Our boys are just soooo good!

We took a trip to the library this afternoon and as soon as we got home we found each of the boys doing this:

They were quiet and content for almost ten minutes. It was so great.

So great, in fact, we thought...

...let's...

...have...

...another....

And then we thought, 'Gosh, boys are so easy, clean, nice, kind, soft, gentle...let's have another one of those too!'

So we are. See for yourself.

Yeah, no mistake.

All boy.

Big boy.

Maybe even a man.

Erik is so proud.

We didn't find out the gender early for Max or Alex. I decided I wanted to know this time to be more prepared. I'm so glad we found out. No regrets. It's fun knowing early. (And now, I don't have to wait 5 more months thinking, it could be a girl. Pshhh.)

We told the tech we had two boys at home already.

Apparently the baby heard that and here's what he thought.

(She kindly deleted the line that said "FLIPPING OFF HIS FAMILY". haha. Kidding, of course.)

In fetus voice: You think those two are bad....heh..heh..heh....just wait Mommy.

Stinker.

We are happily expecting early February. I've been feeling okay. Yes, some issues. Mostly gone for now. (Except that stupid sciatic nerve. The pain is one thing but it's really embarrassing when your happily walking along and ...whoops...down she goes!) We have new insurance meaning new doctors and hospital. So it feels all new again. It is nice to have appointments 5 minutes away rather than 45.

So I'm about halfway through. I look like I could deliver tomorrow. No joke. I'm a  little concerned about what I will wear towards the end. I've almost outgrown most of my newly purchased maternity clothing. And no, not just belly...we're talking all-over chub. And the pregnancy nose is already here. Not just for the smells. But, it's...just ...so...round... and big.

Yay for babies!

**********************************

Just had to add this. I was reading over the post and Max come up to me asking me what I was looking at. He saw the ultrasound picture and says "Oh, the baby. How cuuute!"

Then he rubs the back of  my head, stares into my eyes and says, "Mom, you look like a beautiful princess."

Um, okay. I'll have another boy!

Humming Around

I was on the phone with my Mom last week and a hummingbird happened to nearly crash into our front window. We've had a few hummingbirds near the front of our house and I mentioned I should get a hummingbird feeder for them.

Then...

...wahlah...

...Grandma Mills showed up with one that night! It was so cool! We made the food and put it all together. It took a few days but now we have hummingbirds all day long. The boys love watching them. I do too. They just look so peaceful. They hang out for about 30 seconds or so (or shorter if Alex jumps towards the window).

I got a couple pictures today.

Thanks Mom for the awesome surprise!

The Mysterious Mind of Max

I guess it's not so mysterious. He is three. Lot's of things travel through a three-year-old's mind. And at a very fast pace. Here's a typical conversation with Max.
Max: Mom!!!! Look!! I see a backhoe loader!!!!
Me: Oh yeah, that's cool Max.
Max: Mom? What's a backhoe loader?
Me: The tractor you just pointed out to me.
Max: Oh. Mom? What's a tractor?

It can last an entire car ride.

Today:

Max: Mom? What street are we on?
Me: Elmira.
Max: Mom? What street are we on now?
Me: Still on Elmira.
Max: What street are we on now?
Me: On Elmira still. We will be on this street for a long time.
Max: Oh. We'll be on Emilera for a long time? Oh. Okay. Well what street are we on now? (stopped at stoplight)
Me: Still Elmira, sweetheart.
Max: Oh. Okay.
Max: Mom? What street are we on now. (still at stoplight)
Me: Uh...Main Street, Max.

This is pretty normal at bedtime:

After the "routine" it is silent for a few minutes, I assume he's asleep. Nope.

Max: So...Mom...tell me all about your favorite jet plane.
Me: It's time for sleep, Max.
Max: Okay, because mine is .....blah blah blah...

I would just love to get lost inside his little mind one day.

Edible Artist

Me: Alex! Have you been eating crayons again?

Alex: Ummmm.....no?

Yeah, I didn't think so either.

Earlier he got a hold of the controller for the dog shock collar. (Still climbing everything) Result...all the neighbors were outside trying to figure out what dog was getting attacked. Poor pup.

Now he's stuck behind the couch.

And I'm leaving him there.

Utah or bust!

This young lady is leaving for college tonight.

I remember the day she was born. I was only 16 and she definitely changed our

family in so many good ways. 

I can't say enough good things about her.

We are all so incredibly proud of her and are sad to see her leave us.

But, she has her whole life ahead of her.

I can't wait to see what she makes of it. She's done a pretty great job so far.

I'm a very proud auntie - especially since I'm her favorite! :)

Good luck at BYU Kirra Jae!

We love you so much!

Alex turns 2!

Alex turned two yesterday and I'm pretty sure he had a great day. It took him about 4 seconds to fall asleep last night. And he didn't want to have anything to do with me. He crawled into his bed by himself and crashed.

He and I were the first ones to wake up so I quickly showed him his cake. He gave me a few blank stares for photos (he was really rolling his little two-year-old eyes). Then did this.

 Max is full of love and gave Alex a birthday hug.

Erik worked the night before so he was sleeping while I let him open a few presents. The first was a great tractor from Uncle Joe and Aunt Susie. He LOVED it! He played with it all morning. We made piles (from wrapping paper) for him to push around and he was in pure heaven.

After Erik woke up he opened the rest of his presents. He got all sorts of boy stuff. A new tool set, monster trucks, books...

