Trip to WV and Splash pad fun

I'll start with a story of how my little Logie scared me to death this morning. Apparently he got up in the middle of the night with his pillow, came into our bedroom, and curled up in a ball on the floor and went to sleep. When I woke up I didn't take notice of the little 'ball' on the floor. It was dark in the bedroom and I just figured it was a pillow or something that had fallen off of the bed. Sean got up a good 30 minutes before me, made noise, turned on lights, none of which woke up our little ball on the floor so he remained unnoticed. I get up and go to his room to find a completeley empty bed. I checked the floor, the closet, everywhere... no Logan. I ask Sean if he'd gotten Logan up already and he said no. I go back downstairs, hoping I made a mistake, but nope, no Logan. I checked all the windows - still locked, home alarm - still armed. I checked the bathrooms, I checked my bedroom (not thinking to look on the floor), I check Brenden's room, no Logan. I am starting to freak out at this point so I do a scan all over the house and turned on the light in the bedroom and thats when I noticed the ball on the floor in the bedroom It included a bunny pillow pet... Logan's favorite bunny pillow pet that he can't sleep without. I realize then, the 'ball' on the floor is my little Logie sleeping soundly on the floor, half under the bed. OMG... RELIEF. He wakes up, looks at me and sleepily says "mommy, I'm still tired." So that was how I started my Monday. kids....

A few weeks ago our splash pad opened up which is always tons of fun. Its great to finally have two fully mobile independent kids. I got to be like the other mommys that could sit on a chair and relax watching her babies from the sideline. The boys kept each other company and entertained. Their relationship is so fun to watch grow and develop.

we also took a trip up to WV to visit some of our friends. We spent some time with our good friends the HILL family to support the Boone County relay for life. It was such a great time and the boys had a lot of fun. Then we headed on over to my friend Erin's house and let the boys share a day with her little girl Bailey. The kids played so well together.

Nothin' but words.

Once again I'm doing my no-photo blog post. We just wrapped up the month of May. Where on earth did it go? I just think of my boys all day long and wonderful things pop into my head and I think "if I don't write this down I won't remember it at all a year from now!"

Brenden - My sweet big boy! My sweet affectionate big boy who was recently caught kissing a girl under the slide on the daycare playground! Oh my, its too early for this. Of course the girl that was kissing is THE MOST affectionate girl in the class so I'm thinking she had more to do with the idea than he did- but he obviously didn't object. I asked him about it later and his reply was "yah, it just made me tired of kissing." Spoken like a true boy lol. What will I do with that kid? He's too handsome and sweet natured for his own good. Oh the hearts he'll break without even knowing it... Now that its summer Brenden adores playing in the pool all day long and playing in the sand box. And sometimes there is no way to tell which is the pool and which is the sandbox because water is in the sandbox and sand is in the pool. If I can only get him to realize that its okay to get your shorts wet and you don't have to swim naked (though it does make you go faster down the slide if you have no shorts on). Thank goodness we have a private wooded back yard. He's been doing better about eating and sleeping lately. He's also really big into being a helper. He wants to help mommy and daddy do everything. He gets up on a stool in the kitchen and tries to help us cook or whatever we are doing. He gets logan out of bed each morning. He's actually a pretty good big brother most of the time.... MOST of the time. He's really into playing the Wii lately. He likes to box (and daddy isn't allowed to punch back, he can only dodge punches). He's great at tennis and is quite hilarious to watch as he has no form at all but somehow manages to really well. And he plays the bowling game a lot. He likes to help daddy with "words with friends" or "hanging with friends" and has learned all his vowels and likes to just sing a song he made up entitled "AEIOU"


