White Dog

Reilly getting attention from Ben...

Little Cousins

Some of Sam and Ben's little cousins came over tonight. They are growing up too fast! Sam was bummed Grace and Audrey couldn't make it...

Caden...6 1/2 months

Maddox...5 months

Making Progress

So we are slowly making progress in updating our powder bathroom... We are hoping to have the tile put in Monday, grout Tuesday and new fixtures in before Thanksgiving! Brian had to work this morning and the boys actually let me paint. It is very OLIVE. Martini anyone?

Happy Friday

We have had a busy week and our weekend is looking just as busy. Sam had a good week at preschool this week... they are learning about Thanksgiving and got to participate in a special tea with the St. Matthew Friendly Club (seniors group). The kids made placemats, learned special songs and decorated cookies to share.

Wednesday I took Sam to the dentist. To my surprise he did awesome. Ben was quite busy running around the office, climbing on chairs, talking to the staff etc. Sam had his teeth cleaned and was thrilled with his prizes - a new toothbrush, beaded necklace and spiderman sticker. These items have become some of his special "treasures"... he has been sleeping with them along with his blanket, Woody, Woody's hat, and a flashlight and two CDs. We go through the routine at bedtime and naptime rounding up all of his "stuff" as he calls it.

Our bathroom is gutted and I started painting tonight. It took forever for me to finally decide on the color. The kids and I went to pick it up this afternoon (I hope we are allowed back after they both ran wild through the store chasing each other). The ceiling is done as well as the edges and corners...so tomorrow I just have to roll the walls and we are done. Tiling will be done Monday and then just need to put in the sink and the "new potty" as the boys are calling it.

Tomorrow night Brian's two sisters and brother and their families are all coming over for dinner. It will be fun to catch up and see all of the kiddos and how much they have grown.

Below - photos of my little picassos. Sam is always asking to paint and do art. I wish I was creative and crafty! I am going to try and do better with having art supplies and projects for them to work on.

More updates and photos tomorrow. Off to bed!

Row Your Boat...

My kids can spend an hour in the bath and I still have to drag them out!
I sang this to Ben the other day in the car... he remembered. I love the Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary...

Fun with Papa and Paint

My parents stopped by for a few minutes tonight. The boys went crazy! Sam asked me every 5 minutes for an hour if Papa and Mimi were here yet... Where are they? Are they here? When are they going to be here? Let's go check out the window and see if they are here... they aren't here?

When they did show up there was a lot of squealing, running, jumping, giggling, dancing to loud music and being just plain silly. Both boys kept yelling "Watch me Papa! Watch this - look at me!" You would think they are starved for attention around here.

We are finally starting work on our 1/2 bath tomorrow. My friend Nicole's husband is coming over to tear out what is currently in there. I am thrilled to get rid of the 80s look! I will not miss the tan toilet with white sink and crazy light fixture. You can see all of my paint swatches in the mirror. I think we have finally narrowed it down to two... cayenne or green tea.Our whole house is very neutral so I am ready for a little color. That ugly gold fireplace screen will be gone very soon too! (see above)

Should Have bought 2 Woodys

These were all taken a few minutes before naptime... as you can see they start out very happy...then the tiredness and emotions kick in.

Reading away...

Sam has been eating and sleeping like crazy...and GROWING. He has gotten so tall!

Do we look alike?

OK so he looks so much like Brian here. I usually don't see it but this is Brian at age 4!

They both wanted to sleep with Woody and Sam took him from Ben. Here is Ben in distress with Woody's hat. First he threw himself onto the floor in a ball - just beside himself!

Sam was nice enough to let Ben have Woody (very reluctantly and with a little foot stomping)... crisis averted...and both kids in bed.

Party Time

Ian turns 2 tomorrow - I can't believe it! We went to Ellen and Colin's tonight to celebrate and everyone had a great time. Sam, Lizzie and Ben had a blast in a bouncy house Ellen borrowed from a friend... Ian wasn't so sure about it.

