Under Construction

I have been meaning to post some photos of the house - under construction.....Let's see - we've been here a little over a month and we have managed to completely gut the powder room, paint the boys room, living and dining room and even put a hole in our kitchen ceiling (first photo). Darren attempted to get into the attic.....you know what happened next.

The boys have adjusted well - and even though they miss living across the street from Aunt Jody and Uncle Bart - they really like the yard and all the space to play.

Where's Cousin Jake.....

Just in case you were wondering what Jake did on Thanksgiving........he was supposed to arrive this past Tuesday.

Happy Thanksgiving

We spent most of Thanksgiving day playing outside - Braden and Logan both enjoyed the mountain of leaves in our front yard. I even attempted to get a photo of the boys together - but Braden didn't really want any parts of that.

Happy Halloween

Halloween was a big success! Braden went dressed as Handy Manny (no big surprise there) and Logan would have been Winnie the Pooh had he not fallen asleep waiting to go out. Braden took to the concept quickly and a followed the neighborhood kids up the street. He admired the "glow sticks" that many of the older kids had (good idea for next year) and didn't seem to mind the scary monsters handing out candy. He took his time picking out candy - so much time that Mommy or Daddy ended up choosing for him. (Mommy and Daddy will be eating most of it anyway)

Most of our family came to the house to enjoy the kids and eat Pizza! What a nice evening.

Say "Cheese"

Braden is starting to realize what a camera is all about - and he wants no parts of it. As you can see it's very difficult to capture him - I have to bribe Braden to even look at the camera. I taught him to say "cheese" but he'll say it as he's walking away or just not looking. This is also why I don't have many photos of the boys together.

First Photo Shoot

I finally decided it was time to take the boys to get their picture taken. I had procrastinated enough and even though it was in my best interest to take another "adult" with me - I didn't. And I must say to my surprise - it went quite well.

The photographer introduced herself to Braden as "Kat," so he replied "kitty" - which I hope she found humerous. She took some pretty good shots considering the fact that Braden seemed to run out of every frame. Logan on the other hand just sat and smiled (most of the time) Once she was done taking the photos - we walked around the mall until the prints were ready. Braden dumped an entire water bottle down his pants and all over the stroller. Lucky for him - he didn't mind his clothes wet - because I didn't have a extra set with me.

Logan's New Buddy

Logan has taken a liking to musical toys - they soothe him (well, and his thumb too) GiGi was kind enough to get him his own dragonfly that plays a lullaby when you pull it's tail. As you can see he's enjoying it.

Our New House

"Peese" Mommy

We were in the backyard playing today when Braden decided that he was going to go swimming. He pulled his pool off the patio, gathered his toys and the hose and said "Peese Mommy."
How could I say no.........

The Elmwood Zoo

Darren, Braden and I spent some time at the Elmwood Zoo this past weekend. It was Braden's first trip to the zoo. He enjoyed the animals - but had a blast walking through the praire dog tunnel. He also like the "misting" fountain. All he wanted to do was press the button, but I didn't mind - it was really hot and I enjoyed the cool spray.

Like Father Like Son

Need I say more - wonder where Braden learned that.......

Recent photos of the boys

Here are some photos I took this week while hanging out at home. It's amazing how fast they both are growing. Braden received his 2nd haircut this past Tuesday. He seems to be a lot cooler without all that hair - but we miss the curls.......

Logan has starting smiling and responding to our voices. He likes to "Coo" and copy my sounds. I think that he is going to be the vocal one in our family.

Father's Day

Braden and Logan had a card ready for Daddy we he woke up Sunday morning. Braden had painted Daddy a coffee mug - but he had decided to give to him a week early without Mommy knowing. Unfortuntely most of the day was spent either packing or in the car. We headed home from the shore to have Sunday dinner at the Hardel's to celebrate Father's Day and also Jody's birthday. With all the packing and unpacking that took place - Mommy forgot to bring her camera......

