I love that out of anywhere to sit, my little ragamuffins choose to be right next to each other. 

Emmett is even included sometimes.

It must be because he is so ridiculously adorable. (Side note: I am writing this almost a month and a half after this picture was taken.  He looks so different now.  I can't believe how much Em has changed in that short time!)

Here are my kids in pajamas, again.  Doing who the heck knows what, again.  My filthy floor, again.  Crap all over the place, again.  And a half eaten apple on the sofa, that one's new.

Again, crazy how much has changed in a month, because this doesn't happen much anymore, but when Em first started getting himself around on the floor, he'd always get stuck on the entertainment center.  Didn't matter which way he was going, if he hit it, he'd keep trying to roll over into it, bonking his head over and over and making himself cry.  He's figured it out now.  But still kind of funny.

Not Erik's best picture, but Emmett is so so cute, smooshy cheeks, grabbing the fat foot.  I know I'm obnoxious, but I'm his mom, so I can be.

Team work.

Bigfoot!!  Sam drew this on our sidewalk and driveway one evening.  A big huge scary Bigfoot right in front of where Dad parks his car!  Then he called Erik and told him, "Dad, there's a Bigfoot at our house!  He has lots of sharp teeth and razor sharp claws.  You need to be so careful when you get home and watch out for him!"

I had to take Emmett in for nurse visit to get a couple boosters, and Sam still needed two of his Kindergarden shots.  Two birds, one stone.  Sam was not excited.  He was putting on a pretty brave front, though.  Until the nurse came in and it was time to go.  I had to drag him kicking and screaming out from under a chair, have the nurse's help to lug him onto the table, then literally lie across his upper body to pin him down.  It was ridiculous.  Mean mom that I am, I made sure to point out that his baby brother cried for 3 seconds, then stopped as soon as I picked him up.  That night, Sam was all tough again and proudly displayed his badges of honor.  Getting ready for bathtime, I had to get a photo of the matching thighs.  I think Sam's might almost be as big around as Em's.

The Olders thought it was be hilarious to put their hats on the Youngest.  Watching all three interact, laughing, enjoying each other.  One of my favorite things for sure.

Jumbo Bumbo.

Samuel has been riding his little bike for about 10 months now without training wheels.  We all got a bit tired of the tires popping and the chain always falling off, and decided it was time to get him a bike that fit much better than the 10".  Why does my baby have to become such a big kid so fast?

Ok, so here are a few other things from January . . . the long, cold, boring month of January.  Thank goodness it's over.  And that I'm finally documenting it 3 weeks later. 

Sofa cushion mountains/forts are one of the boys' favorite things to do.

Lots of play dates with friends to keep us busy.

Rockin' a killer outfit. 

Chubbs helping with the laundry.

Owen making sure Em was sufficiently entertained.

Potty training!!!  I'm not sure what O is showing you . . . probably the number of times he peed on the floor that day.

A little bit more snow.  He was "building a fortress to proctect us from the trolls."

Sam helping me make dinner.  I was whining about how much I hate cutting onions.  Samuel saved the day with his matter-of-fact solution, "We just need our sunglasses on!"

Six weeks in.  This is our life.  And we are still adjusting.  To say the least.  I feel like I should have the hang of it by now.  I definitely don't.

Over the summer I got so used to doing posts about all the things we DID.  Well, we aren't really DOING anything these days.  These long, never-ending, tedious and tiring days.  Yeesh!  

But I still take pictures.  And have to blog them.  So here they are.

I set down the little chub monster for a minute, and was surprised to come back and find him asleep.  He's cute.

Samuel is a very kind and attentive older brother.  He loves doting on Em, and he is great at teaching O a thing of two.  Like how to turn anything into the drums.

Finally got some chubby smiles on camera.

Samuel has been fascinated by climbing trees for a long time.  He has expressed often how disappointing it is that we don't have any climbing trees in our backyard.  One afternoon, he came running inside bubbling over, "Mom, Mom!!!  I finally learned to climb one of our trees!!  Hurry, you got to come see.  But first, I need to get some protection for my eyes.  It's very dangerous work to climb trees."

Owen loves to "cuh-der."  This day, he was seemingly inspired by my spray painting mat on the driveway.

I love those smooshy cheeks.

Chubalubs still hurts a lot.  He has good days and very very bad days.  Erik is good at calming him down and comforting his bubbly little tummy.  But you can still tell he hurts.

Did I mention he's chubby?  Scrumdiddlyumptious.

In March . . .

Sam got a nasty virus.  He fell asleep on the sofa.  He hasn’t done that since he was a baby.

Just chillin’ during movie time.  I love this little handsome.

These boys are crazy about their dad.  They love to watch for him to come home.

I adore this cutie pie.  And his crossed ankles.

We made banana bread.  The boys devoured it.  I was doing dishes and turned around to see this.  They’re such good buddies.  They make me smile.

Snack time.  Marshmallow Cocoroos and a banana.  On the sofa.  While watching tv.  I’m such a good mom.

I sat at the kitchen table trying to make it through by holding my head up, chin in hand.  Owen thought he would give it a try.  Erik took a picture.  Sam, not to be left out, “How about me, I can do it, too!

Breakfast one morning.  Frosted Flakes from the box.  On the sofa.  While watching TV.  I’m awesome.

And one night I made them (ALL of them, so I could puke in peace for 15 minutes) go out in 8 degrees to get me a mint oreo ice cream.

It’s kind of been a rough month.  Bleh.  Good thing I’ve got a trooper and a champ for sons, and a patient forgiving husband.  They’re my heroes.

