iPhone Catch Up

Sometimes being little is just such hard work!

 

A little bit of Pink Berry action.  YUM!

One of their favorite times of day!

 

If that little sleeping face doesn't melt your heart...I'm not sure what will!...

Cheese Dada!

A constant view of mine.  He ALWAYS want to be a part of whatever is going on.

'What Up' John Deere Style ;)

Taking pictures of his baby brother!  SO CUTE!

He was convinced his juice from his orange made the shape of a 'HIPPOPOTAMUS MAMA'!

 

Every window needs a good window washer, right?!

Check out that swirl goin' on in the back!  What a cute little head!

The Great Closet Clean Up

For years (literally) our closet has been a place where no one should dare to go.  Little children would get lost in there!  It was a place Trevor and I didn't want to go!  A place of no return and - well - a MESS!  You know when you kinda just start to not care and then it becomes easier and easier to not care?!  That's how we felt about our closet.  We kept setting little dates for ourselves...'closet must be cleaned by.....'.  It never happened.  Because we didn't know where to start.  So, as a surprise, I did it while Trev was gone a few weeks ago.  (He HATED that closet).  I even did every load of laundry (including the pjs that the boys were wearing that very morning!).  He was surprised!

You know, after all that hype...I didn't even take BEFORE pictures!  What the heck was I thinking?!  Basically, to visualize the before - picture all the crap on the floor pre-bagged spread all over our closet floor, shelves, and really any miscellaneous place you could find it!

I took no prisoners!  If something hadn't been worn within six months pre-Jackson - away it went!  And really pretty much all maternity clothes went because anything worth keeping was too well worn I would never wear it again anyways (think plenty of holes worn in)...what can I say, they got a lot of use through the two close pregnancies.

It felt good.  And more importantly, it looks the EXACT same today.  It is way easier to keep something looking good and clean when you've spent that amount of work and time organizing it!  It's just easier!

Special thanks to June who brought Aidan to keep Moose occupied and who filled those lovely blue bags for me!  She was so inspired, she went home and did her own closet!  We could start a whole new revelation here!

This is the part I dreaded the most, so I am so thankful June did it.  BTW...the kids found the clothes pile and the bags of clothes to be the GREATEST thing to play in.  Go figure. 

I had bought those bins on the bottom and pants, etc would be stored in them...bad idea...it's much better being able to see what you have!  The containers now store our bedding on the top shelf.  Way  more practical!

Look at all that floor space!

Dad came and helped me hang this necklace rack I bought TWO years ago that's been sitting on the shelf in there!

I even cleaned out the drawers in my jewelry cabinet.  It had become the housing unit for many random crappy things that really should have found their way to the garbage!  I really should have taken a picture of the top of that!  It was a disaster!

 It's like a whole room on its own now!  In fact, the kids take toys in there now, just to play! 

Doing the closet led to doing all the drawers in our bathroom and in our dressers.  WELL WORTH IT!  It just created a spiral effect.  And our room is so much more stress free...minus the construction tractors on the floor that are staring at me right now ;)

 

Special Thanks

To Ollie for the special critter adventure this morning!  Ollie has a stash of around a couple hundred different spiders and such!  Could you imagine sleeping in the same house as that many critters...I COULDN'T!  In fact, I'm thinking as I write this that posting these pictures this close to bed time may give ME nightmares!

I can honestly say that Jackson was THE BRAVEST person (aside from Ollie) in the room.  He is the only one that wanted to hold any of the critters.  In fact, he practiced all morning on how he would hold his hands and how still he would be - and it paid off, because he nailed it!  He didn't flinch, he stayed still, and he kept his cool.  The scorpion, I think, freaked him out a bit because the texture of his legs when walking on Jackson felt more prickly and he panicked a bit, but stayed pretty still and didn't throw it across the room as he jumped out of his seat (like I sure as hell would have!).  I am so proud of this brave, adventurous, knowledge-thirsty boy we have in our lives.  He is amazing and amazes me each day!  And Sawyer?!  He was far too busy to even consider putting him remotely close to the precious critters!

 

 

Thank you so much Ollie for sharing your passion with us and trusting Moose enough to let him get up close and personal with your 'friends'!

This blog post actually triggered a conversation between Trevor and I.  A conversation about how incredibly lucky our children are and how fortunate we feel to have people in our lives who are open and willing to include us in new, really cool, experiences!  Here's some cool things on Jackson's list (all before he's turned 3)!

1)  He has ridden a camel

2)  He has been on over a handful of plane rides

3)  He has attended an NHL game

4)  He has held both a tarantula and a scorpion

5) He has flown in a 'bush plane' into a fishcamp

6) He has been to Disneyland; not once, not twice, but THREE times!

7)  He has met Lightening McQueen and Mator ;)

8)  He has been to Seaworld and seen Shamu perform

9) He has been a 'teacher' at the ripe age of 3-12 months (Roots of Empathy program)

10)  He has become an AMAZING big brother

He is one amazing boy and it's no doubt that all of these really cool events have contributed to this!

 

Jackson & Reece

These two little bugs love each other so much!  I am not sure how at 2 years of age they were able to form such a strong connection!  It was pretty much instant when they met back in the day at the waterpark for the first time on April 16, 2012 - almost a year ago!  However, they do live in different cities and rarely see each other.  Jackson is always talking about Reece.  Reece is always talking about Jackson.  It hasn't faded.  It's just a true connection.  Sometimes they Facetime each other and sometimes we leave little messages for each other...including the ones below!!!

The day they met...

About Two Weeks Ago...

What started off as innocent turned into a little fun thing that we will ALWAYS remember.  Every time I watch these two videos I get a serious case of the giggles!

Jackson's sweet morning message to Reece...

Reece's sweet (well, somewhat haha) message to Jackson later that afternoon.  Be sure to watch to the end...

Honestly, it caught me so off guard I almost peed myself!  It's been the cause of many a jokes around here!

Auntie Nicole:  'Jackson doesn't know how lucky he's got it!'

Trevor: 'Reece has been watching Amy say goodbye to Chad one too many times!'

Amy: 'Chad wishes he got a goodbye like that.'

Just to name a few!

I am sharing this because kids really do say AND DO the darndest things!  It's so fantastic!

Jackson & Roomba

Some things just never get old!

From almost two years ago...

From about a week ago...

Are you still there!?

Yes, we've been away for a while.  Between my work, Trev working away from home, the boys having a nasty bout of illness that kept us worried and busy, and all the other fabulous every day things that life holds - we've been BUSY!  And really, once I've been away a little too long, it's even harder to get back...but here I am.  AND...instead of catching you up right now, I'm just going to do a fun post!

Mr. Moose got some new rubber boots and a raincoat.  He loves them.  Oh wait, he REALLY LOVES them.  I mean, is there anything better than having your own garments with tractors on them?  He thinks not!  He has grown and changed so much...it even surprises me!  It is amazing watching these two little boogers grow into their own people.  Where is the time going?!  If you are wondering where Sawyer is in these photos, don't worry, we didn't sell him or take him back.  He's here and is as cute as ever!  His photos are just under temporary lock down until I get his birthday invitation out!  SOON!  Another thing that is keeping my brain busy...BIRTHDAYS! 'Two of 'em' as Jackson would say!  I digress...enjoy all there is to enjoy about puddles and boots through the eyes of a 2 year old!

Missed You Guys!

And...a little bit of proof!