the nees family blog

A Snowy Day

2012-01-18T22:21:00.000-05:00

So far this is my favorite picture of the year.

I know it's only January, but I think it will be the best photo of 2012.

And there he goes. Off to adventure with a friend...wearing shorts...in a snow storm. Now for the record, he only walked about a block to his friends house; he wasn't really playing in the snow in shorts. But still.

Mid January

2012-01-18T22:18:00.000-05:00

Brandon got this little guitar for Christmas. He is quite proud of it even though he can't play anything...yet. Hopefully he can get some lessons and become the star I know he is inside!

And this is just one of the those classic personality shots. Jordon carefully arranged all his gifts in a nice pile and wanted to get a picture of them. It has been interesting to hear Jordon process and think through getting all these gifts. He kept asking who picked out each of his gifts. He wanted to know which ones I picked out and which ones Pete picked out. It was so cute how important that was to him. He still occasionally asks to be reminded who picked out what gift for him. (Makes me glad that we didn't give Santa any credit for giving the gifts because I can see how important the giver is to him!!)

I've been in a wintery-weather mood ever since taking the Christmas decorations down (just two days after Christmas). I've been considering crafting all sorts of cozy winter decorations to "warm" the house up a bit. Although I have a long list of ideas to do, only one thing has actually been created. This is the inspiration that I found online. I love this winter scene. It turns out the creator of this picture must have been inspired by the paper cups at Panera because I was recently there with a friend and saw pretty much the same scene on their cups. I was very glad to see it because then I didn't feel so badly for completely copying off some one else. There is inspiration and there is copying...this is clearly copying...with a few mistakes that we'll call purposeful changes.

So here is my "interpretation" of the piece. The worse part about it is the surrounding [lack of] decor, which I have since changed. But besides all that, I like the painting and it adds a nice wintery feel to the room, which is exactly what I was hoping for. Now if only I could get some extra time to make some of the other cozy pieces to go along with it; that will be great. I still have at least another month to stick with my winter theme! So maybe I'll get something else made. If not, there is always next year!

We've been able to go to a couple different Butler games over the winter break. It's been a lot of fun. This was a particularly funny picture of Gids that I thought I'd share. It also reminds me how much I love the shirts that I've made for all the boys and I need to make the next size bigger for little Gids. This one is getting a bit tight. I also want to make one for myself. I just can't decide on the design. I thought this huge bulldog right on the belly was perfect for little kids, but now I'm thinking that might be what I want. But then again, maybe that would look weird on me. I guess it is better for little kids who are supposed to have round bellies!

Thanksgiving

2011-12-19T15:36:00.000-05:00

Despite my amazing efforts, I still got a few of these posts out of order. So sorry.

Gideon saw all the kitchen activity and wanted to be a part. He really was only interested in doing the most dangerous thing though, cut something with a knife. So I set him up with a cucumber and butter knife. I know that wasn't really a great combination, but he worked quite hard for a long time and did pretty good. Thankfully Gideon's first knife encounter didn't land us in the hospital.

However, later that day, Jordon's climbing event did land us in the hospital! He sliced the bottom of his foot on a wing nut! Nasty!

He was quite a trooper though it all...the cleaning it out, the x-rays, and the five stitches. My favorite story from this event is that the doctor asked us what he cut it on, Jordon heard Pete say "a wing nut". Then later the x-ray tech lady asked Jordon how he cut his foot. He said in his low voice, "on a golden nut".

Jordon's mood lightened up when they let him choose a stuff animal. He chose this marbled colored chameleon and immediately named him, Lizzy the Lizard.

There were 19 people in our house for Thanksgiving when Pete, Jordon and I quickly left to go to the hospital. When we returned in less than an hour Jordon was welcomed with a room full of claps and cheers. He was a true champ that day!!

He didn't walk on his foot for about 8 days. Instead he hopped, crawled or was carried (the carrying ended after about day 3!) But he was pretty normal and did a great job keeping his wound clean so no infections complicated his super deep cut.

This isn't a great photo, but I wanted to document how I joined up with my cousins and uncle for a super-fun midnight shopping event at Target. It was absolutely insane. I had no clue what I was signing up for, but it sounded like an adventure and I knew I'd be with fun people, so I went. It was absolutely crazy. But my cousin Kim and I had a great time!!

They boys were able to paint some Christmas tree decorations with Nini.

December

2011-12-19T15:23:00.000-05:00

On December 1st we went to Wendy's to get Frosty's (or course I got suckered into also buying kid's meals for all of them). I brought a blank calendar for Dec., tape and lots of pictures of things to do. So we went through the month and taped on pictures of the activities that we wanted to do each day. Some of these included basketball practice, small group, things we already had planned. But the fun part was adding in game nights, baking nights, card/art nights, movie nights, etc. We haven't been completely faithful to the calendar, but it has certainly been fun to have and force us to be more creative with the kids in the evenings instead of getting stuck in a rut.

Part of the reason for all this is because we aren't going to be able to have a "normal" Christmas this year because Pete is going in for jaw surgery on Dec. 22nd. He will have his mouth wired shut and most likely be quite miserable for about 2 weeks. The hope is that this surgery will alleviate some of the pain he has in his head/jaw/ear region. But he will definitely have a rough recovery before we know if the surgery will help take this pain away. And unfortunately all that will be happening right around Christmas. So we've been doing what we can to celebrate throughout the whole month. It's actually been pretty fun and I've liked to re-think how to celebrate. Hopefully we can remember some of these fun things from this year and make them December traditions.

Jordon got his stitches out. He was a trooper and our friend was the doctor on-call that day. So it was to get to see her and have her help us.

This picture also clearly shows Jordon's amazing fashion ideas. He picks out his clothes everyday and comes up with the loudest color combinations I've ever seen. Pete thinks he's really good at fashion and tries to encourage it. I'm not convinced that he's very good at it. The day he wore plaids and stripes to church was not a proud day for me...but of course Pete thought it was awesome!

Brandon's been playing on a basketball league at church and has games many Saturdays. This particular Sat. Gideon grabbed his chair before he got in the car. He carried it into the gym with him and sat a few seats away from the rest of us. It was hilarious to his little independence shine. Of course a few minutes later some other people came in and sat down next to him. He wasn't so into that and found himself on my lap soon after.

The boys have been big into all sleeping the same room...mostly because they love figuring out the bed situation because it means they can stay up later. This is how I found them the other night!

Jordon asked him if he could "take a haircut". So I shaved the back and sides a little bit. Then he asked for some gel in his hair. He was so proud of this do! I also can't believe how he's stuck a pose for this picture. This is not at all what is normal for Jordon, but I've seen him do it for pictures some recently. I guess Brandon's love for posing has had a pretty big influence!

brothers

2011-12-19T15:05:00.000-05:00

Jordon wasn't quite feeling the love at this time.

But he did get into making funny faces!

This just cracks me up! Because of times like this is why I have given them the names Frick and Frack. The two of them together are a recipe for disaster and fun, no matter where they are. Mess and destruction surround them, yet they sit calmly in the middle on a soft blanket. Their expressions are void, but say so much!

Halloween-the 3 ninjas

2011-12-19T15:01:00.000-05:00

Brandon had a fun school project of dressing up a pumpkin like a character in a book. He chose Speed Racer and he and I together came up with this pumpkin version of him.

All four boys carved these pumpkins together. They had a lot of fun and were quite proud of their creations...especially when they saw them glowing at night!

And here they are...the 3 ninjas! Watch out world!

Brandon really got into character!

backsplash update

2011-12-19T14:58:00.000-05:00

We decided to take on a project here at home. This is no small task for us to do. But we love the results and had a lot of fun doing it.

Before

After

October

2011-12-19T14:57:00.001-05:00

This day Gideon was acting terrible. One thing after another. By the time Pete got home from work, I was done. After dinner I got out of the house to run some errands and recuperate from the day. When I returned, this is what I saw...Gideon asleep at the computer sitting on a stool. Now, I realize that this is far from safe. But clearly Pete also had a rough go with him and decided to turn on some youtube videos for him to watch. Poor guy was just so tired.

This was the first time that Jordon ever spelled his name on his own. Pretty good! He's doing pretty good writing and learning letters. He is left-handed, so I've been working on writing left-handed too so that he can model what he sees.

And Gideon saw me take Jordon's picture, so he had to run over and show me what he was doing! And I have no clue why he's coloring Hello Kitty. We have that coloring book for when friends come over. They usually see it in the drawer and make fun of it because it's pink. But I guess today Gideon was curious what was inside that book. He's doing better coloring...check out his sunshine and the hairbow!