Logan - Say hello to my 2yr old wearing full time underwear!!! YAY!!! He's even dry at night! (B still can't do that). He gets up in the middle of the night and uses the bathroom all by himself. Hes fully potty trained. I can't believe the end of diapers has come! I was informed by Logans teacher today that he'd been hitting and taking toys at school. I have trouble with this one. He thinks he's just funny and its so hard to discipline him. On top of that the daycare (with good reason) has a 'verbal reprimand' only policy. They can't even enforce time outs even if I ask them to. So I've got to figure out a way to control his behavior at school without being allowed to control the discipline. I didn't have this with Brenden, but Logan is much more dominating in his personality. Its mostly in a good way. He's got SO much personality and flare. He usually is the life of the party, but sometimes he gets a little to confident and starts crossing that line into 'mean' behavior. He loves to copy his big brother. Whatever B does, Logan HAS to do. Logan is so funny. He's that kid that you don't WANT to laugh at what he's saying because its really wrong, but when you hear it come out of his tiny little mouth, you just can't help but laugh. Examples:

Daddy : Logan dont throw water
(logan throws water)
Daddy. LOGAN! I said DONT throw WATER!
Logan : Daddy. GO inside!

Brenden : Logan I don't want you to talk to me
Logan : Brenden, well TOUGH!

(logan on the potty)
Logan : I don't have any more pee pee. We need to go to the store and get some more.

He tells knock knock jokes and the punch line always is spaghetti. For example:
knock knock
whose there
cup
cup who?
cuppppppppp --- spaghetti!!! (insert hysterical fake laughter)

Motherhood - Each phase of motherhood is different. I feel like the days of having babies is gone and now I have boys. Its bittersweet. I embrace all of the new adventures we can have. We went to the splash pad and it was so nice not having to worry about swim diapers and bottles and feedings and little wobbly feet. I love having conversations at the dinner table and getting to eat with my kids instead of feeding them while my food gets cold. I like getting to find out their school day because they can articulate it to me. And right now, they still have enough "little" in them to need hugs and cuddles and mommy's special touch. I love that Brenden still wants me to rock with him and sing at night. i can look down at his big 4 yr old face and still clearly remember that tiny little premature baby that I held for the first time. He's still that little baby to me. The biggest issues we have now is the boys fighting with each other. There's a fine line when it comes to "who started it" but also to convey to them that just because one started something doesn't mean the other one gets to finish it or mimic the behavior. So we definitely have our struggles there. Mostly they bring out the best in me. I told my husband the other day, its just impossible to be in a bad mood with them around. I remember having a down day last week that ended in a hilarious game of livingroom freeze tag. There were so many giggles - mostly from me! They make all the bad stuff in life tolerable.

I have lots of pictures from our first summer trip to the splash pad. Our park has an awesome little splash pad. Its perfect for little kids. The trick is to get there as soon as the park opens so its not too crowded. They took a little time warming up to it but they ended up having a great time. Gotta love summer activities!

Spring Dance Recital

My boys have had a great opportunity to learn dance through their daycare. There is a dance studio that comes to the daycare and offers to teach dance classes there (you have to pay, of course). At the end of each 10 weeks they do a recital. The Christmas recital was at the daycare which didn't go over well with how packed the place was. So the spring recital was held at a local High School auditorium (which was STILL standing room only). They got to do a dress rehearsal the day before and practice out their moves on the big stage. What was really cool for the boys was the fact that the whole dance company performed there so they got to see older kids dancing. There were 2 boys that do a hip-hop break-dance routine before B's class went out and during the dress rehearsal B would try to do handstands and kicks in between the dance moves. Both boys have decided they want to be break dancers :)

Getting Trophys at the Dress Rehearsal -- my babies first trophys!!!

Logan's Dress Rehearsal

Brenden's Turn (sorry for the crappy iphone overexposed picture!)

Recital Day!!! Have you ever seen more handsome little guys??!! Love them to pieces!

Backstage with Logan's buddy Richie

The recital required the boys to be there at 2:30 wich prevented any napping from taking place. You can tell Brenden is tired!

Logan and his best friend Van

Logan's turn to perform the song "Me and my Teddy Bear" He did GREAT!

Brenden's class did "you've got a friend in me" from the Toy Story movie. Brenden is beyond excited to be on stage. There were HUNDREDS of people in the audience and the first thing he does is run out smiling from ear to ear saying "mommy, daddy, logan??? where are youuuuuuuuuuu??!!"

