Halloween!

I had no idea what to have the boys dress up as for halloween. I asked kyle what he thought and he said "tweedle dee and tweedle dum." I knew i had seen alice in wonderland, but definitely could not remember what they looked like. a quick google search led me to this picture

and i instantly knew it had to happen!!

I took a quick trip to walmart for red sweatpants and white onsies, then to hobby lobby for yellow dye and red, blue, and white felt. Over the course of a few days, i spent about an hour making their costumes, and i could not be happier with how they turned out!

as cute as they are, they were MUCH cuter on!!

See what i mean?

The only problem was that it was about 90 degrees outside 2 out of the 3 times they wore them. Solution? Billy had two pairs of red shorts. One pair were cargos, and one pari can only be described as "shorty short shorts"

 Noah in the cargos, billy in the shorty short shorts

 is that not the most adorable things ever? I think i will have him be tweedle dee every halloween for the foreseeable future!!

 with his buddy luke, better known as "woody"

and again with his buddies ben (pig pen) and chase (a pilot)

 tweedle dee and tweedle dum trick or treating at daddy's squadron

 billy's 2nd stop for trick or treating

noah just hung out in the stroller, looking adorable!

Moose drool

The park here on base has rubber mulch, and billy carries it home in his shoes, hood, pockets...basically everywhere. I often find one or two random pieces on the carpet, pick them up, throw them in the trash and move on with my day. Well, this time I must have missed a piece. A rather dirty piece. I knew this because out of the corner of my eye i noticed noah's drool was darker than usual.  Much darker. But that rubber was probably pretty clean by the time Noah was done having his way with it. Ew. When I ran over to scoop it out of his mouth you could see the panic in his eyes! But about a millisecond after I pulled it from his mouth he tried to force yet another piece in there! It was hidden in his tiny little clenched fist! And when I pulled his fist from his face he kept trying to shove that piece in there with such force that he was actually dangling from my arm with one hand. That must be some tasty rubber.

He must have known it was filthy though because as I walked back from throwing the rubber pieces in the trash I saw him putting a diaper wipe in his mouth...

Clearly I don't feed him enough!

So proud!

Billy had his first day as a bullfrog, and he did GREAT!

I dropped him off at 930 and quickly shut the door and walked down the hall. I could hear him crying for mommy. But by the time i left (about 20 minutes) he stopped crying :o)  And apparently the rest of his day went really well. They said he cried a little, and had a hard time with transitioning to the next activit.  I can't blame him. i hate to end one thing if i'm really in my zone!  But he played well with others, made a buddy, and bonded with one of his teachers. And he napped! This time they had to wake him up! What an incredible little guy. He adjusts to new situations far better than i thought he would. And far better than i do!

They kept commenting on how smart he is. That makes me feels better about the amount of TV he has been watching the last 9 months

A lotta moose, a little billy!

Billy gets a lot of attention on this blog...I think noah deserves a little more! After all, at a few days shy of 11 months old, he now outweighs his 2.5 year old brother. More pounds=more posts? sure!

For the last two days he has been napping weird, sometimes not at all. And waking up early, and crying harder, and being more cuddly. I think he is teething. Either that or the runny nose and sneezing and coughing is actually a miserable cold, and not allergies like i thought. At any rate, he isn't himself.

However, spending time outside makes him happy. Especially time with his brother.

Smoothies makes him happy too.

Crawling under the table while billy is eating makes him the happiest! Until he gets stuck...

Noah has discovered he doesnt have to eat food just because he put it in his mouth. Yup. It happened. He now loves to spit out food. And throw it on the ground. But, it wont go to waste. Oh no. He has started a new trend: he lets me think he is done eating, so i let him down to play. Billy of course is not done as fast as noah, so i am feeding billy while noah is playing. I look down. Noah is eating all the food he just threw on the floor!!! Ew! He's an oddball, that moose!

He's also crazy. He likes to remind me of just how easy i had it with cautious billy! He tries to crawl out of the stroller and carseat, into the bathtub and toilet, off the bed and couch...when this boy is able to walk and/or run i am going to have a heart attack a day!

And he is getting more handsome by the minute!

now for a small billy spotligh (from my facebook post)t:

While getting billy ready for bed i was talking to him about tomorrow and reminded him he gets to go to school. He was SO excited about it :O) We then continued the rest of the bedtime routine, and when it came time to put him in his room, he said "wan goo! wan goo!" and cried when i laid him in bed :o( Part guilty momma for bringing it up with a 2 year old who obviously doesn't quite get the idea of "tomorrow", but mostly happy because he is so excited to go back!!!

BTW, this picture pretty much describes the last few weeks. Billy gets sad, noah gets sad. Billy gets sadder, noah gets sadder. It's a really fun game of who can be the saddest and drive mommy crazy with their tears. And i wouldn't trade it for the world :o)

Mother's Day Out, it's a wonderful thing!

I decided last week that we REALLY needed to help billy get over his inability to be around other kids. Okay maybe that's an exaggeration. He could be around kids, they just weren't allowed near him or he would scream-cry. Even nice kids. It was not conducive to mommy socializing (that's what playgroups are really for) and mommy really needs to socialize!

