Lights, Camera, Action

I thought I would share the process I go through to try to get a good picture of the boys togther, so here it goes . . .

STEP 1: Find a location QUICK and coax one boy to sit down. The other boy is interested , but not ready to comply, so we make it seem like we are having a lot of fun sitting in that spot.

STEP 2: Works every time, Bryce wants to sit by Blake in the "fun spot" , so I step back and try to snap a picture. Now the challenge is getting Blake to smile like he is happy and not like he is in pain. Oh my goodness, do you see that look on Blake's face? This is the look he has in most of the pictures I have of him. Bryce is easy, every time he sees the camera he smiles big.

STEP 3: Just keep shooting until we get a keeper.

Now we are lookin good, I just wish I would have thrown a blanket over that baby gate, it would frame much better :)

Yup, this is how it ends, Blake wants to love and hug his brother while Bryce is desparately trying to escape.

Dr. Dr. Give Me The News

My mind has been put at ease. I spoke to my Dr. today about the results of all my testing on the mass by my parathyroid and it still isn't clear what it is exactly, but she is not worried about it right now. I will be having another ultrasound in 3 months to monitor the size of the mass, but it looks okay so far. Thank you, Thank you!!!!! What a blessing.
Tomorrow is our Easter party at Mom's Club, we are very excited :) We have an Easter Egg hunt, goodies and prizes, crafts and games. Blake is really looking forward to it, I will be sure to take my camera. The Mom's Club is through our church and we get together 2 Fridays out of the month at our Family Center Gym and have field trips, too. The kids get to play in the gym, do a craft, have a snack, and blow off a lot of steam while socializing with other kids. Meanwhile, the Mom's get to chat and play with our kids without any worries. It is a great support system and I have met many friends there. AFter the fire, all the moms came to our rescue with clothes, shoes, coats, toys, books, etc. I am so thankful to be a part of such a wonderful ministry.
Well we have a busy weekend planned and Tim is gone all week next week, so we are praying for healthy, happy kids and parents :)

Brothers on Bikes

We had a beautiful day Saturday. Blake and I had a play date with his friend Taylor in the morning, then we spent the rest of outside and the boys couldn't be happier. They love being outside, and although Blake misses being able to shovel the snow, he is adjusting warmer weather activities such as bike riding. He currently has a tricycle, but he is getting too big for it, so as a reward for being completely potty trained we are going to get him a BIG BOY bike with training wheels. However, he doesn't like change, so he isn't as excited as we had hoped about getting this new bike. He will probably change his mind once it is put together and in his driveway ready to ride!
Oh, and we have good news . . . our old house is COMPLETE!!! We are set to close April 10th, finally an END in sight!!

2 Little Monkeys Climbing on the Stairs

Two Little Monkeys climbing on the stairs, one jumped off and Mommy pulls her hair . . . out!!!!

Blake has always been a climber, so naturally Bryce wants to be just like his big brother. YIKES, they give me heart attacks daily. They seriously have no fear. I used to have a love seat up against this wall but every time I turned around Blake was climbing the outside of the stairs and jumping onto it from about 10 steps up. Obviously I had to rectify the situation and the living room has been moved around to prevent injuries.

This is Bryce's favorite pass time. Now I just have to keep my fingers crossed that he doesn't figure out how to climb out of his crib. Blake climbed out at 17 months and Bryce is now 15 months. Stay tuned :)

Here comes trouble again! He was just told NOT to do this and here he comes, back for more!!!!

Blake in the Box

These are the only 2 poses we liked from Blake's 3rd Birthday pictures. He was terrible in the portrait studio and we were lucky to get any pictures.

So, Blake has received GREAT gifts from his family and friends, but if you ask him, opening them is more than half the fun. He has been utilizing his active imagination by entertaining himself, Bryce, and Mom and Dad with the boxes his toys came in. Above he is in the box to the tool bench from Uncle Allen and below he is in the box to The Little People Garage from The Woolmans.

He LOVES the Mr. Potato Head from Rachael, Allen's girlfriend. She hand picked a custom Mr. Potato Head from NYC World of Disney (She lives right outside of New York City) and chose the best Mr. Potato parts on the market. We have 2 different Mickey ears, a brief case, statue of liberty crown and torch, and all kinds of other fun parts.

Then, here is Bryce who is in LOVE with himself and the camera :) He will strike a pose as soon as he sees the camera. I like to call this the senior picture pose . . . come on all you guys know you have a pose like this in your own collection!!!

Heat Wave

Since we have had the boys, Tim and I hardly ever get out and have fun without the kids; however, last weekend we went to a Heat Wave party thrown by our neighbors at our old house. Tropical attire was required, which explains the grass skirt and wild shirts in the picture above, they served an AMAZING gourmet meal, and it was so much fun. The boys, meanwhile, had a fun night at home with "Mimi".

Blake is still doing GREAT with potty training, he hasn't had an accident since Thursday!! We are so very proud of him. Tim said, "I couldn't be more proud that my son pooped on the toilet".
Bryce on the other hand is being a little stinker. He is hitting and yelling "NO" all the time, then when he gets in trouble for it he sticks out his little pouty lip and fake cries. Oh, how fun!!

The Diaper Monster

Wednesday morning I had to break the news to Blake: the diaper monster came and took all of his diapers because he is 3 years old now and he needs to wear big boy underpants and go on the potty. He took the news fairly well, he just wondered if the diaper monster was scary, and of course I told him he was very scary and I didn't want him to come back so we better start using the potty! He agreed that he would wear his Superman underpants and although he had several accidents he is doing great. He has gone on the potty and without diapers since Wednesday, he doesn't even want to wear a pull up to bed, he told Tim, "but Daddy I don't need it". We have even braved it without a pull up to the grocery store and he came home dry!!! We are so excited and so proud of him. It is comical, the first time he pooped on the potty he jumped off, looked in the toilet, and exclaimed, "I LIKE THIS". He isn't shy about showing everybody his underpants either :)
Ah, our little boy is growing up, now everybody keep your fingers crossed he doesn't lose interest.
Don't worry, we haven't left Bryce out of the fun, he is invited to all of the potty parties we have, and he is happy to observe. Hopefully this means he will potty train quicker and easier than his stubborn big brother.

Happy Blue Birthday Blake!!

Blake turned 3 years old on Sunday and we had a wonderful party for him. We had a BLUE party by his request. He wanted everyone to wear blue clothes, we had blue cake, blue moon ice cream, blue jello, all of the plates, napkins, silverware, balloons, etc. were also BLUE. It was so fun to see everyone in blue . . . just what he wanted for his Birthday, he was so pleased :)

It took a little while, but he blew out all 3 candles on his blue cake!

He LOVES cake!

He received GREAT presents, THANK YOU.

All the kids at the party.

L-R: Lauren, Angela, Blake, Carter, Taylor, Bryce, Debra

Blake had a perfect day with his family and friends. He was so tuckered out from all the fun he was in bed by 7:30. Mom and Dad followed at 8:30, shhh don't tell anyone ;)