Thursday, June 26, 2014

Mother's Day Tea, Tball and Vehical Day

We have really enjoyed fully taking advantage of our new home and all the things that our area offer.  Doing many school activities, sports, and just cool events that take place in our new hometown.  I often marvel at how lucky we are to live in an area that offers so much.  Feel like we are able to give our kids some really cool experiences and just enjoy all of the time that we have together.
 One very special school event was the Mother's Day Tea.  Jake's teacher had the kids working on this for a week to get ready for the big day.  Jake talked about it every day and was SOOOOO excited for the day to come.  That morning he was all over the place with excitement and kept making me promise "Mommy, promise me that you will not be late."  Now I have not been late to anything for school for the record :)  but he wanted to make sure.  But here we are in the morning getting ready for the day.  :)  Isn't my big boy a charming little guy?
 And of course, as is the case with my boys, if one gets a picture then the other wants one too :)  Me and my Squidly...too cute
 Me and my boys!  :)  Happy times for me are cuddling on the couch with these two.  :)
 Jake brought home one of those beans that they had soaked in water and had started to root.  Well he wanted to plant it and so we did.  But we prepared him that it might not grow and if it did it would be very slow.  Well this was about a week and a half later.  :)  Boy had a green thumb.  You should see the thing now...its 3 times as big.  Will have to get a picture of it to put on a later blog.
So I was at the school waiting with the other moms and when the kids came walking down the hall I see Jake weaving around and trying to find me.  As soon as he saw me he yelled "Hi Mommy"  and was just as happy as can be.  The kids went in first and then the moms were invited in.  The kids were all at their chairs and as we walked to them they pulled out the chairs and did a little bough.  :)  It was too cute.  And this is what I found at my spot. 
 
Jake was very proud of all the projects he made me
 My flower and portrait  :)
Me and my Mother's Day Tea Date :) 
 Jake, me and his teacher...she did so much work with the kids to put this together and it was really special
 You saw all of those cookies in the earlier picture right?  Yeah the kids were pretty hyper afterwards.  :)
 Jake and his buddy Grant before a twin day at school.  Two little goofballs
 Jake also started playing t-ball for the first time!  He had never been interested before but all of a sudden he really wanted to play.  So we signed him up for a summer league with the ymca and he has LOVED it.  This is a picture of him in his Dodger hat and blue baseball shirt throwing the ball to his buddy on the first practice.  You can also see AJ and his Daddy playing catch in the left corner.  Poor little guy really wants to play too but is just a little too young.  Next Spring they can both play  :)
 After the practice we were taking the boys to the kids truck and vehicle show that the city was putting on.  We were meeting some friends there and we got there first.  The boys were so excited for their friends to get there and I thought they looked so cute looking for them.
 Of course the first thing that we had to look at was the fire truck  :)
 AJ wanted one of these for his own  :D
 
 The kids hanging out together.  They had so much fun and loved going to one cool truck after another.
 Inspecting a military vehicle

 AJ adored this truck, think he wants to be a truck driver   :)
Look out road....here they come!!! 
The new law in town
A boy and his pup.  Piper might be getting up there in age but his buddy still loves to play and hang out with her.  :)


