Clean-up on Aisle 230

We thought we would welcome the Spring season with a family trip to Menard's.  Matt and I wanted to pick out some seeds to get our garden started.  Brennan and Braxton LOVE going to Menard's and Colton is usually up for anything, so we loaded the gang into the truck.  3.4 miles later, we arrived and began searching for the only yellow car cart the store has to offer.  The car cart was taken, so we settled for two carts.  Brennan and Braxton, however, wanted to walk.  They were doing pretty well.  We finally made it to the seeds when Brennan started whinning.  This was a "special" type of whine.  A whine I know very well.  This was Brennan's "you have exactly 30 seconds before I blow chunks" whine.  There, on aisle 230, Brennan left his mark.   This was our first public display of illness, and I am sure it will not be our last.  Thankfully, everyone was understanding.

Egg Coloring

Coloring Easter eggs has been a family tradition for as long as I can remember.  My Aunt Robin would come over for the main event and we would try to come up with new and exciting, top secret ways for coloring Easter eggs.  At the end of our crazy crafting, a winner would be selected.  Robin was ALWAYS the winner.  Anyone observing from the outside may have thought that we were crazy, but we had a blast and I will always smile when thinking about coloring eggs.

This year, the boys got a taste of the big competition.  Robin, Megan and Kellyn were missing, but we still managed to have some fun.  Anyway, I am pretty sure that Robin would not have appreciated the boys' technique (or lack there of).  Brennan and Braxton pretty much threw the egg into the dye and switched colors without letting them dry first.  What did I expect?

Braxton waiting for the main event to begin

Brennan is "checking" his egg

The final product, but which one is the winner?

That would be this one, but the picture does NOT do it justice.

Maybe next year, the eggs will have a little more flare? 

Watch Out...Here I Come!

Colton is 15 months old today.  To celebrate, we went in for his 15 month check up.  Colton (aka Meatball or Tank) clocked in at 26 lbs 4 oz. (75% percentile) He is 31.25 inches (50-75%)and has a head circumference of 50.5 cm(>97%).  Colton was a champion patient.  He flirted with the CNP while she checked him out and took his shots with only a little cry.

Papa T and Grammy Sue asked me how Colton's stats compared to Thing 1 and Thing 2.  Off the top of my head, I wasn't sure.  I had to go pull out their records.  

At 15 months old Brennan was 24 lb 7 oz, 31.5in long and 50.5cm head circumference.  Braxton was 24 lb 3.5 oz, 31.5 in long and 50.75 cm head circumference.

They should be scared. Very scared. Something tells me that he will be able to hold his own.

A Girl Can Dream

 If only this was a possiblity.   He seems to be more excited about the potty than his brothers.

Wouldn't it be grand if all three were potty trained?  A girl can dream.

Fill in the Blank

To say that Brennan and Braxton talk A LOT is an understatement.  They have their own thoughts now and are learning to communicate them.  They are unpredictable and honest.  My favorite thing is to listen to them talk to each other when they don't know I am listening.  It is not eavesdropping...is it?

There is a flip side to this new and developing skill.  Braxton now asks obvious questions that he knows the answer to....ALL DAY LONG.  Our conversation goes something like this (you fill in the blank)

Braxton:  Mommy, is that a _________?

Mommy:  Does it look like a _________?

Braxton:  Yes.

Mommy:  Well,  there you go.

We have this conversation a dozen times a day.  I am looking forward to a new topic:)

Our Favorite Books

  Brennan and Braxton LOVE, LOVE, LOVE books.  They have loved books for as long as I can remember.  I secretly love to buy children's books, but I am practical enough to know that I should not buy EVERY book out there.  Lucky for us our local library is literally .33 miles away and is a WONDERFUL resource. 

  

I thought that I would share some of the boy's favorite books.  

1.  Tiger Can't Sleep by S.J. Fore-- They can recite this book word for word.  

2.  The Trucker by Brenda Weatherby--This is a wonderful book for little boys.  The pictures are GORGEOUS.

3.  The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

4.  Anything Curious George

5.  Go Dog Go! by P.D. Eastman

6. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss

7.  Thumpity Thump Gets Dressed by Cyndy Szekeres

8.  Family Huddle by Peyton, Eli and Archie Manning

9.  How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers

10. Thomas the Train

I have my own list of favorites, but I usually can't finish reading them without crying. The boys don't appreciate that yet.  I would LOVE to know some of your FAVS.  We are always looking for a great read.

Let's Race!!!

  Lately, Brennan and Braxton have be unpredictable with their naps.  Some days they go down without a problem or a sound.  Others, they empty drawers, change clothes, and run in circles....for hours.  The other day, I went in their room only to find that Brennan's mattress was on the floor, their dresser was empty and Braxton had removed his diaper.

  Yesterday was no different.  Even though we took a walk to the library before their nap, they played and carried on for just about 2 hours.  They NEVER fell asleep.  I threw in the towel and we all took a walk to the park.  I figured that I MIGHT be able to get them to go to bed a little early if we blew off more steam.

  Today, everyone slept in....SCORE! And we headed to Target after breakfast to buy the newly released Toy Story and Toy Story 2!!  Colton we down for a nap (like a champ) and the other two knuckleheads were sent to the backyard ( I HEART a fenced in yard).  The boys said "Mommy, let's race!" Of course I responded with "Yes boys, LET'S race".  My almost three year olds ran, and ran, and ran.  I was happy to encourage their racing, tag and follow the leader.  After I fed them some lunch, we read a great book and they went down.  They haven't so much as sneezed.  VICTORIOUS! (Even if Colton woke up 5 minutes after the other two went down)  We will be racing again tomorrow....