{Week 11} The Boys

Kingston, Week 11: Working on his letters using ABC Mouse.  We love it.
Cole, Week 11: Putting toys and things in the trunk of his trike... because a trike with a trunk is the best in his book.

{Following the 52 Week Photo Project... taking one photo each week of our boys in 2014.}

{Week 2} The Boys

Kingston, Week 2: Really getting into his remote control Corvette he got for Christmas from Papa.  

Cole, Week 2: Loving his car that he got from Nana and Papa for Christmas too.

{Following the 52 Week Photo Project... taking one photo each week of our boys in 2014.}

#TBT: Fall Fun with Leaves

My "Throwback Thursday" post this week goes back to the end of October... on a beautiful sunny Fall day.  We went to our usual spot where we are always sure to find beautiful leaves (and lots of them) for a mini-photo shoot.  The boys didn't seem to mind this one... possibly because they got to have a fun leaf-throwing fight the entire time I took photos.

The first one is probably my very favorite. But I also like the one of Kingston standing by the tree looking up as if he is almost the little boy in "The Giving Tree."  These photos remind me how much I love Fall.  Is it too early to be ready for Fall again?!  

{Week 1} The Boys

Inspired by Bleubird, I decided to photograph my boys each week in 2014 to see how they change throughout the year.  I think it will be a neat way to watch them grow and help collect a good assortment of photographs throughout the year.  I'll keep it interesting - definitely going for more of a candid look than posed.  

Kingston, Week 1: Playing a game on his "whittle hi-pad"/LeapPad.

Cole, Week 1: Sitting like a big boy in a living room chair while watching a 'toon. 

And with that, we are back to our usual routine and our two week holiday vacation has come to an end.  Thank you, winter staycation... you've been a blast.  Now let's go, 2014!

52 Days/11 Days.

Blog friends, I am sorry.  I am not quite sure where these past 52 days have gone since I last blogged... and did I really miss the whole month of November?!  Yikes. 

But... it is nearly Christmas (11 days!) and we're ready.  I'm pretty sure of it, anyway.  We are hosting my side of the family at our home this year on Christmas day, so we have been pretty busy.  I plan on sharing some holiday/festive decor, DIY projects, our semi-finished kitchen cabinets (yes! but let's call it Stage #2 of an at least 3 stage project), "Elf on the Shelf" failures, and all sorts of holiday goodness in the next days before Christmas.  

And I'm thinking I'll also share a few posts I should have already published in blog-land back in October/November on Thursdays until I am up-to-date... consider them "Throwback Thursday" posts.  

Oh, and I'll probably throw in a few updates on the boys... can you believe Cole is nearly 18 months?! Blows my mind each and every day.  I took the above picture when we went hunting for our Christmas tree back on November 24th.  Such a big boy these days. 

Anyway, if you are still following my blog, thank you.  I look forward to seeing you around this site a little more often and hope to not be such a stranger around these parts anymore.  

Happy Autumn!

We're so happy it's here. 

Rocket popsicles are meant to be shared, right?

Right.

Six (plus two).

Last weekend my in-laws' hosted their annual family reunion pool party.  We all had a good time and my mother-in-law really did it up right this year.  Homemade pizzas from a brick oven, delicious sides, plenty of drinks, and so very many yummy desserts... the pool... some live music.  It was pretty great.  

So of course, we had to be sure to get an updated photo of the cousins.  The last time all all of the kiddos were together in a photo, my in-laws only had four grand kids.  Now, they have six... with two on the way.

Pictured above, from left to right: Emma {2}, Mia {3}, Tatyana {2}, Cole {1}, Kingston {3}, and Brooklyn {4}.  Both sister-in-laws have little ones on the way, due in October and December.  The day after this party, we found out that the October baby will be another GIRL!

The cousins had such a good time together... Kingston and Cole can't wait until they see all of their girls again (hopefully very soon!).

Easter Egg Hunting

So, we probably should have prepared Kingston for Easter egg hunting... because when we went to the  community Easter egg hunt on Saturday, he only picked up a handful of eggs.

Which, to be truthful, didn't really bother me - in fact, it was pretty sweet how he wanted to stop and open each one that he picked up.  My parents joined us and loved helping Kingston sift through his "treasure" - so even more sweet memories were made.

We also did a little Easter egg hunting at my parents home on Sunday.

It was more of a challenge at my parents home, as my dad actually hid the eggs rather than just placed them all over the grass.  Kingston had fun hunting and we played a little "hot, cold" to help him find the last few eggs.  

While Cole did not get to hunt this year, he had fun watching his brother go through the eggs and even helped out by holding onto a few of the plastic eggs for his brother (show me a baby who is not amazed by those plastic eggs!).  We'll get 'em next year, Cole.

