Cousins!

My sister and her girls came up to play on Saturday of 4th of July weekend (while her husband had to work).

Levi is just 3 months older than her oldest daughter, Liahna, so they do pretty good playing together - as well as 2 year olds can!  Levi normally only gets his binky at naptime and bedtime, but Liahna had hers in this morning so Levi did too :)  I think they look cute two little binky babies playing castle together!

The kids had lots of fun playing in the pool and water table together.

Baby Elise sat and watched it all. 

Levi and Liahna also had a good time crusin' in the jeep together.

This picture is so funny to me -  Levi often closes his eyes tight when he wants to pretend he isn't hearing what you are saying (in this case, Levi smile for a picture in other cases, Levi can you go clean up your room:) and Liahna has a big smile with the binky in.  Love her curls!

What a fun day for the cousins!  Can't wait for the next one!

A day at Morwood.

My friend Kammy asked me to come take pictures of her and her family while they were camping at Morwood Park.  I'm by no means a photographer of any kind but I do enjoy pictures - mainly because it captures sweet memories - and for this reason I take A LOT of pictures (mostly of my boys and occasionally I'll make it in a photo or two!).  Apparently Kammy likes my photography skills because I photographed her wedding for her and she asked me to come back for these family photos.  I ended up taking several pictures of her immediate family, her sister's family, her mother & step-father and the whole group.  I was fairly satisfied with the pictures and I think they were too.  For privacy's sake (since I don't know her extended family and can't ask their okay), I'll just post one nice one of Kammy's family -- I haven't done too much editing of these pictures so this is a raw image.  I must say that being a photographer is hard, and after this session I have NO desire to be a professional photographer of any kind (no offense to the family - they were all great!) it's just not in my make-up to creatively think of posses to fit all sizes of people together to look natural and flattering.  My biggest challenge with Kammy's family is their oldest son is much taller than the parents and the youngest son is still little -- how in the world do you make a pose with this without it looking awkward?  I did the best I could! :)

During the pictures, Mark and my boys found a fun little water spot to play in.  

and I even managed to have someone snap a family picture of us -- these just don't happen very often! 

We spent the rest of the morning and afternoon enjoying the campsite and the amenities of the park. We made it to the pool where Levi decided to jump in on his own before we were ready with no life jacket so Mark went after him fully clothed.  That little boy is just too brave!! The kids played miniature golf - a nice, clean little course - perfect for the kids to play and the adults to sit back and watch!

After the day full of SUN and warm weather, Kammy wanted to buy the kids an ice cream treat from the little store - well Levi was the only kid to cooperate and got a huge Mr. Freeze pop (and ate 2 bites and said he didn't want it! haha) the other kids each picked a candy.  I have to record that Isaiah picked out Bubble Tape gum and couldn't have been happier with his choice.  he LOVES it and has been really careful with how much he eats because he doesn't want to run out!  He has been nice enough to share a piece with me (which was less than one inch long :) and did notice them at Target the other day and said, "we should probably buy another one of those mommy so that I'll have it ready for when mine runs out."  :)  (no it didn't make it in the cart).  It's the simple joys that really make life great for kids, isn't it?  (Maybe I should learn a lesson from that!)

Thanks for a great day Kammy!!  

Levi's first movie!

On June 26th we took the boys to see Cars 2 in the movie theater.  They have been waiting and waiting for this movie to come out!  This was Levi's first trip to the movie theater and for the most part he did pretty good.  He was less than entertained through the previews, but after getting him a booster seat and the Cars movie starting, he sat still for the most part.  Luckily the theater wasn't very full and there were mostly young kids in with us!

Isaiah has been to a couple other movies (his first ever with my parents to Where the Wild Things Are and then we took him to Toy Story 3).  He sat still through the entire movie and really enjoyed himself!

I'm so glad my boys share my love of popcorn and both helped me to almost finish off a whole large bucket! 

It was definitely a fun afternoon together as a family - I'm sure we'll do another movie date again sometime!

Sturgis Falls

The boys and I made it to several Sturgis Falls events this year!  It was a fun way to get us out of the house and do some different activities!  We met my friend Abby and her daughter Erika (and little baby Marek) on Friday night to do some kids activities and attempt the talent show, but Erika was having an off day and they needed to head home so the boys and I watched part of a yo-yo show

played with all the legos in the "lego land"

waited (and waited and waited and waited) for balloons ... Isaiah picked a "twisted hat" and Levi picked a puppy (both boys LOVED their balloons, but it was quite the disaster when one of Isaiah's popped during the talent show!)

we then enjoyed some fair food - the boys and their $3 hotdogs :) and mini donuts which we devoured instantly - but were still hungry so we were stuck with the grapes I stuck in the stroller just in case...  The boys were quite the entertainers to those around us while we waited for the show to start - Isaiah always manages to find a new "friend" to chat with while he's waiting for things 

We made it a few acts in and the balloon popped and it was getting close to bedtime (and I'm sure the sugar highs were wearing off!) so we decided to head home to bed...

So we could get up early to get a good spot for the parade!  Front row on Main Street!

(Isaiah was NOT excited about pictures this morning!)

The boys have both always LOVED parades and this one was NO different.  Of course the favorites were the sports cars (mainly the Corvettes) the police cars and the firetrucks.  

but my favorite was none other than TC...can you guess why??? :)  click here if not!  

