Bath Baby

Boys love baths, it is safe to say!  Now, I am sure this will not always be the case, so I am going to enjoy the fact that they enjoy bubbles and water play -- and I can get them clean at the same time!  At least, they are clean for the 9 hours or so that they are sleeping ;)

Our bath routine features a boy in the bath each night.  We alternate bath nights, and each boy gets his own bath time.  People have asked us why we do not put both of them in the bath together.  Well, we tried that - once.  That experience yielded boys fighting over toys and pinching and biting and hitting.  We are trying to achieve a relaxing end to the day.  A two boy bath simply was not working.

So, Mr. Fixit is "K's" bath giver and I am "L's" bath giver.  We each have our own system to getting the bath experience accomplished.  It is fun to watch them explore and learn in the water.

A fun thing of late is "K."  Each day he asks, "Is it my bath?"  Usually, this conversation begins at the breakfast table.  So, I think it is safe to say, they love their baths!

Hand, Foot & Mouth

Well, the last week was certainly not fun.  I honestly did not know if I would survive, without being exceptionally grumpy.  "L" celebrated his 18th month of life with a case of hand, foot and mouth.  Didn't know people could get this?  Yup, they can, and it is a different virus than what animals contract.

On January 18th, "L" was running a low grade fever and was quite tired.  He also had a light appetite.  He fell asleep at 7:00 p.m., in my lap.  I suspected that perhaps, he might be getting a tummy bug.  He woke on Sunday with a rash around his mouth, on his hands and on the bottoms of his feet.  He also had the rash inside his mouth.  This translates into a very cranky baby!

Much of the same continued throughout the week.  I took him to the Dr. on Tuesday, and they confirmed that it was this virus.  My suspicions were correct.  Ugh!  He was not wanting to eat and drink, because of the pain.  So, we were almost to the point of going in for IV fluids.  Thanks to the "miracle mouthwash" and "juice," we did not need to.  "L" had more juice last week than he has had for his entire life!

Thankfully, he has recovered, and Mr. Fixit and I are praying for well kids for a while now.  Hopefully, "K" will not get it next.  It takes about 10 days for the virus to run its course.  And, wouldn't you know, it is highly contagious = no child care attendance.

Here is hoping all of you are spared the affects of hand, foot and mouth.  It is popular in the 5 and under crowd!

Grandma & Grandpa Gifts

We made a holiday visit to my parents, in between the holidays.  It was a more relaxing visit.  We enjoyed just hanging out, and the boys got a little cousin play time in too.  The boys opened their gifts with Grandma and Grandpa.  It was just us there, so it was a bit more quiet than normal!

Both boys received a train ornament.  I love this tradition that my Mom has started.  Each child receives an ornament each year.  "K" helped Mr. Fixit hang them when we returned home.  The boys also each received an animal pillow.  "K" has a cow and "L" has a puppy.  They are super soft, and well loved!

Outdoor Snow Play

The weather finally did get warm enough one day, and the wind was not blowing.  So, it was the perfect time to head outside to the world of snow.  I think it took Mr. Fixit and I 20 minutes to get both boys dressed and gear gathered for outdoor snow play.  Wow.  What a feat!

"L" was not into walking in the snow.  He really wanted us to carry him.  So, I pulled him for about 30 minutes in this feed tub sled.  It worked perfect!  He did not fall out, and did not have to hold on.  Plus, the tub was the perfect size for him.

"K" was more into "working" the snow.  He raked and helped Mr. Fixit shovel a bit.  He had a garden shovel.  He made a little snow pile, and then jumped in it.  All, in all, neither boy wanted to come inside.  So, I think the day was a success!

Fingerpainting

I love art, and am excited for the boys to get a bit older, because there is more art stuff that we can do!  I envision having an art station that is always set up in our basement, stocked with supplies that they can get to at any time.  But, until that time, we will enjoy some art projects in the kitchen.

On this day, we did a bit of finger painting.  I broke down and bought some finger paint.  We used scrap paper, and had fun!  I dressed the boys in some scrubs, left at a a garage sale, and we had fun seeing what would happen when different colors were mixed.  Clean-up really was not too bad either :)

Brothers

There are moments, brief they may be, but nonetheless -- moments, that the boys actually do play together.  I love seeing them interact on a more positive basis.  It is fun to see them have conversation with each other, share food and chase one another.  True joy!

This was a rare moment when both boys decided to hold hands and walk around the house together.  I was told that they were "going shopping."  So, I decided to snap a photo to document that they actually did play together - every now and then - when they were little!

