Zoo Trip & Bike Ride

Well, the chaos of spring/summer seems to be upon us, because I honestly feel like we just don't have any freetime these days. T-ball, swim lessons, parties, keeping up with house chores...and the list goes on. So, here are a few things we've been up to lately.

The boys and I took Grandpa Rochford to the zoo last weekend. The membership to the zoo was our Christmas gift from him, so we decided to treat him. It was a perfect day to go, because it was a bit cooler and we got there right when it opened. The boys were of course spoiled with souvenirs before we left. Ethan had t-ball camp this last week. It started off as any event like this does, where he insisted that he WOULD NOT go (even when I bribed him with ice cream if he participated and he turned down). But, we got there and he went along with the other kids without me!! At one point, he even looked over at us and grinned and waved - so cute! This past weekend we also started swim lessons. Unfortunately, the weather only allowed for an indoor safety session where they colored pictures and learned rules around the pool. But, another thing that he did without me even in sight - so proud of how confident he's becoming! Today, we took our first family bike ride with both boys in the Burley.

Ethan -
*Last night he recited (read) the entire Berenstein Bears "The Spooky Old Tree" book to us before bed.
*Enjoys driving his pedal tractor backwards. I'm amazed as his capability to turn the steering wheel the correct way to turn - takes after Daddy for sure!!

Carter -
*Took his first steps at a birthday party this weekend out of the blue! Several times he took 7-10 steps. We'll continue to perfect this!!
*Possibly teething again - this boy has lots-o-drool and seems to be chomping a lot more.


Ethan chomping on some corn on the cob
Gearing up for a ride in the Burley Bee (note - Carter only lasted about 3/4 of the way around the subdivision. Hopefully he warms up to the idea so we can take some more rides this summer)

Ethan helping Dave get my bike ready

Bed head boy, eating a banana muffin

Carter proving he's too 'big' to have small bites of banana muffin, he chomped on a half of the muffin in a few bites and it was GONE!

Ethan loving on his brother...

Ethan learning to bat @ t-ball camp this week

Showing off his gloves

Carter hanging with Grandma Kristie and enjoying the first taste of lemonade.

Ethan playing basketball with Grandma Kristie

Carter enjoying his first zoo visit.

Me and my boys in the Monkey house..

In the Monkey house with Grandpa Tim

My little Joey..

Vacation 2011 - Indian Shores, FL

Some vacation photos during our week in Indian Shores, FL. We enjoyed some tasty food, relaxation and beautiful views. Some of the things we saw in the ocean ...group of stingray each day that went up and down the shore, dolphins in the distance, Dave saw a small shark while collecting seashells. The vacation did prove to be a challenge in some ways...a TON of luggage/carry-ons etc. Carter only wanting to be walked around (I need a chiropractor), finding a variety of foods that aren't fried for our picky eater, Ethan and Carter going through a MAJOR "mommy phase". But, we definitely enjoyed our time away from work (oh wait...Dave did have to make a phone call and do a little work on vacation - ugh) and quality time as a family.

Other little tidbits..

C - now waving 'hi' and saying 'ba ba' for bottle. He's also sometimes said 'ma ma' - usually when he's just in despair and really needs me (grin).
E - finished preschool class the Tuesday before we left for vacation. I was teary-eyed reading the nice little cards that the high school kids wrote to him. He's a very special boy and it showed in all the comments.

Our last sunset

St. Petersburg Pier

He just looked so grown up to me here, we had to take a pic..happy when waking

Family pic outside the Children's Museum

Driving the fire truck @ the Museum

Ethan's photography skills @ the Botanical Gardens

One of my favorite pics - captures him running along the ocean. :)

His first HUGE shell find

Mother's Day and More..

I guess I'm on a bi-weekly update these days...so, here are a few tidbits along with pictures.

Ethan:
*I was very proud of him today, he did some errands with me and our last stop was @ Goodwill to donate some of our unsold items from our garage sale. He thought he was going to be getting out of the car with me, so took off his belt (which I didn't know). When I started to pull away, he brought it to my attention that he didn't have his belt on. Such a big boy!
*At our garage sale this weekend, he let me know each time someone came and bought something, that he 'wished that they wouldn't take those things'.. He's very attached to things it seems (reminds me of his Uncle Adam). :-)

Carter:
*Seems to understand 'dance'...everytime I said, 'dance, dance' this weekend..he's start bending his knees and going up and down.
*Might be trying to say 'ba ba' and 'da da' these days??

Get together with my high school friends...this is MOST of the kiddos. Lovin' all the smaller kids playing together. Age range is 4 months to 14 months here.

Ethan taking his Saturday nap in his tent - a special treat!

A rare mid-week visit from Grandma and Grandpa Hughes, talked into staying a bit longer for a bedtime story.

Mother's Day Weekend fun - with my two favorite little boys!

Ethan practicing his t-ball skills

My boys helping me do some yard work for Mother's Day

Cute little boy smile

An attempt at a nice picture @ Ihop for breakfast

March of Dimes Walk

I guess I missed an update last weekend for Easter, so you'll find some random pics from Easter and other such chaos around the house. Some updates for the boys.

Ethan - His counting is getting better. Just the other day he got up to 16 and I helped him with a few more and he was counting up to 29. Such a smart little boy. This boy has the moves, let me tell you. We listen to music a lot now after dinner when it's too cold/rainy to take a walk. And, Ethan definitely gets his little groove on (mommy loves this!!). He also entertained us the other day with reading the first few pages of his Peter Rabbit book. He has almost the entire word for word story memorized for the first 4-6 pages!

Carter - yes, you'll see in these pics, the boy loves his food. Most everything we put in front of him or eat ourselves he wants a bite of. He's now doing 4-6 paces sometimes of real crawling, but prefers to scooch because it's a speedier method. He also has taken a liking to walking around holding onto fingers (bring on the chiropractic adjustments!). Maybe he'll just go from scooching to walking?? Lastly, he seems to really enjoy touchy/feely books. He has a few cute ones that whenever you pick those for storytime, he giggles a little bit. Every book you read him, his little fingers touch the pages to see if there is something to touch. I need to make a trip to the library to get some more options for him.

Yesterday I took the boys to DeKalb to meet a group of my high school girlfriends (and kids) and we did the March of Dimes walk for babies. The boys were very well behaved for the entire time. Although the last 3/4 of a mile, I was pulling Ethan in the wagon with the diaper bag across my chest and carrying Carter. I got many a compliment on my strength and endurance for that move. My biggest concern was getting to the end to feed my little men. :) They both enjoyed a hot dog before we got back in the car where they both zonked out on me. I was glad to have them with me and what a great cause!

Enjoy some pictures

Don't mind if I read all of these books Mom
Ethan's new big bike!

Ethan and Carter loving each other on the March of Dimes walk

The boys with Grandma and Grandpa Hickman for Easter

Ethan on the 'egg hunt'

Carter on the Barney train at Chuck E CheeseEthan on the Monster Truck at Chuck E Cheese

Keeping each other company

Coloring eggs with Dad

Trying out a sippy cup...more like a chew toy right now. :-)

This little man LOVES his food. :-)