Cabin Fever Already!

Disclaimer:  These pictures are not that great.  No one would stay still so I could get a good picture.

Joel getting towed by his feet

I know it is only the end of January and the weather really hasn't been that cold, but we already have cabin fever!  In the summer and fall we spend so much time outside running around, climbing, digging, etc that the kids are usually pretty exhausted by the end of the day.  The boys take a nap in the afternoon for a couple of hours so by the time they get up it is dark and dinner time.  Well, Joel takes nap it is hit or miss with Vincent.  After dinner they are bouncing off the walls and don't just want to sit around and read or even just sit and play toys.  So some interesting 'games' have developed.  It started with racing around the downstairs between the living room, dining room, office and foyer.  After a few days of racing and playing tag it evolved into a Cars 2 race.  Brad was Mater, Joel was a lemon car and Vince was Francesco Bernulli.  I sometimes got to play and they would let me be Lightning McQueen.  That turned into Joel just enjoying being towed around the house by his legs and loving every minute of it.  Then Brad got tired of pulling Joel around by his legs so he grabbed a "tow rope" and used that.  I have never seen a kid be more relaxed just laying on his belly and being dragged around the house by his feet.  Joel loves it!  Then Vince wanted to get towed.  Then I had 3 people running around the house and 2 falling over so they could be towed.

Brad towing both boys with a "tow rope"  my camera case strap

Brad got tired of towing and over the course of a few days ended up pulling Joel around in a small wagon with Vince dragging behind it.  Tons of fun until Vince hits the carpet!  This evolved into Brad hooking up the toy 4 wheeler to the back of the wagon so they could all be hooked together and he could pull both of them.  At one point this past week I put the boys on a blanket and dragged them around the house over and over!  Once is awhile I would lose one going around a corner but for the most part they were not happy unless I was going fast.

Taking my turn pulling Joel in a wagon with Vince dragging behind

Towing Vince on a blanket with Joel tagging along for a ride

Now we just oscillate between all the different racing activities.  It is almost to the point that you can tell what time of night it is by what the kids are doing.  The automatically start running laps around 7:30-8pm.  The dogs didn't know what to think about all this at first, but now they just sit on the couch and watch.  At first I thought the racing was great and we were burning off extra energy before we had to wrestle their pajamas on, but now I am worried they are building up endurance.  The only ones that ever seem tired are Brad and me!

The boys sort of staying still for a better picture

Fun Date Day

This past week has been anything but normal and on Thursday I decided the boys and I needed to go do something fun that didn't involve being at home.  We were all getting a little cabin fever.  Plus, I wanted to take them to do something fun before their little sister arrived and turned everyone's life upside down for a little while.  When I asked Vince what he wanted to go do he said "go to the beach."  After explaining to him that a beach wouldn't be fun this time of year I suggested we go to Bouncetown.

So we got up and out of the house by 9:30am and headed to Bouncetown.  Bouncetown is about a 35 minute drive from our house and is basically a large facility with 3 large rooms that all contain inflatable bouncy houses and obstacle courses, air hockey table, and even a rock climbing wall.  Every 40 minutes or so they move you from room to room so the kids don't get bored.  Vince loved it!  He instantly made friends and was running from bouncy house to bouncy house and I would rarely see him.  Joel was a little more reserved and would bounce or climb for awhile as long as he could see me.  I have a feeling that if we go back sometime soon he will be less reserved and follow his brother thru everything!  It just takes Joel a little longer to warm up than Vince.

After our trip to Bouncetown we headed to Culver's to meet up with Brad for lunch.  Since it was a special date day the boys got to have ice cream and were thrilled!  Brad then invited us to join him on a run to Farm and Fleet and since everyone was happy and no one was melting we went along.  Vince remembered that they had shopping carts that looked like cars in the front and was really excited when we walked in the store and there was one available!  It even entertained Joel for a little while.

To top off our wonderful day the boys stayed awake in the car and when we got home Joel took a 2.5 hour nap!  It was a wonderful ending to our fun date day. Now if you ask Vince what he wants to do he has two answers:  go to a beach and go to Bouncetown!

Dukes vs Foxes

Last weekend on a whim we decided to go visit my mom, step dad and sisters.  We hadn't been to their house in awhile and we wanted to see Dave before his surgery this past week.  When we called up on our drive to see if they were home and if they had any plans for the afternoon/evening we found out that Kasi was cheering and Tina was dancing at half time during the boys basketball game.

