Goofballs

Daniel and Aaron enjoy playing together while Matthew finishes up his afternoon nap.

 Aaron already enjoys wrestling.

Silly.

Cardboard Rocket

We like to make things out of cardboard here. And since we get diapers delivered, there is never a shortage of big boxes to use. This week: cardboard rocket ship.

 After a few days perfecting our design, the finished rocket is ready for the finishing touches: control panels and viewing portals.

 Daniel checks out the fuel levels.

 Matthew makes one last adjustment.

Ready to go!

 Space is fun!

Away they go...

Taking care of the wildlife

After a beautiful September and early October, it is suddenly pretty cold here. The big boys have been watching the squirrels hide their food in our yard which reminded me of when Daniel put peanuts out for the squirrels a few years ago. Lo and behold, we had more peanuts stashed away (like a family of squirrels...?) so while Aaron took his morning nap, Daniel and Matthew decided to help feed the wildlife in our backyard.

 Brrr! It's cold out here! Good thing I have my new warm hat--thanks Grammy and Grampy!

 Never without that baseball cap...but at least he's warm in his new coat.

This year we decided to make the squirrels work for their peanuts. Daniel distributed them around the yard Easter egg style.

 Matthew had a different approach.

 Daniel scouts for good hiding places.

 How about here?

 While looking for places for peanuts, Daniel found this Super Mario brothers style mushroom. Good thing Daniel knows the dangers of mushrooms. He destroyed it after the picture and it is now safely thrown away in the yard waste bin.

Matthew takes a break.

It is hard work taking care of these squirrels!

Weight issues

The battery in our bathroom scale has been dying. We've been getting the "batt" message for a couple weeks but I kept forgetting to change it. I finally changed it today after Daniel came out of the bathroom saying "Mom! I weigh six, eight, upside-down seven, upside-down seven!"

Me too, Daniel, me too.

Robot party

Daniel has been into robots for awhile now, so the robot-themed birthday party was a no-brainer. The weather report for Saturday gave us a 90% chance of rain. Lucky for us, the rain showed up before but not during the party. We were able to play outside most of the time and no robots reported any signs of rust. :)

 Robot birthday sign.

 Robot food (fuses, nuts & bolts, computer chips, gears and oil, fuel cells, and my favorite: turbo booster cupcakes).

 Big breath...

 blow out those candles!

 Boys' table.

 Somebody sure enjoyed his cupcake.

 We failed to take pictures of the kids in the robot costumes at the party so we took some a couple days later.

 Robot rampage!

 Matthew-bot.

 "How do I turn this on?"

 Aaron-bot.

What a great party, Daniel-bot!

11 Months

Today is Aaron's 11 month birthday. This little guy is walking like crazy. His balance is pretty good and he rarely crawls anymore. He has become more interested in "adult" food, and will only let us spoon feed him his favorite foods (yogurt, and fruit in oatmeal). He likes to laugh and his little cackle is precious. He has become quite the chatterbox lately...no real words but he sure is exercising his voice! Aaron is a bit of a daredevil. He likes to climb anything that can be climbed, including the ladder to Daniel's top bunk. He is definitely keeping us on our toes! 

Keeping an eye on that elephant during a "one of the last days of summer" outings to the zoo.

 Aaron LOVES being outside. Too bad he's not very stable in shoes yet.

 Meeting his "god-brother" Patrick Eusterman.

 I am Aaron. Hear me roar!

 Can you guess who loves to eat his yellow fruits and veggies?

 Aaron likes to hide in boxes. And robot costumes. More on that later.

 Look at all my teeth!

Concentrating.

Can't believe this kid is almost a year old!

Walker

Watch out, world...our littlest guy is on his feet and on the move!

Daniel's 5th Birthday

 This kid is 5! He is a very sweet kid, always looking out for his brothers (baby alert!) and always quick to say how much he loves his family. He has started to give out nicknames: Aaron is "Cute," Matthew is "Ball," and Mommy is "Mrs. Mommy, Queen of Moms" (I swear he came up with that on his own). Daniel is rarely seen without his Seahawks hat on...he even tries to sleep in it. He loves his preschool and is proving to be a pretty bright kid. His big accomplishment lately is learning to read simple sentences. Daniel had a great birthday yesterday. It was a school day and his teachers made him a special birthday crown to wear. He also got to bring in rice krispie treats to share with his classmates for snack. He said it was the best day ever. :) We can't believe how fast five years has gone by...

 Daniel had a messy first few bites of cake back in 2008.

 In 2009, he started to be an extraordinarily clean kid.

 Happy to be three!

 Ready for four.

Which brings us to last night. Daniel picked out dinner: pizza with sausage, pepperoni and salami (no vegetarians here...). He also decided he wanted carrot cake. We clarified with him multiple times to make sure he knew that carrot cake had actual carrots in it. He insisted on it, so we made it. Turns out he doesn't like carrot cake. Oh well, he'll get a redo on the cake when we have his friends over next weekend.

Matthew waits patiently for the cake to come out.

Aaron gets a closer look at what he's in for next month (!).

We love this guy! Happy birthday, Daniel!

5 Years Ago...

...this little guy made us parents. Happy Birthday, Daniel!

More to come later...

Ecco, Matthew

Behold, Matthew.