Family Portraits

By Jack

My favorite is the curly hair on Owen's head.

He's been dressed like this since Thursday!

Owen is loving this Captain America costume! He truly has been wearing it for four days with the exception of bedtime and that is only because I had to draw a line somewhere (and it was making him sweaty). He is so darn cute and he makes me giggle wearing this outfit, but it kinda bums be out a little as well. You see, when Jack was 2.5 years old, he had no idea about superheros (yet!). For Halloween that year, Jack dressed up as an adorable lil' pirate. I had three years to "help" him think of a fun costume to wear. However, once he figured out the world of superheros, there was no turning back. Will this just be a phase? Will I ever again get to "help" my boys think of a Halloween costume other than a superhero? Owen is my baby and so I wish he wanted to be a dinosaur or a puppy! For now, Captain America it is though!

I forgot about this one...

It's a rare occasion when the boys take a nap together. This particular day they were both exhausted and requested they nap in Jack's bed together. Upon checking in on them mid-nap, I found them sound asleep and snuggling (well, sort of snuggling).

 My heart aches with so much love for these two boys!

Wednesday Five

1. My younger brother Keefe turns 28 years-old tomorrow, which I find so hard to believe! I swear it was just yesterday that he was 10 years-old asking me how to draw his name in bubble letters while beating me in Mario Bros. on our Nintendo. Anywho, we had Keefe and his wife Holly over for a birthday dinner on Tuesday night. The boys were all into helping me decorate a wee bit and it was great fun watching their excitement. Also, if there are balloons involved, Jack and Owen will be there in full force. Happy Birthday Keefe!

His birthday cake was an ultimate chocolate chip cookie n' oreo fudge brownie bar. Oh my gah! One layer of chocolate chip cookie, next layer is Double (yes, double) Stuff Oreos (whole), then top that with fudge brownies...need.I.say.more?!?!

I also tried this new recipe for a starter...oh my, I may just have found a strong competitor to  Pioneer Woman's Hot Artichoke Dip!

2. I let Owen stay up one day this week and play Trios with his brother and watch an episode of Scooby-Doo instead of taking his standard 2-3 hour afternoon nap.

It didn't work, he was fast asleep in 20 minutes.

3. Don't these BaNilla Sandwich Cookies look yummy and super cute to boot?!

via

I think they would be a great snack to make with the boys help, although they may eat all the sprinkles before we get chance to roll these cuties in them.

4. In related news, I sat down to eat a perfectly ripe, deliciously-looking pear the other afternoon when in swept two little and very cute scavengers. 

Before I knew it, my pear was gone. 

5. We have been playing in leaves, lots of leaves!

Wordless Tuesday Night

Never would have thunk it....

that during the first week of October, we would be doing this.

Oh yes, we did drag out our pool a la cheapo for an afternoon "swim" when the temperature was almost at 90 degrees. The boys filled the pool with freezing cold water from the hose, ripped off their clothes and literally jumped right in. This week has been so nice and so unexpected for this time of year. We tried to take advantage of it as much as we could because let's face it...we all know what is coming! FYI, Jack prefers to wear his underwear backwards, something about Batman needs to be right in front where he can see him! Nevermind the giant wedgie he must be fighting all day long.

Photo Challenge-Dunzo!

Day 26: Something Old

My grandma's rocking chair. There is a picture somewhere of her in this chair when she was just a baby.

Day 27: After Dark

Skip-a-roo...I'm no good at after dark.

Day 28: Daily Routine

Our morning routine begins with the boys waking up, coming into our room to wake us me up and then requesting cereal bars and orange juice. They watch two morning cartoons while they eat their requested breakfast snacks. We recently cleaned up our basement by clearing out several boxes. For a good week straight, the boys watched their toones in these boxes. A cardboard box is endless fun for little kiddos, especially boys!

Day 29: Purchased

I have been purchasing pumpkins lately...big pumpkins, little pumpkins, pureed pumpkins and pumpkin lattes!

Day 30: In Motion (sorta)

The boys and I walked down this leaf filled path to the fishing pier at Lake Elmo Park Reserve on Monday. We were soaking up the beautiful weather! So this is my in motion...walking! It's a stretch, but all my other ideas did not work out as I had hoped. For example, I tried this, but it came out blurry while making me unbelievably dizzy. 

Photo Challenge...Dunzo!!

I'm glad I took this challenge on, but I'm happy that it's over! I can now move on to telling you about all the projects I want to start, start and then never finish. I can also move on to telling you about how just two days after Jackers stuck a bean up his nose, he then came down from his nap and told Pat that he swallowed a penny and how we have been, hmmm, checking for it daily! 

Oh the fun....stay tuned!!