The Special Ones

To defend myself before I get into this post, I DO have a big box under my bed that has the boys special artwork/papers in it. I don't just take pictures of it and trash them!

I write the date on each one, hoping that I'll remember the significance of it when I come across it later. I only save the "special ones" now...when Jake first began Mother's Day Out I saved every single little report that the teachers write out to tell you how many poop diapers your kid had that day! I have no idea why, but I think it's because I felt that I missed a part of his life when I dropped him off!

Now I keep every handprint especially. I think they look so big on paper, but looking back I see how tiny they were and remember how they were once tightly wrapped around my index finger when they were newborns (insert tears here!)

Anyway...both boys came home yesterday with special ones.

Jake did his handwriting practice for the first time and actually traced his full first name...and the 's' of Woodside! Isn't 's' the hardest letter to trace? He's a genius!

Marshall brought home his first "painting"...I'm guessing they used the dot markers...but look how well he stayed inside the lines! Watch out, Picasso!

Here is the genius I referred to earlier the other day after I got him all dressed and told him not to get dirty outside. After I heard myself say that I laughed then ran and grabbed my camera when I saw this...

This was not dry dirt either...

I took these pictures last week of the boys to always remember what we do after picking Marshall up from MDO. They watch the fish and play this little magnetic sand game thing. It's our routine and I wanted to capture it.

Pots, pans and Jake's biggest fan

While cooking dinner last night, I gave Marshall some pots and pans for entertainment. He was actually very coordinated and played quite the beat! He even put the right tops on the pans.

He even PRETENDS to eat well. Love my hungry monkey!

And then Jake joined in. Hitting the pans quickly turned into hitting each other.

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Today at the park Jake rode is dark red scooter all around the sidewalk. There were a few other big boys on their bikes and stand up scooters who were zooming by him. Jake kept trying to talk to them and finally they talked back and challenged Jake to a race. I wanted to cry so bad watching Jake at the start line saying "On your mark, get set, go!" and they took off! The boys were long gone and he just kept going and going and smiling when I cheered him on. I didn't get a picture because I wanted to be fully present for this sweet moment and to show him that I was his biggest fan. He has a such a sweet spirit and it's so neat to see that he thinks anything is possible. I'm looking forward to football games and soccer games so I can cheer them on, but for now, cheering in the middle of the park while he tries his very hardest makes me one proud Momma!

Busting Balls

I am officially the mom who puts HUGE toys in her house instead of furniture! Since we don't have a coffee table in the den yet and there are still a few cold days left until Spring and since this thing sort of acts like a kid-jail-o'-fun...I thought, why not put the Jump-o-Lene in our den?!

Jake told Marshall while they were crashing the balls that he was going to "bust his balls"! Ha! Had to add that one to the blog!

Marshall hamming it up!

We went to the park today for the first semi-Spring park trip! It was SO nice outside. I also found out that the sunscreen stick that I bought for the boys' faces runs into their eyes, so today was a good trial run for that!

Marshall's t-shirt is a size 3-4...I haven't washed it yet, so it looks pretty big, but I wanted to document it to compare it to the end of the summer to see how much he grows! I hope I remember to do that. FYI...Jake wore a size 3-4 last summer after he turned 3! Unbelievable.

What a fun day! These boys are going to keep me young:) They NEVER sit down!

An Ode to Gaga

If this really was an "ode" it would be the longest blog entry EVER...so for the sake of space, I'm justing "ode-ing" to one instance...

Gaga is quite a popular lady around this house. The boys light up when they see her and mention her name randomly all day. Jake will just be sitting in the car and say "I love Gaga. She's a nice lady." And Marshall just busts out with "GAGA!" a lot! While driving by Target today he pointed to it and said "Gaga" over and over again. "Gaga" is often associated with "buy toys" and the boys will never eat a sprinkled cookie without thinking of their Gaga!

Here she is about 2 minutes after she arrived to our house to spend the weekend about a month ago. She made the boys sprinkled sugar cookies and they all sat on the floor and talked and loved and ate cookies. So sweet! Then, of course, we were off to "buy toys".

We appreciate the cookies and toys, Gaga, but most of all we appreciate your time, energy and love! We love you!!!

Love, Jake & Marshall

Wedding Gifts and the Dark Red Scooter

It only took me 5 1/2 years, but I finally opened all of our wedding gifts! My parents graciously kept wrapped crystal and wine glass gifts at their house when they lived here so that Tom and I wouldn't have to lug them around the country, but when they moved they gave them back to us I made myself unwrap them today. I'm all set for a formal play date now.

Jake is obsessed with his scooter. It's not just a red scooter, its a DARK red scooter. He has two that he got for Christmas and one is darker than the other and its his favorite. His shoes are ruined from dragging them, but he is one happy boy on that thing!

His shy smiles...