Boys are loud!

non-stop from 7AM to 8PM it's noise...airplane noise ninja noise screaming noise train noice hot wheels noise elmo noise fighting noise the list goes on and on! YIKES!!

Taylor showing off his new winter hat

and Captain America showing off his new hat

Trouble

NEED I SAY mORE!!!!

Best Buds

Riley and his best bud Elias! Thanks for your friendship buddy:)

It's been a while...

Sorry for not being an active blogger as of the last 5 months but it was mainly due to being an overactive mommy! We have gone through quite a bit of change in the last 4 months and I think are starting to accept our current situation. I won't bore you of all the details besides to reassure you that the boys are being treated like kings and are holding up like two strong soldiers. Riley has started his new pre-school in St. Anthony and has also started going to church with his best friend on some weekends. Riley really wants to have a sleepover and everyday he reminds me he is not a little boy anymore. He is very interested ( as in this last month) in states and who lives in each state. One day he said "Mom why does Minnesota have two states you know Minneapolis and St.Paul" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He is definetly ready for all day kindergarden and can't wait to get on the bus. Taylor was also signed up for pre-school at church as well and he made it 3 days. The teacher said he would sit in the corner and not move or speak to anyone the entire time. He seemed traumatized by school and the third day I litterally had to drag him into the car because he was so hysterical. It broke my heart and I gave in. Next year he WILL be going to pre-school I'm just hoping he will not have so much anxiety. The boys got a new 4 wheeler Power Wheels Ninja that travels at a whopping 5 miles per hour. They think they are pretty cool driving it around the streets. Riley does most of the driving but Taylor drives too.

Notice Taylor's necklace in the first picture! He loves jewelry and yes I am the mom in the little girls section at Target buying y 2 year old son some jewelry! Way to rock it Tay!

Taylors birthday!

Here are some pictures from Taylor's second birthday.

At two, Taylor can recite the whole alphabet,knows most of his colors and can count to 4. He enjoys reading his elmo books, playing trains with Riley, playing air hockey with his new table, watching Mickey Mouse and of course taking care of the Sesame Steet crew. He is not much for crafts, as he would really prefer to do body painting or table painting. He LOVES rides and going to the mall ( I have trained him well). He is left handed and very physical. He really enjoys jumping from the kitchen table onto a bean bag. He weighs 3 pounds less than Riley and only wears 1 shoe size smaller. Here are his two year old pictures.

2 and 3!

We have had a whirlwind month, starting off with Taylor's 2nd birthday. That was a huge hit, he received over 30 presents and a special visit from Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street. Riley is busy talking about his birthday in June and he has so many plans I don't even know where to begin. I will post pictures of Taylor's birthday and his new harley motorcycle when I have time. Since Tay's birthday he has had a very tough road. He had surgery the day after his birthday and has been back to the hospital twice with complications. He finally just told me a few days ago, " Let's just take my weiny off." (He got circumsized) Note to any other parents of young baby boys don't wait until they are two to have the circumcision done. It is a nightmare! Well Tay is finally turning the corner and we were able to go on a family outing for the first time in a while........

Riley is playing floor hockey and loving every minute of it. We are headed to Anna Maria Island at the end of May and I am starting the countdown now!

I Love you!

While Matt is on the road, Riley has started sleeping with me everynight. I actually dont mind it, at least I dont sleep alone everynight!Last night as I was rubbing his back, it was pitch black in the room and silent,he said, "Mom, I Love You." It was dark so I couldn't see him, but that was the first time he said it, without me saying it first. The way he said it, so natural and genuine, it just made me realize he is now a young man. I love you too RY!

Happiness!!!

It's official, Taylor is in love. Ms. Lillee and Taylor are heading to the altar....

Where in the world is Taylor?

That's right, Taylor is hiding and I just can't seem to find him. He is getting tricky! This picture was taken during a game of hide and seek. (If your wondering why he is naked, he takes his clothes off all the time for no reason, and I was sick of redressing him at this point!)

