Time with Tim, Chels & Jeremiah!

We have enjoyed seeing Tim, Chelsea & Jeremiah (and the rest of the Gerdes family!) these past few days.  They got to South Dakota on Saturday afternoon and left yesterday for a week in Wisconsin with Tim's family.  They return to SD on the 7th so that they are here for Jeff & G's wedding on July 9th.  Boston is already counting down the days!  He just LOVES playing with Jeremiah, and LOVES Uncle Tim!  Sorry Chels, I know he loves you too :)

Sunday after church we all had lunch at Glady's and hung out for the day.  Jeremiah had his 2nd birthday in May, so we gave him a belated birthday gift.  Tim & Chels also had a late birthday gift for Boston..a super hero cape!!

Jeremiah opening his Mater lego set.  I think Boston was more anxious to play with it than Jeremiah! Check out Chelsea's cute baby bump :)

 Jeremiah would only smile after we said 'Look Jeremiah, Boston is smiling.  Smile like Boston'!  :) 

 Boston the super hero!  Such a cool gift idea!

 The Gerdes grandkids!  Jeremiah, Izzy, Boston & Brigham. 

 Chelsea painted a cow bank for Brigham!  So cute!

Monday night we had Tim, Chels and Jeremiah over for a steak supper!  It was delicious!  We enjoyed having them over!

  

 The Eisenga Family!  Can't wait for their new addition in October!

 Boston & Jeremiah swinging!

Tuesday, Glady treated Chelsea, G, Shana and I to lunch at Camielle's!  It was fun for just us girls (Brigham and Izzy tagged along!) to do something special.  After lunch we spent the afternoon at Glady's.  We watched the movie Just Go With It...while Glady napped in the chair :)  Tim took Jeremiah and Boston to the spray park for awhile too.  He's such a good uncle!  Jeff & Jason joined us later in the day for pizza and root beer floats!  Derek missed out because he had to work.  I almost didn't even tell him what we had for supper because he absolutely LOVES Pizza Hut Supreme Pizza!   

Can't wait for more time with the Gerdes' family when Tim & Chels return to Sioux Falls next week!  It'll be a busy weekend with the wedding! 

Some outdoor fun!

We've been spending time outside when it isn't crazy out like today!  I went outside long enough to grab the mail and leash up the dog..  the rest of our day has been spent inside where it's nice and cool!  90 degree temps with high humidity isnt for us!  Hopefully it cools down a bit for the 4th of July!  I've been trying to teach Boston to ride his bike without training wheels this past week.  I have NO patience, so I am probably not the best teacher but we are trying anyway.  I'm hoping this weekend when Derek has some time off work he can work with Boston some more because so far... we haven't had the best of luck.  I ended up taking some 'facebook advice' and putting 1 training wheel back on.  I figure by the end of the summer he'll have it down! 

He's off..

 Oh shoot- Down he goes!

 A big smile for mom!  After falling over about 10 times he said 'I hate bikes!'

 One side of our house is full of lily's!  I can't wait for them to bloom!

Boston has so much fun in the sprinkler!  I have never known another kid to have the imagination that he does.  It's crazy the things he comes up with to stay entertained. 

 Brigham enjoys being outside too, as long as it's in the shade! 

Brigham has been a little unlike himself this past week.  Very uninterested in his bottle at times, only napping well here and there, and really chewing on his hands and drooling a TON!  I think he'll be getting teeth soon.  My guess is his 2 bottom teeth are going to pop through first.  He's still full of smiels though!

We always end the night with a bath!  Aren't they just too cute in their puppy and frog towels?!

 
Cuddle time with mom before bed!

'Jaxon & Me'

A post dedicated to our dog... would would have ever thought?!

Sunday night, Derek, Boston and I caught the tail end of the movie 'Marley & Me' on tv.  I bawled.  Not just a few tears, but a lot of tears, and the sniffles and stuffed up nose afterwards to go with it.  Boston cried too, but i'm not sure if he cried because the movie was sad or because he saw his mama crying.  It's such a sad movie, and it really makes me stop and think about us in that same situation some day with Jaxon.  He's 8 now, and even though 75% of the time we wish him dead (well not really, but you know what I mean) I will bawl my eyes out the day he really does 'go to sleep forever'..  He's a part of our family even though he's 'special' and annoys the hell out of us!   

