Say What

Yesterday in the grocery store the boys and I turned down the aisle and there was a lady where shorts. Why she was wearing shorts I'm not sure but around here once it hits 50 then everyone breaks out the flip flops, shorts and capris and they don't get put away until next winter. Regardless of the fact that it was 21 degrees when we left for the store. Here is how our converstaion went at an audible level to the girl...

Carson: Hey mommy that girl's not wearing any pants.

Me: No, she has shorts on.

Carson: Nope she's not wearing any pants.



This morning in church as we were settling into the pew the pastor turned around and Carson looked at me and exclaimed...

"Mommy, that guy has a big belly like you have a big belly."

It's going to be an exciting new year.

Me: Carson what are your New Year's Resolutions?

Carson: I don't know.

Me: Well, what do you want to do in the new year?

Carson: I don't know

Me: What should we do today?

Carson: Um, play.

Me: What should we do for the rest of 2009?

Carson: I don't know. I want to play a game.

Me: Well tell me what your resolutions are first?

Carson: Um, to play in the snow.

You are so your father's son.



Me: Declan what are your New Year's Resolutions?

Declan: "No I talkin to brudder."

Me: Well what do we want to do in 2009?

Declan: "Pick up da boxes and take those cause we got awot of dem. What are we doin tonight brudder?

Me: Huh?

One thing is for sure......they have been practicing their photo taking skills since Christmas.

Sometimes they make you laugh so hard you cry or cry so hard you laugh

The chocolate chip cookies were a hit. At least according to Carson they were. And he got to be Leader for the day. Except for a moment when his friend tried to take his spot. I image there was some sort of preschool take down match between the two of them. OK, maybe not, but Carson was pretty clear that he got the Leader spot back.

It's barely after noon and the boys are already in bed. This may be due to the fact that BOTH of them woke up WAY to early (read 6AM) this morning. Seriously, nothing good can come of a day when they are up at that ungodly hour. No wonder I drink Coke. Its the only thing that gets me through days like this. Hopefully a long nap will clear up any crabbiness left in their wee little bodies.

I had my first night of Religious Education last night. Let's just summarize and say the kids were awful. 12 first graders, 9 boys and 3 girls. I'm not really sure what I am going to do, if I'll even continue teaching. I thought younger aged kids would be "easier" but if last night is a sign of anything, I was WAY wrong. It's frustrating because I was looking forward to doing this. But we'll see, I haven't given up hope just yet.

We've been weaning Declan off his plug for awhile now. He's done pretty well with it. He gets it only at nap time and bedtime and he knows that he can only have it when he is in his crib. I used to keep them on my tall dresser so he couldn't see them but I could easily get to them. Well the other day I started making him set them on his dresser after nap and after a few days I had 3 or 4 gathered there. I was cooking dinner on Monday night while Trevor was at work. When dinner was ready Carson came running in and sat at the table but there was no Declan and that's when I noticed it was pretty quite around here. S0 I went looking for him and found him in his room. He had pushed our big stool over to his dresser, climbed on top of the stool and was sucking on the plugs one at a time....completely enjoying himself. Stinker! Needless to say, they are back in my room now.

We have an area behind our chair that is open and when you are walking down our stairs you can reach that area through the banister. Makes a great place to store junk, just ask my husband! It is also a place where our kitties often curl up and sleep. When the boys are on the stairs they like to reach over and give them a pet. Yesterday I ran out to the car to get some cars for Carson that he left in there. As I was walking back through the garage I heard a loud thump and then screaming. When I opened the door I found Carson laying on the floor screaming and holding his head. I picked him and gave him some loves. When he calmed down I asked him what had happened. He said he fell down the stairs. I said well how did you fall. His reposnse between sobs was....
"I was coming down the stairs and I stopped to talk to Jenna (our kitty) and I tripped."
I wonder if Jenna talked back?

Usually when I tuck Carson into bed we review how our day has been. Today as I ducked into his bed to say goodnight (or is it goodnap?) he said to me (before I even started talking)...
"I wuv you all da time mommy and I wuv daddy all da time too."

Oh, it's moments like that that make this the BEST job in the world.