Santa

Santa came to visit our house on Christmas Eve.  We attended church at 4:00 p.m. -- which was a bit of an adventure.  It is so hard to get these guys up from naps!  They both were on the cranky side, but a church snack really helped everyone's disposition. ;)










We then came home and had dinner, followed by some singing and then the presents appeared.  The look on "K's" face was priceless, as he tried to figure out how exactly Santa came and left without us seeing him.  So much fun!  I took photos of both boys opening their two gifts.  Then we enjoyed an evening of play with our new toys!

Taste of Snow

When it is too cold -- and too much snow for little legs to walk through -- we bring the snow inside!  While Mr. Fixit was working, we were busy exploring the snow in our kitchen sink.  This was "L's" first experience with the cold, white stuff.  So, he decided that it warranted a taste.

After taking a bite, he said "Brrrrr!"  Then continued to take more bites.  He actually ate a good part of this piece.  Then he resumed play.  It was fun to watch the snow exploration!

Sink Snow Play

"L" was too young for sink snow play last winter.  However, "K" definitely showed him the ropes!  I decided two sinks for two boys really was the perfect ratio.  I scooped snow off the deck steps, and had plenty for play.  "K" gathered toys while I gathered snow.  "L" really did not know what to think!

I donned the boys in t-shirts and also provided some large rubber spoon spatulas for them to scoop snow into plastic stacking cups.  All in all, we play for about 30 minutes.  Then the snow became cold, "brrrrrr" is what boys boys exclaimed!

World of White

Winter certainly did not mess around this year!  The past three weeks have brought us much of the white stuff, and Mr. Fixit has been kept busy keeping park walks and roadways clear.  So, the boys and I have been hanging out in the house staying warm!  I have done a couple of days of sink snow play.

I thought I would share a photo of our snowy yard.  As "K" has commented much lately -- "It is really quite outside."  It is certainly fun to see how the snow world really does seem to quite the sounds of the world.  Everything just seems a bit more peaceful.  Stay warm!

Holiday Fun

Mr. Fixit's family has a fun Christmas tradition.  The family gathers together to enjoy a candlelit soup dinner, with appetizers and then each grandchild and great-grand child opens his or her gift.  After all the "kids" have completed their gift opening, it is time for Grandma to open her gifts.

Mr. Fixit's siblings take turns coordinating the gift event.  This year's event featured a fun photo quiz game, which involved family members as "contestants."  It was fun to learn a little history, and have some fun while Mother opened her gifts.  The photo features this year's gift coordinators.  I think Mr. Fixit is up next year.  I told him that he certainly has a tough act to follow!

Cousin Time

Some of my favorite childhood memories were formed at holidays and with cousins!  It was fun to get together and share stories about life in other places.  I had about 30 cousins on my Dad's side and about 20 on my Mom's side.  There was always a cousin to play with, and many of us were around the same age.

"K" and "L" will get to have a great cousin experience too.  There are about 20 some kiddos on Mr. Fixit's side and 10 on my side.  There are more actual cousins on Mr. Fixit's side, but many are grown, so we are having fun with second cousins too!

I took a snap of cousin "S" with "K," right before presents began.  "K" was excited for his present!

Christmas Greetings

Mr. Fixit and I decided to do our own holiday photo shoot this year.  It would have been fun to have all of us in the photo, but timing just did not work with our niece photographer.  I knew our window of beautiful outdoor weather would soon be gone.  I thought, people mostly just want to see the boys anyway - so why not?

Luckily, I had a red and green shirt in the closet, so the colors worked out well with the fall Sumac shrubs in our pasture.  We snapped the photos as dusk was coming on.  This worked out relatively well, because there was no need to squint from the bright sun.  Our "subjects" cooperated rather well.  We did the photo shot shortly after supper ;)  This photo is one that I did not use in our holiday cards.  Hopefully, I can improve my photo skills by next year!

O Christmas Tree . . .

Our tree was placed on a cabinet this year.  "K" and Mr. Fixit hung the ornaments - with care, of course ;), while "L" watched the action.  The boys receive an ornament each year from my parents.  It is fun to collect the different ones!  Some day, each boy will have a nice collection of ornaments to take with them.

This year, I decided that I better date and initial the ornaments.  I decided that 10+ year of ornaments for two kids - might get a little difficult to keep track of which belonged to which kid.  Also, I thought it would be fun to look back and know which ornament came in each year.  So, luckily, I thought of this idea in year three of the process.  We look forward to years of ornament fun!

Happy New Year!

2014 came in with a gusty north wind, and some snow!  Yikes!  We attended church and then spent the day entertaining grandparents and cousins.  The kids played and I cooked, and everyone ate.  I think the day was a success. =)  Today, January 2, means that it is time to head back to work and "school." 

Even though this is a short work week (2 days based on childcare), it will still be tough to get back into the routine.  Next week will be the true test!!  Mr. Fixit is headed to work at 5:00 a.m. - because of snow.  It will be a long, cold day.  Hope you all are snug and warm!