I do

Nope, Scott and I aren't renewing our vows. "I do" is the punch line to this next story...

We were at our friends' house for dinner tonight, and dessert was the always popular (and cheap and easy to make) crowd pleaser - brownies.

The kids are not physically able to have just one brownie, of course. That would go against everything about childhood. Two of them (Noah and a friends' kid) made their way into the kitchen to ask for another one, and walked back outside.

Then came Tyler. He came in, held out his napkin, and said, "I do." I think in his head, he knew that we would probably ask him, "Would you like another brownie?" So, rather than beat around the bush, he decided to answer the question before we had a chance to ask it.

It was so cute, and if I'm really a superstar mom, it might make his baby book.

Happy Birthday to 2 out of 3!!!

Rachel turned one on the 25th. Noah turned 5 on the 30th. Let's just say there's going to be lots of double birthday party/cake eating sessions in the years to come. :) Rachel loved her cake (surprise) and Noah has been the baseball boy this summer, hence his cake.

Our visit to the Playboy Mansion

Okay, now that your attention has been lassoed.... :) We went to Lake Geneva last weekend for the summer regional conference that Scott's employer, Edward Jones, has every year. It's at a different place every summer (we're pulling for a return to a great waterpark that we went to two years ago), and this summer it was at the Grand Geneva hotel, which, used to be the old Playboy mansion. Lovely. Thankfully, I was able to put that thought out of my mind to minimize the creepiness I felt just being there.

We had a fun couple days with the kids, and then my parents came to get them so Scott and I could have the day/evening to ourselves. My mom and dad even kept the kids overnight! We got dressed up for the banquet/awards dinner on Saturday night, and I had someone take what's probably the first picture of just Scott and I in a few years. :) The kids loved the pool - even Tyler, who ended up in the floatie-thing I bought for Rachel. She was happy just pushing the chairs and side tables around the deck. We also took a dinner cruise... here's the pics.

Tyler's language

So, today we got out the pool. Tyler said, "Wet's get our babin' suits on, Mom!" A bug flew near to him and he said, "Dere's too many biskeetos out here."

Who's your favorite?

So Scott and I commit the cardinal sin of parenting once in awhile.... we ask the kids who their favorite is. Yep, that's right, we try to get them on our respective sides. :) It's always in fun, and we usually tickle them to death if they pick the opposite parent.

As we were putting them to bed the other night, Noah chose Scott, and Tyler (2 1/2)was a die-hard Mommy's boy. He looked me straight in the eyes and said,

"You're my best, Mommy."

We're still alive!!!

Thanks, Bekah, for the reminder that my blog has been neglected for about 2 years now. :) Somehow, even though our kids aren't involved in sports, Awana, kids clubs, or even school, we're busy. What will life be like in 5 years?????

Last weekend, we had Noah's birthday party. He has never had a party with friends before, so we decided that this was the year to do it. We thought, hey, wouldn't it be fun to invite his whole preschool class? So, after passing out 35+ invitations, we realized that we were in for it. :) We had 22 kids come - we borrowed some bounce houses from some generous friends and neighbors, another neighbor brought over bean bag games and ring tosses, etc, and we had ourselves a mini carnival in the backyard. Thankfully, the weather was nice - no rain, sleet, or snow. The kids had a great time, and Noah enjoyed being the center of attention for the morning.

I promise it won't be 2 more years until I blog again...

Our sweet boy - is it possible he's really almost 5 years old???

Scott playing Duck, Duck, Goose with the kids. He was amazing as the game master. Seriously, after 8 years of marriage, I thought I knew all the reasons why I loved him. He was so good with the kids - doing all kinds of crazy games, running around the house with them.... There were two moms that stayed with their kids at the party. As they were watching Scott, one of them asked me, "Is he for hire for other birthday parties?" I was very proud. :)

Opening presents. It was hilarious to watch them all clamor for Noah to open theirs first. He took it all in stride, though, and didn't get overwhelmed! Fortunately, a few presents were "Target take-back worthy." For any of you that know me, you know that I have no qualms about returning gifts.....

Ready for cake and ice cream. A memorable moment of the morning was when at least 5 kids came up to me and said, "I don't like this ice cream." I had to hold myself back from saying, "well, more for me then!" :)

Red light, green light.

The only downfall to an outside party - a windy day that didn't give the candles a fighting chance.

So after the party, Noah says in his sweetest voice, "Mom, since it's a special day, can I skip a nap?" We said sure, but you have to have a rest on the couch. Not even 2 minutes later, we found him like this.

Our little/big man. We love him so much.

Doesn't get any cuter than this...

Musing on chocolate...

I can eat at least 10 Oreos in a sitting. For breakfast. 3 candy bars at once? No problem. So, the kids have had ample exposure to the greatest food ever invented. Tyler has a sweet tooth that will match mine one day. As he was eating some chocolate chips this morning (around 9 a.m.) :), he said, "Chocolate makes me feel better." He put into words what I've known my whole life.

We can finally go outside!

Yay! It's spring in Wisconsin! We've finally officially put away the snow pants, and are happily playing outside. Here's a few shots of the kids from the past week. We went to the park, and the kids had a blast.

Life with Tyler

We thought we had this parenting thing all figured out. Our first, Noah, was the kid that knew the rules before someone told them to him. Our second, Tyler, well, he's a little more normal than that. As my dad said when he was on the way, "You're going to have to throw out the book you used for Noah because each kid is different." Yeah, right, Dad. Oh wait, he IS right. :) Here's two stories from the past week that give you a little picture into life with our sweet, crazy, funny boy Tyler.

1.) Tyler and Rachel (2 1/2 and 9 months) are in the living room together. I'm in the kitchen. I hear laughter from both of them. As I'm in the middle of washing dishes, I decide to finish them up and then go see what all the fun is about. So, 2 minutes later, as they're still laughing, I go in the living room to find Rachel covered in Puffs. (For those of you w/out kids, Puffs are nasty little bite sized cereal-looking things that REEK of the zinc that they are fortified with. As my brother says, "If you can smell the vitamins, you shouldn't be eating it.") Anyway, Tyler has taken a whole bottle of them and poured them over her head. He is taking handfuls of them and throwing them at her, chuckling his delightful little belly laugh as he does it. Rachel, who by the way is the BIGGEST of all three kids, (I'm so proud), is LOVING every minute of it. Not only is she getting undivided attention, but she has snacks all around her. Tyler got a time out, but I had to hide my smile and laughter from him.

2.) Now, you'd think that I'd learn that a 2 1/2 year old laughing loudly would be a clue that something's going on that shouldn't be happening. Well, my brain is slowly expanding back to it's pre-pregnancy size, so there are still a few connections that have yet to meet again. So, Tyler and Rachel are alone again in the living room and I hear laughter. Again. I decide to wait only one minute this time. Tyler is the first one I see. He has a marker in his hand. Rachel, who I had stripped down to her birthday suit a few minutes prior because of a diaper blow out, is sitting naked in the middle of the floor, with some decorative marker strokes on her face, cheek, arms, and belly. My favorite is the one near her eye, which, in the medium shade of pink, makes her look like she's about to join an 80's punk band. Again, she is laughing, because 'hey, the other person is laughing, and again, I'm getting attention!' :) Thankfully it wasn't a Sharpie. Thankfully it wasn't a black marker.

Ahhhh, life with a two year old. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I apologize that there aren't pictures to accompany these stories. I didn't get the camera out quick enough, and I didn't want to have too many repeat episodes if I took the camera out. :)