This afternoon, Boston asked if we could go outside and play.  Brigham was down for a nap, and Boston knows that is his outside time with me.  As we were walking out the front door, I gave Jaxon a little 'shimmy with my foot' so he would get out of the way.  Boston never asks if we can bring Jaxon outside with us, but today he did.  We got him on his leash and off they went running up and down the sidewalks together.  It was cute, until Boston tripped and scraped his knee.  (Yes, this really happened)

After a few minutes of running around, Boston gets this crazy idea..  He pretended that he was selling Jaxon, and he was going door to door to try and find him a new home.  When he came to our house selling, I had to go along with it..  This is a recap of our conversation.

Boston: Hello mam, would you like a dog?
Me:  Um, I don't know. What kind of a dog is he?
Boston:  He's a laying down dog and a sleeping dog.
Me:  What's the dogs name.
Boston:  Spike
Me:  Ok.  And what does he eat?
Boston: 1 cup of food and 1 cup of water.  Then if he runs out just give him more.
Me:  Where does he poop and pee?
Boston:  Outside or Inside
Me:  And what do I do with all that poop in my yard?  Can I just pick it up and throw it in my neighbors yard?
Boston:  NO!  You throw it in the garbage or put it in your toliet!
Me:  Is he healthy or is he sick?
Boston:  He itches and scratches, but that's it.
Me:  How do I make the itching stop?
Boston:  Don't you have some medicine you could give him?
Me:  Yeah, i'm sure I can find something for him.  I have a baby.  Does he like kids.
Boston:  Yep, he likes kids.  He's a great dog.

Aww!  It was just so funny listening to him try and sell Jaxon.  I know Boston would love it if Jaxon played fetch or did tricks, but he doesn't... and I am pretty sure there is no hope in teaching him.  We're just stuck with the 'laying down and sleeping dog'. :) 

Boston & Jaxon 

 Boston dragging Jaxon on a run!

 Jaxon.  He looks so sweet and loveable when he's just laying around, and you can't smell him!

I am never bragging about getting sleep again..

I will never brag or make comments again about how much sleep i'm getting... because Brigham is back to his old ways again and I am once again sleep deprived and a little irritable because of it :) 
He has been drinking more than normal so it could be a growth spurt?  Some nights it's because he has rolled from his tummy to his back during the night and he can't fall back to sleep.. Last night was the worst.  I put him to bed at 8:30 and he was up at 11, 1:30 and 3:45.  I heard him again at 5:45 so I went in and rolled him back over to his tummy and he went right back to sleep and wasn't up until 8:20.  I think i'm going to try letting him cry himself back to sleep if he has another bad night tonight.  I know he doesn't need to be up eating all night and honestly, this mama cannot function on little amounts of sleep. 

Aside from Brigham not sleeping well, things are good :)  We finished up a week of VBS on Thursday night with a program for all the parents and grandparents.  Boston was more into screwing around with his friends than singing, so that was a little disappointing, but typical Boston behavior!  This past weekend my mom camped at Yogi Bear right outside of Sioux Falls so we spent all day Saturday hanging out with her.  Brigham did great being out by the pool all afternoon, so once the weather warms up around here, I am going to attempt taking both boys to Wild Water West!  It has been a gloomy, rainy and cool week so we are praying for sunshine!  Boston ended up spending the night with Grandma Peggy in the camper on Saturday night.  He loved that.  When I picked him up Sunday I noticed he sounded a little hoarse.  I looked in his throat and saw some white pockets...so off to Acute Care we went.  Sure enough, it was strep throat.  He never once complained of not feeling well, so luckily, I think we caught it right away. 
Tonight Boston has his last night of Tball!  We'll have a few weeks off with no activities and then soccer and swimming lessons start after July 4th.  Derek's sister Chelsea and her family will be here from New Mexico soon, so we are looking forward to spending time with them and anxious to introduce them to Brigham! 

One of the few pictures I got of Boston actually singing and doing the actions!

 Brigham's first day at the pool!

 Boston & Brennan swam all afternoon!

 Derek came to the campground after work and my mom grilled us all some food! 

 So many people comment that Brigham looks a lot like me, and I do agree.  However, there are times I look at Brigham and think "wow, you look like your papa!".  This is one of those moments..  It might be the expression on his face.. this is definetely one of Jerry's facial expressions! 

