Birthday Party

Here are a few pics from the birthday celebration this weekend. We had cake (isn't it great - check out Wendy's Party Treats), homemade ice cream & presents at the park & then spent some time playing in Poppa & Nonny's pool. We finished up with a BBQ. It was a fun-filled day!

Look Who's 2!!

Leighton is officially two! The two of us went to Manhattan this morning for his 2yr check up. He did great during his appointment & didn't even cry when he got a shot! He just said OW!

He is 37 1/4 inches tall (98th percentile) & 24 lbs 15 1/4oz (12th percentile).

We are looking forward to celebrating his birthday with family this weekend!

36 weeks

We are starting to feel like baby time is right around the corner! I'm anxious to see what the doctor says tomorrow! Brecken was born at 41 wks & Leighton was born at 39 wks...the big question is when this one will decide to make it's showing.

We have things pretty prepared - minus who will be taking care of the boys when we go to the hospital. There is a window of about 3 days when my entire family (siblings, parents, cousins, EVERYONE) will be in Kansas City...so hopefully baby doesn't choose one of those days to arrive! Friends...be on alert...you may get a call :)

Reesey Roo

This week was my last week watching my niece, Reese :( My sis-in-law has been gracious & is giving me a little break before baby is born. We have enjoyed our days with sweet little Reese & will miss seeing her so much! I'm going to miss doing the girly stuff (especially fixing her hair), but I'm sure my brother & sis-in-law will let me 'borrow' her every now & then :) The boys are going to miss fighting (or playing, I mean) with her. They were starting to make her scream like my brothers used to make me...so this might be a good thing. They might start acting like cousins, instead of siblings! Love you Reesey Roo!

5 weeks vs 35 days

I know...it's the same thing. When I think about having around 5 weeks left until Baby W3 arrives, it seems like a long time - plenty of time to get everything on my list finished! Then, when I think about it being 35 days, it doesn't seem so very long...especially when you throw in activities on the weekends: Leighton's birthday party, Cloud County Junior Miss, a friend's baby shower, getting the cows set up on our farm (which is more Aaron...but leaves me with the boys) AND activities in the evenings: hosting Scramble at church, Junior Miss meetings, PEO meetings, Praise band practice...NOT to mention, the multiple trips to Manhattan for doctor's appointments, a week of Bible School...wow. It's going to fly by!

And since I think posts without pictures are somewhat boring...here are a couple pics.

Leighton was not impressed that Aaron put him in sweatpants...while daddy was wearing shorts, so he 'made' them into shorts.


And a pic of Brecken relaxing on the couch with Beemer.

Good Weekend

It was a great weekend - pampering/relaxing on Saturday...productive on Sunday!

Saturday:

1. Big Truck Day - boys loved seeing the big trucks & tractors

2. I got to spend the afternoon in Manhattan, with one of my best friends from college, Kate. We ate at Rock-a-Belly, got manicures & pedicures & ended with massages. It was fun catching up & enjoying an afternoon in 'paradise'. I even got to sneak in a little shopping, which was a treat without kids :) Kate & I got a good laugh out of the fact that we had both botched our manicures before we left the salon...we evidently couldn't keep our hands still for 10 minutes while they dried. No wonder our kids can't sit still in church! We were better at keeping our feet still :)

3. I scheduled a sitter for Saturday while I was gone, so Aaron was able to get all the posts in for our corral. Now he just has to get the panels installed!

Sunday:
1. Aaron & Brecken spent some time at the farm finishing up the posts, while mommy & Leighton cleaned house.
2. Later, Brecken & I went to the farm to do some work in the garden, while daddy & Leighton played & water flowers at the house.

The kids were exhausted & went to bed early & easily, so we were able to sit down & relax with a movie!

A Weekend of Transplants

We had a busy weekend of transplanting items from our house to the farm!

The chicks are officially out of my house & in their new home. The chicks on the left are the ones we brought home last month - our 'fryer' chickens. They've grown a lot!


We also transplanted 6 of the 10 trees we planted last spring. We started them at our house so we could keep them watered & moved them to the area that will eventually be our backyard on the farm!


I had to include some pictures of Leighton being his ornery little self. He was making all kinds of faces for me while I was taking pictures. This was when he wasn't listening to me about the hot fence. I'm afraid this child is going to have to learn the hard way...

A little ironic??

So...regarding the chicks. Our heat lamp is out at the farm with our other chickens. We thought the chicks would be 'warm enough' in our house until we got a 2nd light, but I started feeling sorry for them AND they were peeping WAY too loudly.

I was standing by my kitchen counter, where my crockpot was currently residing, in the on position. And I thought...hmmm, that's quite warm. Maybe the chicks would like to experience that warmth. So, yes, the chicks moved from a folding table, to my kitchen counter and are LOVING the warmth of the crockpot.

The irony: I'm roasting a chicken...

I'm sure that none of you will ever eat anything I prepare ever again...but I assure you, my kitchen counters will be disinfected several times before I prepare you anything.

Chick Population Increases!

Our 30 layer chicks arrived today in the mail! The postmaster said we should have ordered ducks....since it was raining. They are currently residing in our house, but will soon be moved to the farm with the fry pan chickens. Hopefully there will be no hard feelings between the 2 groups, when they 'find out', some of them are for eating :)

After a little bit of research, we decided to go with Buff Orpingtons. They are supposedly good for eggs, as well as meat. We are excited to have fresh farm eggs down the road & hopefully will have enough to share with others!

Who needs a big house?

I'm sure most of 'my followers' know we live in a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom house right now...and the rooms are pretty small. Everyone has been wondering (and asking) where we plan to put this 3rd child when it arrives! Yesterday we got the room rearranged & were able to fit 3 beds (1 twin, 1 toddler & 1 crib), as well as 2 dressers. Amazingly, there is still floor space (even enough to fit the portable crib, when my niece is here).





