Freedom!

Since the boys have been mobile, we've had a gate up in the living room to keep them in a safe baby-proof area. As they got a bit bored by the same four walls to play in, we sometimes adjust the gate to block off the kitchen and living room to give them a bit more space to run. They love exploring in the cabinets and drawers to find new gadgets they haven't touched yet.

Ever since Don let the boys run free in the backyard, we try to keep the backyard child friendly. Now that the weather is warming up lately, the boys have begun playing in the backyard more often, almost daily. This gives them the living room, kitchen, eating area and outside to play though in the mornings, up until time to eat lunch. If Don can find them a "treasure" of a picnic table, I would love to have them sit at one to eat their lunch on nice days.

They are so busy exploring in the backyard and since they have more room, there is much less fighting over toys. They play so well together outside. I heard Jaxon and Luke laughing hysterically and I peeked around the door to see them splashing water from their sippies all over the porch. It's just water, but they were having a blast figuring that out on their own. It is awesome to watch them be independent and go their own way, enjoying their freedom.

My Boys

To help you pretend that I haven't lost my header since switching over to the new blogger, I am going to distract you with brand new pictures of the boys taken while they we were all playing around tonight. I think these are my new favorite pictures of them...
Wyatt

Jaxon

Lucas

E-I-E-I-O

Well, the dance craze has hit our house. Thanks to Nana, Ring around the Rosie is at an all time high. The boys try to hold hands, Don or my mom will hold on one hand in each of theirs, and I'll stand behind the third one with my hands over his and we make it (sort of) work. Wyatt would do it a hundred times in a row if we would. When the adults decide we've had enough, Wyatt still sounds a bit of the song and falls again. The looks on all their faces are priceless when they know we are playing silly with them.

Another newly caught on song is Old MacDonald. Watch this video with your sound up, you can hear Wyatt singing to it as they dance.



And last, a video to show Luke and Wyatt have been growing closer. They used to just irritate one another more often than not, but lately they have really been enjoying each other and finding they have similar tastes in humor. Wyatt is entertaining Luke here.

Belly Laugh

I am procrastinating. I should be blogging since it hasn't been updated in a few days (or five) as Cathy keeps pointing out to me. But I have found a new creative outlet that I have been looking into and it has been creeping into my thoughts during down time. Or maybe I should be downstairs, sanding one of the seats to the kitchen table set we bought on Craigslist. This table and chairs are the second set we purchased to try to make our kitchen look larger to potential home buyers. We had bought another set long ago, but ended up selling it after it sat forgotten in the garage for months, sanded and ignored. This table has gone further, already been both sanded and stained. The seats -on the other hand- have not yet been sanded. They have thrown us for a curve with grooves on the seat stopping us from using the sanding belt on it, so we need a back up plan.

Don and I are both feeling yucky lately, stuffed noses have turned into coughs and throat clearing. My eyes keep watering and my throat hurts from some of the most obnoxious sneezes I have ever heard, let alone done.

But in the midst of all this, I have the sound of Lucas' belly laugh in my head. It is the funniest, most unexpected laugh from a generally deep in thought little man. Suddenly my throat doesn't hurt so much and a smile comes across my now awakened face. That belly laugh came to me when my energy and spirits are low and gave me just the push I needed to cross one more thing of my list.




It is a true gift from God, the joy that these babies bring me.

All about Jaxon

Jaxon is a stinker. Somehow even when he was only days old and less than 3 lbs, we knew he was going to be one to keep us on our toes. Some of his most troublesome habits include throwing toys at his brothers (with amazing ability to always hit their faces!), throwing his food on the floor, and admittedly funny is the awful grunt scream he and Wyatt sometimes do when they are hungry. But those little tidbits of devious behavior are forgotten when he flashes that Jaxon smile at us.


There has been a definite change in Jaxon's babbles around here. Although it is safe to say Jaxon has said words, they are all spin offs of words. He sticks to mainly the vowel sounds, calling my sister Leigha "eee-ya", her dog Jordan " Doh-Doh", airplanes are "aurrr" (repeatedly until we acknowledge, yes, Jaxon an airplane!) and balloons are "boons".

On the boys bedroom door, there is a little giraffe. After they say goodnight to the fishes on our screen saver, the say goodnight to the giraffe on the door. "Jzaaf". Today Jax brought a little giraffe to me and pointed to the giraffes eyes, trying to say eye, and then the same with the giraffes nose. So much is going on in his little mind, trying to remember what all the different things he sees are called.

His little mouth is full of teeth that he loves to have brushed. One of canines are already in, and another on its way. Everything that fits finds it way into Jax's mouth. Cars, toy airplanes, little sporks that came with their dish set, he loves to chew on books. It is to the point that Don fusses when I want to buy them a new book, knowing that chances are it will be eaten.

