Ethan and Hobbes: A Love Affair

I have the absolute best kitty!  He tolerates my boys so well and they are not that easy on him... He is a big snuggle kitty - even if the snuggles are from busy boys.. he loves it all... and that makes me love him even more.  Lately, Ethan has been really sweet on Hobbes... They are big buddies these days...Ethan has even been surprisingly quiet and gentle around him...

Awh-Ha!  After a search, Ethan spots Hobbes...

 Smoochies for Hobbes Kitty.

 

Blowing Kisses to Hobbes.

 More Smoochies.

 Sweet boys.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my fantastic daddy and my boys' fantastic daddy.  We're pretty blessed to have you.

Kansas City Zoo!

OK, I'll admit it.  I LOVE going to the zoo.  I mean, I LOOOOOVE it.  Ryan and I have been to Little Rock, Milwaukee (2x), Dallas, Fort Worth (3x), Oklahoma City since we've been together.  We hope to explore as many zoos as possible.  So on Sunday, we added Kansas City to our list.  We LOVED it!  The first thing about this zoo is the polar bear exhibit and it was incredible.  He was so active and doing this fun flip routine over and over... just a really good way to start!  Jackson was stoked and wanted to just stay there and watch the polar bear all day.  But we had much more to explore.  We opted to do the package that had the train, tram and carousel - since our boys were too small to do the other things.. We spent 5 hours at this zoo and didn't even see everything! It was so much fun!  Ethan took a 20 minute power nap while we were watching the sea lion show.

 

These lions were so close to my babies!

 Yep, that's my husband.  Yep.

 

It's such a big zoo - so glad we had the double stroller!  The boys took turns sitting in front.

 

These two pictures below of Ethan were taken 30 seconds apart.

Overnight in KC

We've only spent a night in a hotel w/ the boys a small handful of times... so it's always a little unnerving for us to know how they will behave... We're that couple who never take our kids to restaurants for fear that they will be rowdy and loud, etc... So we got a suite at the Embassy Suites - one room for Ryan and I and we had a sofabed set up for Jackson and put E in a pack n play in the room w/ Jackson.  We ordered a pizza and it actually went really well!  The only problem is that Jackson (all day) started having some tummy troubles... not in pain, just having to run to the potty a LOT.  (More on that later.)  We played with play-doh and did our normal routine... boys took baths and then when they went to bed, Ryan and I just stayed quietly in our room.  I was surprised at how well it worked out!  I think we may finally be able to travel with these two!  :)

Thomas the Train, Take 2.

Shortly after Christmas, Jackson started saying "well, mommy when I see Thomas again, I'm going to..." "The next time I see Thomas..."  So - I decided we needed to go one more time!  It's called "A Day Out With Thomas" and they operate in several cities throughout the country.  Last October, we visited it in Oklahoma City and made a fun weekend out of it... So this time we decided to do that again - but in Kansas City.  The railway was about 45 minutes outside KC, but still not a bad drive. My aunt and grandma bought the boys these adorable outfits so I thought the time was perfect.

 

 This place was nice - and more trees than in OKC so it had more shade... which we appreciate in the summer in the south!  :)  The boys started off watching the toy trains, moved onto legos and playing with the tons of train tables set up, then they got tattoos and J played in the bouncy house while E played with the rocking horse.. Then they visited Sir Topham Hatt!  Then we took the 20 minute train ride - opting for the open air train since it was beautiful weather...  Then they got their pictures taken with Thomas.... a highlight for Ethan... He loved that - but he mostly just wanted to go over and climb on him.. (which they frown on.).  We had a really fun family day... Peep Peep!

 

Sweetness.

and thank God it does... :)

Jackson's 4 Year Old Interview

I've seen a few friends do this and thought it was a great idea so we've started the tradition of interviewing Jackson on his birthday to see how his answers change year after year....  So here's our first one!  I wrote the answers down just as he told them to me on May 31, 2012.
Jackson's 4 Year Old Interview
What were your favorite gifts you received for your birthday?
My super cool ball popper, and my batcave and my EZ roller and my camera that takes pictures.

What word do you think of when you think of... 
your brother? Laughing!
your home? SO big.
magic? Turns people into other stuff like into batman!
bedtime? I don't like it.
school? It's bigger than our house!
love? I love it when we give hugs to people.
Are scared of anything? BIG monsters.
If you could have any animal in the world as a pet, what would it be? Another cat like Calvin and Hobbes.

What do you think you'd like to be when you grow up? A Fireman!

Do you like your name? Yes, yes I do.
What is your favorite...
Color? Blue and Black
Things to do? Play tag outside, and paint, and pretend to be other things.
Song? Jesus Loves Me
Book? The Amazing Spiderman
Movie? Lady and the Tramp
Show on TV? Octonauts and Wild KrattsWhat makes you happy? When people give me hugs and kisses.
What do you think about turning four years old?  I think being four means I'm bigger and I can swim better.

I am so in love with this sweet little human being... he just melts my heart.  :)

Family Pics!

In mid - May, my GREAT friend Kim Lowery traveled to Ponca to take some pictures on my aunt/uncle's land - it's so beautiful there.  I cannot believe how good these turned out!  She was so patient the whole time while my boys were behaving horribly!!  I was completely shocked to get this many good shots considering how they kept refusing to look at the camera!  She is an incredible photographer, and I'm so grateful for her talent....and her friendship!!!

 

 

Thank you Kim!  WE LOOOOOVE YOU!!!