bear crawl

This is how Joel crawls outside now. 

Its so much easier than actually getting his legs itchy when they touch the grass.  I have tried putting those baby leg warmers on him but he prefers this method.  Or when he's not crawling  he likes to walk around holding my hands. And lately its just been holding onto one of my hands.  He's almost ready to walk.

And aren't these kids super cute?  Joel I think fed Davan handfuls of mulch and Davan, a trusting little guy ate them.  He shares so well doesn't he? 

Backward shirt

 Today the boys and I were running errands.  Well just one errand and then I realized how late it was getting and joel needed lunch and a nap so we quickly came home.  He's finally back on a pretty predictible schedule now - about time since its been months with his whole teething ordeal :)  and of course its right before we go away for the weekend and he wont get back on this nice schedule.  Such is life.  But at the store we were waiting in the check out line and the woman in front of us said to Colin " you know your shirt is on backwards."  (which it was but he dressed himself very proudly this morning. Blue polo and green cords. At least his clothes matched.  He was so proud of himself this morning and the fact that he got dressed before I could change baby Joel)  Colin just gave her a look and I was hoping it would stop there but then the woman told him at least 3 more times right in a row "you know your shirt is on backwards." Colin turned to me with tears in his eyes "mommy i did good this morning right?"  And before I could answer the woman turned to me and said "you know your son's shirt is on backwards." Like I hadn't been with him all morning to notice that. And while I wanted to say a lot of things to this woman, I said "yes I do. but he dressed himself this morning and did an excellent job and I'm very proud of him."  Colin beamed. The woman scowled but at least turned away and stopped talking to us. All too soon Colin will care about what he wears and try to fit in and lose some of the confidence he has in his clothing choices and in himself.  Since right now he's proud of himself.  I esp love his redskins pants and plaid shirt combination.  I want to protect my childrens innocence and child-likeness (is that a word?) as long as possible.  Their eyes will be opened soon enough to the ugliness of this world but for now I'm going to let my child wear his shirts backwards and continue to dress himself. 

oh and at the same store the woman behind us made a comment about colin's curls and how joel's hair is curling up.  Then she said "you dont see too many long haired boys around here.  Thats usually up in the mountains." haha this made me laugh because  i have seen a lot of long haired boys. I should've told her he was our little west virginia baby :) Wonder what she'd say if Colin had a mohawk.

This little guy...

Is starting to get curls too - same place where Colin's hair started curling up.  Makes me wonder if these will last too. 

Either way he's pretty cute. Especially the way he loves to point at everything right now.

end of soccer

 Saturday we had Colins last soccer game.  He is giving the coach a high five.  He started that after one of the first practices. After Colin scored he would always give his coach a high five. At first he would go up and just hold his hand up without saying anything and then I think the coach's wife had to clue the coach in on what Colin wanted.  haha but shortly afterwards ALL the kids were going up and giving the coach and assistant coach high fives.  Colins favorite part of the game.  His team won (as usual - they had a winning season! ha!) but the exciting part was that his game was filmed and shown on the 6:00 and 11:00 news! 

Colin hates getting his picture taken but LOVES videos.  So he was in awe of the big camera.  We all sat down and watched the news and were surprised how much they showed.  We have watched it maybe 15 times already. Colin loves it.  Here is the clip that his coach put on you tube. Colin was surprised to see his coach on TV - "how does he do that?" is what he said. (we were all joking at the soccer pizza party tonight how our kids all love to watch this video and that it'll get the most hits of any wavy news 10 videos.  And the way the kids all glowed and loved to talk about them being on TV tonight i wouldn't doubt it)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1vpDbnd77k

Colin didn't score his 6 goals he's been averaging at this game. He was very serious each time it was his turn to take a break (the kids play 4 minutes on 4 minutes off) but then was very excited each time and did his little dance onto the field when he was called back on.

Joel had fun as usual.  He also made a good friend with another little brother on the team.  His name was Colin too and Joel and little Colin would usually sit in their strollers and share toys and sippy cups back and forth. 

I think we might be done with soccer though.  Colin doesnt want to play in the fall right now. He's on to new sports - tball is the favorite right now.  His friend aiden on the team also wants to play tball so we'll see if we can get them both on the same team. Although a lot could change between now and then.

Botanical Gardens

Brent had a Tuesday off this week.  We were supposed to be at the beach since he works Monday and Wednesday in NC near nags head/kitty hawk area.  But it didn't work out this time. Maybe sometime this summer. But since he did have a day off we took a family trip to the botanical gardens.  I was surprised how big it was.  A hidden gem in ghetto Norfolk. We only went to half of it and will have to go back and explore some more.  We even saw these huge tadpoles that were about to lose their tails and had little nubs for arms and legs.  They have this amazing kids area that we spent most of our time in.  There are some fun fountains that the boys loved but the day we went it was very cold. I got some great videos of Joel and Colin in the fountains. Joel laughed everytime he got wet.  It was so cute.  And I think we were the only ones there letting our kids get wet since it was so cold.  Good thing we brought a change of clothes for them.  We will have to go back when its warmer.  Colin loved it and keeps asking me when we're going back to that fun park.  There was this one overlook that he and I played in and he told me he was the knight and I was the princess he was coming to save.  I think I'm going to like his interest in castles and knights - especially if I get to be the princess and not the bad pirate this time :)  We had a great time and both boys fell asleep on the way home and then we got them both down for another hour nap at home. Which meant naps for mommy and daddy too since Joel is the only one liking his 4am wake up every day (which hopefully will stop soon)

Mothers day

On Mothers Day we had Joel's baby dedication.  You can view it here. (we're one of the last families) Joel is a ham and really wanted the mic :)

We were asked to pick a verse and our prayer for our boys is Ephesians 3:17-19.
Our prayer is that these boys grasp His love early in life and to be filled to the measure of the fullness of God.  The greatest gift they will ever receive.  When I explained what we were going to do to Colin he really wanted to go up and couldn't wait since he wanted everyone to know that Joel's big brother would tell him about God and protect him too. 

