Happy Birthday!!!!!

The boys have a great time playing "restaurant". They recently opened a new drive thru which is located in our living room. Listening to them place their orders and pass the play food back and forth is too cute!

Spencer also sends out a big Happy Birthday wish today to Great Grandma (aka: Gram) back in South Dakota! We are glad to hear that you had a terrific day and we can't wait to see you when we are back in SD later this year!

Bath Time!

We are so close to having a full functioning bathroom that the boys took their first bath at home tonight! Daddy still has to put the floor and wall tile in place but the tub and plumbing are all hooked up and as you can see.......working great!

Play Dough!!!!!

The boys got some play dough and dough accessories for their birthdays. These goodies had been temporarily stashed away in a closet.......until today that is!

With the weather starting to get colder, having another fun indoor activity option will come in very handy!

How Cute Is She??????

This afternoon we had dinner over at Grandpa and Grandma's house, along with some very special guests. Even though they don't live all that far away, we never seem to see Great Aunt Ronnie, Great Uncle Glenn or Daddy's cousins nearly as often as we would like. Today Aunt Ronnie, Uncle Glenn and Daddy's cousin Bill (as well as his wife Kristin and their baby girl Kendall) came for an afternoon visit and dinner. Uncle Colin, Aunt Karyn and Haley were also able to come so needless to say......fun was has by us all! Kendall (who will have her first birthday on Halloween) is starting to experiment with taking a few steps. She is a very experienced crawler though and Spencer invited her into Grandma's "Bonus Room" to show her where all the cool toys are stored.

She didn't seem to share his interest in the trucks and cars yet but he probably liked that. If she didn't want to play with them, he didn't have to share them!

Can I Wear It?????

An apple a day may keep the doctor away but it definitely makes for a GREAT "apple crown"! Brian made it in school last week and Spencer got a real kick out of wearing it.

Playtime!

When the boys are playing nicely together......it's so sweet. The conversations that they have as they pass toys back and forth is priceless!

Unfortunately, these moments are sandwiched between periods of time when sharing and taking turns are the LAST thing on either of their minds!

Park It Here!

With the win of our big raffle prize still fresh, we revisited a park this week that we knew for a fact had a sandbox. We went back to the unnamed McCook Park District park. We loved this park the first time we were here and it was just as terrific this time too! We had some light rain last night and maybe the slightly damp conditions kept people away because we were the only ones at the park today. The fact that the sand was still a little wet was fine though because it helped our sand molds stick together!

We can't be at this park and not play on the playground equipment. The boys probably put on 5 miles just running up and down the long sidewalk ramp that led to one of the slides! Spencer wasn't so much playing tic-tac-toe as he was just saying "OHHHHHHHHH!" each time he spun one of the wheels!

Let's Go!

I'm not sure who gets more excited about going to school. Brian is anxious to get to his classroom and see his teacher and his friends. Spencer is excited just, well just to get to come along! Spencer has a backpack too and he insists on wearing it when we take Brian to school. As soon as Mommy lets them know that it's time to go, he grabs his backpack and walks around announcing "Let's Go! Let's Go!"

The Good Bye Tour

Spencer has started doing something that we find quite amusing. When we get ready to leave someplace, he says goodbye to, well, to everything and anything! Here are a few examples. When we dropped Brian off at preschool and were leaving the building Spencer started waving and saying "Bye Brian........bye Brian.......bye school.......bye Brian.......bye school."




As he was going upstairs on his way to bed, waiving to everything on the way "Bye toys......bye horse (referring to the rocking horse in the living room)......bye tree (referring to the plants at the bottom of the steps).....bye stairs."

The day this picture was taken we were at a park. There are a lot of things to bid farewell to there too! "Bye slide....bye swings......bye slide."

Spencer would also like to wish Uncle Seth and Aunt Ann a very Happy Anniversary today!!!

Test Drive

A few days ago we were at Floors and Walls looking at bathroom tile. Mommy and Daddy brought several sample boards home so that we could see how they look in the room. Spencer helped out by jumping around on it. This was all part of his personally performed "durability test". The tile all passed the inspection, we have picked out our color, now all we have to do is come up with the design!

Book!!!

Spencer is such a little book worm! When he wakes up, either in the morning or from his nap, the first thing he says is "Book!" Once he has picked a book from his bookshelf, he is ready to take on the day!

"I like to read books in the car, I like to read books near or far. I like to read books Sam I Am!" (Mommy and Daddy are getting very familiar with Dr Seuss books again - can you tell!?!?)