Here is Brandon's picture of what they will all look like for Halloween. We have had many many discussions on to what to dress up like; however, Brandon was having trouble figuring it out, Jordon couldn't commit and kept changing his mind, and Gideon had no clue what we were talking about. Brandon eventually came up with the idea of a ninja...and the other two quickly followed. Although as time got closer Gideon kept asking to dress up as a camel. Thankfully I was able to talk him out of that and convince him that the three ninjas were cool. Here is what Brandon wrote at the bottom of his page.

"Me and Jordon and Gideon are going to be ninjas for Halloween. Here is a picture of us. Look up. Cool huh? Awesome. We are a pair of three."

A day at the children's museum working on a 3-d puzzle of Chinese statues.

Jordon's Birthday

2011-12-19T14:37:00.000-05:00

Uncle Rob got to be here for Jordon's birthday this year.

He always makes the boys laugh even thought most of the time they have no idea what he's talking about!

I asked J what he thought of his gift from Nini and Pop.

All of the boys love these Trio blocks because they are easy enough for Gideon to play with and also include instructions to create really neat things. Here is the finished product of what they created.

Nothing says birthday like posing for a picture! It was a great birthday!

Pre School!!!

2011-10-26T16:07:00.000-04:00

Here is Jordon on his first day of Pre-School this year. He is headed for the Purple Zone and couldn't be more excited!

Here's little Gid's posing for his first day. He also was quite excited.

As we approached the building, Gideon, all of a sudden got very independent and serious. He just marched his little self right on in. It was so hilarious. I didn't try, (because it was obvious it would be a failed attempt) but I'm guessing if I tried to hold his hand he would've said something to affect of not needing a mom anymore. He is just a little man...and he really does still need his mom!

2011-10-26T15:41:00.000-04:00

Well, this is what Jordon did when he was hungry for a snack and I couldn't get him something immediately. You gotta give him some credit for figuring it out on his own...but seriously, how I am supposed to slice a piece of cheese now!? I just love the teeth marks that you can see in there.

Meet the Teacher Night

2011-10-26T15:38:00.000-04:00

After the first week or so of school we were invited to come to the classroom, hear about basic procedures, meet the teachers, ask questions, etc. While I was there, I took it upon myself to go through Brandon's desk. I just was curious about what all he had in there. They keep a daily journal. I loved looking through it and seeing the different things that he wrote about. And I was also quite impressed with his drawing skills. Despite the fact that I didn't want to be a weirdo-mom, I snapped a few pictures.

Again, don't know why this picture is sideways. But I love how he's dribbling a basketball in both hands!!

A trip to the zoo

2011-10-26T15:31:00.000-04:00

Pete's work occasionally sponsors family fun events. This year it was a night out at the zoo. We were told his work employees were going to get passes to stay late after the zoo closes. We thought it would be so fun. So we didn't show up until just a little before the zoo was going to close, so that we could enjoy fewer crowds, etc. We got to do our exclusive dolphin show and then we went to see the animals. Turns out, they put all the animals away when the zoo closes. So our exclusive access was pretty much a joke-not a single animal was out as we walked through the zoo.

Well, it wasn't all a loss; we did get to ride the carousel and go on the zoo train which takes you behind buildings, near the roads and back by the dumpsters. Quite an interesting ride!

These three wild creatures in front of us, were definitely the best thing on the train ride!

1st day of 1st grade for the rest of us...

2011-10-26T15:24:00.000-04:00

While Brandon was at school, we met up with our friend Abby, ordered pizza and went to the park! What a great day!

Nothing quite like climbing a dinosaur with friends.

And here we are at the bus stop waiting for him to get home. It's a fun little adventure to all get in the wagon and go to the bus stop in August...but it won't be long until hauling everyone to this stop will be quite an ordeal with chilly temperatures!

1st Day of 1st Grade

2011-08-15T08:54:00.001-04:00

Well, he's off. He is on the bus on his way to school and I won't see him until 3:30. It's a little hard to believe. The good news is that he is very excited about 1st grade and so that makes today a whole lot easier. What a big kid!!

My Supermen

2011-08-04T15:39:00.003-04:00

Rob was able to snap this photo of the boys. It is so rare to get a picture of all three looking towards a camera and smiling. Look at little Gideon's smile! Jordon picked out a Superman shirt for Rob at Christmastime. I was just able to get a shirt for each of the boys to match. What fun!

I just saw a family of three girls on Sunday and they were all wearing these cute matching sundresses. I looked at Pete and said, "Aw, matching dresses; we'll never have anything like that!" But I guess I was wrong. These little guys look pretty good in their matching shirts.

I took a call...

2011-08-04T01:21:00.002-04:00

I had just given the boys a bath...which is quite a feat to get them all bathed!! It is my favorite because they smell good when they come out of the tub and are still slightly damp. (Most of the time they smell like busy boys...not really stinky, but just hot. If that description makes any sense.) Anyway, I took a phone call. The older two got themselves dressed, no problem. I got Gids in his jammies and then they were off. I got engrossed in my phone call (it was only a 23 minute call, I went back to check my phone records. And it started before they were out of the tub-for the record.) Anyway, they had gone downstairs while I was on the phone and wiping up water off the floor from bath time. I heard lots of laughing and happy noises so I suspected that they were up to trouble, but this is what I saw when I rounded the corner on the stairs. Every couch cushion off and piled into a tower. They each took turns doing a various dive off the top. This is the best I've seen them do at taking turns in over a month!

Needless to say, the fresh bath smell was long gone in this 20 minutes period. I'm pretty sure Brandon had sweat dripping down his brow when I finally convinced the jumping to stop.

Looking sharp...literally!

2011-08-04T01:14:00.001-04:00

Check out this dude! He knew he was going to a birthday party, so he asked for a mohawk with gel in it. Now this is a guy who knows his style! He didn't really wear this to the party, they had some play clothes there and this is what he chose. So funny!

Summer swimmers

2011-08-04T00:24:00.001-04:00

Check out these swimmers! Swimming has been a big deal for us this summer. Brandon started out feeling fairly confident of his skills, but he's improved tremendously. The thing he's most proud of is being able to jump off the diving board and then swim to the edge.

Jordon started out the summer similar to how he starts most new things...very timid and not too interested. Well the discovery of using a life jacket has provided the perfect amount of security that he needed. He is now quite a swimmer. He'll go to the deep end and try all sorts of things that I would've never guessed that he'd be doing this summer. It has been real fun watching his confidence grow this past month. Surprisingly enough, I've seen a lot of growth in his maturity in several other areas ever since he started swimming, so that's an unexpected bonus!

Gideon started out the summer demanding that he swims on his own. That was a bit scary for me. Do the discovery of the life jacket for him gave ME the security that I needed to be able to let him swim by himself! He's quite comfortable in the water; it's pretty fun to watch!

These pictutes turning up sideways drives me nuts and it's honestly the reason I dont blog as much as I used to. Grrr!

Cars 2

2011-07-27T22:50:00.001-04:00

The boys were quite excited in anticipation for the new Cars movie. The original one has been a house favorite for about 3 years. They all got matching pajamas, which they are SO proud of. And Brandon and Jordon got to see it in 3D at a theater.

May Highlights

2011-05-31T15:47:00.002-04:00

I talked with a good friend from Seattle today and she reprimanded me on my lack of blogging here recently. So I decided to get back on track. (Thanks Rachel!) It's taken me awhile to figure out my new phone and how to take pictures, post pictures, get pictures off camera, etc. So that's my excuse, but anyway here are some April and May highlights.

Cinco de Mayo

Pete came home from work with these crazy hats and of course the boys were thrilled! They do make a pretty good 3 amigos!

Brandon and his friend Carter have each made a portfolio where they keep their best drawings. They try to sell them to people to get some money. I recently had a small garage sale (where I made 125 bucks and got to clean out the house a bit!!) and so they set up this table together for a little bit. They sure are cute in this picture, but it wasn't really a good idea for them to do this together. Feelings were hurt when comments were/weren't made or pictures were/weren't purchased.

Brandon and Jordon each got a kite at Easter and since we happen to live in the windiest pocket of the world, we have been flying our kites quite a bit. The wind is great to keep the kids occupied and have fun with our kites, it is not great when it continues to blow down our trees that we planted last fall!!! We've staked them with various types of stakes and with all these tornado-like winds coming through they just keep falling.

Brandon has been asking for a mohawk haircut for quite awhile now. I kept thinking to myself that I'd wait until after school was out. But his hair was getting pretty long and making him quite hot. And I figured, "Who really cares anyway!" of course he can have a mohawk during the school year. So here it is. It's kind of that trendy "fauxhawk" so when he doesn't spike it up with gel (like in the photo) you can't really tell too much. Anyway these are some super old Pacer's clothes that I got from two different garage sales. He loves them. That outfit coupled with these Chuck Taylor's just crack me up. He came up with this whole thing on his own...if only he knew how Hoosier he looked!!