Keeping Busy and Having Fun

First of all I will warn you that some of these pictures are a little fuzzy.  I have found that I love having my IPhone with me because I always forget my camera and this way I don't miss out on pictures.  Sometimes they just turn out a little fuzzy, but I have them.  Just happy to record their adorable faces as they are growing up so fast.  :)  We always seem to have a great time together, meltdowns and all!  :)
AJ just being cute
I love how much these two adore each other.  They still miss each other when one is at school, sleeping, or at a friends.  I love how close they are becoming and hope that they always share this tight bond.
Jake had been promised a big reward when he could wake up dry 7 days in a row...he got to go to Chuck E Cheese.  And he did it!!!  He is also doing great now, sleeping in big boy underwear and only occasionally having accidents.  So proud of my big boy!!!
AJ enjoying a ride in the jeep.   Both boys were all over the place enjoying every game they could take on.
Jake dancing with the other kids and having a blast.
Jake's school had a fundraiser in the form of a BINGO night.  We did amazingly well and the boys got to pick out some really cool prizes.  Here you can see Jake was very excited about his new Super Soaker Squirt Gun :)
AJ of course went for sidewalk chalk and bubbles.  It was a fun night and fun to support the Wildcats!
"Just hanging out with my buds and eating cake" -AJ  Gotta love the change in weather where you can play in little pools outside for a Birthday party and then enjoy cake in your suits.
Of course some of the big kids were too busy having fun to sit down and eat their cake...or maybe they just wanted to be closer to the actual cake.  :)  So glad the boys have already made great friends (and us too)
Jake has made a little buddy with one of the little guys in our Lifegroup.  Every time he sees Asher he is really excited and loves to play with him.  I love seeing this nurturing side of him come out!
Fun pool time at a friend's house.  We have been lucky to go over a couple times for a swim and while AJ is still very hesitant to get in, once he is in he LOVES it.  Jake of course loves the water and is doing really well.  He recently discovered goggles and loves them, not sure if its because it keeps water out of his eyes or because he looks super cool like his buddy.  :)
My little shopper.  AJ was pretty excited that the little cart at Sprouts was free on this day and he got to push the groceries. Notice he has honey and blueberries and he is darn happy.  AJ still adores blueberries and any time I get them will gobble them up as fast as I let him.  :) 
Ahhhh the end of another AWANA year.  Jake had loved going to AWANA in Rosamond and so when we got here we found a church nearby that offers it (since our church does not).  The year went by so fast but he finished the second book and next year will be a Sparky.  Hard to believe, but my little Cubby has grown up.  :)  AJ is super excited because he gets to be a Cubby when it starts up again!
Can you find Jake?
When Jake was little he was not really into taking part in the follow the motion activities.  Could barely get him to stretch with the other kids before a swim lesson.  It was so fun to watch him singing songs with his friends and doing all of the motions.  Yeah he is a full on ham now.  :)


Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Loving Life, New Things and Easter

My boys just seem to be growing up way to fast.  I look back at all of these pictures, what they have learned and what I know they are doing now and it all goes so fast.  So we are making sure to enjoy every little bit of it.  During the time between my parents trip and Easter AJ hit a big milestone in potty training.  We were not sure if he was going to be ready but after a shaky start he just got it and has been doing really well.  He is also our little charmer.  Always saying things like "Mommy I like your shirt"  or "I like your hair."  Pretty darn cute.  He wants to try everything and is frustrated when he can't because he is not old enough.  Jake continues to be a great big brother and is just growing into such a big boy.  At this time he was nearing the end of school and enjoying every day of it.  The boy LOVES school and has learned so much.  He was practicing to start playing t-ball, and working on his bike riding skills.  Jake is my little helper, helping me with laundry, feeding the dog, helping me find AJ's lost baby or sippy....which happens quite often.  :)  I love these two boys and watching them go through all of these stages is truly a joy.
Brother love is really the best
My monkey, both of my boys love to climb...even if they get stuck sometimes and need mommy or daddy to rescue them. :)
As we were getting closer to potty training we broke out the big guns..."Elmo's Potty Time" a dvd that helped both of our kids.  AJ was pretty excited about it.
And then came the morning where we started potty training and broke out the big boy underwear.  I think AJ would have showed his new undies to the world and ran through the neighborhood in just them to show them off if I had let him.  :)  He was super excited.
I am not one to normally share a picture of my child on the potty but this one just cracked me up.  My little super hero...cape and all.  He WOULD NOT take it off. :)
Fun times with mommy. We always miss Jake when he is at school, but me and my little buddy always have a good time.  :)
Jake made this little cross for Easter at AWANA and he was quite proud of it.  I really liked it too and loved how much he understood the meaning of the holiday this year.
Easter morning the boys were very excited to see if the Easter Bunny had come and filled their baskets.  They were very lucky boys!
Jake is surprised at all the goodies and AJ is just super excited :)
Fun tub toy planes to play with in the tub
Some of our friends blessed us with the invitation of coming over to their house later Easter morning for an Easter Egg hunt and brunch.  It was so nice to have the special time and the boys LOVED it!  It was rainy and so the hunt was inside but we still had plenty of fun.
Jake of course was the oldest and so did very well at the egg hunt but was also such a sweetie in helping his little brother and younger friends find eggs too.  So proud of the big boy he is becoming.
Towards the end it is harder to find the last eggs and better search equipment may be needed.  :)  It was a wonderful Easter that also included an Easter dinner with our entire lifegroup from church.  Most of us are here from out of state and so did not have family here and so for this Easter we were each other's family.  It was really fun and a very special first Easter in Oklahoma!


