February Recap

March snuck up on me and I literally didn't realize it was March until the 3rd! February was short, fun, and unseasonably warm. Okay maybe that's unseasonably warm for us since we were trapped in a blizzard last February! Most of the month I had my head stuck in a book, but I tried to get outside and enjoy this beautiful weather when I could! 

At the beginning of the month we took the kids to the park

Papa & Lucas enjoyed some father-son time

And Lucas slid down the slide for the first time!

Before you know it, he's going to be showing Papa who's boss!

Whee!

Mama got caught up on Lucas snuggles too!

While Max worked on his soccer skills

Before I knew it it was Valentine's Day

I don't think we've ever celebrated this ridiculously commercial holiday, but I wanted to give the boys a special treat since I'm away so much!

MiMi & Auntie Liv brought over some special treats too!

The boys got a bubble blowing lawnmower and had a blast pushing it around

Big brother Max was very helpful in instructing Lucas how to use the lawnmower!

I sat Lucas on top of the slide in hopes of making a cute picture

And apparently Max saw it as an opportunity to "help" his brother learn how to slide!

Tears were short lived 

And Lucas got back on his feet in no time!

He can now say "Mama" "Papa" and "Ball" (when he feels like it!)

Did I mention how beautiful it's been lately?! I just wish I could get outside and enjoy it more!

Poor Lucas, one day he will take revenge on his big brother!

This was Max's "masterpiece" from his bubble gun!

We finally got our pool safety fence installed and are enjoying letting the kids be able to play outside!

And last but not least....

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I leave you with some pictures of our polar bear....

Yes, that is our Max

Working on his Olympic strokes

In February!

This little geeky dude just couldn't wait to go swimming again!

Blue Bubbles

Dear Crayola,

Thank you for filling my childhood with washable color.
You know, I never really cared about the "washable" part until my kids started coloring.
It's true, even those white t-shirts covered in blues, blacks, and reds will be pearly white after 1 wash!
So when I was looking for a little Valentine gift for my kids the other day, I thought your new "spill proof, washable, colored bubbles" would be a huge hit!

And they were!

Max enjoyed blowing big blue beautiful bubbles

Again

And again

Lucas enjoyed playing in the gross goopedy-gooo that spilled out of Max's spillproof bottle of bubbles!

But before they came inside, 

They had to get a shower outside!

So Crayola, thanks for introducing the cool idea of colored bubbles. I'm sure our trashcan is thoroughly enjoying them right now!

PS- Instead of false advertising with "washable" and "spillproof" you could better say, "Colored Bubbles With Free New Hair-do inside!"

Red is sooo 2010!

M is for Mischief

As you all know, our children are always perfectly behaved. 

 They would never color on anything other than paper.

 Nor would they ever make a mess without cleaning it up.

 I can trust them wholeheartedly to always make the best decisions.

 And if they would ever perhaps do something that I normally would never allow, 

I would never grab my camera and join in on the fun!

So last night when I told Max to get in the shower while I finished cleaning the kitchen,

I was quite confused when I started hearing shrieks of laughter from not one, but two suspects.

You see, I had left Lucas in the living room to play while I was cleaning, 

with the intention of putting him in the shower when I could keep an eye on him. 

Upon close inspection of the source of all this ruckus, we found this:

Apparently Mr. Lucas inherited my "I-want-what-I-want-when-I-want-it" gene!

This innocent yet mischievous face just couldn't wait to hop in the tub! 

Double trouble!

Max was very proud to show me there was no dirt in his "pit." Please don't ask me where he learned the word "pit" to begin with...!

Max also insists that he absolutely-positively cannot hear me tell him to get out of the bath by dunking his head underwater.

Alas, he could hear Lucas screaming in his face!

I always say that I'm going to have my hands full with these two, but I think I already do!

Our beautiful babe

He's proudly sporting 6 teeth these days

He could have better asked Santa for his two front teeth! He's our little Count Dracula :)

Sigh... Having kids sure has made me look at the bright side of life more often. Instead of getting upset that I had a fully-clothed child in bath, I now have great pics to remember a fun evening, and now that I think of it... I have one less outfit to wash! ;)

Excuses & Celebrations!

Due to the high volumes of complaints I've received lately, I've decided to write another post before the witch hunters find me! Just kidding, I haven't received any hate mail for my slacking (yet!) but I'm sure there are some of you that would like an update! Just checking... is there anyone that still actually reads this blog?!

Anyway, I'm not really sure where to begin since it has been two whole weeks so I guess I will start with excuses reasons why it's been so long.

Rob and I both started work/ school at the beginning of January and our lives have been turned upside down ever since. The first couple of weeks Rob was flying nights were extremely chaotic. I would get up around 6.45am with the kids, take them to school, go to school myself, pick the kids up, and come home to an empty house that Rob had left 1/2 hour earlier. Since Rob didn't come home until 12-1am we literally spent 45 (conscious) minutes together for a whole week!

Thankfully all of his hard work paid off and on January 20th my baby became an instructor pilot! We are all very proud of him, his accomplishments, and the sacrifices that he has made to make this position in America possible!

Speaking of accomplishments, I'm not doing so bad myself in school. So far I haven't earned anything less than an "A" on my exams/ papers/ & speeches. My goal is to graduate next year with honors, so fingers crossed that the start of this semester is a good sign! Really I only want to wear a medal and a gold sash at my graduation, but I've heard graduating with honors is impressive too ;) 


The boys are also doing well. Max is excelling in writing and language at the moment, his math is pretty good too! He really enjoys school and we are so thankful that we enrolled him at WCA!

Lucas isn't walking yet, but he can stand unassisted since this weekend so it's getting close! He can now say "baba" (bye-bye) while waving, and he says "bawl" (ball) when he is playing with one. I can't believe this time last year I was holding a tiny baby and my other baby was only speaking Dutch... amazing how our boys have grown in the past year!

I'm sure you all are just wishing I would stop running my mouth and show you pictures! And since I spent 8 hours of my Sunday writing, I will gladly show you pictures now!

Saturday the 22nd we celebrated Rob's 32nd Birthday!

Max wrote his and Lucas's name on Papa's card

Papa was so proud of Max's writing!

Hooray! A waffle maker! Exactly what Mommy Papa had been wanting!

There is nothing better than a hug from Papa Bear!

Naturally Rob was served a birthday waffle for his breakfast!

(He kept giving me cheesy faces, so publicly humiliating him for his silliness is his punishment! ha!)

Max helped blow out the candle!

Although Rob thoroughly enjoyed his waffle maker, the surprises didn't stop there. MiMi and Opa decided to surprise both of us with a night at the Hilton in Destin, FL!

Did I mention they included a weekend of babysitting with their gift? We enjoyed an amazing weekend with amazing weather together! It was a much needed break from the chaos!

Thank you guys for such a creative and wonderful gift! Now I'm really looking forward to my birthday! hahaha! (Yes, this is more embarrassment for my silly husband. Maybe next time he will smile normally for the camera! )

Rub-a-Dub Max

Rub-a-dub dub

Max is in the tub!

Splish Splash

He's taking a bath!

Long on a Sunday night

Rub-a-Dub-Dub he was relaxin' in the tub

He was a movin' and a groovin' Splishin' and a Splashin'

And pretending to be Abe Lincoln!

Ok, so that didn't rhyme, and he doesn't even know who Abe Lincoln is, but that's who he reminds me of in this picture! I hope you all have a great week!