Monday Picture

Builders

 

Mike has been into building things lately.  I often encourage him to get out the legos, blocks or mega blocks to see what he can make.  Lately his formations actually have a structure and are somewhat identifiable.  In the picture above he was building Six Flags.  Ryan was just perfecting his sorting and stacking skills and was not happy if you tried to encourage him to use anything but a yellow block.

Monday Picture

Hot on Broadway

Last night was the holiday event for the company I work at.  The past few years they have treated all of the employees and their families to special screenings of productions at the Peabody Opera House.  The first year we got to see The Grinch, last year it was the Rockettes and this year they treated us to Hot on Broadway.  The show itself was alright.  Not amazing, but definitely a fun night out.  The boys seemed to really enjoy it (Mike got very concerned when the "pretty ladies" went off stage).

 

Things Mike Says: Cold

 

We had a pretty significant cold front come through a few days ago.  The first cold morning as we were heading to school/work, Mike walked into the driveway and boldly told me "Mommy, it is cold enough to breathe!!" (meaning it is cold enough to SEE our breath).

Survival Mode

 

Last Sunday Brad and I did a 10K obstacle course/mud run.  It was great.  It was tiring and not very muddy (thankfully because it was cold), but it was a lot of fun.  I really enjoy running with Brad.  He is faster than I am but we always stick together and do it as a team.  Unfortunately, as we were driving home from the race I got a migraine, which kind of knocked me on my butt for the rest of the day.  Thankfully, Brad let me rest and took care of the boys.  By early evening I was finally able to (somewhat) function again so we settled in for dinner.  After dinner, Brad wasn't feeling great either and we got to the point where we were counting down the minutes until bedtime for the boys.  I hate these days.  I genuinely enjoy my two little guys and love playing with them and spending time with them, but sometimes we just try to survive long enough to make it until bedtime.

Monday Picture

Things Ryan Says: NO!

The other day we were sitting at the table eating breakfast and Ryan started to get upset and whine/cry/grunt about something he wanted.  He isn't talking much, so this is pretty standard.  During this particular exchange Brad looked at him and said "Ryan, if you want something you need to use your words.  Use your words, Ryan."  Ryan looked straight at Brad and boldly shouted "NO, NO Dada."  I don't think this was quite what Brad had in mind.

Monday Picture

Soccer

Today the boys started soccer. Yes, both of them. They offered a class for Ryan at the same time as Mike's and I figured he would enjoy it much more than sitting around for 45 minutes waiting for Mike. 

Mike did great. He followed directions, played really well and had so much fun. Ryan, on the other hand, started out fine then turned into a clingy mess. I tapped Brad out and convinced Ryan to stop crying/clinging and play a little bit, but he had zero interest in following the instructor's directions or doing what he was supposed to (I know, I know, he isn't even 2. But none of the kids were and most if them did really well). We will see how next week goes. Either way Mike will be back!!

Halloween 2013

Halloween this year was great.  Mike was SO excited about everything and had decided in July that he wanted to be Jake (from Jake and the Neverland Pirates).  I  kept asking him and he never wavered in his decision, so Jake it was.  My sister was nice enough to help us make the costume and Ryan rocked the same cowboy costume that Mike wore two years ago.  Ryan was a bit apprehensive at first and full out screamed anytime we put the costume on him, but finally came around when he realized the process involved candy.

We headed over to the Lyons' house again and were met with rain, lots and lots of rain.  While periodically checking the weather forecast and hoping that it would let up we finally got everyone dressed and decided to head out anyway.  Rain coats covered costumes, but spirits weren't dampened and the rain quickly turned to drizzle then disappeared entirely.  

 Mike and Lukas joyfully ran from house to house requesting candy and telling their jokes (a weird St. Louis thing).  Mike's joke this year was: What do ghosts wear?...BOO Jeans.  I was so proud that he remembered it and told it to every single person who handed out candy.  I was a little mad when an 8 year old kid we were also trick or treating with stole the joke, but we were able to move the bigger kid onto something else, so Mike could have his "Boo Jeans" glory.

 Unfortunately the neighborhood the Lyons' live in does not have sidewalks and the yards are pretty uneven, so due to the wet conditions all day I ended up carrying Ryan from house to house for over an hour.  I would dutifully carry him to a house, set him down on the porch and he would pilfer the candy dish while the other kids were telling jokes.  Then sweetly say "Tank OO" (thank you).

Once their pumpkin buckets were full we headed home, bathed two sticky boys, put them to bed and then practiced the fine are of candy theivery.