Boys will be Boys

I recently read in the book Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson that any minute you do not keep a little boy busy- you deserve whatever happens to you.

I believe it!

I sometimes envy moms whose children will sit down and watch a movie- oh the things I could get done!! But then I remind myself how thankful I am to have two crazy, energetic little boys.

How relaxed bored I would be if I didn't have two little stinkers to chase around Constantly!!

This post may get rather lengthy- I haven't blogged in a while!

(refer to the first sentence of this post if you are wondering why)

But this blog is suppose to be a way to record our life- something I can look back on in a few years and hopefully laugh about. And in the chaos of raising my little men, I am realizing how easy it is to forget all of the funny things they do.

Lincoln is the closest I get to having a TV watcher. He will sit down for 15 minutes (gasp!) if something catches his attention.

But he is also TROUBLE!

This little boy is pure orneriness! And what's scary is that he is SO sneaky! You turn your back on him for 1 second and you will find him several feet away into something naughty. Hugs and kisses do not come easy with Lincoln so you know that if you get one, he really means it! He is my momma's boy so he usually keeps a pretty close eye on me. He is talking Way sooner than Kallen ever did! At 16 months he is saying full sentences and repeating everything he hears.

On Mondays and Tuesdays I watch my 5 month old nephew Cru. He is such a sweet boy and we have so much fun!

Because we have been able to pass down all of our clothes, the boys have a lot of matching outfits. Lincoln and Cru have a love/hate relationship...

...but Kallen and Cru have a special bond. It seems like Cru will always smile for Kallen and K is SO good with him! It gives me hope for someday when we have another one. :)

(yes I realize cru is crying in this pic but it shows how proud Kallen is of his cousin)

I have come to accept the fact that the Iowa Deer Classic will forever be a part of my life, so this year we made our annual trip downtown with my boys decked out from head to toe in camo.

They LOVED it and spent the entire time "shooting" deer with their little fingers. :)

A while back we found a deal on Living Social for the Ramada Inn here in town. Our voucher included a 1 night stay, pizza, breakfast, the waterpark, and a little pirate-themed gift bag full of goodies. The boys had a Blast and now everytime I say the word park Kallen screams "Waterpark?!".

They even slept in the same bed for half of the night!

My kids were born to be outside. I'm pretty sure we just survive the winter in anticipation of spring and summer coming.

 My boys spent all of  last week running around barefoot and playing in the dirt! (they were in heaven)

Lincoln's favorite place to sneak away to is under the deck.

When we decided to have our children so close together, I pictured them being best friends and it is finally happening!! I'm pretty sure my boys don't know what to do without each other. When Lincoln wakes up in the morning the first thing he says is "Bubba!" (his name for Kallen) And when Kallen wakes up from his naps, usually an hour before Lincoln, he spends the entire time asking for Lincoln. While they do fight several times a day, they are beginning to play so well together and I love watching a strong bond form between them! The only negative thing is that my boys play Rough! I am finding that it's hard to find other kids to play with because they usually end up getting hurt. This is something I am really working on- learning that it is ok to play rough with your brother but you need to tone it down if you want to have friends. A lot of the problem is that Kallen just gets so excited to play and doesn't know how to control his excitment.

Now for this boy:

He is at such a fun fun age!! The things that come out of his mouth keep us laughing constantly. He counts to 13 (odd # I know) but usually forgets the # 8 so now his counting goes like this: "1,2,3,4,5,6,7,9,10...oh and I forgot 8!" He recognizes several letters in the alphabet and knows some of their sounds. Kallen is getting to be very helpful around the house! He is able to do small jobs and is very assertive.

Potty training has been a NIGHTMARE! He will go potty as long as we remember to take him but does not go on his own, and going #2 has been a loosing battle.

Last week we were having dinner at Pizza Ranch with all of Shawn's family and the kids were all done and getting up to play but Kallen would not move. I asked Kallen if he needed to go potty and he quietly said "I pooped". So I hopped up to take him to the bathroom and clean up the mess. (gross) When we came back to the room, Shawn walked up with a smirk on his face and asked me if Kallen had pooped. I said "yes. why?" Shawn proceeded to tell me that he looked down and saw something that looked like poop on the floor out in the main room on the way to the bathroom. My son left a pile of poop in the middle of pizza ranch right beside the pizza buffet!! I was mortified!

Aside from our potty training issues Kallen really is a good boy! He is becoming very responsible and obedient and it's nice to see our strictness (is that a word) and hard work start to pay off.
I feel so blessed to be able to stay home and raise these crazy little boys!
I love seeing life through their eyes and am amazed at how much I learn through them everyday!

