Bears & Backpacks

My boys are very into hunting. They found a wii gun the other day (that goes with Big Game Hunter or some such game) and they have been carting it around the house hunting all sorts of animals. The gun has actually caused so many problems (with them fighting over it) that I've confiscated it for the moment. The animal that they seem to favor hunting is a bear. I'm not sure why, but that's what their doing in these pictures: bear hunting! Kind of surprising, considering the amount of deer who frequent our backyard...I would've expected more deer hunting (they have been nesting down under a tree right off of our deck).

And while these 2 have been bear hunting, and the oldest is in school, I was able to complete a sewing project that I'm pretty proud of: a backpack for Arch! We are going on vacation (soon!) and the littlest boy didn't have a backpack for the plane. It's not perfect, but he LOVES it, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't realize that it's not perfect, thankfully. I do really like the way it turned out, and I'm hoping to have an excuse to make another one so I can perfect it!

'Staches

A big perk of having a dentist dad is when he brings home treasures! Stick on mustaches are the coolest!

Around the house

Just a few random pictures...
Hanging out with the boys, our FINISHED kitchen, and our daily backyard visitors!

Things you do not want

Things you do not want to hear out of a 5 year old's mouth: "I don't know what happened, Mom! The water just exploded out of the toilet!"

The Magic of the Tube

There is no better toy in the world...except maybe a big cardboard box!  I was totally shocked that it actually held all their weight.

20.5 months

And he pooped on the toilet!

I know, who gets excited about these things except mom's, right? 

He's young, but Bryton showed interest at about that age as well...I discouraged him due to my gigantic pregnancy belly and lack of energy, and he ended up potty-training himself when I finally "allowed" him to.  I decided that I would not discourage any attempts by Archer to use the toilet, and it's resulted in quite a few potty successes (with this being the first poop success).

HOWEVER, bragging on my little boy isn't really the point of this post.  The point of it is to warn on the dangers of the "little potty."  Archer was pretty proud of his success and stood up.  I picked him up to get him cleaned up and left the bathroom for about 10 seconds.  I came back to clean up the little potty...and the poop was mostly gone.  Jasper slunk guiltily away from the bathroom.  And now she is banished outside.

Was that TMI?  When I say she'll eat anything, I mean it!

A Month of Hair

Bryton had the BEST bed-head this morning.  I took a few pictures, and when I went to upload them I realized that it had been a while and the camera had quite a few pictures on it.  Then I started looking at the pictures.  It's official.  My boys' hair is COMPLETELY out of control. 

The only way we can keep it somewhat under control is to buzz it, but they like "long hair" and hair is not really something that we choose to fight over.  Plus, when it's buzzed, we have to cut it about every 2-3 weeks in order for it to be short enough to stay under control and they HATE home haircuts.  Really really hate them.  Preston claims to be scarred by an incident where we "forced" him to cut his hair about 2 years ago (what happened was that he wanted his hair cut, so we started cutting it...and he wanted us to stop after one swipe.  Not going to happen.  So we persevered, and apparently the rest is history).  So you do the math.  $10 per kid per hair cut every couple of weeks = lots of $.  Incidentally, they love going to get their hair cut.  I've tried it all (many, many bribes.  I'm not above bribing in these situations!) and no luck.  They still despise having their hair cut at home.

Anyway, enough justifying.  Check out their hair styles from the past month!

Okay, so this one was actually helped along by the static, but still...

2 out of 3 with crazy hair.  Archer's hair is definitely crazy in the making, it just hasn't quite gotten there yet.

P&B having a little game time.

B's hair this morning!

Puddle Jumping Excursion

 

We went out in the rain today.  We came in completely soaked and FREEZING, but still.  It was RAIN, not snow.  That's a big improvement!  This was Archer's first real experience with jumping in mud puddles and he LOVED it.  Last Spring he wasn't walking yet so he only got to observe from the stroller or my back.  He was so cute...he squealed with every splash.  He wasn't too thrilled when his pants got totally soaked so I had to carry him part of the way home, but he kept insisting that I put him down so he could splash in a puddle here and there. 

This weekend we put in some new raised garden beds (yay!) and our project for the upcoming weekend is to get the dirt in them.  It's starting to feel like spring might be just around the corner.  I know lots of people move to this area because they want to experience all 4 seasons, but I was thinking today that I'd be happy with 2 seasons: Spring and Summer.  Preferably 3/4 of the year summer and 1/4 spring.  Alright, totally not feasible in N. Idaho - but I can dream, right?

Just the Boys

Oh Seattle

One of my favorite cities. I love it. And I'm glad we're within driving distance, even if it does make for a lot of time in the car!

I got a random text Friday from John asking me if I wanted to go to Seattle Sunday-Monday. Like I would ever turn that down! So while he called Paws-n-Claws to see if they had room for Jasper, I hopped on Priceline to see if we could find a cheap hotel downtown. Once again, we were NOT disappointed: $55 for a nice hotel in Pike's Place area. I love Priceline. I know some day we will most likely be let down with booking through them - it's a little scary to book something without knowing FOR SURE what you will get, but as of now, we have always enjoyed the hotels and this time was no exception (although the elevator was tiny and claustrophobic...hardly big enough for the 5 of us!).

Sunday night Sushi! P&B spent much of the meal practicing using chopsticks (or chapsticks as B calls them), while Archer spent his time watching Diego on the iPod.

