On the Train Again

Greg had to work downtown yesterday, so I thought it would be fun to ride the light rail with the boys to meet him for dinner. Ryan and Luke were so excited about riding the train that I had to threaten that we would not go if they did not take a nap (which totally worked). We had a good time and they were fascinated by the whole thing. We met Greg and had dinner and drove with him back home. I think it will be a fun thing to do when my sister and her kids come this summer.



Not a whole lot else has gone on. We've been dealing with beautiful weather during the week and nasty wet/snowy weekends for the last several weeks. I'm grateful to work part time so the boys and I can enjoy it during the week. Below are pictures of the boys enjoying being outside. Luke asked me take his picture by his house, so I was happy to oblige.

Ryan and Luke in their house.

Happy Ryan.

Happy Luke.

Things this week:

Both boys got a timeout for dumping the dogs' water outside. Greg had warned Luke not to touch it and about 30 seconds later we heard the sound of an empty metal bowl hitting the ground. He went outside and told Luke he was going to get a timeout for dumping the water and Luke said, "Ryan get time out, Ryan did it." Greg asked Ryan if he dumped it and he said, "Luke did it." This was a first (of many to come) of the boys blaming the other for something they did wrong.

We put one of our 3 cats to sleep in January. We had had him since our first year of marriage. He was found in the hallway of the school where I was working. He was a sweet cat, but incredibly stupid. He was at the very bottom of the totem poll once the boys were born and he had been on a short leash with us for some time. While we were in Lubbock for Christmas, Jackson (nicknamed Floofy) destroyed our house, which was the last straw. We put him asleep the next day. Anyways, the point of this story is to say that the boys continue to ask about him on a weekly basis. I'm not going to lie to them and make up some story, so I've told him he was sick in the head and we put him to sleep. Ryan has taken that to mean that Floofy is asleep in Mama's bed. I've clarified that he is dead (which I know they don't get, but again I'm not going to lie to them about this), but they still ask. We had no idea that the boys even liked him and we certainly didn't expect them to continue to ask, but they do. Luke asked me tonight to spell Floofy's name so he would know how to spell it with his letters.

Funny thing happened tonight while we were watching the President's news conference. Greg asked the boys who was speaking (I had tried to tell them during the Inauguration). Ryan told him it was Donna Corbell (my mom). I know that they know Nana's name is Donna, but I didn't know they knew the Corbell part. Greg and I thought it was so funny, especially since she would most likely not want to be associated with him (we're fans, she's not).

From Snow to Sun!

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We've had beautiful weather since our nasty snowy weekend. The boys and I spent much of the last 2 days outside. Not alot has gone on this week - everyone has been in a good mood, Luke seems to be feeling better and Ryan's attitude has been positive. The only recent issue we've had to deal with is with Ryan thinking it is ok to push Luke for fun. He is having a hard time understanding that it is not ok to run up and push his brother while he is standing on a chair or on the stairs. Below are pictures from the last 2 days.

My little hoodlum.

Ryan on the tire swing that the previous home owners were nice enough to leave.

New outfits that Nana and Grandad got them - I love the shorts.

Riding tricycles on the sidewalk. They can't pedal yet (or won't) so they walk.

The little red dot at the top of the picture is Ryan-he moves fast, Luke is much slower (plus he gets distracted with all of the rocks and pine cones that he can collect along the way).

Luke is starting to spell a few words and can now write many of his letters - here he wrote CAT and then drew a little picture of a cat below. He loves the alphabet and likes to sing the sounds that all of the letters make.

Sesame Street and Snow

We all went to see Sesame Street Live on Thursday night and the boys loved it. Luke talked about giving Ernie a big hug the whole way from the the car to the show (I was so sad that he couldn't give him one). Almost 3 is the perfect age for the show. It kept their attention the whole time. Ryan danced and Luke watched intently and asked questions about the characters.


