followed suit in catching varients of it. We were pretty nervous for awhile about the baby. He had a really high fever (over 103!). Thankfully, he is pretty much back to his feisty self. One thing I have been very grateful for through the whole thing, though, is knowing that sickness is temporary. I am grateful for our health and that generally we are healthy.

A Few of My Favorite Things...

I have always liked the song from Sound of Music entitled "A Few of My Favorite Things" and I thought it really applied to the kids for the last while. So what are their favorite things?

John Ellis is 7 months old now and his favorite things are...

Smiling and sitting up!
Generally being happy and good natured

Eating solid food...especially bananas and apricots

Chewing on anything and everything that comes near his mouth... we're still waiting on teeth

Making all kinds of fun noises

The exersaucer

Playing with Eli

A few of Eli's favorite things are...

Eating, eating, eating...ever since Christmas he has been eating us out of house and home

Cheesy grins...this is how he responds to a camera

Trying on Mommy's and Daddy's shoes and wearing them around the house

Hats...He especially loves this hat of Daddy's and his green sock hat that a friend gave him

Being a mom to two little boys has been lots of fun so far. Although, I can't remember when I've been as tired, frustrated, or discouraged since becoming a mom. I have also felt so many moments of joy, happiness, and wonder being able to watch two little ones learn and grow up.