Fun with Olivia and Jacob

We made it to Lubbock with a stop only in Raton and again in Amarillo. The boys did a great job and got to watch Cars, Ratatouille (also known as Little Mouse Cooks), and Finding Nemo. Ryan did take a nap, Luke did not. We told them we were going to Lubbock, TX and they talked about that all day (both words, Lubbock and Texas). When we drove into town and said we were in Lubbock, TX, I think they were a little confused. But they have since had a blast. Sleeping arrangements have been a bit different. Nana and Grandad are still in LA visiting Baby Fyo, so I set the boys up in their room on air mattresses-that didn't work. They have ultimately slept the last few nights with me in Nana and Grandad's bed. When Nana and Grandad return tomorrow they will have to find somewhere else to sleep :) or we will.

The best part of our trip has been hanging out with Jacob and Olivia. The boys have a total of 4 cousins, but 2 of them are under 3 months of age and don't play yet. So, Jacob and Olivia have been a blast. Conny brought the kids over yesterday and we hung out all day at the house and then went to the absolute coolest playground I have ever seen that afternoon (yes, the coolest playground ever is in Lubbock). They had so much fun following each other around the giant castle and going down the many slides. The boys were so worn out that Luke fell asleep when we went to Cracker Barrel for dinner. Conny had to return to work today, so I kept all 4 kids by myself (Greg went to New Mexico to work). We had a really good day-only 2 time outs total. They have so much fun playing together, and I even got a nap out of Luke and Ryan. Jacob and Olivia are coming over again tomorrow, but Greg will be here and my parents get back in town around 3. I have Olivia and I decorating snowmen cupcakes on the agenda for tomorrow.

All 4 kids and Monet climbing on the big chair and watching Cars (which was supposed to be a rest time but turned into more play time).

Olivia and Luke have very similar personalities. They are both very studious and intelligent and their play comes across that way, as well. They are both little organizers and project makers. In this picture, they are making a quilt pattern out of little bitty triangles. Jacob and Ryan were in the playroom making a royal mess while I was taking this picture.

Ryan and Luke heading down one of the many tunnel slides.

Do you see Luke?

Here is my little organizer. He took out all of the golf tees and put them upside down in a pattern, then put them back in the triangle.

Look, they're taking a nap!!

Before we left for Lubbock on Saturday, Tim and Stephanie stopped by on Friday on their way to Loveland. It was so nice to see them again. We last saw them in July when they showed us Steph's ultra-sound picture of a little bitty baby. She is now about a month away from having a boy or girl. We are so happy for them and wish we could be there. Below is a picture of Ryan talking to Steph's baby, and at the bottom is a video of the boys with Stephanie (I'll have to add the video later, I can't get blogger to get it done in a timely manner-like less than an hour). Thank you Stephanie for being such a good sport and letting Ryan lift up your shirt to see and talk to the baby.

A huge thank you to my aunt Jane for teaching me how to make her incredible Chicken Fried Steak today. She was so sweet to come over while I had the kids and teach me her mother-in-law's recipe that everyone has enjoyed so much for years. It was alot easier than I thought and I look forward to making it for my boys in the years to come.

Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful relaxing Christmas day with just me and Greg and the boys. We slept in (because the boys don't yet understand the importance of getting up a 6 am on Christmas morning when you're a child). I made scones and we opened presents. Now it didn't all go perfectly because Ryan actually had a horrible night sleep the night before and woke up crying about every 30 minutes until about 6 am. There were times during the night that I didn't think he was going to make it until Christmas morning. Because of this I did not willingly get up as early as Ryan (which was around 8), so he went downstairs himself and opened up his own stocking. Oh well, hopefully next year I can get a video of them coming down the stairs next year.

We went to Greg's parent's house for Christmas Eve and the boys did a wonderful job of passing out presents to everyone.

The boys got some fun Christmas presents this year. They got a basketball goal from their Papa and Grandma, PJ's and a book from Uncle Kent and Aunt Tara, a really cool guitar and piano from Aunt Jenny and Uncle Jonny, new robes from G-Nanny and Mr. G, and new Duplo blocks and a Little People Town from Mama and Daddy. We are going to Lubbock on Sunday and we'll have more Christmas on New Year's Day. Below are pictures of the boys enjoying themselves with their new toys.