It's not Memorial Day without a big watermelon!

Brandon and Jordon got the idea to try to catch their juice in a cup so they could drink it. It was hilarious to see how little actually ended up in the cup and how many drips were all over their laps. Oh well, gotta love their creative minds!

I just can't get over how much I love this picture. For whatever reason I think it looks old fashion. I guess I keep thinking in my mind that there must be a million similar photos that have been taken over the decades of little blond boys with blue shorts mealin' on some melon!

And here's the final picture of May. Today on May 31, 2011, Brandon got glasses. It's hard to believe really. His eyes are quite bad for his young age. We didn't even know, actually, he didn't even know that his eyes were bad until he failed the eye exam at school. Since he's so young and learning so much, his eyes and mind quickly normalized the blurriness that he was seeing. Anyway, I'm sure this will take some getting used to, but hopefully he'll enjoy seeing better. It's kinda too bad that he's getting them at the beginning of summer, where he'll do lots of sweating and playing (things that make wearing glasses kinda a pain) but I'm sure he'll really benefit from them next year when he's in 1st grade!

April Highlights

2011-05-31T15:37:00.001-04:00

Jordon fell asleep on the couch WHILE eating an animal cracker. Yep, that's one hanging out of his mouth. This, unfortunately is "classic Jordon".

To redeem him a bit, here are some other pictures. The one above is usually how he "smiles" when I try to take his picture. I have to distract him a bit to get a true smile revealed. He calls guitars "rock stars" and likes to jam on this is one.

As usual Gideon is watching and can't wait for his turn to do the exact same thing as big brother Jordon.

The best part about this picture is that it was for no real reason. Just one evening they all decided to take their shirts off, sit out the counter and start waving their hands and yelling. This scenario is very common, not always with shirts off, not always sitting, but usually always laughing, waving arms, yelling, just being brothers I guess.

Butler goes to the Final Four!!

2011-03-26T23:21:00.001-04:00

Here's Brandon and Jordon watching Andrew on the tv tonight. What a game! We are so excited to see the Bulldogs play in Houston on Saturday.

Jordon's growing up!

2011-03-22T12:58:00.001-04:00

Jordon is the second boy and therefore a king of hand-me-downs. Really that works out pretty good for him because whenever he is ready for something new, we usually have it around the house somewhere. And that's true this spring as J is ready to ride a bike. He was so impressed with himself that he could now wear Brandon's old bike helmet. Such hilarious personality in these pictures. Thanks again for the helmet Aunt Elly!

Spring

2011-03-22T12:46:00.001-04:00

Gideon saw this cute little decoration and looked at it and kept saying , "Cute, Mommy!". He looked so springy with his little man shirt!

So I'm trying to blog more with my new phone and blogger app, but it looks like I have some more to learn since all the photos are sideways. That'll be fixed someday...probably as soon as the upstairs gets vacuumed!

Happy Spring!

2011-03-21T13:30:00.001-04:00

Well the other day Brandon asked if we could help feed the birds. He thought God would be very pleased if we helped the birds get some food during this time of year. So we went to work. It took awhile to find a recipe that didn't include peanut butter, but I finally got one. (Not sure how good it is because the birds don't seem overly interested, but oh well.) Last fall we planted 3 trees in our side yard. Those trees made the perfect homes for our feeders. Of course it has to be a competition to see who's gets eaten first...so far it's a pretty even tie as nothing has been eaten.

Circus

2011-03-20T15:52:00.001-04:00

We went to the circus to celebrate Gideon's 2nd birthday (and if you ask Brandon, we were also celebrating his last basketball game). My parents went with us so it was quite a great event. Of course everything was ridiculously over priced, but we went ahead and got each of the boys a green light sword, which they loved...and managed to break two of three on the same day! , Gideon seemed to have a great time as long as he was on Mama's lap. He says his favorite thing was the camel and I taught him to make a fun spit sound when we ask what sound a camel makes. He's also been talking a lot about the elephants. Jordon's favorite part was the Super Dog. This tiny dog dressed in a cape who climbed a ladder and then jumped off into his trainer's arms. Brandon's favorite was the 8 Siberian tigers. They were quite impressive! None of my pictures turned out well because of the lighting, but this motorcycle cycle dude on the tightrope was also a highlight.

2011-02-11T22:25:00.001-05:00

Pete is giving Brandon a ride on the ice.

Try to see Brandon's expression in this picture. Pete was making him go super fast and he was totally loving the exciting fear of sliding on the ice. Believe or not, Pete never fell in this adventure. I'm not really sure how because this was quite slick.

I am trying to show you how deep the ice was. I know it looks like snow because it's white, but this is all solid ice. I guess this picture doesn't quite capture it like I was hoping. I was just trying to get some record of how deep this was. I don't really remember seeing anything like this before. And hopefully our sump pumps and drains can handle all the melting that should be happening here very soon.

This is such a typical Jordon pose. He's up at the computer reaching for something he most likely knows he shouldn't have. (Just like he knows he's not supposed to be up near the computer by himself.) The best part about this is that you can see that his shoes are on the wrong feet. 9 times out of 10 he puts his shoes on the wrong feet and has since the day he started putting his own shoes on. Out of plain exhaustion I didn't always correct him when he was younger. Now I can see some negative consequences to that because he thinks wrong is right. He truly cannot feel that his shoes are wrong. Whenever I tell him they are wrong now he seems totally surprised and many times tries to convince me that they are on the right feet. So Jordon!

Gideon's new favorite game is Duck, Duck, Goose. It was hilarious to watch these four play while they were waiting for me to finish up dinner one night.

And this is so totally Gideon. He is remaining true to his nature and hitting some milestones before his brothers did...including the terrible twos! He now throws some pretty big fits and gets into everything. We are just on the tail end of this phase with Jordon and so Gideon is learning quickly all sorts of great trouble he can cause. Now the reason he was able to get into the pantry and get into the cereal box (which I so loving created by combing 1/2 honey nut and 1/2 regular cheerios-who needs all that sugar?!) and dump it all over the floor is because I had my back turned and was vacuuming another mess that he had just made right before this one. I couldn't believe my eyes when I turned around and saw this whole thing dumped out and both Gideon and Jordon were picking up handfuls and throwing them across the room. And the part that cracks me up now is looking at this picture. Gideon is just sitting there looking at me with that smile like he's just a little angel...and then dark-shirt Jordon off in the background. It's almost as if Gideon is trying to blame it all on Jordon. This is just so typical...and now that all the messes are cleaned up it's pretty funny too.

Friends

2011-01-24T19:17:00.001-05:00

Jordon, Abby and Gideon. Three buds that hang out a lot when their older brothers are at school. This is one the best pictures I've ever gotten of Gideon smiling. He's tricky.

Jordon's smile for the camera. Gotta love how he puts his heart into it!

A typical "good" picture of Gideon.

Carter and Brandon are home from Kindergarten now and get to join in the fun.

Brandon said he was using his "farmer smile". It kinda looks like my jaw before I had surgery!!

The reason why I took all these portrait pix is because we got a new box of Crayola crayons and they have the coolest thing on their website where you can upload a photo and make a coloring sheet out of it. So that's what we did today. It was a lot of fun. The color sheets end up looking line pencil line drawings. It's really pretty cool. I think I'll be taking lots more interesting pictures and using up lots of paper as we create more of these fun coloring sheets. To do it, you have to enter a password that you can only get off a box of crayons. Then you have unlimited access for 6 months. After that you have to buy a new box of crayons to get a new code. Great marketing! I'll definitely be buying Crayola and not the generic until this promo is gone!!

Basketball!!

2011-01-22T16:47:00.001-05:00

Our whole family went to a Butler Bulldog basketball game last night. I think everyone had a good time (until the popcorn ran out and the diaper almost leaked through!)

I made some shirts for the boys. Jordon wasn't into wearing his nor being the picture, but these two were all about it!

For the next couple of months you will not find anyone in our home sleeping in on Saturday mornings, but instead we'll be cheering on Brandon at his 8am basketball games. Here he is taking it down the court. He is pretty good and loves being coached. In his game today he did a great job "guarding his man", they match them up by the colored wrist bands you see them wearing. The only problem was that he didn't get that when his team was on offense he doesn't need to keep guarding. He sure kept that guy from getting the ball, but I think he also missed some opportunities to have the ball passed to him. It was so fun watching him!

At the beginning of each game they play this fun music and call the players' names and they run out and high-5 their coach. It's so great. Brandon was a little disappointed at the first game because he realized that they don't keep score. But he still had a great time.

He's in gray.