Cars and books are his passion right now. He loves to make siren sounds and even if he hears one for only a split second, he picks it up and imitates it. My brother Carl has always made siren sounds while we were growing up, so maybe it is in our boys genes. =) Little Chevron cars are his favorite, he loves to make car and truck (like a diesel sound) sounds as he pushes them around. If he hears a book being read out loud, he'll come over to sit on our lap and look at the pictures with us. My Grandma Bette got the boys pop up books for Christmas. Jaxon loves them, but when we open them up, he gets a little frightened of how it comes towards him and will walk backward away. I can tell he is a bit scared, even though he smiles.

Jaxon is so enthusiastic and animated, always a twinkle in his long lashed eyes and big smile on his face. His heart is right on his sleeve and his moods change as fast as he feels them. He loves his back rubbed or scratched, likes to hide his head in a dark spot on the floor and loves when we touch his face softly. His laugh is felt all though his body and is so contagious. He has the belly laugh of all belly laughs and it makes me smile just thinking about how pure his joy is. He is a beautiful baby, inside and out. From his spiked hair to the perfect baby belly that just pokes out, to his little funny sideways toenails, he is such a little imp and is always so curious. He's our Jaxon and I can't imagine him any other way. He is perfect!

Show Yourself!

Tack a pin where you live, (dare I push it and suggest leaving a picture, too) let's see who you are! At least leave your name people! I see some of my friends and relatives are visiting and are too shy to name themselves.... come on now, don't tease me!

Movies

Luke found an unopened breakfast bar. He got a little corner open and tried to snack on what he could reach. I love this movie because he sees me and says his version of momma, which comes out more of a "may-mee". Wyatt is trying to get some food too, they are sharing nicely here.


Yesterday I was at our desk and looked down to check on the boys. They were dancing away....


And last is Wyatt, still playing peek a boo. It never gets old to him.

Family in Town

My cousin Jennifer and her daughter Gracie had come to stay with us for a few days. They were in town with her mother, Jean who was staying at my moms house. Jennifer and I are very distant cousins. Her Grandmother is my Great Grandmothers sister in law. The two of us and our other cousins Annie and Katie grew up playing together. We are all within a few years of age of each other, along with my sister Leigha.

Anyhow, Grace is a little under four years old and the boys really took to her. They watched everything she does, how she plays, where she went, what toys she played with, etc. Jaxon loved Grace! But unfortunately for Grace, it was love expressed in the same way shared between second graders. Jaxon would get this huge smile on his face when he saw Grace- I swear I would even see a twinkle in his eyes. He'd start laughing hysterically walking towards her and then he'd pull on her pretty clothes or pull on her beautiful hair! He wouldn't do it and run, he would just wait and watch her like he was waiting for a hug!
Just for the record, we do not hit or pull hair in this house to show affection. in fact, we try to keep away from it in it's entirety. =)

Last night we went to theParis and had the best Crepes ever made. Cathy had turned Don and I on to them about a month ago and we have been itching for a reason to go and get some more. It was the boys first time having Crepes, and they loved them just as much as Don and I did! After dinner, we said our goodbyes to Jennifer, Gracie and Jean. They had plans to spend their last night in Vegas out on the town and were staying in a beautiful room on the Strip. It was a wonderful visit. She was a wonderful guest to have in our house and she is one of my most cherished friends.
Hopefully when Jaxon out grows his hair pulling stage, her children and mine will carry on our family's friendships.

Fun Time with Dad

Don's back is hurting him so he has stayed home the past couple days. Yesterday he watched the boys in the morning while I went to check on a recall for our Jeep. I was gone a couple hours while the Jeep was getting its new ball joint, and Don decided to be the fun parent. I have always been afraid for our plants and worried about the boys finding any dog poop, so I have only let them run free in the front yard, or a very small area in the back. Don cleaned the back yard up and let the boys run free. He took out the Kangaroo climber and a couple little outside toys and let the boys enjoy the winter weather. Dad's are so much fun!

Christmas Memories

There were so many great things about this past Christmas! Here are some pictures to tell the story.

First we have Jessica with the boys. She had made the mistake of offering "a sip" of her water to one of the babies. Suddenly she found herself surrounded by three thirsty little people who just wouldn't leave her alone. When we finally freed her, we had to give her a fresh glass of water because of all that the boys "shared" with her -in what was now, a glass of not so clear water.

This picture was taken when we had just come back from church where the boys had worn their brand new pants. Brand new pants that I had just assumed would fit, that were too big and it didn't help that I hadn't even washed them yet. So when we got home from church we let the boys stretch by walking outside a bit. Jaxon's pants fell right off his little rump and ended up around his ankles. He was obviously excited about his first public display of being half naked outside.

This looks to be the adult side of the room. On the left is Coralee, then her husband Sam, Aunt Judy, my dad, and last is Grandma Robinson on the right. Coralee and Sam live in Florida and made the trip out west to spend Christmas with us. They were so much fun and the boys really took to Coralee!