That got a HUGE "awwwwwwwww" from the crowd. I had to step to the front so he could see me lol. At least he didn't try to break dance this time.

Dance and wave to the fans!

The girl on the left couldn't take the pressure and is planning her escape.

AND... she's gone. Brenden spent the rest of the recital looking for her. He didn't see her leave so it totally confused him that one minute she was there and the next she was gone!

So cute!

And here are a few random shots of the boys playing ball at the research campus. I love Logan's hair blowing in the breeze.

I'll try to get some video of their dancing up next!!!

Photo Catch-up!

I need to catch up on some photos of the kids so enjoy the MANY pictures!!

This was just a little sketch I did on my ipad, its the view from my in-laws kitchen of the beautiful Montana mountains.

Daddy and Brenden pulling their luggage through the airport

Watching Bubble Guppies on the plane

Watching Nana play computer 

Easter Egg Hunt

Bedtime

Logan taking a walk with Daddy and Nana in Montana

Beautiful Day in Montana 

What the boys do when they thnk nobody is looking....

They love playing with water more than anything!

Silly Hair Day at daycare

Costume/Character Day at daycare

Enjoying a treat at Dairy Queen

My Mother's day loot!

The Mall Jumpy! They love this thing!

Checkin' out the big fish at Bass Pro shop

Trip to Montana and other fun stuff

I don't have any photos ready to add now but I'll be sure to get them out there soon.

Motherhood : The boys have been challenging me lately with their need to challenge each other. They love each other, but they compete with each other. Brenden is sensitive, Logan is oblivious to anybody but himself. I'm definitely spending a lot of time trying to teach them manners and volume control. Its like when they are in competition mode, their ears stop functioning and its all about who can beat the other at whatever they are competing for. Like if we are in a mall, if one wants to be the leader, the other keeps walking faster until they are both running far away from me, not listening to a word I say, only intent on beating each other to the front of the pack. Its definitely a challenge for me. I'm always having to come up with new ways to beat them at their own game. They keep me on my toes!

Brenden: He has had a cold lately which leaves him in a grumpy mood and very clingy a lot. He's not wanting to go to bed alone at night and uses the "I'm scared" phrase a lot. Its hard to tell when he's really scared or when he just is trying to milk some extra attention out of you. If he had his way he would have someone glued to his hip at all times. Thats just the way he is, he loves company and companionship. They are doing a dance recital next month. The other day I was playing Pandora and had a kids station on. The song from Toy Story "You've got a friend in me" started playing and I saw Brenden doing some choreographed dance moves. That must be the song they are dancing to in the recital. It was beyond precious watching him sing the song and dance along. Makes me excited to see him perform. He's in an older class than Logan so they will not be performing the same song or at the same time.

Logan: He's wearing UNDERWEAR!! He still has accidents but has made it the past 2 days in a row at school wearing underwear. As long as you make him try about every 1-2 hours and stay one step ahead of his bladder, then he can stay dry all day. Oh the glorious day... a home w/out diapers! Its like getting a pay raise! He's been a bit rotten lately. I say rotten but I never mean it in a mean way. He just doesn't listen and doesn't care what you think. He thinks he's funny no matter what he does. Last night Sean was bathing him and he dumped a bowl of water right on the crotch of Sean's pants and then just smiled like it was an accident.... that little stinker! He likes to throw things a lot too so we've had to put several of his toys in time out for unauthorized flying through the living room. I'm not sure how to get through to that boy. He's just so happy-go-lucky that telling him he's doing something wrong doesn't register at all. He just says "no its not!" and keeps on going with what he's doing. I dread his teenage years :)

The whole family took a trip to Montana to visit Sean's parents. It was a really lovely trip. His parents have a nice property with a great view of the "beautiful mountains" (as Logie calls them). The boys loved getting to play outside in their big yard and taking walks to go "exploring." I'll try to get some pictures of our trip out there tomorrow!

