N... countdown to 4!

We are very quickly approaching the Birthday Month in our household and I was thinking that this would be a great time to do an update on the boys, their interests, and personalities:



N is at the most wonderful age! He is very caring and loving. He comes up to me and says "Mommy, give me a hug!" with outstretched arms or "Mommy, give me a kiss!" with big puckered lips. He is very considerate and thoughtful. He is quick to apologize when he does something wrong, but sometimes says "it twas an axcident" when it wasn't! He is very complimentary and tells us all the time that we are pretty and handsome. He will even compliment my clothes or hair and even someimes notices when I have something new. He is a very good big brother... sure, they fight some and argue, but they really play together well for the most part. He is not perfect of course and sometimes has a mischevious side where he tries to push the limits. We are working on truthfullness right now and not telling fibs. He is starting to tattle right now also.
N loves puzzles and games. He loves to help me cook. He loves to play outside and wrestle with his Daddy. He loves to sing and read books (finally!). He is starting to enjoy television and movies and I really have to monitor what he wants to see. He loves Superman and Spiderman and Toy story characters. He likes baseball a lot, but not enough to play t-ball yet. He likes to go on walks and play games outside. He enjoys school and his friends and is talking constantly about his birthday! He is obsessed!
N is very sensitive. We really have to be careful how we discipline him. We have to be forceful, but absolutely filled with love. He apologizes all the time and I am really having to work with him to realize what forgiveness is. He loves Jesus and talks about the Bible story he learns all the time which is awesome. He says his own prayers and has a precious concept of his God!

M's 1st Tantrum

I think M has officially hit the "Terrible Two's"... I hate to say it that way because I truly adore him and do not want to ever think of my precious little chunk as "terrible", but the tantrum I experienced today proved the old saying true!

We went to a playdate at one of N's classmates today and had a great time. They had sprinklers, snacks, swingset, a trampoline, etc... Everything was wonderful until one of the little boys brought out a Woody toy (from Toy Story.) Both of my boys lit up like Christmas and instantly wanted the toy. M got his hands on it and N really was a good sport about sharing. He whined a little, but I eventually convinced him to let his little brother play with it so that he could enjoy playing with all of his friends. The morning was fun and going well... until it was time to leave! I had to take the toy away from M and I have never seen such a tantrum! Kicking, screaming, back arching, slapping... the whole nine yards! I truly do not recall N ever having a tantrum like this. (Although maybe I have already blocked all such episodes from my mind!)

Anyway, once we were in the car and on the way all was calm once again, but all I can say is "Wow!" People are always teasing me that I am so little and M is so big and I laugh it off, but truly this morning, it took all my strength to hold him in my arms and not drop him or hurt him with all his kicking and arching!

It reminded me of a picture that I took a few days ago when M was upset. Although it does not at all reflect the faces I saw this morning, I thought it was priceless:

Now, he is back to his sweet self... I am sure it was a one time thing! :-) Ha Ha!

Our Weekend

We had a fantastic weekend spent with Gracie, Bob-O, Uncle Clay, Aunt Beth, and all of our cousins. Daddy had a business trip this weekend so he was unable to go, but we still had a blast! N had a lot of fun with his "big boy cousin D." It was D's 13th birthday, so N was in big boy heaven all weekend! He boo-hoo'd when we left... bless his heart! We had a fun weekend spent wtih a lot of outside time, a lot of family relaxing, a softball game which the boys loved and my first sun-burn of the summer! I was so busy applying SPF to little fair skinned M that I forgot my shoulders... oh well, I needed some tan!

We got home yesterday around lunchtime and we were all exhausted! The whole family took afternoon naps and went to bed early.

The boys had a great time watching H and A play softball!

M had so much fun watching the game that he wanted to wear his cousin's hat!

N thought he was really hot stuff sitting on his cousin's new birthday present!

All our cousins had fun with the new birthday present!

N and D waiting for Birthday cake!

Wings

N and I were playing outside today and all of a sudden he stopped and looked at me.

He said, "Mommy, my Pop is in Heyuven wif Jesus and his Fadder (God). I weesh I could see him."

I smiled at him and got down on his level and said, "You're right, N, but don't worry, one day you will get to see him again."

