Happy Birthday, Justin!

Today is Justin's 2nd birthday.  I can hardly believe it has been that long since he was born.  He is such a fun, sweet little boy.  We had his party yesterday because most of the family was off for Memorial Day.  Here are some pictures from the party.

Can't wait to open presents!

Getting some help from big brother.

The cake

The boys checking out the cake.

Getting ready to dig in.

Being a Mom is Scary

Last week we had a trip planned to go visit my family in Arkansas.  Tuesday night I was frantically getting ready for the trip, getting dinner ready, and helping Brad with some yard work all at the same time.  Suddenly I heard a thud noise coming from the living room followed by a scream.  Justin, who has just learned how to go down the stair by himself, fell and hit his head hard on the stairs.  We have hardwood on the stairs, so I have always worried about this happening.  As soon as I got to him I could tell it was bad.  He already had a bruise, and a bump on his head that was about 2 inches in diameter and about a half an inch high.  

Rather than spending the night in the ER, I opted to call the nurse line.  Luckily, we didn't end up needing to take him in.  It healed just fine, and he had no side effects from it.  Just another one of the scary close call experiences.  I know this won't be the last time something like this happens, but I try not to think about it too much.  Being a mom can be really scary sometimes.  

We were still able to go on our trip the next day, and we had a great time with everyone.  Too bad we all came home sick.  I guess vacations are hard on the immune system.  I'm glad to report that we are all on the mend, and I hope we have a very boring stretch ahead of us.

Playing Outside Finally

The boys love playing out in the backyard, but most of the time it has been either too cold or too wet for them to play out there.  Last Friday they finally got their chance to play out in the backyard, and they were so happy.  It was a little to hot for my taste, but they would have played out there all day if I had let them.

Justin exploring the around our tiny backyard.  He kept playing with the dandelions.

The boys playing in their sand cart.  Aren't they cute.

Justin had fun until he realized that he had sand all over his hand and couldn't get it off.  He kept coming over to me to wipe it off.

Good Deals

I love getting a good deal on stuff that I buy.  I am really cheap and hate spending money, but if I have to buy something I try to think of the cheapest way possible to do it.  Today I had to buy clothes for both of the boys.  The hot weather is coming on fast, and my boys have out grown all of their summer clothes.

The above picture is all of the clothes that I bought for the boys.  I got 3 pairs of shorts, 3 shirts, 6 pairs of socks, 3 pairs of underwear, 6 pairs of pajamas for Zachary, and 2 pairs of pajamas for Justin.  All of this cost about $85.  I was really pleased with myself.  Now that I feel accomplished for the day, I think I'll take a nap.  I'm worn out.

Another Day at the Ballpark

Baseball season has started, and the men in my life are a little more than enthusiastic about it. After going to opening day, we just had to take the boys to the new ballpark.  Brad's sister came along for the fun, and I was glad to have her help since I get worn out pretty easily these days. We had so much fun exploring all of the new things the park has to offer.

Posing before the game.  They were both so excited.

Trying out the new mini golf course.

Zachary loves playing with Daddy.

Justin enthusiastically watching from the side.

Proof that I was there.

I'm sure there will be many more trips to the ballpark this season.  I will try to go to as many games as I can until I no longer fit in the seats, ha ha ha.  Going to the game is one of our most favorite family activities.

Opening Day

Today Brad and I went to Opening Day at Kauffman Stadium (where the Royals play).  Brad really wanted to go so I got him tickets as an early birthday present.  Brad's mom and sisters watched the boys for us. The stadium was just renovated over the off season, so we showed up early to look around before the crowds got too big.

The new exterior of the stadium

Here's Brad and Me posing in front of the new huge scoreboard.

The huge scoreboard up close.

They have a very cute carousel for the kids, and lots of other fun activities for the family.

We had a blast at the game.  We're going again tomorrow, but this time we are taking the boys with us.  Zachary is going to love it.

Surprise Bathroom Redo

Zachary has some bath crayons that he has really been excited about lately. Usually he uses them to decorate the tub while he's taking a bath. He's very proud of his creations in the tub. Last night after we put the kids to bed Brad and I heard some noise in the bathroom upstairs. When we went up there we discovered that Zachary had put decorations on every surface he could find. Here are some samples of his work.

A wall

Another wall. Notice what the writing says.

The edge of the tub.

The shower wall.

And of course, you can't forget the toilet seat. He wrote "I love Brad" and "I love Zachary".

Well, after seeing this I was getting ready to give him a stern lecture about coloring only on things that are appropriate to color on when he looked up at me with his cute little face and his big blue eyes. He said, "Mommy, I wanted to make your bathroom beautiful. Don't you think it looks pretty?" My heart melted, and I told him that it was beautiful, but that he should keep the crayons in the tub.

I have a big job ahead of me to get all the marks off of everything, but it was totally worth it. This will always be a fun memory we can look back on and get a good laugh out of.