Happy Father's Day to all the "Dad's" in our life.

Weekend at the Beach

Our trip to the shore ("Beach" as Braden calls it) started off a little rocky. We headed for Tom's River about 8 pm on Thursday night. I had thought that Braden would enjoy watching a DVD in the car, so Darren hooked up the player on the back of my head rest. Braden was extremely excited to see that his favorite show "Handy Manny" was playing - however about 45 minutes into our trip he got car sick not once, but twice. Two stops and two outfit changes later - the DVD player is no longer in the car.

We had great weather and lots of fun in the sun. Braden enjoyed the water and Mommy showed him how to build a sand castle. Unfortuntely Logan had to spend most of his time indoors - but he didn't seem to mind. He had lots of people to keep him busy. MiMi, Aunt Erin and Uncle Danny also came down for the weekend. Uncle Danny, Daddy and Braden spent some quality time playing Mario Kart (Wii) and Mommy, Aunt Erin and MiMi went to a local quilt shop and bought fabric. Logan also came along for the ride - but missed out - he was sleeping.

Thanks for a great time!!

Uncle Matt's Birthday Dinner

I must apologize for the lack of photos on this post (my camara battery died - and I have yet to get a replacement) We celebrated Matt's 28th birthday today with chicken and ribs at our usual Sunday dinner spot. Braden and I had gone shopping earlier in the day to find that special gift for "Uncle Matty." We came across this great tie-died frog that Braden absolutely fell in love with. So we bought two - one we named Hip and the other Hop. We sure hope that Matt is enjoying his Frog as much as Braden does.

Darren and I also encouraged Braden to go swimming in the pool (which he loved last weekend - but since seeing Mommy go under water he doesn't want to get in) I got him to get in the spa with me, but not for long. I hope this fear subsides soon. Swimming Lessons are in the works!!

Happy Birthday Matt. We love you.

First Swim

Sunday ended up being a beautiful day - and Braden was invited to play in our neighbors pool (the green pool in the first photo) It was shaped like a frog - completed by a fountain. The pool was just big enough for Braden and his friend Ellie. He had a great time and would have gladly skipped his nap time if Mommy would have let him.

As always - we concluded our weekend with dinner at GiGi and Grumpa's house. It happened to be Aunt Dianna's birthday (Jim and Dianna are visiting for the week) The menu consisted of Shish Kabobs and cake for dessert.

We weren't sure the pool was offically "open" for the summer (since receiving a "facelift") but Braden was allowed to try it out. Aunt Jody put his feet in the water - but that wasn't quite enough for him. Within minutes he was down to his diaper and totally submerged. He was having such a great time and didn't want to get out. He spent the rest of the evening trying to find every possible route to the pool.

We just hope the weather is just as nice next weekend so that we may enjoy some more time in the pool.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day Weekend started off with some festive photos of the boys in their holiday outfits. Although, I seemed to be the only one excited about it. Braden could have cared less - and kept trying to remove Logan from his lap. (first photo) He was however excited about golfing with Daddy and playing in the sprinkler.

We had dinner at the grandparent's. Sunday afternoon was spent at GiGi's and Grumpa's and Monday was spent at MiMi's. We had the classic summer meal at both houses - burgers and dogs.

Mother's Day

Here are my cards.....

Darcy and Logan napping after brunch

Braden loves musical cards.....

It was a lot of work to get this picture

We had a great Mother's Day. When the kids got up - actually when I got up, (I got to sleep until 8:30am) we had waffles. Later in the morning we went to GiGi's house for brunch. Aunt Darcy and Uncle Matt cooked for all of us. It was wonderful - but the day didn't end there. I took the kids home for a much needed nap - and prepared for our next Mother's Day outing. We took dessert over to MiMi's house (she had to work 12 hours - so dinner would have been too late) We indulged on frosted brownies, vanilla ice cream and hot fudge.

Thanks for a wondeful day! Happy Mother's Day to all the great "mommies" in our life. We love you.