Chattanooga & Easter Party

The day that my sister left with her boys, Harrison came down with a week long stomach bug.  Thankfully he started to feel better just in time for Lance and I to head up to Chattanooga for a wedding.  The boys spent the weekend at Grandma & Granddaddy Randolph's house so we had a night off.  It was just a short trip, Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon, but it was so nice.  The weather was great so we had a leisurely lunch, walked around Chattanooga and then went to the wedding.  We had planned on eating breakfast at the hotel in the morning with my friends before they all had to head out to catch flights, or drive back to Cincinnati, but Lance I slept in a little too late...I have to admit, it felt great!  We had several people recommend a certain restaurant, Food Works, so we hit it up for brunch on Sunday morning.  The best part was that the hostess told us it would be a 40 minute wait.  Normally, with 2 kids in tow, this would be a nightmare, but with just the two of us, it was blissfully relaxing.  A bloody mary in hand, with sunny, 70 degree weather, and I was in Heaven.  This was the only time that I thought to take a picture...

The kids had a fun weekend with the grandparents, filled with Easter egg hunting, bike riding and, the best part for them, staying up past their bedtime!
On Wednesday, a friend of mine had to register her daughter for Kindergarten (are we really getting close to that stage already???), so her little man, Sam, stayed with us.  He fit right in with the boys...first Sam and Davis worked on fixing up Davis' crib...

After all that hard work, they needed a little Cheerio break...

I think Sam needs to teach Harrison & Davis how to say "Cheeeeese!".  (P.S. - the pillows would be from Harrison's pillow tower that he now likes to set up, just about every day now)
Today Harrison's class had their Easter Egg hunt.  The parents were invited to come and help setup the Easter Egg hunt, so Davis and I joined Harrison in his class today.  We got to watch the kids have their circle time, say the Pledge of Allegiance, and while they read a story with Mrs. Sandy, we hid the eggs.  Davis had fun playing with the balls on the playground while we hid the eggs.  All was well until we were about to go get the kids.  I couldn't find Davis...he was hiding on the play set with a handful of candy that he must have swiped from an Easter egg.
They all lined up with their Easter bags that they made...

Davis wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he definitely knew he wanted to be first in line...

 Found one!

Two of the moms made a special Easter snack for the kids and they were so cute...An oreo that was dipped in yellow candy coating to look like a chick and the other was a halved mini doughnut on top of a graham cracker, with a mini oreo in front of the doughnut.  The little flag says "He is Risen" and it is supposed to look like Jesus' tomb.  Gotta love Pinterest!!

You know Davis couldn't just sit and watch...

It was a fun morning and I think the kids all enjoyed every minute!

little buddies

Harrison and Davis are starting to really have fun together now.  Davis has always loved to follow his big brother around, but I'm starting to notice that Harrison doesn't always find it annoying now.  One of Davis' favorite things to do right now, is to find a good hat to wear...he is especially fond of Lance's ski hat...

 Or Harrison's underwear...

 So you can imagine how excited he was when it was silly hat day at Harrison's school in honor of Dr. Seuss...

Of course, he couldn't let Harrison be the only one to wear a hat...

I find the two of them right here quite a bit...

(this is Davis' "help me mom!  Change the channel, I don't like what my brother is watching" face)
Harrison wanted to hold Davis the other day, I just couldn't resist taking a picture!

I have also been trying a few Pinterest ideas for the kids lately and they have been loving it...I surprised them one night and let them play with shaving cream paints in the bathtub...what better place to make a mess??

Anytime I need to clean or cook dinner, this is usually what can you expect to see Davis doing...

So the other day when Davis spilled three bowls of Oakley's water within about 10 minutes, I decided it was time to find something new for him to try...what do you know, this actually kept him entertained for about 45 minutes!

I put a bunch of different types of dried beans, pasta and corks in a muffin tin and gave him a few spoons and bowls and he was in Heaven.  I had to keep a close eye on him to make sure he didn't put any of it in his mouth, but he loved it...and I was actually able to get the house cleaned up a bit!  I do have to say, that it ended in Davis throwing beans all over the kitchen, but that was worth it to me!