3 Toddlers, 1 Baby, & a Tired Momma.

Our nieces were in town last Friday and Kingston was beside himself with excitement.  He was so thrilled to have them come over and play at his house, with his toys.  Although the hubs was around for a couple of hours before baseball practice, I spent the majority of the day with all three toddlers (and our little Cole, of course) on my own.  Although extremely tiring, it was fun and we had a great day.

They read books, colored, played with toys... had snack time... played red light/green light, tag, hide & go seek.  We played boardgames and watched a little Tom & Jerry during quiet time.  They also practiced their culinary skills and played with Kingston's kitchen, filling pizza orders and preparing cake to go by the slice.  

All activities lasted about 15 minutes before the next... and they kept me on my toes.  But I am happy to say there were no fights, no time-outs.  These three love to play together.

Books, Cars, and One Sick Boy.

Last Thursday, the hubs came home early from work with a stomach bug.  We did our best to keep our distance from him... but Kingston ended up catching the same thing.  The past day and a half we have been working on lots of laundry, watching lots of cartoons, reading piles of books, taking a few baths, drinking cups of water and apple juice, and just hoping our sweet big boy would start to feel better soon.  

When he pulled out his cars and started lining them about around lunch time today, I began to think he just might be pulling through.  

My new wish?  That our house is too squeaky clean to carry that darn bug around anymore and no one else gets sick in our household.  We'll see. 

Valentine's Day Week: My Little Valentines

Dear Kingston,

Valentine's Day is almost here!  Tomorrow you will finally get to hand out the superhero Valentine's Day cards you have been just dying to get your hands on this past week.  Momma may have even snuck one in for you too (Batman, of course).    

Even though I make sure to show and tell you that you are loved each and every day - I hope you always know that you are.  I love you my big, silly, smart, and active little boy!  

Love,

Momma 

xoxo  

Dear Cole,

Your first Valentine's Day is tomorrow - and I cannot believe you are this old already!  Although you may not understand this day to share love with those who are important to you, I hope you can tell how much this momma loves you, always.

Enjoy your heart balloon and know that you will always be in my heart, my baby.

Love,
Momma
xoxo

Valentine's week?

Just like last year, Valentine's Day came early in our household (see last year HERE).  I brought home two heart shaped balloons for the boys yesterday and they, of course, saw them right away.  Luckily, Cole sat patiently with his balloon so that I could get a few pictures - Kingston, on the other hand, needed to run as fast as he could through the house with his balloon, or jump with his balloon, or shake his balloon...  Boys.

So I guess yesterday officially started our Valentine's week here at our home... which is fine with me.  Why not show your love on other days besides February 14?

Close-Ups

{Cole, 7 months.  Kingston, 3 years.}

These two finally started to feel a little better on Sunday - their colds hit them pretty strong this last week and I am thankful they are finally pulling through.  Maybe it was having some of their favorite people in town this weekend that helped.  

Photo credit: THIS lady.

... Two babies in a tub.

Happy pictures?  Yes and no.  Both boys are down and out with pretty strong colds right now... but seem to be semi-happy during the day.  The coughing fits for Cole and fever for Kingston only seem to happen at night/bedtime... which makes for a long, long day.  And now I seem to have a smaller version of what they have, with a pretty rough sore throat.  So, we're laying low today.  These two will probably have a couple baths throughout the day - hot steam does each of them some good (and maybe this momma too).

The Heartbreak Kids.

{Carson and Kingston, 3 years old}

Matching pirate jammies after Carson's pirate-themed birthday party?  Ye bet yer lucky starrrrrrs, matey.  

Oh what a fun weekend away we had.  These two boys had a blast playing together and it was so fun to overhear their conversations.  They are too much.

Instagram Challenge: 5 Photos "Looking Up"

From left to right:  Cole looking up at me, Knight Kingston looking up at his sword/sky on Halloween, looking up at my Anthro kitchen timer, looking up at two little hand prints on our fireplace mantel (see blog post HERE), and looking up at a fun/colorful lantern on a shelf in my kitchen.

Last Friday I was tagged by a good blog friend of mine to participate in a fun little challenge via Instagram.  Such a fun idea; when you post your photo of the day, you then have the task of tagging five other friends (each with their unique theme) in hopes that they will participate.  So far, four of the five ladies I tagged have accepted the challenge and I cannot wait to see how creative they get.

To see each of the photos above (to include who I tagged and who tagged me), click on the "Instagram" link in the menu bar above.      

Fort Day.

Friday unofficially became fort day last week, when I opened this circus tent for the boys.  Kingston was so happy to play in his fort as he referred to it... unless the flag was placed on top... then it became a castle.  And he became a knight.  And I was appointed princess.  

We had story time in the tent.  Kingston played with toys in the tent.  He even drank his morning and after-lunch milks in the tent.  The boy could not get enough.  

Cole even got in on this circus tent/fort/castle action, which was captured thanks to Instagram:

Now, if only we could fast-forward to Friday and do it all over again.  

Happy Wednesday, friends!  Here's hoping it is a good one.

Lazy Day.

With two little men that I know.