It was a relaxed few hours just hanging out at the house before we had to get ready to go to the game.  Before we left Brad asked what team they were playing and it turned out it was Brad's high school!  It was fun going to a game at my old high school (Dukes) and watching them play Brad's high school (Foxes).  When we were in school our high schools were not in the same conference.  My high school colors are purple and white and Brad's are red and white.  At some point that night Vince and Brad had a conversation about the Dukes and Foxes and how the Foxes beat the Dukes that night at basketball.  Vince was all over the place at the game and was off visiting with my sisters, their friends, and his little friend Sophie.  I hardly saw him all night and he had a blast!  I still can't figure out when Vince and Brad had their little conversation.

Tina is part of the dance team and they were doing a little girl dance at half time.  For the little girl dance each dancer had about 8-10 little girls in their group.  Earlier in the day they learned a dance that they got to perform at half time.  It was pretty adorable and they all did a good job!  Kasi wasn't able to actually cheer because she is still recovering from her leg injury/surgery.

Fast forward 4 or 5 days...the boys and I were off on our "before the baby comes and life is crazy fun date day" and we were driving by a high school and Vince wanted to know if that was Daddy's school.  I told him no, it was a different high school.   He promptly told me "I am not going to be a Duke.  I don't like purple!  I am going to be a Fox and wear red and play basketball and beat the Dukes!"  I couldn't believe what I was hearing and I could tell Brad was most likely behind it!  This whole week if anything about school or sports is mentioned Vince will reiterate how much he doesn't want to wear purple and be a Duke and how he wants to wear red and be a Fox.  Vince doesn't realize this but we aren't in the correct school district for him to be a Fox or a Duke.  Either way he is already brain washed and hoping to be a Fox someday!

Healthy Competition?

It is no secret that Brad and I are extremely competitive.  Not just with each other, but with the kids and in life in general.  We just don't like to lose!  We can make almost anything into a competition.  

A nightly ritual around here is running laps between the four rooms.  Sometimes all 4 of us do laps, sometimes just the boys, sometimes the boys and Brad, and sometimes the boys and me.  Occasionally it is just one of the kids, it really just depends on everyone's moods.  Lately I have been trying to stay out of the nightly running of the children, but Joel dragged me into it tonight.  Joel will only do so many laps by himself and then he wants to be held while you run carrying him.  Brad and Vince were holding hands and racing Joel and I.  Joel was on my shoulders so I could run faster and we did manage to beat Vince and Brad once!  After more laps than I could count I convinced Joel that we should play with some toys instead of running and lucky for me he went for it.

I wasn't the only one who was tired, Brad was too!  He decided to time Vince's laps.  Vince was alternating between being a mean hot rod and a nice hot rod while he was running his laps.  After running close to 15 laps Vince was done.  His fastest time was 6.3 seconds.  Brad then got all excited and decided he would race and Vince could time him.  If you didn't know Brad you would think Brad was just trying to give Vince a chance to run the timer and rest.  I knew better!  I saw the look on Brad's face and just started laughing.  He was wondering why I was laughing and I said "You seriously want to see if you can beat Vince!"  Brad said "Yes" and laughed.   Vince had a blast timing him.   Brad's best time was 3.7 sec.  Brad was exhausted and later admitted that his bad leg was sore from all the running.

Joel and I had been playing with trucks and watching the whole thing.  When Brad was taking a break Vince was wanting someone else to run.  I agreed and Brad gave me a look and said "you want to see what your time is don't you?"  Its true!  I wanted to see if I could beat Brad.  The chances of it happening weren't great, but I had to give it a try.  My best time was 4.5 sec.  Not bad for a pregnant lady! 

Brad was happy that he had the best time, because running faster than a 3 1/2 year old and your pregnant wife is really difficult.  He is recovering from a herniated disc but even with that it isn't too impressive.  Strange...Yes!  Do I love the competitive side of Brad?  You bet!

This is the kind of fun we have around here on a Friday night!

A morning with Cousins

Saturday my cousin Kristy was nice enough to help me out and watch the boys while I worked in the morning.  I told Vince that morning that they were going to Brett's house and that Brett's mommy and daddy were going to watch them.  Vince was thrilled!  When Brad and I were loading the boys in the car Joel was crying and Vince turned and said to him "Don't cry Joel we are going to your best friend's house!"  Brett is the only little kid we see often that is Joel's age, so Vince is convinced that Brett is Joel's best friend.

Andy and the boys outside enjoying the snow

The boys were happy to get to Kristy and Andy's house and loved having new toys to play with.  Joel barely noticed that I left, which is pretty amazing!  While I was at work Kristy sent me several cute pictures.  The kids got to play outside in the snow, make brownies, attempt to frost the brownies (they just ate the frosting), and drink hot chocolate.  It was fun to see the pictures on my phone in between seeing clients!

