Kings

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY FOURTH BIRTHDAY KALEB JESSE!!!

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY FOURTH BIRTHDAY AIDEN JAKE!!!!

This entire year King Kaleb and King Aiden will grow, learn, shine and wear a crown upon their head!!  Incase you've never heard of a Kings birthday, or Queens birthday, it is when you reach the exact age as the day of your birth.  Kaleb and Aiden are FOUR folks, born on December 4th 2012.  Yikes, four seems SO old!

The weekend of their birthday we were so lucky to be entertaining company at home and spent a wonderful day at Gigi and PopPops to celebrate a late Thanksgiving, early Christmas.  This was the second year the boys were fortunate enough to wake up and see their Bma, which is present enough!!!  

After plenty of hours catching up on WestWorld everyone set up a fun morning surprise for the kings.  Sweet Kaleb asked for a Zamboni, which came sitting on a playmobile hockey rink from Bma, complete with stick shooting players and brave goaltenders.  Aiden, also known as driver of trailers, asked for a "little tiny little trailer" that he could connect to his hot wheels red mac truck.  Give Aiden a stuffed animal and he'll affix a hitch to pull a trailer.  A fun window sill set up of all his trailer pulling vehicles put such a smile on his face.  These boys are so full of joy.

Birthday week continued with a day around town, lunch at the fantastic local coffee/chocolate shop, supply run to home depot and a visit to the nature reservation where a real life size game of candy land led us on a wild adventure!!!!!  We had a wonderful visit with my girlfriend Kristen, her mom and little Zoe, my pseudo daughter.  My heart bursts with happiness seeing her in person, and I almost cried when she held her arms out to me and gave me a REAL hug.  And, even though I didn't do a 3rd birthday balloon bath photo, the boys nailed it as wild kings this year.

So much love to everyone who sent birthday wishes, hugs and kisses to Kaleb and Aiden.  If you talked to them on the fourth, and asked about their special day, I bet they told you I made them apple granola crisp for breakfast.  HAHA.  This weekend concluded birthday week with a friends and family party at home.....which I will share soon!!!

Belated Thankful Post

Truly it's never too late to be thankful, yet this Thanksgiving post is finding it's way to the blog 2.5 weeks behind.

The boys and I shared a wonderful visit back home in Pittsburgh and thinking about dinner is making me wish I had a giant turkey leg once more!  Every year I'm fortunate enough to share my Dad's kitchen with my sister Julia, who is a fantastic chef.  Playing sous works fine for me, and boy did I miss her this year!  We facetimed for kitchen hello's and help when I needed pie advice from the master!  

Dinner was beautiful, tasty, Aiden entertained family with his thoughts on politics and we are still, so, so thankful.

Uncle Dennis let the boys believe all the deserts were especially for them, Aunt Nan got to read bedtime stories and the boys new bowties from Aunt Jules made them extra stylish! 

Later that weekend the family joined once more to celebrate the beautiful life of Grandma Muriel.  We had a special unveiling ceremony at the cemetery, then spent the day sharing stories, dressing in her stupendous hat collection and feeling her love all around.

We are still in birthday mode over here.  Kaleb and Aiden are now four-year-olds.  Many thanks to all friends and family who helped us celebrate today!  I'll put up another post pronto.  Promise!!

Apple Picking

Happy Thanksgiving week!!  Raise your hand if you'll be eating a good old-fashioned apple pie!  YUM.  Apple season has come to an end, and I can't believe we only made it to the orchard just once!  Before it's unacceptable to share these photos (because too much time has passed) I wanted to share the adventure.  My very favorite apples are Honey Crisp and we made it just before the trees were completely picked over.  

AJ found a wagon to pull around, our friend Seth found a nest of birds and we all ate about 3 apples each in the field. 

We had such a great apple stash I thought I'd make a few pies, but they disappeared during lunches the first week!  I'm drooling just looking at these photos.  MMM.  I may have to go to the apple farm this week and hope they have a leftover bag.  Enjoy the week, may everyone have numerous blessings to count.

Tricks or Treats

We are officially half way through November, and yet Halloween feels like it was yesterday.  The boys have fallen in love with characters from the movie Zootopia, and spent weeks insisting on dressing up as Officer Judy Hopps, a first ever bunny police officer who wants to make the world a better place, and Nick Wilde, a sly fox turned police detective.  

Before trick or treat night, which we spent in Keith's hometown, the boys and I attended a fun party with members of my multiples group.  I didn't have their police costumes prepared, so we all went as cowboys.  They spent the day calling me Jessie, the cowgirl from Toy Story, but said they were not Woody.  Mph.  Kids.

I dressed up for trick or treat as the villain from zootopia, a sheep named Bellwether and the assistant Mayor, but failed to get a good photo this year of the three of us.  Kaleb and Aiden policed the town, and were the ONLY ones dressed up from Zootopia.  I heard so many people exclaim "FINALLY."  Then, should anyone call Kman anything other than Officer Hopps, he was QUICK to correct them, hit his walkie talkie call button, fall into a lounge position and yell "YES".  HAHAHA, this happened roughly 85hundred times that night.

Halloween day we spent at home carving pumpkins and ridding the house of bad-guys.  AJ requested a dump-truck pumpkin and Kaleb asked for the witch from room on the broom as well as her kitty companion.  I thought it was unnecessary to attend another session of trick-or-treat, so we stayed in baking homemade pizza and watching hocus pocus.

We have been crazy busy every week, and I'm thankful our library pre-school sessions are over until the New Year.  Hope everyone is enjoying November so far!

Three Days a Week

Happy FALL!!!  My favorite time of the year has been busy and beautiful!  The boys have had a new weekly schedule the past two months, but this week is the beginning of the end of preschool for a long holiday break.  Monday's we visit our local city library, which has been fun-but not the greatest.  Our first day was an eye-opener where two classes were mashed together in the midst of a torn apart library, the teacher was scrambling to make name-tags, asked all parents please stay, THEN cut the time in HALF.  Ugh-this was not the deal, but it's a free program so like I tell the boys "you get what you get, and you don't throw a fit."  Each week has improved greatly, although the class has still remained only 30 minutes.  Almost not worth the effort, although I've made two girlfriends, and I really look forward to seeing their lovely faces every Monday morning.  And the revamp is really coming together!

Wednesday's are such a sigh of relief.  The "upper-level" preschool program.  Amazing teacher, great structure, always an adorable craft and Kaleb and Aiden have been telling me all about the teacher-classmates-singing songs-etc, unprompted, which means I know they are loving it and learning.  Mid-week class ends next Wednesday, after a little costume party, then preschool break goes until after the new year.  The boys will really miss their teachers-and I will surely miss that time to myself.  I found the comfiest chair, secluded and basking in the morning sun.  I run to that spot as quickly as the boys run to their classroom!

Our third busy day the boys take part in a gymnastics program.  This was the best decision and every week I fall a little more in love.  They have a nice balcony I always have to myself.  I'm able to watch the boys, get some work accomplished (I'm working on opening a little home run business) and enjoy another glorious hour to myself without interruption.  Although all three photos below show the kids on bars they also do floor exercise, tumble track (floor trampoline), balance beams and mat exercises like cartwheels, forward/backward somersaults, headstands and bridges.  Typically the boys have two coaches, and last week the class officially got split.  I'm not thrilled loosing the attention of two coaches, plus I'm more fond of the coach we "lost".  But it's still an amazing experience for everyone.  I'm so lucky to have found such a hidden gem close to home!