Random Fun Around the House

I just wanted to post these adorable pics of the boys and of my latest fun Halloween project. My sister Katie gave me the idea and it only cost me $3 total! I just bought the three plates at the dollar store and that was it. I used a permanent marker to draw on the pictures on the plates and you can make it permanent by putting them in the oven or I might just wash them off and draw new images after Halloween for Thanksgiving...not sure which I am going to do yet.

 I let Ryder feed himself yogurt because he always wants to do it by himself and I usually don't let him and you can see why...

 So worth it though...look at that happy face :)

 I made Aiden a super hero cape out of a pair of Brad's old pajama pants and he loves it :)

 I think he should be a model for Nike :)

And my Halloween plates! So fun and easy to make!

Happy Birthday Brad

So in addition to being a fabulous Labor Day weekend we also got to celebrate Brad's 28th birthday! And Brad just happened to get out early from classes all week long on his birthday week! So on his birthday when he got home we had a surprise birthday banner the kids and I had made for him and we sang him happy birthday then we all went out to lunch. In the evening we had a cake and also for his birthday he got Philly cheesesteak sandwiches and a rasberry cream pie :) So it was a fun and delicious week of birthday celebration. Oh and Brad also got to build a ladder shelf for his birthday. He had really been wanting to do some kind of project so we went to the store and got all the materials he needed. It looks beautiful! I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband who works so hard, who is so brilliant, and who is the best husband and father. I love you!

 Such a fun Daddy :)

 Blowing out his make believe candles....long story but makes for a funny picture :)

 28!

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To the Zoo

For Labor Day weekend we went to the zoo and the kids loved it and miraculously we didn't get rained on although by the end I think we wouldn't have minded some to cool us off. It was REALLY humid, but we had a great time! I think my favorite thing was seeing the bonobo monkeys because there was a little baby one and he was shy at first and kept just peeking his head out and then we waved at him and he waved back! It was so cute. We also got to see some cougars really close up which was fun. He was right next to the glass and Aiden not realizing their was glass was walking up to him really hesitantly and was scared thinking that there was nothing between him and the cougar. The people standing next to us noticed and were giggling about his  seeing how scared he was to get close to the glass. Once we showed him the glass he went right up but it was pretty funny. Here are some pics from our trip:

Ryder kept wanting to try to go under the fence on the bridge to go see the ducks in the water :)

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Love

I just wanted to say that I LOVE my boys! They are so ;much fun and both getting so big. Ryder is walking everywhere and he seems less and less like a baby. He has starting saying more words like cookie, that, cracker, and cheese. He loves playing chase around the house and always has to have food in his hand :)  Aiden has started gymnastics and although he was a little hesitant about things on his first day he is excited to go back! He loves to have dance parties, sing the ABC's, play racing, and he is such  good helper. He is very independent and always wants to do things by himself without my help. He is also a big sweetie pie. He always is coming up to me and kissing my hand and telling me he loves me so much. I love them and I am so glad to spend every day with them. I get sad thinking that I only have 5 years at home with each of them before they go to school all day. I am excited for that next big adventure of school, but it is also sad even though it is still 2 years away for Aiden. I guess its just the fact that I know it will go by fast.

On a happier note we are going to the zoo this weekend and I am so excited to take the boys! Aiden is older and I think will enjoy it more this time and Ryder LOVES animals so I think he will enjoy it too. Brad has the whole weekend off! woohoo! So I can't wait to have some good family time. Brad also is turning 28 on Tuesday! So we will get to celebrate his birthday as well :) I love Labor Day weekends.

1, 3, and 24

This was the month of birthdays at our house! Aiden turned 3 on July 2nd, Ryder turned 1 on July 25th, and I turned 24 on the 28th. Sorry this is such a loooong post, but there is a lot to cover!
     I can't believe Aiden is already 3. He is so sweet and he is so curious. He will ask questions a mile a minute. His favorite question is why? He still LOVES cars and trains, but he also has a new fascination with robots. He loves to watch Wall-e and The Iron Giant. His favorite colors are blue and green and he has informed Brad that when he is older he is going to have a green motorcycle, a green motorcycle jacket, and a green helmet and that Dada is going to have a blue motorcycle, a blue motorcycle jacket, and a blue helmet and that they are going to drive around everywhere together :) I love him so much and can't wait to see how he will continue to grow and learn.
We celebrated Aiden's birthday first with a pre-birthday party at Grandma's house, then we had his big party in Idaho at Poppi and Gigi's house. It was a Jake and the Neverland Pirates birthday party and he had so much fun! We did a treasure hunt and then had water balloons after cake and presents. Here are some pictures of all the fun:

 Pre-birthday party at Grandma's :)

 Pirate cake #1. Made with love by Grandma and Mama.

 Pirate cake #2 in Idaho. Added an ocean and some sharks :)

 Water balloons! I love this one because you can see Aiden's little hands with 2 green balloons behind Coen.

And the party ended with Aiden in his birthday suit :) 

Ryder turned 1 on July 25th! I can't believe it has already been a year since he was born! He has been taking steps here and there since he was 10 months, but just in the last week he has been walking a ton! He still crawls too because it is still faster for him, but he LOVES to walk. Sometimes if it is a long distance Brad and I will hold his hand and if we let go he will just start bawling. He also loves to play peek-a-boo and loves to climb up and down stairs. His first word besides Mama and Dada that he just said this last week was "cheese." He says it every time we go to take his picture :) We are trying to work on more words. He babbles a ton in baby and he points to things a lot when he wants something, but we are working on him actually saying the words. He is a BIG Daddy's boy. This last week Brad came home from his first day of school and when Ryder saw him he exclaimed "DADA!" with so much joy and excitement. It almost makes me almost cry just thinking about it because it was so touching how happy he was to see his Dada. 

     For his 1st birthday we had balloons and presents out for him in the morning and we made him blueberry pancakes. Then in the evening we had birthday cake with a little cake just for him to dig into you. Here are pics from his birthday:

And lastly we celebrated my birthday yesterday. Friday night brad surprised me with a  nice memory foam mattress top for our bed because our mattress is too firm for me and I kept waking up with achy hips and shoulders. It was the perfect gift :) Sleeping has been wonderful! Then on Saturday morning Brad and Aiden sang Happy Birthday first thing in the morning and then we went out for a celebratory birthday lunch at Saul Good and then had my cake in the evening.