Typical Happenings

2011-01-22T16:44:00.001-05:00

I took all the boys to Hobby Lobby (mistake) to look for some fabric for project I want to work on. I promised that if they let me look at my fun stuff then I'd let them look at their fun stuff. Well, they found these foam swords. They had a blast with them; it was quite funny to watch.

Brandon got the idea from his friend Carter to start making and selling some art. And so now Brandon has created a portfolio and draws/colors pictures of various scenes. His plan is to sell them to people in order "to make money for the family, the people and the states". These were his first two (and so far, only) pieces that have sold. I really liked them and hated to see them go, so I snapped a picture first. The top one is a circus (big tent) and there are some giraffes coming out of one of the train cars on left. The bottom picture is a picture of a house and farm. This is my favorite. I love the sun and the chimneys with smoke. He colors all the way to edge of the page on most of his drawings which I think is one thing that makes them so nice. I will take some photos of his portfolio and post them later.

Here's a little onesie that I made for a friend. I just think it's fun and cute and thought I'd post it. The eyes are tiny little buttons. I sewed the owl on and then I printed "night owl" on iron-on transfer paper.

Now, I know this looks like a mess to most of you, but let me just say that I'm quite proud of this little project. Over Christmas break Pete and I worked pretty hard on redoing some areas of the house. Mostly parts where nobody will notice, but it has helped us out in organization quite a bit. One of these areas of change has been in the craft room. The only reason why I'm really posting this is show what great gifts I got for Christmas!

On the desk you will see (left of tissues) a large notepad. This is from Elly and is so great. It's daily notepad that has fun facts on it, but also allows me plenty of space for my t0-dos (which are many), to the left of that you will see a little coaster. Brandon made this along with Nini. He is soooo proud of this thing that he's made and he loves to see it sitting on the desk. To the left of that is a little table-top caddy that Pete got me. With changing things around in this room we switched the desk that I was using for this other one that we had. It is great, but it lacked some hidden storage that I was hoping for. This caddy helps that problem! And at the very top to the left of the plant you will see a card-holder with various papers hanging off of it. In that, there is a gift card from Betsy. Thanks to all of you. Now, I will say that I didn't plan all of these things to be in this one picture, but it sure turned out great that so many of them did. Thanks for your thoughtfulness.

Brandon lost his third tooth! And his other front one is loose too.

Jordon built this super tall tower one morning. He was pretty proud of it. I suggested that I take his picture and he wasn't so sure. He's seen me take pictures of Brandon's proud creations, but he wasn't sure he wanted to be in that category. But it turns out, he really was excited about this tower. After all, it was taller than him and had a propeller on the side (that's what he's looking at).

Christmastime

2011-01-22T16:19:00.004-05:00

As it turns out, I didn't take any pictures on Christmas Day. We did take some video this year, which was a lot of fun. But we can't post it on our blog, which stinks. My dad got some good shots on Christmas Morning, but the quality of his pictures is also too much for the blog to handle. So if I get around it, I'll try to find some highlights and save them in a smaller size and post them. But until then, this is all I have to share with you.

We had Christmas Eve in our basement. Our concrete walls seemed a bit bleak for such a festive celebration so we covered them various types of Christmas wrapping paper.

My cousin Julie (sweater) and Kim (red) are talking to Rob, who got to be in Indy for about 10 days. It was a great to have him for here for so long.

Jordon is absolutely cracking up at my cousin Stephen. He remains a favorite of all three boys!

Pete needed a fire on Christmas Day. Since we don't have a fireplace inside, he went to the next logical place-our outdoor fireplace. It was a great fire. I wish more of us could've enjoyed it, but we preferred the warmth of inside instead. We did get a fresh snowfall on Christmas Eve. It was so beautiful.

This little magnet doodle pad was really Jordon's gift from Uncle Keith, but Brandon drew this nativity picture that was too good to not capture. You can see a wise man on a camel and a shepherd with a sheep. That bird-ish thing in the sky is really a star.

This was taken well-past bedtime. Who looks more tired? Gideon loves it when we "let him out" late at night. He often sings/talks in his bed for at least 30 minutes or so at night. If his brothers fall asleep and we can still hear him going strong, then we get him out and let him hang out with us. He loves it...and so do we.

This is a typical seen when mom needs some quiet time or when I'm making dinner. Pete watches soccer on the computer and all the boys come around to see what dad is looking at. Gideon is usually the first one on his lap and then others soon follow.

Days Before Christmas

2011-01-22T16:03:00.003-05:00

This is the typical scene when they play with play-doh. It's a complete mess, but all three have so much fun with it. As you might be able to tell from their hands/arms this is also they day that they found a self-inking rubber stamp and decorated each other with it. Thankfully they kept it on their hands and arms and never went for each other's faces. It did take a few days to completely wash off.

Pete and Brandon primed some of the basement walls.

The boys building a fort and having a blast together!

We went bowling. This was a lot of fun. You can see J sporting his bowling shoes.

December Fun

2010-12-10T23:45:00.001-05:00

Making cinnamon ornaments for teacher gifts. Jordon had a hard time with the concept of not eating the "cookies".

Our first snow last weekend. We went sledding at a big hill nearby. Brandon went down by himself on the saucer (background) a couple times. On the third time he crashed and rolled off. At that point we realized that he never put his gloves on and was totally frozen. Gideon and I had just arrived at the hill (it was a bit of a walk from the car) so I went down twice with Jordon and Gids and then we came back home. We definitely spent more time getting dressed and packed up in the car than we did outside, but it was a lot of fun while it lasted!

Halloween!

2010-11-23T09:45:00.001-05:00

Gideon was the cutest little fire fighter!

Brandon as Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Carribean.

And Jordon, so proud to be "Spiderman" and really that just meant he wanted to wear his Spiderman shirt, which he wears everyday unless we tell him it's a day that he can't.

We went to a Trunk or Treat and there were some creative "trunks". Here's Gideon sitting on a old fire truck. They were letting all "fire fighters" ring the bell. He wasn't sure what that was all about, but loved picking out the candy!

One of the other "trunks" was a huge sailboat. Since Brandon was a pirate he got to climb on board and get his picture taken with the other pirates. So cute. However, we are in need of a new camera and so it's so sad to me that this is the best of all the pirate pix that I took. So I'm posting this as a plea for a new camera!!

2010-10-30T18:46:00.003-04:00

We went to this family fun park on a Sunday afternoon. It was a lot of fun to play putt-putt, go-karts, bumper boats, eat ice cream, etc. Look at Jordon on his tippy toes trying to be tall enough for some of the big kid games!!

We went to Turkey Run State Park for a day. We had amazing fall weather and hiked a couple trails (not on purpose, we got a little distracted and lost our path). The boys did amazingly well considering how long we were on trails. Jordon endured a crazy fall off some stairs. His little legs were tired, I'm sure, but he never complained. That was a fun adventrue for all of us!

2010-10-29T23:29:00.000-04:00

If this doesn't make you laugh, then go see a doctor! This is just so Gideon. He likes to make people laugh, but he likes to do it in more subtle ways.

September Highlights

2010-10-29T23:17:00.002-04:00

For whatever reason I'm having some difficulty add text to these posts. So just know that I'm doing my best to update what I've missed the last few months. These next posts will all be out of order, but it's the best I can do.

I got to spend a few hours with some girls that I used to live with at Purdue. What fun! Tania, Sarah, Anne and Kara. This was a fun night, but it was kinda sad to realize how bad I am at staying in touch with some of the neatest girls. I wish I were better at it. What a blessing to have such neat people in my life. Too bad we are so spread out over the US. At least we were able to all get together and share three hours together at a cute little place in Crawfordsville, IN of all places!!

After Labor Day Jordon started going to a pre school program on Wednesday morning. He was about as thrilled as he looks in this picture! Actually, he loves it and is always so proud to show me what he made and to look through his papers.

This is how I found Gideon one day. I must have been doing laundry because, yes, those are underpants around his neck and a colander on his head. He was just walking through the whole downstairs like this singing/yelling. It was so hilarious!

You just gotta wonder what he's thinking about...

Kelsay Dairy Farm

2010-10-29T22:53:00.000-04:00

We spent a Saturday at a dairy farm and had a blast. There was a corn maze, a corn box (instead of a sand box). We petted calves, saw momma cows being milked, had a milkshake, went on a hayride, pooped our pants (or at least one of us did...) It was a fun day. Who's the short plaid-shirted boy at the top of the hay tower? Yep, that's our fearless Gideon!!

Jordon's 3rd Birthday!

2010-10-29T22:48:00.000-04:00

Here are some cake pictures from Jordon's birthday. He wanted a camo cake! He had a great time and several family members were able to celebrate with him!