And lastly, a little video of the crazy boys in the tub the other night.

Staying Home

I love my job. I love being home with the boys every day. I know I am truly blessed to have the opportunity to be with them during such an important time in their life. We've made sacrifices, we've cut out any wants and we've made a conscious decision to do this no matter what. I know I am lucky, I know this.

Most days the boys are great. We have truly been blessed with two boys who are very well behaved. Most days they get along beautifully and I get lots of compliments on how well they get along, care for each other, etc. Most days I feel like the luckiest mom in the world.

Most days.

Today.......not one of them! Today is the day I've considered two things 1.) Applying for a full time job or 2.) Sell the boys....to the highest bidder. I wonder which would happen faster?

There has been more whining, crying and complaining in the last 6 hours since they got up then in the last 6 weeks.

Don't touch me, That's mine, No brother, my turn, mooommmmmyy, nnnnoooo, leave me alone, mmmmooommmmmyy brother is taking it, mommmmyyyyy, crying, loud screaming, more crying, get off of me, brothers touching me, mommmyyyyyy and on and on and on. You get the picture. How I made it to naptime without losing it is beyond me.

A few weeks ago we had a similiar day. I decided that we all needed to take a breath, say a little prayer and hopefully start over with a little (or maybe alot) less whining. So I made up a little prayer for Carson to say to help him slow down a little. Now its his favorite thing to say and usually request it be said before bed every night. So, I think it's my turn to say the prayer....

Dear God,
Please grant me patience and self control.
Amen

The fall of the marshmallow.

Carson was so excited to eat marshmallows this weekend. He couldn't wait for daddy to start the fire so we could "woast sum mawrhsamallos on da fira." So once we got the fire going and got the marshmallow cooking he was beyond thrilled. By the way, Trevor and I totally disagree on how this should be done. He's too much a of a perfectionist and prefers it to be perfectly golden brown. I, on the other hand, prefer to start the thing on fire and let it char itself. Yummy! But I digress. So Trevor started the roasting and as it started to turn golden brown Carson said in the most pathetic and sad little voice...

"Oh no da mawrshamallos is wuined."

They said what?

We are on day 2 of Declan going to bed without his plug!! He got it this morning at 6am because 1.) He was having a hard time settling himself back to sleep and 2.) There was no way I was getting up for the day at that ungodly hour! He didn't even ask for it at nap today but he's been talking ever since I laid him down. "Time Out "Bruder" "Be Quiet "Bruder" "Bruder" "Bruder" "Boo Bruder." Bruder?"

Yeah he's asleep just like you should be!


The other day as we were drove past a church that was having a block party. They had several bounce houses up. This was the conversation as we passed...

Declan: "Bouuunnnccee Hoouuussseee" (he was trying very hard to enunicate)

Carson: Good Eye "Dekan"


Today we were picking up toys before nap time and the conversation went something like this.

Me: Come on boys lets pick up our toys.
Carson picks up a few then keels over in pain.
Carson: Mommy my tummy hurts.
Me: Oh no! What's making it hurt buddy?
Carson: Picking up all these toys.

Oh the pain caused from picking up those toys.

from the mouths of babes

A couple of funny things heard around our house lately.....

They are doing a school supply drive at my church this month. So on Sunday I gathered what I had bought for Carson's school supplies and decided to donate them to the church. I put them in a bag and handed them to Carson when we were at church and showed him where they needed to go. He was pretty proud to carry the bag and put it in the box all by himself. Fast forward to yesterday and we were getting ready to go to the pool. As he was coming down the stairs he informed me that we also needed to stop at the store because Jesus needs more crayons!

On our way home from the pool on Monday (hmmm, I sense a pool theme here) Declan was in his seat chatting away about anything and everything. Carson just sat quietly looking out his window. About 3 blocks from home Carson turned to Delcan and pretty much yelled, "Be Quiet Dekan!" Glad to see I'm not the only one who goes crazy sometimes.

Declan insists that he climb into the car and into the carseat, ALL BY HIMSELF! It wouldn't bother me except it can take about 23 minutes each time, I'm not exaggerating. The other day I was in a little bit of a hurry but mostly just didn't feel like dealing with him getting into his seat. Here is how the conversation went.

