Spring is finally here!

Two and half months after the blizzard

  

                                                                       

new landscaping

more new landscaping

                                                                 

                                                                            

Caleb

        

                                                                       

Jacob

Where There's Snow Will...

Well, this is the aftermath of the Blizzard of 2011! Brett has spent

a lot of time working to clear the driveway, but at times it feels like a

losing battle when the wind is blowing it right back!

The snow had drifted up to our front door - waist high.

Brett was going to leave it until this weekend.

He had come in for a bit of a warm up when we heard

noise at the door. Our neighbors across the street were

digging out our front walkway! That was really thoughtful!

I'm glad that we haven't lost power like so many others.

We'll enjoy another snow day tomorrow,

and then Friday, it's business as usual!

Well, would ya look at that!

Five minutes ago, almost home from Caterpillar, we pass a small pasture where two horses are grazing. As we drive by, the steed is VERY heavily relieving himself. I did a double-take! And then Jacob speaks....

"Mommy, I just saw that horse .................. putting a bunch of milk on the floor."

Jacobisms

On the way home today from picking Caleb up at Caterpillar....

Not Lip Reading

"Caleb, what did you do at school today?"

Caleb purses his lips and taps them with his index finger.

"Mommy, Caleb's lips are thinking."

Santa Claus is Coming to...?!?

(singing) "He's making a list, checkin' you out....."

You Can't Have a Lutheran Wedding Without It

"You put your left foot in, you put your left foot out.
You put your left foot in, and you shake it all around.
You do the holy poky and you turn yourself around.
That's what it's all about!"

Meet the Library

Well, it may be in the basement,

and it may utilize miscellaneous furniture pieces,

and it may have a TV as its central focus,

and yes - that's a treadmill in the foreground -

but we're not looking at all of that!

We're looking at those lovely bookshelves which Brett bought

for my birthday present! The lovely people at Sauder

threw in a set of blistered hands as a bonus! So thoughtful of them!

Since moving into this house, my books have been in a

disorganized mess! Now they are alphabetized and I can see all

of them. No more shelves filled with books two rows deep.
What a relief!

I hope to use this as a quiet space to read or grade papers,

but so far it has become a new spot

for the boys to watch KidSongs Videos.

SOCCER!

Jacob has been playing outdoor soccer this fall.

His last game was supposed to be while we were on vacation,

but due to the weather, it got postponed to this weekend.

Jacob played better than ever before:

five goals in one game (one of which was for the other team!)

He got his trophy, and we posed for some shots afterwards.

Traditional

Superhero

Jacob's Choice

You've got to love it!

Yeah, Grampa's gonna' think that one was funny!

Suave and lookin' good. Go Bulldogs!

(Remember, you're still not too big for Mommy kisses!)

Fervent Prayers for Emma at 10:10am EST

Dear Jesus, Thank you for Emma and the man who's

gonna pull her teeth out for so her not get to get hurt.

Thank you and teach us to brush our teeth

so they stay good.

Thank you dude. Amen.

Cheese and Crankers

Jacob asked me if I would put up his giraffe tent yesterday -

but only if he cleaned up his toys. Of course I said yes!

When I finished, he told me he was going to take his nap

in there. Okay -- except 45 minutes later I peeked in

and he wasn't sleeping. These pictures were taken just

before dinner. We hadn't heard Jacob's voice in a while

and I just knew what had happened!

Cheese! (What a corker!)

And here he is with Crankers.

He tried to wake him up once and got hit with the blanket.

It only put a slight damper on his disposition.

(That's because he took a 2 1/2 hour nap!)

Beanbag Boys

We just love the beanbags Grandma gave us!

It's fun watching TV this way - plus Mommy and Daddy can sit on the couch!

Oh, no! Diego, be careful!

Our funny boy.
He wasn't so funny this morning singing
"Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog"
at 4:45am this morning. Aaaggghhh!


Then there's big brother.
Yesterday he wrote letters on a piece of paper...
"B A L R L M N O B b B..." he read them to me.
"That spells vacuum cleaner."
(Obviously)

Can you tell they are brothers?

Caleb Candids

If Ginger gets her way, this is how all Caleb's meals go. Yum, applesauce!

