Mowing...

Daddy had some great helpers mowing today!  They even stuck with it the entire time... kinda a big deal for them!  They followed Nick around, mowing right behind him until the entire front and backyards were done.  It was pretty cute to watch!

Hasty Family Reunion

We had an awesome day for the Hasty Family reunion on Saturday!  Uncle Jim and Aunt Caroline have such a great property for us all to get together at.  The kids loved being outside all day and it was so adorable to watch all the kids get to play together!  I only wish we could do it more often.  The boys got to climb up in the tree house and they loved every minute of it!

Conner and Emma played a lot together!

All of the great grandkids together!

And now with Great Grandma!!!

The big boys playing catch...

Ashley helped Caden and Ben play!

It really was a fun day!  The boys were so exhausted by the time we drove home that they barely woke up when we put their jammies on and put them in their beds!  Thank you Jim and Caroline for hosting and thank you to everyone else for making it such a great day!

Proud boys!

I was struck again tonight about how the best things in life are usually the simplest.  Conner has really been enjoying helping Mommy in the kitchen lately and he was overjoyed tonight when he got to help do the dishes!  (I know this won't last long!)  He was so proud of himself for helping me and hasn't stopped talking about how he helped Mommy wash the dishes!

Ben earned himself another car tonight as he had a successful #2 in the potty.  He, too, was so proud of himself and I love it when they feel that sense of accomplishment! 

So proud of my guys and so happy that tonight is a happy night!

Magic Glue...

Well.. the morning was not as quiet as I would have liked!  I got a call from school saying that Conner had been hit in the head with a block and had a laceration on his head that would need to be closed!  So I hurried over to grab Conner and took him to our doctor.  A little bit of that magic glue and he was good to go!  He whimpers every now and then to remind me that he is "hurt" but he really handled it all very well! 

Whew...

Whew... what a week this has been!  We have stayed very busy with showings of our house and unfortunately, a couple have been right during naptime so that means there has been no napping for little boys.  Last night they were asleep by 7:30.  They never do that anymore!  While I really want to get this house sold, I am kinda hoping for some quiet days so we can get back into our routine.  We are still going strong with the potty training.  We have awesome days and some not so good days, but we will keep at it.  I know they will get it eventually!  At least they are both doing much better with it now and while they still have accidents, they tell me right away and don't try to hide it!  Nick and I have been looking at houses a lot and trying to figure out what it is the best fit for us that we can afford.  So far, there are no showings today, so maybe I can get some pictures taken of the guys this afternoon to post. 

Day 2...

Day 2 of school started off pretty darn good!

They both had another great day at school!  As we were walking into the building, Ben spotted a new girl he hadn't seen before, who waved hi to him... that was all Ben needed to chase her the rest of the way into the building!  I told him that he wasn't supposed to be chasing girls (not yet anyway) and he just smiled his big silly smile at me, took my hand, and led me to his classroom.  Conner ran ahead of us telling me "I do it, Mommy, Love you, Bye!"  When I got them home from school we celebrated 2 dry pull ups, made a pathetic attempt to eat some roni and cheese, and the boys collapsed into their beds for naptime... Today is a good day!

First Day of School!

Today was the first day of school!!! We had two very excited little boys this morning.  It went great for both of them and it was very fun to watch them run in and hug their teachers and friends from last year.  Ben even used the potty at school today twice!  He called me the first time to share his good news, which I loved!  It is going to be a great year!  Nick and I kept busy this morning with appointments scheduled, but tomorrow I fully intend on spending my 2 hours of freedom relaxing at home!  We took the kids out for lunch after school and by the end of the meal, they were both resting their heads on the table and sucking their thumbs.  School wore them out!  We took some pictures after school when we were leaving and then when we got home.  I'm thinking it may be a very long naptime today...  I am so proud of my little men for having such a terrific first day of school!!!

School Prep...

School starts tomorrow so we gave the boys haircuts last night and we went shopping this morning to get new backpacks!  They were very happy that they got to pick out their own new backpack so we had to get some pictures when we got home!  (Ben's in blue, Conner's in black!)  They insisted on wearing their backpacks as they rode their trikes this morning!  These guys are ready for school!!!

As much as I have been looking forward to them starting back to school, I'm a little sad too... I have really enjoyed our summer together!  I will miss my mornings with my guys....

Potty News...

Conner earned his very own "poop car" today!  (See previous post if this seems confusing...)  I wish we had another week before school starts so we could really get some good potty days under our belts, but Wednesday is the boys' first day.  We'll see if they are willing to use the potty at school... I know that they can... just a matter of whether they will choose to or not!  I really try not to wish any time away anymore because everything goes by so fast, but I would be so willing to fast forward through this whole potty thing!!!

"Poop Car"

Yesterday was a day to remember here at the Hedlund household... Ben pooped in the potty for the first time ever!  There was a lot of crying, kicking, screaming, sweating, but once I was able to get Ben to just calm down, he was able to do what I have been trying to get them to do FOR EVER!!!  They have gotten pretty good at peeing in the potty (especially Conner) but no matter how hard I tried, I just could not get them to believe that poop goes in the potty.  It was a huge step in our potty training drama yesterday and Ben is very proud of himself.  After he put his stickers on his chart, he also got to choose a new Hot Wheels car!  He carried that new car around with him all day and frequently came up to me to remind me that he had, in fact, pooped in the potty and had gotten a new car.  He called it his "poop car" a few times!  Ben was so thrilled!  Conner, on the other hand, was not happy that his brother got his very own cheering section, bonus stickers, AND a brand new car! Hopefully, Con's jealousy will motivate him to earn his very own "poop car!"   It was a great potty day yesterday and I am planning on having another one today...  hopefully the boys will cooperate!  Just like yesterday, we will not be going anywhere or doing anything too in depth because the potty is our priority!!!  We'll see how this goes...

