Monkey

Monkey has been a constant companion of Matthias lately. He has always like Monkey, but the past few weeks he has wanted to take him with us places, he accompanies him to the couch, he sleeps next to him, etc. I think it's pretty sweet.

Bike Ride

It's not very often that the boys are good at sharing. Today the boys rode their little bike around the kitchen with their "hats" on. It was pretty sweet to see them having a good time together. I just love those moments.

Car Ride

We actually made it outside today. It has been rainy, wet and a little on the cooler side, which has made it hard for us to get out. Our yard is now a jungle...but thankfully our neighbor actually mows her lawn and lets our kids use her swingset. Justus decided to give his cars a ride today after sending them down the slide.

I'm the Baby

After Matthias was born Jonathan's dad gave us a shirt that Jonathan used to wear when he was a baby. Today Charley got to wear it. Even though I have a hard time putting her in clothes that aren't "girly", I think she is super cute!

My Little Helper

Today Charley decided she wanted to help me unload the dryer. The only problem...Charley's idea of unloading the dryer is taking the clothes out and throwing them all over the hallway. Oh well...I still thought it was pretty cute.

Choo Choo!

Justus loves his train "tent". He really likes taking it into his room and playing with Charley and Matthias. Today Charley actually crawled inside the train and sat inside with him. He loved it! When I came into take pictures Charley crawled out, which sent Justus into a screaming/crying fit. He was very upset that Charley didn't want to play in the train anymore.

Letting Go

Justus is becoming more and more independent. His speech is getting better. He is getting bigger and smarter. I can hardly handle it. I want him to remain my little boy forever. While I love his independence...I know some day I will miss the days when he wanted me to do simple tasks for me. I also have come to realize that he would probably gain even more independence if I could just let go. This morning was my first step. Justus decided he wanted to put his socks and shoes on this morning....something I typically do for him even though he is perfectly capable. It took every ounce of self control for me to allow him to wear one of his socks upside-down and the Velcro not really attached all the way. I think I have some issues with being a control freak...but I'm learning that I need to let go of that control every once-in-awhile.

Emergency

Jon called me earlier this afternoon and explained to me that he had hurt his foot/ankle at work. A large cart weighing 1000 lbs. rolled on it and he couldn't put his weight on his foot afterwards. After dealing with it for about 5 hours at work (Scottrade, not Ed Jones) he was advised by his boss to get it checked out since it was still very sore. So, off to the emergency room we went. We were there for what seemed like forever....5 hours or so. Finally, after getting x-rayed it was determined that it wasn't broken just severely sprained, we were free to go. There is still a slight chance there is a hairline fracture, but we won't know that for a few days. For the time being it is in a splint and they sent him home with crutches.

Happy Girl

That's what I'm hoping for....that my little girl will once again be happy. We returned to the doctor this morning. Her ear infection hadn't improved since starting the new antibiotic, so that meant she had to get a shot of antibiotics. She didn't like it very much, but she did get a sucker afterwards which she did like very much. She has to go back to the doctor Saturday morning to make sure her ear is getting better...I hope so because I want my sweet, not-so-cranky little girl back.

New Man

Matthias has wild and crazy hair...especially when it starts to grow out. His hair refuses to lay down...it just goes every which way. I can only handle it for too long before it must be cut! Today was the day.

Flowers

That's what the boys call dandelions anyways. I don't have the heart to tell them they are weeds. The boys love picking them and blowing the seeds everywhere....and when they can't blow the seeds off they just pick them off by hand. They picked them for quite some time while we were outside this afternoon.

Third Time's a Charm

So Charley still has an ear infection. She was super cranky today and would not leave her ear alone. We decided to venture to the doctor's office once again. She still has an infection in her right ear, so we got antibiotic #3 today. We have to go back to the doctor's office Thursday morning to see if the medicine is helping. If the medicine isn't working then she will have to get a shot of antibiotic. I guess we'll see what happens. I'm so ready for my happy baby girl again.

Home Sweet Home

We are home! Today was our last day in DC. Our flight wasn't until 835 p.m., so we actually got the day to do whatever. We decided to venture into downtown DC again and visit the Lincoln Memorial since that was something we didn't get a chance to see on Friday. I enjoyed our trip, but I am glad to be home to my babies! I can't wait to love on them in the morning!!!

Pictures to come in the morning. I'm so ready for bed...the time change is throwing me off a bit.

Purple Line NOW

In memory of Jon's uncle we took a tour of where the future site of where the purple line of the metro will run. It was a nice way to end the memorial for his uncle. It gave us a chance to see what he has been working so hard for and what he was so passionate about.

Hello, Mr. President

We arrived in Silver Spring, MD yesterday evening and heading into Washington D.C. today. We spent all day there. My one request was to see the White House, so that's what we did first. This area has so much history...I really like that and I'm not a history person. It's just really neat to see all of the historic sites. We are having a great time so far. And I can't forget....Happy birthday Mom!!