We also got to meet up with a friend from college Sunday night which was lots of fun. I'm sure he was probably less than thrilled with Archer sticking his fingers in the whipped cream on his cheesecake, but he willingly shared anyway.

Monday morning: Children's Museum!

Again, we got to meet up with an old friend and her 3 girls. P&B told me on the way home that the girls were their "girlfriends" because they weren't boys. Brilliant observation, boys!

John helping Archer paint - Archer especially liked dipping the toilet plunger in paint and smacking it down everywhere.

And B making dino tracks!

We also made a trip to IKEA of course, but we haven't put the purchases to use yet since we got home kind of late last night! I think I will have to dedicate another blog post to the IKEA purchase.

You're So Vain

As I typed that title, I was thinking of the movie "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" where Kate Hudson sings that song to/with Matthew McConaughey. But check out this vain little boy:

Yes, he's kissing his reflection in the oven door. I started laughing, so of course he continued to do it. Then...

He tried to kiss the camera, so you get the full frontal. Pretty cute kisser, huh? I'm smitten.

A couple of other points/thoughts for today, since I don't want to dedicate an entire post to them...
#1: I can't BELIEVE he's 18 months old already. 1.5 years old. That means only .5 left until he's 2. NOOOOOOO!
#2: Why is it that my kids went to bed at an insanely late hour last night (swimming lessons first, then dinner with friends), because we didn't get home until 10:00. So, it was AFTER 10 when they got to bed (I know, we're bad parents) and they still woke up by 7 this morning! Are my kids the only ones who do that? Really hoping all 3 of them decide to take a nap this afternoon.
#3: Trying to decide what to do for school for Preston next year. Not thrilled with the "Kinder Center" that the public schools ship all the kindergarteners to (well, really not thrilled with the public schools in general here, except for the Charter School that starts in 6th grade). We're looking into private schools, but yikes they're spendy (especially when it's x3). Homeschooling = no go for me. What to do, what to do.

Sunday

Last night was a big step. Archer (along with the other 2) spent the ENTIRE NIGHT with his grandparents. John's job (he fills in 1-2 days per month) had a holiday party in Spokane that went until 11:00pm, so we decided to give it a try. Plus, it was so icy we definitely did not want to drive up the road and stuck to the freeway home instead. I think Grandpa & Grandma were a little tired today, but everyone survived and had fun!

We went to pick up the boys earlier today and decided to take them ice skating. It was COLD, but even B decided to give it a try!

Preston getting ready for the ice

Archer watching from my back

B waiting his turn...passing the time by jumping off the steps

"Mommy, I fell down and hurt my behind!"

B after he finished a lap

The boys on the way home...they were being so cute holding hands. :)

Skating

Yesterday John and my dad set up a mini ice rink in our front yard, and since it's so stinkin' cold out, the boys were able to give it a try today. Preston LOVES skating and has gone a couple of times at the big rink in Spokane, but Bryton has always been a little intimidated by it and hasn't wanted to even attempt it. Well, today he gave it a try in the yard! He was able to stand without falling so that gave him a little more courage. He didn't want to stay out there for long, but John helped him make a couple of laps around the rink.

Daddy helping B

Preston trying to skate on his own...he is starting to get a little more confident, but spent quite a bit of time on his behind! :)

The Weekend

1. Got really excited because I won a coupon for 90% off a KitchenAid mixer at Lowe's!
2. Went to go get mixer...paid $15+tax.
3. Stopped to get some food on the way home because hey, it was the weekend and we were enjoying a "leisurely" day together as a family.
4. Preston gets smacked in the head by the handle of the door because some guy coming OUT of the restaurant couldn't see out of a glass door, apparently, and he felt the need to slam the door open with all his strength.
5. Eat food. Preston ices his head. We get free cookies.
6. Start the drive home, enjoying the beautiful snow that has fallen while we were eating.
7. Get hit by an uninsured driver who has a suspended license while we were sitting at the light waiting to turn. He just slid right into us. Ugh.
8. The police officer (who we insisted on calling despite the guy's protests) makes us stay at the scene for an obscene amount of time because she's dealing with the other guy. Did I mention that it was F-R-I-G-I-D?!
9. Leave my poor van in the parking lot.
10. Archer gets bitten by a bird. A tame one, but still! Really, a lot of blood. Blech. But no need for an ER visit, thankfully.
11. Jasper ate some dryer lint. :) That dog is out of control!
12. Find out that Idaho doesn't have uninsured motorist's property damage coverage like we had in Oregon, so we will have to pay our deductible. GRRRRRR. AND our rental coverage is only $20/day...definitely not enough to rent a minivan.
13. Realized that I only have a few days left until Christmas, and I still have 3 Care Bears to make (stuffed ones, obviously). Hmmm...this isn't likely to happen, although I don't have a vehicle to go anywhere so I'll be spending lots of time at home!

Silly Boys

Life...

...from the perspective of an almost 5 year old. (He must have gotten the "spare" camera at some point and went a little crazy taking pictures.)

Little Brother B.

The Nativity (notice Mary ON TOP of the manger, and Baby Jesus on a palm tree - they'll get it configured correctly some day!).

PJ's & Feet.

Oh look! B's hiding spot under the bookcase (I think he was reading about tiling? Maybe he's planning a home improvement project).

And the random assortment of books on the bookshelf. Very exciting.

Daddy sneaking in a mini-workout (most likely while he was supposed to be watching the older 2!)

Crazy dog.

View from the backseat.