Davis also learned a new trick recently!  We bought him a scooter for Christmas b/c he loved his cousin Trey's, but he always just stands on it and wants you to push him around.  A few weeks ago, he was standing on it, waiting for me and he started to fall, so he put his foot on the ground.  It accidentally moved him forward slightly and you could just see the light bulb go off in his head because he figured out what he needed to do to make it move!  Yeah - go Davis!  There is nothing more fun than watching your kids learn something new!

About 2 weeks ago, my sister called and we were talking about her upcoming visit to Atlanta.  Harrison happened to overhear us and when he realized that his cousins were going to come visit, he got sooo excited.  I wasn't going to tell him until the day of because he doesn't quite understand time yet, so it was a week of pure torture knowing that they were coming, but not understanding when they would be here.
They finally made it last Wednesday, so we met them for dinner at Pappasitos so they didn't have to sit in rush hour traffic.  The boys had fun, but it was crazy busy so we had to wait for a while. 

The next day we went to the zoo, but unfortunately I forgot to take pictures.  The boys had fun but it seemed like a lot of animals were either off exhibit or sleeping.
Friday was supposed to rain so we took the kids to the Tellus museum.  Harrison has been a few times with his granddaddy but it was my first visit.  I was highly impressed and it was definitely all of the kids' favorite activity of the week.  They especially liked digging for dinosaur bones...

And Davis needed to practice his downward dog for a little bit...

The best part was that the sand/rocks were made out of rubber so the kids didn't really get dirty!  I picked up a handful expecting my hand to feel sandy afterward, and so I was pleasantly surprised!
The boys all wanted to take pictures on the rock collections outside...I was only able to catch 2 of them...

Davis was worn out and I love this picture because it perfectly catches Davis' favorite things...his lovie and his ball...

On Saturday, my sister had to head back to Tuscaloosa, but we were able to take the kids to the Touch-A-Truck event in downtown Kennesaw for a little bit before they had to head out.  Of course the boys loved it, I mean boys and trucks...whats not to love??

We had such a nice visit and it went too fast!  We get to see them in a few weeks, so that made it a little easier for Harrison.
After they left, Harrison came down with a stomach bug that he is still fighting, so we have been low key all week.  Hopefully we will be a healthy household next week!  I just have to end with the cutest picture of the boys that I took while we were waiting to be seated for dinner on Saturday night...

Silly boys

It was a beautiful afternoon today, so after naps, we played outside for a while. For some reason, Harrison loves to pee in our backyard, and while it's probably not the best parenting move, I figure it's not a big deal to let him. When he does, he always stands on the step leading to the grass. Today while he was "watering the grass", Davis walked up with the most curious look on his face. Harrison walked back to the play set when he was done and I didn't think anything of it...until I saw Davis a few minutes later doing this...



I could not stop laughing because he totally thought he was doing the same thing as Harrison...and who knows? He just might have been!

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Happy FOURTH birthday!

Yikes!  Its officially happening!  Harrison is growing up too fast!  I can't believe that we just celebrated his fourth birthday!  Yes, on February 9th, my "big man" turned 4, and he couldn't be happier about it.  He tells just about everyone that he sees that he is 4 now.  Which is great, because the week before his birthday he was convinced that he was already 4 and that he would be turning 5.  Thankfully he forgot all about the 5 business the day of his birthday.
It has been a whirlwind of a few weeks celebrating with both of our families, so here is a run down of what we have been up to!
I just did not have the energy to throw a full-on birthday party, like we've done in years past, so I took the advise of a few friends and decided to have just a few of his little buddies over for a super hero themed play date/birthday party.  The moms dropped the kids off and they all did great.  I made all of the boys a reversible batman/superman cape to take home with them and to wear at the party so they could all be little super heroes.  They had to make it through the secret passage way to the bat cave (ie, HJR's room setup with all of his super hero toys)...

Raced in the super hero obstacle course outside (sorry completely forgot to take pictures of this!)

And of course, ate dinosaur sandwiches, sang happy birthday and chowed down on some cupcakes!

