Cookie Fever

Sweet day of pool, Farmers Market and family dinner. Sidenote: WHY is baby Coles' neck so intoxicating when he has sunscreen on. Sidenote 2: Baby Noah has froggy swim trunks with a matching hoodie froggy shirt. PLEASE people. I can only take so much cuteness.

While Fin and Pat where out getting their "snacks" for the week from the grocery store I surprised them with homemade cookies.

While I was making them I offered Cole a spoonful of cookie dough. He shook his head vehemently and ran off. I mean, that's just foolish. So I chased him down and shoved the cookie dough in his mouth and his whole world changed. He swallowed and immediately looked at me with those baby blues and said, "MORE?" so sweetly. Yes my son, that is what heaven would taste like.

Cookie face

Down on the Farm

We had the BEST day yesterday. Jamie took us to her parents farm which is basically heaven on earth with lots of animals to feed, baby chicks to hold and the most beautiful country house with a playroom full of toys. Seriously, that house made me want to take a nap as soon as I walked in, which is the highest compliment I can give. It was just so airy and cool.

The kids took turns on the tire swing which made them look so big to me!

Fin bonding with the goats. He Looooved the animals. I thought Cole would be more daring but he was content to sit on my hip and touch everything with one little finger.

Feeding the Goats. Lesson from Jamie: Goats are gentle but dumb as rocks.

Coming face to face with Mr. Ed.

My flower child. Cole's favorite part was picking wildflowers.

Cole was so taken with the roosters and chickens. He kept staring them down and everytime they crowed he looked at me with huge eyes and said, "WHOA" so solemnly. It was too cute. Poor Zeke tried to get up close and personal with them and a rooster bit the tip of his finger. Lesson: Fingers look like worms.

Jamie was so sweet and took Fin back to the nests to gather eggs. He told me before naps that his favorite part of the day was, "Picking eggs with Ms. Jamie except that weird black cow horse kept looking at me kinda funny and it was making me nervous". It was just a little black pony but that cracked me up.

Farm boys heading in from working in the fields all morning. I can dream can't I?

Love.This.

When the kids were thoroughly hot and sweaty, we ate fresh eggs, honey toast and watermelon. Then when things started looking like this:

we headed home. AND I slept 2 1/2 hours (whoops!), Fin slept 3, and Cole slept 3 1/2 hours for naps. So basically it was the best day ever. Can't wait to go back...maybe without kids...and I'll just take a nap on the sunroom porch. That wouldn't be weird at all.

Chill Night

Tonight was such a relaxing fun night as a family. One that's insignificant but oh, so significant because it was so...joy filled.

Pat and I got to go out and play tennis and grab a bite to eat while Aunt Kier watched the boys and bathed them. Pat beat me 2-1 games but anytime I can take a game off of him I'm pretty psyched. And I only threw my racket twice. I wish I was kidding :o) But I never threw it at him so that counts for something! Tennis makes me so happy and competitive at the same time.

Afterwards we ate at a local pub.

When we got back, the boys were soo happy to see us which my heart loves. Fin started playing a Mickey Mouse preschool game on the ipad. As soon as Cole heard Mickey's voice he ran up and started kissing the screen. It was so cute. Finley was dying laughing and the whole interaction was so adorable.

Can you handle the cutest of this face??

Before bed, we walked down in jammies to Jamie and Davids to borrow 'Peter Pan' AND 'Little Mermaid', neither of which the boys have seen. Yes the Disney Vault exists and yes I believe it is secretly existing at their house. They have every Disney movie and I'm SOO excited to watch 'The Little Mermaid' tomorrow.

So pumped tomorrows a holiday and we get an extra day with Pat...and I get to sleep in till 7:30 in the morning while Pat gets up with the boys. Doesn't take much to make me happy.

Keeping on my toes

Ok everyone thinks their kids are cute. And they are. But mine aren't just cute, they are funny. There is not a day that goes by that they don't suprise me with what comes out of their mouths. A few gems lately...

-We've had a problem with Fin getting out of bed after we put him down. We put him to bed, remind him not to get out, and without fail we hear his door creak open sometime in the next half hour. He always comes out with a nervous smile on his face and then immediately launches into his speech that he says everytime..."Guys, I KNOW I'm not supposed to get out of bed. I know that. It's just that..." Fill in blank with "my neck itches", "I might need to poop", "You didn't give me enough milk at dinner time", or his uncreative "I feel sick" which we now respond to saying unless he's throwing up everywhere, he needs to stay in bed. We're so sympathetic. Let it be known also that while I launch into my bad cop/strict parent routine, Pat usually is sitting next to me with arms open inviting him to snuggle until the next commercial. Softie.

