8/26 - wrestling and downtown Montgomery

We haven't done anything too significant over the past week or so. We've enjoyed the weather a couple days a week when we've gotten home from daycare/work. Here are the boys playing in the backyard while Brad relaxes in our broken hammock. I mowed the front yard the other day and it took me a solid 45 minutes. Brad mowed the backyard the day after and it took him almost 2 hours to mow the back. We have a huge yard and feel compelled to be out there using it!

Here is Eli showing me his puppy. He's been carrying this around lately and taking care of it. In fact, one of the most popular game he and Aiden play is "puppy." Usually Eli is the puppy and Aiden is the owner. It's too funny.

Eli entertained himself the other day by putting coins into a bottle and then dumping them out and doing it again. He did this on and off all day.

Aiden asked Eli to wrestle with him so this is what Eli decided he would do: step on Aiden. They were both having a great time.

Because Aiden is so sensitive, we have to monitor the wrestling closely but it's good to see them play like this and for Aiden to actually have some fun.

Aiden really wanted to make a silly face for the camera so this is what he gave me. What a crazy boy.

He then had the bright idea to jump over Eli and on to the bean bag. Eli followed Aiden's instructions but I was too scared Aiden would jump on Eli so Brad came over and held onto Aiden's hand the first time.

They both thought it was awesome and then Aiden tried it without holding on to Brad's hand (and made it successfully). Eli really wanted to try it when he saw Aiden having so much fun. While Eli has learned to jump much earlier than Aiden, I wasn't exactly sure he would be able to jump over him.

Needless to say, I had Brad hold on to Eli's hand and he did a huge jump. I was shocked. He tried it again and fell on Aiden but Aiden didn't even cry.

Eli got one final jump and he made it by himself. Aiden was smart though and put his hands/arms up just in case Eli didn't make it.

Aiden found his flight suit the other day and wanted to put it on a look just like daddy. It was too cute. It was way too hot for him to wear it all day but he wore it in the house for a few hours.

On Saturday morning, we headed downtown for the first time in Montgomery. There were dragon boat races and we thought we'd check it out. Here are the boys walking down the riverfront to where everything was happening.

The had a huge kid area set up with almost a half dozen bounce houses and the splash pad. Eli and Brad headed straight for the splash pad. Aiden wondered around for a bit and then found a bounce house he wanted to go in. We had to wait in line and then Aiden gets in and climbs straight for the steps which lead to the slide which leads to ... standing in line again. It only took him one time to realize he needs to stay in there a jump a bit before he goes up the steps.

We waited a long time in line for Aiden to go on this slip and slide thing. He got up there finally and hated it. He didn't want to be sprayed with water and I actually had to go pick him up from the middle of the slide because he wouldn't continue.

In the meantime, Eli was having a blast running through the water and getting all wet. It was pretty hot out and I was wishing I could run through the splash pad.

Eli was literally running circles around the places and just having himself a blast and laughing. He would come over and check in with Brad or I every few minutes but he was content to be by himself.

We eventually convinced Aiden to actually get wet in the splash pad. He did and tried to act like he was enjoying it but he wasn't really.

We finally got wet Eli in the stroller and waited in a short line so Aiden could hit a baseball at one of the inflatables.

He got three swings and was rocking it by the 3rd swing. He did great. Brad and I were both surprised because he didn't even really know how to swing a bat before Brad showed him for this.

We found a place on a ledge to try and watch some of the boat races. The boys didn't really care about the boats since there was so much stuff there to do for them. Here is Eli relaxing while Aiden and daddy went to go explore for a bit.

Eli just cracks me up. He's usually in such a good mood and just loves life.

You can see the water in the background, over the dozens of tents that were in the grass for all the rowers. We had a snack up here and just relaxed for a bit.

On Saturday night we went to a sunday school gathering. We are still working our way in to the sunday school class. They all know each other from high school and such so it's hard feel part of a group when you don't know many people and they know each other so well. We went to church this morning and are going back in a little bit so I can do a practice Awana meeting. Brad is off at a school class meeting but will come pick the boys up and take them to a special dinner tonight with him.

Brad has his first test this week. I've been pretty sick over the last week and haven't done much. I'm praying for a turnaround and to get healthy very soon.

8/20 - Church outreach

Last Saturday we had our first outreach with our new church. We met at the local park (Brad walked there while I dropped the boys off at the church) and did an afternoon cookout and games. I also had pink eye but wore sunglasses most of the time so no one knew so if I look a little funny in the picture, that may be why.

We finally got to meet the pastor of our church and also got to know some of the other members. We had a few families come down and visit at the park. At about the halfway point, Brad went to go pick up the boys since it was kind of slow and I could handle our station by myself (we were in charge of games). The boys had a great time. Here they are drawing with sidewalk chalk.

They tried to participate in the games and relays we were having but the egg on the spoon was a little too tough for them. There was one family that came and they had 10 children (and 2 parents). The kids were all so sweet and cooperative. It was fun to play games with them.

I eventually went to the house and got the boys' bikes so they could ride around. Here is Aiden taking a break from riding his bike to eat some popcorn.

Eli had a snow cone but as you can see, was having some issues. Neither boy napped that day and I wasn't sure how long Eli would hang in there. He had a few minor meltdowns but did pretty well. He is upset here because he spilled some of the melted snow cone out of his cup by accident. Overall, I think the church outreach was a success and am hoping to see one of the families that we saw at picnic come to church soon.