Me: "Come on Delcan, get in your seat, we aren't pissing around today."
Carson: "Yeah Delcan, we aren't pissing around."

Oops. Guess I need to watch my mouth.

A list of my thoughts

I have lots of things on my mind that I want to mention on here and there isn't really any order to them so I'll just make a list. How fun!

* This morning around 1:30am. I heard Carson come out of his room and shut (er, slam) the door closed. Something he does regularly. I opened my eyes just a crack waiting for him to appear at my bedside. He didn't. I listened for a few more seconds wondering what he was doing. And the next thing I heard was the door to the garage opening. I slapped Trevor awake and told him to go see what he was doing. I'm not sure why I didn't get out of bed to go check. By the time Trevor got out of bed and down the stairs Carson had already made his way into the garage and was trying to get back in. We're not sure where he was going or what he was trying to do. One thing we do know....it gave us a good scare. This morning he said he was trying to find grandma but I'm not even sure he remembers being out there. It's a good thing he makes a habit out of closing his bedroom door when he leaves because had I not heard that I'm not sure what would have happened and I don't even want to think about it.

* It's the middle of July and BOTH of the boys have a cold. In July? Really? Those parenting Gods can be cruel people.

* The boys and I have been going to Target on the Friday that Trevor gets paid. We get all our essentials, browse through the toy isle and then have lunch at Target (mmmm...Pizza Hut). I was thinking about skipping today and going tomorrow morning when Trevor said, "You can't skip it's tradition." And he's right. This simple little errand has become a tradition for us and I love it. So do the boys because they usually get a cookie for desert!

* We've been on a stirct plan to rid Declan of his plug. When we went on vacation he had it in for the entire trip. So when we came back I vowed to not necessarily take it away but to vastly reduce the amount of time he had it. The first few days were tough and I thought I was going to lose my mind but it's gotten alot better. He only has it in his crib now! However, since its out most of the day now......he NEVER stops talking. And more then half the time its, "Mommy wook" "Mommy wook" MOMMY wook" MOMMY WOOK." All day long. And he doesn't stop until you acknowledge whatever it is that he sees. Today it was a crane and a big balloon and then McDonald's. Good thing he's so darn cute.

* Carson is going to be a car man just like his daddy. He was about to lose his mind today when we saw not 1 but 2 Chargers on our way to Target. And every car he sees has some sort of relation to a car from the movie Cars. Today we saw Ramone, Flo, Mack and Filmore. And they looked nothing like any of them but he insisted they were.

* The other day we were at the park and there was a huge rainbow filling the sky. We pointed it out to Carson and his response, "Jesus sent us that rainbow." Ahhh, good parenting moment!

* Carson's favorite phrase these days is "Sometimes they do that." It's pretty comical.

* Declan LOVES to check out the potty after Carson has gone. Regardless of what's in there his reply is always, "Big poops bruder" followed by "wittle poops too bruder."

* My garden is completely overgrown. It needs to be at least twice as big. My tomato plants are ridiculously huge. Yesterday we came home and they had all fallen over. Check out this tomato mountain.

You can almost see the humidity in these pictures. It's been like soup outside lately.

* My engineering husband rigged up some posts and they are now standing up. Sadly, we lost about 20 tomatoes because we had to cut them back. Hey, that's a lot of spaghetti sauce that we won't get! And yes, there are two shovels in the ground helping hold them up. He's resourceful!

* Declan was trying to get Tickle Me Elmo to laugh today and he couldn't get it so he just laid on him and away he went.'


* Carson starts school in a little over a month. Ack! I got a list of the school supplies he will need at Target. For a kid entering preschool that list is quite long. Kleenexes, cups, play-doh, enough glue to last a life time, markers, pencils, backpack, band aids, etc. It goes on and on. I picked up a few things today that were on sale. I know he's going to love school but a part of me is sad and still wants him to be my baby and home with me all the time. But buying all these things is exciting. Reminds me of when I was little and got all new supplies. Then I'd spend the next few weeks until schools started organizing them and putting them in my backpack. So much fun!

