Bowling

We took advantage of the time that Jeff has had off and headed to the bowling ally for the boys' first game of real bowling.  "Real", because they have played bowling on the Wii many times.  On the way to the bowling ally, Jeff and I explained to the boys that it had actual bowling lanes, real balls, and real pins.  Of course they had lots of questions, but once we got going, they loved it!  We had bumpers and a "slide" for their ball.  They both wanted to carry the ball themselves, and thankfully neither of them dropped it.  Ty liked to push the ball down the slide and immediately walk away, Aiden on the other hand loved watching the pins fall down.  Mark enjoyed all the noise and slept through it all.  

Jeff and I made a bet for Starbucks, and notice in the last picture, I won!  Sugary Caffeine was the sweet taste of victory! :-)

Christmas Day

I might say this every year, but THIS year was so much fun with the boys and the anticipation of Santa.  I'll be honest, Christmas Eve was a rough day and we had a misbehaving toddler on our hands, so I wasn't quite sure he was going to come, but Santa came through.  Ty walked into our room around 7:30am (later than usual- we were thankful) and quietly said, "Santa brought me a Remote Control Umicar".  Jeff and I wondered how long he had been in the living room, if he sat and looked at everything or if he just walked by and noticed that one toy.  We told him to go tell Aiden so we could start opening presents.  They wanted to play with everything Santa had put out; their R/C car/dump truck, and their new kitchen table.  We opened all the presents and the stockings; they wanted to eat their candy right away.

We took the boys shopping earlier and they each picked out a gift for the other.  Jeff took Ty and I took Aiden and turns out we bought the same thing, but different characters thankfully.  Aiden picked out an Elmo puzzle for Ty and Ty choose a Doc McStuffens puzzle for Aiden.  Here Ty is giving Aiden his gift. :-)

Santa brought Dadda a really nice gift this year and he was so excited to use it!  He cooked a Prime Rib on his new Green Egg and it was delicious.  Both boys, but especially Aiden are fascinated by the grill and watching the temperature change on Jeff's wireless digital thermometer.

Nannie came over and brought us lots of wonderful gifts.  The boys love the tent she brought and the cash register.  They played with it all afternoon.

Mark was a happy baby and had a great first Christmas!  He ate and slept, just like every other day in his short life. 

Cookies for Santa

After church and a yummy dinner at Waffle House, we came home to make cookies for Santa.  All 3 boys got in their Christmas Pajamas from Aunt Shelley.  Aiden and Ty helped me place the cookies on the cookie sheet.  We put out carrots for the reindeer and a glass of chocolate milk for Santa to wash down the cookies.  Aiden was concerned that Santa might get confused as to who got what, so we wrote him a note.  They were excited but I reminded them Santa wouldn't come unless they were sleeping.  They went to bed without any fuss.  

Ralph Part 2

Having Ralph around has been so much fun!  Aiden looks for him every morning and loves to tell people what he has done.  Ty gets Elf and Ralph mixed up and often says, "Where is the Ralph?" or "Guess what the Ralph did today?".  They love to tell Jeff and I what he has done.  Their favorite was when Ralph turned the milk pink.  They drank it in their cereal and discussed how he could have made our white milk pink. 

 

 

 

Brothers in Pajamas

(I love the look on Mark's face)

Schubert Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with the Schuberts today.  As always, the boys love playing with their cousins, and we all enjoy the time we have together.  We took some family pictures and exchanged gifts.  Everyone got a lot of fun things, but Kylie was most excited because she got the American Girl doll she had been wanting.  It was so sweet to see her face light up; she was so surprised when she unwrapped the box that said "American Girl".  She took her doll everywhere, and didn't let it out of her sight.  The boys got some clothes, matching PJ's, a gun, a play zoo, and Uno Attack which everyone played after lunch.  Aiden loved the game and pressing the button to make the cards come out.  Mark got toys, clothes, teethers and pacifiers.  Payton supervised all the kids outside with a little monetary incentive while the adults played games.  I love making memories like these with our families.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baxter Christmas

