2nd Birthday Party

Running around in circles while dancing and screaming

We had the boys’ birthday party yesterday and it was a beautiful day. We had a lot of fun and the boys were WILD. I think they were super excited to have so many of their favorite people all together.

My wild but happy Noah

Ez was super wild the whole party

Abby all tangled with the balloons

Ez reading a card, he really loves cards.

The boys received trikes from Nama and Papa (my parents) and it is one of those moments I wished we had the video camera rolling. They were beyond excited when they saw them.

Ez on Noah's trike

Noah on Ez's trike

Ez driving Noah around

Abby driving Noah around, yea I am noticing a theme here.

Ez blew out all the candles this year, Noah just stared and occasionally tried to touch them.

Mr. Potato Head Cakes

Ez blowing out his candles

Noah checking out the candles

Ez came over and blew them out for Noah

Silly String Time

Noah shooting Ez

Abby apparently thought we gave her spray deodorant

Abby and Jason

We were all exhausted by time nap-time! You can see more photos here.

Photo Friday – 11.12.2010

When you don't want to get your hammer just grab the kids'.

Showing off their synchronistic abilities.

and again...

Climbing the cubes.

Helping dad.

awww diaper booties.

My two crazy boys.

Legos!

Coloring.

Playing in the garlic powder mess Ezra made.

It was a lot of fun.

Rubbing some on his face.

They need to improve their mischief skills, they left evidence behind.

When mom is under the weather

I honestly never wanted my toddlers to watch much tv and had succeeded fairly well in this area. Most of the success was due to the fact that the boys could have cared less! I have tried in the past when I was a little tired or not feeling the best to get them to watch something, anything, but they wouldn’t.

How fast things change! They are suddenly addicted to the Wiggles (or Giggles as Noah calls them). Nana and Papa had purchased the video for our trip to Colorado and the boys watched it a few times there and never asked for it once we got home, so we put it away. Then one time they didn’t nap well and were cranky well before dinner time, so we put it in and it worked like a charm. They would ask for it every now and then after that, but not all the time. Well this past month I have caught three different bugs and have been sick more often than not and just plain tired. I have started to use the Wiggles to get little breaks throughout the day.

I feel slightly guilty because they have watched so much of it lately. Yes it is in short spurts 10-15 minutes, occasionally longer, and I truly love getting to rest a little bit, but I feel guilty.

I know this is just a temporary thing and soon I will be feeling better (I have to believe I am building up one heck of an immunity for the rest of the cold & flu season) and we will be back to reading lots of books, playing legos together, and spending most of our time outside. They beg for it several times a day now. 🙁 I don’t give in that often, but they do eventually wear me down. I think once I have my energy back will have to go through a Wiggles detox program.

The boys are ridiculously cute when the beg for it (see above pictures) and really participate in the video.

Rock-a-bye your bear from Stephanie Adams on Vimeo.

wiggles from Stephanie Adams on Vimeo.

Photo Friday – 11.05.2010

Yes he grabbed two lighters and shared with his brother, and yes we took a picture before taking them away. That's what the child safety part is for right?

Noah doing his hair.

Sitting and playing. Okay Ez is almost sitting, but it's hard when your brother is hogging the toy!

Get ready.

Ahhhhh!

That just doesn't look comfortable.

Arm, arm, arm? Okay he says arm instead of hand.

Puzzles!

Abby's just chillin'

Just hanging out.

Cousins having fun.

Someone has been needing his blanket more.

DSC_4261 Blankets in the swings.
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Happy to have is blanket.
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Don’t mess with his blanket.

Lastly a short video of Noah reading to mommy. He loves reading to me. 😀

Noah Reading from Stephanie Adams on Vimeo.

Halloween 2010

Cleaning the pumpkin together.

Ez loved it.

He takes after his mommy and likes playing with the guts. 🙂

Noah didn't have the same love. It's on my foot!

But he did like the blue bowl. 😀

Michelle and Jason working hard.

Carving away.

Ranger/zoo keeper found some wild animals.

Hooray! We got them to put the heads on for one picture. 🙂

Trick or Treat!