Pa Gary and Grandma Eileen Come for a April Visit :)

So in early April my parents were able to come out for another visit!  It was starting to warm up and the boys were super excited to see them and hang out together.  We are so blessed that our parents have been so awesome to come out and visit us!  Makes the distance so much easier and we really have a fun time.  And we have so many new adventures that we all get to enjoy together.
Of course goofing around is always the first priority and my little monkeys are very good at it.  :)
But then AJ had to take a little break to give his Grandma some love :)
The boys have discovered that phones can have some really fun games.  They really loved the bowling game that Pa had and often asked to play with it.  :D
More cuddle time
Then everyone wanted to get a picture of themselves on my camera...AJ went for goofy
Jake went for sweet
And my mom went for fun.  I love this picture of her, my new favorite :)
Errands were so much more fun to run with Grandma and Pa
AJ hanging with Pa and his phone
and enjoying time with Grandma too :)
On a trip to Stillwater to see OSU we stopped at a Western Wear place and the boys loved it!  AJ of course liked the cowboy hats!
Jake liked the boots....and as  you can see there were a LOT
Great times with Grandma and Pa
Then off for a stroll at Bricktown
I love how checking out a fountain can be such a hit
They loved it when the water went super high
My wonderful family :)
The boys found their favorite toys at Bass Pro Shop
My parents were also here for one of Jake's swim lessons.  It turned out to be a really cool one too as Jake was the only kid in his class who showed up that day and they accidentally had two teachers.  So he got to do a lot of fun stuff.  Like learn how to jump from a boat and just float around.  :D
Although his favorite is always jumping from the diving blocks.  He could do this for hours.  :D
As it was also before Easter Grandma Eileen thought it would be fun to die Easter eggs with the boys, they loved it!!!
So many great colors to chose from, and the crown....who knows :)   Jake had gotten it at school and I guess thought it was perfect for dying eggs with  hehe
AJ was all excited to see the eggs turn bright colors...
....but as a typical 2 year old, he got a little bored waiting for it to happen :)
Beautiful eggs and two proud boys :)
AJ was so excited he danced
Jake just loved that he got to decorate them with Spiderman :)
Cholcolate Chip Cookies!!!  My boys always love to bake.  On this morning AJ discovered trying the chocolate chips before putting them in the cookie dough.  This picture was taken at his first bite...as you can see, he really liked them :)
We finally talked them into putting the chips in the dough before they were all eaten.  hehe
We're getting there
And the best part of all...testing them out.  The cookies were enjoyed by all.  :)
While they were here AJ also got to ride his big boy bike for the very first time!  He was super excited as he wants to be just like his big brother.
Hitting the road
Jake was excited to show off his skills to his Pa
And AJ loved that Pa helped him to ride for the first time.
"Look Mom, no hands!"
Not to be outdone by his brother..."Look Mom, no feet!"  hehe
Cute family picture with their Grandma and Pa
One day while Jake was at school we took a trip to the local grocery store.  While we were walking through the parking lot AJ spotted this fire truck and went with his Pa to get a closer look.  When the firefighter saw him he got out and asked AJ if he wanted to climb inside.  We had one super excited little boy.  Such a nice firefighter!  :)
Cuddle time with Pa
I think the little guy is pretty happy :)
The boys also both got Batman PJs from their Grandma and Pa as part of their Easter gift.  Jake was very excited
And AJ was beyond excited...
especially since his has a cape.  Have no fear citizens, we are safe with Batman AJ in the world.  :D
I love my family and it was so much fun to have my parents here for a fun visit.  And while it was hard to see them go, we made so many great memories and those will be forever treasured!!!