Christmas Elf

Someone stuffer my stocking....with a monkey slipper. Me thinks it was Luke, silly guy. Although in my house full of sillies, it could be anyone. What's in your stocking?

Christmas Choir

Nothing rings in the holidays quite as well as the "Hanging of the Greens" service at our church. The children's choirs all get to perform, and the children get a chance to show us their best. This was Luke's first year in children's choir, and he was ready!

Can you find him? Just look for the sweetest, cutest and tallest child. He is standing nest to a boy that's birthday is just a few weeks away from his. Lukey you are one tall and handsome guy!

James requires no introduction.  I am positive you can find him in this video, and I am sure it will make you smile.  (Luke is also in this one, bottom row)

We were told that James "stole the show". But in my opinion, that honor goes to a sweet little girl in this video. LOVE children's choirs!

Meeting the Presidents

A wax museum with all 44 presidents? Luke was in heaven. He ran through asking to have his picture taken with everyone. James was pretty skeptical at first, but warmed up to standing next to them for a picture.

 

Funny moments from today included me thinking another patron of the museum was a statue (until they started moving) and Luke screaming different presidents names throughout the museum.

 

Luke really got into posing with the presidents! He would recite part of a book or poem about some of them. And when he could not recognize one, big brother James was there to read the placards for him. All in all a really fun family outing!

 

 

 

Watch out superheroes...a princess is coming to town!

We are very excited to announce that sweet baby girl Turner is healthy and very wiggly. The boys got to hear her heartbeat and see her moving around this morning.

The boys were very curious (as usual) and their commentary during the sonogram was hysterical. The tech and I were doing our best not to laugh, baby girl was wiggly enough without me helping. There was a lot of questions about the baby being naked and a lot of uncontrolled laughter from my two boys. But the best comment was from James:

Luke: What is he doing? (said before we knew gender)

James: He is probably looking for a way out!

 

Baby girl we cannot wait to hold you!!

Trunk or Treat

We had a great time at a local church's Trunk or Treat last night. Super heroes were everywhere!! Best costume award goes to the green army man, the boys were 50% terrified, 50% curious. Curiosity must have won over because they asked to have their picture taken.

Pumpkin Patch

One Truth and a Lie

Tonight at church dinner, James was telling people there was a baby in mommy's tummy. He also spread a rumor that I am 23. Love this kid!

Picture is waiting for daddy to get out of meeting.

What to name the baby?

The boys have been coming up with names for the baby. When asked if they think it will be a boy or girl, we get "we don't know yet", but their names say it all! Luke thinks we should name the baby Sarah. He is pretty adamant about this one. James, on the other hand, is very diplomatic in his response and gives us several options to choose from. Here is how the conversation went:

 

Me: What should we name the baby?

James: Gordon. (what on earth!?!)

Luke: Sarah.

Me: James, why did you think of that name?

James: He is in Thomas the Tank Engine. (ok, now that makes sense)

Me: You know we picked names for both you boys from the Bible.

James: Ohhhhh. Well, then maybe we could name him Matthew or Mark (long pause) or even Acts! (notice how he skipped over Luke and John because we already have those in our family).

Luke: Sarah is in the Bible, my name is still good.

 

So what do you think, what should we name the baby?

 

Birthday Boy and a Baby in Jail

Our sweet Luke turned 4 last week. He has been anxiously waiting since September for his birthday to arrive. Mostly he wanted to plan his special birthday dessert. We went through many different ideas, and finally settled on chocolate cupcakes and icecream.

Hard to catch a picture of this sweeetie around food, he doesn't waste anytime once dessert is placed in front of him!

 

I did catch him with his breakfast treat....after he had his first bite. Happy Birthday Luke, you sure make life exciting!

 

Funny story from this morning....James came running into see me when he woke up frantic to ask me a question. It was apparent he had been thinking this up while he was waiting for it be time to get up. (Thank you Tot Clock!) Almost breathless he asks..."Is the baby naked in your tummy?" I told him that yes, the baby was growing naked, but it was ok because no one can see the baby yet. We'll be sure to dress the baby. He seemed to relax with this information, then instructed me to open my mouth. I asked him why..."So I can see the baby and say good morning". Hahaha, this guy is hysterical. Then in walks Luke, catching the tail end of the conversation. "I am going to throw the baby in jail" he announces with a giggle. Oh boy, and we're off to another normal morning in our house. Good Morning!

 

Great Falls Park

Hard to believe we have never made it out to see Great Falls! It was a great morning trip to hike a little, check out the observation points and climb some rocks. James read all the signs along the way, which was great because if the sign said to stay on the trail...guess who actually stayed on the trail! We also watched some kayakers in the rapids, and the kids asked if Uncle Morgan and Auntie Julia could do that. What do you think Uncle Mowg and Auntie Julia...want to show off your rapid kayaking skills next time you come to visit?

Perhaps the funniest picture of the day. I told them to act normal and this is what I got. Luke is the Statue of Liberty and James is showing off his super powers.

And we actually got pictures of John and I. Proof we too were there.

Me and my guys, love these boys!

 

Our New Look!

Have you noticed our new design on our blog? Isn't it fabulous! I "designed" it myself at Sour Apple Studio's Do It Yourself site. The hardest part was picking just one design, there are so many to choose from. And it is all custom, you pick colors, fonts, backgrounds....you name it. And until October 8th, there is a giveaway for a free DIY blog design.

