What Do Cows Really Do?

Boys visiting a farm in New England a couple of months ago.


Most days we drive by a dairy farm and wave hello to the cows. One time I asked Braiden what the cows do. The answer? "Eat, sleep, poop and drive cars."

Lately he has been calling all of us "honey". As in honey-mommy! / honey-daddy! / honey-Noah!

Braiden often calls himself "you". It's very cute. As in "you's car!" or "hold you" when he wants to be picked up.

Braiden also loves routines. This morning as we were headed out the door, he said bye-bye to our tabletop clock. Then he went over, blew a kiss to it, hugged it and gave it a high-5 (this is our bedtime routine). To top it off, he waved to the clock from the door and said, "Have fun! See you later!"

Every night he closes Noah's door. Before he does, he without fail says, "Nite-nite Noah! I love you Noah!" Little brother responds with his own "nite-nite!"

Sluuuurp!

Noah back in February, making sure mommy's coffee is all done.

Noah loves to drink. Sure, he likes his milk, juice and water... but mostly, he likes what someone else is having. Especially if it's in a can, glass, or a bottle. He'll drink just about anything from 100% cranberry juice to carbonated water, and then asks for more. The look of glee on Noah's face, when he discovers someone drinking something, is priceless!

He's also really into taking caps and lids on and off. He tries to sneak into the laundry room's recycling bin, or even better, to raid the fridge and all those glorious caps you find in there... ketchup, orange juice, syrup...! Gotta watch this one.

Dear Blog

Dear Neglected Blog,

Yes, I know. We are sorry. It's not that we haven't thought of you (we have, every few weeks at least). It's just that we've been... busy. Braiden is 2.5 yrs and Noah almost 18 mos., so you see, we haven't simply been lounging around. They have us up and running from the crack of dawn until the day is done.

Braiden gave up his pacifier, and along with that, his naps. He is talking a mile-a-minute and big into playing with his friends. Noah is talking a lot as well (newest word is "cukkake" for "cupcake") and running everywhere. The boys are playing extremely well together and are a true delight. There are times they can even -gasp!- be trusted to play together unsupervised. Sometimes.

We spend lots of time outside and are getting ready to embark on our summer trips to New England and Finland. We've made daytrips from scenic railroads to aquariums to Civil War battlefields (yes, I'm sure we will show you those pictures eventually).

All empty excuses. We promise to do better. We'll try. Um... we'll try to promise to do better.

... And They Grew Like Mad Weeds!

Lately, I've been looking at the boys and just marveling: "When did they get so big?" They are both becoming more independent, more vocal, more social, and so on. They run everywhere. They make noise all the time. And I love it!! Our days are full and happy.



If the boys aren't together, they want to be. I love how close Braiden and Noah have become. And of course they fight, but they enjoy each other so much. The good moments far outnumber the bad ones now. They are growing and learning side by side, and what could be better?



I wholeheartedly love these toddler days.



Noah (16 months) especially has been developing so fast. He has so many words now, everything from "Costco" to "car" and he has been saying things like "Hi Daddy!" "all done, mama" and other simple phrases like that. Last week I caught him doing a puzzle all by himself! Click here to see him in action.

Happy Easter 2009!

Happy Easter from Braiden and Noah! This is us, this morning, right before going to church.

Our countdown to Easter started a week ago while we were visiting my sister.


Braiden loved, I mean really loved, the Easter Bunny. He kept going over and staring at him.






Yes, the loot was a measly 3 eggs.


This morning, before anything else happened, the boys got to dig into their Easter baskets.


Chocolate! Nana sent chocolate!


Noah, loving his choc bunny.


Noah, not loving mommy after she took the bunny away. (Mean mom, not letting him eat the entire thing before breakfast!)

After church, we also had a little egg hunt in the backyard. Click here to see a video of the boys scouring the backyard.

Vroom, Vroom

Rain or shine, we can usually be found outside. Braiden doesn't care about the weather; Noah and Mama wish for sunshine and warmth. We came home to green grass and cherry blossoms - beautiful! 

The boys have been playing together very nicely! Both boys are talking a lot (Noah has 15-20 words and lots of signs, and Braiden has lots of stories to tell us), which is fun. They fight and share toys, annoy and delight each other. Our days are full, and we are having tons of fun.

Triple Trouble

What happens when you have kids 1, 2, 3 years old, under the same roof?










(This is my personal favorite: kids pretending to go "nite-nite"!)

Just So There Are at Least Two Posts Every Month...

We've been visiting my sister for little over a week now, and today we took a trip to the coast!

Oops

Our typically well-coordinated Braiden just now tripped on his own feet and laid on the floor bewildered.



Mom: What happened??
Braiden: My wheel fell off.

15 Months!

Noah is 15 months today! He's our busy, affectionate boy, full of sunshine. He has developed into a runner, signs like a pro, and loves his little cars. Two weeks ago he had his first ever airplane rides when we went to Seattle to visit Grandma for a week - and since then, he hasn't stopped talking (read: signing) about airplanes. (More pictures of that adventure to come...)

Happy Valentine's Day...

...from Braiden and Noah!

Our Week in Pictures

We've had a busy week! A smattering of cell phone pictures follows.


Playgroup Valentine's Day party! We made cards and decorated cookies.


Happy Noah.


And a happy Braiden. :)


The weather has been gorgeous! High 60s to 70s, so we have been outside constantly!


Stickers = toddler crack.


Noah signing "more". He knows somewhere in the ballpark of 15-20 signs! Most used are "airplane", "eat", "milk" and "bath".


The boys and their wheels.

The Mud Brothers

This week, we had one warm day when the temps climbed to mid 50s (followed by two days of snow!). The boys and I had to get outside, and sure enough, what would be more fun than sunshine and melting ice?!

Poor Noah is taking a beating from germs. He just got over two back-to-back colds, only to come down with a stomach bug on Tuesday. He's all better now, but we are all ready for a break!!

It's Alive!!!

Shameful, shameful. Has it really been two weeks again?! So what's up with us?

Noah has been walking for almost a month now. He is getting more stable and faster... so watch out! He loves keeping up with Braiden and generally can be found heading towards the kitchen in search of a snack (this boy is seriously addicted to Cheerios). He also loves walking on the couch and playing "Timber!!" with Braiden and jumping on mommy & daddy's bed. Click here and here to watch videos of Noah walking about two weeks ago - he's gotten a lot better since!



Braiden is a talking machine! His latest favorite is checking up on everybody; if he is in a different room, we'll soon hear... "Noah... where are you?" or if Michael is at work, he'll yell out "Daddy... are you home yet??"



Noah especially has been catching a lot of sicknesses. He is on his second or third cold of the year, and the rest of us haven't been spared either. Yuck. We feel like we haven't been to playgroup or seen our friends in a looong time! The boys have been playing outside a lot, every chance they get. We had our first real winter storm this week, with first snow and then ice. Braiden loved it! Noah wasn't quite so sure...



The boys have been playing together a lot. With varying results. :) Both seem to be very sharing-challenged at the moment...!





Maybe these future bloggers will do a better job?!

Christmas Pics

Yeah, haha. You read that right. Christmas pictures, that's how far behind I am.