Keeping Warm

Winter came like a brick wall. Fifties one day and the next week no high out of the twenties. Our lives were rocked; but since we have adapted. We have had sick days, snow days, sad days, and cold days; the stuff life is made of I guess. There is always the good moments though, for which I am always grateful.

 For family Home Evening we made a grateful tree. Tate was thankful for 4 things: friends and trains (by name), the color red, and chocolate milk. The complexity of life at age three is great. Ian found more joy is pulling the tree down than putting the leaves on. It was fun family time together. We have so much to be thankful for.

One very long day when I needed a nap this Ian friendly couch was devised. Tate wanted all of his animals to watch Daniel Tiger too and found them seats on the balcony from which they all plummeted when the show lost it's appeal.

After telling Tate nap time was in 15 minutes I continued with whatever thing I was doing, probably laundry or lunch clean up, and when I went to put him to sleep this is what I found. He had made his bed an attraction instead of a peaceful place. He must have traveled at least a mile up and down our hall relocating all this loot from the front room to his bed. He did tell me how happy teddy was though and his nap was definitely not very restful.

Ian is the happiest tired child I have ever met. He doesn't get cranky, he just wanders around, lays for a couple of minutes, goes and gives someone a snuggle, and then does it again. It is adorable. He does detest though when you go into his room to actually put him to sleep. His bed is not as comfortable or fun.

 Tate and his rainbow bling. We love rainbows and "clalors" at our house. Tate insisted on wearing this bling for over an hour last night. Love these little men!

Time Outs

Time outs are a hot topic at our house as Tate is redefining the rules and Ian is testing his limits. Yesterday Tate put Josh and I in a time out; I don't even remember what it was for. It was absolutely delightful until he charged into the room where we were conversing on our chairs and told us sternly, "No Talking!" He returned a couple minutes later to count and release us... Suppressing that laugh was nigh impossible so I just choked a couple times to cover up. He even gave us hugs when we were done and told us he was sorry. It was sweet.
Ian on the other hand doesn't see the punishment in sitting on my lap and counting to go play again. He purposefully does things he shouldn't, looks at me, laughs at my stern warning voice, and answers yeah when I ask if he wants a time out. He is a whole new level of mischievous that I am not sure I am ready to handle.

Winter has hit.... HARD... As snuggly as the boys are in coats I prefer the less baggage (and warmth) of summer. I need a serious winter attitude adjustment. I am thinking bears have the right idea...

While making bread with Tate I should have been more wary of what was happening behind us. He was having a wonderful time and he liked the pink pages best of all...

Mario Kart is one of Tate's favorite things to do. His skills include driving his car into the water and he is proud of it. Jon and Katherine indulged him when we hung out this week and he was on cloud nine. We miss having these guys around more often.

 Ian has had a couple rough sick nights. The upside is tender time with Daddy in their favorite chair.

How Tate was wearing his tie when we picked him up from nursery. I'm thinking I may have to revert back to clip on. At least this way he wouldn't spill on it when eating.

Getting My Craft On

This past 6 months I have once again started to craft. It is so fun, but so much harder with 2 kiddos. I always have to stop, start, scramble, and relocate whenever I do projects. Anyway there are 3 I want to remember. My first notable one was a denim blanket I made for a friend moving away. Sad to say I forgot to take a picture. It was the first blanket I have made 100% unassisted.

The second one was recovering my kitchen chairs. I couldn't have done this one without the help of my parents when they were out here this summer, but I am in love with the result. Tate calls them our rainbow chairs and looks longingly forward to the day he has mastered sitting without being strapped in so he can call one his own. I also discovered staple guns are almost as fun as drills.

My last one was this masterpiece. A bunch of ladies in the ward decided we should do a felt page swap. I was overly ambitious in my choosing, but after many, many hours on my machine here is the result. I don't think I have been to bed before midnight this week accomplishing this feat. Yesterday we swapped them and I am so relieved to be done and able to catch up on everything else in life! My sewing skills have greatly improved though!

Now I just have to put the book together... Oh the adventures.

A 3 Year Old

I cannot believe I have a three year old. This last month he has grown up so much, literally and mentally. He is the most grateful, funny, silly, jumpy, BIG boy I know. And he's potty trained; the best present he could ever give me for his birthday.

 His birthday included the addition of Radiator Springs to our house. He was smitten at first sight. He spent probably 10 of the 13 hours he was allowed out of his bed playing on the tracks. His cars crashed, bashed, raced, chased, and were introduced to trains. It was mind blowing, and it is still continuing to entertain for hours on end. Score parents!