 So hurry over and check it out at: http://www.sourapplestudiodiy.com/, or you can click on the fun button in my sidebar.

Random tidbits from our Wednesday. We have Community Bible Study on Wednesday mornings, and we all love it. The boys updates from this morning were pretty hilarious. James apparently announced to his entire class during snack time that "Mommy has a baby in her tummy". His teachers said he was very proud to make this announcement. When I asked him why he announced this news he said, "I just wanted everyone to know. I love babies."

Luke, meanwhile, has been teasing the girls in his class. The teachers report that it is hysterical and that mostly the girls deserve it and it is great entertainment. I asked Luke about this, and he said "I was just pushing their buttons." Nice. Although bonus points for Luke, he impressed his teachers by reciting the Lords Prayer before snack.

Apparently my kids can do great things when bribed by food.  Now go to Sour Apple Studio and check it out!

Pumpkin Patch!

It's officially fall here in Northern Virginia, and we are loving it! We had our first (of many) trips to our local pumpkin patch this weekend.

Here I am with my sweet pumpkins.

They like to pick out ones that are "super heavy" because they are "so strong". Welcome of Fall!

 

 

The boys have an announcement...

Sometime around March 26th we'll have 2 big brothers in the house. We are so blessed!

 

Missing our Cousins

We had a great visit with 3 of our cousins last week. We had a house full of cute kiddos (and a beautiful Aunt), and we are missing the giggles and joyful noises. Come back soon cousins!

 

 

Kindergarten

I cannot believe we have a kindergartener in our house! Some fun developments from our first few weeks of school.

*James' "first day" went smoothly. He is already making friends and is so excited to tell me all about it. He even remembered both teachers names, a big thing for my cutie who is terrible with names.

*Luke is soaking up his time with just mommy. He was perfectly content to drop off his brother. Although he was big eyed at the big high school boys at school. Perhaps they were the reason he was a little concerned that when we picked James up he would be a "grown man".

*Luke has declared himself an official preschooler...not to be outdone when people ask James what grade he is in.

*James insisted on wearing his backpack, even though all it contained was a water bottle. Next week it will also hold his snack, so I guess it will be more then a fashion accessory.

Trouble

Our most recent playground adventure gave us a lot to talk about.

Luke: mommy, have you ever heard of a kid named trouble?
Me: No, have you?
Luke: Yes, he was at the playground. His mom kept calling his name and that was trouble.

James: Mom, why can't boys play tea party?
Me: They can, where did you hear that?
James: a mommy told a boy that he couldn't play tea party. Only girls do that.
Me: She was misinformed. Anyone can play tea party.
James: Ok, I like playing chasing bad guys better. But sometimes I like to play tea party and pour tea on my head.

Somehow I missed all the excitement. But those little guys don't miss a thing.

And, here they are posing...sillies!

Misheard lyrics

My children share in my inability to properly hear lyrics, rather we hear what we want to hear. Here are some of my favorites:

Luke: mud, mud, I love mud!
Real Veggie Tale Song: love, love true true love.

James: who's got feet in position?
Real Donald Duck theme song: who's got a cheery disposition?

And because no post is complete without a picture, here are the boys with Abe Lincoln at the National's baseball game.

You can do better then that!

This is James' new catch phrase. Not sure where he picked up this gem, but it is surprising how often it can be spun into everyday conversation.

Me: Time for lunch, I made PB and J.
James: You can do better then that.

Me: Let's make a craft.
James: You can do better then that.

Luke: James, let's play Don Pedro and the three dragons.
James: You can do better then that.

You get the picture. Funny and annoying all wrapped up in one.

Pictures: J and L posing in front of butterfly craft. Next is L building a town out of blocks, he was very proud and insisted on a picture.

A boy and his dog

Sweet Luke and Zion. And an extra with James who needed to be in a picture too.

Newspaper Dome

Thank you VBS for this fun idea. I built this for my class of four year olds and they loved it. They loved it so much it only lasted one day....trying to fit all twelve kids into it was maybe not the best idea.

The boys helped me build the first dome at church and then were so disappointed when it was demolished. So we built another at home this morning. Amazing what newspaper staples and tape can create. We'll see how long this one lasts.

Cinco Leches

Tres Leches cake + homemade cherry whipped cream + cherry ice cream = Cinco LechesProbably the best dessert I have had in a long time! Recipes to follow.Side note: did you know Dolly Madison was the first to serve. Pink icecream at the white house? Well now you know, and if it is good enough for the the President it's good enough for me.Loved our time with Grammy, it went by way too fast!

 

An Elephant and Grover Cleveland

Yesterday Luke was so excited to tell me there was a "Grover Cleveland candy bar". Thinking he was joking I asked him what it was called. "Baby Ruth, it's named after his daughter Ruth". I immediately googled it, yup he was right. He and Grammy read it in a book...the fine print in our President rhyming book. Then just to test his memory I asked him what number President Cleveland was... "22" he replied fast as lightning. Again, I had to double check. He was right, again. He also knew that he was president twice (with Benjamin Harrison between terms) and that the Statue of Liberty was completed while he was on office. This child continues to amaze me!

He wanted to try a Baby Ruth and I told him we could pick one up after swim lessons if he reminded me (assuming he would forget). But my little elephant remembered and we got a sweet treat today. Win-win!

 

Happy Father's Day

James drew this portrait of John at church on Sunday. The part you can't see is a very detailed picture of a three eyed alien on the other side. He was very proud of that one! Thankfully he does label his pictures so there is no confusion.