Happy 2nd Birthday Easton!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Easton! Today is Eastons birthday! How is that possible!? It is unreal to me that he is two already. He is just the sweetest, happiest, funniest, most adorable little boy!
What an exciting two years he has had! When he was born with his bright red hair, we were not sure if the red hair would stay or what kind of personality would develop. But his hair has stayed and is more adorable then ever and he has a firecracker of a personality! He has changed so much since he was born and is really starting to resemble Payton.

Couple of weeks old:

3 Months old:

Morning of heart surgery:

9 Months old:

1 Year old:

About 18 months:

His personality is just so cute! He adores Payton and calls him P. If Payton is not where Easton thinks he should be, he walks around saying , “Where P? Where P go?” He has just started say Thank you and Love you without prompting, so that just melts our hearts! Thank you, mommy, sounds more like, “Taat to, mommy”, but you can tell what he is saying. He is having an Elmo themed birthday party this year and if you ask him what kind of party he is having he will say, “Elmo pa-ee!”
Some other interesting Easton facts:
He will actually point to his crib when he is ready to go to bed! It is awesome! I will usually sit in his chair and read him a story, then he points to his crib!
He refuses to sit in any kind of high chair or booster seat because Payton doesn’t.
He can climb like no other!
He loves to eat!
He loves to go to Grandmas. When we pull down her street he gets really excited and starts to say “Na-ma”. He also pretends he is talking to her on the phone all of the time!
He loves trains and says, “I see Choo Choo” when we go by the railroad tracks.
He loves to play outside and when he gets up in the morning he will say, “Go ou-side”!

This last two years have really been an adventure!
We are all so incredibly blessed to be lucky enough to have him in our lives! Happy Birthday my sweet boy!

I will post more after his doctors appt later this week and his party this weekend!

Summertime = Schools out!

Payton is now officially a 1st grader. We already have gotten his end of year report card and teacher assignment for next year! He did great this year and is looking forward to next year. He is doing lots of reading and workbook pages so far this summer. The end of the school year is filled with all kinds of exciting stuff. (I think they were done with ‘school work’ well before the end of the year!) The Friday before the last week, Paytons entire school was supposed to go on a field trip the the Kansas City Zoo. I had arranged to take that day off to help chaperone, but it got cancelled due to weather. (Which by the way, we had a tone of wacky weather, tornados and all that the last few weeks! It was not fun sitting is a stairwell at work for an hour, or having the kids in a bathroom at daycare for 1 ½ hours!!) We were already thinking of heading to Des Moines the next day for a graduation party for one of my cousins, so we decided to drive west and spend the night and go to the Omaha Zoo on Sunday to make up for the fact that he didn’t get to go with school. Mom and Lindsey went along and we had a great time, minus some bumby weather along the way! Easton still refuses to sleep anywhere but home, so that got interesting, but all in all it was a great trip!
The next morning was Paytons Kindergarten Graduation! He was not feeling well at all from the car ride the night before and a bit of a tummy bug that Easton had passed on to him. But he went and made it through the day. I was so worried about him getting sick! I couldn’t even really focus on the graduation or get emotional or anything, I just kept watching his face waiting for a sign that he would get sick! The next day he seemed to perk up and be okay. That week he also had field days that Justin got to attend and on the last day I spent most of the day at the school for their last day parties! He loves his Kindergarten teacher so he was a little sad to not be able to see her this summer. Luckily he got the teacher he wanted for 1st grade!
On Memorial Day weekend we went to the hot air balloon festival that we went to last year and again the balloons didn’t launch b/c of weather! This is 3 different times we have gone to these festivals, and not once have they launched! I think we are jinxed! On Sunday we went to a huge Memorial Day celebration and Union Station and the Liberty Memorial downtown. It was awesome! It is something we will be doing again!
Now that school is out, Payton is going to the day care that Easton goes to (and he goes to after school) for their summer program. He is having so much fun! I feel bad that my kids don’t really have a summer like we used to where we were home and could do whatever. But I think he is having more fun there! Next week he is going bowling, swimming, to a movie, swimming again and roller skating! He is not there this week because this week he is at a camp called Camp Invention! We heard about it from school and it is a camp that he can go to to build, create and invent things! One the first day he learned about Thomas Edison. How perfect is that for Payton! He is only from 9-3:30 this week, so Justin and I have had to do some adjusting of schedules, but we have made it work. He really enjoys it so far, and he doesn’t even know anyone there!
Now that the weather is nice (well 96 degrees with a heat index of 105) outside, we have been doing a lot of outside stuff. We went to the pool and will probably be there a lot this summer! This week is Eastons 2nd birthday and party, so we are all gearing up for that next!

