Books, Books, Books

Our bedtime routine has always included a story time. Up until a few months ago, we use to let the boys pick a book and then they would 'read' in their crib while we stood in front of the cribs and read. This was our approach because they boys would fight over the book or pull the pages. Ok, I admit, this was just an easier approach. Around February, we started sitting on the floor in the boys' room to read before bed. The boys were much better and we were able to get through the stories without too much fighting.

The boys would pick the book they wanted to read and bring it to the reader. They quickly found their 'favorite' books. There is a Blue's Clues book, a Thomas the Train book and a few Scooby Doo books that are in FREQUENT rotation. Even the boys were starting to memorize the words to these books, which made them even more fun (for the boys) to read.

Mommy started to get bored with our library of books. So, we decided to head off to Barnes and Nobles to pick out a few new books. The local store does a story time at 11:30am on Saturday morning so we took advantage of this activity to hit the store. The boys were more entertained by this reader than during our previously story time attempt at the library. However, the excitement of the train table and other stuff in the store would pull them away.

Here is Andrew listening to the story... Wesley also stopped by to check out the story...

The boys spent a lot of time playing in the interactive area where there was a Thomas the Train table set up and other books/toys for the kids to play with. They were allowed to play with this stuff, right??? (Note Wes standing on a book....)

Wes helped me pick out some books for the boys. There were two books for each of them or six for the group. Great, this should help keep Mommy entertained during story time! Wes picked out one Thomas the "Train book." He would not willingly put the "Train book" down long enough for the cashier to check us out. I had to pry it out of his hot little hand but gave it right back. I asked if he wanted to put it in the bag with the other books and he said, "no no." In addition to the "Train Book," there was the Angry Bunny book, Yo Gabba Gabba book, Wonder Pets book, another Thomas book and an Elmo book that plays the "Take me out to the ballgame" music.

When we got home, the boys were eager to read their new books...

Wes is showing off the "Angry Bunny" book. This book talks about the emotion of Anger and let's just say Mommy picked this one to help the boys understand that it is ok to get angry but it is not ok to hurt anyone because you are angry. Yep, the testosterone runs high here at times!

Wes and Jared sharing a few moments while checking out the books...

Jared interested in the ceiling fan that Andrew is turning on and off and on and off and ... well, you get the picture...

We had a wonderful morning out as a family and we have some new books to add to our library to show for it. As we headed into nap time, Mommy was excited to enjoy some of our new reads. While the boys would ask for the new books to be read, they also quickly returned to the 'old faithfuls!' Sigh...

I should also mention the Elmo baseball book that plays "Take me out to the ball game" is a fun book to read. It's a fun book to read and fun song to hear until it has been played about 100 times. Then, it gets a little annoying especially because I feel compelled to sing the song every time the song is played. How can you stop? It's a great song!! Well, as we approached the 200th time of playing the song (estimates related to number of times played), it became fun again when the boys start saying... 1, 2, 3 ... BALL GAME!!! Love hearing that from them.

All in all, another great morning with the fam!

Take care,

"Smile and Wave Boys, Smile and Wave!"

The boys' favorite movie is Madagascar. We had the threat of rain on Sunday so we popped in our favorite movie. At the end of the movie, the boys enjoyed bouncing around to the rolling credits. As you will see, they 'like to move it move it.'

Please note that when Wes hears the "Oh, Oh, Oh" in the song, he applied this to his knowledge of the Tomahawk Chop for his team the FSU Seminoles. He then breaks into the chop with an "Ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo."

It should also be pointed out that the boys are not allowed to jump on the furniture. Right?!?!?

Take care,

Annual Road Trip to Texas - 2010

Here we go again!! It seems like yesterday when we were driving back from Tampa in 2008 and started talking about possibly taking a trip to Texas to visit Nana and Pop-pi. Now, here we are in 2010 having completed our second road trip to Texas!

We took a team approach at documenting our trip on the blog. It took us a while but we have finally completed a post per day for our trip. The following are links to each day of the trip. I hope you enjoy reading about our journey as much as we enjoyed living it.

Day 1 - Tallahassee to Houma

Day 2 - Relaxing in Houma

Day 3 - Mardi Gras!

Day 4 - Houma to Houston

Day 5 - Fun Day in Houston

Day 6 - Houston to Junction

Day 7 - Junction - Fish Fry

Day 8 - Junction - A Day at Home

Day 9 - Junction - Our Trip into Town

Day 10 - Junction - Let There Be Snow!