* I have to work tonight but we get to wear jeans. How is it that just being able to wear jeans makes going to work so much more bearable?

A trip to the Dentist

Carson had his first dentist appointment today. When I called a few weeks ago the lady informed me that at this particular practice the children are taken back without the parents. They do their checkup and then you have a little pow wow with the dentist about how it went. I wasn't sure about it and I almost canceled the appointment. I knew Carson would be ok once he was back there and I figured he would probably do better since he would just play shy if I was there. Being back there wasn't my issue, getting back there without me was. So this morning I told him we were visiting the dentist and that if he was good and behaved like a big boy I would take him for a donut afterwards. His first response to that was....

Carson: "Mom, I want Dekan to gwo firwst."
Me: "Well Declan doesn't need to see the dentist yet because he's not a big boy."
Carson: "No, I want Dekan to gwo firwst. "

So needless to say I was a little apprehensive about how this was going to work. When we arrived the waiting area was FULL of toys. The boys were so excited because they even had a kitchen!

With a phone!!
(Yes, I brought my camera to the dentist)

So they called his name and about 4 other kids at the same time. The hygentist was a little excited about it being Carson's first time. He hesitated for a few seconds (probably because she was a little loud) but he went right with her. 45 minutes later he came trotting out holding his "score card" in one hand and a balloon and new toothbrush in the other.

The hygentist said and I quote...
"He was excellent. He's one of the best behaved kids we have ever seen."

HALLELUJAH!!
(Happy Mom Dance)
Not only did he do great but I suddenly felt like the best mom in the world. There is nothing better then when people, complete strangers at that, tell you how excellent your child is. Not only did they clean his teeth but he let them take x-rays and do a flouride rinse. His teeth look excellent. I met the dentist too and he told me that they usually have to remind parents of 3 year olds to START brushing and lay off the sweets, take care of those teeth! He was very happy that he didn't have to have that conversation with me.

But at that moment Carson decided to tell him we were going for a donut. Lovely!!

And here is our little dentist pro with donuts in hand. That's all he ate for lunch(and Declan for that matter). Guess we better scrub those teeth pretty good tonight.

A fishing tale

Trevor took the boys fishing the other day while I was at work. I'll let Carson tell the story.

A whole-lotta Friday randomness

A few (or maybe more) random thoughts.

* I have hit more garage sales in the last 2 weekends then I think I have in my whole life. This morning the boys and I went to a few and Carson about lost his mind when he saw a big Thomas carrying case in front of a house. He was ecstatic about it and for $2 I couldn't pass it up. Shhh, don't tell him that the trains he has are too big for it. He is happier then a clam and him and Big Thomas are settled in for a nap now. We also got a Mickey puzzle for $1 which has 100 pieces and he did pretty good helping me get it together.

* I killed at least a million ants yesterday. And I am not exaggerating. I used an entire bottle of ant killer on them. It was so gross and I've been itching ever since.

* We got our stimulus check today. Yahoo! We're planning a trip for this fall with it.

* My Schwan man was nice enough to drop off some Push-Ems today that he was out of earlier this week. When I was younger that was all we got from the Schwan man and they were so good. I don't think I've had one since. Can't wait to dig into those!

* Declan is still having some major pooping problems. Per my doctors advice he has been drinking LOTS of juice but its not making much of a difference for him. So looks like I need to call the doctor and get him on an infant laxative.

* I need some new pants for work so on Monday I took the boys shopping with me. I thought it would be a fabulous idea to scrunch us all into a dressing room so I could try on a pair. As I took off my own pants Carson yelled (to a packed dressing room) "Mom your half naked!" Thanks honey!

* Lately Carson believes that anything that happened in the past happened "wast night." I've been trying to teach him days of the week but he isn't grasping it. So in his mind not only did we go to a Twins game with Papa Cameron but we also moved into our new house, ate pancakes, tacos and ice cream, went to the river and played chalk. Not a dull moment around here.



* Declan is a book fanatic. It's non-stop all day long he wants to "wead it." It looks like he is reading some great novel to his students, not a book with every single type of "twuck" pictured.