To this, N laughed and hugged me. He said quite confidently, "Silly Mommy, I can't go to heaven. I don't have any angel wings."

The precious little thoughts of an almost 4 year old!

Pop

We lost our beloved Pop this past week. Although this is a time of sadness for those of us left behind, we rejoice that we know he is in heaven with a new healthy body and that we will see him again! His funeral was a true celebration of his life and a testimony of his love for his Lord! I went back and found a few pictures of him with the boys and decided to share... it was so fun to look back and remember such happy times!

N was such a chunky monkey!

This was N's first trip to the Pumpkin Patch!

These were at N's first birthday party!

This was at our annual Pumpkin Patch trip. This was right before we moved to Texas... who knows what N is talking to Pop about! I remember this trip so well because it was M's first time and he slept almost the whole time!

This was last fall... We always had such a nice visit with Monniemoo and Pop!

Little boys and bugs

My little N has discovered bugs! He has figured out that if he turns over all of the bricks and stones that are bordering our flower beds that there is a whole world under there that is perfect for exploring and getting dirty! I am not a fan of bugs at all, but am trying to be a good "boy" mom. We have discovered rolly polly's which aren't so bad and red fire ants that are very bad! N is especially fascinated with "Wums" (worms) because they eat dirt and for some reason also get stuck and dry on the concrete which N does not quite comprehend yet... I guess this is just the beginning... pretty soon it will be frogs and fish and all sorts of other creatures! It just reminds me of the rhyme:

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails... That's what Little boys are made of!

N holding Roaddy Poaddy's in his hands (Rolly Polly's for interpretation!)

M watching his big brother in amazement!

To Infinity and Beyond!

N has discovered Buzz Lightyear. I have to admit, it has been a nice change of pace. We even have succeeded in getting them to wear other pajamas since the Spidey/Super obsession seems to be lessening a little. We got him the movie Toy Story a few weeks ago and he loves the characters now. His favorite thing to do lately is to jump off the furniture with his arms out and yell "To Imfimity ayund beyon!" M of course wants to join in the fun... although he doesn't understand the concept, jumping off anything to M is a great idea! He's a little daredevil! N and M even convinced Daddy to join in one night and Daddy flew them around the room after they jumped. I love watching them all play together! I think it is one of the greatest joys of being a mother to watch your children mimick and want to play with their Daddy!

Sandbox

Daddy made the dreams of 2 little boys complete this past weekend when he filled their sandbox with fresh sand. . . They can't seem to stay out of it! It is amazing the difference between boys and girls. My boys go straight into the dirt, pour it all over themselves and each other and sit in it forever! They have so much fun and then want to come inside and get it all over the house right after I have swept and/or mopped... Oh well! They love it so much that I love to watch them in it and will just deal with the added housework. I have nothing else to do anyway, right?

The funny thing is that N will come inside complaining that his hands are dirty. I guess the sand all in his hair, covering his body, and in his pants doesn't bother him... but, we can't have dirty hands now can we?

Happy Easter!

We have had a fun filled Easter weekend! Friday, Daddy was off and we had a lot of family time outside working in the yard and spending time together enjoying the gorgeous weather. That night, we went to some friends house for dinner and some socializing. We went to an Easter Egg Hunt at a local church yesterday and although we missed the actual hunt, we got to see a lot of animals at the petting zoo and the boys got to play on a jump house/slide. This morning, we went to early church and Sunday School and then came home to find out that the Easter Bunny had visited our house while we were gone! The boys were so thrilled and had a lot of fun surveying their goodies!

After lunch, Daddy went and hid eggs and the boys had an Easter Egg hunt. It was a lot of fun and both of the boys actually understood what to do this year. They were really sweet with each other and did not fight for the eggs. Of course, afterwards when I tried to get pictures of them with their treasures, all I could get were "mouth full" pictures. Oh well... Happy Easter!

Picture shy

N is going through a picture shy phase. Lately, I have to catch him off guard to get a cute shot. Sometimes, he'll cooperate because he either wants something or he's having a good time and not thinking about it! Yesterday, M was asleep and we were having some one on one time and I got out my camera... This is what I got:

However, later we were dying Easter eggs and singing and dancing and I caught him!: