Stopping By To Say Hello

I'm sure you were probably wondering if we were all still alive over here.  Happily, we are.  Unhappily, our computer isn't.  Or, wasn't.  The Great Computer Death of 2013 happened in late August, and we waited a few weeks to get a new computer.  Then came all that fun stuff like figuring out how to set things up (hello, Windows 8), and reinstalling software.

So what have we been up to?

Oh, you know.  Digging in the dirt..

Hanging off the banisters...

The usual.

Hopefully now that things are back up and (sort of...) running, I'll get back to posting more frequent updates!

A Preschooler!

Jacob started preschool last Thursday, August 27.  The first day was only an hour long, and we all- including Carter- went with him.  I was so glad that Frank could come, because they ended up having a scavenger hunt-type game that was supposed to familiarize the kids with the room and it would have been really difficult to help Jacob and watch Carter, too.

We've talked about "preschool" for months, and Jacob was ready to find out what it was all about.

The school he attends is a Methodist preschool, and it is about five minutes from our house, which is an even shorter commute than Frank's!

Our neighbor girl, Elsah, is in his class.  She is a doll, and you can see by her little smirk that she can put Jacob in his place in no time!  Did I mention I'm in favor of arranged marriages?!

We met his teachers, Mrs. L

 and Mrs. B.  In the picture below, he was telling Mrs. B about our car.  Go figure.

 The classroom is bright and cheery.  Beyond those doors there is a small playground.

They have a really cool reading loft, that I thought was awesome.

Jacob didn't seem very impressed with it yet, though.

And, oh my, his very own cubby.

And his very own job!

After we finished the scavenger hunt, which included things like, "Find the art table and draw a picture,"

Mrs. L gathered the kids on the rug for a story.

We covered a LOT of ground in one hour!

We're now on day three of school, and so far, he has enjoyed it.  Even though he's used to being with me, I think we go to enough new places, meet enough new people, and do enough new things that going to school wasn't that big of a shock for him.  He's nosy with an adventurous streak, and it serves him well in this setting.

I, personally, am looking forward to seeing his first drippy, watercolor painting and can't wait to see how he matures this year!

Carter's First Birthday Video Montage

Here is a quick little video of Carter's first year.  Enjoy!!

Daddy's Home!

It's one of the most exciting times of the day.

We hear the garage door open and both kids-- and the cat, usually-- rush towards the kitchen door.

"It's our daddy!"  Jacob yells.

And before he can set his keys down, Frank usually has Jacob jumping on top of him, Carter screaming because Jacob got there first, and the cat rubbing against his leg.  He schleps them around as he sets down his phone and takes off his tie; Jacob trying to wrestle; Carter still yelling at Jacob; and the cat meowing.  All of them are so happy to see a new playmate.

They basically don't leave him alone until bedtime, everyone waiting for their turn to be thrown into the air or tickled or taken outside.  He's like their Pied Piper.  Wherever he goes, three little creatures aren't far behind.

Exhibit 1:

Exhibit 2:

Exhibit 3:

How our evenings have changed in just 5 years!

Wednesday Randoms

• Frank's parents visited us last Saturday-Monday, and it was great.  Even though we didn't really do anything special, it was so nice to hang out...and have 2 extra sets of hands to help with kids!.

• The bad news:  Jacob broke his curtain rods.  (Side note:  I could probably write a whole post about stuff Jacob broke.)  The good news:  a trip to Home Depot and two double-sided screws later, Grandpa Gary got them fixed!  

• I don't usually get lotion from Bath and Body Works because it reminds me of junior high.  However, we happened to be in there, and I picked up some Plum Lily Swirl for $5.  It is so light and sweet that it makes me happy.  I guess being reminded of junior high isn't so bad every now and then.

• The new dishwasher arrived on Monday, and it is fabulous!!  It's an LG, and the reason I bought it was that it was supposed to be ultra quiet.  Guess what?  IT IS!  It's hardly louder than a hum, and so far, it's working great.  

• Last night, I realized that Frank and Jacob matched, completely by accident.  Of course, I had to take a picture. (Jacob looks distraught because he had just gotten in trouble.)

• Over the weekend, I had the chance to take a bike ride not once but twice!  I haven't biked since I was a little kid, and it was fun.

• Tonight we're stopping by Two Blokes and a Bus for dinner.  Two Blokes and a Bus is a refurbished double-decker bus that sells street food.  You can read more about it here. I am so excited to try it!

Eleven Months

As I took Carter's 11 month picture this week, I realized how quickly my baby is growing.  In a few short weeks, he'll be ONE!

He's really starting to get a personality with likes and dislikes.  I said to someone this week that it's such a fun age because he's still a baby, easily entertained, and can't talk back, but at the same time, there are things he wants to do now that he's just too little to do, like going up the stairs so his temper is starting to show.

To celebrate his official last month of babyhood,  I put together a quick "snapshot" of Carter's personality:

Likes:  Blankets, music, cars, balls, being held, going outside and riding in his red car, pulling things out of cabinets, being chased

Dislikes:  Getting his clothes or diaper changed, getting medicine, being away from mama

Favorite Foods:  PASTA (especially mac and cheese), nutra-grain bars, carrots, graham crackers, bread, melon, and puffs

Least Favorite Foods:  Anything that he can't pick up with his hands, bananas, and juice.  He's eaten small bits of shredded chicken, but other than that, I can't find much meat that he likes or will eat yet.

Sleep:  Goes to bed at 7:45 pm and wakes up around 5:45 am.  Naps 8:45-9:45 am and 12:45-2 (ish) pm.

Says:  Mama, Dada, Car (go figure).  Lots of babbling and consonant sounds.

He has been such a cuddly, easy baby that this year has flown by!

The Looks I Get

When we get the boys dressed for church on Sunday, I always have the urge to take a picture.  I want to capture that rare time when Jacob isn't in track shorts; when his hair is combed; when everyone is clean and smells like Johnson's baby lotion.  (Because I still put a little baby lotion on my 3.5 year old.  Kids who smell nice get treated nicer by teachers.  It's true.)

The only glitch in my plan is that my boys never want to sit still for a picture.  They don't want to look at me. They don't want to smile.

As soon as I put away the camera, they're photogenic again, but when I try to take a picture, these are the looks I get:

(See the temporary tattoo on Jacob's arm?  He got it at a party the night before, and he thought it was way cool. Hopefully, his Sunday School teachers overlooked it since he smelled so pretty.)