-The other night I was putting Fin to bed and since I knew he might get out, I told him to stay in bed and that we would be out in the backyard by the fire pit with our next door neighbors. I just didn't want him to freak out if he came out and thought his parents were gone. Fin immediately got SUCH a hurt look on his face and said, "Why are you doing this? Why are you having a fire party without me? I just want us to be a family together!".
Dramatic much? My son much?

-Cole pooped on our carpet today right before bathtime (I know totally gross) (also why I don't feel a need for a dog). He came up to me with the guiltiest look on his face and said, "I poop" I asked him if he pooped and he said again, "I poop. NO NO" in a stern voice like he was correcting himself. I went to see the damage and exclaimed, "O gross Cole!!" not knowing that he was right behind me and he responded in this high pitch southern belle sounding voice, "I knooooow". What a goober. I see potty training coming soon. Fin was trained at 18 months and I feel behind the eight ball with Cole being 20 months.

-I showed Fin a picture of himself bowling on my iphone and he's said, "Wow that's hot! Mom, do you know what hot means? It means really cool". I'm 27 and my son is schooling me on coolness. This day came too soon.

-Fin is obsessed with wearing his superman cape most places these days. The other day he was outside with Pat when he ran in distressed. "Mom this is SO embarrassing. My cape just came off and now everyone knows who I really am". Love. Him.

-Sweet Moment: The boys fell asleep together in the car and I loved my little buddies together.

Roll em' out

Friday night Pat and I took Will and Fin bowling on Hillsborough Street. Will got to go b/c it was a belated birthday gift (sorry Will) so we kept telling him "Happy Birthday" the whole night to make ourselves feel better. Fin got to go as a reward for not fussing when he had to poop. Two very valid reasons to go bowling :o)

Sarah met us out there and it was a fun night. Pretty much you could have just put bowling shoes on Fin and he would have been happy. He danced and slid and break danced his way around that bowling alley, especially when Michael Jackson songs came on. Too funny.

The first launch of the bowling ball.

Celebrating knocking some pins down.

You just ooze coolness when you're at a bowling alley. Didn't you know?

Only my husband can spin a bowling ball on his finger. Or even think of trying that. His talents never cease to amaze and amuse me.

So Fin loooved bowling, until he noticed the arcade games. Three heads are better then one when dealing with those tricksters.

Pat and I snuck a pic while the others were away playing arcade games.

Also, I dedicate this post to the bowling alley employee who will never read this. He was SO nice and cheerful and kind to Fin and in my experiance, bowling alley employees usually hate their lives and go out of their way to be apathetic and rude. It was a refreshing suprise. And let's be honest, in a stale bowling alley, anything refreshing is hard to come by :o)

Today...

* We put stale tortilla chips on the porch and ran inside to wait for squirrels to come. Then we giggled as they ate them so daintily with there little paws and chased them away to be able to put more chips out.

*We met Anna and Cait for our annual doughnut send off before they left to work at camp this summer. Notice our little buddy Zeke came along. He's the cutest.

*The boys stole Anna and Caits phones and furiously pushed buttons until they were taken back. This is why my boys will never own those little video games.

*We had a great family rainy night. Pat and Fin went to get icecream, Cole and I went to get a cupcake and we met back for nakey jumping time (the boys, not use:o). Pat lately has been putting on the Lion King music and lifting the boys up like they're Simba so they can touch the ceiling. It is so funny to me and the boys loooove it.

* Was a great day.

Happenings

Randomness around our house these day...

I organized my closet and Fin decided he blended in nicely with the shirts and dresses.

This is the most common sighting with these two. They LOVE each other and sometimes love hurts, especially when Annie is hugging his neck while he's trying to run away :o)

3 stooges playing in peace. This was a moment worth recording!

Found this vase at a thrift store for 3 bucks! Love it. Sunflowers from Pat for Mothers day.

Cole worn out from Sunday School. Half of me dies from cuteness, half of me has a knot in my stomach praying this doesn't mean he'll skip his nap today.

I planted 2 hydrangea bushes on our 5 anniversary and they are blooming and gorgeous! My favorite flower. Love it.