Brandon's First Day of Kindergarten

2010-08-16T12:59:00.006-04:00

Here are the troops right before we loaded up and sent Brandon off for his first day at school. He was so excited-not the least bit nervous!

He's on the far right going down the hall with the other "yellow shirts". I told him to make sure he was always next to kids with other yellow shirts today. He seemed just a little bit nervous as he walked away from me, but that didn't last for long. He did totally fine.

And here he is at pick up (behind the teacher). He seemed to have a fine day. He told me that he already knew everything she talked about, including how to use the sink! I thought that was pretty funny. Once he got home though he started getting mad that he has to go EVERYDAY. So she must have emphasised that. He said he was going to miss us all so much and he said he started to forget what our house looked like.

After being home for an hour or so he started not to be grumpy about it anymore and got excited about tomorrow being red day! So we'll see how this year goes.

Brandon said he stuck with Carter most of the day. I asked him if he met any new friends and he said, "No way!". He's decided he's never going to meet new friends because he's afraid they might trick him and be a bully to him. So that's great he feels so safe with Carter, but we might need to have some more conversations about the importance of meeting new people even if they do turn out to trick him. Too cute. I just love these kind of conversations with him.

Go Hawks!

2010-08-16T12:46:00.001-04:00

We signed Brandon up for soccer. The season had already started and missed a few practices and a game. But this Saturday he had his first game. Too cute. He didn't get his uniform yet and was slightly embarrassed because of it, but he proudly wore his orange shirt that happen to have a hawk (eagle) on it.

Watch the opponant score!

Kicking the ball to start. He really liked this part of the game.

Coming off the field after another goal. He scored 4 that day if you can believe that! He's off to a good start. His team consists of 4 and 5 year olds. Can't wait to see what next Saturday has in store.

2010-08-16T12:37:00.005-04:00

Today we tried a fun little experiment/craft project. We put shaving cream on a plate and added some food coloring. Then we swirled it around, trying to not to stir too much.

Then we pressed our paper onto the shaving cream. And we carefully pulled it out of the shaving cream and let it sit for 5 minutes or so.

Then I wiped all the extra shaving cream off and let it dry in the sun for a bit.

Everyone got their own pieces of papers with their special swirl. It kinda made a tie-dye look.

Summer of Fun

2010-08-10T09:20:00.006-04:00

I know I haven't updated in awhile. Summer has been very full of craziness as always. I'm just going to post a bunch of pictures from that last month or so. They may or may not be in order..

but we'll start with the most important!

Happy 10th anniversary us!!

This actually turned out to be a miserable trip to Steak & Shake. We event ended up leaving without getting steaks or shakes, which was quite traumatic. But I'll save the drama for another day. The picture sure is cute!

Cousin Ben came to visit for about 45 minutes. He's looking good and is funny as always!!

Nothing says summer like ice cream!

We went out with Aunt Katie when she came for a visit. She's still trying to make sure she has the status of "favorite aunt". I think ice cream is a good strategy to seal the deal!

Our first fire in our completed fireplace.

This is just the ultimate Pete picture.

Minus the unfinished house in the background!

(notice the escaping mostly-naked Gideon)

Kacy and friends from small group. We surprised a friend and took her out to lunch for her birthday. What crazy fun a bunch of moms can pull together in order to get an ounce of sanity in the middle of the day. It was great to spend some time with these girls and actually finish a conversation that is started and not eat peanut butter and jelly together!

This day we attempted a fun little craft project. We were going to decorate our own shirts. Brandon was super excited about it; however, he was not willing to use one of his shirts as our tester. And since we are good at starting things and not really good at finishing things, Jordon's is the only shirt that we ended up doing. Oh well. It was a lot of fun and just as easy as I've heard.

We picked this shirt because it had a funny little stain on it and so I thought we could try to cover that up with our creativity. First we chose our design. Jordon liked this fighter jet image.

I printed it out on freezer paper and then exactoed (I know that's not a real word.) it out to create a stencil. We ironed it on the shirt so that it would stay put. Then everyone took turns painting. We had to be so patient and let it dry. But thankfully the hair dryer really hurried the process.

Here's the proud owner of his "new" shirt. You may notice that the design didn't end up covering the stain. So my great idea didn't really work, but alas it was fun and we have a successful finished product. And now we've experimented on Jordon's shirt so Brandon might be ready to do one of his shirts soon!

Happy 5th Birthday, Brandon!

2010-06-28T09:56:00.001-04:00

Carter came over and brought Brandon the best gift ever-construction dress up clothes. So they played all morning and then I packed them up some lunches and put them in bags, just like workers eat on the job. They thought it was so cool. Carter's reflective patches sure picked up the camera's flash.

Nothing says birthday like donuts for breakfast!!

I just can't believe how old he looks in this picture. We had a family party in the evening and he had an attempt at a Spiderman cake. But because we were running short on time, the cake had to be rushed and therefore didn't turn out that good. Oh well, he still thought it was amazing that's what really matters. I just don't get to show off any cool cake pix.

Mr. Hilarious

2010-06-28T09:51:00.000-04:00

Brandon and Jordon got some goggles and of course Gideon isn't happy until he gets a chance to hang with the big boys. So with a little help he put these goggles on and left them on for quite awhile. I took a million pictures because he also happened to have just taken off his suit. Unfortunately for you, I'm not going to post any the "full body" shots on the internet, but they are super cute. Maybe someday I'll take the time to blur it out and then post a few!

Brandon tied his shoe

2010-06-28T09:44:00.000-04:00

Brandon asked me to tie his shoe this morning. I told him I would as soon as I finished vacuuming. After waiting for a bit, he decided to go ahead and try it himself. And he did it!!!! Way to go B. He's growing up so fast. A few days ago we went to the doctor and he had to get his Kindergarten shots-4 shots total. He was ready for it though. When he walked into the office he asked if he could have his shots first. They've never had somebody ask that before! In fact, they weren't sure how to respond and they ended up distracting him and went ahead with the rest of the check up b/c they weren't sure how he'd respond to the shots and were afraid that he wouldn't allow them to do the rest of the check up. It was pretty fun to see how proud he was to be brave.

And then of course fun to see how he needed some extra snuggle time and attention later in the day because his arms hurt a little bit!!!

500 Festival Parade

2010-05-29T19:18:00.009-04:00

Today we got to go to the 500 Festival Parade. Pete finally had a chance to work on the deck and do some finishing touches. I knew I had to take the kids away so that we'd be out of his way. My dad suggested going to the parade and he went with us or else I never would have been brave enough to go. It was so much fun. I had a blast and I think the boys like it too!

The was the first balloon that we saw and the boys were so impressed.

Jordon liked waving.

We got to see the Purdue band and I proudly showed the world's largest drum. They weren't as impressed as I thought they should be, but it was still fun for me to be able to point it out and feel proud about the school I attended. It's funny that that big drum stirred up such feelings!

Happy Birthday Sesame Street.

They got to experience it all!

A tribute to the tradition of the race winner drinking a bottle of buttermilk!

I missed the explanation of the tradition and when it started, but it's still a cute float.

The highlight for us was getting to see the Butler Bulldogs. When we went down there we did not know that the Bulldogs would be part of the parade. Even though my picture didn't turn out that great, we did get to see Cousin Andrew and he waved at us. The boys thought it was great!!

On the way home we asked the boys what their favorite things were. Brandon said seeing Butler and the Chinese dragon. Jordon's favorite was Mickey Mouse. That is such a classic response because there was no Mickey Mouse in the parade. We had a great time!

Gideon found some mud.

2010-05-29T19:09:00.001-04:00

Well, Gideon found a very small patch of mud and certainly made the most of it!!

He loved every minute of this. I even hosed him off with the hose afterwards and the water was freezing, but he still thought that was fun. I'm pretty sure his leather shoes are ruined and his socks will probably never be white again. But he sure had some fun!! Even the workers that are building the house across the street came over to see him and laugh at him!

Summer has begun!

2010-05-29T19:03:00.001-04:00

We celebrated the last day of school with some summer fun.

Abby is Carter's little sister. She's several months younger than Jordon.

Carter LOVES his watermelon. The funny thing is Gideon looking out the window in the background. He just wants to be part of the fun outside!

We have a Pre School Graduate!

2010-05-29T18:57:00.008-04:00

Brandon had a chance to show us his classroom before his graduation program.

Brandon and Carter. They've been in "school" together for the last three years.

Brandon had lots of fans. Rob was in town from NY and Mama & Papa were able to come too. Of course Jordon and Gideon were very impressed!

Brandon is on the top row and the second one in from the left.

Nothing says celebration like a cake!!

Rob and Jordon sporting their Butler shirts.

Our Sunday afternoon hike.