Here is Lucas taking a minute to sit back and watch everyone around him. This chair actually hangs off the side of the table for when they eat. Since it was not being used at the time, we took it down to make more elbow room for the adults. Luke saw it sitting on the floor and thought it looked like a perfect fit for him.

Wyatt stealing a snack with his Nana. While we were opening presents Christmas morning, the boys started getting a bit hungry. Since we were'nt done yet, Nana bought some extra time with a fruit cereal bar. You can tell that Wyatt loves these and just couldn't get it in his mouth quick enough.

Don and myself were heading out to his work's Christmas party. This year was the first year his company had a holiday party and he was looking forward to going. I needed a little encouragement, but ultimately was glad that we went. We had a good time and it was nice to see his friends from work and put faces to the names I hear about daily.

Lucas with Coralee and Sam. Lucas had watched Coralee unwrap her candle and when she leaned into smell it, he got curious. So here Luke is trying to sniff -and then lick -her raspberry candle.
After the candle was put away, someone had opened up a bottle of cologne. This time both Jaxon and Lucas went over to investigate. Coralee tried to let the boys sniff it, but they didn't quite grasp the sniffing concept. Jaxon kept blowing out, making a "ffft, fttt" sound. Not quite buddy, but almost.


And last, this picture was taken Christmas Eve night while we were opening some presents. It is my sister, Leigha and my Uncle Ray. Don was making his way around the room trying to get some good photos and these two happily flashed a smile for him. But what you can't see, is that we were all just hanging out doing family chatter, the boys were busy behind me in the kitchen trying to empty all my moms kitchen cabinets as I was opening the beautiful stocking Coralee and Sam had packed up for each family member. The mood was perfect, and I couldn't have imagined a better Christmas to have.

A Texas December

In mid December, we took a vacation to see Don's side of the family out in Texas. It had been about 6 months since his parents had seen them. They came out for the boys birthday in May. Most of his family had not even met the boys yet, so we were excited to go visit. The original plan was to drive out there (almost a 24 hour drive) but fortunately we found airfare for half the price (after hotels, eating, gas, etc), and only took a fraction of the time. Wyatt, Jaxon and Lucas don't do well on car trips still. Anything over an hour they start yelling, tears start falling and it takes a good hour to get them back to "normal" -and even then, they will scream when they get strapped back into their car seats. They are little and hate to be boxed in, preferring their freedom instead. So the low flight prices were a blessing for us.

My sister in law (Heather) and I were in cahoots and decided for Don and Jeremy's (his twin brother) birthday, we were going to surprise both brothers with Jeremy meeting us out in Houston. Heather didn't tell Jeremy he was going until the night before he flew out, so it was a big surprise for them both! Don couldn't believe Jeremy was standing right in front of him, just kept yelling. He had the biggest smile on his face and couldn't believe we were able to surprise him like that.

To keep the boys busy and happy, we took them to a park only about 5 miles from Don's parents house. They loved the energy release, climbing up and down the slides and steps. Jaxon would even hang from the bar over the slide! There were lots of pine trees and pine cones, the boys were amazed by the cones. It is amazing to see how everything is new to them. Grandma Vicky came with us once and we got some great pictures. The boys really loved being with her, they definitely weren't shy!

The next week and a half was full of hanging out with Don's mom and dad. On the weekends the rest of his family was able to make it over to visit with us. I finally got to meet all of his cousins. They are all great people and seem to be pretty close knit. We had a great visit and are excited to see everyone again!

Park time fun!

Next week is cousin Jessica's baby shower. She and Brent are expecting their first baby, a girl right around Valentine's day. So today we took a spin around Babies R Us for the first time in a long time. Seems strange, we used to have to go there for everything (clothes, bibs, shoes, exersaucer, etc). But since the boys turned one, we haven't had much reason to go in.

It was a little bit of a trip down memory lane, trying to think of anything these first time parents might need. We bought a big ticket item they didn't register for, knowing they absolutely needed one. It was something that helped us keep sane and I am sure will buy them many minutes of peace and quiet. There are a few other things we would like to get them also, but we will see if time allows it.

When we were done, it was lunch time. The boys had been strapped in so much of the morning between their car seats and stroller, it was the best idea to feed them at a park to let them run off their morning energy. One call to Nana and she met us at the park right by her house.

The boys had so much fun. There was a small pile of leaves (like a 2 feet diameter small) and it was a new experience for Wyatt. Nana showed him how to throw them and his brothers came over to join, although Luke was more interested in climbing up and holding on to the little bars that separated the park from the parking lot. But Wyatt and Jaxon just kept grabbing little handfuls of leaves, as they threw them they would yell, "yeeh".

It was a first of many fun times that the boys will have playing in the leaves. Jaxon was so busy playing and running that I didn't get any great pictures of him by himself, but you can tell he was enjoying himself in the pictures we do have. The weather was perfect, a bit of a chill, but as soon as you got into the sun, it warmed your skin right up. This is such a fun age!