Words, no pictures

I use a lot of my blog space as an online photo album for my boys. Its great for this but I also want to make sure I capture my words, my thoughts, their growth. I know years from now I will look back on all of this and be thankful I did more writing. I want to make this a regular thing, to focus on my words and leave out the photos. I want to do 3 topics - Motherhood (my thoughts), Brenden's update, Logan's update.

Motherhood:
Motherhood continues to be awesome. There are moments where the noise gets under my skin or the tantrums drive me insane but for the most part I'm crazy about being a mom. My mornings are full of hugs and giggles. My evenings include being a human horsie ride, teacher, artist, a giant, a monster, a little friend, and so much more. I can't ever sit or lay on the floor without having little boys pile on top of me. This is why I don't do situps anymore (certainly not because I'm too lazy!!). They want me to be their playmate and I love that about them. I worry, as boys, that they will one day decide Mommy isn't cool enough to do boy things with them. We have wonderful discussions during dinner about our day, about our dinner, about what they get for dessert if they eat all their dinner. I love that the boys talk to each other now. Its so cute to see their little conversations come to life. Our night usually consists of baths, teeth brushing, story time, and if everyone cooperates and was a good boy, then we all pile in the bed as a family for 30 minutes of Nick Jr and snuggle time. I smile just thinking about it. My dreams of being a mother always included a little girl, but now that my house is full of boys, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Brenden's Update:
Brenden is my big boy that wants to stay a baby, Logan is my baby that wants to be a big boy. I'm not saying B is immature really, he just loves to be babied. He loves hugs and cuddles. He likes to be pampered and have you do things for him. He likes the attention and I like that he still needs me. I have to force myself to back of and encourage his independence. I always call B my baby even though he's my oldest child. If I ask Logan for a hug and he says no I can always count on Brenden to run into the room and say *I* will give you a hug mama. He's moved into a big boy bed and is doing really well. He's been sleeping better at night. No matter what time he goes to bed he always seems to want to get up at 5:00 - 6:00 a.m. Lately we've had to wake him up in the morning for school. Fingers crossed that this is a winning streak. His saying of the week is "what in TARNATION?" I have NO idea where he learned that but its so hilarious to hear it pop out of his little 4 year old voice. Logan has been getting a lot of attention for potty training lately and Brenden has been an awesome big brother, cheering his little brother on. The other day he came running into the bathroom when I was getting ready for work announcing that Logan had just went potty and was beaming from ear to ear. I hope they remain best buddies! Its so precious seeing them bond.

Logan's update:
We are on the potty training roller coaster. Sometimes he's way up and sometimes he's way down. He does really well at home but at school he's not going so much. You'd think it would be the other way around with the special bathrooms and the teachers taking the kids potty 'round the clock. This weekend Logan pooped in the potty. As soon as he finished he stood up and looked in the potty and said "look! I pooped in the potty! That poop came from my butt!! Poops live in butts." I just about died. I can't make up that kind of material. He said that last part so matter of fact, like he was sharing valueable information with me. Logan is a really good eater. He'll eat just about anything, even if he doesn't like it, he'll at least try it first. He's very strong willed. He will tell you no, and tell you how things are, even if they arent' that way. If you tell him no he'll say "mama, you don't tell people no!" and point his little finger at me. Everything is about "you don't tell people... (insert word)" His other thing is to say "he's not berry nice!" If we're watching TV and someone on the show is being mean he'll say "he's not berry nice" -- I'll have to record it because the way he says it is just adorable. He even goes through his story books and randomly picks a character to be the 'not berry nice" one. Its his catch phrase in our house. He also has a little turtle shaped Easter basket that used to belong to Brenden. Logan puts things in it and says its his purse and puts it high up on his shoulder and carries it around. So when we go places and I say I need to get my purse he immediately says "oh I need to get my purse too" and goes to grab his little turtle basket. He'll be moving into the older 2yr old class soon and I look forward to that. His buddies are all in that class now and I know he misses them.
That about sums up the updates for this week. If I can, I will try to do this weekly because I think so much changes each week, or even if its the same thing every week, I just love having it written down somewhere. Love those little guys. They make my world go round!