Before we knew it the fun was over and the moms came back.  Harrison had a great time and is still talking about his super hero party...which makes me crazed to think of all the work I put into his past parties, when a simple playdate was just as fun for him!  And probably less overwhelming!
The actual day of his birthday was a school day, so Davis and I met Harrison at school during snack time to celebrate his big day.  We brought brownies, sang happy birthday and stayed until it was time to go.

 It was fun to watch Ms. Sandy in action.

Davis was hilarious, he just fit right on in with the kids during snack time...

and had his own circle for show and tell...

It ended up being a bitter sweet day though...we were supposed to go to Chuck E Cheese for dinner that evening w/ his grandma and granddaddy Randolph, but Harrison was in a bit of  funk throughout the day.  After Davis' nap, we went to meet some friends at the park for a quick walk and to play on the playground.  Harrison wanted nothing to do with the stroller (which is really not like him at all) and ran half way across the park, away from me.  Then screamed all the way home.  I think he was just tired and overwhelmed, but needless to say, Chuck E Cheese was put on hold for another day.  We ended up bringing Mellow Mushroom here (which was better pizza in my opinion!) and having a nice, low key evening.  Harrison got to open his present from his grandma and granddaddy, which I have to preface with this story...
About 2 months ago, we were shopping at Target and Harrison saw this Toy Story garbage truck that he just "had to have".  He would not leave the toy aisle and melted down when I told him he might be able to get it for his birthday that was coming up.  That was not a suitable answer, so I told him we would take a picture of it and show it to one of his grandma's, so they know which one to get...

This was the best smile I could get...I told him that his grandma might not think he really liked that toy if he didn't at least smile!  Fast forward to his birthday, and you can see the excitement on his face when he "got what he always wanted!"

He was a happy boy!

Once Harrison moved on to another toy, Davis got a kick out of the garbage truck as well!

We got Harrison a Thomas puzzle, and a race track that pulls the hot wheels around the track, both were definitely a hit...

 This kiddo loves puzzles, and without too much help, he finished this in an afternoon!

We got to finish up the celebrating this weekend when my parents came back to do Harrison's birthday with him.  It was a gorgeous day when they arrived on Friday, so as soon as they pulled into the driveway, we decided to give Harrison his present from them...his very own big boy bike!

It took him a few trips up and down the sidewalk to figure out how to do the pedals.  He is used to being able to push backwards on the pedals on his little bike and it scared him at first when he realized that it would stop the bike if he pushed backwards.  It is a little big for him, but he loves it!  We took him up to the parking lot in front of our neighborhood pool and he had so much fun.  He had his first spill that same day, but popped right back up and kept riding.  The spill apparently came at the end of this video, but when my mom sent it to me, it cut it off.  He didn't really like granddaddy telling him how to ride the bike (I wonder where he gets that from??)  I can't help but laugh at the end of this!

Harrison and Grandmommy were buddies all weekend.  He loves this sparkly cross of my moms and we always laugh because he asks her if he can wear it every time he sees her.

It was a full week of birthday celebrations, and we loved every minute of it.  Harrison has grown so much this year, and we have his 4 year old appointment this coming week to find out just how much he has grown.  He has grown, not just physically, but quite a bit mentally as well.  He knows all of his shapes and colors and can recognize his numbers from 1- 10 (I think a few after, but that's still tricky for him).  He is learning quite a bit in Spanish which is so fun for me.  He can get dressed and undressed by himself, except for his socks, and he knows how to put on his coat and zip it up.  He loves to play outside, build forts,

 build towers,

look for bugs, dig in the garden and play blocks.  He still loves his trains and cars, but if left alone, he now tends to like to do activities where he builds things.  His imagination is incredible and he occasionally likes to try to get his brother to play with him.  One of their favorite things to do is scoot down the steps on their fannies.  They both think it is hilarious. 

He still insists on his "God our Father" prayer every night, and generally rearranges the chairs at the table 2-3 times a day, depending on who he wants to sit by...

