"The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences." - Eleanor Roosevelt

Monday, November 29, 2010

Decorating...

Let the Christmas decorating begin!!!

I love it when Nick gets out all the Christmas boxes and I get to rummage through them and see what we want to put up around the house this year! Right away, Ben grabbed the Santa hat and wore that around for a little while! He also found the "laughing Santa" that we have and I amused myself by watching his reaction to it...





While the little boys and I decorated the inside, Nick got some lights up outside...


We took a break to have some dinner and I just had to take Conner's picture because he was such a huge mess (spaghetti sauce!) He ate his whole plate and asked for more!


Ben wasn't quite as excited about his spaghetti, but he wouldn't stop saying "Hi Mom" until I took his picture too...


Nick tried to get the lights up on the tree with (or maybe despite) the help of our two little guys!


Ben and Conner were very excited about our tree this year. So we'll see how long it takes them to pull the whole thing down!!! (I am certain that will happen at some point!)


After the lights were all on, I tried to start getting all the ornaments out (one of my favorite things to do) but being the little curious boys that they are, Ben and Con just couldn't contain themselves! They had to touch everything and managed to sit on, kick, and throw several ornaments while my back was turned so Daddy took the guys downstairs so that I could decorate in peace!!! We will try to do some more decorating today and see how that goes...

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Many More Thanks...

On Friday we headed to Conrad to enjoy Thanksgiving with Nick's family. The kids got their own table to eat their turkey at! They were excited... although a little too excited to actually stay sitting at the table for very long!


Aunt Jen shows the kiddos how to build a real tower!


Relaxing with Uncle Bill...


Snack/Dinner time...


Time to sing some songs with Grandma and Aunt Kristin...


The next morning, the kids played and we relaxed until it was time to go home... apparently the kids needed to sit as close to the TV as possible...


After a night of VERY interrupted sleep, Conner quickly falls asleep on the ride home...


Ben will be following Conner's example in just a few minutes!


Another great Thanksgiving celebration! Can't believe it has come and gone again!!!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Many Thanks...

Thanksgiving is here and Ben and Conner are loving their turkey hats that they made at school!



Nick had to work on Thanksgiving Day this year so we stayed in town and went over to Aunt Peg and Uncle Brian's. After dinner, we all settled in for naptime... Conner and Gramps were the first...


And then Daddy joined the club while Nana really tried to get Ben to follow along!


Playing ball in the kitchen with the strainers...


Back home to enjoy the night with Gramps and Nana!


We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. We hope that everyone else did as well! We have much to be thankful for this year!

Monday, November 22, 2010

Conner's new favorite word...

Conner has recently been obsessed with the word "scary." Everything is "cary" (scary!) He was watching some cartoons while I made lunch the other day and he thought that the cartoon was too scary, so he pulled his legs up to his chest and covered his eyes!



He has also been loving rockin out on his guitar in front of his mirror! He loves to watch himself!



Sunday, November 21, 2010

Sundays with Daddy...

The guys love Sundays because Daddy is home and today was no exception. Nick was doing some things outside so when the boys decided to cut their naps short this afternoon they were stuck with me... they were not happy! (I wasn't the happiest either...) But after I got them some juice and popcorn and even threw in some cheese for a snack, all was right with the world again and they decided that Mom wasn't so bad!



Conner is snapping for me!


Yes... Nick is washing the van! Ben agreed with me and thought that Daddy looked kinda funny!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Turtlenecks?

I dressed my kids in turtlenecks this morning... another thing I thought I would never do!





Conner stuffed so much of his grilled cheese sandwich in his mouth, that he couldn't close his mouth to chew!!! (Grilled cheese IS his favorite!)

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Ben's New Shoes...

Ben had a ball tonight wearing Mommy's shoes! He was hilarious to watch!



Had to get a picture of Conner too, just to be fair!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Second Brain?

Ben decided to grow a second brain tonight... oh wait... that's just the gigantic bump on his head he got from JUMPING... OFF... THE... STAIRS!!!! Yep, he decided that it was no longer fun enough to walk down the stairs so he had to jump off of them... I'm pretty sure I screamed...





Ironically, we got the boys' hair cut tonight so Ben's bruise will be visible for everyone to see, whereas if his hair was still long, we might have been able to cover at least some of it up! As the drama with Ben was going on, Conner just sat quietly in the corner building with his blocks! His forehead looks quite good after the haircut...



BOYS!!!!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Nappers and Helpers...

When we got home from Des Moines on Sunday, our first priority was a nap... for all of us! The boys don't tend to sleep too well when they are not at home, so none of us had gotten much sleep on Saturday night. After naptime, it was time for popcorn...



Then it was time to put together our new puzzle Nana had given us...



Then it was time to "help" Daddy figure out what was the problem with our stove... (it decided to stop working!) Nick was trying to see whether the outlet behind the stove was wired to the fuse box here... All the guys grabbed their flashlights and got to work!



Then the little guys got a little distracted and stopped being so helpful!




Such great helpers when they want to be!


Monday, November 15, 2010

Marley's 1st Birthday Party!

We went to Des Moines last weekend to celebrate our niece Marley's first birthday! So much fun...



Ready to party...


As the mother of two boys, I was very proud of my sister for making her daughter keep her bow in her hair!!!



Presents everywhere...

Ben has some fun with Marley...


Nana and Gramps got Marley a ladybug tent with a little tunnel on the side and Marley loved it!!! Definitely one of the favorite gifts...


My attempt to get all 3 kids together and smiling for a picture... ended up with all 3 kids crying so I quit after my first attempt...


Time for cake!


Marley was not happy when the frosting got in her nose!




Trying to get the kids to settle in for the night...


We all had such a great time! Nice party Cari and Curt!!!

School Pictures!

Our first school pictures are in!!! Little Lions Preschool Fall 2010! Nice smiles, guys...

Conner Nicholas


Benjamin Daniel


At least they stood in one place long enough to have someone take their pictures!!!