And for fun this picture is from Colin's baby dedication almost 4 years ago.


Then after church we headed across the water to my parents house and I think for the first time in a year and last time for maybe the next few years we had all my sisters and brother there.  James and Angela leave soon for Japan and it was the last time we'll see them for a long time (unless this family christmas in hawaii actually works out - which we're hoping!)   Sarah has some family pictures that i'd love to get from her but the boys had a blast. My grandparents and uncle jeff were also there for lunch.  Colin was in rare form as he 'transformed' himself into a snake in the shed and then slithered out all the way to the patio.  He made Angela his baby and told baby and AJ to stay in the woods the whole time.  Then he had something about Arizona land that he kept talking about.  haha it was great.  He's so funny.  A busy but very fun day.  Colin was asleep before we got down the street and Joel kept babbling the whole way home and looking at Colin wondering why he was sleeping. 

Joel and my grandpa.  I know its a little blury but I love this picture of them

Colin and his Great Uncle Jeff (and yes even before Colin & Joel he has always been a great uncle)

strawberry pickin

We just got back from a fun morning strawberry picking.  We went right after Colin's soccer game and met some friends Shawn and Molly at the strawberry patch.  Joel absolutely loved it and kept eating and squishing all the strawberries.  Colin filled his basket fast with big strawberries and then played in a pile of dirt the whole time. Joel wanted to play in the dirt too but due to our previous post we didn't let him near the dirt pile :) We took a ton of pictures but here are some of our favorites. Now the fun part of eating them and making strawberry shortcakes begins. 

Dirt

Isn't he cute?  And really why does he look so old in this picture to me? Slow down baby joel - soon we wont be able to call you baby joel anymore.

This might look like a cute picture of my boys playing with their trucks in the dirt.  But its not.  Joel is not trying to get the truck.  He's trying to get the clumps of dirt that truck is loosing up. 

See what he has in his hand?

He LOVES to eat dirt. Or mulch.  Or Sand.  Its gotten to the point where we had to leave the playground the other day because he kept shoving handfuls of mulch into his mouth.  You would think he would realize it doesnt taste very good. He always makes a face each time and spits it out but I guess he thinks that one of these times it was bound to taste good. I really hope he outgrows this phase soon.  Very very soon.

Because this is the face I get when I take the clumps of dirt or mulch out of his hands. haha poor little guy. 

laugher

Today, in between eating leftover birthday cupcakes and playing in the sprinkler, I told jokes to Colin.

Peanut butter jelly sandwiches and stinkweed jokes (haha mary remember those?)

The were pretty funny to my 4 year old.

When Joel is old enough to appreciate these jokes Colin will most likely roll his eyes and wonder why Joel is laughing. But today I was funny and got some great belly laughs out of both of us. And glad I had the camera ready.

Joel loves Lucy

Joel loves Lucy

I mean really loves Lucy.  How sweet is this hug he gave her.

Sad thing is they are moving in a month or two - not sure when. And really somehow if I dont know the official date then I can believe it wont really happen :)  But the good thing is that they most likely will be moving back here with the Navy in 2 years. I wonder if Joel will still feel the same way about her when he's 3 - if he's still trying to kiss her all the time or hug her we'll have to have a strong talk with our boy... and maybe start planning a wedding.

happy Birthday Colin

Today my little boy turned 4.  Its amazing each year for us to think back to where we were, what time we went to the hospital, when I started pushing, when I saw his little face for the first time. It goes by so fast.  And it seems each year goes by even faster.  Colin is such a joy. He is incredibly smart - I mean look at his parents :)  But his favorite books are encyclopedia books and I have learned so much this year from him (I can name all the dinosaurs, the planets, all the organs and muscles in your body, ocean animals...and the list goes on) He is such an easy going kid who just finds joy in the little things which I hope continues.  He still loves order and lining things up but his little brother has made him more relaxed about that.  Colin is very independent and wants to do everything himself.  But he still loves to be snuggled with all the time :) He is all boy and loves to be outside digging in the dirt, climbing trees, looking for bug or playing sports. He also loves to help with any project we do - gardening, painting, building and is such a good helper and makes any project more fun to do.  We just love him and are so blessed to be his parents. I can't wait to see what this next year brings... just wish it wouldn't go by so fast.

Colin had a fun filled birthday today.  He walked out of his bedroom and asked me why I hung toilet paper in the room (crepe paper - white) and I told him it wasn't toilet paper but party paper.  haha.  I'm still not sure he believes me.  He opened some presents and then we went to RJ's house for some fun.  Colin was really excited and at one point got everyone to play outside while he sneaked in the house to play with RJ's train table all alone.  ha!  Then Aunt Angela and Uncle Opie surprised us with a visit this afternoon.  As soon as Brent got home from work I took Colin to the movies for his first time.  He told me it was super cool and kept thanking me.  It was so sweet. We saw Disney's Oceans movie.  At the end Colin told me he wanted daddy and mommy to come next time and to ask ma-ma-maa to come watch baby joel. 

Happy Birthday Colin boy.  We love you so much!