Random Cute Picture!

Brian isn't the only kid in this house who knows his way around tools! Spencer enjoys clipping on this Sesame Street tool belt as much as Brian does. His Minnesota State Fair Pronto Pup paper hat is missing the pop up hot dog, but that hasn't stopped Spencer from wearing it around the house!

Let's Make a Deal!

Do you want what's behind shower door number 1, 2 or 3?

The boys came with Mommy and Daddy to our favorite flooring store today (that would be Floors and Walls located in Franklin Park). Daddy has been working at remodeling our bathroom and he is very close to being able to do the tile work. Before he can do that though - we pretty much need to pick out the tile! We had some toys along with us so that the boys would have something to do and so that they would be less inclined to tear the store apart. That all turned out to be unnecessary though because once they found this shower door display......they were set!

Park It Here!

Spencer took Brian and Mommy to Western Springs for today's park outing. We went to Northeast Park which is located at 39th Street and Linden Ave but it's very visible if you are driving down Odgen Avenue. Since Odgen is the route that we took on our numerous trips back and forth between our old house and our new house, this park has been on our to do list for quite awhile.

It's not a bad park but in all honesty - we thought it looked like more fun from the street than it did up close. There is a fence separating the park from the busy street so that isn't a problem. There is a soccer field on one side of the park and a fenced in tennis court with some basketball hoops on the other side. These were very nice amenities that we haven't seen at other parks we have been to. The biggest problem we had with this park is that the equipment was all made from treated wood. It looked nice but it doesn't have as much give when you bump your knee going up the steps and it's not quite as smooth to the touch when you brush your arm against it when your running past it to go down the slide again.

Don't get us wrong, we had a nice time at this park but it's definitely not in our top 10 list.

I'm Drawing!

This evening Brian was drawing and coloring some of the shapes that he has been studying at school. If Brian was going to be drawing and coloring, then Spencer wanted to be doing that too! When Spencer has a crayon in his hand he flip flops from one hand to the other but he seems to primarily use his right hand. As soon as Spencer finished his artwork he announces with a loud proud voice "I did it! I'm drawing!"

Watermelon!!!!!

Spencer isn't always the most willing to experiment with new foods. Mommy was having some watermelon today and he asked to try it. When he first tastes something new he gets a look on his face like he just ate dirt. However, after a couple seconds.......he smiled and said "Mmmmm, yummy!"

It's a Party!!!!

The boy's had a blast playing with their cousin Haley yesterday. They played inside and they played outside. They even played in the garage. Any guesses as to what they found to play with in the garage? Yup......that's right......a big ol' pile of sawdust!!!!! The boy's don't usually get baths on Monday nights but they sure needed one tonight!!!

Happy Grandparent's Day!

In honor of Grandparents day today, Grandma and Grandpa came over to have dinner with us tonight! Recently, they had been to Minnesota to visit Uncle Corey. While they were there they went to the Minnesota State Fair. If you know anything about going to fairs, it should go without saying that you just CAN'T go to a fair and not have a corn dog! At the Minnesota State Fair they are called "Pronto Pups". If you are lucky and you have the right connections, someone might even bring you back a Pronto Pup hat! Spencer wasn't always a big fan of wearing hats but he couldn't get enough of this one!

Happy Grandparents Day to all the Grandma's and Grandpa's out there!!!!

Me Make Fire!

It's a good thing that our house is surrounded by two fire hydrants because the boys are intrigued by fire! They are learning some fire safety tips though. It's very common to hear words like "hot" and "don't touch" when they are by the back yard fire pit. The actual fire pan is removed anytime the boys are "building their own fire". The concept of building a fire is enough for them - for the moment anyway!

Don't Forget

God Bless America and God Bless the brave men and women who continue to fight for our freedom and safety.

Park It Here!

Today we tried out a park that's walking distance from our house. Emil Scheive Park is a nice little park. It's all fenced in and has a nice variety of equipment. The slides are REALLY steep which is an added bonus when you take two little dare devil boys to the park!

There is also a "roller slide" which got mixed reviews from Spencer. The first several times he went down it - it was great! Then all of the sudden, he seemed scared. He got to the top, sat down and then suddenly changed his mind. He went down one of the other slide options available to him but a few minutes later he was back on the roller slide again!

