Fun pictures

Just a few cute/fun pictures:

Drew playing and loving life


Evan loves these Tell Me a Story cards we have for him and he decided he needed to read to Drew


With my boys!


Evan is still into shoes...this could be bad

Anniversary

4 years ago yesterday I was walking down the isle toward Scot on my daddy's arm. Oh yes. It's been 4 years since that day. 4 years since I fully committed my life to my best friend and I haven't looked back once. We've had some downs but many more ups to counter them. We've moved 3 times and had 2 boys. Life is good and we celebrated.

Yesterday started off early with a 3am foot massage.

Oh no. Not that kind of massage. Scot's feet looked worse than mine did when I was days away from giving birth and even though I really just can't stand feet, I just had to relieve the pressure since he couldn't do it himself. You see, Scot broke his arm Tuesday. He was arm wrestling.

Done laughing?

So he was arm wrestling. Something he has done multiple times. He and his opponent were holding their own when all of a sudden Scot's arm snapped right above his elbow. It was a freak thing. The doctor said that his muscles were too strong for the torque that was applied to his bones and the angle was just right. So no - he doesn't have weak bones. And no - he didn't win, either. In other implications...he has been sleeping a lot. And by sleep I mean that he closes his eyes and doses in an upright position. As in he sleeps sitting up strait as a board. And he'll be doing this for the next 2 weeks and probably a little longer.... Throws a wrench into things, but we're dealing. He's hoping to get back into work Monday morning and resume call the week after that.

On the upside, we weren't planning on even seeing each other for our anniversary and now we have ended up spending gobs and gobs of time together unlike we have since very shortly after Drew was born. We're soaking it up. The other upside? Scot taught himself to be completely ambidextrous a couple years ago for just such an occasion!

For our anniversary, we honestly just laid low. It was Scot's first day off his meds (his choice) and we took it real slow. Chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, a slow walk, naps in the afternoon, a nice dinner here at home, a movie after Evan was in bed...it was delightful.

Today was even better. We had originally planned to go into Amish country (45 minutes from here is the middle of the largest Amish community in the world) on Saturday (Scot's day off), but decided to go today instead. Scot was feeling all right and so we got ready as quickly as any one woman can get 2 little boys and one big boy ready and out the door (9 am!) and headed off! We had a blast! We explored the Burton Maple Cabin, the Middlefield Cheese Factory, the Cheese co-op, saw Amish horse and buggies, ate a picnic lunch in the middle of the town commons and had home made ice cream for dessert! It was fantastic! And the drive was beautiful! You know those postcards with the fields four different shades of green with the trees all lined up on the perimeter and the one lone farm house with a silo in the background? Yea. That was the view.

Right now all 3 boys are sleeping and I'm trying to think of fun things we can do tonight that won't require two hands and is something all 4 of us can do but where really only one parent is needed. A bit tricky. Maybe another movie? Tomorrow we're planning on going out to eat while our friends Jamie and Jack watch both boys for us. (thanks guys!) We can't wait.

Here are just a few pictures from the last two days...enjoy!

Last night


You know when you're in Amish country when...


Enjoying their ice cream


OK - so we do kinda look alike. I guess.


Happy boys!


3 states and 2 additions later, this is what our family looks like! I love it!

Weekend Facts

• Saturday was busy: A walk that turned into a jog in the morning. A dead squirrel in my garage. A trip to the Children's museum. A nice long nap for the boys. A dinner party with friends. All without my dear husband.
• Scot was on call Saturday (again), which meant he walked in the door shortly before I walked out the door to church on Sunday. He slept until 2:30.
• Games were played and family time had on Sunday
• We all went to a Greek Festival on Sunday afternoon after naps and met up with friends.
  
• I ate the most expensive Gyro ever - but it was also the best.
  
• We topped the trip off with a special stop to our favorite ice cream shop: Mitchells. Yum.
• Evan now has his stuffed animals pray with him before bed and I have to kiss them all goodnight. And his toes have to be covered.
  
• Drew is officially into food, but we're going to hold him off until I get back from CO.

I think that about does it until I get a little more time to upload pictures (and videos!)!

It'll work...in a pinch

Last night Scot offered to change Drew's diaper before bed. Now you may be thinking, Oh wow - what a great husband! And don't get me wrong, he IS great, and he helps out a LOT when he's home -- but changing the boys diapers has always been a highlight of his. They laugh and giggle and send wonderful smiles to whoever is cleaning them up. So after a long day at the hospital, I never deny him the laughs and coos of our youngest.