* Carson has taken a liking to his swimming lessons. He loves the noodle train she does with them. I can sign him up for some shorter lessons this summer so I think I may do it just because he loves it so much. Check out this video...he's getting brave.

* Declan keeps getting called a girl wherever we go. I know its the hair since I'm pretty sure I do a good job of dressing him like a boy. So I'm debating cutting his hair off. Not sure what to do with it though. Look at those curls.

Have you been to Jesus' bathroom?

Yesterday at church Carson let me (and the people around us) know that he had to go potty. So we rushed out of the church and found the nearest bathroom. As I walked in I made a comment about what a silly bathroom it was. It was laid out a little different. So we picked our stall and I stepped into undo his pants. While I was doing this Carson said to me.....

"Mama, Jesus has a silly bathroom."

I guess He does!


Carson had his 3 year checuk-up this morning.

39 inches tall
36 lbs
He's still hitting the charts at over 75% for both.

A Big Tummy

It's snowing. Less then 48 hours ago I was out doing yard work with the boys in their shorts. This spring sucks! Can you tell I'm crabby? My parents are driving home today and the roads are horrible. Can this really be happening on April 25^th? Grrrrr!

Declan went to the doctor this morning for his 18 month checkup. We've been having a problem with his poop (Wow, my kids are going to die when they are older and realize how much I talked about their bowel movements.) Anyway, most of this may stem from the fact that he doesn't eat much. He pooped last week Thursday and didn't start trying until Monday. He was unsuccessful both Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday after nearly a week of not pooping he let loose. Good news for us...my parents were in town. Declan proceeded to poop in the bathtub both nights for them. He's never done that and I'm so glad I wasn't here to clean it up. MMMUUUUWWWAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! ;-) Thanks Mom and Dad!

Needless to say the doctor is recommending more juice for the little guy. Any kind just as long as he will drink it. If that doesn't work then we may go on a prescription laxative for him.

Here are his stats

32 inches tall

25 lbs 6 oz

20 inch head

When we got home I was in the boys' room trying to find Carson's baby book so I could compare the two. However, I don't have stats for Carson at 18 months. I know he went to the doctor. The fact that we were moving and having a baby all in the same month (er, week) he was 18 months may have something to do with the fact that I didn't write them down. But in my best guess he must have been around 34 inches tall and 29 lbs with a 20 inch head.

Carson started looking through his baby book and I was pointing out all the pictures of him as a baby. Usually he insists that its Declan because he doesn't quite realize that he hasn't always been a big boy and that yes, he was Declan's age once too. One of the first pictures in the book is a lovely picture of me about 14 months pregnant, I was that huge. I told Carson he was in my big tummy. I got up to leave the room and when I came back this is what I found.

What a tender moment between two brothers. It's hard to believe Carson is already 3 and when I see things like this it really makes me see just how old he is. And how frank he is that its not mom but its mom's big belly. Yes, its big, it takes up most of the picture!

I was brought back from my tender moment by the shouting and screaming of two boys fighting over a baby book.

Such is life.

Say What

Carson went to take a nap this afternoon with a 102 temperature. I hope its nothing and the nap takes care of it.

Meanwhile, here are few funny Carson moments from the past few days.

Carson has been sporting a runny nose for a few days. Well the other day while I was at work he was throwing a fit and crying. He came over to Trevor and said,

"Daddy my nose is coming out of my eyes."

The other day I went to get him out of his seat in the car and he was resting his head on his hands so I asked if he was tired. His response,

"No, I just thinkin."

The other night (while I was at work) Carson and Daddy were watching hockey. Carson wanted Trevor to play hockey with him. Well Trevor was so zoned out on the tv he didn't notice (or hear) his son trying to get his attention. Trevor was standing behind our ottoman so Carson climbed up on the ottoman with his hockey stick in hand and starting poking Trevor with it until he noticed him. Which knowing my husband probably took a few pokes. Sad part is Carson zones out in front of the tv just like his daddy!

Carson

Carson has said some pretty cute things lately. Here are a few of the good ones.

Last week when we were in Florida we used Mrs. GPS to guide us a few places. Every time she would say, "In one-quarter mile, turn right." Carson would yell from the back...

