March 12, 2011...Promise of Spring

The weather was warm enough to get the boys outside for a few minutes...but not warm enough for Alex to keep playing in this puddle once the icy cold water leaked into his boot.  I still enjoyed watching the boy and his dog playing together outside while it lasted.  

March 11, 2011...Tired Boy

I put Alex at the table for breakfast and turned around to put his toast in the toaster.  When I turned back, I saw this...I think someone might not be a morning person like someone else I know (me!)!

March 10, 2011...Green

I structured my 10 on 10 this month around a green St. Patrick's Day theme.  It was fun to get into the spirit and with green being my favorite color, it was easy to come by.  This is the one photo I took today that I didn't use in that post (it wasn't quite GREEN enough for my liking) but it shows a glimpse of green to come...the rain is washing away the snow and the yuck and (hopefully) bringing with it GREEN grass and spring flowers very shortly!  

March 9, 2011...In Training

Alex has taken to the firefighting gig right on the heels of his big brother.  He'll "suit up", grab rescue equipment and rush off to put out a fire or save a victim (Who's "got blood") either on Nate's wings, or leading the way.  He will even instruct me to hold the hose when he's putting out a fire because "it takes two firefighters, Mom" - I love watching them in action.  Especially when Nate is playing rescuer and Alex is the victim he's saving.  It reminds me of my sister and I when we were young.  So fun to watch!

March 8, 2011...Long Day

Today was a long day without seeing much of my boys.  I had to work and then ran to Target to get diapers, wipes, birthday stuff, etc.  Tiff dropped Brie off to me while she had an appointment nearby and Brie and I got to walk the mall for a little bit and enjoy some hot, fresh pretzels for dinner/snack before being rejoined by Tiff when her appointment canceled.  Heidi and Ava joined us shortly thereafter for our revisited Walk 'N Talks (yeah!) - by the time I got home the boys were cuddling up for bed so Alex's face here pretty much sums up how we were all feeling at that point!

March 7, 2011...Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

Sometimes the only way to get stuff done is to do it together.  So, in this case, that meant showering as a group just so I could get a shower in before heading to work.  Alex could have stayed in there all day though...my little fish.  

March 6, 2011...Adventures in Sleeping

Nate has a thing with sleeping in various locations throughout the house.  On certain nights I'm all for indulging his little escapades.  One night he might sleep in a "cave" of couch cushions and blankets he built in the living room.  He's slept in his closet, on the floor of his brothers room, under his brother's crib, and he even slept in the tub once if I recall correctly!  Anyway, this particular night he wanted to sleep on the couch in the front room, right outside our bedroom.  He goes to bed quietly, falls asleep easily, and sleeps all night so I have no objections to his little sleepover adventures.  I'm not sure what the attraction is, but it's not hurting anyone and so it's a battle I choose not to fight.  Look at that face...does he look troublesome to you?  

March 5, 2011...Fashion Plates

Uh-oh.  I think Alex has been afflicted with the disease that runs in our family and causes us to morph into new beings, characters, personas, etc.    These beings all seem to have a wild fashion sense and a flair for color and patterns.  I wonder if a cure has been found yet.  Poor kid.

March 4, 2011...Ahoy Matey!

Today was a bit of a project day.  I was working from home so I put the kids to work on projects that would occupy their time while I attended to my grants work.  Nate did so well building this pirate ship and then painting it.  He was very upset not to be able to go outside and set sail in the pond out front but he got over it when I promised to let him help me make cookies for dessert.  

March 3, 2011...Outdoor Shenanigans

Today was the first day in a while that it actually felt warm enough out to get the boys outside to play in the snow.  The sun was beautiful and the boys spent forever just scooting around on the ice that used to be our side yard.  I was so grateful to be able to get outside and let the boys blow some steam off.  What a gorgeous day!

March 2, 2011...Ready for the Call

Every night before Nathaniel goes to bed, and throughout the day when he's playing fireman, he will crawl out of his pants and leave them like this...ready to jump into to head out on call.  Whenever I find his jeans like this next to his bed, or outside the bathroom, etc. it makes me smile.  My future firefighter is  already well trained!

March 1, 2011...Chuck E.

Today we met the Ciravola Clan at Chuck E. Cheese for some mid-afternoon fun.  For a small fee, we got lunch and hundreds of tokens for the 5 kids (and two Mothers!) to play games with.  The kids racked up their own piles of tickets and were able to cash them in at the end of the fun for some cool prizes.  It was literally hours of fun!

February 28, 2011...Bucket Boy 2.0

Alex has taken to playing in this bucket just as his big brother used to at his age.  It's funny how a simple bucket can bring so much joy.  

February 27, 2011...New Skills

Alex has been practicing his scissor skills and is becoming a pro.  I love his concentration when he's nipping away at the paper.  He leaves a spread of confetti when he's finished but it keeps him occupied for a long time so I'm ok with that.  Nothing a little broom can't sweep up.  He'll be all set for pre-k at this rate!  :)

February 26, 2011...Big Brother

Nate was helping Alex gear up for a big brush fire they had to respond to in the bathroom.  I love when he takes Alex under his wing and shows him the ropes.  Too cute!  Perhaps they'll both be Firefighters when they grow up?

February 25, 2011...Crawl Balls

When Western NY brings you months and months of endless cold and miserable days that keep you cooped up inside and going stir crazy, you have no choice but to let your kids strip down to skivvies and go swimming in a bathtub full of crawl balls.  Of course.  What fun they had, though! 

February 24, 2011...Troublemaker

Alex is 2 in every sense of the word.  He likes to push the limits and test his boundaries as often as possible.  Today was no different.  Here we were painting at the table where he quickly takes painting to mean finger painting and finger painting to mean PAINTING on HIMSELF.  It doesn't take long and he KNOWS he's not supposed to do it (thus the evil look in his eye here) but he likes to see how far he can get before he gets in trouble.  Little troublemaker.  <3

February 23, 2011...Lovin' Cup

My precious 4 (soon to be 5)-year-old made me the best cup of hot cocoa today.  

All.  By.  Himself.

It was delicious and meant the world to me!

He's getting so grown up - *sniff*

February 22, 2011...Recruits

February 21, 2011...Bowlin' for $

Ok, so we weren't bowling for dollars, but we did take the boys bowling for the first time today.  They grew tired of the whole idea halfway through the game, but we had fun anyway.  I won and Dave was beat by Alex, but I think we all had fun anyway.