Catching up.......long overdue

Seems like forever since I've actually sat down to post. I even found pictures that I thought I had posted but didn't. Busy busy life.

Quick update: We're all doing great. This week we've been fighting some sort of cold stuff but we're pulling through. We're getting back into an exercise routine - me early mornings, Tim right after work. Work is, well work. My big project is coming to an end (woo hoo!!) but it's crunch time and everything is so crazy. The boys are awesome. Growing, being silly and learning new stuff every day. Tim & I were just talking about how it seems like Cole takes a massive leap every week or so in his language and actions and it is fun to watch he & Eli interact. Just like all brothers, there is a lot of fun and happy but also the occasional disagreement and tears. We just made our choice assignments for Eli's elementary school next year - we have to wait until mid-March to find out where he will be assigned. Fingers crossed it's where we want. We also started going to a great church. I went one week, Tim & I went last week and we took the whole family this week. The boys enjoyed their classes and want to go back next week. And, since my brain never stops, I've been thinking of all kinds of projects at the house and crafty things to do. First up, painting / redecorating the boys' bedrooms.

Now, the past few weeks......

I found these pictures in my files that I could have swore I had posted. On New Year's, we let the boys destroy their gingerbread houses with monster trucks. They had SO much fun doing it. It, surprisingly, kept them busy for a long time and took a while to crush the houses.

They were so happy to get permission to drive over their houses.

Rammunition - big truck, little houses.

Martial Law took his turn

Synchronized slap wheelies

Finally, Toro Loco crushed it.

The first weekend of the New Year, Uncle Billy & Aunt Niki came to see us and celebrate a late Christmas. It was really nice this year to celebrate Christmas over a month and spend quality time with our families. The boys enjoyed the extended celebration. Billy & Niki got to our house Friday afternoon and the boys were excited to see them. They kept asking when they could open presents. When they finally got to, it was worth the wait. They got these awesome Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater Monster trucks from RideMakerz. (Tim equates it to Build-a-Bear for boys. You can build up trucks however you want. New tires, new bodies, sound effects, it's super cool!) The boys were in absolute love. Eli slept with Lightning McQueen for several nights. On Saturday, we just hung out around the house. Tim, Billy and the boys made a quick trip to Lowe's for paint samples while Niki & I stayed home. Outside play time, running around like crazy boys....just a normal day in our house! Billy & Niki left after lunch and then we were ready for naps. Sunday afternoon, Eli was invited to a birthday party at the local gymnastics studio. He had a great time. So much so that we might see about enrolling him in a class. Hopefully it will go much better than karate if we do it! Pictures....

Ripping into their presents.

Yay, truck parts!

Niki loved her Betty Boop blanket that I made her.

Billy loved the big flannel snuggle blanket I made him.

Eli loved his Lightning McQueen monster truck

Cole loved his Tow Mater monster truck

Uncle Billy & Aunt Niki

Sweetcheeks - funny, when he was growing up I called Billy that but now....look at Cole's sweet little cheeks!

Party time

The foam pit was awesome - wore the kids out

Boys in a line

Eli had so much fun. It was weird b/c I was up overlooking it all. I wasn't down on the floor with him but he did really well.

Last weekend, the boys started swim lessons. Cole & I did a parent/child class and Eli is continuing his Pre-K lessons. Cole absolutely LOVED it. He was the happiest I've seen for an extended period of time in a long time. He didn't want to get out of the pool. Eli did great in his class and was happy to see one of his earlier teachers again. After swim lessons, we went to the grand opening of a local Firestone store where BigFoot the monster truck was on display. It was a neat event. BigFoot (the original Monster truck in case you didn't know) and his driver were there, they had a monster truck bounce house, a prize wheel (both boys got BigFoot monster trucks), a balloon artist, face painter and free food. We stopped into Chick-fil-a for lunch and a quick trip to Lowe's. Cole could barely keep his eyes open on the way home. It was so funny. On Sunday, we did church (Tim & I) and then Eli had a great afternoon playing with his friend Evan while Cole & Tim took it easy.

Cole really was happy to be at swim class

He loved splashing me and everyone else in the pool.

Happy little boy

Eli in the middle in dark blue, notice Cole and I in the next roped area

Kick kick kick, splash the instructor!

You can barely see Cole's expression but you can definitely see how happy he was.

Big time kicking

B-I-G-F-O-O-T!!

Monster truck bounce house

The truck that tows Bigfoot's trailer.

Cole kept trying to doze off and we kept waking him. Such a sweet little face!

Astronaut Evan

Climbing the funny dome

Great friends - Evan & Eli

Last week was more work and school - some days off would really be nice! Oh yeah, Eli did take Monday off. He said he had a bad cough and a bad feeling. He & Tim stayed home and ended up having to come see me at work since I forgot my box of work. This weekend we had swim class again and spent a lot of time inside due to cold icky weather. Eli has been really interested in drawing lately so we let him color / draw as much as he wanted. His pictures are a lot of fun and he always has a story to tell. I hope to get some scanned in to post soon. Sunday morning was church, family trip to the grocery store and then play time at home. We tried to get the boys outside but they got cold quickly so that didn't last long.