Swimming Lessons time again

Jacob and Nolan had swimming lessons last night. This was Nolan's first time with them, though he had to go in with Matt and it was Jacob's first time being able to go in all by himself.
They definitely are our fishes. They love the water and it's scary how brave they are.

American Idol judges

We are excited for American Idol to be on again. It's pretty cute, the boys really get into it and pretend they are judges.

There were two best friends that tried out and only one made it. The girls were crying about the results (very dramatic and overly drawn out of course). Connor left the room all of a sudden and I asked him what was wrong. He wouldn't tell me until I went to go tuck him into bed. He told me that he was really sad because it got him to thinking about if he tried out with a best friend. It would be really sad if one of them made it and not the other. He said that if he made it and his friend didn't, he didn't think he would take the yellow ticket. ;)
He is our sensitive sweet guy.

New family member....no it's not the baby!

Yipppeee!!

My brother Nate proposed to Diane tonight! Yeah, they're engaged! We couldn't be happier for them!

If you keep up with my blog you know how much our family loves her, how well she fits in, and how the boys adore her.

Connor was super pumped and right away said, "Yes! We can finally call her Aunt Diane!". He also asked when the wedding was going to be!

Congratulations Natey and Diane, we love you both and are so excited for your journey!

Last Christmas and Basketball

We finally were able to get together with Barb, Matt's mom. She drove down for the day and we and had a terrific time.

It was Connor's first basketball practice. They have it at the school I teach. At this age they just meet for an hour and practice skills and drills. Matt is coaching, so Connor thinks it's pretty cool. Matt does a really great job with them. I know he's missing his 7th grade basketball that he used to coach, but it sure is nice being able to have him around a little more. Nana, Jacob and Nolan, and I sat and watched the practice. I also showed Barb around my school.
After practice we went to eat at Costa's downtown. We haven't been there in awhile and I love their food. Nana and Connor put together his plane Lego set from Grandpa and Grandma and then we all tried to chime in.


We were able to visit and then we opened presents. The boys were spoiled again with clothes, Connor a sports night light and his own checker/chess game (that also has 10 other games to play), Jacob and Nolan got flashlights and tape measures - they are OBSESSED with these two items, and some really fun art supplies. Like I said, it was a wonderful day.

Healthy

The boys are into asking what is healthy lately. We'll be eating and one of them will ask if Mac N Cheese is healthy, or how about oranges, or how about milk?
It's pretty funny.

Matt was able to do lunch with Connor yesterday and found out from Connor that Wednesday happens to be chocolate milk day. Matt asked Connor what that was all about. Connor told him that he and his friend get chocolate milk for lunch ONLY on Wednesdays and get white milk the other days because it is healthier for you. Only Wednesday is chocolate milk for the two of them. Too funny.

A few tidbits:
Nolan is really into saying "only a little bit" while putting his thumb and pointer finger together for many things. He only wants a "little bit" of water. He's only going to have a "little bit" of candy. He was only a "little bit" naughty at Mary's.
;)

He also loves calling people and things silly. Silly mommy, silly daddy...etc.

Those of you familiar with the Brown Bear,Brown Bear book - Connor made a book similar to that at school and we read it often. Nolan loves to make up his own all of the time. Lately it's been, "Mommy, mommy what do you see?", etc....

They are all still into singing Christmas songs. We might have Christmas all year round' at our house.

Hair

This morning Nolan wanted to do everything himself - get dressed, brush teeth, and comb hair.

He spiked his hair using the comb and just combing his hair backwards. He actually let me help him put on his coat and stuff. However, when I put on his hat....he ripped it off and felt his hair.

"My hair is down", he told me. He ran back into the bathroom and spiked it up again and wouldn't let me put his hat on again. Seriously? Already, at 2-1/2. He'd rather freeze than wreck his hair. Oh boy.


Side note:
Jacob and Nolan have been really interesting at bed time lately. They are struggling with settling down and staying in bed. I'm not so sure about it anymore........;)

Star of the Week

It's Connor's turn to be Star of the Week this week and he's pumped. We worked on his poster and gathered a few items for him to bring all week. Matt and I, Grandpa and Grandma, Uncle Mattey, and Uncle Natey (if he's in town) are all going to try to visit him at school at sometime either going to lunch with him, or helping out in the classroom. Connor is very lucky and loved. I lucked out this year, his lunch is during my prep time and on the day I have a longer one it works for me to go have lunch with him.

A few things I wanted to note from what he wrote on his poster:
His favorite thing to do is play Wii with his family.
His favorite book is the Magic Tree House Series.
His favorite animal is the cheetah.
His favorite food is PB & J sandwiches.
He is a star because he always tries his hardest.
He shows he cares by helping and sharing.
He wants to be a Baseball Player when he grows up.
Three cool facts about him are that he loves Clementines, he is going to be a big brother to three siblings, and he can read chapter books.

Connor - you are our star EVERY WEEK! ;) We are SO proud of you and love you to the moon and back.

Hope you have a fantastic week.

What we were up to over break

We had a great break.

We did our annual Christmas light looking/hot chocolate drive.

Nolan had fun getting ready for his school and work.

We played with Legoes and built many different things.

We played spies. We are all set with our spy gear and equipment now.

We lined up our cars. Jacob loves to do this.
Uncle Mattey and Aunt Kristin watched the boys while I had my doctor's appointment. The boys had a blast playing with Kelsey. They then fed us all lunch.

Of course we played the Wii fit.

We played policemen and fire fighter and they finally got the robber.

We played with our Nerf guns. It's impossible to get mad at the boys and ask them to settle down when the biggest of them all is the one that starts it. ;) ;) Seriously?!!!

We met grandma for lunch and I went into school to try to get things ready for the sub. I almost feel ready to have this baby! ;)

Matt and I also cleaned the house, rearranged things, and put things away. It felt good.

Christmas again

We celebrated my family's Christmas this past weekend and had a blast. For the first time we ALL stayed overnight. Sounds pretty crazy being that Mattey's and us both live in the same town as mom and dad, but it was so much fun being able to just hang out in our sweats and pjs, let the kiddos fall asleep while we played games, and then just crawl into bed when we were tired. We all slept in our old bedrooms which was fun. Plus, in the morning mom made us all breakfast and we were able to just lounge around. Great idea mom! Hope we keep doing it.


The two who started it all.......

We started the morning out with the ladies getting either a pedicure or manicure.
We got together around lunch time and started with appetizers and then sort of just hung out opening a few presents and playing with them, playing games, playing Wii, opening more presents. Mattey stayed behind with the kiddos while the rest of the adults went to 4:00 church so we wouldn't have to all get ready in the morning and rush.
When we got back to mom and dad's we opened more presents and had a yummy meal like always and did our traditional toasts. After dinner we opened more presents - Everyone was very spoiled this year. The boys got suitcases, Lego sets, Light Sabers, Twins shirts with our name on the back of them, movies, games, I Spy Wii game, and more. The kids fell asleep watching a show and the adults played some Oh Hell and Apples to Apples. Never a dull moment. What great company and so much to be thankful for.