Put me back to sleep?

As you can see from this video, he is really ready for bed at this point in the evening!

Contain these Kids!

What is more fun than a kid in a box?

 Two kids in a box, of course!

The kids are growing and GOING so fast these days!  We finally bought Nate a new car seat and passed the big one down to Marissa who had clearly outgrown the infant carrier.  They had more fun in the box than anything we have ever bought them.  It is still out in our living room.  Perhaps a bit of an eyesore, but in a home with young kids, well, it just blends in with the rest of the random-treasures-kids-love we have lying around the home and it is a great way to know where they are at all times!  Daddy frowned when I asked if I could bring the duct tape out....go figure.

But seriously, they are growing so fast.  Both kids moved up to the next level classes at daycare.  Nate has mixed feeling about it because he loved Ms. Charlene so much but thinks he is BIG stuff now that he is in the "caterpillar room"; Mom has mixed feelings about it because they let the kids cut with scissors in this room.  YIKES...I sure hope he neither gives nor gets a haircut anytime soon!  There are more kids and this room is run with real curriculum.  The kids start the day with the Pledge of Allegiance, work at their stations (currently days of the week are a big topic) and will begin learning Spanish. I am pretty excited about that.  Marissa is now in a room full of walkers and apparently LOVES snack time (I have no idea who she may have inherited that from!).  Both have seemed to adjust well to their new rooms and teachers.  We really love their daycare and all they learn there. 

Marissa has added two new words to her vocabulary this week- Mama (finally) and Nana (for banana).  That brings her to a grand total of about 5 recognizable words and a ton of babble!  She loves to find items (usually her shoes that she has a fetish about removing) and bring them to Mama.  She is so so so busy these days it really is hard to keep up.  She is constantly trying to climb, eat, unroll, chase, or kiss something.  Not always Mommy-approved objects I might add! 

Each and everyday I realize how blessed I am to have this precious family.  What an honor it is to be their Mommy!

Day of Emmas

I love weekends!  After a strenuous week with both kids being sick at different times, we were finally able to get well, get free, and have some fun.  We met up with our cousins, Ryan and Emma, at the Children's Museum (I seriously love that place, even on busy weekends!)

We kicked off the day with some DIY face paint

 Nate wanted to look just like Daddy...

 Then we went exploring.... bugs........pulley machines

 Cars (lots of behind the wheel stuff going on during the day)

 And Nate's masterpiece....

Rissa even played in Tot Town while the older kids went climbing (Nate was able to make it to the top this time without having to be rescued!)

Happy Birthday, Emma!

Then after nap time, we went to our sweet friend Emma's birthday party!

 Rissa had her first taste of watermelon (and LOVED it)

And there was some pool fun 

It was a perfect fun-filled weekend with friends and family!

You know some good stuff went down when you end your day looking like this:

Gone Fishin'

What can bond a father and son more than going fishing?

Uncle Anson acutally brought all his fishing equipment so the guys could go fishing.  Ted took them down to the lake and got everything set up.

Then Nate got his first fishing lesson from Daddy!

 Then they began to fish....

 And they waited...

 And waited...

And waited.....

 (and even got a little silly)

 Until Logan got a nibble!

 Then Uncle Robert helped Logan wrangle in the huge catfish (at least that is how the story would go if there were not photographic evidence of the actual catch)

 Other than that, the highlight was all the mud the boys were able to play in!

It was a fun experience for the cousin gang!

Robert Graduated (again)!

When we talk about Uncle Robert, we do usually call him smart; at least that is the first word of the descriptive we use!  Honestly he has always been ridiculously brilliant and has finally put that to good use.  Last Sat, we graduated from Texas A&M Commerce with his Masters in Management.  We are all very proud of his accomplishments!  Congrats baby brother!

 Everyone had a turn with the hat! 

 Everyone, except for the cool kid, who did not want to mess up his mohawk!

Fun with Friends

OK, I am a bit behind with posts, so let me just say we are so blessed to have such great friends.  We have been able to spend time with our best buddies more than usual this week. 

On Tues Keaton had his 2nd birthday party (hard to believe his party last year was one of the last things we did before we had Marissa).  This year his party was at Chuck E. Cheese.  I am going to have to confess that I loathe this chaotic kid madhouse.  I was one of those parents who proclaimed I would never have a party there, but come to find out on week nights, it is not that bad!  Both kids had a blast and there were age appropriate games and activities for everyone.  The worship of the rat still creeps me out a little but the kids adore the big rodent!

 On Saturday the Sykes came over and we had some waterballoon fun! 

 Then on Monday night (yesterday) we watched Emma - who was probably the easiest baby ever to watch. She laughed and giggled at our dog most of the time.  The girls don't really play together much, yet...but they planned for future retail therapy when they are older by starting a savings fund now!  And they already began arguing over who would do the driving....

I am so thankful that we have friends with kiddos the same age as ours. It certainly makes the parenthood journey even more enjoyable!