Joel, Brett and Vince getting ready to help with brownies

When I went to pick the boys up neither one wanted to leave!  When we were pulling out of their driveway Vince was crying.  I asked him why and he said "I wanted to stay all day!"  He went on to tell me that he was going to call and see if he could have a sleepover next time.  Then he said "I think Kristy would be a good name for my little sister!"  I think he had a lot of fun!

Vince and Brett in the snow

Brett and Vince

It makes me so happy that my cousin not only lives close to me, but that we can help each other with babysitting and that our kids get to play with each other more than one or twice a year.  Growing up Kristy and I and our siblings (Ryan and Alyse) would try to convince our parents that we should have sleepovers all the time!  We weren't successful as often as we would have liked.  It makes me smile to hear Vince ask for a sleepover.  I think once Joel and Brett can talk more we may have to give in to sleepovers.  Saying no to 1 kid seems a lot easier than saying no to 3 kids!

Brett, Joel and Vince enjoying brownies

I love my family!

Joel looking a little silly!

Boycotting Naps

I realize that at Vince's age I am pretty lucky that he still takes 2-3 hour naps and still is in bed by 8:30-9pm.  Occassionally he won't get a nap but it is usually because we are out and about and it just isn't possible.  Monday after Joel was asleep I put Vince down for his nap.  I went and folded laundry and an hour or so later heard someone talking.  It was Vince and he was in his room reading a few books to himself and his pets.  It was super adorable and he ended up spending another 1 hour reading to himself before I decided to let him out so we could have some fun.  Plus I was done with most of my folding, cleaning, etc and I was getting a little bored.  When I went to get Vince he told said "Mommy, my arms are really cold and I need some hot chocolate."  Hot chocolate is Vince's new favorite drink.  I told him if helped me change the sheets on my bed I would get him hot chocolate.  Vince seemed to think it was a fair trade.

We ended up having hot chocolate, playing games and having a snack together.  It was a blast!  We played a farm uno game that Vince won probably 9 times and I won only once.  I was actually trying too, but I just couldn't win.  After I kept losing Vince said "Mommy we both win this time."  I explained to him that we couldn't both win at the game and it was ok if I didn't win.  We then went on to play Hungry Hungry Hippos.  It turns out I am really good at that game and Vince did not enjoy losing over and over again.

By 5pm Vince was getting really tired and came up to me and said "I didn't take a very good nap."  I asked him if he was tired and he said "Yes!"  It ended up being a little bit of a long evening for everyone without Vince having a nap and I was a little disappointed.  As much as I love having Vince take long naps it was nice to have some time alone with him without Joel (aka The Destroyer) around to help us play games.

Today we had another no nap day.  Vince was in his bed and then I heard footsteps and doors closing upstairs and found Vince on the dog's bed in our room with a board that he claimed was extra from his bed.  It turns out it was the one of the support boards to hold up the top bunk mattress.  I tried to tell him that it wasn't extra but he said it was easy to move and so the bed didn't need it.  I decided it wasn't the time to argue with him, I just wanted him to nap so that I could too.  I told him he could nap in our room and about 40 minutes later I heard footsteps and a door closing and found him in the toy room playing quietly.  I gave up and told him he could come downstairs.  Again we played games and had a lot of fun!  That is until 7pm when he started to melt.  Brad and I are not used to that!  We are used to a happy fun kid until bed time around 8:30-9pm and even then Vince isn't that crabby.

If naps keep not happening I think Vince's new bedtime is going to be 7:30 ish because he just can't handle being up later than that!  On the bright side with this arrangement I will get alone time with Vince during the day and Joel will get some one on one time with Brad and I in the evening.  Joel is already loving this new plan!  He spent a good portion of the evening running around with Brad and "wrestling" with Brad and I.  Joel was a laughing machine!

Life size Angry Birds

For Christmas the boys both were each given a set of cardboard blocks from Aunt Sarah, Uncle Bob and their kids.  When they opened them I thought they were going to be fun.  We have some at church and the kids love to play with them.  These are 3 different colors and sizes.  I wasn't sure we needed two boxes of them and thought I would just only open one box at first and then as they fell apart open the second box.  The boys also were given 3 stuffed angry birds that make noises.  Vince was so excited!  Joel likes them too but mostly because he now knows he can throw them and they make noises.

We built a wall to trap Brad in the office while he was working.

