Mother's Day-Present

One of my favorite things about Mother's Day and Father's Day, is hearing the Primary kids sing songs for everyone at church. Lincoln did not disappoint this year. He was the most energetic and enthusiastic singer up there. We had many "compliments" on his singing. One woman told me, "I bet he is work, huh?" Dave made me a nice dinner and installed some shelves in our 2nd pantry (it was the best gift!). I tried to have a nice shot of me and the kids, but we ended up with only a funny one.

The kids and I met a couple other families new to our town. They both have 4 year old boys, which has been such a blessing! We threw a Memorial Day party and invited our new friends. Just like most other boys, Drake loves to hang out with the big boys.

I took the kids strawberry picking the day after Memorial Day. A friend told me how beautiful the strawberries were and you can just grab them by the handful. I was hesitant to take both boys by myself, but decided the strawberries were worth it. Let me brag for 2 sentences please. My boys were wonderful! They followed all the rules; didn't run in between the paths; didn't grab the green strawberries; and stayed right by me. I wanted to yell to the other people there, "See my children. Do you see that they are following rules?" We picked a couple boxes full and then got to play on all the fun playground equipment on the farm.

This has been the craziest summer: we have had non-stop rain! Our pool membership is barely getting used, but we did sneak in some swim lessons for Lincoln. He actually did really well, and is comfortable putting his face under the water if he has goggles. He was also very brave and jumped off the diving board a couple times.

We celebrated Drake's 2nd birthday at Tweetsie Railroad. My parents also met us there. Luckily, we had nice weather, and the boys had a great time. It didnt' really surprise me Drake wanted to go on the bigger rides that Lincoln rode on. He even went on the Cyclone, where he was squeezed between my mom and Dave. I remember Maxine and I went on a ride like this at the fair. We screamed/laughed the whole time! Drake was just kind of stone faced.

Drake enjoyed opening presents and being sung to. I made him a doggy cake, which I have no pictures of. I also don't have any picture of Dave and the boys on Father's Day. I guess that was Dave's present this year! I did make him a yummy peach pie though.

I love fireworks, but Dave is not a huge fan. I decided to take Lincoln with me to watch the fireworks at our downtown, July 4th celebration. We played on the playground, danced to a live band, shared a cupcake and watched the fireworks in the rain. It was such a fun mommy/son date.

Unfortunately, Dave was swamped with work, so my parents drove the kids and I up to New Jersey for a little family reunion. We left at 3 a.m., hoping the kids would sleep in the car. They were too excited about the road trip, and being in a cool rental van, that their little eyes were wide open, even in the dark. Instead of sleeping, they watched Max and Ruby. We made a stop at Roadside America, a place with tons of model trains. My mom would visit there when she was a little girl, and I have lots of memories of stopping there as well.

 

 

Reed, Chelsea, my uncle's family, my grandma and parents had a fantastic trip. The weather was great: we went swimming in the lake everyday. Drake has no fear of the water, and would jump right in from the dock. My cousins loved playing with the boys. Lincoln was in heaven when he got to spend the night at Graham's house twice. It is always hard to leave family, but it was so nice to get home to Dave.

 Tons of pictures to come!

Iron Man for a Day

Lincoln has an Iron Man coloring and activity book. One page asked, "If you could be Iron Man for a day, what would you do?" I transcribed Lincoln's response.

     If I were both Lincoln Punch and Iron Man, I would go to my cousin's house in Tennessee. I would destroy my bad guys, they look different. They look like swords. But they are REAL swords! And my angry ball can help me fight that sword bad guy, and I have a real sword. We discrievement [Link's own word he made up, Dave and I think that he means disagreement, may be?] him and he gets all wrinkled and then what's next is he fights again with me.

We went swimming earlier this week, and I asked Lincoln to change into his swimsuit. He did. We came home and I asked him to change out of his wet swimsuit. He did. He came back downstairs and said, "I gotta tell you something funny mom. I swimmed in my undies!" He was so excited for the chance to go swimming, he forgot to take them off. I loved how he told me. He was half chuckling and half telling me!

On Friday, Drake was not feeling well. I put on a tv show for him to see if that would make him happy. Lincoln asked what I was doing, since we don't watch tv in the morning. I told him Drake wasn't feeling well, and I was going to see if the tv would make him be less grumpy. Lincoln responded, "Mom, when we are sick, we go to the doctor, we don't watch a show." I thought about it for a few minutes. Packed the kids up and went to the doctor. Drake had an ear infection and a very red throat. Thanks for the tip Lincoln!

Lincoln had his first T ball game this week. All the little ones looked so cute in their uniforms. Go Wildcats!!

I told Lincoln that daddy's favorite baseball team is the Atlanta Braves and that Gigi's favorite team is the Pittsburgh Pirates. He asked me what my favorite team was, and told him I didn't know. He told me his favorite team was the Wildcats.

Rainy Days

We have been getting so much rain lately, so we have had to come up with ways to have fun inside.

Playing Super Heroes:


This is a game that we play quite a bit at our house. Lincoln was concerned Drake didn't have a cape like him. So a few scissor cuts and some glue gun, and we took care of Drake.

 

Drake was concerned we didn't have a cape for Bear Bear. A few scissor cuts, and some glue gun, and we took care of Bear Bear.

Play Dates:

We have met more friends Lincoln age, which makes me a happy woman and Lincoln a happy little guy! We have been having play dates once a week, and Lincoln was excited his new friend Danny was also on his t-ball team (t-ball keeps getting cancelled bc of the rain.).

Our old friends from Winston Salem came up from South Carolina for a visit. Mason is still a sweetie, and his little sister is adorable.

Dress Up:

Much like super heroes, but a little different. We had a family photo shoot one night, while dressing up. The boys even got Dave to dress up.