Photos

I have added a lot of new pictures to the latest album of our fun from the last week or so. I haven't had time to write a new blog...hopefully in the next couple days.

Mid-May randomness

I have been meaning to get to this blog since, oh about Easter, and now it is the middle of May! Where does time go! Time has always gone fast, but it just seems lightening speed lately! Speaking of time going fast, I can not believe that my little Kindergartner is almost done with his first year of school. It went so fast. Also, my baby is going to be 2 in less then a month. I know two is not really a baby, but he is always my baby! Where is the pause button on life….?

So I guess I have a lot to catch up, so sorry if this gets boring. Remember, I do this as much for myself as for others! J
Easter was fun for the boys! We had an Easter egg hunt at our subdivision and Payton really enjoyed it. Easton was a little frightened and would not go anywhere near the Easter bunny! He just kept saying, “No….no…no,no,no”. Then the next morning we hunted eggs at home and then that afternoon at Grandmas house. By then he was finally into the egg finding thing!
The next week my grandmother flew up from Florida! It was good to see her and Payton likes it when she comes because they play the piano together. It sounds like there is a possibility that she will be moving here soon! That is exciting news! She is crazy to move from tropical Florida to the Midwest, but how could you not want to live near to my adorable boys! ;-) One of the days that she was here just happened to be the same day as the Grandparents luncheon at school! So Payton thought it was pretty cool that great-grandma got to come to that as well. And of course I forgot to send my camera with my mom, so I have no pictures of that.
Payton has his last soccer game of the spring season this weekend. I am actually kind of bummed because he has really done a good job this year and really enjoys it. Easton really enjoys going to his games and kicking a ball around the field too. He still thinks he wants to play tennis, so we will be trying that this summer. He has never played before except for on the Wii, so it could be interesting. He is also taking swimming lessons once a week at night. He is a busy boy!
This past weekend was mothers day and I spent the weekend putting a textured stain on the deck and painting the garage floor! (They both look awesome now!!) The funny thing is, I actually really enjoy that stuff, which is good because I have a bunch more projects to get done in the next few weeks. I know, call me strange. Justin and I started on the deck restoration on Saturday, but after he got finished with his portion, and I had to redo that section, we decided that he should not continue! He is no longer allowed to help with any sort of painting! So on Sunday, he and the boys played in the yard while I stained away and stopped to play in between! It was a good day to be outside and just hang out with my boys.

Besides our non-stop lives, I wanted to write a bit about the boys themselves. I want to brag on them a bit. I am so unbelievably proud of the person that Payton is becoming. He has become such a patient and caring big brother to Easton. Yes, they have their fighting moments where he gets mad if Easton gets into his stuff, or whatever. But overall, he is so patient. Much more then what I think a typical 6 year old would be. He is constantly trying to teach Easton things and is normally really good about giving up something so Easton can have it. The other day in the bath, Payton tried to teach Easton how to say ‘photosynthesis’! I have seen a big change in him since he started school. Not only has he seemed to grow a lot (nothing fits from last year!), but he seems much more confident and grown-up like. Yes, he is also getting that school age attitude, but its not to bad overall!
Easton is starting to communicate so much. He really wasn’t talking as much as I thought he should be before. He could communicate, but just didn’t feel like talking that much. But lately he has started to talk a lot more. He will move up to the two year old class soon, so I think when he is around the older kids he will start to talk even more. He has grown a lot too! Not much of his stuff fits either! I need to stop feeding these boys! ;-) He has the funniest personality and knows it! He adores Payton and copies pretty much anything that he does. He really likes to ‘read’ books and play ow-side (outside)! He stands by the door and says “ow-side, ow-side” a lot! He is a big cuddler, when he wants to be. He likes to be carried a lot and loves to watch out the window for daddy to come home. He thinks he is a big boy now and refuses to even sit in a booster seat to eat anymore and he wants to drink out of a big boy cup. Not always successful, but he tries!