Ryan opening a present.

The boys playing with their new Little People town.

Luke scoring the first of many baskets.

Luke checking out his new Lighting McQueen watch.

The boys in their new robes. Their old ones that they got last year no longer even cover their bottoms. Please notice Ryan's demon expression-read below to find out the reason why.

The boys playing with their Duplo blocks. Now Luke can build as many towers as he wants.

New things:

We have discovered the reason why Ryan has been a defiant little demon the last couple of days-he refused to take a nap. He took a nap today and he is a new man. Truly, he was a new man tonight-pleasant to be around. He didn't fight with his brother, he didn't tell us no every other word, he was compliant and he didn't throw any fits. We were starting to get worried that we were dealing with the early stages of Oppositional Defiant Disorder and it was about to send us over the edge. Now we know that this may continue, but we also know that a nap is a necessity. He refused to nap 2 days in a row, a late night on Christmas Eve, and a few restless nights of sleep-hopefully we can help him with this in order to keep him pleasant-it makes him and us happier.

Luke is still doing his normal crazy stuff. He talks non-stop and surprises us every day with his increasing vocabulary (we are always saying, "where did he learn that from"). His teacher at school wrote a little note about both boys and the thing that shocked us that most is that she said that Luke was quiet. Quiet!!!-are kidding? I would love to be fly on the wall in their classroom one day to see how they act and interact with the other kids.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and we wish you a Happy New Year.

Special Note: I am writing this blog on my brand new laptop!!! Greg totally surprised me with a new computer. We've had the same computer from almost 10 years (yes, 10) and were passed due for a new one. However, due to our recent move from a cheap state to a much more expensive one, Greg having a laptop and myself having one at my old job, we hadn't gotten a new computer. But I now have an awesome computer and a great husband (he was great before, but even greater now). Thank you Greg/Santa.

Zoo Lights and More Santa

We took the boys last Thursday night to Denver's Zoo Lights. It was really neat and it was something that Greg had never done before, either. We loved going to Boo at the Zoo in Fort Worth and this is the Denver's zoo equivalent to a neat after-hours event. It was cold, but both boys were real troopers and walked almost the whole way (we also had to carry them some).
When we left, Luke said, "bye zoo, bye amimals" and Ryan screamed and cried "Zoo!!!" "Amimals!!" He does not transition well and was obviously very upset that we left. Overall, they had a great time and it is something I hope we can do again next year.







On Friday night we went to a family Christmas party where the boys saw Santa Claus for the 3rd time-they're getting really used to him. Santa came to their school on Thursday and apparently the boys were so unafraid of him that Luke wanted to sit in his lap twice and Ryan sang him the ABC's. At the Brighton Christmas party, the boys had a blast playing with the older kids. They got to ride their backs like horses and slide down the stairs on their bellies a few dozen times. They were the youngest kids there, besides Thomas who is 3 weeks old, and they loved the attention that they got. They'll have a good time in Lubbock playing with their older cousins Jacob and Olivia when we go there next week.





We've had a good week with no school. Unfortunately the only way I can get anything done that has to be done with the boys at home is to put in a movie. Below is a picture of them watching Cars in their PJs.



Ryan takes a nap in our bed (because we can't keep them in the same room during nap or they'll just play). I have so far found him sleeping with the toilet plunger and lying in various positions across the bed. Two days ago, I found him sleeping on the floor surrounded in bed pillows. At least he is sleeping.



Have a wonderful Christmas and I'll be sure to post more in the next few days.

Getting into the Holiday Spirit

We've had a fun and busy last week or so. I went to LA to meet my 2nd newest nephew, Fyo. He is a cute and sweet little dude. It was a nice and relaxing trip. Kent and Tara live in a really neat neighborhood in LA that is within walking distance to a coffee place and beautiful million $ plus homes. For those of you that watch Flipping Out on Bravo, they live in the same neighborhood and one street over from crazy OCD Jeff's Commonwealth house. Below are some pictures from my trip.

Fyo sleeping and swaddled in the same blanket that Kent had as a baby.

