Spring Tease

Even though tomorrow is technically "the first day of spring" according to the student planners in my second grade class, it does not feel that way!  Saturday we woke up to a wet, gloomy day, but by 10 am the sun had peeked through the clouds and it was starting to warm up.  I took the kids outside on a walk to put some letters in the mailbox thinking we would come back inside right afterwards.  Once they saw how nice the weather was we played outside the rest of the morning.

Cooper loved watching everyone outside.  The kids still don't like Cooper in their face when they are playing, but Charlotte tells him everything she is doing.  "Hi Cooper, I going to mail box now.... I picking up rocks now.... Can you see me Cooper?" 

 The slide had been in the garage since last summer and when I brought it out it was a big hit! Last summer we had to stand right by Charlotte the whole time so she wouldn't fall and now she is a pro at climbing and sliding down. 

 Trey found an area of dirt where the grass ends and the house begins.  I had originally planned to put down mulch and do some flower beds in that area, but after he spent 4 hours on Saturday playing in the dirt with various items I don't think I have the heart to take away his dirt pile right now. 

 The kids both napped great and then were outside again right after they woke up.  This time it was even warmer so they got to leave off their coats!  Trey dug up the dirt and made dirt mounds all afternoon. 

Charlotte found a bucket to collect rocks in.  She would only pick up the sparkly ones to put in her bucket! 

We don't have a big swing set right now because the kids don't like playing in the backyard with Cooper.  I hope to work on that this summer so by next summer we can put a swing set in the backyard and they can play with Cooper.  I do love that they don't need anything fancy to have fun.  A couple of digging tools left over from the dollar store last summer, some rocks and a bucket were all they needed to have tons of fun!

Ready for Spring

Spring officially starts next week and I would say we our ready at our house for some warmer weather and fun springtime activities!

Charlotte wore these sunglasses on her head all day today!  She is obsessed with her Easter basket, "breaking" the eggs and playing with this singing Easter bunny.   The bunny sways back and forth when it sings and Charlotte will sit across from it and sway just like the bunny!

I love changing out the decorations on our buffet in the dining room for each season.  I have had the Easter decorations up since last week, but finally got around to putting a springtime printable in the frame.  Gotta love pinterest!

A Double Stroller.... Finally!!

Before Trey was born I searched high and low for the perfect stroller.  I really wanted one that was easy to fold up and open, could maneuver smoothly around corners, and was fitted for rougher terrain (a.k.a. where we live).  We purchased a City Jogger stroller and have loved it for almost 4 years.

A sleepy Trey getting ready to take a nap in his stroller.

I absolutely love this stroller.  In fact I recommended it to many friends and convinced some to buy a similar one for their new babies.  When we originally bought this stroller it had a jump seat attachment you could buy.  A jump seat attached to the front making it a double stroller! Perfect! Since we knew we were having more kids after Trey we thought this was a great investment. 

Charlotte riding in the stroller and Trey walking along at Halloween in 2011.

Fast forward to baby #2 and right before Charlotte is born the jump seat is recalled and we can't buy one anywhere.  Because of the recall, no one was allowed to sell a used one either.  We were really bummed, so for a while I just wore Charlotte in the Moby and pushed Trey in the stroller.  Then when Trey got a little bit bigger, we held his hand while we put Charlotte in the stroller.  Since we had 2 little ones who needed naps, we didn't go out too much and only 3-4 times a year (mainly when we went to the mall) would I wish we had a double stroller.  Trey was pretty shy at this time so he would stick to me like glue and I didn't have to worry about him running off even if he wasn't strapped in. 

Trey and his cousin Chandler 3 years ago hanging out in their strollers together.

 Now both kids are older and enjoy going out to activities in town since we aren't tied to the house for naps.  I was thinking how nice it would be to have a double stroller so that it is easier for me to take them places by myself and they both can sit down and ride.  The perks of our original stroller aren't necessary anymore because I don't need it to recline for anyone to nap, I don't need much storage space, and when we go for walks outdoors they can both walk. 

This will be great for going to parades, shopping trips, and places like zoos or parks with lots of walking.  The kids buckled themselves in before Jay had finished putting all the small pieces in place and wanted to go for a ride.  I don't think the wheels are ready for hilly, uneven grass so we stayed inside and did laps downstairs for 30 minutes.  I had to bribe them with a cookie to get them to get out, and even then Charlotte buckled herself right back in when she finished it!  They loved that there was a seat a for both of them.

Trey wanted a picture with his silly face. 

When the box came this evening they were both literally jumping up and down and Trey said, "Look it's a stroller.  Look Charlotte there is a seat for you and a seat for me."  Charlotte came up to the box and pointed, "My seat, Trey's seat."  

http://www.amazon.com/Delta-City-Street-Stroller-Black/dp/B003TRVFJG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363133576&sr=8-1&keywords=delta+double+stroller

I was looking for a double stroller that fit through doorways, had some storage on the back, and was lightweight without having a teddy bear pattern all over it.  I feel like this a nice compromise between an umbrella stroller and a heavy duty double stroller. 