Weeee.....

They even had Brian in there.... Not the best thing for a guy with a relatively new ACL!

Almost dark but still playin'...

Ian got all kinds of fun toys...

This garbage truck was a hit with everyone.... Sam tried to wait patiently for a turn. Hard to do when you are 4.

Fun with Papa...

Ellen made a super cute school bus cake. I think we sang Happy Birthday about 10 times. The tradition is we sing to the birthday boy/girl... then a group song for the other cousins...and they all blow out candles...and tonight Ian requested several encores.

Ben tried his first cupcake tonight. He has never had an interest in cake or cupcakes. He now wants cupcakes for his birthday too.

Thank you Arnold family for the delicious pasta dinner and fun party. We had a great time celebrating! Happy Birthday Ian to such a special nephew and cousin.

Yellow Dog Update

Our vet called yesterday with the results of Mac's labs. The tumor they took from his elbow was malignant... a soft tissue sarcoma. This type of cancer generally doesn't spread but is locally aggressive. There is a chance it will return in the same area...time will tell. We will see him Thursday to have his stitches removed and will get further info. In the meantime Mac is doing well and in good spirits. Thanks to all of you who have emailed and called to see how he is doing!

Moon

As I was driving home tonight Sam pointed out the moon. As I looked up it all made sense - Aha! It is a full moon. That must explain the wacky day we had today. Nothing really crazy just everything a bit off... A few things that drove me crazy:

-Sam has decided he is going to test the waters... push the limits... challenges... battles... everything is a negotiation. When I ask him to do something..ANYTHING... he either asks me why, tells me he'll do it in a few minutes or that he just doesn't want to... or gives me stink eye, attitude or ignores me. This is my usually compliant, sweet boy. OK so he is pretty compliant and sweet but I am getting glimpses into the teenage years and it makes me crazy. We talked over and over today about remembering please and thank you, listening, sharing, helping etc. The things he is usually pretty good at. Funny how much he can forget in 5 minutes.

-Ben has gotten 3 teeth in the last two weeks and the last of the bunch is almost in and giving him grief. Ben's teething=no sleep which means no sleep for me which means I have little patience.

-Mac is feeling better and is starting to move around a bit. I think I have rewrapped his bandages about 40 times today. Keeping bandages on a dog's forearm and elbow is a major pain... every time he takes about 2 steps they slouch down...now that it's healing he is interested in getting at it. Only one week left until the stitches come out and he gets back to normal - bandages off, walks etc.

-Ben purposefully dumping water all over his carseat and clothes via a leaky sippy cup. "Mom...I'm spilling my water...it's spilling...my pants are wet." I looked back and he had the cup upside down - just letting it run all over himself.

-Sam moaning about me cooking the wrong kind of rice... Apparently he wanted brown rice tonight...so he sat and stared at his plate for 30 min and whined until we threatened to send him to bed.

Things that made me happy today - and the above seem more insignificant:

-The sun came out today - yahoo!

-The sky was an awesome blue/turquoise color tonight after sunset and full of stars - gorgeous.

-The kids have been playing really well together... it is so fun to see them entertain each other, do nice things for each other and make each other laugh.

-Fun holiday parties and festivities coming up...zoo lights, peacock lane, tree cutting, Christmas music, cookie making, present wrapping, Starbucks red holiday cups, Christmas jammies...

-Ben is turning 2 in a few weeks. This is bitter sweet - but sweet none the less. He makes me laugh every day and is becoming such a big boy. He says a few sentences in a row now, runs wild, squeals and is a pretty silly kid. He learned how to jump this week - and get both feet off of the ground which is pretty hilarious. He does it over and over and over...

-Sam is getting really curious about everything. He loves asking why which can be annoying, but he is genuinely interested in how everthing works. He is learning so much at school and has recently started reading. He notices everything around him... right now he is really interested in the seasons changing...the leaves falling etc.