I am also happy to report that with this new set up, we are in the process of completing another task on my to-do list. I didn't intend to move Leighton into the toddler bed right away, but thought it would be a good idea to let him see it...and get familiar with it. Yesterday at naptime, he went & laid down in it. I closed the door & he didn't make a peep & napped for 2 hours. Last night at bedtime, he went to bed without a fuss too! He did wake up once at 3:30 and struggled a bit to go back to sleep, but eventually did! Yahoo!

Daddy's hat....Big brother's shoes...

There's just something about his attire today that makes me smile....

Easter 2009

We enjoyed our weekend with family. Brecken & Leighton had a great time playing with their cousins (or 'My Girls', as Brecken calls them).

I took MULTIPLE pictures of the boys & never did get a 'good one'. No big surprise...they couldn't sit still for long.




Group picture of all the cousins on Easter Sunday!

Past Easters

Here are some pictures from previous Easters with the boys! We are hoping for nice weather this weekend so we can do an outside Easter egg hunt without all the heavy weather gear! Hope everyone enjoys time with their families & remembers the wonderful gift of Life that Easter brings us.

2006 - Brecken's First Easter


2007 - Brecken


2007 - Family pic - expecting Leighton


2008 - Brecken & Cousins - Easter Egg Hunt


2008 - Brecken & Leighton Easter Morning (with the flu)


2008 - Weekend After Easter "Official Easter pic"

Baby Lamb

We got a call on Saturday from a couple in town that has a bottle lamb. They said we could bring the boys out to feed it, so after lunch, we did just that! Brecken got to do this last year too & loved it. They both enjoyed chasing Cocoa around & feeding her.

One Thing Done

I have a long list of things 'to-do' before baby W3 arrives. I have been avoiding several things on the list because a) I think we have plenty of time (which I'm realizing we don't) and b) some things are just not as fun as others!

Things I'm avoiding at the moment are:
1. Moving Leighton out of his crib. He goes to bed in it, sleeps well & doesn't climb out...so we really don't want to mess with a good thing. Baby will be in our room in a bassinet for awhile anyway.
2. Figuring out where we are going to put all the baby gear. It's going to consume our small home...and give me MORE things to stub my toe on & trip over. I'm quite graceful.
3. Going through baby clothes. Why didn't I pack gender neutral clothes in a separate tote? At least I have them organized by size :)

(I'm not complaining about doing these things by the way...just putting them off for awhile)

I have many more things on the list, but they all are things that have to 'wait'.

Yesterday the boys & I went to Salina with Nonny & were able to cross one fun thing off the list though....the coming home outfit.

The boys enjoyed helping choose what the baby will wear home. No big surprise that the 'boy' outfit is yellow (that's Brecken's favorite color). I was happy they chose pink for a 'girl' outfit. The clothes seem so tiny & make me even more excited for baby to arrive!

Chicks

Our 'newest' adventure. These are the fryer chicks we picked up from Long's today. They haven't gotten their layer chicks in yet...but when they do, we'll be purchasing some of those too. What farm is complete without chickens???

Comfort

Ever since Leighton was old enough to reach & grab things, he has been 'fascinated' with hair, specifically mine. Whenever I am holding him, his hand becomes a permanent accessory in my hair. I hear from many people that they think it is adorable. And it is...when he is being gentle...



But then there are days when he wraps his fingers in it so tightly that it hurts...and I wish he would outgrow this 'comfort' thing. I know I will miss it when he outgrows this little fetish, so I'm trying to 'enjoy' it while I can :)

Good/Bad Weekend

THE GOOD
This weekend, I attended the WOF conference in Kansas City with my mom, & two friends, Courtney & Kara. The weekend was very memorable & hard to describe!! The speakers & musicians were amazing & I felt like I gained insight from each one of them. I returned home to an empty house because my hubby, kids & canines were visiting the in-laws. It was a little strange, but I took advantage & did some relaxing. I was very happy for them to return!

THE BAD
Upon returning, my husband had to relay the bad news that there had been an accident on the farm & our lab, Gauge, had been hit by a vehicle. I have shed a lot of tears & it's hard to go in our backyard & not think of him. Even though we 'adopted' him less than a year ago, we all loved him. He was such a great dog - so laid back. I don't think I ever heard that dog bark! He didn't jump on people & was great with the kids. We will certainly miss him. We have yet to tell Brecken & Leighton about it...we're trying to wait until our emotions are a little less 'raw'. We miss you Gauge, the yellow dog.

Seriously?

We like Pringles at our house & for the longest time have been paying $1/can. Yesterday I went to the store & there were new 'SUPER STACK' containers for $1.99. All old cans are off the shelves...so there was nothing to compare to, but somehow I knew I was getting hosed.

When I got home & put the new cans away, I was appalled to see that the new can only has 1 ounce more in it. 1 OUNCE FOR 1 DOLLAR???

It's almost as disappointing as it was years ago when they started making candy bars a little smaller...so we would think they made them 'healthier' for us - less fat/calories/etc.

I suppose they can get away with it if people like me continue to buy them. ARGH....weakness.

Ride 'em Cowboy

Both boys wear their cowboy boots & hats most days. Leighton hasn't adopted the 'jean in boot' look yet, but I'm sure it will be soon, considering he likes to be like his big brother.

In the evening, when we ask the boys what show they want to watch before bed, Brecken typically requests 'Wow Wow Wubzy' & Leighton says 'Cows'. He LOVES watching bull riding on tv. When it goes to a commercial, he points to the tv & signs 'More'. After many commercials of signing for 'more', we DVR'd it so we can fast-forward.

Brecken uses our rocking horse as his bull...but Leighton prefers the dog.
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