We got a few recommendations for St. Paul's Lutheran church's mother day out program. It only took one minute on the phone with the director before I knew it was for us! Seriously, if I had spoken to her in person I would have hugged her :-) we discussed Billy's age and demeanor and decided he should go in the 1-2.5 class. Billy and I met the teachers and saw the classroom and big play auditorium. I couldn't fill out the form or pay the money fast enough. We both loved it! We discussed the idea of picking billy up early, but ultimately he teachers persuaded me to let him stay the full 5 hours unless he was really unhappy. These ladies have been doing this a while, I trust their judgement.

Today he had his first full day as a teddy bear. 930 to 230. This is how it went:

935: we arrive, late as usual. I take him to his class, place his diapers blanket and stuffed animal in his cubby. Lunch bag on top. Backpack on his hook.

 I walk him over to the toys, linger to get a good picture (didn't happen)

and then leave. I hear him cry.
10: I drive back because I forgot to give them his emergency seizure meds. He is still crying, but not hard bc sweet Diane is holding him.
11: I call to see how he is doing. He stopped crying and is sitting next to ms Diane for lunch, pointing at and saying the letters, numbers and colors on the board. Yay!
1220: I call again. He has been doing wonderfully and is currently *gasp* asleep on a COT! Let me fill you in on how billy sleeps for me: in a crib or pack n play in his own area, 2 blankies, Minnie (Kyle was less than thrilled with that randomly-saw-it-on-a-shelf-and-used-his-manners-so-well-to-ask-for-it-so-mommy-"had"-to-buy it purchase), Clifford, owl, 2 brobies, a pillow, sound machine and blackout curtains. For these strangers he fell asleep with one blankie, Minnie, on a cot, with 10 other children around him, in a very well lit room. This part of the day astounds me!
230: went to pick him up! he did so well I decided to not call but just wait to find out how the rest of his day went. I walked in to see him hugging ms michelle. when he saw me, he said "oh hi momma. i cried" not too excited to see me (which i interpreted as a good thing), but quick to tell me he had cried. I think he wanted me to know he was sad but was a big boy and got over it. He colored and learned about leaves falling in autumn and made a leaf. He did great!! They raved about how sweet and smart he is! They said he is smart enough that they thought he should move up to the next class, but they also said they didnt want him to bc he is so sweet they would miss him. i decided that I didn't want him to get attached to his teachers and have to change classes in a few weeks, so as of thursday he will be a bullfrog :-)

I am so insanely proud of him and happy he enjoys himself! And I LOVE the school we choose. They really act like aunts/grandmas to these kids.

He was so happy on the way home! not the "thanks for rescuing me" kind of happy. but the "this day is the best day ever" sort of happy :o)

HE sang "the wheels on the bus" and waved his red leaf the whole way home

and did more of the same at home

It was a great day. He had fun, and i was able to get a ton done (including cooking dinner and dessert for my family and 2 others).

and noah, well give him a swing and he is happy :o)

Big day...and another one coming!

Not another baby...i realize that may have seemed like some sort of hint. It is not. At least it better not be...

A few things about today:

 I woke up early through no choice of my own, but decided to make the most of it by going for a quick run.  It felt great! And that feeling lasted all day.

I had a chiropractor appointment and i brought the boys with me. It was a last minute booking because i was in a lot of pain, so i had to hurry and get everyone out the door. The result:
Billy decided to sleep in SO late, so both boys still in pjs (noah is almost always in pjs, he's still a baby and i love them...at least billys looked like day clothes)...
the toe of noahs pjs had finally ripped through during the night...
both suffering from some allergies and therefore crusted in snot...along with some wheat thins b/c i had to feed them something to keep them from starving to death (no breakfast...)
diaper changed performed on the adjustment table (i placed a ziploc bag under their tush b/c i forgot the diaper bag...
It was a mess, that is for sure. I would be embarrassed if i didn't find it so humorous! I'm gonna go ahead and keep these types of "last minute" situations to a minimum...

It has finally happened: at ALMOST 11 months, and just over 2.5 exactly, noah is bigger than billy. Heavier at least. By .6 lbs. Poor billy. Noah is still barely mobile, so billy wont have to worry about being picked on for quite some time!

THe boys and I rough housed and it was AWESOME!

We took a long walk with some friends. It was great! SO nice to chat while getting some exercise.

I made some delicious pork tacos. Such a simple recipe, too!

kyle had fun flying!!! this is big, really big! I prayed for that and safety for him today. Both prayers answered. God is good.

As for tomorrow...

BILLY STARTS SCHOOL!!!! I am fah-reaking out here! This is going to be so good for him, but after my last experience i am nervous. I am trying to keep my expectations low, but i really trust the teachers at this place. I was told to put his name on every. thing. I packed him a lunch and extra clothes and diapers and snacks and...oh man i know i am forgetting something...

My little boy is growing up...

expect more on that tomorrow :O)


I dont have any pictures of today, so here are a few randoms :o)

Billy uses a mechanical pencil as a screw driver "I turning momma"

We got noah hooked early. We're hoping he loses weight... ;o)

I brought our groceries in the house and when i came back out, this is what i found! "Climb climb climb!"