Getting ready for Fall!

I am SOOOO sad that summer is coming to an end. I could seriously live in summer weather year-round, not that Chris needs ONE more reminder. He hears it almost daily and one day, you will be finding me living in my swimsuit daily!

But since I have to face the fact that I live in the Northeast, I know that fall weather is coming and I'm trying to greet it with some positive energy. I do love to go apple picking, pumpkin picking, playing in leaves, running in the cooler weather, and Halloween.

I also love to keep our little home decorated with some festive touches. First, I bought this little Halloween garland at Homegoods yesterday for five dollars. I had no idea where I wanted to put it but I just thought it was so cute! Well, I found the perfect spot for us in the dining room, what do you think?

Our festive table:

And our entry table with this awesome Halloween tree (Thanks again to my sister Jill for this fabulous find!):

And our end table with decorations that can't be broken (thanks to our two little kiddos!):

I'm going to work on a few crafts as well, thanks to some awesome ideas that I found on Pinterest! I just completed our Halloween wreath and am excited about some other great crafts!

Some brother similiarities...

These brothers definitely have some similiarities.

Both like to sleep with loads of stuff...

And both have some pretty awesome smiles!

Just a post full of pictures...

Living without a phone today-AAHH! I went running this morning and threw my phone down in the bottom pocket of our stroller with other goodies, including my water bottle. Little did I know that my water bottle would leak all over the keypad of the phone making it almost impossible to make calls. So right now it's trying to dry out and I'm phoneless!

In other news, we spent the morning at the park, going for a jog, and catching up on things around the house. So far today, I have cleaned the bathrooms, done two loads of laundry, and cleaned the upstairs...but I feel like there is SO much more to do around here. It must be how it feels with two little kids?? I'm slowly working on getting rid of some of this clutter around here because it's just been driving me nuts lately! And I love how all these charities pick up donations on your doorstep...it makes it so much easier to get rid of things!

I should probably go. Both kids should be napping, but I know that Aiden is not going to! So after he has been resting for about an hour, I guess it's time to get him out of his room to play:) How sad that naptime is diminishing around here????

For all of the grandparents (and other relatives) missing these kiddos!:

Riding the bus! Jen...THANK you so much for this beloved bus. It is in use ALL day long:)

Getting ready to head out on a walk. I wonder if it's strange for him when he isn't riding with his brother in the double?

Look at my little finger painting boy!

Swinging-our daily activity!

So happy to play:)

One of Andrew's favorite toys is this gumball machine!

Getting ready to head on a walk with Happy Feet, the penguin!

This is what happens when you don't strap him in!

Playing with my tractor-Papa Mountain, sorry that it's a CAT but we haven't found a John Deere one at a garage sale yet!

Happy Boy!

Happy Monday!

Oh, the start to the week! Can I say that the weekends go by WAY too fast?

We started off our Monday morning with our first music class! The boys LOVED it:) Aiden got to sing the Itsy Bitsy spider, dance around the room, play with scarves and maracas, and lots more! I am so excited to do this with the boys every Monday morning-it's a great start to our week. Here are the boys before we head off to class:

After we arrived back home, we headed down to a park near our house where we meet a group of moms every Monday morning. I love getting together weekly with these moms while I chase my boys all around the playground. Aiden spent a lot of time eating his lunch today while Andrew just played and played and played. Andrew is CRAZY! He climbs stairs, takes steps, and is FEARLESS:) We finally had to head home after he took a huge face plant in the dirt. It didn't faze him but this mommy wanted to get him home and cleaned! Can you still see the remnants of the park on this sweet boy's face?

Aiden went down first for a nap. I guess that a full morning of music class and the park wore him out. Andrew played and played and played while Andrew slept:) I put Andrew down for his nap, but someone didn't want to sleep quite yet. When I went to lay him back down, he literally ran across the crib away from me...the little rascal.

Finally...the boys are both sleeping, I just finished some old school TaeBo, and am savoring a little Real Housewives before the afternoon madness begins. I think we may head to AC Moore so I can enjoy an awesome sale on some more craft supplies!

Mowing the Lawn...

Someone loves to mow the lawn with his Daddy...

And someone else can't wait for their turn in a couple years!

Our Extra Room...

For those who have seen this room before, this is a HUGE improvement! I love this space now and the kids have a great place to play:) And check out my massive organization on the toy and media shelf:) I hope that Goodwill and the library will enjoy some donations coming their way full of books, dvds, and even some VHS tapes (We are saying good-bye to the VCR after all these years and Jill, I may have some books for you too!)

Loving some summer clearance...

So if you know me at all, you know I'm a deal shopper!!!! I don't surf sales as much as I used to (1. It's not much fun or easy to shop with two little kids. 2. Our little house has NO more space so therefore I don't need anything else!), but while I was out at Target grabbing a few things I just happened to find this cool splash pad for 75 percent off! After debating and debating at the store, I decided to purchase it and boy, am I so glad that I did. It's AWESOME!

Here are some pictures to prove our fun:

Andrew doesn't really like cold splashing water, but he loves our water table!

We're Back!!!!

It's been awhile since we last updated and we have stayed busy, busy, busy!!!!! The main reason that I had to take a short break was because my computer was running out of memory and wouldn't take our camera uploading any more pictures. But now that I have transferred many photos over to a external hard drive, we should be good to go for awhile:)

We have been continuing work on the house. I have redesigned our side room, finally making it into a functional room! And today, an electrician came and has rewired our living room to put in a beautiful ceiling room fan:) I love it!

The boys have been enjoying the beautiful weather with almost daily trips to the park and lots of play dates with friends. We started library story time last week and will be starting a music class and toddler class at the community center within the next few weeks. I can't wait and I'm sure the boys will enjoy too!