..then he opened Grandma Gail's gift....we now have two basketball stars in the house. (Sorry, baseball. We'll see you again soon.)

We took the boys to the bounce house place and the ran like little maniacs for an hour. All of those pictures are on my phone and for some reason I can't transfer them. So imagine two happy boys jumping, sliding and climbing like crazy.

Erik's Dad was able to come up for a visit and cake, which was a nice surprise. Alex wouldn't take of his new goggles from his tool set during the cake/singing part. Pretty cute if you ask me. Here they are singing.

...and Alex blowing out his candles. He was pretty happy with his "woowoo" cake (I just put a little fire truck and ambulance on top of a cake) even though it read "Happy Birthday to Ale". (He ate most of the X earlier). Erik had to leave for work shortly after cake and ice-cream so we were able to play with toys and relax a little. His cousins came over for pizza and cupcakes...and basketball, of course. They all love Alex so much it is so fun to see the bigger boys interact with him. He loves it too.

This morning has been a simply wonderful way to start off the two's. He completely dumped out his cereal bowl, played in the milk, splashing around (huge mess), bit his brother, dumped out the bin of crayons, somehow scratched up his arm, screamed at the top of his lungs several times (for no reason, he giggles after every time..and Erik is still trying to sleep) and I just finished cleaning marker off my cloth ottoman (it was covered).

Yay for two!

We love you, Bakey! Happy 2nd birthday!  

Learning Lessons

I have learned when Alex disappears I need to find him quickly. I usually find him on his changing table (as seen above, which I know is way cleaner than I could have found him) or on my bed going through Erik or my shelves. He's also learning how to climb the cabinets/shelving in the kitchen. Yay!

I've also learned to look at the brighter side of things. While telling Max I was upset with the latest scratch in our hardwood floors, he doesn't miss a beat and yells "Oh YES! Mooooohhhhm! A new starting line!" and immediately lines up a couple Monster Trucks to start the "big race". (The big race happens pretty much every hour here).

Another thing I learned is when your three-year-old approaches you and says, "Hey Mom, smell my fingers!" Uh...DON'T!!!! (No picture for that one. And why are boys so gross?)

Another day, another lesson learned.

Cars 2!

Today was our first experience at the movie theater. And we survived. We saw Cars 2 and the kids really enjoyed it. Alex made it about halfway through before we had to take turns walking around. We had fun and have a better idea of what to expect now. Kids movies are a completely different experience than a grown-up movie. It's pretty much loud the whole way through. 

Can't wait to watch it on DVD so we can see all the parts we missed!

Ethan's Birthday at the Lake!

Our nephew, Ethan, celebrated his 5th birthday this weekend at Whiskeytown Lake.  It made me think about the day he was born. He was so beautiful. We stayed the night in Anderson (where Erik's sister, Nicole, lives) and hung out at the lake all day on Sunday.

Saturday night we had dinner at Nicole's house. They live on several acres where they have the most AMAZING garden, chicken, sheep, bee's, a tree house and just fun "country living" activities on their property.

Max and Alex were first attracted to their sand pit complete with trucks, shovels, and mini frogs. It took Max a few tries but he finally caught one and was a very proud boy.

I didn't get any pictures at Nicole's house but when I say she has an amazing garden, I mean it should be in a magazine. It is the most beautiful garden I have ever seen in my life. They have it perfectly set up with every possible thing you can plant. They are really talented people to come up with the layout and design. We had fun picking berries (blackberries, raspberries, blueberries), having a fresh-from-the-garden salad with dinner, visiting with family, playing in the water, meeting the animals and absorbed the quiet atmosphere.

The next morning we went in to Redding to see the Sundial bridge. We walked across it and I did catch a photo of Alex, Max and Roxy holding hands and chatting while walking. It was pretty hot that early in the morning so we stopped at their Farmer's Market for breakfast and lemonade.

Then it was off to the lake.

 They reserved a private beach and it was filled quickly with friends and family to celebrate this charming young boy. As we were setting up I got a quick photo of Max, Vivian and Ethan in their party hats before the water activities started. We didn't see much of Max after that. He's like a little fish.

 Alex stayed close digging and sitting on me. It wasn't until near the end that he wanted to swim. The lake was a perfect temperature for the hot day. The kids had fun making new friends and playing with their boats and water toys. The men/dad's became "sea monsters" and the giggles that came from the kids was priceless. They all had so much fun.

As long as Max had his little floaty, he was swimming like crazy, all the way to the rope a couple times. Once with Erik, another time with me. He's inside that little blue boat in the last picture. We had a really wonderful, summery day  and hope to make it up to camp there sometime soon! Happy Birthday, Ethan! Thanks for inviting us to your super fun party!

Butterflies and Building

Our caterpillars became butterflies and flew away. The boys really liked watching them grow and change. We released them on a sunny morning and they seemed a bit happy to leave Alex's house. (mini terror). The one below took a few minutes to get his air-wings.

Erik changed a coat closet into shelving yesterday (when it was close a billion degrees outside). And, of course, he had two persistent helpers on his construction crew. They made a good team and now I have a little more storage in my tiny old house.

Not a whole lot going on here right now. The flu has made it's way through (Which is why Max is in a pull-up in that picture, ugh.) and is just lingering. We must be good providers for it because it just finds another way to strike. Erik just had a shift change at work, still on nights. I think he likes it though. I still love hearing abut the crazy calls he gets (he works mainly in Vallejo, if that gives you an idea) Other than that, just trying to stay cool in the massive heat.

Hope you're enjoying your summer!