Vince hard at work building

The day after our Stewart Christmas celebration I started assembling the blocks first thing in the morning.  It took a lot longer than I thought to get through one box.  We started building with them and pretending the green ones were the pigs and throwing the angry birds at the towers to "kill" the pigs.  Most of which was Vince's idea.  I was just in charge of the tower building and keeping Joel from knocking over the tower before Vince had a chance to throw the birds.  For the record I am not very good at keeping Joel from knocking over the towers.  There is some strange force field that attracts him to the blocks and lets him know that we are building a tower even if he isn't in the same room.  Plus, he is just really fast!

The wall before Joel noticed it...thanks to PBS

Joel after he realized the blocks were fun!

After putting together the first box of blocks and building for awhile I decided we didn't have enough blocks to build the kind of towers Vince (and I ) wanted to build.  Against my better judgement I opened the second box of blocks and started assembling.  We now have a ridiculous number of blocks and the kids still fight over them.  Joel really just likes to knock them all down and then basically bury himself in the blocks.  He will usually start by building his own tower to knock over and then moves on to my tower or Vince's and then rolls on top of the blocks and yells "mine" if we try to take any of them back to build again.  Vince doesn't have the patience for this behavior and usually wants to leave Joel in another room or suggests that Joel needs a nap.  I have tried explaining to Vince that he used to do the same thing when we would play with legos, but he is not interested in hearing it!

Buried in blocks

Vince trying to help bury Joel in the blocks

It has been a nice change to play Angry Birds with the blocks when we can all participate versus Vince walking around stealing our phones to play the real Angry Birds.  He still plays it on our phones, but not nearly as much!  Thanks Aunt Sarah for a great gift!

Forgotten Pictures

I have been really bad about taking pictures off my camera and putting them on the computer.  I discovered a few pictures I wanted to share and a few stories that go with them.

 Around Christmas time Brad's cousin Molly, Kurt and their twins came to visit us while they were in town.  Their boys are just a little younger than Joel.  Joel was really shy at first and worried that I was leaving him but he eventually warmed up and ran around and played a little with Hunter and Graham.  Before they left we tried to get a picture of all the kids together...it was like herding cats!  I am pretty sure at one point at least 3 of the 4 boys were crying.  At least we tried!

Trying to get everyone on the couch

Kurt trying to prevent another escape attempt

Brad and Molly trying physical restraint...1/2 the people in the picture look happy!

Giving up!  We will have to try again next time they are in town.

The first weekend in January the boys and I went to have a sleepover at my dad's house for his Christmas present.  It was what he wanted and it seemed easy enough at the time.  Brad's back was hurting him a lot and he wasn't sure he could make the drive, plus I think he enjoyed having the house to himself for a night. By the time the next day rolled around I was reminded why we don't usually do sleepovers, or at least why I send the kids for sleepovers by themselves.  Sharing a full sized bed with two kids who insist on sleeping on top of you and almost pushing you out of the bed was not fun!  The pizza, milkshakes, games and movie that came before bedtime was a lot of fun and I would do that part over in a heartbeat.  Two of my sisters joined in the festivities and it was great watching the boys play with their Nanno and aunts.  Here are a few pictures from the evening.  Apparently my sisters took some pictures and until now I had no idea they were on my camera!  

Aunt Alyse and Vincent

Joel enjoying ice cream.

Making milkshakes

Enjoying his milkshake and making sure the ice cream container was empty!

Wearing pjs and watching a movie

Even Joel watched the movie for awhile.  My dad's couch is so comfy!

Growing up and Climbing out

Last night Brad was out of town and when I put the kids to bed I told them that everyone was sleeping in their own beds all night.  Did I think they would listen?  NO!  But 4 out of 7 nights this last 2-3 weeks we have ended up with at least 1 child in our bed at some point in the night and I was tired of it.

He is lucky he is so cute!

When I woke up I was so excited because I slept through the night (rare for me too lately, even if the kids sleep) and the kids slept through the night!  Then I heard the cat making fun noises and something fall over downstairs, but our cat is weird and usually sounds like he weighs 30 lbs (not 10lbs) when he is walking around the house.  He is a very loud cat!  I heard Joel whimper a little and it sounded a like it was downstairs.  Then he cried louder and I realized it really was coming from downstairs.  You have never seen a pregnant women jump up out of bed so fast and run down the stairs!  It was only 6am and it was really dark and there was Joel standing at the bottom of the stairs in his footy pajamas with the cat.

He may look innocent...

I scooped him up, gave him a big hug, took him back upstairs to watch a movie while I got ready for work and tried to figure what happened.  The little stinker decided to climb out of his crib and bypass my room and go down the stairs in the dark.  I was so thankful he didn't get hurt because he won't go down the stairs alone when I am home and those footy pajamas are slick on the wood floors!

...but there is a good chance curiosity is getting the better of him.