After hours on the tracks I finally convinced him to eat breakfast. Pancakes are his favorite. Only the one I intended as a 3, was actually an M for mom. He was very quick to let me know.

Posing with his loot. In the last couple days and with the blasted cold we have explored it all more than once.

He unwrapped a box of McQueen band-aids and bolted to his room. Five minutes later this is what I found. I guess if I ever need instant entertainment I should just have a box of band-aids and a garbage handy. Are they cooler than stickers because they go on your body? I have yet to figure that out.

Tate chose Chick-fil-et for dinner. I don't know if he likes the fries or his own chocolate milk better. He loved the book and glasses that came in his kids meal too. He ate his dinner quickly in hopes of following the cow around the store. There were a couple worrisome minutes each lap when the cow walked behind the pillar. He was keeping track of the important things.

Tate blowing out candles on cupcakes that I made for me. He is his father's son and opted for an alternative to the typical (and under appreciated by my family) cake and ice cream. He picked healthy fruit popsicles and enjoyed his while I delved into the good stuff.

To end the perfect birthday he played Mario Kart with the guys. His favorite thing to do is drive into the water. He does it over and over and laughs every single time. What a man.

Wednesday we had a birthday party for Tate. It was so fun to put together, but I am grateful to be done and have less on my mind at night. I made the James pinata too. Oh the brilliance of modified Pinterest ideas.

Enjoying lunch. In retrospect I should have separated Tate and Logan at the table. Too much little boy going on so eating was not high priority. I will have that problem in my house every night by this time next year!

Blowing out his candles.

Enjoying popsicles with his friends. In our daily recap of our day Tate claimed that this was the highlight.

Becoming trains and running around on our painters tape railroad.

The discovery of a tunnel full of balloons. The kiddos went crazy. It was so fun to watch!

Breaking the pinata was the next event. I need to practice batting with my boys. A t-ball set is in their very near future.

We played pin the engine on the train too. This was the most ineffective one, but we have played it a couple times since and had some serious giggles. The party was SO MUCH FUN!!! I can just see it getting better and better each time as kids get old enough to do more. I'm sad I didn't get a picture with all the kiddos in their conductor hats but it turned out really fun. Tate is still talking about how much fun he had with his friends and how nice they all are. So grateful for my little man!

November Already?!

It is hard to fathom that it is November.... Where has the year gone. Our crafts in Mommy Tate school have switched from pumpkins and mummys to turkeys and leaves. I just wish the cold didn't come with it. It's wise to have Thanksgiving at the beginning of winter because I have a hard time staying positive when the cold comes.

Tate has rediscovered play dough. This weeks games is snakes. Each one has a name and you can be sure the girls are only the purple ones. He also informed me that he will have three sisters while playing with snakes and wanted to know when they would arrive. When I told him not for a long while he changed his sisters to friends and one of their moms. Smart boy.

We broke out the boots. I am in love with the boot waddle...

So as previously posted my big crock pot died. I overestimated how much my remaining one could hold and this was my successful attempt to keep the lid on until the meat shrunk. It turned out delicious. I just won't be planning crock pot meals to share for a while.

Tate's naps. November started well with 2 in one week.

Working on our balling skills. Tate has actually started throwing the ball into the hoop occasionally instead of dropping it. I think Winter will add much to his skills this year. 

Our fort building is increasing in size and frequency.

As is our book reading. With no outings during the day there is way more time to kill than I know what to do with.

We even created our own version of t-ball.

We started party prepping.

These boys just love when I take their picture... If they are ever both on the screen all cooperation somehow vanishes. I hope this changes as they get older or I am going to have some very serious pictures on my hands.

Multipurpose-ing

Kids are very good at multipurpose-ing, especially when the cold weather comes in. We have spent the last three days potty-training and sick so we haven't got out much and the wheels in my kiddos heads have started turning. Here are my favorites, or at least the moments I captured.

The car ramp is not only good for rolling cars, balls, and objects down, but it also doubles as a horse and a slide.

Diapers are so fun. Who knew they not only make life better for mommy but they also are great to climb on, bounce on, weight-lift, throw, and they come in a box. What could be better than that?

Tate and I went grocery shopping alone the other day and this is where he wanted to ride. He was having a blast. I try not to think about the germs down there and let him live all the excitement while he is still small enough to do so! And he doesn't squish the groceries this way. Bonus!

Tate also taught me this week that a cup of water doubles as a pool for his fingers. They just don't want to stop swimming. He decided a drink was ok after thinking about all of the reasons I gave him and formulating his own; he looked at me and said, "I need to give my mouth a bath." After that he promptly started drinking.