Just an ordinary day.....

Until.......

We headed out to water the newly planted flowers. After they helped me water the plants (or in other words, squirted me and each other with the hose) the boys spotted a caterpillar. Luckily, for the caterpillar, they were more interested in watching him instead of squishing him like they usually do. They were very intently watching it crawl by on the grass.......

When all of a sudden, they hear a familiar, high-pitched music. Their heads perk up when they realize....IT'S THE ICE-CREAM MAN!!!!!--or lady in our case.

Of course some screaming, clapping and dancing follows so I run in to get my money! After several minutes of trying to decide which ice-cream they want (there were like 30 pictures of ice-creams that were very distracting to the decision making) they finally decided on rocket pops!! YAY!

Cooper eats his in three big bites causing a brain freeze that was cured by putting his sticky, blue and red head in mommy's lap!

Evan wants to slowly "yick" his causing it to drip all over him. We had to remove the white shirt he was wearing. Slowly, slowly, slowly he licks his rocket pop.

And now.........we need baths!

Bubba and Daddy were at baseball practice and we didn't tell them! Shhhhhh!

We LOVE warm spring afternoons!

Warning....this post makes me cry...it might make you, too!

Many nights, well most nights, I count down the minutes until bedtime.....I know, it sounds horrible even as I type it, but it's true. The weekends are a different story. But during the week when I have worked all day and Jeremy is working late (until 11:00) and I am home alone with the boys and they are tired from their day and screaming at the top of their lungs because someone took their toy and I am trying to get dinner cooked and on the table and cleaned up before giving them a bath, reading them a book and helping them do homework or wind down, and I am about to scream.....well, I watch the clock and sometimes we head to bed even before 7:00. (Yes, I know that is a RRRUUUUNNNNN on sentence, but it proves my point--I am TIRED AND STRESSED on weekday nights!)

But sometimes........

They surprise me with the sweetest night ever. Like tonight....

Yes, I worked today, and yes I had to cook dinner and clean and all those other things, but tonight......

Tonight, they were the best! I cried and cried after I laid them down because I realized they are growing up too fast and I can't remember everything they do and say and it made me sad. I want to remember it all. This old brain just can't do it! I will just have to remember the special times like we had tonight.

Cooper found these pieces to a box that looked very much like long train cars. He kept putting them end to end and was just in awe that they looked like a train. He would call "mama, mama, come yook, come yook." He would lay on his belly on the floor in front of the train and his mouth would fall open with an "awwww" sound every time. EVERY TIME! Like it was the first amazing time he had seen it---even the 15th time! I would lay on my belly beside him and he just smiled the most beautiful contented smile ever.

I would get up because, after all, Evan was calling "mama, mama, help me" and I would head to the bathroom to help him potty.

Coop would come running and grab my hand in his precious chubby hand and pull me to "come yook" and would be amazed all over again at his train. He would lay down, pat the floor for me to lay beside him, and wait for me to be amazed too.....which of course I pretended to be every time...even the 15th time!

I was absolutely in love with his excitement and joy of those silly boxes. I would just kiss him all over his face every time. I couldn't get enough of him tonight. I know that he has to grow and change, but I just don't want him to. I'm NOT READY! I'm not ready for any of them to. I want them to stay little forever. I know it can't be, but for now.....I'm refusing to let them grow.

So tonight, instead of counting down the minutes until bedtime, I am counting down the minutes till morning when I can kiss, squeeze, and hug them again.

**I didn't get any pictures of the train cars or of Coop's sweet face in amazement. I was too busy enjoying the moment to grab the camera, but I plan to tomorrow!

Tomorrow: And here's his train (drool and all).......

Catching Up!

Although it doesn't seem like it as I haven't posted anything in a month.....we have been so busy and having so much fun enjoying this BEAUTIFUL weather.

Upward basketball has ended and baseball has begun! YAY! We love some baseball. Cohen is doing great on his new team-the Sluggers. He has been practicing hard and has had 2 tournaments already and one more this weekend! The littles have enjoyed hanging out at the ball field much more than I thought. They love running around and playing in the dirt with their "ball park friends." We usually pack a lunch and enjoy a picnic while we are there. Evan loves it so much that every time we are leaving the house he asks, "are we going to baseball?"

Cohen is being tested for SAGE at school. I an mot surprised, but I am thrilled that someone other than me noticed his "brightness." He has always been such a sponge and learns so quickly. He is reading on a 3rd grade level or higher! He is really quite the mathematical problem solver too and really analyzes everything! I have known all along how smart he is.....but I am his MOM! The testing starts next week at school. I am excited to see how it goes and look forward to him being pushed a little more at school. He has an awesome teacher that is exposing him to so many new things, but I think he really needs more than he gets with the regular classroom standards.

We went to the circus last week and the boys LOVED it--well, except the clowns. No one wanted a picture with them!!! The boys behaved so well....I was actually pleasantly surprised! I hoped for the best, but my bag was planned for the worst (with snacks galore, toys, etc to help us through). We didn't need any of that. They boys loved the show! They also enjoyed the ride to the arena. Evan was in amazement of the buildings and all the sights of the city!

We have been outside every waking minute it seems. All the boys love it outside. They DO NOT like when it is time to come in---I do have to cook dinner though and we must come in!

Spring? Is that you?

No, it wasn't Spring, but we acted like it. This past weekend the weather was perfect! 70 degrees in January. I mean really? That's unheard of! But I guess we do live in Georgia!!!

We got outside as soon as we could after breakfast so we didn't miss a second. These boys love to play outside! L.O.V.E. it! Seriously, it is total meltdown mania when it's time to come in.

Even though I knew what was to come when it was time to come back in (crying, hitting, falling in the floor, etc), we ventured outside anyway! We rode bikes, drew with chalk, pushed cars, threw balls and ran in the road. We had a ball soaking up the sun's rays....while they lasted!

We were sad to see the warm weather end, but it gave us a glimpse of what's to come...hopefully soon! We are hopeful that the ol' groundhog will not see his shadow tomorrow so we can have more beautiful days to enjoy together just playin' and laughin'! We miss you Spring!

Bathtime fun!

Snaggle Tooth!

Cohen has had a wiggly tooth for a couple of days. It was the biggest "baby" tooth I have ever seen. The root was soooo long and gross. We have been trying to wiggle it and pull it, but it just wouldn't come out. Well, he lost it during lunch today at school when he bit into a grape! At bed time when we were about to tuck Cohen in we remembered we needed to grab the tooth. But? it was LOST! We lost the lost tooth! But only for a little while! We finally found it in the trash can....Guess who? Yep, Coop. He throws EVERYTHING in the trash can. Luckily, we found and it and all is well. The tooth fairy will be visiting soon!

Talking to Evan....

Me (practicing Evan's "facts"): How old are you?

Evan: Two.

Me: What's your favorite color?

Evan: I not know...I say ello

Me: What's your name?

Evan: Me.

LOL! I thought that was so cute! Wonder when people have to call him something other than "me"!