Old MacDonald's Farm

We took the boys to Old MacDonald's Farm today!  There wasn't too much activity while we were there so a lot of the animals were inside, but the boys really enjoyed seeing the cows and pigs up close.  The chickens that were wandering around everywhere made me a little nervous since the kids just wanted to catch them!  It was a great time on such a nice day!

Beautiful Morning!

What a beautiful morning to be outside!  It has been so long since we have had a day that we can be outside without having to go inside for breaks from the heat!  Ben decided that his car needed some more nature in it this morning.  He told me  "Look Mom, there's a tree growing in my car!"

The boys sang lots of songs outside.  At one point Conner started singing about Scooby Doo!  It was pretty cute...  (Don't mind Ben, who decided to stick some tree branches in his mouth...)

It was almost time for lunch and Conner informed me that he and Mater needed a nap so he laid down on the cement and began snoring!

I would take this weather everyday of the week!  It feels so good to be able to spend so much time outside and be comfortable!!!

Fishing!

This afternoon we got to meet Mama and Papa at Pleasant Creek in Palo for an afternoon of fishing.  Besides the fact that it was crazy hot out on the lake with no breeze AT ALL, the boys still enjoyed fishing in Papa's boat.  Ben and Conner aren't the most patient four year olds when it comes to fishing, but I haven't met too many four year olds who have a huge supply of patience!  Conner was hot, but he loved being out on the lake!

Ben had a wonderful time, as well.  He wanted to catch a big fish, but was very excited when he would lift his pole up and see that there was a worm on there, declaring to us all, "I caught a worm!!!"  There was no talking him out of it!

Thanks for a fun afternoon Mama and Papa!

Tuckered Out...

After our very exciting day yesterday, the guys were still pretty tuckered out this morning.  They kept putting things together to make "beds" to rest on.  It didn't look so comfortable to me...

Fun at the River!

Nick's aunt and uncle have a place in Prairie du Chien by the Mississippi River and we were able to go up there today to have fun on the beach.  The boys were amazing!!!  They both loved the water and they spent the whole day wowing us with their courage and independence.  They even got their very first jet ski ride courtesy of cousin Brandon!  Conner loved the jet ski!

Ben's turn was a little shorter because as soon as Brandon took off, Ben wanted him to stop!

Aunt Jen entertained the troops in the tube and then the boys got to go for a couple of boat rides while the older kids tubed!

We had such a great time!!!  It was amazing to watch the boys have so much fun in the water and be able to just sit on the beach and enjoy the sunshine!  We definitely will have to do that more often!  Thanks Uncle Paul, Aunt Jen and Brandon, Molly, and Austin!  (Plus, it was the easiest bedtime we have ever had with the boys!  They were so exhuasted, we just transferred them from the van to their beds!)

Trains and Bridges

I wanted to illustrate the huge difference between our twins....  Conner spends a long time lining up all the blocks exactly how he wants them and is very proud when he tells me to look at the train he just built.  So proud, in fact, that he has to grab his guitar and sing about it! 

Ben is just interested in a couple blocks at a time so he can make a bridge for his car to go over or under.  A very quick activity filled with action since the bridge either collapses or the car flies off of it, making Ben scream "Mom, my car is flying, look, look, look, look.....  Ben needs a bit more action!

Puzzled...

Conner and Ben got a new puzzle for their birthday, so they enjoyed putting that together this afternoon.  When we got it all done, Ben wanted to do it again, but got all puzzled out pretty quickly after that!  Conner was still interested and really liked doing the puzzle "by myself!" 

Thank You Nana and Gramps!

The boys spent last week with their Nana and Gramps in Bettendorf.  I joined them on Friday (thanks to my sister and brother-in-law who gave me a ride since our car was in the shop needing a whole new engine...grr..) and Nick joined us all on Saturday.  The boys had so much fun and we all had an incredible weekend!  Here are the boys all ready to go to Nana's last Sunday!

Nick and I really tried to take advantage of all of the free time last week!  We were able to go to restaurants that we usually avoid because of loud little ones.  We got to look at lots of houses with our realtor.  We went out to a movie and we even got to go party at our favorite bar.  It was a great time!!!  While we missed our guys a lot, we were so thankful for the (much needed) adult time!!!!

The kids had a lot of fun playing outside with the squirt guns!  On Saturday morning, my brother and brother-in-law ran in the Bix so some of us went down to watch, while the rest of us headed to the Children's Museum!  The boys love that place!  They constantly ask to go to the museum when we are in Bettendorf.  Gramps got a new plane for his birthday so the boys loved playing with that as well!

My mom, dad, brother, sister, and my sons all have July birthdays so some of the weekend was spent celebrating all the birthdays! 

We are so thankful for our Nana and Gramps who always take such good care of Ben and Conner.  I really enjoyed the break, and I was so excited to see them again!  They got to do so many fun things and all they want to do since we've gotten home is go back to Nana's house! 

Thank you, Mom and Dad... I know it's a lot of work to have B and C there all week, but they enjoyed themselves sooooo much!  You make them very happy!  Nick and I really appreciate the fact that you both are always there for us!  Thank you for the week off and the very fun weekend!  We love you so much!