Sesame Street bath

Taylor has a growing collection of Sesame Street plush character toys. He carries them everywhere with him, and says goodnight to each of them everynight. He feeds them and gives them juice and realizes immediately if one of them is not in his sight. So, yes, I am the mom at Target with the 2 year old in the cart with a bunch of stuff animals. Recently Taylor has introduced trains and balls to his babies, and before you know it I I'm sure I will be buying toys for the sesame street crew. Another fantastic thing about the Sesame street crew is that they "poop" and often need to be changed (all according to Taylor!). Yesterday I asked Taylor if he wanted to take a bath and he ran in the bathroom and hopped in the bath tub with his clothes on. I told him to take his clothes off. While he did this I ran to get a towel and baby wash etc. I came back and this is what I found......

Not only did the Sesame street crew need a bath, they each needed to be individually washed with baby wash.

When we were finished with the bath, I got Taylor our and squeezed out the plush Sesame street crew, I headed to the laundry room to put them in the dryer and Taylor came running after me, opened the dryer and looked at me and said, "NO!" Apparently dripping wet plush toys are fun to carry around the house. Needless to say the Sesame Street crew is clean and currently air drying!!!!

It took 3 months....

The boys have finally decided that they can handle wearing boots, hats, and mittens. They wouldn't even go near them 3 months ago. Riley actually prefers his boots over shoes now and it is amazing to see how they have figured out that playing in the snow with the right gear can be fun. It took many battles of me struggling with them to get their fingers in the mittens and the hats on their heads but now they seem to be enjoying the snow. This past week has been warm (30 or so degrees) and they have spent a few days outside for more than 30 minutes. Back in early December Riley screamed just having to walk from the car to the house because he was to cold. On the cold days Riley still tells me he wants to move to his Florida house and he hates the snow, but overall the improvement is amazing!! (Just a side note- I WANT TO MOVE TO FLORIDA TOO!!) Yes this would mean another cross country move, which would put us up to 5 moves in 5 years but you can't beat 70 degrees and sunny in January. I guess we will have to wait and see what the spring has in mind for us!

Potty time!

Riley went in to use the bathroom and I thought nothing of it. He does this on his own all the time and tells me to leave if i go in with him. Well yesterday after coming out of the bathroom Riley says, " Mom, I went potty!" I said, "Great job buddy!" Riley replies, "I peed all over the floor and jumped over it and it was the biggest jump I have ever done!" Sure enough the bathroom floor was soaked, but at least he is practicing his long jump, right?

Our winter escape

We packed up our bags rather fastly, and jumped on a plane and headed to Anna Maria Island off the coast of Florida. Taylor decided (2 days before the trip) that he was 2. He started throwing tantrums lasting 45 minutes long and there was nothing I could do to console him. I was a little hesitant as we boarded the plane. The plane rides went smoothly and everyday was around 70 degrees and sunny. Riley got to go swimming outside twice and we made a day long trip to Busch Gardens Amusement Park. Matt met us down in Florida and we all enjoyed the beautiful weather, the ocean, the warmth, and NO SNOW! Here are a few pictures of our trip.... Note to self ( 2 year olds dont travel well and dont sleep in new beds) Thanks to my dad or Bappa for helping out so much with the boys and letting us stay at your place!
The boys on their first ride!

Taylor and I at Sesame street!

Riley playing with the guns on the splash pad!

Things that melt my heart

Yesterday the boys were playing in the living room, while I was cleaning up dishes etc. They were just goofing around and then I heard Riley say, "Taylor wannna kiss?" Taylor responded, "YEAH!" Riley then bent down and kissed him on the lips. I just about dropped my dish! Keep in mind these are the two boys that I spend 90% of my day spliting apart due to fighting. Anyways back to the story, then Taylor says to Riley, "Kiss?" and gives Riley a kiss back! I told the boys how nice that was and they both rolled their eyes and started wrestling again. Isn't it funny how just two minutes of your day can make your day brighter? I know deep down they love each other, but it just is a love-hate relationship.