2010-05-29T18:42:00.004-04:00

Brandon has become a world-class poser. Just as if he was getting his Senior pictures done.

So similar, yet oh so different.

They did great! It was a long hike and very hot outside. But we got to see a dog swim, lots of other dogs and walkers and runners. We ate a picnic lunch and got to drink some Gatorade. What more could any of ask for...except a shower and nap!

Visit to the Children's Museum

2010-05-29T18:32:00.008-04:00

We had a chance to go to the Children's Museum with our friends Max & Lucy (and mom, Natalie).

Gideon and his water smock.

Gideon loved the water!

Gideon and Lucy "eating" some lunch.

Max and Jordon picking flowers.

Max & J at the train table.

As we watched them play like this I thought about how nice it would be if Jordon always had a hole to stand up through and could only touch exactly what he was supposed to at that given time. What a genius invention to have a table with holes in it to stand in and play!

Jordon the Builder.

2010-05-29T18:27:00.001-04:00

Rub a dub. Having fun in the tub!

Brandon is quite into camo right now. He wore this outfit to school last week. Camo t-shirt, pants and shoes. He whispered to me that he was also wearing his camo underwear. Hilarious!

One day while I was trying to catch up on email I noticed that things were way too quiet. And then I found out why. Jordon and Gideon had found a piece of styrofoam. Somehow they also found popsicle sticks in which they were able to use as tools to scrape the styrofoam releasing the millions of tiny balls that make sytrofoam what it is. The static electricity that was produced made these millions of balls quite tricky to clean up.

The balls were everywhere and we had to leave to pick up in about 3 minutes. So I literally vacuumed them--them being my children. I thought it would be a little scary for them and double as a negative natural consequence. However, instead, they thought be vacuumed was totally hilarious. Oh well. It was pretty funny!

Hilarious Jordon

2010-04-30T08:39:00.001-04:00

These pictures just crack me up! Brandon has been learning to ride his bike without training wheels lately.

Apparently Jordon didn't want to be out done by his older brother. I found him like this the other day. He had put the helmet on and his sun glasses. The bike was propped up so I guess it gave him all the stability he needed. He hopped up there and pretended he was riding off into the sunset!

Of course the helmet is a little big and so he couldn't see that great, especially since he had his sun glasses on in the garage!

2010-04-30T08:33:00.001-04:00

Brandon is playing on the computer and Jordon is just standing next to him watching all that he's doing. I just think it's so cute how Jordon stands there with his hands folded. So sweet. He does this a lot right now while he's waiting or just watching people. It sorta seems so out of character b/c he's such a wild man. But really, he's a sweet kid with a lot of energy and always looking for fun. All that just typically plays out in a wild way, so to see his sweet, calm side caught on camera is great!

Park with friends

2010-04-30T08:21:00.001-04:00

Little Gid soaring through the air!

Sara & Annabelle Stayte.

We met up with the Stayte girls and most of the Tennenhouse girls at a park. It was a lot of fun; however, I spent most of the drive home thinking about all the ends of the conversations that we had started. It's great to see all the kids play together, but it also caused most of our stories to be interrupted and never completed. Oh well! It was great to be together and catch up with what we could.

Brandon with Grace and Lilly Tennenhouse.

Go Butler!

2010-04-05T14:55:00.001-04:00

We are cheering on cousin Andrew (#44)! Go Bulldogs!

Where's Gideon?

2010-04-05T14:50:00.000-04:00

This is his new favorite place to be. If he could reach the doorknob he'd be out here doing just this all day long. Anytime a door is open, he makes a run for it to try to get outside and get to work.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T21:17:00.005-04:00

Goofballs dying eggs. (BTW, this task was next to impossible with this group of boys!)

A basketful of eggs. They turned out pretty good. We ate them moments after this picture was taken. Yummy!

The great hunt! Mama wrote out clues so the boys had to figure out where the eggs were hiding. Brandon was great at this!

Jordon was mostly interested in the loot he found in the eggs! Nothing beats gummy bunnies!

My favorite story from Eastertime this year happened on Saturday morning. The night before at bedtime (Good Friday) I was talking to Brandon about Good Friday and what that means. He knows the Easter story, but I was trying to talk through the timeline with him. Well, he pretty much wasn't paying any attention to my deep theological explanations, which was fine by me.

Then in the morning after breakfast he started retelling me some of the stuff that I told him the night before. He understood that Friday was the day that Jesus died and that Saturday he was still dead in the tomb. Then he said with a smile and great expression, "And then Double Good Sunday".

So I think that's going to be my new name for Easter. He understood the concept of Jesus rising in three days. He even understood that this wasn't an event that happens each year, but it's something that happened a long time ago and we celebrate it each year. What a smart kid. I'm reminded about how much he can understand at this young age and I don't need to "dumb down" anything for his "benefit".

Gideon is One!

2010-03-31T10:43:00.003-04:00

Brandon and Jordon (sorta) are holding up there number ones to help Gids celebrate his first birthday! What a party!!

No denying it-he's a total stud!

He had lots of help opening his gifts.

Fat and happy!

He wasn't that big of a fan of the cake, but he LOVED the icing!

Brandon made him a birthday hat.

2010-03-31T10:24:00.001-04:00

Aunt Lynn came for a visit and did what she does best...read to the children!

Gideon apparently was hungry (as usual) and found a loaf of bread.

Talk about biting off more than you can chew!

Mr. Haircut!

2010-03-01T20:32:00.001-05:00

Brandon is posing to show off his new haircut. He's never had his hair cut this short before. He loves it!

Monkey see. Monkey do. Monkey so cute.

2010-03-01T20:30:00.001-05:00

Jordon got an orange marker and wrote on his lips. I think he was thinking it was chap stick or something. As soon as he was done he smiled proudly and said, "I got my lips!" He sure did get them.

Maybe he was just wanting to see what he'd look like with a mustache! Yuck, not recommended!

Arcade!

2010-03-01T20:26:00.001-05:00

Brandon got pretty into riding the motorcycles!

Jordon was happy to do whatever Brandon was doing.

Apparenlty Brandon got a little tired of riding!!

2010-02-12T23:48:00.003-05:00

Enjoying a snack on the couch.

Gideon and Brandon along with their friend, Ryan, cheered during the beginning of the Super Bowl. Of course they were asleep by half-time, so as far as they know, the Colts won! I'm going to let them think that because it's just happier that way. (Jordon was there too, but he wasn't in a jersey, so he didn't make the photo.)

This little piggy...

2010-02-12T23:44:00.001-05:00

I think this series of pictures is hilarious. First of all, Jordon wearing this pig shirt just cracks me up. When I asked him what was on his shirt he would reply "oinks". The row of pigs just seems to be the perfect shirt for him to be wearing when Brandon snapped these pictures of him eating some yogurt. I just think the perspective is great!

Show and Tell

2010-02-12T23:40:00.001-05:00

Brandon built this super cool jet/boat. He was very proud of his creation and wanted to document it by taking a picture.

Jordon had a had time letting Brandon get all the attention....

...so here is Jordon as a proud builder as well.

Even though Brandon is wearing the same shirt, this was taken a week later. You can see his imagination is growing as well as the size of his creations. Pretty fun stuff!

Partners in Crime

2010-02-12T23:36:00.001-05:00

Gideon and Jordon are toasting their buns in the warming drawer!

Eating snacks on the stairs.

Once again, eating snacks together. This is some cereal that was "stolen" out of the pantry and now they are happily munching away!

2010-01-12T20:26:00.002-05:00

Trying to make funny faces for the camera.

Gideon has taken several steps on his own. He loves standing and clapping for himself. He walks a couples steps at a time all day long, but so far has yet to qualify as officially walking.

Jordon's personality just comes alive when he wears a sweatsuit. I'm not sure what that says about him, but Pete and I sure get a kick out of it. Here he is sporting his new Lightning McQueen slippers from Christmas. He proudly stood for a photo to show them off.

YIKES!!!!!

2010-01-11T21:23:00.001-05:00

This is what I came down to one morning a couple weeks ago. The boys were quite busy while I was upstairs getting ready for the day. Little did I know I should've been getting ready for an hour + of cleaning up a sloppy mess. This was the only picture I took before I was thoroughly disgusted and whisked Gideon out of the salmonella pit.

Anyway, this morning Jordon learned where the eggs were kept (while Brandon got in the fridge and was attempting to make his own popsicles-don't ask...). And he apparently decided they were way more fun if they were cracked all over the kitchen floor. Then I guess he wanted to add some decoration and so he poured a box of Cheerios out on top of the eggs.

Poor little Gideon, who apparently was hungry, got right in the mix and was eating the raw egg covered Cheerios. YUCK!!!!

Needless to say, I will no longer be taking a shower in the morning.