I'm pretty sure this is how we will look at the end of every day this summer....

...just proof that we have had a good day!

Here is a quick little Kallen story for you:

We have been potty training Kallen FOREVER! For the most part he has got it, but we have hit a major road block when it comes to going #2 in the toilet. In a desperate attempt to get him to start going we told him we would buy him a fish for everytime he poops in the toilet. (does that not seem like a good deal to you!?)

We told him that a month ago and he still only has 2 fish. (insert really sad face)

(I am SO sick of cleaning poop out of undies- that was not in the job description when I had him :P)

Today we were hanging out in the living room, when he glanced up and saw that Elmo had 2 goldfish. He got a big smile on his face and said "Look mommy, Elmo pooped in the potty two times like me!"

Dear Elmo: PLEASE get some more goldfish!!

(I HATE potty training :S )

Life Lately

Here are a few snapshots into our life lately:

Busted!

I am watching my 3 month old nephew on Mondays and Tuesdays now and it is so sweet to see the boys interact with their new baby cousin.

Kallen is super protective of baby Cru and suprisingly he is a HUGE help!

He really does spend most of his day checking on him and informing me of what "baby coo" needs. :)

Here is a close up of this sweet little guy.

He is such a good boy!

And while I am at it here are a couple shots of my boys.

Yesterday was a Big day for Kallen!

 He Finally got to hold Cru. (he has been dying to hold him- I think he asks me at least 5x a day)

He did a Really good job! He was very calm and gentle. :)

It really hit me today that Kallen will be 3 years old in less than 3 months. (tear)

When did my baby get so big?

A little Park time in October....er I mean January.

Here is a little at the park in January in 50 degree weather photo dump:

Happy New Year!

New Years Eve....

...I've always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with New Years Eve.

We are not heavy drinkers, so celebrating with a bunch of friends who drink way too much and finishing the night as the only sober ones in the room has never been much fun.

I do, however, love the celebration of closing out a year of ups, downs, and so-sos to begin a new year of unknowns!

New Years with children definitely adds a new flavor to the mix.

No matter how late you stay up, you will still be getting up at 6am the next morning when those little feet come waddling into your bedroom. And when you get to that point in life- staying up late is just not worth it.

So what did we do on New Years eve?

Well we hired a couple of Shawn's swimmers to watch the boys (these girls are seriously the best babysitters EVER!!) and caught an early movie. (the new Mission Impossible- I highly recommend it!)

Then came home in time to grab the boys and head downtown to ImaginEve at Hy-Vee Hall.

(it is a free event put on by GuideOne insurance- we really had no idea what we would be walking in to)

Kallen had decided not to take a nap that day so he immediately passed out in the car.



And remained asleep all the way into HyVee Hall.

But once we were inside it only took one look around and he snapped up ready to play!

Now, if we did not have toddlers, then my review of this event would be: An entire night of standing in long lines to play on gross, germ filled bounce houses.

But, because we have toddlers we were able to stick to the toddler area (a section of about 5 germ filled bounce houses) and the lines were really not too bad!

One of us would stand in line, while the other would follow the boys around until it was their turn.

They had a Blast!!!

Lincoln was content to just run around and watch Kallen, until we finally persuaded him to try this one in which he just sat there afraid to move. :)

Kallen, on the other hand, was so brave! Running around, trying everything, and before we left we even let him try out one of the big slides. (I was proud of him- even the big kids were struggling to climb the big ladder that led to the top)

A couple carnival games- rewarded by a couple fish tattoos and our night was complete!

I am not sure if we will try this event next year. We all came down with the 24-hour flu which I am blaming entirely on that night.

I read a cute idea in a magazine about having a kids new years party, complete with setting the clocks ahead so that midnight just happens to fall at bedtime. :P Then the kids go to bed, and the adults can have some fun!

We did have a great New Years though- and I hope you all did too!

Oh Boys!

Do you journal?

Do you blog?

Seriously- are you writing these things down?

These are the questions I constantly get asked when I tell people about my day. I never imagined how fun, challenging, and utterly exhausting raising 2 and 1 year old boys could be.

From Kallen peeing in random places (like yesterday when he was sitting on the heat vent in our kitchen and said "mommy- I peed down there!") to Lincoln constantly trying to throw things in the toilet or trash (like the TV remotes) I am on my toes all day.

But despite the tears, frustration, and exhaustion I can honestly say that the chaos is fun!

I LOVE my boys! I LOVE that their little minds are constantly thinking! I feel blessed beyond words that I have two healthy children, an amazing husband, and a roof over our heads.  

