Last Pool Day

These are just a couple of pictures of our last days in the pool in Seabrook. Sure wish we could have taken more advantage of that pool, but with the boys limited swimming skills, nap times, and mosquitoes, we just didn't get much time in the pool over the summer with the boys. Can't wait until next summer with them!

Daddy's Shoes

The boys are very into finding our shoes and trying them on. One day last month, Daddy's tennis shoes were out and the boys had to give them a try!

Apparently, Jonathan was worried that he hadn't put on his sock before donning daddy's shoes. I don't think that would have helped them fit better.

I guess he couldn't move his feet, so he tried just moving his body.

Matt attempted to put on daddy's shoes while sitting down. Then, he tried to stand up!

He was defeated by the big shoes!

Big shoes are hard to fill, and Daddy's are big ones. We only hope we teach you well and guide you toward the right pathways so you too may someday have big shoes to fill!

A Hot Trip to the Park

Late in August, the boys and I headed for an early morning trip to the park. Boy was it HOT!

My sweaty headed, red-cheeked little boy!

Matt kept asking Jonathan to race him, but he never waited for Jonathan to get there.

The best giggles come from the boys when they are playing together. Lots of screaming comes too at times, but I just love the giggles!

We ended up doing a tour that morning, of 4 different parks. Each one had something the other was lacking, but they all had mosquitoes and heat! We had a good time though. The tour was more for us to shift gears, cool off and for me to get a bit of rest between parks!

Continuing Education

The boys are constantly educating me on parenthood and the wonderful relationship between a mother and her sons. But, this time, I was actually up in Dallas in August for a professional class. This meant the boys were able to spend some time with Granny & Grandpa while Mommy went to class. I was only in class one day, but it was great to know they were having fun and being cared for by 2 people who love them dearly.

Originally when I planned this class, my dad had a knee surgery scheduled during our visit. There was hope that he would get scheduled into a cancellation and that we wouldn't have to worry about anything. Well, his surgery ended up being the day we arrived. The boys did great with Grandpa. They somehow understood that he needed to stay on the couch. They weren't frightened by the big blue ice machine, the knee brace, or the crutches. It was great. They just got their books one by one and requested that Grandpa read to them!

Jonathan decided to read to himself because Matt sneaked in with a book for Grandpa. That fresh out of bed look didn't slow him down a bit!

Grandpa reads to Matt.

Sound effects are always an attention getter for the boys.

Time for some playing in the garden!

Jonathan was fascinated by the purple flowers, and wouldn't stop picking them.

Matt was assigned his usual job to pick whatever was ripe in the garden. He ate a few tomatoes during the visit.

We had a good time at the pool, with Jonathan taking over the baby pool. He had a blast!

Matt tried out his snorkel and climbed atop the fountains to play.

One day while we were there we stopped by my brother's house to see everyone. Jonathan got to play a bit with Bo!

Matt stole Blake away and got the tour of his room. Matt is just fascinated with everything in Blake's room.

Me & my beautiful niece Grace. I had to steal her away from Jonathan from this picture.

Don't know what Jonathan was sizing up in this picture, but he had a little time with Uncle Steve while he was warming up to this whole visit thing.

One afternoon while we were in town, we got to go hang out with my best friend Lisa, and her family. The boys had a great time playing out back in the pools while we roasted under the umbrella on the porch.

Jonathan was good in this little pool, as long as the water didn't spray him.

My boys decided that sliding over the side on their bellies would be fun. Surprisingly, no one was hurt in this incident.

He emerges, into the mud!

Matt followed Joshua's lead and tried out the jump from one pool to the next. It's a good thing Nick wasn't there for this one!

Joshua took a snack break in his kids sized chair!

During our visit, there was a little kitten that Granny and some neighbors coaxed out of the storm drain and brought up to the house. Matt was good about trying to stay still so he didn't scare the kitten.

He made sure he remained seated like we requested, but he couldn't stop moving!

The kitten must have felt some kind of connection, because this big arm movement should have sent him running.

Certainly the kitten would like a leaf to eat!

Matt wanted to make sure Jonathan got to see the kitten before we left. We were sure that Jonathan shouldn't get very close, so we just pointed. He was more interested in the kitty treats!

Little did we know in August, that we would be moving up to Dallas just 2 short months later. The newest adventure starts in 2 days!

Welcome Home, Daddy!

Nick made a visit out to California, paired with some training and PMP certification test. He was gone for almost 2 weeks, so we decided a big messy project was in order to welcome him home. The night before he returned, we made him a couple of signs that we hung near the front door so he would see them when he arrived.

Don't they just look like a couple of budding artists?

Let the finger painting begin.

Cheesing it up for the camera

Jonathan started pointing to his nose, so Matt joined in.

"Nose!"

I had to get them together for a few shots once the mess was completed!

Don't know exactly what was happening in this picture, but it cracks me up every time!

Oh yeah, there was a lot of laughing going on at this point!

We had a blast, until I had to plan how to get them clean! Luckily it was almost bath time, so they got put in the bath together. It was getting upstairs that was a bit tricky, but we made it!

Space Center Part 2

As a result of the space center visit, we ended up getting the boys these space shuttle pjs while shopping one day at Carter's. They were having a sale, so I just couldn't resist. Pardon the absolute mess in the background of the picture (still weren't completely moved into our master bedroom at the time).

During that trip to Carter's, Matt fell in love with some rain boots that were also on sale. So, I indulged and bought him his first pair of rain boots. More about those later. Here are the boys telling me what cereal they want me to get out for their breakfasts.

This was the beginning of the end for us! Jonathan is nothing like his brother, and tries everything. No more walking out of the room even to go to the bathroom with his kid around!

Another view with the boots!

We bought Matt a space shuttle during our visit to the space center, and no shuttle is complete and ready for blast off without a fuel tank and a couple of rockets! Matt was thrilled with doing a crafty thing with Mommy that day. Not the usual reaction to crafts at our house, although it's improving.

Random fun

One night that Nick was away for dinner, I decided to do breakfast for dinner with the boys. Matt got unusually excited about helping me with the cooking. We made biscuits and the only cookie cutters I had handy were Christmas ones. So, we had gingerbread men, Christmas trees, and star-shaped biscuits for dinner that night! It was a mess, but a fun one!

Matt came out of my room wearing my sunglasses with his pjs and I just had to snap a shot!

Matt helped Nick with some cleaning up and sorting out in the garage one day. In turn, Nick showed Matt a few of his garage accessories.

Told you this post was random! I have to put Jonathan on here too, only fair. This was Jonathan's first time to actually try corn on the cob. He did a great job and ended up eating 2 pieces. He can wolf it down like no other!