Below is Luke and his first cotton candy. It is one of my favorite foods, so I'm thrilled he loves it, too. Ryan had a few bites and was done - Luke couldn't get enough.


Starting Thursday night we had constant snow and rain until Saturday night. I think we ended up with something like 15 inches of snow mixed in with rain - which created a huge disgusting mess. It was cold and slushy and just miserable. Greg did take the boys out on Saturday to help shovel, but it was raining at the time and Luke stayed out for a few minutes and Ryan got soaked. It was in the 60s today and it is supposed to get up to 80 later in the week - so the snow is melting quickly leaving an even more disgusting muddy mess - hopefully our yard will dry out in a few weeks.

We've been talking to the boys for several weeks about their birthday and what kind of cake they want (it all started when we went out to eat one night and it was someone's birthday and Luke declared he wanted cake). Luke told us he wanted a Lighting McQueen cake (from Cars), which was no surprise. I asked Ryan what he wanted and he said a dog. I was confused as to where that came from but we've asked him several times randomly since and he has always said a dog. So I had resigned myself to making 2 birthday cakes and having a 2 themed party (why should they always have combo deal just because their birthday is the same day?). I've been looking online for some ideas on a dog and finally came up with Snoopy. I showed Ryan and he said he liked it and Greg asked him if that was what he wanted for his birthday cake and he said, "no, not." I showed him another Snoopy and got the same response so I then showed him a cake with plain dog on it and he said no again. We asked him again what he wanted and he said dog. I then asked him if he wanted a dog or Doc (also from Cars) and he said Doc. So mystery solved, he really wants a Doc Hudson cake (confirmed by showing him a picture). I'm glad that was discovered now because I've already been looking for cake and decoration ideas for a Cars and dog themed birthday party. I think he would have been disappointed on his birthday to have a dog cake.

I leave you with 2 pictures of Luke and his many friends. We got him an Ernie yesterday since he couldn't hug the real Ernie and he has now added him to his collection of items that he sleeps with.

You can't quite see them all in his bed, but he sleeps with a kitty cat, tiger, Rudolf, monkey, Ernie and Bert (plus several of his favorite books).

Happy Easter!

We had a nice Easter with the boys and family. We started the morning with Easter baskets - which the boys were quite excited about. I'm not going to tell them that Easter baskets and eggs come from the Easter Bunny - they are from us, plus that the Easter Bunny is not what Easter is about. I guess I just feel that the Easter Bunny is a Hallmark invention and it is not the same thing as believing in Santa Claus (who is at least a historical person and not a giant cartoonish animal). Anyways, after that we went to church and for whatever reason Ryan spent the entire time under the table in the nursery. I'm not sure why, he normally likes it there. We then went to Greg's parents for brunch. Luke enjoyed the Easter egg hunt, Ryan chose not to participate and played with his cars instead. We attempted a nap when we got home but that didn't work out too well, so we settled for our Easter egg hunt. Sunday was really cold and rainy, so we stayed inside this year. Below are pictures from the day-not in any order because blogger won't let me move pictures right now.


Easter baskets from us.


Luke was promised a jelly bean for a big smile which he delivered. You can tell from the top picture that Ryan was not interested in cooperating - he was mad because I just combed his hair.

Playing with Easter basket stuff.

Easter baskets from Nana and Grandad. They have recently come to love Dr. Seuss and the Cat in the Hat. Luke's favorite is Green Eggs and Ham. Nana got them a Dr. Seuss video while they were in Lubbock and we now have to watch it every day.


Tomorrow night we are going to Sesame Street Live, which I am so excited about. I remember going myself when I was a kid, so I hope they will enjoy it.