"I don't wanna turn wight I wanna go weft."

Or

"I don't wanna turn weft I wanna go wight."


Carson has been into reenacting scenes from the movie Cars. I shouldn't even use the word scenes because really, its just one. And we've repeated it no less then 400 times in the last week. Ugh! So last week I was lying on the floor playing Cars with him. I was half into it because I was pondering what I could say to get him to stop playing this. All of a sudden he leaned down close to my face and said...

"Mama, are you wistening to me?"

Yes, Yes of course I am son.


Then last night when he was trying to get Daddy to play the SAME scene. He said to daddy.

"Come on daddy just for a few minutes."

(Because we've been telling him we would play it for a few minutes every time he asks)


Today we went on a tour of the local pet store. Carson was thrilled to see the fish, dogs, birds and hamsters. When we were driving away he said from the backseat...

"Mama, that was fun, we come again so I can show daddy all da animals."




I have a few pictures from the weekend but I'm sick. And you can ask my husband, I'm a baby when I am even slightly sick. So I am headed up to rest for the remainder of this naptime. Hopefully whatever this is just goes away soon. I'll post the pictures tomorrow.

Twins Fans and Beach Bums

Last night we made it to the Twins home opener against the Red Sox. They lost BUT it was grapefruit night so we walked away with 6 free grapefruits. I told Carson he could have whatever he wanted for dinner and he chose popcorn and peanuts. I think he had fun except he kept saying it was a basketball game then a hockey game so we have to work on the baseball part.

Last night as I was trying to get him to go to bed at 11pm! I whispered, "I love you little man."

Carson replied...

"I love you little momma."

I think it's official.....you can call us Beach Bums now.

Emptying the ocean with grandma.

I found a starfish in the water too. It was alive so we snapped a quick picture before I threw it back. (It's a $500 fine if we take it!). Another lady there found a huge seashell that was alive and she brought it over for the boys to see before she took it back. They thought that was pretty neat.

Declan is going to be my bug boy. He was trying to chase and pick up a huge grasshopper. Carson won't touch them with a ten foot pull but Declan loves them. Someday he'll be bringing them home to me. Lovely.

Being a Family

Normalcy? What's that. It's seems our family has been on a bit of a crazed schedule for the last 3 months. It started in October when Trevor was asked to work extra hours and it seems to have (hopefully) ended with our move last weekend. We've spent very few meals together, had very few lazy afternoons and evenings together and we've just been too busy to "hang out." It's like we were just 4 people floating around the same 1300 sq feet but not really being a family.


That all changed this weekend. I had to work Sat night from 8pm to 3am (Inventory!) so that left us the entire weekend to enjoy our family and let me tell you......it was awesome! We built a snowman, went for a walk (it was 40 degrees out, HEAT WAVE!), ate our meals together, played together and we all snuggled in bed together. I feel like a new person since "normalcy" has somewhat returned to our house.


I've said it alot recently but the boys are at such an incredibly enjoyable stage. 6 weeks ago I was ready to pull my hair out with Declan. He wouldn't let me out of his sight, wasn't eating and was just plain cranky. In the last week or so he's a whole new person (maybe it's the haircut?). He can entertain himself for fairly long stretches, he eats better (not great but better) and he just seems more happy. He's mastered the use of a fork and spoon to and is pretty darn proud of himself.





One of the interesting things to watch with Carson has been his language development. He's making full sentences now and its so fun to see his brain working. He seems to have trouble with his pronouns. Like using "you" when referring to himself, etc. But its so fun to have conversations with him know. And he's got a great memory. This weekend we went out Saturday to make a snowman only to find out that the snow wasn't going to cooperate.

So we told Carson we would do it after nap when the snow should be ready, since it was 40 degrees all day! When he woke from his nap that was the first thing he asked to do. So we bundled up and headed out again only to find the snow in the same condition as it was earlier. So we told him we would try on Sunday. Well he kept asking us to "make Fwosy the noman," So Sunday morning we headed out and (THANK GOD) the snow was perfect. He didn't want to leave the house afterwards because he didn't want to leave "Fwosy" behind.