Just a couple days later this is how we found Jordon one night. He typically falls asleep right at the door to his room (hence the gate to keep him contained). So we make a habit of going in his room to carry him to his bed before we go to bed. Well, we were shocked to find this scene when we went in for our nightly routine.

When I said goodnight to him I noticed that this box, typically used to store his stuffed animals, was right at his door. But I didn't think too much of it. Pete made some comment as we walked downstairs that he should sleep in that box tonight. Well, he must have heard that because a few hours later he was all nestled in.

The most hilarious thing is that he stuffed his blanket and dog behind his head so he'd have a nice pillow while in the box. By the way, this box is a regular box of diapers, not particularly big.

December

2010-01-09T21:02:00.007-05:00

Merry Christmas!

The boys in front of the tree on Christmas morning. Brandon totally understood that he was going to get a bunch of gifts. He was thrilled. Jordon didn't really get it, until the fun began and then he jumped right in and had a blast!

Brandon got a jet and a big remote control truck. He is just beside himself trying to figure out which one to play with.

Gideon took right to Uncle Rob. So sweet!

Jordon loving his new jersey.

Nini came to visit for a few days while Jordon was going to be getting tubes in his ears (again) and his adenoids removed. It was a great blessing that she was able to come spend some time with the boys and help out while Jordon recovered.

She brought some gingerbread man activities along with her. They love to "help" in the kitchen

Brandon's mean cookie.

Jordon's so proud of his creation.

Cookies. Candy. Icing. Nini sure knows what these boys like!!

Happy Halloween!!

2009-11-02T09:20:00.002-05:00

This is the most successful picture we have of all three boys together. We had a great time getting into costumes. Brandon was a pirate, Jordon a red crayon, and Gideon a gnome.

Brandon and Carter, too cute!

Jordon was quite intimidated by the crowds of people, but once he got his eye on the prize, he was ready to go. He LOVED that candy. He'd carefully reach his hand into the bowls of candy and some how he'd always manage to take out at least two pieces, sometimes much more. Then he'd look up at the person holding the bowl with those big brown eyes. They'd always smile and then say, "Oh that's okay." And he'd gladly put all the candy into his bag. Great strategy!!

This guy was just too cute for words. Of course he didn't wear his hat and beard for very long. But it sure was cute. He looked just like the travelocity gnome.

Happy 2nd Birthday Jordon!

2009-10-07T16:03:00.003-04:00

Look at that smile and anticipation on his face. Too cute!

All the boys to celebrate together.

Jordon got a jet plane cake. Of course he loved it and so did Brandon.

He got a little airplane flyer toy and was excited to go fly it outside.

Jordon loves his "choo choo train" from Nini and Pop. He has taken it up to his room and he plays with before bedtime. In fact, he usually falls asleep on top of it.

Gideon loved the paper and ribbon.

Brandon had a bit of a hard time letting Jordon celebrate his birthday without "help". Overall he did pretty good considering how hard it must have been for him. However, my sincere sentiment is Get used to it, pal!!

Brandon did very generously pick out two toys of his own to give Jordon for his birthday (this was his idea). One of those toys was a stuffed animal and the other was this piggy bank. He also gave Jordon some coins to put in the bank. I think that was such a great gift from Brandon to give Jordon. And Jordon loves this digital piggy bank because it beeps and he's just started getting excited about money, so this is perfect.

(Elly, it's the gift that keeps giving!!)

Pete picked out this super soft dog stuffed animal for Jordon. The minute he opened it he got super excited and yelled "doggy". Then he ran over and sat on Mama's lap and sat perfectly still all snuggled up with love for quite awhile. It was hilarious. He now loves his doggy and sleeps with him every night.

After our cake and gift celebration we went to the zoo. It was a great birthday...and the next day he threw his first fit in a store and had to be carried out kicking and screaming. Yea for 2!!!

A Day in the Life of Us

2009-10-07T15:52:00.002-04:00

Brandon is being Superman.

Here he is practicing his "mean" face. He thought that this was just sooooo fun!

That's much nicer. What a great smile!

Jordon is playing with something that he shouldn't be, but what's Gideon doing?

Yep, that's right. He's trying to stand up. It's totally crazy; I can't believe he's already doing this kind of stuff. He's a great crawler and now he's been trying to pull up on things every once in awhile. In fact, yesterday I found him on the second stair. We are certainly not ready for such a mobile child. Oh well, I guess we'd better get ready! Gideon is also loving Cheerios. He's had a decent amount of different foods and loves his baby food, but nothing beats Cheerios as far as he's concerned.

September

2009-09-25T12:52:00.006-04:00

Again, I did not take the time to put these in any great order. But these are the highlights of our last month of pictures. We had a lot happen this last month and we were able to capture some of it on "film" to share with you.

This is really a terrible picture, but I had to post it. Kate and Jordon have the same birthday.
Brandon, Carson, Kate and Jordon. The younger two were both hanging out in just a diaper and no pants for different reasons, but it was still pretty funny.

I was trying to plan some menus for the week and I was very engrossed in my cookbooks. Then I realized how quiet things were and I knew I needed to look for Jordon immediately. The funny thing is that I found him looking through my Hershey's Cookbook. Great taste!!

Gideon has started jumping occasionally. Hopefully those bow legs will straighten out at some point!!

He has started eating solid food now. What a big boy. Here he is trying his first rice cereal. He's now had sweet potatoes, pears and peaches. He likes it all so far.

Not so sure of what to do with that stuff in his mouth!

Brandon and Carter on the first day of school.

This year they are in a Pre-K program!

So excited to be back at school!

I'm not really sure what to say about this. But when I found the boys sitting on the front porch like this, it just struck me as hilarious!

This is the first good picture I've been able to take of all three of the boys...and it might be the last!

Happy little buddy.

When we got our sidewalk poured, we ask them to give us a little extra concrete so we could press the boys hands into it. It worked out reasonably well. It was next to impossible to get Gideon to open his hand, so his is a little rough. I guess that will just remind us of how small he was when we moved!

I just love this. This is Brandon sitting in our front door watching the workers prepare for putting our sidewalks in.

We went to one of the games that Daddy was coaching. We tried to nonchalantly walk up to the field. But let me just say that these two attracted all eyes on them.

And then Gideon and I followed behind the other boys.

Flying a kite.

We've Moved

2009-08-17T01:08:00.005-04:00

I thought I'd start with a post of the culprit to why I haven't updated the blog in awhile. The good news is that we are moved in and we love the house. The bad news is that we can't seem to find any time to get completely settled in here.

For those who are curious, our new address is

6200 Andrews Way

Whitestown, IN 46075

(We love mail!!!)

This was right before we got the keys to our new home. This was also the last time that the house was clean and the walls didn't have dirty hand prints and nicks. Oh well, it's better this way because now our home truly reflects us.
And here's the real culprit of why we can't get things accomplished around the house. But hey, when you see smiles like this it doesn't really matter how many boxes are still left to unpack! Don't be fooled, this picture was actually photoshopped. I have yet to take a picture of all three when they all look someone decent. Hopefully that day will come, but I'm not counting on it happening anytime soon. Until that day does come, I will continue to hone my photoshop skills.

left unattended

2009-08-17T01:01:00.004-04:00

What is this mess? This is what happens when Mommy decides to leave Jordon unattended during breakfast. Jordon ate some yogurt, but pretty much painted the table and himself with the rest.

Whatever little job I chose to do that morning instead of pay attention to Jordon was certainly not worth the price I had to pay. Needless to say he got a bath and the kitchen got a major scrub down. But I guess he at least had some fun!

just playing around

2009-08-17T00:55:00.003-04:00

Brandon certainly can be creative. Here he is flying a space ship. As you can see this is serious business.

He thought it was unsafe for me to pull back the window to take his picture, so I had to make sure to quickly replace the blanket. He takes his safety rather seriously so I was thankful he let me open the window long enough to get the first picture.

Bath Buddies

2009-08-17T00:50:00.003-04:00

Don't be mislead if you see Jordon and he's shy. Here he is in his true glory with his real personality shining through!

Splashing never seems to get old for these guys.

Nothing really beats bathtime photos. Brandon and Jordon have really started bonded over the last few months. It's neat to see them starting to play with each other more and more. Jordon is also talking so much more and that's been fun for Brandon to see. He's really excited for Jordon to continue to grow up.

Accidental Nap

2009-08-17T00:46:00.002-04:00

I always laugh at the way Gideon sleeps with his arms all over the place. I guess this is some photo evidence of where he gets those crazy arms. I had no idea...

On another note, I know I have crazy hiccups, but I never knew it was hereditary until I heard my dad hiccup the other day. It was amazing. I can't believe that I didn't know my dad has crazy hiccups like me!