Our Furry Patient

The boys have been helping take care of Mac. He has been laying around while the kids read to him, cuddle with him, and bring him bones. He is still a little sleepy from the surgery but seems to be doing well. We should know more in a few days.

Little Helpers

The boys were excited to help Brian clean up the yard today. Sam didn't want anyone messing with his leaves...

Ben was more interested in running and jumping into the leaves, riding his bike through Sam's leaf pile and getting dirty...

Celebration

We had a great time last night celebrating Kim's birthday! Great food, wine, friends, cake. If you haven't discovered spanx... they are awesome! Check them out here.

Happy Birthday Kim. Have a wonderful time in Maui!

Random

We seem to be having a cool, soggy week... I guess fall has hit here in Oregon. The trees haven't lost all of their leaves and are still gorgeous. We are going to have to throw on boots and coats and continue playing outside as we are getting cabin fever already! Puddles - here we come!

Buzz taking a nap...

I can't believe the drool this kid can generate. He has gotten 3 I-teeth in the last 2 weeks and has one more trying to come in. He hasn't been his normal happy self today - so I am guessing the last one is close. I am hoping his final molars don't come in for a while so we can get some sleep around here!
Spinning, chasing, tackling, squealing...

Wrestling, more chasing, spinning... and finally crashing.

Superman! I need to paint my toes!

**The boys got to play with their friends Nolan and Hayden Scott this morning. Laura who is super artistic and creative helped me hang all of my family photos - they look awesome. Thank you sooo much!

**Mac is going in Monday to have the lump removed from his elbow. It will take about 3 days for the report to come back. Once we know what we are dealing with, we can make a plan.

**We are going to start a bathroom update on our downstairs half bath in the next couple of weeks. I picked out the tile yesterday for the floor. Next... paint. I can't wait to get started!

Little Reader

Ben love books like his brother...

Sam for President

Sam: What are you looking at on your computer?
Me: I am looking at the news. Today everyone in our country is voting for a new President. You see this guy? This is Barack Obama and this is John McCain.
Sam: Can I vote? I voted at school.
Me: You did?
Sam: Yes.
Me: What did you vote for?
Sam: Goldfish.
Me: What was the other choice?
Sam: Cheerios.

Later he asked if he could vote again. So I made him a ballot...each candidate had a box next to their name.

Sam: I want Obama.
Me: You do?
Sam: Yes.
Me: Ok. Put an X by his name.
Sam: Did I win yet?
Me: No dear. Either McCain or Obama is going to win tonight.
Sam: I want to win. Can I be the President?

Later...

Sam: Did McCain-Obama win yet?
Me: Obama won. He is our new President.
Sam: But I want McCain to win TOOOOOOO!

Election Day!

So today is the day. We finally get to cast our votes! And how exciting that we are expecting record turnout for this election.

Be sure to get your FREE cup of coffee at your local Starbucks...and from 5-8pm Ben and Jerry's is giving away FREE scoops of ice cream!

Now get out there and vote!

Into November...

Our weekend:

1. A great time Trick-or-Treating Friday night
2. Saturday we cleaned up the yard and cleaned out our office - yeah!
3. Brian and I had a date Saturday night. The kids played at Papa and Mimi's house while we enjoyed some delicious Thai food.
4. We took the boys to get haircuts on Sunday (Ben refused)... and then headed to our neighborhood library to pick out new books.
5. Long naps Sunday afternoon
6. A great time over at Lee and Dee's Sunday night. Dee made a yummy taco salad and some cute little burritos. The kids had a great time playing with the Goldens, Ned, Lisa, Heather, Maddox, and Papa Erv.

They are both very excited about their new library books. Sam is very serious about his...a certain little brother isn't allowed to touch them, and he took all five to bed tonight.

The boys playing their caterpillar in a cocoon game.

Sam reading with Aunt Dee.

Watching a little football with Grandpa Erv.