Graham's 2nd Birthday

Graham turns 2 on the 28th. I decided to make him a train table. Everyone asks me how do I know how to do this stuff. I don't know. When I was little my Dad used to build things, the biggest thing I remember was the platform beds he made us with drawers in them. I had my own tool box and table and Erin and I would hammer and screw stuff all the time. I haven't used my carpentry skills since I was probably 10 or 12, but it all came back to me in these latest projects. It has been a blast building stuff and I look forward to more things. So does Graham like trains? Yes, is the logical answer if I went to all the trouble to make this table, but in reality he likes everything. Hopefully he will play with them on the table, but if not I am sure it will be used for many things like an airport, a zoo, a coloring table, or whatever else their imagination can come up with. Thanks Dad for all the woodworking knowledge!

Pantry

Well what do you do with the space under your steps? I didn't know but needed a place to put our extra food. So I built a pantry. Joe says it is perfect size for Luke to go in and get food, as it is only 55 inches tall, but it stores all the extra food nicely. Since I try to go grocery shopping once a month for the main stuff, I now have a place to put it all that little hands can't reach!

Does a 2 yr old need a BIB???

Clearly the answer is yes, what didn't come out good in the photo, is the rice stuck to him everywhere after dinner without a bib.

Camping out

Joe went fishing the first day of trout season. The problem is that God decided to make it a monsoon outside. So he traveled to the Allegheny National Forest and sat outside getting drenched, while not catching any fish. He returned home around 5, with Tasta Pizza. He decided it was movie night. We had gotten the tent out the other day and it ended up in the living room. So all the boys were piled in the tent, yes even Eli. I don't think they lasted the whole movie "colors and shapes" with Blue, but they had fun anyway!

Easter Eggs

We visited with our neighbors the other day, Jack and Sylvia. Sylvia used to be a preschool teacher and had a different way to color eggs. So we brought along our paint clothes and we had a great afternoon. Sylvia "blew" out the yolks from the eggs, then she stuck them on a homemade board with little dowel rods, then we used this paint "flour, salt, and something else I forget" that was colored different colors. We used a spoon to drizzle over the egg, and kept pouring on more colors until the eggs were all covered up. We made 2 dozen eggs, so I hung them from our kitchen, will take some to work, and will send some to PNG. But I thought they were very neat and different. Thanks Sylvia for a great day!!

Haircuts

Everyone got their hair buzzed the other day. So we took a family photo. We all happened to have the same shirts too, so that is cute. What you don't see, is that Luke decided to let go of Eli, and Joe saved him from hitting the floor! Note to self, don't let a 4 yr old hold the 10 month old!!

Mud puddles

Well it is the first day of trout season. Joe decided to drive to the allegheny national forest and go fishing. However the monsoon that came pretty much wiped him out. So I am home with the boys enjoying the rainy day! It stoPped raining so we went for a walk and the boys love the mud puddles and the rivers we now have along the driveway. Here they r posing in a puddle. They all needed complete wardrobe changes when we got home, soaked to the bone! Oh well they discovered worms, put leaves down the stream, and other fun boy stuff. Eli was stuck in the stroller and was protesting the whole time, pretty sure he wanted to splash too!!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Nature Walk

We went outside for a walk this past weekend. The boys enjoyed themselves. Graham rode on Joe's shoulders and Eli was on my back in the backpack and squealed with delight the whole time. Luke was on a nature scavenger hunt and found all the items we asked him to, we then attached them to paper to show everyone-the leaves, acorn, toadstools, moss, fern, and a orange berry fruit. It was fun and we hope to get back out there soon!! When it stops snowing!!

Zoo

We went to the zoo this weekend. We had bought a Zoo membership last year and we got good use out of it. It was set to expire the end of April. So we took advantage of a semi nice day, and got everyone dressed and went to the zoo. It rained at first and we thought we had made a mistake, as I took all the umbrellas out of the car and we had to buy a $12 umbrella from the souvenior shop (I saved 50 cents on it with my membership card!!) and it barely covered one boy!!! But the rain stopped and we got to see the baby elephants, the giraffes, 2 gorillas fighting and chasing each other. A polar bear who was very hungry and looking for food, some bears, and sharks. The boys enjoyed it, Eli did as well!!

Home Improvements

I decided to repaint the boys bathroom, so I went with a color called "Crocodile Tears" It looks pretty good. We did have a minor accident where my foot tipped over the can of paint, but I was able to save it as the paint went on the drop cloth and I used the roller off the drop cloth and saved enough to finish the walls!!














Well I have wanted to do something with our Laundry Room since we moved in. But I couldn't figure out what to do, or how to do it. So I finally came up with a plan, and away I went. We put in some cabinets, then added some storage units to the closet so the boys coats could be hung up nicely, we have a special place for the dog food also, and then some things on the walls to hang up all the cleaning stuff. I am pretty excited how it turned out.

9 months old

Eli has turned 9 months old. He is a pretty easy going little man. He has learned to get attention he often has to scream to get someone to pay attention to hi. With 2 other boys in the house he has gotten his vocal cords working early. He loves to eat and will eat us out of house and home soon I am thinking. He enjoys Luke an Graham and wants to be near them with what they are doing. He has 4 teeth and weighs 18 lbs.

Eli Crawling

Eli has finally started to crawl. After doing the backwards crawl for a while, he has learned how to go forward just in the last few days. We still aren't going across the room yet, but I am sure by this weekend we will be all over the house!!

Eli just turned 9 months old!