Brotherly love

2009-08-17T00:41:00.001-04:00

Time with Uncle Rob

2009-08-17T00:32:00.003-04:00

We were able to spend a lot of time with Rob while he was here twice in the last month. The boys just can't get enough of him...and his iPhone. Brandon enjoys wrestling with Rob but isn't quite sure of all his antics. Rob might be just a bit too silly for Brandon to totally get. Jordon just loves to have Rob hold him. I think one of Rob's favorite memories of Jordon from this trip will be from one evening digging in the dirt. Jordon got mulch in his shoe. This was not at all acceptable so he asked Mama to help him. After she got his shoe back on, he brushed his hands and said "Back in business".

Gideon's latest

2009-08-17T00:22:00.003-04:00

A trip to the zoo. Gideon is appropriately wearing his rhino hat.

My parents have a family zoo membership, so we love going to the zoo with them. Mama only had about a week of summer break without having to work (so much for summers off). She graciously spent much of that week "off" with us. She helped me with several projects around the house as well as doing fun things with the boys, like going to parks and the zoo.

Quite athletic, right?

He's got his fingers and his toes in his mouth. Could someone please get this kid a bottle!!

He actually really enjoys chewing on his toes when he remembers where they are. I do my best at keep his nails trimmed.

Jordon at the park

2009-08-17T00:16:00.002-04:00

Jordon has been afraid of slides for quite awhile now. He loves climbing to the top of them, but he rarely goes down them. We've been practicing and I think he's finally worked through his fear.

Is he going to do it....

Yes!!! He did it and he loved it. Now he will repeat this about 40 more times until I have to drag him away from the slide.

Brandon learned to swim...with swimmies on!

2009-08-17T00:09:00.003-04:00

Look at him in the deep end with no one else around!! What an accomplishment.

He's pretty proud of himself.

I wasn't able to get a picture of it this time, but his favorite thing to do is jump off the diving board and have Dad catch him. What a brave buddy.

Jordon taking a moment to stop and smell the flowers...anything to keep him from getting in the pool!

Kacy's 30th Birthday

2009-08-17T00:05:00.002-04:00

Lindsie, Jodi, me and Natalie (all stay-at-home-moms from our small group) went out on the town to help celebrate my big birthday. We went out to dinner, using coupons of course and then rented a paddle boat and cruised through the canal downtown. Good times!

B's birthday party at the park

2009-07-01T22:13:00.002-04:00

We invited some families to join us a park to celebrate his birthday. This year he got a car cake. What fun!

He got really excited when everyone was singing to him.

We had a soccer ball pinata and it was the greatest thing. Instead of swinging a stick at it, we just had all the kids kick it until it busted open.

This was one of the best things to watch. The kids got so into and there was a ton of candy so they were all able to fill up bags of goodies to take home.

Pete's idea of how to cool down the grill.

Don't mess with a man and his gun!

2009-06-16T22:12:00.000-04:00

Jordon also really enjoyed the cake!

Happy 4th birthday Brandon!

2009-06-16T22:09:00.001-04:00

Presents!

It's hard to believe that he's already four years old...and that he has two younger brothers!!!

Her certainly loves cake!

A Weekend in Cincinnati

2009-06-10T13:38:00.003-04:00

Katie and some friends took the boys to a Reds/Cubs game. They stayed for the entire game, which went past 11pm. The boys of course had a ton of fun.

Jordon didn't do so great staying up past bedtime. This is the next day and he's totally crashed. We couldn't help but crack up and this hilariously sad sight. Needless to say the pool of drool was huge!

May

2009-05-28T16:57:00.004-04:00

Jordon watchin Big Brother Brandon play around on a slide.

And this is why we call him RePete!!

At Brandon's end-of-school program we were able to walk around his classroom and see all the neat things he's worked on throughout the year.

Here he is proudly sitting at his chair. He and his teachers put together these neat binders full of all sorts of stuff. There are lots of fun pictures of him playing and learning at school. My favorite page was a special thing they did for Mother's Day. The teacher asked him several fill-in-blank questions about me and then she wrote in exactly what he said. Some of my favorites include: "My Mommy is 70 years old." and "The reason I love my Mommy is because she goes to garage sales to buy me toys." So funny...because it's so true. (Not the 70 part, but I am turning the big 30 this year!!)

The only way I can seem to get a photo of all three boys together is to give Brandon and Jordon food. Go figure that while they are both chowing down, Gideon is giving such a cute smile.

Just a few shots of Gideon to show how big he is getting.

Nothing beats striped pants. This is one of those things that you can only get away with wearing while you are still young!!

Pete and I went to the Melting Pot restraunt with my parents to celebrate selling our old house. We had a great time that. The steam from the fondue made the picture a little blurry, but it's a great memory from a fun night of celebrating. (Thanks Elly & Betsy for the gift card at Christmas!! )

visit to Tennessee May 1st-4th

2009-05-20T00:13:00.005-04:00

Expert shoppers checking out the best fishing pole money can buy at Wal Mart

Nini and Jordon

2 months

Picture perfect. Brandon fishing with Dad and Pop at Milligan College. They didn't catch anything this time, but nothing beats fishing in the rain.

Pop and Jordon building a nice fire outside.

Nini and the boys.

This is how we roll.

This friendly little fella came to visit us in the middle of the night.

YIKES!!
He is no longer with us.

Mom's Favs

2009-05-09T01:39:00.005-04:00

Here's a few of my favorite shots that I've taken recently.

Progress Report

2009-05-09T01:32:00.002-04:00

The siding should go up as soon as it stops raining. The kitchen/dining room floor was put in today. The walls are painted and the cabinets should be installed soon. It's really coming along nicely.

Moving Day (part B of move 1)

2009-05-09T01:17:00.003-04:00

Is that Brandon driving?
He’s so proud to be sitting in the front seat as Daddy drove the truck down the street.

Move 1 part B: This completed our move out of our old house. We had left all of the furniture and garage stuff and other things we didn't have time to deal with when we moved the essentials out in January. We pretty much filled this truck to the brim and then packed all that stuff strategically into the garage here. Only about 1 more month until we can move into our new house!

I hope I never forget how excited Brandon was to see this huge truck pull up to the house. It was classic! He could hardly contain himself as the big truck backed into the driveway beeping loudly

What a helper!

Goodbye Berkshire Drive

2009-05-09T01:00:00.004-04:00

We have officially sold our old house. It certainly is a good feeling to have that done before we move into the new place. However, I must admit that it is a little bittersweet for me. We have been in this house for 4 years, almost exactly. It’s crazy to think about what all has happened and taken place in this home in that short amount of time. Pete and I will have a lot of memories from that house. It’s weird to think that the boys won’t really have any memories. Brandon has many memories right now, but I’m sure most of them will fade with time.

This house represents a lot of pretty significant things for me personally. This house was the answer to a lot of prayers because it meant that I got to "come home" from Seattle. I picked this house out and signed all the papers to officially buy the house before Pete had ever seen it. I still get a little flustered just thinking about back to when I picked him up from the airport and brought him to see the house for the first time. I'm pretty sure that was the most nervous I have ever been in my whole life (which is pretty big b/c I get nervous a lot!). This is the house that we brought our first son home to. I can remember the walk up the stairs carrying the hospital bag thinking, "What are we supposed to do now?" Ironically, I think I've said that same thing each time we've brought another son home from the hospital!

I have also been thinking a lot about the couple moving in and wondering all sorts of things, like, will they like the sunroom as much as we did, will they have big parties, how will they use the built-in shelves that we had put in and never got to fully enjoy, will they enjoy the big strawberry patch, and many more. At closing we were able to meet the couple and that was very exciting for me. I am thrilled to know that another young couple will be living there and having their first baby in a few months.

Thanks God for this amazing place to call home for the last four years.

Happy Easter!

2009-05-09T00:26:00.006-04:00

Not the best photo, but they are attempting to show off their treasures from the big hunt.

Mama wrote out clues for Brandon and he had to figure them out in order to find the next egg. Then Brandon hid some eggs for Jordon. (This was our way of letting Jordon have the fun of finding eggs without Brandon finding them all first.) This was very exciting for both of them!

This was Jordon's first year to look for eggs. We weren't sure if he'd get the hang of it.

But he did! It didn't take long for him to get excited about finding them. Brandon did pick some pretty difficult hiding places though.

2009-04-11T13:55:00.002-04:00

big cheese

We can't wait until this is our home!

Brandon next to some spring crocus. He planted these bulbs with his Nini last fall.

Gideon's first bottle with Daddy.

One month old

2009-04-11T13:42:00.002-04:00

Flexing those big muscles!

Aunt Katie came for a visit.