After the parade we met up with Mark who mysteriously appeared :)  (which Isaiah totally figured out why all on his own!!) we were all hungry - it was soooooooooo crowded and it looked like rain so we decided to call it a day for Sturgis Falls and went out to eat at Famous Daves instead -- I think it was actually cheaper for us to eat there than at the fair anyway!  We bought the boys their own kid's meals (which we almost never do when we rarely go out to eat!) and Levi was very excited about the Oreos that came with it.

The next morning after church the boys and I went to the car show - I knew Isaiah would be in awe as he has picked up a love for Corvettes in the last couple months.  I was excited to show him all the Corvettes and try to explain to him that not all sports cars are Corvettes.  I am pleased to say that every day he is getting this a little more and can clearly name the difference between a Corvette and a Mustang (but pretty much all sports cars he sees are one or the other)  I still have no idea why he all of a sudden has this interest!

Here he is with his favorite Corvette - it took him a little bit to pick his favorite out of the line of 15 or so

He also LOVED looking in the hood and got very excited at each car exclaiming, "look mama it has a horsepower engine!!!"  and of course then Levi would repeat him and say the same thing.  I did let them know that all cars have a horsepower engine, but they decided not to listen :)

and here is Levi with his favorite.  He's not nearly as excited about them, but anything that his brother likes, he, of course, does too!

Isaiah with a Mustang... 

It really was a fun weekend ~ I guess that's what summer is all about!

A summer playdate.

My friend Andrea and her little Ava met us at the UNI Museum for an afternoon playdate.  We hadn't been to the museum since last year so the boys were very excited to go.  The UNI Museum is a small museum with lots to look at - a great place for my young boys.  I hear that they may close it and sell the exhibits to other museums due to the fact the building it is in isn't suitable for preserving the exhibits - I sure hope they decide to renovate/move the museum and keep it a part of the community!

Here is Isaiah and Ava looking at all the animals with beautiful horns.

And Isaiah showing a bowl used a long time ago while Levi checks out the hut.  

I should have taken a picture with his favorite animal - the porcupine, but he was just too quick for me to even try!  silly boy.

 After our visit to the museum we made a stop at the sno cone shop before heading home.  What a treat!  The boys and I shared a cherry - we all gobbled it down - I think we would have each devoured our own! 

 And Andrea and Ava shared one too (cherry too I think!) 

What a fun afternoon - can't wait for our next playdate! 

Father's Day.

(maybe someday I'll get caught up to date on this blog!!)

We had a very nice and relaxing Father's Day this year!  We let daddy sleep in as late as he could but still make it to 9:30 church, came home and gave him his card and gifts

and then spent some time doing the boys' favorite thing - wrestling - this time with costumes and all.

I forget what we did for lunch, but of course it was nap/rest time for a while at our house and then we went over to my parent's house to celebrate with my dad.  The boys enjoyed looking at my dad's collection of lighthouses with him.

Mark had two wishes for Father's Day - a day with his boys and a date with his wife... so that night we dropped the boys off with my friend LeAnna and had a date at Red Lobster...yummy.  We went and got the boys in plenty of time for our bedtime routine and before we knew it the day was over.  It seems like days like that just go by too quickly - before we know it Father's Day 2012 will be here!

incredible hulk

A few years back when Isaiah was about Levi's age - or maybe even younger - Isaiah inherited a pair of Incredible Hulk jammies (if I remember right they came from his cousin Dakota).  They have been the favorite pair of jammies ever since - and I'm really not sure why, I don't think Isaiah had ever really heard of him.  Isaiah will choose to wear them WHENEVER they are clean (or not clean, but available!)  I've been looking for months (and have even recruited friends to look) for a larger pair as these pajamas are a size 4 (which in pajama sizes is like 2T).  Unfortunately another pair has not been found - at any of our local stores, Goodwills or garage sales, but a second pair of size 4 was found this summer (by my good friend LeAnna).  So we now can have two Incredible Hulk's running around....and many times we do.  So here are my boys wearing the same size PJs enjoying Incredible Hulk - you'll notice Isaiah is busting out of the top - and the pants are pretty much like capri's on him. :)

And if you find Incredible Hulk jammies - in any size bigger than a 4 please, please buy them -- I will pay you back!! :)

big boy!

Levi LOVES his crib - he is such a good boy when it comes to going to bed and down for a nap and I think it's because he loves his crib so much.  About 3 or 4 months ago he started regularly climbing out of his crib when he woke up from his nap or in the morning.  He never once got hurt because he is such a monkey!  On June 13 Mark took the railing off Levi's crib!   I wondered how it would go since he loves his crib so, so much.  It has been a very smooth transition!  He continues to go to bed very easily and stays in bed for the most part.  Sometimes he will get up about a half hour after I put him down and say, "just one more minute" and want to be with me doing whatever it is I'm doing.  But really, it's nice to have the sweet little company.  He continues to nap well - usually from about 1-3 - and we've had no trouble with him climbing out -- AMAZING, huh?  However, he does have just a few small requirements when going to bed-

1 - Binky

2 - Blankie

3 - Go Fish Guys' Snooze CD (playing on repeat LOUDLY)

4 - at least 3 or 4 blankets covering him up (we use 3 thick crib comforters and the quilt my mom made him)

silly boy! :)

He also goes down great in the pack N play as long as he has 1-3 above too. 

Here he is his first night without the railing. 

 and another night a few weeks later -- with a new addition to the list of things he likes at bedtime - a fan (although this doesn't seem to be a complete requirement).

I guess a rough first year of sleeping paid off for me the second and third, huh?  (Levi slept through the night for the first time on the night after his first birthday!)  What a big boy in his big bed! - the next transition - sleeping on one of the bunks in Isaiah's bunk bed?