Mother's Day

Sweet man in the babyhawk. This is still one of my favorite carriers.

Such a struggle to get a family photo when you have a todder
Me with my two boys and my Mom.
Me with my boys!
Eric and Drakey

Okay, so I know what you are thinking. It's September. Mother's Day is in May. But, in my defense, I just got these pictures from my Mom. So enjoy them. 4 months later.

Buck Mountain

In the middle of August, I took the boys to my parents favorite place, Buck Mountain. Many of their aunts, uncles, and cousins were there too! They had such a great time. We played at the waterfall, and went tubing down the river. So much fun! As the boys get older, I know they will enjoy this mountain more and more. It's so peaceful and perfect there.

The pics from tubing are being developed from the water camera, so you'll have to wait for those.

The view from the top of the waterfall. The hike that took F.O.R.E.V.E.R. because we got lost. Oops. Should've listened to Peyton, she was right all along.

Eli was looking up at Aunt Maggie, to see if she'd had too much wine to be holding him. hahahahaha
My goodness those eyes. He's gonna have those killer blue eyes, just like his big brother and Daddy.
"Coast is clear Grandpa, back this thing outta here!"
Typical view of the weekend: Drake running to Grandpa and the fourwheelers.

Rocking with Ashlee....I don't think Eli had any tummy time that weekend, b/c he was always in someone's arms.

Some chicken on a grill, some BBQ sauce, and a beer. A little slice of perfection.
Drake talking Grandma into some more goldfish.
Grandpa, AKA the chef.
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Grandma snuggles

Uh oh. He spotted Mommy.
GIVE ME MOMMY!!!
This child simply has no fear. He is so physical and adventurous. ALL boy.
Okay, I've got to find a pic of Drake from this age. You simply won't believe the resemblance. Next post maybe.

So, Drake apparently has no fear of frogs. This is him squishing to death the one he caught!

This is when he spotted the frog, and went after it. He was a man on a mission.
Eyes of wonderment at the waterfall. I love watching him discover and explore the world.
Checking it all out with Aunt Maggie.
That's right, this is how Eli rolls.

Sweet Eli

A little Eli lovin for you all. Last is him at Drake's swim lesson. I can't wait to be able to take both boys! That'll be so much fun, assuming Eric or Fran can come with.

The first two are some my Mom had taken but I'm not sure when. I'm thinking maybe the beach in June, because it looks like they were on a towel. I love those sweet eyes.

Next to last is my chunker munker at his 4 month checkup. Sadly enough, he's already five months. He rolls EVERYWHERE, has two teeth, and baby talks constantly. And can you believe he can sit on my hip and be carried like a BIG boy????? I think I got a little teary eyed when I realized I could carry him like that.

Swim Lessons

Blurry pic, but Drake loved to blow bubbles in the water.

Learning how to "pull" water by chasing after balls.
Playing before swim class started. He loved jumping in these, making big splashes with his feet.

Horrendous pic of me, but I sure do love this stinker.More fun!

So, remember earlier in the summer when Drake took swim lessons? They were indeed the cutest thing ever. He loved the slide! I was glad we did it, despite the amount of effort it took. I had to feed/dress/pack up two little ones and get to the Y. Drag out the double stroller, and pack up belongings and the littles. Get inside. Pay for Eli's childcare. Get Eli to childcare, and fight with them about the cloth diapers. Explain that he doesn't have a bottle, b/c he won't TAKE a bottle. (Thank heavens that's over!) Make it to locker room, change Drake, get out to pool. Yay, fun, swim lesson time!!! 3o minutes later, start over. Just in reverse order. With tired and hungry kids this time. Makes it more fun the second go around! This little illustration is a perfect example of how 1+1 does NOT equal 2. Hahaha!

Here I am!

Yes, I'm still here. Just too tired to muster up a blog post and upload photos. Maybe soon...