March was loooooong.  All year it’s been like “What?!  January already?  Where’d January go, how is it February so fast?  Holy crap, we are already to March?”  And then time slowed down and we drudged slowly through March.  Long long March.  I am just sitting here finally going through my pictures and getting them onto my computer.  So here is pretty much what happened in March, the longest month known to man.

Owen has worked on his mobility skills.

Samuel still needs to work on his patience skills.

I made shower invitations for one of my most favorite people.  I am counting down the days until the shower.  Two Hoots for Heather!  So excited. 

Sam finished round 4 of his gymnastics class.  That deserves it’s own post.

The boys have been a huge help around the house.

Sam had his first theater experience with his Dad: How to Train Your Dragon.  Later, Samuel and I made a castle for him to play in with his dragons.  And he refused to take his gymnastics shirt off for days.

Owen might have gotten a little bit cuter.

Samuel might have gotten a little bit cuter, too.

Today I got up at 6:30.

Today I went upstairs to brush my teeth.  When I came back down 3 minutes later, Sam was completely naked and hitting Owen on the head with a balloon.  Owen was laughing hysterically.

Today Samuel also pushed Owen over, stole his toys, poked him in the eyes, and gagged him with a spatula.

Today on our drive through the canyon we pulled over and got out of the car to watch a flock of about 50 turkeys.  In Samuel’s mind, this translated to chasing turkeys in Candyland.

Today when I brought Sam a monster truck, per request, he said, “Not this monster truck, the SMALLER monster truck!”

Today Samuel told me while he was playing zoo, “My antelope needs a tree.  Build it Mommy, my antelope needs stand on his hind legs and eat the leaves.”

Today Owen did the Hot Dog dance.

Today Owen ate 17 ounces in less than 7 hours.  I think Sam might have eaten that much one week.

Today I cleaned my kitchen to a spotless shine.  I had to run the dishwasher 3 times.  I was washing pans and couldn’t even remember back to what I had cooked in them.

Today Samuel and I had a “picnic” on the floor of his room and went to the “park” while Owen napped.  Really, we ate crackers on his blanket and hid in his closets.

Today I am 182% fully completely totally utterly exhausted.

Today I have a good day.

Since my posts haven’t been very substantial {lately} and I do actually have a few pictures, this is what we’ve been up to {lately}.

• Sam thinks he can get away with anything if he’s cute enough.

• After failing my standard glucose test, I had to spend a whole morning at the hospital taking a 3 hour glucose test.  I had to arrive fasting for the last 12 hours, take an initial blood sample, drink a nasty nasty drink (way sicker than the 1 hour drink), and give another sample each hour over the next 3 hours.  Oodles of fun.  My arms looked like this that night.  I should’ve taken a picture the next day.  (Oh, and ps, passed this test with flying colors, which made the nurse wonder why I had failed the first one so poorly.  Turns out it was because I had a cold.  You’d think they’d consider giving out that info BEFOREHAND.  Idiots.  I was ticked.)

• April Fools Day BUH.LIZZ.ARD.  Sam wanted to make snowflakes.  He had a blast pretending like he was actually doing something, and helping hang them in the window.  There were several more.  Unfortunately there was a fatal “BIIIIIG CRASH” involving Mac, Lightning, and all snowflakes within Samuel’s reach.

• Samuel’s been fascinated with rainbows.  I think it started with practicing his colors a bunch.  He’s reading lots about rainbows and seen them in a few shows.  One evening there was a REAL rainbow outside, and Sam went bonkers over getting to see it.  It was freezing and so windy outside, so I didn’t let Sam stay long.  Back inside, he cried and whined the rest of the night about wanting to “Go outside, see rainbow.”

• Outings are our favorite.  I can run a few errands almost peacefully if I promise a pretzel and drink afterwards.  (See Sam’s shirt?  When I put it on him that morning he said, “Oh, Samuel’s shirt like Daaaaaddy!”  Yes, have you seen what Erik wears every day to work?  Sam was right on.  Cute.)

• Randomly one morning, Sam climbed up onto the table with his tub of micro machines.  He dumped the whole thing onto his highchair, climbed in, and entertained himself for . . . MINUTES, at least!

• Our dishwasher broke.  Good thing Erik can do anything.  Especially with his little helper.

• We had a fun Saturday trip to the aquarium.  Yeah, an aquarium in the middle of Utah isn’t particularly spectacular, but we still had a good time.  Sam loved the sharks the most.  He also liked to tap the big bird eating spider that was right next to the glass, then yank his hand back and say, “Ouch, spider bite me!”  The anaconda and caimen were other favorites, as was splashing in the water as long as niether the fish nor the rays came too close.

• Easter.  SUCH a good day!!  No pictures before church, and Sam was stripped down the moment we came home, and ready for both him and Daddy to “Take tie off, go change” so I got one lousy picture of Easter Sunday best.  I made a pretty successful first-time turkey, we had friends over, and a really fun evening.

• Licking the cream cheese fruit dip beaters.

• Snuggling with Dad on a sleepy Saturday morning, Buzz in one hand, Woody in the other, blanket securely clamped in his mouth, monkey across his lap, and watching the Curious George movie.

• Gavin!  http://ordfamily.sk8erord.com/?p=700 (No surprise, Triana’s pics are way better than mine!)

• Family night at Fuddruckers.  Arcade games, balloons, and cheeseburgers, the perfect combination.

Samuel has somehow got it in his head that he doesn’t need to nap anymore.  Often, I’ll tell him it’s naptime, only to be challenged with a, “No naptime.  Sit pillow and blanket, watch tee-bee.”  Then Sam gets comfy.

I sometimes humor him.  “Ok, if you stay right there and rest, you don’t need naptime.”   Of course I make that offer knowing exactly what’s going to happen next.