More Snow

We have had more snow days this year than any other year I have been teaching.  It is so nice to break during the middle of the week to stay home and relax!  When the kids came running into our bedroom at 6:15 (Charlotte with her stool in hand to climb up into the bed!), I told them to look out the window.  Trey was so excited to see snow!

Trey kept pelting Daddy with snowballs!  His best shot was right in the middle of Daddy's face when Daddy wasn't paying attention!

  We only got about 2-3 inches, but it was a wet, heavy snow that was perfect for playing in.  Trey and Jay went outside after lunch to play.  We didn't go earlier because we lost power from 8-10 this morning and I didn't want to go outside and not have a way to warm up when we got back inside.

Trey beside his snowman!

The mini snowman Trey and Daddy made!

Charlotte did not want to go out.  Every time we tried to get her to go she kept saying, "No, too cold."  She does not like to be cold! 

She was perfectly content to watch them play out the window.

"Snow is too cold."

Heard Around Here

There is never silence at our house.  Kids are still talking all. the. time. even at 1:30 am. 

The best conversations are the ones they have amongst themselves.

In the bathtub last night
Trey: Charlotte pull up the plug so the water can go down.
Charlotte: Okay, Trey
Trey:  The water goes down our hole and into someone else's house where they can pour it out and drink it.

At the dinner table
Charlotte: Trey, I buckle my seat.  You buckle your seat?
Trey: No Charlotte I don't need to buckle up in my seat.
Charlotte: No Trey! You buckle!
imagine this going on and on until someone finally finishes eating and gets down 

Charlotte has also learned the importance of tattling for younger siblings
Charlotte: Mommy, Trey not listening the first time.  Trey, listen the first time.
Trey: ignores Charlotte
Charlotte: TREY, YOU LISTEN!

 Trey used to be a man of few words.  Now he uses as many as possible to share his thoughts.

At dinner last night,
Trey: Daddy, can you get me a drink.  I can't drink anything when I am thirsty if you don't get me a drink.  If you do get me a drink then I won't be thirsty anymore, but I don't have a drink right now so I am thirsty.  I need a drink so I won't be thirsty anymore.

My favorite conversation was last night at 1:30 and 4:30 respectively
knock knock on our bedroom door
Me: Trey just come in, stop knocking! (the door is open and he always closes it and then knocks in the middle of the night)
Trey tiptoes to the bed
Me: Trey what do you want?
Trey: I just want to lay with you for a minute.
Me: Okay, climb in and sleep on the pillow with your Daddy (hey when you are the one who wakes up you shouldn't have to share your pillow!)

3 hours later
bang bang in the dark in our bedroom
Me: Charlotte, what are you doing
Charlotte: I have stool to climb up.  I sleep with you.
Me: Jay, wake up.  Carry Trey back to his bed so Charlotte can climb in here now.
Charlotte sets her stool she brought with her to our room against the bed and climbs up.  
Seriously?? She brought a stool with her??
 

Night and Day

My kids are as different as night and day.  They are both kind and loving, but the way they approach life is very unique.  Their paintings today explain it all.

Can you guess whose is whose? 

Trey's painting is neat and orderly with every color having its own space and nothing touching.   He painted one color, washed his brush off, then painted another color.

Charlotte's is more free spirited.  All her colors are mixed, she tore a hole at the top and then refused to put her paint brush the right way, mainly because I kept telling her to turn it around.

Despite all their personality difference, we love them both so much!

Getting Better

The past 2 1/2 weeks we have been sharing germs, colds and beds.  No one has really slept because the kids have been up sick with coughing and stuffy noses.  Now that Trey has been on antibiotics for one week and we found a cough remedy safe for Charlotte to take, we are finally on the mend.  Today, for the first time in a while, they both spent more time playing than wiping noses. 

Trey had a cold for a week before he shared it with Charlotte.  Then when she got sick they both had fevers so we headed to the pediatrician.  Trey was diagnosed with a slight ear infection and Charlotte just had a cold.  That night we had to give Trey amoxicillin for the first time in 3 years.  It was not pretty.  After trying to force it in his mouth, bribe him with every treat he has ever had, and threatening to take him back to the doctor he still refused to swallow it.  Finally he said he would take it if it was purple (like the children's tylenol and children's ibrophen he is used to).  So a little bit of blue food coloring later we had purple medicine and he drank it like a champ.  Who knew the color was the real problem?

We got another humidifier to put one in each of their rooms.  Jay was setting up Trey's humidifier on his dresser and Trey asked, "What's that daddy?"  Jay told him it was a humidifier.  Trey's response, "A FIRE!" To which we had to explain it was not a fire, but a humidifier to help him breathe at night.  We played musical beds all week, letting them sleep in our bed or sleeping in their beds with them when they were coughing and couldn't get to sleep.  You never knew when you went to bed where you would end up by morning!! Our kids are really good sleepers most of the time so we are happy to finally be back to everyone staying in their own bed until morning.  

We have done a lot of watching netflix, reading books and laying low.  Today we were finally able to play again.  They had fun painting and being creative together.