 Yogi Bear campground is SO MUCH FUN!  Boston & Brennan are in the back corner riding the Yogi trolly around the campground.  I convinced Derek to let us rent a cabin there for a weekend in August for a mini family vacation.  I think it'll be a lot of fun!  There are so many activities for the kids so Boston will really enjoy it!  If Derek had a normal work schedule and didn't have to work every Saturday I would really consider buying a camper!  I just think going away on camping trips a few weekends a month would be so much fun, and great family memories for the boys.  Maybe next summer!?

 The other morning I put Brigham down for a nap.. he just looked up at me and was full of smiles so I had to run and grab the camera! 

 Boston showing off his Transformer 2 Burger King toys.  He has played with them every day since he got them!  Boston doesn't know how lucky he is having an aunt and uncle work at BK!  Thank you Shana!!



'Thats how my way rolls!'

Boston says the funniest things! Lately i've been keeping track of his silly comments on my iPhone so that I could put together a blog post for all of you to enjoy! Derek thinks he's going to be an Engineer when he grows up, I think he'll be a comedian :) 

One day as he was eating lunch I was commenting on how long it was taking him.  It seriously took him 40 minutes to eat one hot dog..  Anyway, his reply to me was 'Mom, that's how my way rolls'. 

As we were driving in the car one day Boston was whining about not having a sister so I said 'Maybe mom will have another baby some day'. (that's a HUGE maybe...)  He replied 'Maybe! God will have to make that decision'.

Boston got these really neat Trio building blocks for his birthday.  It came with a neat little booklet of different things you can build, and it tells you exactly what blocks are needed and how many.  Boston asked me to build him one of the figures.  I thought it was a bull so when I was finished I said 'Wow, that's a cool looking Bull!'  He responded with 'That's not a bull.  Bull's have weiny's that hang to the grass'.  My mouth dropped open!  I just couldn't believe he said that and then wondered where on earth he learned that from!  He said the TV told him..?! 

Here's a picture of Boston showing off one of his Trio building block creations.  He can't follow the instruction booklet to build any of the suggested items, but he can easily put together the pieces in a matter of minutes to have a new 'blaster'!

Derek and I were outside with him so he could ride his go-kart up and down the street.  He took off real fast and said 'I'm going to Target!'.  I asked him what he was going to Target for and he said 'I'm going to Target to get us some beer!'

Most of you know I got pulled over for speeding a few weeks ago.  Thankfully I was alone in the car because i'm sure it would have scared Boston.  Anyway, now whenever he see's a cop he'll kindly say 'Mommy, you got copped once'.  :)  I think it's so cute how he says 'copped' instead of picked up! 

If Brigham is a little needy and I have clothes to fold, or something else to do for a few minutes, I'll ask Boston to help entertain him. I made the mistake of saying to Boston one day 'Is it really killing you to play with Brigham for a few minutes?'   Now, whenever Boston has to help out with Brigham he'll say 'It's killing me!'...after a few minutes of helping.

I bought English muffins a few weeks ago and Boston asked what they were.  When I told him they were English muffins he said 'Do they help you speak English?'

Now that Boston is 5, I keep telling him he has to help me more with things around the house, or things pertaining to Brigham.  The other day when I asked him to help me with something he said 'No Mom, 5 year olds just relax'.  HA!!  30 year olds like to relax too and that rarely happens :) 

Happy Fathers Day!

I love Fathers Day! Derek and my dad are two of the best men in this world and I love them both so much.  I couldn't have asked for a better man to marry, or for a better father for my boys!   Derek is such an awesome dad!  Of course we like to make him feel loved every day of the year, but today we did something extra special for him!  I came up with 4 'clues' for Derek.  Boston and I hid them around the house while Derek hid in the bedroom and then Derek had to find the clues in number order.  The final clue revealed his gift.  I should have known better than to let Boston help me hide the clues because he led Derek right to them :)  It was still fun though!   The clues had pictures of a golf course green, Phil Mickelson, mentioned the word 'walking' and then the final clue had a picture of the PUMA logo.  Derek really wanted a pair of PUMA golf shoes, so this afternoon we went to Austads and got them ordered!  I had to bite my tongue on the price...since I just recently donated a fair amount of money to the city of Sioux Falls :) 

Derek & The Green Lantern (Boston shined his green ring at the clues so Derek could find them!)

Happy Fathers Day!!

 Derek and his boys watching the golf tourney on TV!

