Back to "normal"

I hesitate to use the word "normal" around here because is there ever really anything normal??  :) 

Of course, I'm talking about our weather and the fact that we have returned to more spring-like temperatures.  I think I'd like to go back to the well-above-average temps, thank you very much.  Hopefully those 2 weeks of 70s-80s wasn't the beginning and end of our summer.  I'd really like to see a lot more of those beautiful, sunny days and SOON! 

We made the best of the cooler temps including fingerpainting with Josiah and catching up on all of our indoor activities again (for Josiah: jumping off stuff, singing and dancing, reading books and watching TV; for Noah: YouTube and Legos; for me: scrapbooking, reading and computer stuff... oh and candy bar sales at school. ugh; for Michael: does it really matter what the weather is like?  He just WORKS! ;) 

This week we have had a crazy territorial robin bashing into two of our windows and the back door, leaving a trail of yuck behind him.  I think the two windows are now dirty enough again that he no longer is trying to attack "the other bird" and I hung streamers on our door because he was driving me crazy!  Plus, that is the door we use most and I really don't want that trail of bird yuck to track into the kitchen and beyond.  So our door looks like we're celebrating something - it's always a party here!  lol   

Whether it's a party or not, the streamers are keeping the robin away! 

Noah started spring soccer last night and had a great time.  His coaches are actually parents of 2 of his good friends and they are SO organized and know what they're doing (unlike coaches we've had in the past....)  I took a few pictures at practice and I'm sure will have many more as the season begins in a few weeks.

3-28-12

Spring fever

The weather warmed up a little more and so did my boys.  Both ended up with fevers though they didn't seem overly sick.  Josiah slowed down some and Noah watched a little more tv than usual but other than that, they were just HOT.  I'll take that over runny noses and throwing up any day.  Noah does have the cough that everyone seems to have these days but even that isn't constant - just mostly in the morning when he first wakes up.  Somehow, I have managed to escape it all - it must be my super-mom-immune-system.  :)  Let's hope it holds up!

Though the boys were feverish, it didn't slow down our fun and enjoyment of this beautiful weather too much.  Noah & Josiah went in search of worms and it was SO cute.  They walked hand in hand from spot to spot carrying trowels and digging up worms and potato bugs.  I'm sorry to say most of the worms did not make it past my boys.  Once discovered, Noah liked cutting them in half and Josiah liked to "touch" them... which in 2-year-old-boy world means squishing them flat with your finger.  The potato bugs fared better since they have their own defense mechanism.  Noah tried throwing the rolled up potato bugs against the house and screened in porch and found that doing so only stunned the bugs into unrolling and then attempting to escape with a high-speed potato bug run.  Needless to say, they rarely escaped. 

We also cleaned out the sand box and put new sand in so the boys spent some time in the box...

And on Tuesday, Josiah and I went to Columbus to have lunch with a friend and while we were there, spent some time at the play area at the Mall at Tuttle Crossing.  We also walked by the Easter Bunny.  Josiah wasn't too sure what to do with him - he did give him a high five but mostly looked at him like he was trying to figure out exactly what that thing was.  :)

I found pictures from the week before that I forgot to post - when it was still a bit chilly, we built a fort in the living room and I took pictures of Josiah playing.  Now he asks to make a fort on a regular basis - I just need to find a way to build the fort without taking up the whole living room.  I remember when my brother & I were younger, our great-grandmother made a card table cover that was our fort.  It was really cool.  I've wondered where that went to all these years later.  Probably in a scrap box that got donated or thrown out.  Maybe I'll have to get crafty and make one of our own.

Today it's supposed to get near 90, so it's time to get out there and enjoy!!  Happy Spring!

3-21-12

Spring has sprung!

It has been absolutely BEAUTIFUL here and the boys and I are enjoying every minute of sunshine and warmth that we can.  We brought out Josiah's bubble mower and he is mowing up a storm!  lol  He will literally spend 30 minutes walking back and forth, pushing his little mower. (if only it would really cut the grass!) Today he would go far enough to get a few bubbles out and then walk around and stomp on any that landed on the ground but didn't pop.  Then he pushed some more and continued that for quite awhile.  These bubble mower pictures are from early in the week.