The problem is Joel was very proud of himself and I am guessing there will be a repeat performance tonight.  I am betting I will spend most of the night awake watching him on the baby monitor!  I am not ready for him to be out of a crib, but in the last couple days he is determined to show me he isn't a baby anymore.  You have to wrestle him into the highchair and if you get him in it he won't eat until you let him sit at the table and now he is climbing out of the crib.  I guess if he is ready to be a big kid we better try to go along with it, but I don't like it one bit!  Not only am I not ready for him to be a big kid but at times it can be at little inconvenient.  Oh well, it was bound to happen eventually!

An afternoon of spoiling

Saturday evening my Grandma Pat and Papa called and wanted to see the boys on Sunday.  She had the idea that they could meet us at church in the morning and take the boys home with them.  I told her she didn't know what she was getting into and she assured me she did.  After church we switched vehicles with my grandparents and they took off for their house with the boys.  Brad and I spent the afternoon visiting his aunts and cousins.  It was very relaxing and I could actually hear and participate in the conversation without the boys around.

When we got to my grandparents' the boys were excited to see us but you could tell they had a lot of fun!  There were toys everywhere and stories of Joel trying to climb everything and the boys playing well together.  But the story that made me the proudest was that when my grandma told me that she had gotten the boys Happy Meals and they came with pop.  We have a rule at our house that Vince is allowed to have pop but only at parties.  My grandma told me that Vince said "My mommy and daddy say I can't have pop except at parties."  My grandma had to tell Vince they were having a party and it was ok.  Although in the process I think he convinced her to bake a cake because they were having a party.  I never asked if that is what happened, but Vince thinks that every party needs a cake.

While we were there Joel climbed up on the counter and literally attacked the cake as my Grandma was trying to put it away.  It was like he had never seen food before in his life.  He may have even growled a little when he did it and he came away with 2 large fistfuls of cake and a very large grin on his face!

The boys had a great time and fell asleep on the way home and slept through the transfer from the car to their rooms and even slept through the night.  Sleeping through the night is a rare thing for both of the boys lately, so it was a nice treat for Brad and I to actually get to sleep through the night.

Talking Boys

Joel has been talking more and more lately.  Do we understand all of it? No!  But we are understanding more and more and it is really exciting.  I am hoping that we can avoid a few meltdowns once we can understand each other better.  Well, once we can understand Joel better.  Just because he is quiet don't let Joel fool you, he understands everything!  Sometimes he pretends like he doesn't understand what you are telling him and you can tell by the mischievous grin on his face that he really does understand. 

Joel can say quite a few words and make a lot of animal noises.  His favorite words lately are: No, Mommy, Dadda, help me, mine, please and thank you.  The other night he wanted Brad to put him on top of the bouncy house and you could hear him say "dadda help me please."  So cute!  I have to be honest though anyone other than Brad and I probably wouldn't understand it at all!  He also said "Vincent" the other night but when we asked him to say it again he told us "no".

Vince has always talked a lot but now it is more full conversations and pretty well thought out questions.  Vince is getting really good at holding conversations not only in person but also on the phone.  He usually doesn't mind talking to people he doesn't know, but it depends on the situation.  The other day a friend of mine was babysitting the boys for me.  My brother in law's company hauls and spreads biosolids (poop) out of different cities and spreads it on fields all over the state.  The day my friend was babysitting they were spreading in the fields around our house.  Vince has a very keen sense of smell and doesn't completely understand what his uncle does for a living.  This is the conversation between the two of them as reported to me!

V: Eeew what's that smell?
K: They are spreading in the field.
V. Poop?
K: Yes
V: Uncle John needs to stop pooping his pants and making people put it in the field!!!

Vince's favorite phrases are "mommy, I have to tell you something", "yeah, but...", "I know, I know, I know," or "ok, so...."  My personal favorite is "Mommy, Mommy, I love ya!"  He has been saying that quite a lot lately and at the strangest moments but I love it!

The difference a year makes

Last fall when Vince was only a little over 2 years old we tried to have him do Sunday School.  There weren't a ton of kids in Sunday School and a couple of the teachers encouraged us to just let him try it and see what happened.  That fall we tried really hard to make it so either Brad or I was a teacher or helper.  The plan was to just make sure Vince was being good and not distracting from the other children trying to learn.  After last Christmas Vince was reluctant to go to Sunday School and would much rather just go to the nursery.  Brad and I didn't want to fight it too much since he was so young anyway.  One day though I noticed that the classroom he was in only had one other student and 2 teachers, so I talked Vince into going to Sunday School.  After Sunday School I talked to the teacher and asked her how Vince was for her.  At our church volunteers volunteer to teach Sunday School one month (or more) at a time.  This was the first time this teacher had Vince.  She told me that he did fine for a kid his age and that both the kids that day had trouble sitting still.  So the next week Brad brought Vince down to Sunday School and as Brad went to bring Vince into the classroom the teacher suggested that perhaps he was better off in the nursery.  Vince was thrilled and we were glad to not have to convince him every week to go to Sunday School!  I have to admit that I thought it was funny that the elder for Christian Education's (Brad) son got asked to leave Sunday School.