I am looking forward to a fulfilled summer with all my boys! We have lots of things planned the next few weeks, so I will try and update pictures as I can.
(I added some pictures to the Spring 2011 folder).

Cruisin'

Last week Justin and I went on a trip all by ourselves! It is rare that we go anywhere by ourselves, let alone a vacation. But we desperately needed some time away. It was the first time we have left the boys for any length of time. I knew they would be in good, okay, great hands (my mom), but I still don’t like being away from them!
We decided on a cruise. I didn’t want to have to think about driving, cooking, cleaning, anything! I pretty much wanted to make no decisions at all. We flew out very early on Monday morning. Easton must have known something was up, because he refused to sleep that night! After having an extremely early flight, practically sprinting through the Atlanta airport and someone with a medical emergency on the flight, we finally made it to Ft Lauderdale. Our boat left out of Miami on Monday, and we were at Key West on Tuesday, Cozumel on Wednesday, and had a day at sea on Thursday. Then Friday, we were back to Miami. I didn’t take very many pictures as I never remember to when the kids are not around, but I will post the few that I do have hopefully tonight. The trip was just was we needed. Just some time for the two of us to relax and have some time to ourselves, read, take naps, etc. Since Easton has proven that he doesn’t like to sleep anywhere else (see post below), my mom decided to come and stay at our house. That way the boys could stay with their normal routines, especially since they still had school, etc. I didn’t get to talk to them from Monday night until Friday morning, but I did get daily emails from mom! It sounded like they did great all week!
After we got back we had a great weekend at home working on some house projects and playing outside. Payton also had a soccer game on Sunday. I am so impressed by how much he has improved over last time. I am not sure if it being older, or just more experience, or what. But he is really getting in there and playing hard. I am so proud of him! Easton likes to run around during Paytons games and play with his mini soccer ball. He is getting to be so tall and such a chatter box. You can usually only understand about half of it, but he has a lot to say!
Our calendar for the next couple of months is getting a little crazy as I am sure everyones does this time of year! Payton starts swimming lessons on Monday nights again next week and we have a lot of school functions before the end of the year. And next week we have a very special visitor coming up from Florida, so we are looking forward to that!

Quick family weekend getaway

Last weekend we took a little family getaway to Minneapolis and the Mall of America! We knew a big family vacation was not in the cards this year, but we still wanted to get away and do something. And since Payton was on Spring Break from school, we thought we would take some time off of work for a 4 day weekend! We really cherish our time away. We both work a lot and with Justin working retail, it is hard to get the four of us home to just focus on each other. We try, but there are always things to get done nagging in the back of my head. When we get away, our only focus is on each other and having fun! So we drove up to Bloomington, MN on Friday night (they still have snow on the ground! Crazy!). That night we went to the Water Park of America. The boys both love to play in the water. Easton had a blast on the slides! He kept pointing to the slides and saying, “I Go!” Saturday we spent the entire day at the mall. We hit up the Lego store which was a huge hit for our family! Then we had lunch at Rainforest Café and went to an aquarium. We spent much of the afternoon at Nickelodeon Universe. It was a huge theme park in the mall! The boys got to meet Spongebob! I took Payton on his first and possibly his last roller coaster! ;-) We also went through a mirror maze and did miniature golf! Easton was done being in the stroller by that point, and it was late, so we let him run around the golf area. It was hard to keep track of whose turn it was because Easton would steal the balls from us! But that’s okay, we had a blast!
Then on Sunday we went to the Science Museum of Minnesota! It was really cute and very interactive. Payton really enjoys interacting with things at the museum. It was kind of crazy to see him looking through a microscope at things. He seemed so grownup!
Then on Monday we drove home! I think the boys had a good time and got along great for the most part. We did learn two things though. (1) Payton has developed car sickness. I have noticed a few times driving around town where Payton says he doesn’t feel good riding in the car. It was mostly in the car though and not the van. Well we took the van and he didn’t feel well at all. Luckily he never got sick, but we picked up some Dramamine and I think that helped. (2) Easton refuses to sleep or take a bath anywhere but home. We got a pack and play for the room, but figured it wouldn’t work, so we thought he could just sleep with us. We were right, he was petrified of the pack and play and thought sleeping with us was a game. It was a rough couple of nights. Then, for some reason he was scared to death of the bathtub! I am guessing he is just going through a phase, but wow! When Payton was little we traveled a lot more so I think he was used to it, but Easton doesn’t go anywhere nearly as much.
This past weekend was wonderful (almost 80 degrees!) and we went to a playground and played and kicked a soccer ball around a bit. It was so great to get some fresh air!! We have a busy week ahead of us! Tomorrow is Justin and my 8th wedding anniversary! Then on Wednesday we are going to see Toy Story on Ice and on Friday we have an assembly at school where Payton gets a student of the month award again!
Payton is back to school this week and already getting his third quarter grades! Wow, only one more quarter until he is done with his first year of school!