He wanted Lance to sit on the other side of him.  It always makes me laugh, because when he decides who he wants to sit by, he literally wants you to sit right next to him, with chairs touching.
He is such a sweet boy and knows how to butter me up. He will say things like, "Mom, you always make me the best dinners!" or "You're the best mommy, I love you so much!"  Which always makes me smile and is nice to hear, because the size of his tantrums have grown as well!  Its nice to know that he doesn't hold grudges against me too long...yet! :)  Happy birthday Harrison!!  Its been a fun ride and I can't wait to see what this year has in store for us!

Ski Trip 2012

feel like I say this with every post now since I have been so bad about blogging, but its hard to know where to begin when its been 2 months since my last post!  I am really getting tired of not having a real camera and having to depend on my phone for every photo op!  Hopefully we will take care of that soon!!
I feel like its been a busy start to the new year and I can't even think of what we've been doing!  I think January was a month of recovering from the holidays and also the start of my "year of purging" (crap from my home, that is!)  I am determined to get our house in order and all of the random junk OUT that we don't use.  Baby steps!  At least thats what I tell myself on a daily basis.  

 At the start of February, Lance and I took our yearly ski trip out west.  We stayed most of the trip with Lance's sister, Jennifer, and her sweet family and spent 2 nights out in Breckenridge for a few days of skiing.  We were able to ski 3 days and it was fantastic as always. Lance and I drove out on Wed. of last week to ski at Winter Park and we had a great day.

We ate lunch at a restaurant on top of the mountain that day, and it was hilarious b/c as we were relaxing and resting our legs, out of nowhere, a guy started banging a pot and then proceeded to tell us all of the worldy news and sports news of the week.

I think the best part of the whole day though was, when I found out that on Wednesdays at Winter Park, they have free smores at 4pm!  We skied until around 2:30, grabbed a beer and I told Lance I was not leaving until I got some smores!  For some reason, they are one of my favorite things to eat, and really all I care about are the roasted marshmallows!  There is just something about being amongst the snow, on a mountain, that make smores taste extra yummy!

We drove back to Jennifer's that evening and then just spent Thursday relaxing and hanging out in Boulder.  We found out that a big winter storm was coming in that evening, so we made the smart decision to drive out a day early so we could get to the resorts before we got stuck!  We were lucky we did that because parts of the highway closed down due to the amount of snow they got!  When we drove in that night, we happened to come across a snow carving contest in Breckenridge.  It was amazing!  They took these huge blocks of snow and carved them into different things, here are a few examples:

 And the 1st place winner:

The details in the carvings were absolutely amazing!  It would have been cool to watch them actually carving them, but the finished products were incredible.  It was so cold that night so we hurried into the cutest town on the planet and found a fun restaurant to have a few drinks and grab some dinner.

The other good part was that the resorts still weren't too busy since most people were unable to drive up there!  We skied at Copper Mountain on Friday and Loveland on Saturday.  Denver ended up getting over a foot of snow that night but the mountains only got a few inches.  Its amazing how even the littlest bit of snow makes such a big difference in the quality of skiing!

I just wish my legs weren't so jello-ey on our third day!  That was the day that we skied at Loveland.  It's a smaller resort, and it was the first time that we skied there, but the blue, ungroomed runs were awesome!  About as hard as most greens on the other mountains, but my legs and knees just didn't feel strong enough to ski as much as I would have liked that day.
We spent the rest of the trip getting to play with Jennifer's three beautiful blond girls.  It was so fun, we got to do lots of girlie things, like, playing with each others' hair...

Dressing up like princesses (Anna and their friend's daughter, Lucy):

...painting fingernails, and coloring pictures.  All the things that a house with little boys, is not!  I also got to see Laurel's sweet smiling face...

And Emily, the middle Taurus daughter, who I can't help but love for our middle Taurus daughter personalities! :)  She even has the scary eyes down pat!  She is too funny, wearing a different dress every 5 minutes, and of course, carrying the matching purse and shoes! 

We had a great visit, but I definitely think that 6 days is a little too long to be away from my boys.  I missed them terribly, but knew they were in great hands with "grandma Holly" and "granddaddy Jeffrey" (according to Harrison).  Thank you so much Mom and Dad for taking care of our little buddies!  We are so lucky to have such devoted parents and grandparents!  We have 2 spoiled little boys!!