My dad is one of my best friends, and I love him even more now that he is a grandfather to my boys.  He is a wonderful dad and Grandpa!  He is so proud of Boston & Brigham, and I love watching their relationships grow each year.  The smile that I see on his face when he is spending time with the boys is a smile I will never forget.  Boston thinks the world of his Grandpa Ron.  My dad has been supportive of me during the best and worst times of my life and during the worst times... I don't know what I would have done without him.  Thank you dad, for loving me no matter what.  Your the best!

We made Grandpa Ron something to hang in his garage!

And to end the day we made a trip to Acute Care.  Boston sounded a little hoarse so I peaked in his throat...and saw a huge chunk of white and knew it was strep.  We only spent 15 minutes at the doctor and we were off to pick up his meds.  He is acting normal so this isnt slowing him down! Hope we caught it soon enough so he'll wont feel any worse. 

 

It's for me..

A lot of people have been asking me how I like staying home full time with the boys...  I've been so busy blogging about other things that I really haven't mentioned much about my new career as a full time stay at home mom.  Last night at Bible School, I over heard another mom saying that staying home full time wasn't for her, and that she gives a lot of credit for those mom's that can.  Well friends, it's for me!  I love it.  I love not having a daily routine.  It got boring for me when I knew I had to get up for work at 7 AM every morning, work until a certain time, pick up Boston from daycare, get home and go about that routine and then get up the next day to do it all over again.  If we sleep until 9 AM a few mornings a week it's ok!  If we are up at 6, and then take a morning nap, it's ok!  Some days we'll be up running errands by 9, and some days we'll lounge in our pj's until noon and just spend the day playing playdoh, sitting outside enjoying the beautiful weather, or running to all the different activities we are signed up for.  I could go on and on about all the reasons I love it, but i'll stop with saying again, it's for me!

I love my boys!  I give out about 100 kisses a day between the 3 of them ;)  I have adored Brigham since the day he was born, but the first few months were a challenge.  Now that we have more of a schedule down and he is sleeping better I can finally say he is such a good little baby!  He smiles, coo's and loves to 'play' toys.  When he is awake we do stations between all of his toys so that he doesn't get bored with just one thing.  For a little while he'll be in the swing, and then his bouncy seat, the bumbo and finally the floor toys.  It's so fun watching him smile and coo at his toys!  Yesterday I started putting him in his crib for nap time while he is still awake.  The first time he cried for 10 minutes before he got himself to sleep, and the 2nd time it only took 5 minutes!  It's not that I don't have the time to rock him or 'shush' him to sleep, but it's not something I want to 'have' to do.  I know that it can become a bad habit as he's getting older, and I think it's good for him to be able to settle himself down for nap.  I hope this continues to go well!

Boston and I are busy with VBS this week. This is my 3rd year in a row of helping and I love it just as much as the kids.  VBS was one of my favorite things about the summer when I was growing up and I think I enjoy it just as much now that i'm an adult.  I love watching the kids sing and praise God with smiles and laughter!  This year I asked that Boston and I not be in the same crew.  I figure i'm with him all day so it'd be a nice little break for the both of us.  He ended up in the same crew as one of his best friends..that poor crew leader!  I kindly remind Boston each night before VBS that he is there to learn about God and not wrestle with his friends :)  

Last week Thursday, my sister and her kids came down and we spent the afternoon at the zoo.  I love all the baby animals that the zoo has!  So fun to watch the babies with their mama's!  Boston & Paisley were wandering ahead of Lacey and I to check out the penguins.. all of a sudden those 2 kids came running around the corner BAWLING and SCREAMING, and then we heard a honking..  Here they had gone around the corner and scared a peacock!  The peacock fluffed out it's feathers and started honking and walking towards them.  It scared them to DEATH.  Boston came running over to me and literally jumped up in my arms.  My sister and I just looked at each other and laughed.  We laughed so hard we had tears.. I wish I could have gotten it on camera.  It is something I will never forget!  Now if Boston is misbehaving I tell him he better shape up or i'm going to make him go by the peacocks again :)

Jaxon..  This poor dog never get's mentioned. 

 Brigham is scooting in his crib!  I lay him down at one end when he goes down, and by morning (or sometimes in the middle of the night) he'll be all the way at the other end!

 Every year for Boston's birthday (and i'll do the same for Brigham) I buy a card and write a special little note in it.  I seal the envelope and stick it away.  When the boys graduate...or maybe when they have their own children some day, i'll give them all the cards to open and read. 

 This handsome little guy is 12 weeks today!  A lot of people comment...and now I finally see it myself..that he looks SO MUCH like me :)