The bubbles don't show up in the pictures, but they're there!  :)

Josiah also learned to climb up the playhouse ladder on his own!  I had tried to teach him but it took a little extra help from Dad and after a few minutes, he was doing it on his own.  No pictures of this major feat, but I'll try to take a few this week.  He also still loves to swing and loves to point out every airplane that flies by.  Keep in mind, most of the airplanes that fly over our house are at their cruising altitude and all we can really see are the contrails.  He points out every one of them.  He also tells me that he would like to go on the airplane.  ME TOO!  :) 

Josiah is also obsessed with The Little Einsteins these days.  The Little Einsteins is a cartoon with music, art and 4 little kids going on adventures.  It's very cute and Noah actually learned quite a bit about musical terms by watching it when he was little, but I don't remember him being this crazy for them.  Today while watching one of his Little Einstein movies, I noticed that he was saying the dialogue along with the characters.  I suppose this shouldn't surprise me since he can sing the theme song on his own and can tell me specifically which episode he wants to watch.

Noah continues to be busy at school and today started back to piano lessons.  His teacher goes to Florida each winter so we take a break from piano December-February.  I also signed him up for soccer today so we're heading back to the soccer field this year.  Hopefully he gets the coach I requested and has a positive experience this time! (He's had such poor experiences the last 2 seasons he played that he hasn't wanted to play for about 2 years.)  He definitely has the energy to run off!!!  We'll see how it goes this time around.  Noah will be busy - there's no doubt about that! (read: MOM will be busy!) 

Happy SPRING!

kid summary

Since I don't have any pictures this week, I thought that instead of the normal post, I'd do what I've seen other bloggers do on birthdays/milestone dates.  Since I've never done that, thought it might be something to do today and maybe something I'll start doing on a more regular basis.

I'll start with Noah.
*Today, he is 3,329 days old or 9 years, 1 month & 11 days and is 52 5/8" or 4' 4 5/8" tall.  He weighs 68 lbs.
*He has beautiful brown eyes with the longest eyelashes I've ever seen.
*He is one of the most active kids I know, in constant motion and always making noise.
*He wakes up by 6:30am almost every morning.
*He has many talents: drawing, singing, playing piano and Lego building
*He is an excellent student in school - he is in 3rd grade though his math & reading scores are well above that level.
*He is a part of the school performing group and the school percussion ensemble.
*His interests include Legos, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Batman, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, YouTube videos and Wii.
*He loves to play outside, no matter how cold it is!
*His room is a disaster area most of the time.
*He is a very good big brother (most of the time...)  ;)

And on to Josiah...
*Today, he is 814 days old or 2 years, 2 months & 22 days. :)  He is 36 1/4" or just over 3' tall. He weighs 29lbs.
*He loves to do whatever his big brother does.
*He wakes up by 7am almost every morning and rarely wants to go to bed at night.
*He likes Mickey Mouse, Elmo, Little Einsteins, Boz the Bear, and Buzz Lightyear.
*He loves to be read to and likes to look at books on his own as well.
*He is very good at entertaining himself.
*He likes to go to the library for story time and he takes a class called Tiny Tots Gym at the Y.
*He LOVES to be outside.
*We can understand more and more of the words he says though we still spend a lot of time saying, "What?"
*He can count to ten with help.
*He can sing the ABCs if someone is singing along with him.
*He loves to sing and can actually hum recognizable tunes on his own including the Star Wars theme, Indiana Jones theme and lots of toddler favorites.  (like Twinkle Twinkle, Wheels on the Bus, Itsy Bitsy Spider, etc...)
*He pees in the potty before bath time almost every night.

Both of our boys fill my life and my heart with more JOY and LOVE than I can put into words. I thank God for both of them every day and I am so blessed to be a mom.  They make me laugh a lot, cry occasionally, and always keep me on my toes.