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

Jon and I are headed out to DC this afternoon. I'm definitely going to miss the kids. We will be gone for 3 nights...which is the longest I've been away from the kids. We don't get back until late Sunday either, so by the time we get back the kids will be in bed : (. I don't know if I will have computer access at our hotel...so posts may not happen, but I will update with the picture of the day when we get back!!

Kisses

In the past couple of days Charley has started giving kisses. It's the cutest thing. She pops her lips. I don't think she fully understands what she is doing, but it's cute nonetheless.

Free Man

This picture is totally unrelated to the story of the day, but I did figure it needed to be of the person who the story is about. So Jon and I decided to buy a door knob with a lock for Justus' room so that he would actually stay in his room and go to sleep. He likes to keep himself awake and would do so by coming out of his room for no reason. We lock the door to keep him in his room and then unlock it once he's fallen asleep. Things have been running very smoothly since we started this....that is until today. I put Justus down for his nap, and he didn't really want to go to sleep...I heard him mess with the door a couple of times, but that was it. He was being very quiet, which I was thankful for. I decided to hop in the shower. When I got out I made myself some lunch, ate and then sat down to read my Bible. I was reading when I saw something move in the backyard out of the corner of my eye. It took a minute for it to register that I saw something and then looked up from my reading to see Justus walking across the yard. I jumped up and ran outside to get him. Apparently he decided to take the screen out of his window and climb out into the backyard. I was shocked and wished I could have watched him doing it all. I honestly have no idea how long he had been outside, but very thankful that he was okay. I then decided it was time to close his window.

My Little Florist

Thi is obsessed with dandelions. He collects them almost every time we go outside. He just loves picking them. He then carries them around until they are smooshed and have turned his hands yellow.

The Boots are Back

We played outside this afternoon for quite some time. Justus insisted on wearing his boots. He even wore them to church this morning. Sometimes it is easier to just give in on the little things.

Big Day

So today was a big day in Charley's life. She got her ears pierced! Jon and I had been trying to decide if we wanted to get it done now or wait until she could make the decision. My parents had waited with me...and let me just say those are memories I would rather forget. It was so traumatizing...although I'm sure my memory is skewing things a bit. We finally decided to go ahead and get Charley's pierced. I actually used to work at Claire's, so I had done my fair share of piercing little girls' ears and knew what to expect. Charley didn't disappoint. She put on quite the show for the entire store...and even some mall walkers. She screamed bloody murder when the earrings went through her ears. I then had Kelly...my lovely photographer : )....give her a grape sucker while I paid. Once the sucker hit her tongue she was fine. She only cried for a minute, and doesn't even notice the earrings now. We went with little pink crystal daisies.

Double the Fun?

After a rough night, which turned into a cranky baby this morning. I decided I needed to call the doctor to make an appointment for Charley. I was almost sure that her ear infection must be back or never went away. We got an appointment for 2 o'clock...after she screamed her head off instead of taking a nap. My suspicions were confirmed...only to my surprise it was a double ear infection. Turns out her original ear infection hadn't gotten any better and the other ear was had a little bit of fluid...but wasn't that bad. We got some stronger medicine and now we will wait. If this medicine doesn't work she will have to get a shot of antibiotics. I'm hoping it works...I hate seeing this little girl cry.

Chomp, Chomp

Over the past couple of weeks Charley has been a tooth cutting fool. Her most recent one surfaced on Monday. She now has 6 teeth...2 on bottom, 4 on top. It's pretty crazy because the boys first teeth didn't come in until they were at least 10 months old. She has 6 and will be 10 months old next week. She's an over achiever.

Down!

After nap time today Matthias decided to climb into the window in attempts to get out of the crib. He then got stuck and didn't know what to do, so he started crying and yelling "DOWN!" At first I didn't know what was going on so I didn't rush back there...but when I did I found him crying in the window.

Daddy's Home

The kids LOVE when Jonathan gets home. Jon likes it too. They love wrestling, jumping and laughing with Daddy.

Opening Day

Today was opening day for the Cubs (and a lot of other teams). The only thing to get excited about was the fact that we got to go outside after the game.

From Our Peeps....

Happy Easter!

Easter Egg Hunt

This morning we went to our first Easter egg hunt hosted by our church. It was a great event. They had over 10,000 eggs, several egg hunts for different ages, face painting, games, and lots of fun. The boys had a blast! They each got a basket full of eggs, a balloon and Charley and Matthias got their face painted. It was a little chilly, but overall really nice. I was glad that it wasn't raining or too wet.

Hi Raff

We made our first trip to the zoo today. It was crazy busy. We usually go really early in the morning, and we were reminded why today. We had to wait in line for the penguin house and there were tons of people in front of the giraffes. The boys still got close and were able to say hi to the "raffs". We had a fun time and look forward to many more trips to the zoo this spring/summer.

Free Ride

We are going to take our first zoo trip of the season tomorrow, so while outside today I got the wagon ready to go. The boys were very excited about it. They sat in the wagon and I even pulled them around the yard a little. Justus then decided he would pull Thi around the yard. They actually both enjoyed it!