Day 11 - Junction - Dinner with Uncle Ricky & Aunt Debbie

Day 12 - Junction to Houston

Day 13 - Houston to Houma

Day 14 - Houma to Tallahassee

Every mark your calendars for 2011! Mardi Gras is March 8th which is also Daddy's big birthday.

Take care,

The Tire Swing

On this afternoon, we decided to take the boys swimming at the neighborhood pool once they woke up from their nap. We were mentally prepared for this activity and once the boys woke up, we went through the process of getting everyone dressed, lotioned up and packed the supplies and boys in the car. The second we were starting to close the doors, we heard the sound of distant thunder. We proceeded to the pool only to arrive as soon as they made the decision to close the pool.. ugh!

Well, the afternoon was not lost. We headed home to swim in our 'kiddie' pool. The rain did not come until much later so we were able to have fun outside. While we were outside, we finally put the boys on the strange contraption that was always hanging from the bottom of their swing set. The boys learned quickly that this thing is a lot of fun. This thing is the tire swing.

Before now, the boys were not able to hold themselves on the swing without us holding them tightly. Now, they are strong enough and aware enough to hold on while the swing is in motion. Another benefit of having two brothers the same age is there are enough kids to fill out the swing... .

Love the feet shots!

We also took some video of the boys enjoying the swing! They are still so interested in what is happening that they are focused on the swinging action. At the start of the video, you can hear Wesley make an "I'm cold" shivering sound. This is a good time to point out that he is always cold! Since he was an infant, he would chatter his teeth during and after bath and during clothing changes. He is tall and slim. We keep telling him to put a little meat on his bones he will warm up... but, he is still chilly!

After our afternoon outside, we headed in to watch a little bit of our favorite movie Madagascar. When the boys watch TV or watch a movie, they ask to have their legs covered by a blanket. We started this during the winter and they have kept this tradition going. They will even grab the blanket and cover each other up. I should also point out our 'tough guy' Wesley and his new companion. This is the teddy bear that he caught in the Mardi Gras parade in Louisiana. Well, he now has to have 'Teddy' with him everywhere he goes...

Another great afternoon with the boys!

Take care,

Two Year Old Pictures

Our little family has turned 2! To commemorate our second birthday, we spent the morning with Terri Smith to take some pictures of the boys. I have previously posted about this wonderful morning with Terri. Click here to see my prior post. After much consideration, we were finally able to narrow down the 90+ pictures to our favorite 11. We ordered some prints and the digital images of our favorites. Here they are....

Our family photo! I just love this picture of all of us. We now have a 16 x 20 print of this welcoming visitors are our front door.
Andrew, aka Drew...
Andrew is our silly comedian. Andrew finds enjoyment in making others laugh. He can often be found two steps behind Wesley doing whatever he is doing. He wakes up singing in the morning. He loves to jump, jump, jump! He laughter is infectious. He has a very sweet nature and is the only one of the guys that has a 'lovie." Drew has his special 'banket' which he has been sleeping with since he was born. He falls asleep each night chewing on the edges. We love you Drew!

Jared, aka J-Bear or just J...

Our sensitive tender heart! Jared is the cuddle bug of the bunch. He melts into you when you hold him and we like to compare him to one of those water snakes that slip out of your hands. He is loves his milk and anyone's milk that is lying around. He has a very sensitive disposition and his feelings get hurt very easily. However, don't be fooled! He has a tendency to get his way in the end. He is also as smart as they come. He is determined to figure things out and does not give up until he does something on his own which is proudly followed by a squeal of "I DID IT!!" It's been a wild journey over the past few months and dear Baby-J we love you so much!

Wesley, aka Wessie...

Our independent spirit. If there is a ring-leader among our pack, Wes is the one. He is quite mischievous and high energy. This combination makes me call him a 'teenager in a toddler's body.' He may have a tough exterior but don't be fooled, he loves giving hugs and having his hair rubbed while he is drinking his bedtime sippy. We love you Wes!

It was quite the challenge to get the boys to all sit still long enough to get a photo but Ms. Terri was able to capture this great shot with all the boys looking in the same direction.

I love how each of them are doing something different...

The boys were having so much fun that it was hard to slow them down. However, after one drop and run, we got this one. I love how they each look like they are having fun...

Daddy and his boys...

Mommy and her boys...

It will not take too long before we are not able to hold all three of the boys in our laps with our arms around them. It is amazing how fast they are growing up!

Take care,