This year Vince was definitely ready for Sunday School and didn't need to be in the nursery with Joel!  Vince believed otherwise and wasn't too sure he wanted to give up playing in the nursery.  With a little convincing Vince now goes to Sunday School without a problem.  Today he had the teacher he had last winter.  I was a little worried about how today would go, but second chances are a wonderful thing.  Today the teacher commented to Brad how smart Vince was.  Then tonight I was asking Vince how Sunday School went and what he learned.  He told me that he taught his teacher the church prayer.  Brad and I were doubting his story until Vince wanted to know why his teacher calls it The Lord's Prayer and we call it The Church Prayer.  At that point Vince was a little disappointed to find out he was the only one that called it The Church Prayer and he still thinks that everyone should call it The Church Prayer because you say that prayer at church.  Wonderful logic even if it isn't right!

Toulaflage

Vince has two blankets that he loves.  One has polka dots and one has camouflage patches on it.  He received both of them as gifts as an infant  The polka dot one was from my mom and the camouflage one was from Brad's cousin.  Vince calls the camouflage one "toulaflage."  At first Vince had 4 blankets he was ok with but over time it has evolved into just needing the polka dot and camouflage blanket.  For a couple years now we haven't been able to leave the house without both blankets and if they had to be washed he would asked every 20 minutes if they were ready yet.  When we were out and about the blankets usually just stayed in the car unless it was close to nap or bedtime.  If Joel even looked at the blankets Vince would get upset.  Recently Vince has decided that Brad can borrow toulaflage.  He makes sure that toulaflage is in our bed every night and if Brad leaves the house he makes sure Brad remembers to take toulaflage.  Toulaflage usually just stays at home but Vince is so worried about the blanket and always makes sure Brad is taking good care of toulaflage.  Out of habit I have put toulaflage back in Vince's room a couple times and Vince gets all upset about it and tells me "Toulaflage is for Daddy!"  It is adorable to see him share something that means so much to him.

Vince with his blankets. I was blocking his movie when I was taking the picture.  He wasn't happy that I took toulaflage away from Daddy to take a picture.

Brad is so honored by the fact that Vince is sharing his blanket with him.  Now Brad also makes sure he knows were the blanket is.  Brad tells Vince how much he likes having toulaflage to sleep with and Vince reminds him to take good care of toulaflage.  I wonder if toulaflage will get to go out of town with Brad or if Vince will make him keep it at home.  Time will tell!

Update on the dogs

Last week two of my mom's dogs (who are sisters) unknowingly got into rat poison.  My parents don't keep any on their property, but the dogs wander occasionally and apparently one of their neighbors do keep poison around.  Both dogs were pretty sick.  I wasn't really sure they were going to live.  Both the dogs ended up getting a blood transfusion last week.  One at the clinic and one in my basement.  The basement wasn't ideal but it was New Year's Eve and I had no desire to sit at the clinic for 4 hours doing a blood transfusion.  Plus my mom was more than happy to come play with the boys while my sisters and I dealt with the dogs.  I had never done a blood transfusion in a dog before but by the end of the weekend I was feeling pretty confident.  Tally (my mother in laws dog) donated blood to one of the dogs and our dog Bristol (Tally's full sister) donated to the other dog.  My mom's two dogs are also sisters so 2 sisters donated blood to save 2 other sisters.  It has been a little over a week and both of my mom's dogs are doing well!  I was pretty sure at least one wasn't going to make it and I am very happy to be wrong.  The blood donors are doing well too.

Maisy our other dog is feeling pretty sorry for herself these days.  She tore her other cruciate at the beginning of December.  I was disappointed because she had only been back to full excersize from the first surgery for about 2 weeks when she hurt her good leg.  She spent the rest of December as a nearly permanent fixture on the corner of the couch.  She usually sleeps upstairs with us at night but after she hurt her leg she just stayed downstairs on the corner of the couch.  A friend of mine did surgery on her on Monday to fix her leg!  I am so grateful to have such a talented friend who was willing to do surgery on my dog last minute.  Thanks Erin!  Maisy is not happy about cage rest or her e-collar.  Vince went over to the kennel tonight and told her "Its ok Maisy.  You just have to wear your cone because you lick at your leg."  Give her a few weeks and she will be feeling much better!