So why, then, is Drew not smiling in the picture? Well, you see dear reader, when I came upstairs to kiss my little bundle goodnight, I noticed that something wasn't quite right, and it wasn't the lack of giggles coming from the bathroom. Scot had accidentally grabbed Evan's size 6 diapers (what we use for night time) and put it on Drew!

I told my very sleepy husband, "Well, I guess we know now that they'll work in a pinch!"

Silly Evan

Evan makes a lot of silly faces, here are just a few I was able to capture the other day at lunch (hence the apple sauce you see).

His Oh no!

Say what?

Squeeze....

Squeeze harder!

Squishy face!

The Nose thing

Cheesey grin


Big Bite!!! (this is the face he makes when he says there is a LOT on his fork/spoon, or just in general when something is too big for him.)

My Men and a Garage Sale

Scot had "off' this past weekend. The first in a a month. And when I say "off", what I mean is that he was post-call on Saturday, so he got home at 9am, hung out with us for about an hour, and then crashed, basically, until dinner. BUT - we were able to get in a walk in that hour he was awake in the late-morning and a movie was watched in the evening.

Sunday, though, was delightful. He actually was able to come to church with us (the last 3 weeks he's been post-call on Sunday, so he hasn't been able to attend) and we went over to friends for lunch and then just hung in the evening. It was so good to have family time after being deprived of it for awhile.

Sunday morning Evan had a blast watching his daddy shave and get ready. And just like his daddy, he wanted to wear a tie. Thankfully, I had just the thing! A little long, but oh so cute!

And here is a picture of some of my finds from Saturday's garage sale that I happened upon!

3 puzzles (one a Melissa and Doug) for .50 each, and the truck board book for .50, too!! My other 2 finds I was quite happy about as well: snow pants for Evan in mint condition for $3 and a wonderful Lego Table (bigger than the original Legos, but smaller than Duplo Blocks) with the Legos included for only $5!!

Park Date

We went to a park this morning with some new friends. Here are a few snapshots of the boys!

Please note his backward shoes...he tried to put them on and I helped him finish. Yet I didn't notice until it was lunch time.


Drew's 'new' face. He sucks in his bottom lip and raises his eyebrows -- it's too cute!


His 'normal' face


Playing in the huge sand area!


Supporting VMI

I Swore I Never Would

I like it when the boy's outfits coordinate. You know - they're both in similar colors, but different prints. One wearing brown, the other in blue with brown trim. Rugby stripes but different 'teams'. You get the idea. I like to coordinate. I do not like to match them exactly.

Then why, you may wonder, am I staring at a picture of them in the exact same outfit?

This morning I pulled out a fun colorful striped onesie for Drew to wear. Evan happened to be standing right beside me and he pointed to the shirt and said "Evan's shirt!" I told him that it wasn't his shirt, he has one just like it, but this one had snaps at the bottom and was too small for him.

He still insisted that it was his shirt.

So I went and got his shirt to prove it to him and show him that while they were the same print (hand-me-downs from different people and somehow they are both in the appropriate sizes for them to wear at the same time!), they were indeed 2 different shirts. While I was putting the onesie on Drew, I happened to look behind and notice that Evan was struggling to pull his shirt on.

The one that matched Drew's.

I sighed and let it go. I took a picture. I thought to myself how nice it would be to be able to spot Evan on the playground later that morning. I thought of all the looks people would give me because my boys, who are far from being twins, were wearing the exact same shirt. I thought how funny it would be to post a picture of Evan a week before his 1st birthday wearing the onesie that Drew has on today. At 4 months.

More Brother Love

Before a kiss

"Say Cheese!"

Hugs...

Chocolate hound?

So when I'm wanting some chocolate, but don't want to make a whole batch of brownies, I have some No Pudge Fudge -- you can get it at Trader Joe's. Well, Scot was the one who was in the mood for chocolate last night, so he made up his own personal brownie. With Drew in his arms. I think the results are obvious.

After the grab (and the pleae for help, when I chose to get the camera instead)

And somehow he got it in his mouth! Little Stinker!

