Saying goodbye...

On Wednesday we said goodbye to a dear friend that has been a very important part of our family for the past 2 years and 3 months.

.... Peyton's beloved Binky

We went on a scavenger hunt throughout the house and collected all of his binkies and put them in a ziploc bag. When PJ got home we headed out to Target. Peyton was SO excited to use his binkies to buy this...

He has wanted this CD for a few months... but I told him that we needed to wait for something special and then we could come back and get it. So, when I asked him if he would want to trade his binkies for the new Mover's CD he was all about it. Might I mention how much he LOVES his binkies. I tried explaining this meant his binkies would be ALL gone, and I think he understood as much as he could. We went to Target, he picked out his CD, we got a couple other things, and then went to the register. PJ prepped the cashier and Peyton confidently handed over his little bag of binkies to "pay" for his new Mover's CD. He was amazing, I thought, maybe this won't be so bad after all. Then came bedtime. Yes, he cried, and cried, and cried. He normally likes to cuddle... but didn't want me to even rub his back. He kept asking to get his binkies back. He told me, "I am crying because I want my binkies... I am upset mommy". Well, we made it through night one- with a few wakings, and crying... :( But I am happy to report that last night was MUCH better. He only woke up one time, we cuddled for a few minutes, he went back to sleep and then woke up about 6:30am for the morning. Perhaps a little earlier than I would like, but I'll take it if he can learn to sleep through the night :)

I am optimistic that tonight will be even better (fingers crossed)

And he LOVES his new CD- we came home from Costco yesterday and I turned on his CD while I unloaded the car... I looked over and found him on top of our ottoman with his baseball tee (using it as a microphone) and his baseball bat (aka his guitar) and he was rocking out to his new CD :)

Everett Children's Museum

We had some friends invite us to join them for a free night at Everett Children's Museum. I was a little hesitant to go, I wasn't sure if the potential crazy crowds would be worth it. But I have to say, the boys LOVED it. It is one of the best children's museums I have been too. It was definitely crazy... but since the boys didn't mind I decided to jump in and have fun with them.

PJ was right again... he convinced me it would be worth going, and I am totally glad we did. Dylan keeps asking when we'll go again.

Dylan's First Bike Ride

So, I found a crazy deal on a training wheel bike for Dylan and couldn't pass it up. We told him that it was part of his birthday... but that we wanted him to be able to enjoy it during the summer. He was sooo excited for his surprise! The only problem ended up being that for the next week he kept asking if I had another surprise for him :)

We let him ride it in the house for a day before we took it outside for the first time. He rode like a champ and has since taken it to the park a few times and he just took it for his longest ride this weekend at Lake Chelan.

From the mouth of babes...

So PJ took Dylan with him to drop off our van at the mechanic on Monday. When they got there Dylan really wanted to tell the mechanic what was wrong with the car. So this is what he told the mechanic (as best as PJ could remember). "Sometimes, our car doesn't start, but if we say a prayer, then it works". I am so glad that he is gaining a testimony of prayer. I can imagine that if PJ or I had dropped off the car on our own, we might have left out that part of the story. I am so proud of Dylan for having a testimony of prayer and wanting to share it with other people. Our kids really can teach us a lot if we let them.

The other day Peyton says to me, "When I am big I can drive" I told him that when he was 16 he would be able to drive. He thought about it for a minute and looked at me and said, "When I am big and can wear your shirt, I can drive" I thought it was too cute that he would associate being "big enough" to do something with my size. And today he was telling me that when he is big he will be able to wear his Papa's shoes.

Does he really have to want to be all grown up already!

New Dave Matthews Video

So, most of you know I am a Dave Matthews FANatic. He has a new album coming out on June 2nd. Below is a video talking about the new material, and the death of their sax player, LeRoi Moore.



Here is a link to the new song off the CD called "Funny How it is".

Happy Birthday Peyton!

My baby is 2. I know this post is a little late, but I figure since he can't read yet it won't be too traumatizing. Peyton is such a joy to have in our family. He cracks us up everyday and is always full of smiles. He has started pretending that he is another character... it is super cute. Right now we have a few different personas...