I do NOT love that my boys feed off of each other and gang up on me. (like the other day when Kallen started to break something and while I was disciplining him Lincoln finished it off) I do NOT love that my house is NEVER clean. I do NOT love that most days my frustration (or exhaustion) gets the best of me. I do NOT love having my lines used back on me. (like when we were in target and I was ignoring Kallen to focus on my grocery list so Kallen said "mommy I need you to look into my eyes")  But I really do love the chaos! I would be lying if I didn't say that there are days when I long for the simplicity of life before kids, but I have been blown away by the way raising children has brought my relationship with God to a whole new level!

Kallen is at such a fun age! He is often naughty around Lincoln - I think it's an attention thing- but if you get him by himself he is such a fun, tender hearted boy! He is at that age where most of the things that come out of his mouth keep me laughing all day.

Like today alone:

"Mommy what this is?"

When I told him we were going to run to Target real quick his response was "No mommy I walk!".

 Or while we were at Target and he wanted to leave so he said "mommy you need to go home and make supper".

While I was changing Lincoln's diaper, Kallen walked up and said "whoa mommy, Winken's wiener is big!" then proceeded to drop his drawers, check out his own wiener and say "mommy, Kawen's wiener bigger than winken's?" (seriously I can't believe it starts that young!!)

In the car on the way home he threw his car and said "whoa, that car does NOT fly!"

"mommy wike my hat!?"

Just to name a few. :)

Lincoln is also at a fun age, although he tends to be very whiny (could be due to cutting 4 molars at the same time!) and needy. He copies everything he hears and is talking Much sooner than Kallen did. He gives kisses and hugs to all stuffed/toy animals and Kallen, but rarely gives them to adults. :'(

Kissing the animals at Bass Pro Shops tonight.

The highlight of our day is when Daddy gets home! I would say that both boys have a Very special bond with their daddy.

And despite alot of fighting, the boys are really starting to become good friends!

I may have my moments but I LOVE my boys! I thank God for them every day!

Our home is filled with constant growling, wrestling, destruction beyond belief, motor sounds, shooting....

...and I would not have it any other way!

And to answer my first questions: no I do not journal, and I really stink at blogging, but I write when I can. (or when my brain has not been turned into complete mush from the chaos of the day) And I know that someday I will look back at these blog posts and long to be back in this phase of life. (although that is hard to believe right now)

Another month, another lack of blogging

Ok, I realize that it has been almost an entire month since I have blogged, but I have been trying to stay on top of my house a little better which means very little computer time.

That and my children are needy. It is a rare moment that they are playing by themselves and when those moments occur I am usually scrambling to get something done. (you know like cook super, or clean something, or get on facebook get some work done on the computer)

 I still have not blogged about my baby turning 1. That or maybe I am just still trying to process it.



I could probably blog every day about this guy. The words that come out of his mouth and the things that he comes up with keep me laughing all day.



We tried letting him stay up a little later the other night to watch Cars 2. He didn't make it very far. :)

My boys have moments when they get along great and play well together...

...and I know that someday they will be best friends...



....but oh boy do they fight! Lincoln screams the minute Kallen touches him, which makes Kallen mad, and I'm pretty sure his thought process is "I'll give you something to scream about", which leads to me coming in to save the day. Sometimes I sit back and let it happen- just hoping that they will learn to work it out on their own- but we are just not quite there yet. By 4pm everyday- this gets pretty old.

We have learned recently that all you have to do is take the boys to Bass Pro Shops and they are in heaven! We met Shawn's family there last week for dinner

(Faith is looking at me like "why won't your son hold my hand?")



Thank goodness for Shawn's cousin Alexis who was so patient and great at entertaining the kids while we finished dinner. 

and while the guys went bowling, and the ladies shopped, my mother-in-law and I tried to keep up with 2- 2year olds and Lincoln as they were turned loose in the store.

My kids wanted nothing to do with Santa, but here their cousins Faith and CJ being very brave!

These boys would spend hours on the four wheelers if we'd let them.



Typical kids- I hold up the camera and Faith smiles and poses, while Kallen starts moving uncontrolably while making engine noises.



They had a blast racing these little cars!



Exploring the ice fishing huts



And watching the fish!



I am pretty sure this will be our go to place this winter. There are not the crowds of the mall playplace, my husband is also in heaven, and I am not tempted to spend any money, and Shawn actually controls himself very well despite the hundreds of things he would probably love to buy!

I will try to catch up on blogging soon. Although I am not going to make any promises. :)