Happy 13 Months!

At 13 months.......

Alex and Jordan are so full of personality.

They love to make funny expressions.

They love to play with balls, cars and bang blocks together. The more noise, the better!

{alex}

They love to climb. Being on the couch is a quick cure for grumpiness although they are usually more mad when they are forced to come back down.

{Jordan}

They love to look at books. They equally love to eat, and rip books so we do need to be careful.

Alex and Jordan love to eat! They completely feed themselves although a spoon is still an accessory at this point.

{Alex/Jordan wearing their opposite colors!}

Both boys love screaming. When they are happy, they scream. When they are mad, they scream louder! They feed off each other and it is extremely difficult when they both want to be held. I will have one in my lap and the other will come and start pushing and hitting to be the one on my lap. Having both sit with me just doesn't seem to cut it. This is a big challenge for me and I sure hope it gets easier. I have always disliked the "witching" hour but with two this time can be even more challenging. Snacks, a quick play on the deck and early dinners seem to be our strategy at this point.

{Alex giving a happy scream}

Here's Alex again demonstrating the "fake" angry cry.

The boys love outside time. They enjoy going for walks in the stroller and pointing out all the sights, although their most favorite thing to do is run free in the yard.

I still put the boys down for two naps a day but lately there are becoming more days when they only nap once. I am still thinking through what to do in this regard.

A few more things.......

Jordan can walk backwards.

Alex likes to sign "more" whereas Jordan will say, "mo".

Jordan calls "mama" whereas Alex likes to "fake" cry me over.

The boys thoroughly enjoy people. They are friendly and social individuals.

All in all the boys are happy, healthy and full of vigor!!

Happy 13 months Boys.

After the first time, I said I would never forget.

But I did.

I am going to write myself a reminder so I don't forget.

Note to self: Never, ever, put the boys in the living room without a diaper and leave the room.

The End

Visit with Uncle Matt and Bupee Garling

We've had a great visit this week with Bupee and Uncle Matt. Stories, walks, exploring and even an "un-birthday" for Aiden. Although the picture is slightly blurry, you can note the excitement in Aiden's face as he discovers money in his cake!!

Earlier in the week, Sean flew down to Powell River to pick up our motorhome which we had left behind when we moved. Things were going fairly smooth, apart from getting rear ended (the motorhome was ok, the other car was not), until Sean reached Cache Creek. He ended up leaving the motorhome there and a neighbor, who was visiting us, drove down to pick Sean up. The motorhome ended up being a quick fix and so today we drove down to Cache Creek to pick it up and enjoy a day at Hat Creek Ranch. The weather was gorgeous and the temperatures reached 30. It actually felt like a beautiful summer day. There was a stagecoach ride, gold panning and lot's of animals to explore. It was a great day and made me long for more hot summer days.

Tired kids, although they'd never admit it.

The other morning I went upstairs to tuck the boys in and came down to find the older three like this. They were sitting in car seats, which I had brought in to re-size, and they were staring out the window listening to music. They were so zoned! I was laughing so hard and I realized that perhaps their late nights are catching up to them.

I was a dancer for nearly 16 years. You would think that because of this, I would be an incredibly elegant and graceful individual. The fact is, I struggle to walk most days. A couple of weeks ago I fell going up the stairs for the 3rd time in several days. This particular time, I fell on top of my camera and broke the lens. The point of this long explanation being that until that lens is fixed, I have been using my close up lens. I need to stand far away from my subject and so it was difficult to get a picture to show you my most recent endeavor.......I painted the kids rooms yesterday!!

Sean is out of town until tomorrow and so I decided to surprise him and paint the kids rooms. We promised the kids when we moved that they could pick their own colors. After dropping Sean off at the airport in Williams Lake, I went to the paint store and picked up everything we needed. I spent roughly 7 hours yesterday and last night getting the rooms finished. I love the results and it has really warmed the rooms up.

I plan to continue on to the rest of the house but not until my body heals up and I talk Sean into helping!

A summer walk amidst the wild flowers.

I'm doing my part to conserve water this summer, or something like that.

For lack of a better term, here are the boys playing fetch.

My little monkey.

Caileigh made it around Sepa Lake on her bike! I think we've found a great summer activity.

He's a climbing boy! {Jordan}

Can't you just hear the giggles?

The "one year in a yellow jacket and boots" picture....completed.

Dear Friends and Family,

Due to the incredibly quick engagement, we weren't able to have guests attend Aiden and Caileigh's wedding this morning. It was truly a beautiful event. Even though the bride and groom realize that they should not technically be married, they enjoyed their time of celebration. The ceremony was quick and lovely. The dancing was incredible, as was the cookie luncheon that followed. I hope everyone understands and perhaps you can attend the next big celebration.

Oh yes, now I remember where I left the container of Cheerios.