From our mouth to Vince's

Brad and I are pretty careful about what we say in front of the boys.  We have learned (sometimes the hard way) that what we say will come back to haunt us if we are not careful.  For example I used to tell Vince, when he wasn't even 2 yet, that he looked sexy in his sunglasses, I didn't say it all the time, just a few times.  He then started calling sunglasses "sexies" and then would occassionally tell people that were wearing sunglasses that they were "sexy."  Funny sometimes, less so when he says it to one of his girl cousins!

Vince got a Leap Pad for Christmas and loves it.  The game he likes to play can frustrate him from time to time.  When it does I hear him make a "grrr" noise.  The same noise I make when I hurt myself or get frustrated with something. 

Another thing I say instead of a number of 4 letter words is "geezy petes", "deary pete", or "for the love of pete."  Occassionally Vince asks me who Pete is and I tell him I have no idea and that maybe it is his next brother and then he just laughs and tells me "no."  The other day he was using the toilet and apparentally not paying enough attention to what he was doing and completely missed the toilet.  All I heard from the bathroom was "grr deary petes!" 

The other night Brad and Vince were racing around the house (a new nightly ritual) and Vince was tackling Brad to the ground.  I am not completely sure what happened but I heard Vince call Brad a loser.  Brad had to keep a straight face.  I was behind the couch playing with Joel so I was able to laugh quitely.  I finally pulled it together and told Vince that I didn't like that word and it wasn't nice to say.  I went on to tell him that when you win you need to be nice about it and you can't call the other person a loser.  I was worried he heard Brad or I say that (we are really competitive), but like I said before we are pretty careful what we say in front of the kids.  I actally never thought I would mind hearing the word loser, but the tone and attititude that accompanied it coming out of a 3 year olds mouth was too much for Brad or me.  I asked Vince where he learned that word and he replied "At Grandma Diane's house the boy in that movie said it."  You could hear Brad breath a sigh of relief!  I am not sure what movie he is talking about but I don't think Vince will be watching it again anytime soon once I figure out which one it is.

It makes me laugh hearing things come out of Vince's mouth and knowing that it is something Brad and I have said to him.  At least I know he is listening to us even if he doesn't always follow directions!

Stewart Christmas

Christmas with Brad's immediate family tend to happen between Christmas and New Year's.  The date varies but it always is a full day event starting with brunch and going until the kids melt.  Ok, not everyone's kids melt, mostly just mine!  My nieces and nephew are all older and don't seem to have complete meltdowns like my kids do when they are extremely tired and coming down from a sugar high, the excitement of Christmas and being at grandma and grandpa's house all day.  Overall it is a pretty relaxed day and I feel like I spent most of it eating!  Like any good Christmas or holiday gathering there is never a shortage of food.

Brad and Joel

Brothers and cousins

 Present time was a big hit and I don't know if Vince had more fun opening his presents or helping my nephew, Keith, open his presents.  Every time Keith opened something Vince liked Vince would say "Oh, wow.  I think I can share that with you!"  Keith was nice enough to just agree, invited Vince to help him open more gifts and get equally excited when Vince opened something cool.

Keith letting Vince help open the present

Millie and Karoline....best cousins!

Joel didn't really want to open any gifts.  He stuck with his method of stacking them and letting Vince and I open his gifts.  Actually about half way through gift opening Vince ran off to play and told me I could open his gifts too.  So I got to open Joel's gifts, half of Vince's gifts and my own gifts.  I have never seen a kid not want to open gifts and actually tell someone else to do it for him!  Joel did have a good time pulling over the Christmas tree.  We have been to my inlaws several times this holiday season and Joel hasn't bothered any of the trees at all.  However, at Christmas he decided to try to pull an ornament off and the whole tree came crashing down.  It is a skinny, but tall fake tree and some of the ornaments broke during the fall.  Luckily no one was hurt.  Joel laughed pretty hard watching us all scramble to catch the tree and clean up the mess.  He was very proud of himself!

Joel thinking about opening a gift

The rest of the day was spent playing with gifts, eating, playing in the hot tub, playing in the barn with the horses and playing a couple games.  The hot tub hasn't really worked since before Vince was born and I didn't know it was back working so I didn't bring any suits for the boys.  Vince wouldn't just wear his undies and insisted he could wear Keith's old swim suit.  It would barely stay up, but he was happy.  Thank goodness we use cloth diapers because Joel was able to wear that and I didn't have to worry about any messes!  The hot tub temperature was turned down a little since the kids were swimming and it felt really nice.  The boys were really excited but I was nervous.  I didn't want to have to get in the hot tub and the boys obviously can't swim and Brad wasn't volunteering to get in either, but they did a good job standing on the seat and not getting too crazy.