Photo Friday – 10.29.2010



Put lotion on himself.
Playing with Abby.
Let's just say I am now out of nutmeg.
Their favorite book right now. The Itsy Bitsy Spider.
Reading
Cutie
Attack of the Ezra!
Fascinating?
Happy, Happy
The two cutest jack-o-lanterns ever. 🙂

Do it

Translated into a full sentence that would be, “I want to do it myself.”  As the boys near 2 I am seeing more and more of their independence and they want to do more and more themselves.  They also really want to help.  I try to let them “help” as much as possible and work very hard at letting them complete tasks are their own.  Obviously this can be frustrating for everyone involved on occasion, but I just remind us all to take a deep breath and then offer some encouragement.  The boys take great pride in doing things themselves and I love watching them light up after they’ve completed a task.
One of their favorite things to do is get their own breakfast. I make their breakfast and then set it on the edge of the counter so they can easily grab it and carry it to the table.

Ez grabbing his bowl.
Being careful.
Noah grabbing his bowl.
Striking a pose.
Putting it on the table.
Yes it is right on the edge! Don't worry it didn't fall.
Clearing his dishes.
Clapping for himself. 🙂
Noah clearing his. Noah is a very slow eater and comes back for more bites during the morning that is why he is suddenly wearing clothes.
Clapping for himself. (I should note the slow eating is just breakfast)

I’ve been trying to introduce them to cups with out sippies and they kept accidentally knocking them over.  I read a trick this week to use a baby food jar as a cup.  It is glass so it doesn’t knock over easy like plastic and it is a jar you are reusing so if it gets broken your dish set is still complete.  The boys loved drinking their water out of it today.

Noah with his glass.

Ez drinking.

Pumpkins at the Botanical Gardens

The Desert Botanical Gardens had a little pumpkin patch this weekend.  Unfortunately to get to the pumpkin patch you had to do a hayride and the line was about an hour long.  With three antsy toddlers we decided to skip that part.  We had a nice time running around the garden and seeing some pumpkins on a truck.

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Ezra ran so much!
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What do you think is so much fun?
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Water of course!
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Peek-a-boo!
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I need to hold this?
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Almost got a shot of him looking at the camera and smiling.
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Happy girl.
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She reminds me so much of her daddy in this one.
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Why do I have to sit here?
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Three toddlers in one photo?  No one is ever looking.

Chuck E. Cheese

Yesterday Grandma took the grandkids (plus her kids) to Chuck E. Cheese. It was the boys’ first time and they had a ton of fun! We were very lucky and had the run of the place. We played several games and no one was injured by the skee balls Abby was chucking. Noah loved putting the tokens in the machines, pretty much a game for him. Ezra road a couple of the rides and only got scared once.

Cheese 😀

But why did grandma go back outside?

Come back Grandma!

Hooray we all fit!

The boys loved this game. Putting balls in a bucket is a lot of fun!

Wait who was supposed to be watching Abby?

Photo Friday – 10.22.2010

Corer and pizza cutter are good toys right?

Boxes are fun.

Success!

Hey Oh

So happy. 🙂

He loves this piano.

Hi mom.

Someone used his peanut butter toast to call Papa.

Noah wants it to be a riding lawn mower.

Ezra doesn't mind pushing.

Playing computer games together.

My cuddly Noah.

Sleeping Ez.

Here’s a little video of the boys spinning. They had been spinning for a while and were getting a little dizzy. This is what they do when they are tired.

Spinning boys from Stephanie Adams on Vimeo.

Stagecoach Days’ Fun

Our little city had Stagecoach Days’ this weekend. We took the boys and enjoyed a nice morning in the park.

We tried our first bounce houses, Noah was more into than Ezra, but they both just crawled around.

We also went over to the fire safety trailer and learned to be fire smart.

First you play with the fireplace. Funny thing they decided to not turn it on because it was just a few toddlers in the trailer and our boys were still drawn to it, good thing we con’t have one.

Then you run from the exit.

And then if your Ezra you break out your dance moves.

We also tried out a photo booth for the first time with the boys, shockingly two toddlers weren’t very cooperative. They just wanted to push the button!

We also petted some of the local 4h club animals and played in the Montessori pre-school booth for a while (which the boys loved). Sorry no pics as we were also too busy playing. Matt also was able to do a little networking, life in a small city does have its benefits.

Photo Friday – 10.08.2010

Sharing legos

Sliding

We have been loving the weather

Trying to watch the game

The boys had gotten up early from nap and were falling apart before dinner time, thankfully the Wiggles worked to entrance them

He was seriously entranced

Noah is obsessed with my clogs, he wears them all over the house, and actually walks quite well in them

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Hi Hi!
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Ez 🙂
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Look closely, what is that in his hand? Yes a domino, he is obsessed with them.
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Got my hair chopped off. 😀