Save Some Money

Just like we're told as kids, money doesn't grow on trees! Being a med-student wife the past 4 years has taught me a lot about saving money. Even though we're in residency now, and Scot gets a pay-check every 2 weeks, we still have to live almost just as tight as we did in med school. (Thank you, loans, for that!) Anyway, here are a few tricks and tips I thought I would share with you all. I'm sure there are more than these, but this is what I have on the top of my head at the moment. :)

• Drink water - I know, sounds silly, but we save so much by not buying teas or sodas or special juices! (speaking of, we get the frozen concentrate juices at the store instead of the pre-made stuff!)
• Don't buy junk food! Not only is it expensive, it's not good for you.
  
• Make your own cleaning supplies! The Internet is full of recipes for glass cleaner, all-purpose cleaner, toilet/tub cleaner, and more! Not only is it cheaper, but it's better for the environment!
• Make your own detergent (both dish and clothes!)
• Add white vinegar to the rinse cycle on your dishwasher to get dishes spot-free - you'll save a ton with only this change!
• Cut coupons (here's a site from a friend!) and meal plan to avoid over or unnecessary buying.
• Buy food in bulk if possible - especially ground meat. Brown it all at once and divvy it up into 1lb proportions and freeze it. Saves time and money!
• Eat in and have friends over.
• Have date night be a movie in and home made popcorn.
• Make your own ice cream! It only takes 5 minutes!
• Utilize your library! Books, movies, CDs...
• Cancel cable and use Hulu.com instead! (along with the movies from the library, of course)
• Buy a pack (or two) of blank cards with pretty designs. They work for thank you, get well, miss you, sorry, and even happy birthday cards! You can find a pack of 12 for what you would spend on one 'fancy' card. (But, being a card person myself...you just need the 'fancy' cards sometimes!)
  

And just a time saving tip if you have little ones and have a hard time getting out the door Sunday morning for church:

• Set out every one's clothes the night before
• Pack snacks if you need them the night before and put them with your Bible by the door
  
• During Saturday night bath-time, shave your legs! (or wait until they're out and in bed) One less step to do the morning of!
• Have an easy breakfast or a pre-made the night before pop-it-in-the-oven breakfast ready to go, like baked oatmeal.
  

4 Months!

Drew turned 4 months on Friday! 15lbs 26in

He is becoming more and more animated and verbal about what he likes (and doesn't like, too). He recognizes people and things and gets excited. He is still a very happy and content baby.

Evan Funnies

Just a few funny/touching things Evan has said in the last couple days! He has started to put more and more words together with each day, and the things he comes up with sometimes are just hilarious!

Yesterday, he did something funny and I told him "Evan, you crack me up!" He looked at me without saying anything for a few seconds, and then grinned, and said "Crack! Egg!" I just laughed. Must be all that cooking we do together because I don't think I say the word crack any other time!

Evan has gotten really good about saying please and thank you at the appropriate times, and Scot and I have always tried our best to lead by example. But this morning, I slipped up, and told Evan to put Drew's paci (which he had gotten a hold of) into the crib. He looked up at me with a slight frown on his face and said "Please, mommy" in a way that only meant one thing: you forgot to say please! Oops!

Last night during our time where I read a Bible story to Evan, we talked about how Jesus is the light in darkness. I explained how it was like a lamp in a dark room. It was a short conversation. I didn't figure any of it woudl stick. I was wrong. Tonight after dinner I told him we were going to go and read a Bible story about Jesus. After a few seconds of silence Evan got a big grin on his face and said "Jesus (pause) Light!" Talk about making my heart sing praises!

Chocolate and Fingers

I'm sure as time goes on, the things my children like to put in their mouths will change. Right now, the favorites are chocolate and fingers.

Chocolate chip pancakes mean a very happy little boy with a very messy little face.


This guy loves sucking on those fingers of his.

Swinging

The newest 'thing' at our house is the Johnny Jump-up. Drew loves being in it and being able to stand and look around. Evan loves it because he gets to push Drew in it when I adjust it so Drew's feet aren't dragging. And I love it, because most times, I get to completely prep dinner to the music of my 2 little guys laughing!

Drew's crazy in the eyes hair the night before I cut it.

No Place Safer

This is a rare occasion. Very rare. As in - this is the first time with Drew that I have experienced the absolute luxury of having him sleep perfectly content on me. Sure, he'll fall asleep in my arms on occasion, but I typically whisk him away to his crib. This time, however, I not only let him fall asleep on me, but I let him stay there. And really, is there any place safer than in the arms of your mother? (for a baby, that is.)