More Power!

Wesley is really into helping right now and he's also into tools, so you can imagine how much Michael can accomplish when he's got a project going.  But we both love how curious Wes is and that he loves trying new things!  I know these boys will have many projects in the works as Wes gets older!

We recently cashed in some of our credit card points for a Lowes gift card so we could get a gas BBQ. For thirteen, yes thirteen, years we've been cooking outdoors on an ancient Weber grill that Mike's mom bought at a garage sale for $5.  A testimony to Weber's workmanship no doubt.  But with two kids, we need food cooked now and though I miss the taste of food cooked over charcoal, we both LOVE the new grill.  Anyway, we went in to Lowes to get the grill and came out with a grill, a smoker box, a BBQ cover and this 'Lil Helper tool set for Wes (the tools are all real, just kid sized).  According to Mike, all much needed accessories.  He does look pretty cute!  

A couple days later Mike pulled out the big guns for Wes (enough of those little kids tools!). I think he could have drilled holes in that wood all afternoon!  We're gearing up for a little gardening project, so I'll hopefully get to posting those pics soon :)

BBQ at Grandpa's House

A couple of Saturday's ago we headed out to Grandpa Al's house for a BBQ.  We don't make it out to the boonies Sun City often but we always have a fun time! (We are so thankful Grandpa drives to Orange County to see us as often as he does!)  We had yummy appetizers and a delicious meal of BBQ ribs, corn,veggies, pasta salad and potatoes all thanks to Grandpa Al, Miss Renee, Auntie Madison and Uncle Nathan.  We brought drinks :)  Wes loves being at Grandpa Al's house and he was quite the entertainer that evening. 

Wes LOVES corn!  He's definitely excited for the summer BBQ season.

Grandpa was a good sport about letting Wes play with his antique fire engine (these were cast iron.)  But it's hard for a two year old to see toys on a shelf and not play with them, especially fire engines :)

Cora clowning around with Grandpa and Auntie Madison while making coffee.  Thanks for the delicious meal and having us over Grandpa!  Hopefully we will be able to make it out more often!

(Auntie Caitlin and Uncle Ben, you were missed!)

Three Months Old!

On February 24th, Cora turned three months old!  Time is flying!!  My little girl is so smiley and happy and easy going.  She's can't be distracted quite as easy as Wes was at this age, so when she wants to eat or needs a diaper change, it better happen right quick.  But other than that, she's just a doll.  She's using her hands to grab at toys and watches every move Wes makes.  She's arching her back and turning her head when she's laying on the floor, so I think she's thinking about rolling over.  She's been a great sleeper since day one and she even teased me for three weeks by sleeping from 9:30pm to 7:00am!  But I think she went through a growth spurt and started waking up once in the night to eat and has decided to stick with that habit.  I certainly can't complain though; the second time around I'm use to getting less sleep, so I'm feeling great.  Michael and I are doing pretty well adjusting to having two kiddo's who need lots of attention and are able to squeeze in a little time for ourselves.  Mind you, it's usually sitting together on the couch at 10:00pm for a half an hour after Wes and Cora are in bed, we've cleaned the kitchen, put in a load of laundry, picked up a dozen toys and paid bills, blogged or checked email.  But quality time is what's important, right? :)  

Here's a little update on Wes...he's an awesome big brother!  He loves being around Cora and knowing where she is all the time.  He helps give her a bath and get her toys and he's still my "barf monitor!"  He's pretty much fully potty trained, we haven't had any accidents recently (except for that one in the library last week, ugh!)  But true to his personality, once he knew he could do it, he was set.  He talks a mile a minute, non-stop, and he asks questions about everything.  He wants to help with any and every task Michael and I are doing from cooking to cleaning (he helped me clean all the bathrooms recently by spraying the cleaner and now asks for the "Kaboom" or "Scrubbing Bubbles" whenever something appears dirty).  The one thing that I've noticed that has changed recently is his pretend play.  He loves to make up stories and can seriously go on and on and on! :)  Pillow forts are a favorite pass time and he's still obsessed with cars and trucks.  The 'terrible two' issues that I've complained about mentioned before have slowed slightly, but when it comes to some things he's still super opinionated, super stubborn and a super stinker :)  But he is also my super sweet boy who is so loving and so curious.  I also love the fact that he uses "may I" whenever he asks to do something!  We taught him to ask "may I be excused?" when he's finished eating and I guess he just assumed (and rightly so) that he should use "may I" all the time.  I am loving these two together and watching them grow amazes me.  God has blessed us beyond words and I continue to pray for wisdom, patience, and understanding as we raise our family.   