One of the highlights from our weekend was yesterday as we were putting the boys down for a nap I told Carson I loved him and he repeated, "I wuv you too." Then Trevor told him he loved him and he replied "I wuv you daddy." THEN, this morning he told me out of the blue that he loved me.

Almost makes me want to have another baby right now.

Almost!

I mean lets not get ahead of ourselves people....seriously!

We have so much to be thankful for this morning, I mean afternoon. God's Blessings to you all!

And a few other pictures from the weekend.

He looks so thrilled to be outside doesn't he?

Going for a walk.

Putting Frosty's nose on.

Dinner Guest

Carson and Declan each got a new stuffed animal the other day. Carson was thrilled about his new blue penguin. At first it was a fight, I thought we might be coming home with the pink version that said princess on the jacket, luckily I won that argument. So we bought "pengin" and "frosy da noman." Carson so desperately wants Declan to be as attached to his "noman" as Carson is to penguin. The other day he went as far as ripping Declan's puppy from his hand, throwing it in his crib and handing him "frosy da noman" to play with. Every time we go to bed or take a nap "frosy da noman" must be in Declan's crib.

So the other night we sat down to dinner and they both were required to eat dinner with us and they HAD to have their own chair. They've eaten almost every meal with us since.

A Cold Football Game

This weekend we went to the NDSU v. SDSU football. Since we don't play the hated (and I use that term to its FULL extent....sorry dad) Sioux anymore this has become the BIG rivalry game for our beloved Bison, or Bize as Carson calls them. The stadium seats about 7,000 to 8,000 people but how many people did they squeeze in there on Saturday?

Oh a mere 16,435

So you could say it was packed! In fact, we sat in the end zone, on the ground, amidst druken college kids.

But it was fun, really it was. Cold, but fun.

Sadly, our Bison lost 24-29. Only their 2nd lost in 2 seasons. And since the NCAA has some weird rules about going Div 1 the Number 1 team in Div 1-AA won't be going to the playoffs.

But that's a whole other topic for a whole other day.

In the meantime here are some pictures of our day at the game.

Ok, this one's not from the game but it's too cute to not post.

And lastly here are some funny Carson stories I've heard over the last few days.

The other day Carson and I were playing in our baskets of assorted balls I have for the boys. Clearly, I wasn't paying enough attention to him because he stuck a small ball into a whole on Trevor's subwoofer. So I went and grabbed the flashlight and a wooden spoon to retrieve said ball from the sub. We were both laying on the floor looking for it and when I realized it wasn't coming out I wispered to Carson, "Daddy is going to kick your butt." A few minutes later I was expalianing that we don't stick things in there because we can never get them out and it can break, blah blah blah. He whispered back,

"Yeah, daddy kick my butt."


Carson has been saying, I mean yelling, "Hee-Haw" all the time. Often times it in the grocery store while standing up in the cart yelling it at the top of his lungs.

Fun Stuff!

So the other day we were sitting at breakfast and this is how the conversation went.

Me: "Carson what animal says hee -haw?"

Carson: After a LONG pause...."a gi-affe"

Who knew!

I've started putting the boys down for a nap at the same time. Why? Well because then I get even more time to myself.

Because really, it is all about me.

Declan usually does his typical moaning and babbling to sleep and within 5 minutes they are both out. Today Declan was carrying on quite a bit. Carson was quite so I assumed he was out since he pretty much asked to go to bed. Well about 10 minutes into Declan's babbling. I hear Carson shout, and I mean shout....

"Go to BED De-can."

Obviously little brother was keeping him awake.

My Angel

Tonight as I was getting supper ready Carson came over with his blanket on his head. With out being questioned he said,

"Mama I an angel."

It seems they talked about angels at school today. So I quickly pulled out the camera and recorded these two videos.

He will give his angels charge of you

to guard you in all your ways.

On their hands they will bear you up,

lest you dash your foot against a stone

Psalms 91: 11-12

Dear God, thank you for my wonderful son. Thank you for sending me these sweet moments with him that make me appreciate him even more. These moments remind me how tender and innocent he is and how much I look forward to teaching him about you and your son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen