Out of the Mouths of Babes

I know every mom thinks this, but man-oh-man, my kids are funny {and sweet}!

Anderson moved to a new big-boy bed complete with adorable mismatched bedding from Target's Pillowfort line.  His sheets have black clouds on them, and one night as he was trying to go to sleep, he started screaming hysterically.  When I ran in and asked him what was wrong, he was able to compose himself and tell me that the "eye cloud" was scary because it was looking at him.  I had no idea what he was talking about, but noticed that one of the black clouds had a white notch in it that apparently looked like spooky eye at night.

Anderson's imagination is running wild lately; he will play independently for hours making up stories and mixing characters.  He has a fondness for the "good guys" and an extreme fear of the "bad guys".  A tiny little Lego man rocked his world after about 45 minutes of playing on the floor of Buddy's closet with normally-off-limit Legos.  Ear shattering screams and hysterical crying were brought on by the "bad guy with the long hair".  I don't know what the bad guy said or did, but Anderson brought him up several more teary times.

After talking about haircuts for a few days, Anderson kept requesting his hair to be styled like "Nonny from Bubble Guppies".  We had to look up pictures to show Mr. Jay Anderson's inspiration.  Only an almost three year old would request to look like an orange haired cartoon character!  Alekzander followed up with a related request when it was my turn to get my hair cut, "Will you please get your hair cut like Molly in Bubble Guppies?"

Sweet, smart Alekzander still mixes up words sometimes. Animals still comes out as "aminals" and my headaches are "head-ics".  I hate to correct him because he makes me smile!

I love listening to both of them talk, play, sing, and learn.  The resulting laughter is an added bonus.

Mama's Day 2016

I am so lucky that these two precious faces 

call me Mom/Mama/Mommy.

To celebrate Mother's Day this year, 

we packed some boxes for our move, folded some laundry,

and then did some of my favorite things :: 

had a picnic with the Taylors, 

took pictures and went on explorations in the woods, 

ate TCBY for dinner, and I even got to take an amazing nap in the hammock.

So thankful for hand holding, hugging, 

fresh picked flowers, and sloppy kisses from sweaty little faces...

and a husband who spoils me year round.

Runners on Your Mark

Get Set! Go!

{Powered by rain boots}

Role Assignment

I am Joy, Daddy is Feaw-re, Syra is Anger, you are Bisgust, Buddy is Sadness.

Mommy, I am Big Daddy LaBouf and you are Tiana.

I am Jake and you be Captain Hook.

I am Geo, Buddy is Bot, you are Millie.

I am Kristoff, you are Elsa.

I am Mickey, you are Minne.

Perhaps this kid watches too much TV, 

but he is hilarious with is role assignment

{on a daily or hourly basis}.

And you better believe, he always gets the starring role!

Pony Express

 {Crazy boy :: naturally our old mailbox makes the perfect horse!}

Easter on the Land

 Cutie + Cousins

Ellison (2), Mac (9 months), Anderson (2.75), Alekzander (6)

CW Egg Hunt 2016

 Praying with Daddy before the egg hunt

 Checking out his loot

{Ignore the candy ... Look at those blue eyes!} 

Brotherly love at its finest

Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

Do you wanna build a snowman?

Come on, let's go and play!

{Heard on the Frozen Soundtrack & daily in our house}

The Tank

Our little tank.

A solid little guy who knows what he wants.

Tough as can be with a heart of gold.  

He asks for "Snuggy Buggy" (snuggles),

Gives kisses, hugs, and pats,

And is free with his unprompted, "I luf you."

He is polite and precious

and can be loud and grumpy demanding what he wants,

smiling, and saying 'please.'

Anderson is funny and he knows it.

He can make all of us laugh by giving zombie kisses or

pretending to sleep and then shout, 'I'm awake!'

He even shouts that out in the middle of the night.

Currently he is obsessed with all things Frozen.

We bought him a Frozen storybook from the book fair 

two weeks ago.  There has not been a day yet

that he has not had the book in his clutches. 

He sits and reads it to himself and has a favorite page that he studies:

Anna and her best friends forever!

He is anti-carbs, pro-dairy, super snacker.

A mama's boy through and through,

superhero, race car, farm animal toy fanatic.

He loves to try to take pictures and see himself in the camera.

At a recent 'play in the woods' family photoshoot,

all he wanted to do was hike and explore. 

When he was asked to sit still or lay in the leaves and smile,

he acted like he was a cat being pinned down in a bath!

Ironically, he does hate baths, especially when he has to lay down to wash his hair.

There is not a thing I would change about this silly, tantrumming, little two year old

Who absolutely steals my heart every day.

 Photos from our "Play in the Woods" session with our friend Susan

Hockey Player

Our tough hockey player

sporting a Boston Bruins jersey, 

a Nashville Predators helmet,

a Team Canada hockey stick,

and hand-me-down snow boots!

Every treat Anderson got was his new favorite; 

rather than put it in his bag, he would carry it in his hand

while saying "Bick-or-Beat" at the next house

where he could barely grab his new treat.

The helmet greatly slowed and inhibited his 

ability to eat his treats though he wanted to so badly!

{Post Trick-or-Treating ... hanging on to his treasures:

An empty raisin box from the beginning of the night, 

a lollipop that lasted the entire mile loop, 

and 2 choice chocolate candies}

Halloween 2015

Alekzander picked the theme for our Halloween again this year:

we were to go as a Sporty Family.

We excitedly played our parts as the golfer, 

the runner, and the hockey player.

He gave himself the role of Broncos football player.

Andrew's golf bag doubled as the candy overflow bag

and was filled pretty quickly as we have some

extremely generous neighbors!

The wagon was transformed into a Penalty Box for 

our Bruins hockey player.

One little girl asked what it was for, and I explained 

that it was like a time out spot for hockey players

when they were 'bad' during the game.

She immediately asked if Anderson was bad!

Poor guy definitely was not bad - just a little overwhelmed.

Both boys were surprisingly calm and passive trick-or-treaters.

Anderson actually preferred to stay in the wagon most of the time,

and Alekzander said he would rather stay with us

 than run ahead with his friends.

Both situations were quite agreeable to me

as I know future years will look much different! 

I cannot wait until next August when 

Alekzander assigns our next family Halloween theme.

{Please let him include us in his costume plans next year too!!}

Let Them Eat Dirt

Google "Let them eat dirt" or "Reasons why your kid should be in the dirt"...

my children should be the spokespeople!

They cannot resist the pull of the dirt...

Our flower beds are generally not 'flowery' -

they are beds of dirt that the boys cannot stay around from.

A simple planting and watering mission one afternoon turned into 

creating 'mud shoes' and resulted in a much needed bath.

The joyful benefits of playing in the mud

far outweigh the cost of scrubbing the 'ring around the tub'!