Cora's First Carousel Ride

This is from several weeks ago (I fear I'm getting behind again) but we took a little family outing to the Spectrum for lunch and a little carousel ride.

For Wesley's second birthday, he received a punch card for 10 rides on the carousel from his friend Slayder.  It has really been a fun gift and has lasted a while since we don't go to the Spectrum too often.  I think we are down to just one more ride, but now he knows every time we come he gets to ride on the carousel, so I guess I'll have to keep up the tradition.  Luckily it's only a couple of bucks!  I was glad I got these pictures because a few minutes later the operator came and told us Cora had to ride on her own horse, so we opted for the bench seat instead.

Then we had lunch at Red Robin and then headed home right before it started to rain.  Such a fun little family date!

Happy Birthday Uncle Chris!

Uncle Chris' birthday was on Valentine's Day, but we celebrated as a family on February 19th with a trip to Medieval Times!  I hadn't been since I was in high school, and Michael hadn't been since he was a kid, so we were really looking forward to it.  Happy Birthday Uncle Chris!

We arrived early so we could get all checked in and we found out we would be rooting for the yellow knight!  We never could get Wes to wear his crown, such a stinker!

Grammy and Wes checking out the horses.  It was very important to him to tell us that he only saw one black horse.

Cora on the other hand, was very cooperative and wore her crown like a little princess :)

Mike and I weren't sure how Wes was going to react, and as soon as we were allowed in to the arena and sat down at our table, he began to get a little nervous...

...and then the lights went down...

...and he was not a happy camper!  He kept saying he wanted to leave and wanted OUT!  But...

...as soon as the horses started coming out and we bought him a $1 flag so he could cheer on our knight, he had a striking change of heart! :)

And of course things got even more exciting for him when the food started coming!  I broke the rules and brought Wes a spoon and fork (the spoon came in handy for the "dragon soup" but of course he loved the fact that he didn't have to use his fork!)

We all thought the food was delicious, which is saying a lot for the number of people they serve.  We were served soup, bread, chicken, ribs, potatoes and hot apple strudel for dessert.

I brought my big fancy camera and of course left it in the car.  So my little digital camera didn't take great photos of the arena, but here are a few pics of the horses and our yellow knight (if you can see them)!

These are from my phone...

...our yellow knight won his battle against the blue knight, but then lost his "dispute" against the green knight :)

Wes loved cheering on all the knights and really enjoyed the whole show. I liked the jousting and Grammy liked the horsemanship, and we all liked the falcon that flew around the arena right over our heads! (thankfully there were no accidents!)  

Cora was such a good girl the whole night.  She nursed and then was quiet, probably mesmerized by all the sights and sounds, while we ate and then she fell asleep for the last 45 minutes of the show.

We look a little scary in this first pic, but it was the only one of the four of us.  

Happy Birthday Uncle Chris, and thanks Grammy and Grandpa for the fun night!

Milk Cheese

 I know what you're thinking, and yes, this post is about that lovely stuff that all babies get under their chins (some babies more than others!)...milk cheese :)  As I have mentioned, Cora is a barf queen, a geyser if you will, and is constantly covered in spit up and therefore harboring milk cheese.  I had given Mike all of Wesley's blue burp cloths to use for car washing, but I took them back.  I'm grateful for the piles and piles of baby clothes I have which save me from doing Cora's laundry every day, sometimes twice.  And she definitely needs a bath every day, sometimes twice.  Running two baths takes too much time, so Wes has been kindly sharing his bath time with his sister.    He likes helping get her clean, he doesn't like it so much when she barfs in the water...sometimes running two baths just can't be avoided.  

Squeaky clean...for the moment!

A Long Time Ago

Since today is Cora's three month birthday and I've been taking her picture every month (those pics to follow) I got to thinking about Wesley's monthly pictures.  I've been wanting to make a collage like this for a while and since I already had them all organized in a file, it was super quick!  I love it when things are easy (though it rarely happens these days).

My little guy is so big now, these seem like ages ago.  What a fun and challenging time first year parenting is, we are so blessed to have this guy and his little sister.  Thank you Jesus!