I have several posts for this week so keep reading:) Off to enjoy some premiere episodes of television as all the shows are starting up again...

Life with our two year old...

Here are some snippets of life with Aiden! He is busy, busy, and busy:) We love him so much!

Happy 9 Months Andrew!

Our little bug, Andrew, turned 9 months on August 28th!!! Time is truly flying...

• We spent 10 days of this month visiting Chris' family and several friends back in Iowa. Andrew got to meet many of his relatives for his first time and was a great traveler, despite the fact that he liked to wake up all throughout the night! He was ONE wiggle worm on the plane, but we managed to make it through two full days of traveling. While we were in Iowa, Andrew attended his first state fair, rode a horse, and got lots and lots of love from many people.
• We are heading to Andrew's 9 month appointment this week so we will see how much he has grown. I have a feeling that he is finally going to pass his brother's comparison height and weight at 9 months!
• Andrew continues to nap twice throughout the day. Usually for about an hour in the morning and about 2 hours in the afternoon. I cherish any day that I can get double naps in, even if that time is only a few short minutes! Andrew LOVES when Aiden is sleeping at his naptime and has all of the toys to himself. He just plays and plays and plays.
• Andrew is FINALLY sleeping through the night. After we arrived back from Iowa, we had a couple nights of letting Andrew cry a little more and voila, he is finally starting to give us an almost full night's of rest. Although, at this very moment, Andrew is teething/experiencing a little upset stomach/etc., which is causing him to wake up here and there again! Oh, babies are so unpredictable!
• Andrew loves to watch and watch and watch. He watches his brother all day long. Andrew is quiet, often he only babbles when he is the only child around:)
• Andrew is ONE active little bug. Believe it or not, we have seen Andrew take a few steps here and there, but nothing consistent yet! He can stand on his own for several seconds and most of the time, you will see him cruising around the furniture. He goes from the couch to the table to the chair, etc, etc, etc. He is always moving, often to look for his mommy or to find Aiden!
• We finally, finally got his first tooth. I have been waiting for months to find it and then one day Chris was looking in his mouth and discovered the oncoming tooth before me...so not fair!
• Andrew LOVES LOVES LOVES fruit (especially peaches and blueberries), puffs, yogurt melts, and little crunchies. He will NOT eat anything pureed, including applesauce and oatmeal. I just packed up any leftover baby food we have to give to another friend because it won't be eaten in this house! He loves to drink water out of his sippy and makes ONE big mess during mealtime.
• At the end of this month, I have transitioned Andrew to almost completely formula. Andrew is a really distracted eater, I can barely get his bottles down him, which made it very difficult to nurse him. Therefore, for my own sanity and for his nutrition, we have decided to make the switch. So far, he seems to be doing well as we are fading over to bottles and formula.
• Andrew HATES the bath more than any child I have ever seen. I have tried sitting in there with him, filling the tub with more/less water, playing with toys, etc. He just does not like it. I can't figure out how to solve the issue but I'm hoping it will resolve soon. It's my least favorite time of day, especially with the two boys and often doing it on my own.
• Andrew gets lots of playtime-we play outside daily where he enjoys rides in the car, swinging, cruising at the park, and playing in the playhouse. He loves to play with cars and trucks, look at books, watch his big brother, and much more!

We love you Baby Andrew!

Doesn't this face make you want to cry too?

Maybe he is crying because I dressed him in these big blue polka dot pajamas?!?!?!

Pictures of the boys...

Playing with each other
Andrew loves the bus too!
I think I hear the choo-choo!
SMILE
Someone loves when his brother is sleeping so he has all the toys to himself!
Playing some music with his Sesame Street music player:)
Getting ready to head out on a walk
Just hanging around the house
Hello, Hello, Is anybody there?
Going for a ride in the dump truck:)

My Little Fashion Man...

It has been quite a whirlwind in this household the past few weeks. Someone is really interested in clothes, clothes, and clothes:) Aiden has decided that getting dressed is one of his favorite things to do...and chooses to do it at least five times a day:) Let's just say that I find Aiden's clothes all around the house throughout the day. I am trying to embrace the independence and let my patience take over when I end up picking up a shirt for the tenth time before 10 am. The other day when he wanted to change again for the second time at 8 am after walking the dogs, I discussed how we could have one outfit for the morning and one for the afternoon. He looks at me straight in the eyes and says, "But Mommy this is my walking shirt. Now I need my play shirt on." How could I argue with that logical reasoning?

I am proud of our boy as at least 80 percent of the time, he can get himself completely dressed with his underwear on in the right direction, shorts/pants on correctly, and the shirt is got the design on the front. He often likes to accessorize with shoes, socks, and hats! He wears a diaper for naps and night time and even will put that on correctly by himself. I guess it's time to phase those out soon!

Sometimes, when he goes in his room for nap, I hear him rumbling through his closet. When I walk in to get him at the end of nap, he is wearing layers of shirts and sweaters are piled at the end of his bed! Again, patience, patience, patience for this very organized mommy:)

Here are a few pictures of the many outfits of the week:

Surfer shirt, shorts with puppies on them, and his Santa slippers!

Thomas hat, blue polo shirt on backwards, jeans, socks, and his Crocs! (I know...a fashion no-no at two years old!)

Striped polo shirt, overalls, and Santa slippers!

I can tell you that some of his favorite things to wear right now are pants/shorts with pockets (his absolute favorites are his jean shorts), polo shirts with buttons, his baseball Life Is Good shirt and his soccer shirt, his Santa slippers, baseball hats, his moose shirt, train socks, and his flip-flops (that are too big hand-me-downs which can make for some long walks when they keep popping off).

Now, I'm off to go wake him up and get him dressed again for a BBQ tonight. I wonder what he wants to wear?!?!?