handsome little men

I absolutely love the camera that my family got me for my birthday. I have the most beautiful subjects that I practive out my skills on! I am not very good yet, but hopefully this spring I can enroll in a class at the U of Memphis. Here are a few pics I took this morning in the front yard.

snack time

At preschool last week the kids learned the letter 's'. Nathan's class read a book called, "Nuts for squirrels" and learned all about what squirrels eat and how they live. As a special project they created "squirrel snacks" (note the alliteration...only the creativity of a preschool teacher!) Nathan toted home his bag of snacks (it's really just a glorified trail mix) with amazing pride. It was torture waiting 3 days to scatter the snacks in the yard (it was raining). But this morning we got to toss all the popcorn, peanuts, and sunflower seeds in the grass. It was great fun. And now we wait....and wait....and wait....dear Lord....please let a squirrel come. The boys are checking the window over and over to see if the treats are being enjoyed by any furry little creatures. Please join me as I pray that a squirrel will come and that they boys can see it....I am not sure they can handle the disappointment of the snack not being eaten. =)

(the pictures came out in the wrong order and despite my best efforts I can not get them rearranged...so you can either see the happening in reverse, or you can scroll down, start at the bottom, and work you way up.)

Someday they'll hate me for this

It was bathtime and all the kids had been stripped and were headed to the tub. Aubri took off in the other direction laughing histerically. The boys decided to follow suit. We had a naked riot on our hands. Then the thought struck me...I love those little booties. An idea popped into my head...why not capture those precious tooshies on film. Here is the result...

There is hope...

In the picture above you may notice that the boys are a bit mismatched. Herein lies the significance of the picture. They made a compromise...on their own...about who would wear which pajamas. While most of our days are spent not sharing and wrestling...then crying....then tattling...I caught a glimpse of a life I long to have. A moment in time occurred the other night that allowed me to see that the boys do love one another and truly are best friends. The conversation went something like this...

K: Nathan, which jammies do you want to wear?
N: The dino jammies
K: Well, too bad...I want to wear the dino jammies
N: MOM! Kaleb won't let me wear the dino jammies and I never ever get to wear them
Mom: (at the end of a long day) work it out on your own....I'm not helping
K: Hey...I got an idea. How bout you wear the dino pants and I wear the dino shirt
N: Wait...I got a idea. I can wear the dino shirt and you can wear the dino pants
K: MOM! Nathan won't let me wear the dino shirt and I never wore that one before (which is a lie by the way)
mom: Again, I am not helping
K: What about I wear the dino shirt and you wear the dino pants, Nathan
N: Okay

What a proud moment...although they begged for my intervention, they were able to compromise and work together in a way that doesn't involve hitting and chasing each other in circles. There still are miracles being worked out before my eyes each day!

bellevue

Since our mean ole mommy doesn't let us eat very much candy, we decided to forgo trick-or-treating and go to Bellevue's Fall Carnival instead. It was a blast. With over 15 amusement rides, carnival games, funnel cakes, pony rides, and 30 different inflatables...we had fun way into the night. It was also great to have Grammy and Grandad with us.

Mommy, Kaleb, and Nathan on the giant slide
Kaleb LOVES inflatables

Aubri's first pony ride

We love Grammy and Grandad

Happy Halloween...a bit late

We had a great halloween...and we got away with only buying one costume! Nathan decided that he wanted to be the chicken (like he was last year) and also be Scooby Doo at a different party (which a friend gave us). Kaleb wanted to be Spiderman (duh!) which was a costume Uncle Joshie got for him at Christmas last year. So, all we had to do was decide what Aubri was going to be. I, of course, favored some frilly tutu princess number, but was unsure if she would be walking yet, so we got the kitty cat costume instead. I think she was a pretty precious kitty!