1) The Imagination Movers... (A Disney show)- he is Mover Dave, or Mover Rich- it depends... Dylan is Mover Scott... PJ is Uncle Knit Knots... and I get to be Nina.

2) The Magic Treehouse... we have been reading the series to the boys (we are almost done... any suggestions for a new series?) Peyton is Jack, Dylan is Teddy, I am Annie, and PJ is Merlin.
3) The Incredibles... Peyton and Dylan both like to be Dash... for whatever reason Peyton has decided that I am Jack Jack (the baby) and PJ is Mr Incredible... or "Bob"

4) Signing Times... Today while Dylan was at Preschool Peyton decided that we were Alex and Leah from Signing Times. Every week we get new signing time DVDs from the Library (which is totally LOVES) so all around the library he was calling me Leah... I called him Peyton and he said... "I mean- Alex" I responded, "of course, I'm sorry Alex" and he giggled. I love these DVDs -- it has been amazing for his vocab and I am super impressed at how quickly Dylan and Peyton have picked up all of their signs.

There might be more... but that is all I can remember at the moment. It is pretty crazy though, because he'll remember all day and is pretty consistent in calling me "Nina" or whatever character he deems me to be. Dylan did the same thing at this age- just different characters, maybe it is a standard development thing, but it is pretty adorable.

He also LOVES music and is pretty particular about what we listen to. You know he likes a song because after it plays he says "again, again" and when he doesn't like a song, he says, "no, not this one." Sometimes it makes PJ a little crazy because Peyton can listen to the same song 10 times in a row and still want more. Luckily Dylan and I don't mind so much and PJ isn't in the car with us very often :) He sings with the songs that he likes and learns the words super fast. I have been borrowing CDs from the library and he fell in love with the Imagination Movers CDs... so for his birthday we got him one and he was so excited to have his own copy that he didn't have to say goodbye to at the library! He also just discovered the band "Milkshake" and they have a song about baseball that he loves and one about superheros. It is so much fun for me to watch him discover new music and form opinions about songs so quickly. He definitely has some of PJ's blood in him.

He loves drums-- and plays multiple times a day. He counts off with the drumsticks... one, two, three four... and then starts pounding on the drums, and always finishes with the symbol.

He loves sports... any kind and we play a lot of football, baseball, soccer, toss... I am so glad we have a big play room!

But most of all, he LOVES his big brother Dylan. He always wants to be with him and wants to do whatever Dylan is doing. He can keep up pretty well, and it always makes my heart melt to watch them play together. Dylan is such an amazing big brother and I am so grateful to have both of these special spirits in our home. I love watching them hold hands, play in the tub, wrestle, and work together. Yes, they do have their moments of frustration-- but they are far out shined by the moments of kindness.

His Birthday Cake. He was so excited when he saw buzz that he pulled the bar stool up to the counter and just started chatting with buzz for about five minutes. "Hi, how you Buzz?" Then, it was lunch time, so Peyton insisted on saying prayer, "by self"... he blessed buzz and said thank you for buzz about 4 times in his prayer- I thought it was pretty sweet.

I could go on... but he'll be waking from his nap soon :)

We have had a great time celebrating his birthday with family and friends!

A little of why I've been so absent...

It's official... I have my own website. It is amazing what you can learn in such a short time. A few months ago there was a baby shower at PJ's work. He asked if I would do a cake for the party. I decided it would be fun to practice some of my fondant skills and took it on. Well, one of his co-workers loved the cake so much she had me make one for a baby shower in her law department at Boeing.... from there she has ordered a few cakes and has referred a few friends... I've already had to turn down a few orders... I really enjoy making the cakes, but they take an incredible amount of time... so I have to balance taking on orders and making sure that it doesn't negatively impact my boys. Anyways... thanks to my loving husband, I have my own website-- I've gone through a couple names, and a couple websites, but this one is here to stay.

http://www.amorecake.com/

Enjoy :)