Happy Birthday to You!

Chris had been out of town traveling and the boys wanted to make him a sign for his birthday!

Parker and Grammy playing in the box from dad's present.

A birthday kiss from Peyton

My three boys

Opps...the boys are still in their PJ's from last night...yeah, it's 5 in the evening

And this is how my morning went...hence the boys still in their PJ's.

I didn't get pictures of the laundry mess, or the toys, or the ants all over the kitchen floor...

BUT, I did get a picture of Peyton's birthday design to dad...

Look at the innocent face... too bad he is the only one buying it

There... now he is owning it!

When Chris came home we told daddy Peyton learned a new word... WALL. Peyton took daddy inside and pointed to his work of art and said, " Da, no no"! Parker took one look at it and shook his head and said: "Mess, Mess". The boy can not stand a mess! Ma sure is glad Da is home!

Now I know...

Now I know why I loved going to see my grandparents and great grandparents so much... I got spoiled rotten and received many, many treats I would never have gotten at home. I loved the fact that they somehow seemed to "ignore" my parents pleas of "that's enough...no more...last one...last time...just this once". I have had to swallow a big piece of humble pie and set my pride aside so that my boys can have this same magical experience...getting spoiled rotten and receiving all the treats that come with visiting the grand and great grandparents. I figure i can just put them through a good detox when we get back home:) After all, what fun would it be if you had to follow ALL of the same rules at Grammy and Papa's (Martha's parent's) house that you do at home? I can recall plenty of rules that went out the window when visiting Pops and Betty (my grandparents) and Big Martha and Sambo (my great grand parents). I love the fact that Chris and I both have vivid, fun and loving memories of our great grandparents growing up. I want the boys to have these same memories to Cherish. Soooo I guess a little chocolate and dessert after EVERY meal wont kill them. HOWEVER, riding in the back of Pop's truck to go get ice cream "just around the corner" could kill them and they therefore are NOT going to do this. Besides, you could get arrested (it is against the law you know) and then where are they going to get their chocolate from? Certainly not at home:) There, glad we agree on that one:) Yeah, it is too bad they have a pediatric nurse for a mom who recently retired from the PICU (peds intensive care unit) and peds trauma... kids thrown from trucks just aren't a pretty sight. I may specialize in Peds Hearts, but I vividly remember my days doing peds level one trauma...the worst of the worst. Not for me then and certainly not for me now:) OK that's my soapbox...moving right along.

We did have a fun time in SC visiting with my parent's and grandparent's. The boys did get spoiled rotten and loved every minute of it. They did manage to come off their sugar high and survived to tell about it...loudly I might add:) We had a great 2nd half of spring break. We visited, took Easter pictures (to come later), picked up the boy's Easter outfits my mom made and kidnapped Grammy to come back to GA with us for Easter and her spring break. I think we needed a break from our spring break! Whew... FUN DAYS!

The boys waiting to get MORE "silver bells" as Pops calls them. (Hershey kisses)

They both shoved them all in their mouths...I'm not sure if they were more afraid I would take them away or if brother might get them...either way they could hardly chew!

Parker

Peyton

Oh...to have a hammock for every lazy day...to have a lazy day, everyday for that matter!

Parker making sure he has all his dessert taken care of.

Peyton, as if to say: "See, I told you Grammy would let us eat dessert...after EVERY meal!"

Parker watching The Wiggles with Aunt Mel

Splish Splash...

Thankfully, one of the boys favorite activities is taking a bath:) I think they would stay in there until they shriveled up if we let them. I have an AMAZING husband and they have an AMAZING dad who loves to give them these fun, yet very wet, baths. Trying to bath two toddlers is like trying to dress a greased pig...you need fast skills, great hand eye coordination and a waterproof suite! One usually finds themselves soaked to the bone after giving these two a bath...all of which they find hilarious. I decided to spice things up a bit and added bubble bath for the fist time. They were mesmerized, they didn't know what to think...then old habits took over and it was back to wrestling in the tub, splashing water EVERYWHERE! It looks like all fun and games, and it is, until you are soaking wet and you still have to get the two wet pigs out...dried off...diaper on (an enormous task in and of itself) and PJ's on. By this time you are pooped and you might as well climb in bed for the night because there is obviously no need for a shower yourself:) Now you may see why I leave this up to Chris to do... yes, I would much rather clean up the kitchen and then collapse on the couch than even dream of tackling this task. However, this night they were being much too sweet and I had to grab the camera and join in on the fun!

PARKER

PEYTON

Two greased pigs wrestling

I'm not sure if the camera caught it...they looked so much alike here we could have easily picked the wrong kid out. It's weird, some days they look NOTHING alike and some days I have to do a double take!

Peyton is hanging out of the tub:)

Plan B

I am a bit late in getting our Spring Break adventures posted. I am late in getting anything posted for that matter. The first part of the week Chris' mom spent with us. We took the boys to a local park to play....we envisioned the boys playing in the toddler play area...they however, had other things in mind. There is a great little area where you can activate water and it becomes a water play area. Great if you come prepared for water...we did not. This didn't seem to stop the boys as you will see below. Parker is usually our dare devil and up for anything. He had a bad first impression with the water area and didn't quite hop on in as Peyton did. I am looking forward to taking them back this summer! It is so much fun to watch kids this age explore their world and learn how things work. If only you could read what their little minds were thinking!



Parker checking things out....he was done for the day!



Oh, I see how this works...that trickle in the ground turns into this!



Maybe if I just stick my head in a bit....




Great! Now where do I go? How do I get out of here?



Parker thinking..."see I told you this was bad news, now you're stuck and I'm out here!



Peyton... One satisfied little boy:)

Lessons from Pa Pa

Pa Pa (Chris' grandfather) came for a visit one day during Spring Break. I had been after Chris to cut the grass, kill the weeds and make the yard look less ghetto in general:) Looks as if we didn't do it soon enough because we got a nice letter from the home owners association stating that we had purchased a house, not a trailer, and therefor needed to pay closer attention to our surroundings. OK maybe that is a bit exaggerated, err a lot, but a letter was received none the less.

The boys love playing outside and of course what Pa Pa or dad is doing, the boys are doing too. Down on one knee weeding the lawn (yes the lawn, not the garden) was Pa Pa as we did not own anything remotely familiar to lawn equipment...hence the letter. Next thing I knew, the boys were right there beside him taking instructions quite well. It was too cute, I had to run in and grab my camera!


"Now, Parker, make sure you grab it at the bottom so you pull out the roots."


Parker: "Here Ma, a flower just for you!"


Peyton: "Look Ma, a weed!"


Peyton delivering flowers to Grand mommy (Chris' mom)