Our Up North Adventure

We took the boys up north at the end of July. The last time Matt and I were there, I was about 19 weeks pregnant so it has been a long time. The boys did great in the car in my opinion. They slept for the first hour or so and then were pretty content to just watch out the windows. We put in the first DVD a half hour south of Mt. Pleasant, which is where we stopped for lunch. They were happy to eat a burger and french fries and even got some pop. After lunch they watched the rest of Sesame Street and then all of Finding Nemo. We timed it just right because as we turned towards the beach the movie was done and it was less than 5 minutes til we were out of the car. They were excited to explore the house since it was somewhere new and we unloaded the car. After they ran around for awhile Matt laid down to nap (he had worked all night before we left) and we went to the grocery store. I remembered why I like shopping in Elk Rapids, the guy who bagged our groceries took them out to the car and loaded them for me and refused the tip! This was so helpful since I was dealing with the boys. After getting back and eating dinner, the boys took a bath and were super excited when Grandpa and Sheryl go there. Jack started calling Grandpa "Papa" and it has stuck. They had a rough time going to sleep, but ended up sleeping in the next morning.
  On Friday we went into town and visited the Farmer's Market in the morning. The boys were excited to get samples and had fun walking around with Grandpa and Sheryl. After lunch we loaded up and went to the Traverse City Children's Museum. They had a grand time playing with the huge water table, going down the slide, coloring with Papa and Sheryl and playing in the little boat.

We tried to get some cute pictures of them sitting on the fireplace, but we weren't super successful.

We spent some time at the beach and the boys were happy to throw rocks in the water. They played a little bit with the toys we brought, but mostly they just wanted to throw rocks in the water. James pretty much refused to let me take his picture at the beach, so the only one I have of him is the first one below.

All in all it ended up being a really nice weekend and I can't wait to take them back up again.

New Pics of the Boys

So it's been awhile since I posted anything and I apologize. Here are some updated pics from this summer and I promise I'll have more in the next couple weeks.

Sitting with Great Grandma on Mother's Day.....for some reason Jack thought it was SO funny to stick his hand up his shirt.

James with his new tricycle at their birthday party. Grandpa was trying to help him ride it. 

Jack with his tricycle....with Grandpa helping he was able to get the hang of how to pedal...just a little more practice and they will be pros.

Jack looking quite surprised that someone is taking his picture. 

James posing as usual....acting like a little man.

Easter Pics

Work has been busy and that has kept me from getting the Easter pictures up here.
So here you go....more stories to follow :)

Apparently yelling at our brother as we are trying to get out the door at 6:30 in the morning is the way to be....

until Mommy tells you to make up and you get a big hug.

Once we got home from church and breakfast the boys found their Easter "baskets" which were their backpacks filled with pajamas and treats.

James was pretty sleepy by this time and they took a nice long nap before we went to Aunt Carla's to spend the day with the family.

Once we got there the boys were VERY excited to be hunting for the plastic eggs. Most had a small candy or marshmallow inside. Jack tried to carry as many as he could, James just wanted to open them.

All in all it was a nice and fairly relaxing day. I should have more pictures up soon....something about adventures playing outside :)

They Keep on Growing

The boys are getting so heavy to carry that it's become hard for me to carry them both at the same time. My arms are getting a great workout, but they are so stinkin' heavy!!
Anyways here are some new cute pics of the 2 of them. The first are their little farmer pics:)
These next few are of the 2 of them playing. They love their dump truck and are always trying to climb into it. In the last shot you'll notice James thinks he looks so adorable wrapped up in Matt's old baby blanket. He gets it wrapped around him and then wants you to hold him and he tells you that he is a baby :)

Keeping it Green

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

I got the boy some cute green gear for today so here are some pics....enjoy :)

Catching Up

So it's been quite awhile since I have put up a new post. Life has been busy since I switched to a new office. The boys are busy as always and are becoming quite independent. James tries very hard to put on his coat by himself and Jack wants to walk up the stairs like a big boy. The obsession with teeth brushing continues, but I guess if they want to do something all the time, this isn't a bad one. They are quite the little men now and don't really even look like babies anymore, they are true little boys. Jack went through a stage where he hated the bath, but as you can see from the pictures, he's gotten over it quickly. James' hair is out of control, thick and long and it grows super fast. He looks adorable with a mohawk :)


As for the video, it's short, but cute...

They are both usually good eaters, but James tends to eat more variety but less volume. Jack is our picky eater right now and puts away large quantities if it is something he likes. I can't imagine what the grocery bill will be like when they get older.


We got new rain boots this last weekend at Mommy's favorite store :) They are little fireman boots and they are still fairly big (at least 2 sizes) so the plan is to play with them this summer in the rain and then wear them this fall for Halloween with a rain coat and fireman's hat. I think they will like it. For now they just enjoy wearing them around the house while they play with bubbles.



And for those of you like my Aunt Julie, here is a longer video of them "playing" in the bathtub.....or fighting, however you like to look at it :)

The Long Awaited Christmas Pictures

I have been pretty busy at work. There are some big changes in store on that front and I am swamped with the preparations. So because of that I have been slacking off in the blog department. So here are some pictures of the holiday.

Jack was very excited about his basketball hoop and wouldn't let go of the ball.


James was very interested in opening presents


And they both loved sitting on their couches from Grandpa and Sheryl.


On Christmas Eve we were at Matt's sister's and they loved playing in the Cozy Coupes with Kaycie and Karlie.

and each other.....



They had a lot of fun playing with their cousins and opening gifts.


Christmas day after opening gifts at home first, we ventured to Grandma and Grandpa's house for breakfast and more presents. The boys did great since they had finally figured out that everywhere we went, people were giving them more stuff.



They were very excited about the table that they got.....and Jack promptly climbed right on top of it.


They had a lot of fun playing with Morgan and insisted on tag teaming her with their tickling.


All in all it was a nice holiday. No one was sick and they boys were much more interested in Christmas this year. I can't wait to see what next year brings.