Some Random Photos...

I was cleaning up my Picasa photos yesterday and found a few cute random Instagram pictures that I haven't posted. Of course, if you follow me on Instagram, you've seen all of these. So, if this is all a repeat to you, I apologize. For the rest of the gang... enjoy!

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Parker and I went for a long walk the other day. It was one of those days that just seemed criminal to spend inside. There was a cool breeze blowing, but it was really sunny, so I wasn't hot or cold, I was just really comfortable.

When we go for these long walks, we talk about every little thing we see - particularly nature. Parker loves to watch squirrels scurry up trees and then look down on us while they dig into their acorns. He often tries to offer them a taste of whatever he's snacking on. It sounds something like, "HERE squoool! HERE! A quacker fo you!!"

This particular day, we spotted a beautiful Monarch butterfly. We watched it as it danced from flower to flower in our neighbor's garden. Then if flew off high above the house, just to come fluttering back down right in front of us. Parker's gaze never left that butterfly for one second. He was mesmerized!

And it made me realize... that Spring...is finally here.

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We've been spending lots of time outside the past couple of weeks. Testing our our new vibrant sidewalk chalk (did you know Crayola now makes cube-shaped chalk so that it doesn't roll down your driveway? Brilliant!), teaching Parker how to blow big bubbles (and not spill all the bubble liquid out of the container - argh!), and playing lots of games.

This day, we decided to spread out a towel, and play Battleship in our driveway. I love this game, but it was even more fun to play it outside with the wind blowing and neighbors popping in and out to say "hello."

I played Payton first, and I lost. Then Parker took over. I'm pretty sure he won too.

One afternoon, following a day of torrential downpours, I opened up the sandbox only to discover it had turned into a mud box! The top had not been put on properly and the rain must have poured into it all night.

My first reaction was, "How in the world am I going to dry out this sand?!?"
Parker's first reaction was, "Ohhhhhh! Water!!!" He loved it. He drove his cars through the mud, made mud puddles, mud sandcastles and mud waterfalls.

Kids always have a way of putting things into perspective for me.

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Payton and Parker have been playing together a lot more recently, which is awesome for me. Especially during the "witching hour" between 5-6 p.m. when they're hungry and tired, and I'm trying to make dinner.

On a few occasions I have realized how quiet it was and then noticed they were happily playing or sitting next to each other watching TV.

On this night in particular, they were laughing and talking and having such a great time, I didn't want them to see me taking their picture for fear I might interrupt what was going on. So, I just cracked the door a bit to sneak a peek into their brotherly love.

That's all I got for today. Hoping to get some new projects going on around here soon so I can share some ideas on the blog. If there's anything you'd like to see, or topics you'd like me to hit on, please leave me a comment below. I'd love to hear from ya!

Have a great "hump day!"

Collared Shirts, Colds & Comfort

So, I guess I need to accept that the time has finally come.
Payton is finally to the point where he cares about what he wears.
For his entire life, I could lay out an outfit for him and he wouldn't say a word about it. It didn't matter if it was a monogrammed shirt, preppy plaid shorts, or even the adorable Kelly's Kids madras shorts that matched my sundress. He just didn't care.
But lately, all I hear is, "MOM... do I have to wear a collared shirt???"
Or, "You're going to make me get dressed up for this aren't you?" - as if I'm putting him through pure torture.
His favorite outfit? Well, that's easy.
This ratty old pair of grey cotton shorts with a drawstring waist and whatever comfy cotton t-shirt is at the top of his drawer. All paired with is Crocs of course. He would literally wear this outfit every single day if I let him.
I guess this is just another sign that my little boy is growing up.
Good thing I saved those matching madras shorts for Parker to wear! Hee... hee...

On a totally different note, I didn't take many pictures this weekend at all, even though we had a really fun, active weekend. I think my hands were busy the whole time either holding Parker, or wiping his nose. He's had a cold off-and-on for a few weeks now... and it's killing me. It's now turned into a nasty cough, which keeps him up at night. I feel like I have a newborn all over again. He's been waking up every couple of hours and I am exhausted!
So, we're off to the pediatrician this afternoon in hopes of getting some cough medicine. Everything OTC says not to use on kids under 6...and that's just not gonna work.

The few pics that I did manage to snap are pretty cute though, and they bring me a lot of comfort right now when I look at them. They remind me that although being a parent is some times exhausting and filled with sleepless nights and arguments about computer time, the unconditional love that children give back is worth it a ga-zillion times over.

On Friday afternoon, I took the boys for a bike ride with a stop at Starbucks for a little treat.

Parker always picks the cake pop.

 Payton always chooses the doughnut.

Then we walked to the fountain and played hide-n-seek and chase and all sorts of other fun games.

They were both in such fun moods.

On Saturday, we did our usual rounds at baseball and then headed over to our friend's "Novemberfest" block party. The two hosts provided 6 different kinds of home-brewed beer and everyone brought yummy food to share. They even had a bounce house for the kids! Needless to say, our kiddos were POOPED afterward. Parker actually fell asleep on the couch before bedtime.

After church on Sunday, we went to our good friends' son's 2-year old birthday. The wife has her own party-planning and dessert catering business, so we knew it was going to be an amazing party. And boy, was it!

The entire house was decorated in a "surf" theme and there were more desserts than any kid could dream of! It was amazingly beautiful.

Again, the kids wore themselves out playing, jumping in another bounce house and eating delicious treats.

Once again, both were exhausted by nighttime. Which was a good thing, because so were we!

Unfortunately, Parker's cough kept him up most of the night, which makes for a very tired Mama today. Let's hope our visit to the doctor today will help solve that problem.

I'd love it if you would say a quick prayer for us. We've had a rough month with lots of illnesses being passed around our house. It's also been emotionally draining on top of physically challenging. We are praying for good health for the upcoming holidays... for our family & yours!