Happy 2nd Birthday Liam Benjamin!

To our little boy who still says he's a baby..who's beginning to talk a lot...who likes to keep up with his big brother in races and wrestling matches...who is already eating us out of house and home...who makes us laugh with his deep voice and laugh...who brings such joy to our lives!

Brothers

I love watching the boys become closer as each day that passes.

Getting Into the Christmas Spirit

Decorating the Christmas tree



Posing in the Christmas hats they found. Josh and I bought those for ourselves our first Christmas.



Painting Christmas trees



This is serious business.



Finished works



C posed by his (L Child, not so much)



C found the numerous Christmas stockings we have. He thinks you should wear them. So he had me to take several pictures of him wearing the Christmas stockings. Director C then put on a Christmas hat with his stockings and put the laundry basket over himself. He instructed me to get the picture of him. Crazy kid.



L Child had to get in on the action.



L child signing a Christmas card. Yes, he knows how to pose.



Getting ready for our special Christmas movie night. Daddy set up a big pallet for all of us in the big living room.



He even went and got us Sonic drinks. What a great Daddy!

Halloween Night

We took the boys trick or treating last night along with a few stops. Casen the Dinosaur and Liam the Caveman had a good time!

Movie Time

We took the boys to see Cars 2 at the Dollar Theater. It was Casen's second movie at the theater; Liam's first. They lasted through the entire movie. Case only asked if it was over about five times.

Liam sat down for awhile with Josh. Then sat with me. Then sat by himself. Then took his shoes off. Then walked up and down our row. (I know - gross, right?) Thankfully, there were a bunch of other small kids there making more noise than L Child so we never had to get up. And thankfully the movie didn't last any longer-I would've had to step out with L Child.

Case loved the movie of course. It was full of cars. Cars that could fly around. Cars that could shoot. What's not to love?

We Clean Up Well

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the Pumpkin Patch this year. There were lots of things to do.

Fall Projects

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that the trees by the science building have changed a beautiful shade of red. I had the bright idea then for the boys and I to take a Fall Walk. We would collect pretty fall leaves. I had grand thoughts about making some pretty fall leaf cards for people.

Then we actually starting walking and looking around. None of the leaves had changed in our neighborhood. The boys just found dead brown ones. Liam kept scooping dead leaf clumps into his bucket.

It wasn't the Fall Project I had in mind.

At least we enjoyed the walk that morning.

Today, C and I worked on a new fall project: decorating ourselves in stickers. Hey, they're Halloween stickers so it counts as a Fall Project.

Then we got really crafty:
After Liam woke up, we made a giant Halloween mural with some old computer print paper I found in the chem lab.




Maybe one day we'll make pretty fall leaf cards. In the meantime, never fear. This workin' mama brings home old stuff from lab for crafts.

Highs and Lows of the Week Thus Far

High: I was able to explain some pchem problems while writing on scratch paper...on a hood of a car...in the wind one morning. I feel like I've arrived as a pchem teacher now.

Low: Having to stay up after midnight writing a pchem exam. Felt like I was in grad school working...or last time I taught the class.

High: L Child now refers to me as "Dah Mama." I love my new title. (And nobody else has a title (yet) from L Child; he doesn't say, "Dah Daddy." Just sayin'.

Low: L Child seems to be getting into the "terrible twos." I hate using that term because I feel like it's so negative and makes it sound like a kid is terrible all the time. BUT you know what I mean. Fit throwing becomes a way to see if he can get his way. Grumpy and oversensitive. Wants what he wants NOW. Though L Child is not like this all the time (or even much of the time for that matter), it still has been shocking because he is so laid-back usually. Plus, C began this stage at about 18 months. I thought since L was past 18 months, maybe he would skip this stage. Right.

High: Reading to the boys. We do this almost every day, but this week has been memorable. I remember Case loved Dogs: A Counting Book, Go Dog, Go!, and Goodnight Moon a lot when he was younger. Liam enjoys Goodnight Moon, but LOVES Goodnight Gorilla. I wonder if he thinks a gorilla might climb into his bed one night.

Low: Getting that horrible stomach virus Sunday night. I had forgotten how truly terrible it is to vomit so much. Ugh.*

and finally, gotta end with a High: seeing the boys dressed up in their Halloween costumes. And seeing how they truly excited they are. (Pictures to come!)

*I apologize yet again for being gross on my blog.

Stillwater Visit

Last week, we drove up to Stillwater to see some friends. We went to Josh's old workplace for a baby shower. Even though I forgot to take pictures while we were there, we had a good time. It was nice to visit with everybody. This was Josh's first job, and many of them came to see Case at the hospital when he was born. Reminded me of how blessed we were in Stillwater.

Then we went over to some friends' house to visit and then out to Eskimo Joe's. It was so good to spend time with Wes, Sharbee, and Caleb. I was reminded of how much I enjoy these special people!

Case found a kindred spirit in Caleb who likes to make funny faces for the camera too!


The boys were impressed with Eskimo Joe's - who wouldn't be?


Caleb was born the first year we lived in Stillwater. He is a sweetie - shared his toys with the boys, gave each boy a tattoo, and even demonstrated the fine art of pool-playing to C.


I have to admit I was sad to leave. As difficult as it was at times to be in grad school, Stillwater has a little bit of our hearts. Good friends and a special congregation blessed our time there.

Helping

Another Surprise Birthday Party!

We went down to Chatty a couple of weekends ago. Sheri had planned a surprise birthday party for Jack. It was fun to surprise him and see a lot of the family again.



And I couldn't resist...
Like Father,


Like son.