Way, way overdue posts!

I haven't updated our blog in forever! I am not really sure where the time went. January and the beginning of February I was extremely busy at work and was working from home a lot in the evenings. Then, the end of February, I went to Boston for work and then I got strep and Easton got a sinus infection. There is no way I can remember everything from the past month and a half, so I will just try and recap the highlights!
In January, old friends of mine came into town from across the country! It was so wonderful to spend time with old friends and was really good for the soul. Part of that weekend was going to an indoor soccer game! The kids had a great time and it was a lot of fun! Thanks Carrie and Robbie inviting us!
Then, the beginning of Feb, we had a huge snow storm! It was a record breaker for Kansas City! Basically everything shut down and I worked from home for a few days. School and daycare was closed so we were pretty much stuck in our house for a while. With that snow fall brought the boys first real sledding experience! Easton was not so thrilled!
Also, in February, Payton had his last basketball game. He improved greatly over the course of the season, but it really wasn't his thing. He is just not that into sports very much. He wanted to play soccer again, so we did sign him up for that again.
We have been sick of being cooped up in the house so my mom and I took the boys one weekend to a day of fun. We went to Little Monkey Bizness where the boys could run and play. Easton was so excited! Then we went to a little museum that had a kids area and then we went to eat at Fritzs. Foods not great, but the boys love the trains!! I also spent that weekend packing away some of Eastons baby stuff he has outgrown. With this I needed to reorganize our storage area, and I did some purging! We do not have enough space in this house to keep anything that we don't need! It feels good to purge!
The past month or so Payton has lost his two front teeth! The last one was dangling for a while so the poor guy couldn't eat! Finally it fell out so he can eat some what normal again! This one bled a bit more then others. Payton hates the sight of blood. Luckily he has rarely gotten hurt or bled at all. Later that day, he said, I'm not a big fan of blood! He looks so cute with his teeth missing.
Last week i went to Boston for work. It was supposed to be a quick one night thing. The trip itself was great, but getting home was a disaster! We got a snow storm in KC, so our flight back was delayed two hours! Then, when we got to KC, a lot of the interstates were closed, and the one that wasn't was very slick. So, I had to spend the night in a hotel at the airport! Justin had to go in and work that night, so thank goodness for my mom! She came over and stayed the night. The day before I went to Boston I found out I had strep throat! It was kind of a crazy week! This past week, Easton was sick and it turned into a sinus infection.

Overall the boys have been doing good. It has started to warm up a little bit and we have been able to play outside a few times. Payton is doing great at school and Easton is continuing to try and communicate more each day. He likes to pretend he is going somewhere and will put something over his arm like a bag or something and walk around and say, Bye, Bye. It is pretty cute!

As long as the weather cooperates, we are hoping to have a fun little getaway this weekend as Payton is on Spring Break, so hopefully I won't take 2 months to post again!

(I have updated pictures to the Beginning of 2011 album)