Mother's Day

So very grateful on this day.

Grateful for these sweet boys.

That God has given them to ME. That my dreams have come true by having them and Pat. That they are healthy, and loving, and fun loving, and friends.

That God has allowed Pat to be able to provide for us so I can stay at home with them.

That I can be there for the everyday nitty gritty.

That we can do fun things together and I can see the world through their eyes.

Today on this Mothers Day, I'm so very thankful. And for those women that are waiting, and not moms yet, I prayed for you today.

Thank you God.

Happy Mother's Day.

 

Oh Cole

Cole is hilarious. He is a messy, bipolar, flirty clown of a toddler and chasing him all day is both exhausting and hilarious. I love him more everyday and he cracks me, Pat and Fin up on a daily basis.

Cole is really into cars lately and will play with them by the hour. Or throw them in between the porch rails. Whichever strikes his fancy.

Cole looooves the dogs next door. And his blankie. He can be found like this whenever he's outside. Slightly creepy but definetely cute stalker.

I kid you not, the child wore this bucket on his head running around for about twenty minutes today. He kept beaming, "Hat, Hat". He couldn't see a darn thing but didn't keep him from trying to run away down the sidewalk or scootering. He's so multi-talented.

Dinner time is always followed by bath time. I'm sure you can guess why.

I figured since his hair (and entire body) was already caked in spaghetti, I might as well add icecream sandwhich into the mix. He didn't disagree.

Love this boy...cuddles and tantrums included.

Ballers be Ballin'

The joke of our getaway weekend was, "We are serious Ballers". By ballers we meant, "look at us, out on the town past 8pm, sitting at this table without a highchair, without a stroller or a care in the world". We were high-rollers, and we were very aware of our coolness.

Friday night after our Canopy Tour we ate at this awesome restaurant that overlooked the city.

We loved that our hotel was in the middle of the city so we could walk everywhere and there were a million restaurants to choose from.

While we were away, the boys were having a blast and my parents were kind enough to send texts of them to us throughout the weekend.

Here's Coley pink cheeked at Pullen Park.

Someones too big for this boat.

Cole raising the roof because mom and dad are gone.

Saturday night we got to meet up with my best friend Jenni and her husband. This was a highlight for me to get to spend time with them. We LOVE them and had such a good time catching up at a cute little restaurant. Then, because Jenni gets me, they took us to an awesome French bakery for a little late night deliciousness.

Love this girl. So grateful for our frienship over the years. And to think it all began over a little movie called 'Finding Nemo'.

One of the sweetest things of the weekend was as we were dropping the boys off and I was teary eyed, my dad picked a rose for me from my moms garden and told me to go enjoy myself and relax. So I kept that little rose and put it in a little vase in our hotel room and I loved it.

Now it's back to life, back to reality and I couldn't be happier. My chicks are back in the nest, the laundry is coming out of my ears and there are ants on my counter. Life as I love it...minus the laundry and ants.

Swinging from the Tree Tops

This weekend Pat and I left the boys for the first time and took a little weekend trip to Charlotte. Why Charlotte? Well, if I had to go anywhere further then 3 hours away from the boys, I probably would have had a full blown panic attack. Also, I heard about a place there where we could go on Canopy Tours which has been on my Bucket List of things to do.

We dropped off the boys early Friday morning, I shed a few tears, reminded myself that hello my mom raised 7 kids and they'll be fine, and Pat and I headed out. We giddily stopped at a Cracker Barrel on the way and ate at a table with no highchairs. We're crazy like that.

The day was GORGEOUS and the whitewater rafting center was so cool. We spent some time just walking around.

Let me tell you, until you spend your days chasing after nutso boys, you will never fully appreciate just sitting in the sun with your husband and having a leisurely conversation.

Soon it was time to suit up with these sexy helmets.

And these form fitting harnesses. 4 hours staring at this sexy wedgie, amen.

How amazing is this zipline? Such a rush.

Along with ziplining 60 feet up, we also got to repel and climb rope bridges. It was so fun to be so active.

These rope bridges...Scary? Yes, but doable. If your husband makes it rock back and forth while you're hanging on for dear life? Not doable. So much for bonding time...I kept threatening him to remember who he was going home with at the end of the night.

3 hours in....sexy wedgie still going strong.

Oh, hey Tarzan.

No one told me about the 50 ft. free fall at the end. Pat caught my face right before I had to jump.

We survived! And had a blast.