The hot tub

Food and games

Joel happy to be in the water

Joel, Vince and Ellie

Vince wearing one of Uncle John's helmets

 Joel's favorite food for the day was Grandma Diane's rolls.  He will find them even if they are hidden.  He is very possessive over them too.  He found a basket of them at the end of the night and wouldn't let them go.  He kept take bites out of different once and hugging the basket and getting really mad if anyone came near him or his rolls!  Grandma wouldn't let anyone take the rolls away from him so we started sneaking them out of the basket when he wasn't looking until he only had a few left.  He did finally notice and wasn't too happy about it.

Joel and the rolls

Joel protecting the rolls...Karoline laughing.  We all were.

Joel really tired, but not giving up his rolls!

It was a fun evening and after so many Christmas celebrations in a short period of time the boys and I spent the next day at home in our pjs recovering!  Probably should have gone grocery shopping but we all just needed a day around home to rest...ok I just needed to rest and get the house back in order.  The boys had plenty of energy and loved playing with all their new things.

Christmas Day

Christmas morning I heard Vince up and he was trying to get the dogs to go downstairs with him, but they were not listening and he was getting frustrated.  I convinced Vince to climb into bed with Brad and I and Vince and I talked for a little while and there was no mention of Christmas.  I then asked him if he knew what day it was and he said "Yes!  It is Christmas!"  I made him wait at the top of the stairs until Brad, Joel and I were ready to go downstairs.

Joel and his gift from Santa

Vince opening the gifts and Joel playing with them

Once we were downstairs we read the note Santa left by the cookies, opened the stockings and started to open presents.  Vince was super excited to help unwrap the presents and Joel just liked stacking the presents and knocking over the pile.  Vince ended up opening most of Joel's presents for Joel.  After present opening we got ready to go to church.  We had to be there early because friends of ours from church had moved away recently and they were back in town.   So we were having a play date before church.  As Brad pointed out the play date was really for Pam and I because the kids were spending the service in the nursery together.  He was right!

The gift from Santa...a truck you can build over and over again

Joel likes the drill from Vince's truck toy

Joel and his Christmas presents

After church my grandparents, aunt, uncle, my sisters, and my parents all came over to our house to celebrate Christmas.  My inlaws stopped by for a little while too.  It was a fun house and a ton of fun!  We looked at old pictures, played games, ate a TON of food, opened gifts, etc.  Once again Joel didn't want to do anything but stack gifts, knock over his piles, climb on his gifts and steal packages from Vince.  Vince ended up opening both their gifts.  A couple times he just pulled enough wrapping paper off to see what he got and then went on to the next gift.  Silly kid!

Kennidy and Tina

Grandma Dawn and Joel making music

Vince happy for Grandma because he helped her win the game

Joel rearranging his pile and getting ready to climb

Vince and his pile of presents

Joe and Jill

Joel thrilled because he is standing on his presents

Super excited about his new games

Aunt Mindi and Uncle Terry

Grandma Pat and Papa

Tina and Kasi

Uncle Terry and Grandma Pat

Vince, Papa Ron and Grandma Pat

Jill and Mom

My mom, my sisters and my sister's boyfriend all spent the night at our house on Christmas.  It was a lot of fun but the sleeping arrangements kept changing as the night went on.  Both boys ended up in our bed with Brad and I.  Then Vince was snoring really loud and I couldn't get comfortable, so I left and went to sleep on the couch.  A couple hours later my sister and her boyfriend ended up downstairs on the couch and floor because the air mattress wasn't comfortable.  Then early in the morning I went upstairs to get the boys and when I came back down Jill and Joe were back upstairs sleeping.  That is until Vince found them and insisted they wake up!  We spend the day eating leftovers (even then we still had enough for 2 more days), playing with the boys, playing games, setting up the trampoline the boys got from Papa Razzi and Grandma Dawn, and planning a vacation to Disney sometime after the baby is born.  Only 3 of my sisters and I were in on that conversation and I don't know if we have my mom convinced to let them take off school.  We tried to tell my mom it was to show Tina more of the US, but I don't know if she was buying it!

Joe and Vincent

Helping set up the trampoline.

Building the trampoline

Papa watching Vince play the Leap Pad

After a busy Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and day after Christmas Brad, the boys and I ended the festivities with a relaxing evening of watching Cars 2!  We needed to rest up because the Stewart family Christmas started the next day at 11am.