Rah Rah TCU

The boys are now safely home and things are now back to normal. Nana stayed with us last week while Greg was in California and it was great to have her help. Unfortunately the boys came back with a cold from Texas and Luke's turned into an ear infection. It has been over an year since Luke has had an ear infection and either I have forgotten how miserable he was when he had one, or this one is much worse. He has been so whiny and sad, and in alot of pain. We've been keeping him on a combination of Tylenol and Motrin and we even added prescription numbing ear drops yesterday, but nothing has worked really well. He has moments of normalcy and happiness, but his mood changes fast and he hasn't been sleeping well (which means neither have we).

I took Ryan to the doctor yesterday because I think he is allergic to shellfish. His doctor said that he could do a blood test, but even if it came back negative he would send us to an allergist to a skin test - so I've opted to just go to the allergist. He noticed my finger (from Luke slamming the door on it) and was amazed I hadn't gone to a doctor. He thinks that it was probably broken, but there is nothing to do about it now 3 weeks later. He said that if the numbness doesn't go away in a couple of week I should see someone besides my son's pediatrician.

Tomorrow is Easter so I should have pictures of Easter egg hunts and dying eggs. Above are the shirts I got the boys when I was in Fort Worth-Luke wanted to wear the TCU one because it is just like Mama's.

By the way-this is post 100!

Trip to Lubbock

We had a great Spring Break in Lubbock. The boys are still in Lubbock with Nana and Grandad and I'm trying to cope without them. I was so looking forward to a week by myself but I had a panic attack/melt down the night before Greg and I left and almost couldn't leave them. I'm glad I did (sort of) because I have to work this week and it really was the best scenario, plus the boys are still having a blast. They think that Lubbock, TX is located inside Nana and Grandad's house and they really love being there. I've been able to talk to them on the phone several times and on Skype last night (they actually talked to me on the computer for about 20 minutes).

I went to Fort Worth for a couple of days at the beginning of the week to see Tim and Stephanie and meet Mackenna. I forgot to bring my camera, so I don't have any pictures. I had a great time hanging out and seeing our old home/favorite places again. The 4 of us went to TCU and it was really neat to see how much the campus how changed - then we went to Mi Cocina. I told Greg when we got to Texas I wanted Mexican food, Barbecue, and Blue Bell ice cream. I got my favorite Mexican at Mi Cocina (Colorado Mexican is disgustingly tasteless) and Blue Bell Cookies and Cream (my absolute favorite), no BBQ but maybe next time.

Quick recap of our trip:

• Luke slammed my finger in the front door right before we left for Texas. It immediately turned a deep purple (Luke told me I was wearing a purple bandaid). I have never hurt so much that I thought I was going to throw up and pass out. It is still purple and useless and I will probably lose the nails (yuck). Ryan was very concerned about me and gave me his bear to hold in the car.
• The boys had a ton of fun playing with Jacob and Olivia. Luke is especially a fan of Jacob - Jacob's behavior is fine but Luke turns into a crazy banshee when he is around him.
• Uncle Kent, Aunt Tara and Baby Fyo came from LA to visit. It was fun to have everyone together again and for the boys to meet their cousin.
• While we were gone, Denver had a blizzard. Almost no snow all winter and in one day the total snowfall almost doubled. It is snowing again now and more is expected this weekend and next week. We are supposed to pick up the boys on Saturday but another major snowstorm is supposed to come :( so we may have to wait until Sunday to see them.

Below are pictures from the week:

Grandad and his grandkids (plus Conny who is holding up Ryan).

The boys sitting at Nana and Grandad's new house (they haven't moved yet).

Grandad and a sleeping Luke.

Ryan playing with stickers.

All of the grandkids had their picture taken in matching outfits (Fyo had a striped shirt, too). The pictures amazingly turned out pretty good considering how hard it is to get 5 young kids to cooperate at the same time.

Grandad and Luke at Jumping Jungle (like the Bounce House).

Greg comforting a sad Ryan - I don't know why he was sad, it happens so often (he probably was just tired).

Kent, Tara and Fyo getting ready for pictures.

Sorry for the long post. I should have updated some last week, but things were busy and I have a lot of quiet time this week.