MOPS:

Thank goodness for MOPS. The local fire fighters came for a visit on Friday to teach the kids fire safety. They get dressed up in all their gear and tell the kids, "Fire fighters LOVE hugs." This is so the kids won't be scared of them dressed in all that equipment. The kids also got to practice stop, drop, cover your eyes and roll.

 

Hair Cuts:

Ok, we only did this once, but I did want to note it. Dave finally agreed to cut off Drake's baby mullet. Lincoln also got a trim. I swear he has the most beautiful hair! Can you tell Drake is doing his "cheeeeeese" face?

Blooming

I love this time of year when everything is in bloom! Yes the pollen is slightly annoying, but the blooming wildflowers on my hill make me so happy.

The boys are blossoming as well: wasn't that transition flawless...

Drake is talking more and more. He chatters to himself a ton. Man I wish I knew what he was saying!   Dave told the boys he was going to get on an airplane for work one morning. After every nap, or in the morning when drake woke up he would ask," dada airplane?" When I would say yes he would pout.

Speaking of Drake crying (another smooth transition),  he was having a fit about wanting to use a huge spoon to eat yogurt and I wouldn't let him. I set him on the couch, while I took a potty break. As I was walking back in the room, I heard Lincoln singing " you are my sunshine, my only sunshine." He was sitting right beside Drake on the couch, singing the song I sing every night to Drake. So sweet!

Drake put his doggie night, night. Then he decided he would rest too...for about 2 seconds.

Lincoln's teacher suggested I add more structured activities in our day, since he isn't in preschool. He loves to do work books, craft projects and mazes. I'm hoping this structure will make him a little more reverent during his Sunday School class.

Here's Lincoln working on some egg carton flowers.

Easter

Thursday: Dave took Lincoln to our town's flashlight Easter egg hunt. He wanted to spend some time with him before he flew out to Corey's wedding. Tristan and his mom were also there!

Good Friday: The boys and I met up with our MOPS group for a fun play date. The kids got to play outside on the swing set, decorate cookies, egg hunt, and dye eggs.

 

Saturday: Thank goodness for parents that live close by! We took the kids to the zoo, and it was a beautiful day. The boys and I loved watching the chimpanzees play. I told Lincoln they were "ground and pounding" just like he and Drake do. The boys were starting to get tired, so dad went down some stairs to get some ice cream for them. Lincoln followed him and got stung by a bee. His poor hand was so swollen, red and blotchy. We left after a visit to the first aid station!

 

Easter Sunday: The weather outside was not so beautiful, so I took pictures of the kiddos inside. After church, the boys found their Easter baskets, and we made dinner for the missionaries. All of the fun things we did are great, but we did make sure that Lincoln understood the real reason we celebrate Easter. As much as a 4 year old can "get it", I think he did. I am so undeniable thankful for the sacrifice that our Savior made for each of us.

Cousins!

Lincoln is all about his cousins. He is incredibly blessed to have so many! I was thrilled to tell him a couple weeks ago that we were going to meet MY cousins and their kids. I haven't seen some of my cousins since I was in high school, so our reunion in Tennessee was fantastic. We had beautiful weather, so all the kids got to play outside. When I say all the kids, there were 13!! Lincoln grabbed Danny's hand right away, and off they went to play. Drake did well for the 3 hour car drive each way. He didn't nap the entire day, so he past out on the way home.

Here's what the boys have been up to:

Lincoln is getting really good at writing and drawing. He does get frustrated when he can't get it right the first time.

I couldn't believe it when I asked him a math question and he gave me the answer right away. I asked him another subtraction question, and he answered it again. He was doing math in his head, and we have NEVER done it before. What?!?

Lincoln still loves to wear his super hero costumes and pj's everywhere. His best friend is Tristan, and he would eat mac and cheese everyday for lunch if he could. Angry Birds is his latest craze. He likes to play it on the ipad, draw the birds, and create "levels" out of legos.

Drake is still pretty much a monster! Now he yells at me like the goat from the doritos commercial, especially when he doesn't get what he wants or when I tell him it's time for bed.

He is saying more words. My favorite is when he says, "I know, I know, I know....elmo, ELMO!" He is going through a big elmo phase. He likes watching it, reading elmo books, and snuggling the huge elmo Aunt Terri gave Dave a long time ago.

Drake is getting his 2 year molars already, which means he will be turning 2 soon (gasp, my baby turning 2 just makes me want to cry!). Drake loves animals, especially dogs, and makes animal noises.

I snapped some shots of mom and the kids playing outside. They were having a great time with pool noodles and tricycles.

February

I let it happen again...another month recap post! Apparently, I didn't beat myself up enough about it last time.

February 2nd: Groundhogs day is one of my favorite days of the year. Besides groundhogs day, it is also our wedding anniversary. This year, Dave and I stayed in to celebrate our 7th. We made "sinless" tiramisu together the night before. On the night of our anniversary, Dave made a delicious dinner and after the kids went to bed, we enjoyed our dessert together. We also put on a movie and watched it in front of the fireplace. So cliche, but so fun!

February 14th: I had my 5 boys here for Valentines Day, so we didn't do too much. I surprised the boys, including Dave, with chocolates in the morning. Dave and I sent each other gushy texts while he was at work!

February 15th: It snowed in North Carolina! I took the boys out, while Dave was making one of our favorite meals, chicken tika. I couldn't believe how love the boys wanted to stay outside. We threw snowballs, built a snowman, raced in the snow, made snow angels for over an hour.

I wish I had more to blog about, but we have been sick so much this month. Earlier this week, Drake had scarlet fever, an ear infection, and strep throat. We have all been on some type of antibiotics during the month, and I can't tell you how much sudafed we have gone through. I am hoping March will be more kind to us!