Merry Christmas Santa!

On Saturday evening we had Matt's family Christmas party. Lots of good food and good company and a visit from Santa. I was a little worried about how the boys might react since they seem to be at the height of stranger anxiety right now. Some days they are so clingy with me they won't even go to Daddy.....this is beyond frustrating.

So anyway, James went first. He was a little nervous at first, but as soon as Santa handed him a candy cane he was happy as could be.


Jack on the other hand was scared of Santa and wouldn't sit for a picture unless he was in Matt's lap.


They played with their toys for a few minutes while Santa finished handing out the rest of the gifts to the other kids.


By this time Jack had calmed down and Santa was taking family pictures with the kids so we thought we would try to get one of Santa with both of the boys. Here are the results....




I think the second one if funnier since he is trying to escape.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

The Holidays and Playing with Grandpa

So I've been a little slow on updating....work has been crazy! The tree is up, most of the gifts are wrapped and we are ready for the holidays to really start. The boys are pretty good about leaving the tree alone, we tell them they can touch with one finger and that is exactly what Jack does, while he continually says one as he touches each and every ornament ONE time. James is talking more than ever, even though we can't understand a lot of what he says. His current obsession is babies so everything is Baby. This morning at daycare he went right for the baby doll which he flung into the shopping cart and went running off with.

My parents were at our house right after Thanksgiving and they brought my Grandma out from the nursing home to celebrate her birthday. My dad insisted on having a picture of the boys with Grandma on the couch and this was the result

Jack landing in her lap while he did his climbing.

Although he did end up giving her some nice wet kisses.




They loved riding around in Great Grandma's wheelchair while Grandpa drove them around the house.



They are super excited about the decorations and their new Nativity to play with.



And after they go to bed at night I can make the nativity look all cute again and if the tree hasn't been destroyed, it has been a good day!

So Grown Up

As I was loading the newest pictures of the boys onto my computer today, I noticed how grown up they are starting to look. When did this happen? It feels like it was just yesterday they were still tiny babies...


And now they are 2 little monkies climbing on everything in sight and creating as much craziness as possible.





Please notice that we have ditched the high chairs and now sit at the table in our booster seats.



And sometimes we don't even want to sit in those and insist on sitting on the regular chairs and having our snack in little bowls and HUGE cups.



I'll have some updated pictures that include the Christmas decorations and some time spent with Grandpa and Great Grandma in the next few days.

Just Playing Around

The boys provide us with hours of entertainment from the things they enjoy. One of the newest things they seem to love is running around topless. It's 40 degrees outside, but they insist on having their shirts off. Why this is, I don't know. It ranks right up there with why has James turned into Al Bundy and wants his hand in his pants all the time and why Jack always tries to take all his clothes off.



Jack has also discovered that the camera is always around and has started hamming it up. If you tell him to say cheese, he makes the goofiest face for the camera.


Apparently reading Mommy and Daddy's magazines is much more entertaining than their own books.



James loves to rock on the police cruiser rocker. Totally worth the $10 I spent at the mom to mom sale to get it for them.


And the climbing is out of control. The couch isn't so bad, but they can make it on top of the kitchen table and at daycare the other day, Jack was almost on top of the bar before she realized what he was doing. Notice in the video that James hangs onto the rice cake the ENTIRE time without dropping a crumb. We wouldn't want something that tastes like styrofoam to go to waste.

Playing at the Farm

So last Saturday it was very nice out and the boys were driving me crazy in our house. I loaded tham and their wagon into the car and we headed to my parents. They have only ridden in the wagon a couple of times so the novelty hasn't worn off yet and they allowed me to take a few pictures of them sitting in it together. Not great shots for the Christmas card, but still pretty darn cute.



After riding for awhile they decided to get out and walk. Then Jack decided that Grandma must need some help pulling the wagon so he started pushing.


Then they decided that it was more fun to run around in the corn stalks and the wheat. Sorry Grandpa.


After the walk they were just tired enough to let me cut their hair sitting on the steps at Grandma's house. But when I was done, they were ready to go.

The Saga of the Bug

So if you happen to live in Michigan in the fall, you may have noticed that we now have these highly annoying bugs that pop up everywhere. They look like ladybugs and smell awful and no matter how many times I suck them up in the vacuum they crawl back out and invade my house. We don't have as many as some people I know, but even the few we have drive me crazy. But now I have a secret weapon....the boys. Jack especially is obsessed with the stupid bugs. The other night one was crawling around under the window and he had to pick it up and bring it over to show Daddy.

Once the bug was safely in Daddy's hand they could "examine" it a bit closer.


James wasn't quite as happy with the bug as his brother and liked to look and try to push the bug with his finger. He wouldn't pick it up at all.


Maybe the next time they find a bug it won't be quite the ordeal.

Happy Halloween!!

So here are the much anticipated Halloween pictures. The boys were dressed up as cowboys/texas rangers with their little badges. Costumes were easy, jeans, plaid shirt, cowboy boots, a hat and a badge. I figured this would be much easier than trying to keep them in any sort of "real" costume. The boots have been the biggest hit, James even wanted to wear them on Saturday afternoon while we were in the process of getting ready. I'm sure these pictures of him in a onesie and boots will be great to show his own kids someday.


They did finally start to get into Halloween once we were almost done. By the time we got to Shirley's near the end of the night, they realized that everywhere we went, people gave them stuff to eat and they really liked that.



By the time we got to the farm they had already gotten Nutter Butters, Rice Krispie Treats, Fruit Loops and Animal crackers, cherrios, and lots of assorted candy. They got some yogurt bites and more animal crackers from Grandma and Grandpa, but were mostly interested in playing with the toys at their house, especially their pedal tractors.


And Aunt Julie, this last pic is just for you.....James showing off his signature gap for you :)

We Think We're SOOOO Cute

The boys are finally figuring out that the camera takes their picture. Jack especially will smile at you if tell him to "say cheese" or if he sees the camera. James is more photogenic in my opinion, but Jack loves the camera. So instead of actually writing something, I am including a bunch of cute pics from the last couple weeks.

The orange sweatshirts are from one morning last week before we left for daycare, so they were all taken at about 6:45am and the boys were SUPER happy for some reason.


The pajama pics are from last Saturday morning while they were playing so nice with each other. In the last one they are trying to give each other kisses.



These last ones are from after church on Sunday. They were playing around the house while they had a snack of goldfish and teddy grahams.


And I promise you Halloween pics after the weekend :)