Bowlers Unite!

You are looking at what could be a picture of the 2024 US Olympic Bowling Team! Watch out all you wannabe's because there are some good little bowlers in here. Who cares that they use gutter guards and a ramp for some speed and direction. Seriously, Devon scored over a 100! I never score much over a 60 so I think he could beat me pretty easily in a few more years sans the ramp.

We had a really good time taking the kids bowling this weekend. It was everyone's first time and this was a great place to start. So much to see and do! Luke did get one turn bowling thanks to Aleksandra giving up her last go. Blake scored somewhere around a 46...I quit paying attention when I saw Devon take the lead by so much. Luke was a trip. Seriously, he had a perma-grin the entire hour and a half and NEVER sat down. I don't know if he was trying to impress his gal pal Riley or trying to keep up with the older kids. It literally took both Kurt and I and TEN other parents to keep him contained! One minute he would be heading off to check out other's people games and the next he would be making his way down one of our lanes. Stealth little guy!

We were lucky that the bowling alley actually had tv's playing the Colt's game right between the tvs that displayed the scores. Nice. After our fun bowling excursion we headed home to watch our Vikings blow their shot at a Superbowl appearance. Note that I said appearance...no way this Indiana girl is going to convert to the purple and gold 100%. Go C-O-L-T-S!!!!

Dear January...PLEASE Go Away!

I need a hug...

We are done with January. Other than my anniversary and few good friends' birthdays...it sucks! I can't remember a January in the last 4 winters that we haven't camped out at the pediatrician's office due to asthma or ear infections. Luke has been battling the most stubborn ear infection of his life since we moved (yes, the middle of December). Luckily his tubes are either working or the holes in which they once resided are still open, because he has had some nasty, stinky drainage this entire time. This week was a real doosie. Monday, Blake was home due to asthma. Wednesday, Luke got sent home from school because of his leaky ears and was told not to come back until they quit draining (not sure why they decided this was the week it was a problem when he has been leaky for over a month). Then by Friday, Blake had caught on to the idea of me being home with Luke and decided he was sick too. Oh and did I mention Kurt was traveling Wednesday thru Friday night so I was going it alone this entire time. I've been to the doc 3 times this week with Luke to get antibiotic shots. They finally identified this stubborn little germ today and now we start on a new oral antibiotic that will hopefully kick it to the curb.

The boys continue to entertain each other (aka - fight) and have found a fun new pasttime in running around the island. Luke is learning to run, walk backwards and get down the stairs on his belly (hallelujah). It's fun watching him practice and be so proud of himself. He is saying new words all the time...medi (medicine), blay-lee (blankie), window, door, bird, hat, nose, pillow, water, ju (juice), and the list goes on. He has added to his repertoire of animal sounds with a piggy, bird, and alligator/crocodile. My personal favorite is when he wants some goldfish he makes a fishy face/noise with his mouth. Really cute. We were so excited that our anti-cuddler actually sat on our laps and sat still for about a half hour Tuesday night. It made my day. What didn't make my day was finding out that he and Daddy had been keeping a very naughty secret from Mommy...I mentioned today that we might need to finally break down and get Luke's bangs cut. Not his curls, just his bangs. I'm still not ready to lose the curls even though I said I would let go when he started walking. Well, what response did I get.."oh, I've already cut his bangs a couple of times." What??? How could they do that? And how did I not even notice? I asked Kurt if he saved the hair and he said "no, it wasn't a real haircut." Maybe not technically, but it was still his first and I missed it and I have no hair to show for it. :(

Blake continues to amaze us everyday with thoughtful questions (aka - why, why, why) and a crazy, active imagination. I made the mistake of trying to explain what happened in Haiti to him the other night. After about 5 minutes of questions I realized I could never answer or at least not answer without leaving him traumatized for the rest of his life, I abandoned the conversation and offered him some candy. He loves to build cranes with his new building blocks and is still obsessed with Monkey George. He went on his first movie date last weekend. Michelle and I took he and Chloe to see the "Chipmunks, the Squeakel." It was a lot of fun. Oh and he has all the sudden found a reason to hate his new bedroom and has ended up in our bed about 99% of the last month. What happened? We have always prided ourselves in that our children slept in their cribs and their beds so well! Tomorrow a big group of us are taking the kids bowling. I believe it's a first for everyone and we are very excited to see how it goes.

Feeling a little better...don't I look like trouble?

Rare Edition - Blake smiling for the camera.

Very common pose....fighting over something. At least they are smiling.

Bathtime - always a favorite time in this house.

High Five - they must have just struck a deal on something mischeivous!

Shaping Up

Still a work in progress, but some of the rooms are starting to shape up. We spent most of our vacation unpacking and arranging everything. Now the last few weeks have been spent finding some new things to freshen up our style.

Dining Room - this green still scares me a little bit, but it's really nice in person.

Kurt's new pride and joy. It's hard to tell from the picture, but the felt on the pool table is this really pretty olive green. Goes nice with the dark wood and carmel colored walls.

Guest Bedroom

Luke's new cowboy room. The boys' rooms were so much smaller before and easier to fill up!

Blake's room - I sort of miss the stripes painted on the walls in his old room, however I don't really feel up for that project again.

Left - picture of Daddy. Middle - my old glove and ball from the year I played Pee Wee baseball. It was the last gift I ever received from my Pappaw Grady before he passed away. Right - a picture of Blake's Pappaw Grady when he played pee wee baseball. He was a fantastic pitcher and I hope Blake gets his arm and hand/eye coordination! Oh and if you're wondering...the tennis racket was a steal from Ebay. It's a tribute to his Mommy and Daddy's favorite sport, but I wasn't going to put a modern era one up there. :)

One of my new favorite rooms - the Playroom!! Now you see it...

Now you don't!!

Hello 2010!

This year has been off with a bang and we are busy, busy, busy as usual. We actually stayed up until midnight this New Years...it's the first in a long time. We were invited to ring in the New Year with some of our new neighbors and their kids. The boys had a blast and were still going strong at 11:30 when we decided we should probably get them to bed. We have had a couple of opportunities to start meeting our neighbors in the last few weeks. It has been so much fun meeting everyone and there are SO many kids in this neighborhood! We are already counting the days until the pool opens! We keep hearing from our neighbors how much time they spend there in the summer. Hopefully this super cold streak will let up a little and we can head over to the playground soon. The boys have found some interesting ways to occupy themselves in the meantime...

Blake wearing a swim floatie...over his jammies.

The boys rolling around the rug - I don't know why, but they were having fun.

Luke walking around in his rainboots while brushing his teeth.

The rainboots again...clearly he loves them.

We have been busy in the last few weeks playing with old friends and meeting new ones too. Last weekend I went with my friend, Michelle, to see the Titanic exhibit at the Science Museum while Blake, Chloe, Luke and the Dads played at our house. (Minnesotans - it's a really good exhibit and they have extended it to the 24th of this month if you are interested). Today Blake and I headed to the Children's Museum with some co-workers and their children. It was a lot of fun and I got to cuddle with new baby Julia too.

We thoroughly enjoyed our nice long vacation and were both really sad to go back to reality last week. It was so nice to have that time to get unpacked and settled and to spend some quality time with our boys. Work is still as crazy as ever and here in a few weeks I'm off to Vegas again for market. At least it will warmer there. :)