A little (but big) update

Oh my, I've been a little MIA! However, it's been for good reason. We've been super busy between these sweet boys of ours, and working.

As far as working, Eric and I have both been working a LOT. However, we only have $2K left to pay on our Pilot, so it's been worth it. We've also paid for our plane tix to California, for our friend's wedding in October. Eric's business is going fabulously, so we are thrilled all the way around.

These boys---B.U.S.Y. Having them not quite 15 months apart is definitely hard on the front end. Everyone who's done this tells me I'll appreciate it later. I'm pumped. I can't wait until they play independently in the back yard, while I drink wine on the deck. I also would love to only have one in diapers. I've heard that cloth diapered kids potty train earlier, but I've also been hearing that boys are HARD. Two girls I work with said their boys didn't potty train until 3 1/2. So, who knows. I've thought about getting a little potty for him to start testing the waters.

Drake is signing more often. That's good, b/c he just isn't a big talker. He says some words, but more often whines and points. It's kinda funny though, because if he really wants to say something, he does with no problem. His physical development is off the charts. He may be small, but the kid is like a monkey! He runs, he climbs, he dances; he is just everywhere!!! On another note, his separation anxiety is off.the.charts. He does NOT like being apart from Mommy or Daddy.

Eli needs to just slow his little self down! He has two teeth, and rolls over. I mean, seriously? My sweet cuddlebug isn't even five months yet, and is growing up before my eyes. He loves to smile and laugh, and play with a few certain toys. He's obsessed with Sophie the giraffe! It amazes me how social Eli is.

A couple of months ago, Eric and I did some talking about childcare, the childcare budget, and our need for help around our house. We decided that the best solution to many of our issues/needs was an au pair. I've posted about some of that here, and the final update is that OUR AU PAIR IS HERE! AND WE LOVE HER!!! Can I just tell you how excited I am? Her name is Fran, and she's from Brazil. Her English is really good; better than I expected. Portugese is her native language, but she speaks some Spanish and German as well. She came to us from a family in Idaho, where she'd been for about a month and a half. I won't get into all the details, but she's in a much better situation here than she was there. She is very sweet and loving to the boys, which is the most important thing. She is also a super clean and neat freak. I can seriously appreciate her OCD. With all that said, Eric and I aren't completely crazy. Our nanny cams should be here any day, and we'll be able to watch live feed online, or on our iphones. That was my one requirement of Eric, to arrange that.

Fran and I applied for her social security card today, and we have to get her driver's license next. She has an international drivers license (whatever the heck that is), but it's recommended she get a NC one. Eric is in charge of helping her complete her college application, and there is a "short semester" from October to December. She has to take 6 credit hours in the year she's here. If we continue to love her to pieces, she can extend her stay for up to a total of two years in the US. She'd have to continue her college classes in the second year.

So, that's a quick update on us. I'm sure there are a million spelling and grammatical errors. Sorry, but the Bachelor Pad is calling.

Tuesday fun!

I'm off every Tuesday, and today I took Drake to a local toy store with our neighbor Aiden. He had SO much fun! I also took a few pics of sweet little Eli. He is growing and changing so much.

Poor baby scratched his face, even with his nails as short as I can get them.

This is as much of a smile I can capture on camera. He is so giggly and smiley, but puts on his poker face when I get out the camera.

Bumbo!
Maracas! (How do you spell that anyway?)

This table was a little high for him, but he managed:-)

Overwhelmed!

One of the train tables
Playing on one of the bikes

In other BABY news, our dear friends Rob and Gen welcomed Henry last week! We can't wait to meet that little stinker! He joins Drake, Eli, and Syler, along with the lone princess Reese. Reese is most certainly the queen of our little group of friends. Also, my newest niece (due in December) now has a NAME! She'll be Nora! I'm so excited. That was Eric's maternal grandmothers name, and we are happy Linds and Brian are using it. I'm going to be an aunt to four sweet kiddos, and can't wait.