Buddies and Birthdays

a little taste of what my sweet sweet Nolan has been up to:

{Sharing a snack at the nearby Sensory Park with two of his best buddies}

{Peace Out! He learned this from the school cafeteria since all the kids have to do this when it gets too loud during lunch}

{Building his bird feeder at home depot with his very pregnant Mom}

{It took us three tries, but we finally got it soundly constructed and were ready to paint it.}

{Playing hard at the indoor soccer complex.}

{Whoa, that's a new soccer move!}

{Helping Mama construct Warren's treat to bring to school for his birthday to share with his class.}

{Ended up deciding on these two color schemes, losing the "antenna jewelry," and opting for a MUCH less healthy treat of candy and marshmallows.  Oh well, they still turned out super cute and fun. 

We love crafts!

I finished Warren's annual birthday letter and went ahead and printed a couple pictures to send too...already, even though his birthday is June 1.  I just feel this urgent need to minimize my workload in May and I want Warren's even year birthday celebration to be extra special this year and not at all overshadowed by the birth of his youngest brother.  His party is mostly planned and it is gonna be killer ;)

You should have seen his face...

...when I gave him the paper and told him to rip it up. Most of the bits were unusable since he used his teeth to tear it up. Glue everywhere. There are about 10,000 reasons why I'm not a preschool teacher but we are having fun muddling through this little workbook. The concepts are already beneath him (colors and shapes) but he is getting practice sitting at the table getting out supplies and squirting glue all over the table. I think that's maybe valuable??

I'm never quite sure what I'm supposed to do at home all day with a toddler. He mostly tags along wherever the big boys' lives dictate we go. Follows me around the house, watches PBS, empties out closets, eats an inordinate amount of carbs...hope that's what he should be doing at 2! :)

{Way to go, Nolan!}

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Our Spring Break trip to Moab is all planned. So excited for a little road trip adventure. We haven't been there since before we got married -- the kids are gonna love it. Bryan is taking Warren and Jack rafting and we are stopping in Glennwood Springs to swim too. Gotta get to packing up the van soon!

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Not much else to report. I am really starting to get uncomfortable in this pregnancy and it's for a whole new reason than I've ever experienced in pregnancy before...it feels like I have 4 times too much blood circulating in my body.  I am itchy, have spider veins ALL OVER my legs, and just feel so heavy.  I swear I can hear my own pulse just sitting at the computer typing.  I know it is a relatively easy fix to get my legs back from looking like a horror show after Luke is born, but it is still so disheartening to see, especially now as the weather warms up and I would normally be getting out shorts and considereing taking the boys swimming.  I can't imagine subjecting anyone to the alarming sight!  Okay, rant over.  I know this is all temporary and the outcome far outweighs this discomfort! 

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Sledding!

It's always a bit iffy when I hand my big camera off to a passer-by, but this nice lady did a pretty good job! Here we all are in one frame at our local rec center getting ready to go sledding. We have always loved our rec center but now we love it just a tiny bit more.

Nolan loved sledding and pretending it was "so scary, mom!" and then asking to go again and again.

The boys had happy determined looks on their faces as they trudged back up the hill. 

Even Mama went down a few times, encouraged by the fact that my coat still zips over my belly.

Couldn't resist a taste of freshly fallen snow!

I seriously love this picture!  I totally remember this feeling from childhood :)

The boys even had a neighbor friend meet up with us.  So fun!

I couldn't love my guys any more...

They make my heart swell and make me so proud.

Awww, feel the love! :)

We finally visited IKEA

While Bryan was on a business trip last week, the kids and I finally made the trek and visited the famed IKEA store.

It was fun, we played, snuggled broccoli pillows, ate meatballs, and even bought a few little things.

On a completely different topic, I hosted a little get together for some moms in my neighborhood who just had babies and Nolan got to hold one of them per his request. Look how proud he is! He is going to be an awesome big brother!

Took a little photography class downtown yesterday and got a bit motivated to use my "real" camera more and try harder to get those special, frame-worthy shots!  Will share a few from an impromptu session with the boys this morning soon.

Babies!

{Car-napping babies...}

{...allow for Mama to spend time with homework-doing babies.}

{And when homework is all done, Mama can focus on making Dutch Babies...}

{...with fresh-squeezed lemon and powdered sugar and plain fresh berries to serve. Yum Baby!}

{Not at all related...but proof positive that we're raising independent babies, who can sniff out a juice box a mile away.}

Worst Blogger Ever

After all that lapse of time, all I can manage are some cell phone pics and titles...life is BUSY!

[We are looking into finishing our attic!  We are not "basement people," and wouldn't mind having another bedroom and bathroom up there.  Maybe I'll get that bathroom with floor to ceiling tile and an urinal after all for these boys! Still in the research phase to see if what we want is possible and acceptable by our HOA.]

[Seriously, has anyone ever had any luck sprouting an avocado seed? Hmmm...]

[New haircut, with some bangs!]

[From the other side.  Got new makeup (Josie Maran!) and did Davinci Teeth Whitening!  Feeling all sparkly and new :)]

[Even with all the headaches I was having, we got out on this day for a much needed change of scenery.]

[The belly at 15 weeks!  Tomorrow we find out the gender!  Okay this is funny because I took this last week and my belly isn't nearly that big now...maybe I just had a huge lunch.]

[These two are becoming such good buddies! (Now that she finally carries a nerf gun willingly!)]

[I was so sure Warren would test gifted recently that I started some pre-emptive researching, I mean the kid got lots of A's on his report card and has the witt and humor beyond most adults.  Well, he is not.  Not by a long shot.  And chances are neither is Jack, even though he constantly blows my socks off.  "This is 10 bundles of 10 pretzels, mom!  That's one hundred pretzels.  If I did this 10 times, that would be one thousand pretzels!"  All while I made his lunch...]

[Can you guess what we did this morning?]

[The boys loved it!  My cheecks hurt from smiling by the time I cleared their plates.]

[Oh my goodness, this is the shirt Jack was wearing at the hospital when Nolan was born!  How does this happen?  And preschool registration is in less than a month!]

[Jack is the "Star of the Week" this week at school.  I laminated his star after we finished it.  I am obsessed with laminating things these days. :)]

[Mom and Dad snuck out last week for the Kid Rock Concert at the Fillmore in downtown Denver.]

[Jack got his shoes all ready the night before his field trip at school to the Denver Puppet Theater.]

[Our Family's newest addition.  Yes, it really is THAT exciting.]

[I got to chaperone Jack's field trip.  It was so cute.  Love love love that boy!]

[Warren first ever science fair project!  My heart nearly burst with pride when someone asked him what his project was on and he replied "Newton's third law of motion."  He made a newton's cradle out of a shoe box, string, beads and tape too.]

[Such a little stud, that #7!]

[If all else fails when you are taking care of 5 kids, build a tent with a "camp fire" and give them crunchy snacks.  Then you can lay down on the couch nearby for at least 20 min.]