Caleb really enjoys his days at the Caterpillar Academy. We know he learns so much there. Recently, they've been doing a lot of dancing. And here at home, we've heard him attempt some singing - it sounds a little like screaming, but I know the difference!

This summer, we spent some time walking

around the farmland with Grandma Miller.

Here at the 4th of July parade, Caleb was very focused on

what truck or tractor was coming next.

Most recently, our little guy celebrated his 2nd birthday. Everything was Thomas the Train. He is a real darling - regularly giving me kisses by putting his hands on the sides of my head and saying, "mmmMMMWWAAAaaahh" each time! They're the best!

First Days

Jacob started preschool at Trinity this year. Three mornings a week he's with Mrs. Rosenwinkel and Mrs. Pavlovick, and the rest of the week he's in Extended care. This was our first day together - the first of 13 years that I will be taking someone to school with me!

Jacob also started Sunday school this fall. On Rally Day, you can see how well he was paying attention to Mr. Hensley, and then something else.

And this is Jacob's first field trip. We spent a beautiful morning at the apple orchard - yes, I was able to go along, and it was wonderful. Just as we pulled out of the parking lot to head back to school, it started to rain. Jacob was so proud to have picked his own apples!

The New "Tractor"

This is the gator that we "won" at the school's silent auction. Although Caleb was afraid to ride in it at first, Jacob was very encouraging, and now the two of them drive around and around and around the basement. Jacob has taught Caleb how to honk the horn. Last night we realized that Caleb was very exaggeratedly leaning to one side or another, depending on the direction of the turn. My favorite thing is to watch their two blond heads as they drive away. Precious!

The Stockings May Not Be Hung, But......

...the organ pipes are! I spent my day off, with the boys at school, putting the pipes up on the wall. Yes, I know that they are not centered - I wanted to put something up to the right of them, but what I planned on putting up there doesn't look right. So, I will wait until I find the right thing.

We're Alive!

Hi Everybody! It's Jacob and Caleb! Sorry our mommy has been such a slacker about sending you our pictures. We don't make life easy for her. We love her though - she's the only mom we've got! We are in our new house. Mom needs to put pictures of it here on the blog too! Maybe she'll do that in another eight months. Ha! We have been busy going to our new school. We really like it. Jacob's favorite things are the big ball pit and washing his hands, and Caleb especially likes playing with the kitchen set and any toy his can push around while he practices his walking. Mom and Dad are okay too. Dad has been working hard on the lawn - it looks much better than it did when we moved in here. And Mommy has been getting things organized around the house when she's not chasing us around. Well, that's all for now. Have a good week!

Boy in the Hood

Ten days ago, Jacob began wearing Brett's Illini hat all over the place. This is not the funniest he looks in it, but you get the idea!

Can You Feel the Love?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Since Trinity had a snow day, I was able to spend Caleb's first Valentine's Day with him all day!

After work, but before dinner, Daddy ran out and got this special treat for Mommy.


Little did Daddy know, but Mommy was able to get out in the snow and took the boys to get Daddy a special treat! Ha! When Brett walked through the door with his, Jacob said, "Cookie." Brett hadn't even tilted it to show Jacob. I told Brett later, "Of course Jacob recognized it. I spent five minutes at the store saying, "Which cookie do you think Daddy will like, Jacob? This cookie or that cookie?" before deciding which one to get. (They were both good, but it took us two weeks to eat them.)

First Cereal

On February 10th, Caleb had his first cereal. Unlike his brother, Caleb did not take to the spoon as easily.

In fact, he really wasn't crazy about it at all!

I just want my bottle! This way is too hard!

Torture!

I had been cleaning the kitchen, or something like that, when I heard Jacob crying. No, big deal. It wasn't the cry of pain, so I didn't hurry in. Apparently, he was playing and purposely slid off the armrest of the couch toward the end table - and got stuck. He's actually sitting on a shelf, in no pain whatsoever, but when I didn't get him out and got the camera instead, he really let loose!

Like Father, Like Son

These pictures were taken on Super Bowl Sunday, just as the game was starting. I couldn't believe my eyes when I walked in the room and saw the two of them. That's Caleb's blanket that Brett is using. I thought it was so funny!