We had a great time with the Baxter's celebrating Christmas tonight.  After munching on some yummy appetizer foods, we were ready to open presents.  The boys loved handing each of the gifts out to everyone and collecting their own piles.  When Aiden opened his gifts, he went for speed, one right after the other and he looked at the toys in detail last.  Ty wanted to open each one and play with it; we had to remind him that he had more to open.  The boys each got a Nerf gun, flashlight, headlight, slippers, put together/take apart vehicle, and RC car.  Aiden also got a video camera, and Ty got a talking shapes/colors Elmo.  Nana, Papa and their Aunts and Uncles were very generous.  We all watched the boys open their gifts before opening our own.  Seeing their faces light up was so much fun!  Then the boys wanted to shoot their Nerf guns (which were surprisingly powerful) in the bedroom (where nobody could be injured).  Mark and Layla were passed around and the size difference was very apparent (Mark being a lot heavier).  We are so blessed to be a part of this family and to be able to celebrate Christmas together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Program

A few weeks ago I got a letter from Aiden's school that said the students had been working hard on practicing their performance in a Christmas Program.  Aiden never mentioned it (he doesn't usually give up information about school, so I wasn't surprised).  I asked him about it a few times and he acted like he didn't know anything about it.  Eventually, he told me they practiced on the stage in music class.  I asked what songs they sang and more detailed questions, but got very little information from my preschooler.  We were anxious about the program to see what he was actually going to do.  Each class sang a few songs and some children recited bible verses and did solos.  To no surprise, Aiden had no speaking parts.  Aiden stood very still and would sing on and off throughout the songs.  It was mostly the girls in his class whose voices were heard.

It was so much fun to watch all the kids on stage.  The 2 year old class had one boy shout out in the middle of their song "Mom" as he had been searching the crowd for his mom and finally had found her.  The whole room laughed.  One of the toddlers fell and cried through her song.  Ty loved watching everybody and when Jeff asked him if he wanted to go sing, he was ready to leave his seat and run on stage.    

Santa

We went to see Santa today and to no surprise, the boys were very shy.  Before taking their picture, Santa wanted to read them a story and Aiden and Ty were both reluctant to get within 2 feet of Santa.  They stood at a safe distance to look at Santa's book as he read.  He asked if they had been good and if they were good helpers around the house.  Both of the boys nodded their heads, but didn't speak a word.  When it came time to take the picture I had to place them into position close to Santa and the looks on their faces says it all.  The lady behind the camera did all she could to get them to smile.  Getting into Santa's sleigh brought a little excitement.  After taking a few pictures, the boys walked back to Jeff and I and I told them to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas (the whole reason we came to see him).  They both turned around towards Santa and Ty said "remote control Umicar" (Team Umizoomi), and Aiden said "remote control dump truck and a leap pad". 

When we got in the car, the boys were full of questions.  Aiden asked, "where were Santa's reindeer?" and "what did that button on his sleigh do?"  Dadda told him he should have asked Santa himself.  Then he came up with all the possible functions the button may have done.  He said, "maybe it makes the sleigh go fast, or maybe it puts the wheels down, or maybe it starts the engine" etc. etc. all the way home.  :-)

 

 

Doc Update

Mark went for his two month check up today and Doctor P says he looks great.  He is getting very big- no surprise.  Here are his stats:

Weight: 13 lbs 4 oz    78%
Length: 24 in              80%
Head Circ:  15 3/4 in  48%


His stats are very similar to Ty's when he was this age.  Aiden was 14 lbs at two months old.  I am happy to have big healthy babies, but I am predicting Mark to be the biggest.  I guess we won't find out if I'm right for a while.

Mark had his first set of shots.  Three different vaccines were given, and he didn't like them at all.  It's so hard to hold his little hands and watch his face, but we know it is all worth it.  Despite a bad diaper rash, he past all the other tests (smiles, lifts head up, clinches finger, etc.)

Our mischievous Elf

Look at what Ralph has been up to in our house.  The boys think he is so silly!

 

 

 

 

2 months

Mark is 2 months old today!  Can I just say that he has gotten so cute as he is starting to fill out.  I am so crazy about him and his adorable face.

 

Mark . . .

 

eats on average every three hours.  Sometimes he'll go 4, and when he's really hungry just 2. 

 

has been sleeping well.  He usually goes down around 10pm and sleeps for 4-5 hours, then nurses and goes right back to sleep.

 

has been smiling and grinning at Jeff and I just this week.

 

still keeps that confused look on his face most of the time.

 

rolls over (front to back)

 

loves his passy.  He usually needs it to fall asleep, but then spits it out.

 

is getting very heavy (especially in his carseat).  He's going to be a big boy!

 

is a great car rider, and often naps in his carseat.

 

loves the bouncy seat and spends most of his day in it.

 

is filling out his 0-3 month clothes.  Most are getting tight.  He has just upgraded to a size 2 diaper.