Boo-Boo

Poor little Spencer. He usually looks like a walking bruise. If he's not bumping his head on something, he's scraping his knee or elbow. Today he got a nice boo boo on his ankle. Fortunately, a band aid is able to make it feel all better!

Happy Birthday Daddy!!!

In honor of Daddy's birthday.........Mommy and the boys went to the pediatrician for their yearly checkup. Now that Spencer is officially 2 years old, he is very happy to announce that he has had the majority of his immunization shots. The only "poke" he got today was just his flu shot and he was very brave for it! After giving him the once over, the doctor declared him to be strong, healthy and growing right on target! His stats are as follows. At his 18 month appt he was 32 3/4 inches tall. He is now 34 1/2 inches tall which is in the 45th percentile. At his 18 month appt he weighted 26.14 pounds. He is now 30.2 pounds which is the 65th percentile for weight. Spencer now officially weighs more than his older brother!

About 2 weeks ago Mommy, Grandma, Brian and Spencer snuck out and went to get the boys pictures taken as a surprise birthday present for Daddy. This picture is the result of that outing. It's hard for Spencer to take a bad picture but unfortunately, we were very disappointed with the experience we had at the photo studio. Mommy and Daddy decided we will make another appointment and try it again very soon. In the meantime though - this is Spencer's temporary "official 2 year old" picture!

Freeze!

If he had a choice, Spencer would live in a swing. He just can't seem to get enough of being pushed higher and higher. A long time ago Daddy made up a little game we call "freeze". While he's swinging, Spencer calls out "Freeze!" and then whoever is pushing grabs the swing to stop it mid swing. After a couple seconds the pusher says "Unfreeze" and gives him another big push. After some hearty laughter from Spencer and several more swings he calls out "Freeze" again!

Shhhhh......Don't Tell Daddy!

Daddy knew that we were going to be having dinner with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Kevin, Aunt June, Krista and Erika today. What he didn't know was that it was going to be his early birthday party too! Spencer had a hard time not giving away the secret that there was a birthday cake hidden - but he did it!!!

When everyone had finished their cake, we went across the street to our back yard to take care of a very important job. Grandma and Grandpa have a bunch of old flags from their 4th of July parties that needed to be disposed of. Since Spencer is well aware of the fact that you can't just throw a flag out......you need to burn it, he suggested we have yard fire. The older kids participated in putting the flags on the fire. Brian and Spencer were content to watch from a safe distance.

The Great Wall

The small slope next to the front of our house has been a source of great entertainment for the boys. Spencer likes Mommy to say "On your mark.....get set......GO!" so that they can run down the slope as fast as they can. Granted they both usually end up falling into a heap at the bottom of the slope, but it's fun while it lasts!!!

Counting the number of steps as they climb the decorative rock wall is also WAYYYY fun!

Backyard Paradise!

Given the size of the back yard at our new house, and with the amount of time we spend it in, you will probably see a lot of back yard playing related blog photos. Here's the view from the back of the yard looking toward the front. Our house is to the left.



The boy's yard toys have all been confined in the back of the yard. They are nestled in between the garage and Mommy's weed patch (aka: next year's garden).



We don't have any different toys from what was in our old yard, but in this new setting, they all seem brand new again because the boys have a renewed interest in playing with all of them!

Park It Here!

With the move and several birthdays behind us - Spencer is back on track with his park reviews! This week we went to an un named park within the McCook Park District. It's located a little northwest of 55th and Lawndale in McCook and it is AWSOME! Here are some of the perks this park has. It's completely fenced in, there are lots of mature trees so it's got grate shade. There are several play areas designed for a variety of kid's ages and it was immaculately clean and well maintained! Our first picture shows the toddler play area to the left, the older kids playground area to the right and the sand play area in the middle. There are swings behind the toddler area that you can't really see.

We didn't include a picture of the gazebo with several picnic tables under it but there is also a cool rock climbing wall! The base surface of all the playground equipment has that rubberized mulch which is nice and soft.

The boys had a blast at this park and considering that it is not far from our house - we will back often!

I've Been Framed!

The steps to our back door are a source of constant entertainment for Spencer. He can have a good time just climbing up them......then going back down......then climbing back up them......and then back down again........I think you see where I'm going here!

Child Labor!

We have a couple shrubs in our yard that needed to go to foliage heaven. Once Daddy had wrapped one end of a chain around the shrubs and the other end to his pickup.......bye bye shrubs!!! With the shrubs gone, it was time to send in the clean up crew!!!

After the ground had been raked smooth, there was sweeping to do too!