Nana and her youngest grandson.

Kent and his 3 babies.

Me and Fyo by the Christmas tree.

The boys are doing great. They've been busy and somewhat getting into the Christmas thing. Besides being fascinated with Christmas trees they also like to find wreaths and point them out while we're in the car. Luke got a hold of the phone the other night and I asked him who he was calling and he said, "Santa Claus." I asked what he was going to tell Santa Claus and he said, "Merry Christmas."

We don't have a whole lot else going on right now except the usual holiday stuff. We did go on a hay ride through our neighborhood before I left for LA. The weather was great (it's not now-it was 4 below when I left for work yesterday) and Santa even joined our ride. Ryan had a great time and even joined in singing Christmas songs. Luke is our shy one (he's crazy at home) and he was pretty quiet during the ride. Ryan absolutely fell to pieces and threw an enormous fit when the ride was over. He kept shouting "go back, go back" when we got in the car to go home.

New thing that Ryan is doing now: When I ask him what he is doing when he is doing something he is not supposed to, he responds with "hmm?" Greg said that is genetic-he gets it from his Papa.

I made Christmas cookies this weekend. I have always wanted to learn how to decorate cookies and I taught myself this year. It took a long time, but it was fun. I even let the boys help decorate a cookie for themselves.

Have a great week!

Away in a Manger

I have been trying to teach Ryan and Luke some Christmas songs for the last several weeks. A couple of days ago, Luke started to sing Away in a Manger and Ryan joined in. I was able to get Luke to sing tonight on camera, but as you can see, it didn't go perfectly. You can hear Ryan behind Luke joining in when he felt like it. Please try to tune out my singing and focus on the boys :)

We are going on a hayride in our neighborhood tomorrow, so I'll try and get some pictures of that. On Sunday, I'm leaving Greg and the boys for the first time ever to go to LA to see Kent and Tara and to meet Fyo - I'll definitely have pictures of that.

Santa Claus, Snow, Thanksgiving and Potty Time

Ryan and Luke made their 3rd annual visit to Santa Claus tonight. The first year they were 6 months old and were quite cooperative. Last year, Ryan fell to pieces and Luke was fine. This year, Ryan was fine and Luke wanted nothing to do with him. But the chore is done and we don't have to do it again until next year. I think Santa is going to come to their school, but I don't know if I'll be able to get individual pictures of them with that Santa. Plus, I have a thing of wanting a picture with a Santa who has a real beard, not a fake one. Below are the Santa pictures from the previous 2 years.

We had a great Thanksgiving with Nana and Grandad and the boys really enjoyed their apple cake and pumpkin pie. I've never made or really enjoyed eating pumpkin pie before, but I found a Paula Deen recipe that included rum - and it turned out quite good. We also used our time off to put up the Christmas tree. We didn't put a tree up last year because we were trying to sell our house, so it was really fun to get it out this year. Luke in particular had a great time taking the ornaments from Greg and handing them to me. He now wants to "play Christmas treet" all of the time.

It snowed most of our Thanksgiving weekend and we were able to take the boys out and sled down the hill in our backyard. They had the best time sledding and playing in the snow - Ryan in particular loves to eat it and throw snowballs. There was plenty of snow to make a snowman, but we just didn't get around to it - maybe next time.

Ryan had a very successful weekend learning how to "pee pee on the Potty." Luke really enjoys watching the Elmo potty video and reading the few potty books that I got them, but he has yet to apply that knowledge. Ryan just gets it. I don't really know what I did, but starting on Wednesday he has routinely asked to go to the potty when he needs to. We have somewhat created a monster because he loves to go and takes forever to do so, but they whole point is that he is going. He's not perfect yet, but he was able to go to school today wearing pull-ups instead of a diaper. Hopefully Luke will catch on soon. I got a really cute picture of Ryan sitting on his potty, but I don't want him to hate me later in life for posting it on the internet. Instead, to show how wonderful he has done, I've posted a picture of their potty charts. Poor Luke's chart has 1 real star and the rest are there only because he "tried" and then really wanted a star on his chart. Ryan's chart is so full of stars now, he could care less about the whole thing.