I let the boys decide what to do last week when they stayed home with me for a day. Here is what they planned for us:

They decided on eat breakfast, play on the iPad, play trains/cars, go to Pump It Up, nap, mommy exercise time and then bikes. What a day we had planned. They actually switched things up a little and played trains first. We got out the track and I let them set it up in the kitchen (which is a huge treat) and they had a blast. 

They then got to take turns playing on the iPad. They love that thing. I'm always curious to see what they are in the mood to play. Most recently, monster truck racing has been a big hit. Eli likes to make letters and Aiden likes to do matching games and a drawing game. They both enjoy this game where you have to find the right shape and drag it to the picture and match it up. Here is Aiden playing while Eli watches on. They are so cute together.

We finally headed to Pump It Up. Eli is on the far left in the picture below and Aiden is on the right. They were doing the obstacle course and having quite a fun time. We  played pretty hard and I was even sweating at one point.

Here are the boys getting ready to do some crafts and cut some paper. They love just cutting paper up into small pieces and then gluing them together. Amazing what can keep them occupied for a while.

Aiden and I were sick this past weekend and stayed home from church on Sunday. By the late afternoon, Aiden was feeling significantly better so we went out to eat to get out of the house. He had a major meltdown at the restaurant because his ears hurt so bad but we eventually got past that. Aiden still has a bit of a cough and Eli has a runny nose but other than that, they are doing well. I'm still feeling like garbage but thankfully Brad hasn't gotten it so far.

Last week was a shock to both Brad and I as he finally returned to school full-time. Being married to someone in school is no fun. The poor man is gone all day and then comes home and has to start reading right away for all his classes tomorrow. I try and find stuff to do quietly in the evening but eventually he goes to the bedroom so I can watch tv for a little bit.

8/11 - A trip to Home Depot

Last weekend we went to Home Depot on Saturday morning to do their kids workshop. The boys built cork boards and had fun. They even gave out gummy snacks and capri suns at this Home Depot. I worked with Aiden. Here he is hammering in a nail.

Eli did a good job too. Once Brad got the nail started, Eli had enough strength to bang it in. 

Here they are showing us their final product. We then roamed around Home Depot for a good hour just letting the boys play.

The boys always enjoy playing on the tractors and riding lawn mowers. 

Aiden decided to play with the K'Nex stuff the other day and he actually took apart an entire car (which took me about 30 minutes to build). 

While Aiden took a car apart, Eli was just randomly playing with the pieces like they were jets or helicopters.  

I just laminated some maze activity sheets this week. Mazes are great for their fine motor skills and learning to stay in the lines. Aiden still holds the marker wrong but he's really good at mazes. He has the ability to look ahead and see where he's going and figure things out. He had lots of fun with the new mazes I printed. 

In the meantime, Eli brought me a pocket full of rocks home from daycare one day last week. He's carried them around for the past couple days which just cracks me up. He even had me write names or letters on some of the blocks. Speaking of letters, Eli knows how to spell his name now. Ms. Erica, his daycare teacher, has been working with him. He gets so excited about it. 

We got out the tunnels the other day and filled our living room and sitting room with them. The boys had a blast and it was great that we had enough room to use them all. We kept them up all day and the boys camped in them and even played hide-and-go-seek in them.  

Eli was cracking me up because he kept putting on this hat and it was crooked. He looked like a little gangster.  

Brad has started school full-time now and I'm in the process of trying to figure out why I'm so exhausted all the time. I'm had more blood drawn over the past 1.5 weeks than I have over the past year! I'm just praying the lab results can actually tell the dr what is wrong now. I'm also preparing for my fall on-line teaching classes. Last weekend we went to Home Depot on Saturday morning to do their kids workshop. The boys built cork boards and had fun. They even gave out gummy snacks and capri suns at this Home Depot. I worked with Aiden. Here he is hammering in a nail.

Eli did a good job too. Once Brad got the nail started, Eli had enough strength to bang it in. 

Here they are showing us their final product. We then roamed around Home Depot for a good hour just letting the boys play.

The boys always enjoy playing on the tractors and riding lawn mowers. 

Aiden decided to play with the K'Nex stuff the other day and he actually took apart an entire car (which took me about 30 minutes to build). 

While Aiden took a car apart, Eli was just randomly playing with the pieces like they were jets or helicopters.  

I just laminated some maze activity sheets this week. Mazes are great for their fine motor skills and learning to stay in the lines. Aiden still holds the marker wrong but he's really good at mazes. He has the ability to look ahead and see where he's going and figure things out. He had lots of fun with the new mazes I printed. 

In the meantime, Eli brought me a pocket full of rocks home from daycare one day last week. He's carried them around for the past couple days which just cracks me up. He even had me write names or letters on some of the blocks. Speaking of letters, Eli knows how to spell his name now. Ms. Erica, his daycare teacher, has been working with him. He gets so excited about it. 

We got out the tunnels the other day and filled our living room and sitting room with them. The boys had a blast and it was great that we had enough room to use them all. We kept them up all day and the boys camped in them and even played hide-and-go-seek in them.  

Eli was cracking me up because he kept putting on this hat and it was crooked. He looked like a little gangster.  

Brad has started school full-time now and I'm in the process of trying to figure out why I'm so exhausted all the time. I'm had more blood drawn over the past 1.5 weeks than I have over the past year! I'm just praying the lab results can actually tell the dr what is wrong now. I'm also preparing for my fall on-line teaching classes.