I leave you with a picture of the boys with their new Christmas stockings that their Nana made them. They are just like the stockings that my mom made for myself and my brother and sister when we were kids. Thank you Nana, the boys love them.

Happy Birthday Thomas!!!

Ryan and Luke have a new baby cousin. Thomas was born early yesterday morning to Greg's brother, Jonny and his wife Jenny. They live here in Denver so we were able to meet him this afternoon at the hospital. The boys talked the whole way there about meeting their "new baby cousin Thomas," but once we got there, they clammed up and were afraid to get close. However, they were very fascinated with Jenny's hospital bed an managed to call the nurse's station at least 3 times while playing with it. We look forward to getting to know Thomas and watching all three boys grow up together.

Ryan's Big Event

Big news today in our household: Ryan pooped on the potty. I realize that this might not be news that many people would want to hear (nor myself 2 1/2 years ago), but it a big deal for Ryan and he is quite proud of himself. After all, the purpose of this blog is for me to keep track of the big events in my kids' lives, and this is definitely a big deal.

The rest of the week has been pretty quiet and normal. Greg was out of town part of the week and the boys and I stayed at home and enjoyed the nice weather. We are looking forward to Thanksgiving and a visit from Nana and Grandad.

The picture below is of the boys wearing their new slippers from their G-Nanny. They are actually meant to be a Christmas present, but the boys got their shoes wet outside and their feet were cold, so out came the slippers. They love them, especially when I wear my as well.

I leave you with a rather lengthy video of Luke being crazy. He truly never shuts his mouth and the video is not really out of the ordinary for him. He loves to run through the house and jump and sing-his new favorite song being Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. It is hard to hear him sing the whole thing (even though he sang it about10 times in a row), but note the 2 times he falls down. The first he just fell and the second happened right after the first when he ran into a door. It didn't bother him one bit he just jumped back up and kept singing.

P.S. The boys love to sing, especially in the car. Greg and I each have a different Kid's CD in our cars and they know every song on both. My favorite is when Ryan sings along to music when there are no words being sung.

First Snow!

We had our first snow on Friday and the boys were so excited. The weather people totally didn't call for the amount we got and so when I went downstairs to leave for work and saw it I shouted to the boys that it had snowed. They started yelling "snow" (which sounds more like no) and ran down the stairs. They wanted to go outside in their pj's so bad that they got quite upset when we wouldn't let them. Greg let them help him shovel snow off the driveway (really more for their benefit than actual need) and they had a blast. We let them play outside the next day in the back yard and they loved making and throwing snowballs at each other and us. I'm glad they enjoyed it, it is supposed to be 77 degrees tomorrow.

New things:

Luke loves to be "tucked in" when we put him to bed at night. He then wants to "rock-a-bye Luke" (sounds more like uke) and monkey. This is part of his new bed time routine and it has really helped to get him to stay in bed and go straight to sleep - he's usually in the same position when I check on them before I go to bed. The times that he doesn't go to sleep right away, he stands at the door and screams for us. When we go in he walks to his bed and says (very calmly, esp. after he's been screaming for 10 minutes) "tuck in Luke." That is usually all it takes. I wish it worked at nap time.

Ryan is finally saying yes - and he is saying it at appropriate times and answering questions with it - what a relief!

I asked the boys on Friday about their school - who are the friends and what do they sing in music. Ryan started to tell me some of his classmates names - I couldn't understand everything he said, but I did catch the names of the kids I recognized. I asked them what they sing and couldn't understand what they said, so I started naming possible songs. I asked if they sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Luke sang the whole thing to me. Tonight when I was getting his PJ's on he started singing "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear turn around..." I haven't done that one with them, so he must of learned at school, but he knew the whole thing.

I leave you with a picture of Ryan during nap time. I have to separate the boys during nap in order for at least one of them to maybe fall asleep. I put Ryan in my room last week and he was really quiet the whole time. When I went to wake him up at about 4 he was totally crashed out on my bed, with the toilet plunger in his hands! I had closed the bathroom door before I put him down, but he can now open doors. I found his bear in the bathroom (his usual sleeping mate) and Ryan sleeping with what he wishes could be his new favorite toy.