Halloween is Almost Here!

From September

From September

Honestly-I never knew who Optimus Prime was until this weekend when Miles and his daddy were trying to decide what he wanted to be for Halloween. Well, he is a Transformer and now Miles is Optimus Prime. Miles wanted to sleep in it! I am sure we will get our money back out of this one. I just can't believe Miles is into all of these "big boy" toys. I grew up with Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Bright, Barbie, Huggabunches, (girl stuff), Daddy is really going to have to help me out with some of these strange characters. I don't think I have ever seen Star Wars from start to finish.
Diego didn't fare so well! Barnes is all about Diego but would not try on his t-shirt or vest. He just carried it around. He did sport the backpack while watching "Diego" on tv. We are looking forward to seeing all of our local cuties in their Halloween costumes! I guess it is time to start counting down to Christmas-Time really flies after fall arrives!

Pop's Dove Shoot!

Saturday The Hall's had their annual Dove Shoot!  The boys had a wonderful time!  Gam, Pop, Nana, Poppy, Mama Doll, the Mimi's, Liz, Dean,  and all of their cousins were there!  Ellis, Chloe, Charley, and baby Isabel were there too!  At the end of the afternoon the little ones climbed on Pop's old Ford tractor and hammed it up!  Everyone was so tired after spending the all day outside at Gam's!  A few mosquito bites and hotdogs later we went inside for baths and bedtime was no problem!

Gone Hunting!

Bradley was so excited after snagging his first dove among many at Gam and Pop's Dove Hunt on Saturday!  While the "big boys" did their thing, the little ones played.  I think Bradley had a great time!  I didn't know he had such great aim!  Way to go Bradley!  More pics to come from Gam and Pop's Saturday!

Daddy Time!

This video is just a glimpse into the crazy days at our house!

Barnes

I did try to get Miles to let me take some pictures too.  He always runs...Maybe next time!

I think Barnes looks just like his Pop in all of these pictures!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The Last Days of Summer...

These pictures remind me of when I was a little girl and my Grandma Cora would say, "Stay in or out!" We usually chose out and we would always go to the hose for a cool sip of water. Here are my boys at the hose already!

Move Over Kenny!!

 

Miles is a sucker for the spotlight. I don't know where he gets this from!

FIRST DAY-3K!

 

 

 

 

Today was Miles' first day of 3-k! He woke up, grabbed his clothes, and said, "Daddy help me get dressed so I can go to school!" I hope every morning will be so easy! He insisted on wearing his cowboy hat at first because Miss Marla gave those to the kids at Open House. He said they were supposed to take their hats back to school! Clay finally convinced him to leave the hat! Miles did ask Clay to walk him into the classroom this morning but, he went right in with no problem. I know he was excited to see all of his friends and be back in the school mode! Of course he told me "nothing happened at school today"! Later on he slipped up and said he drew a picture for me but I haven't seen it. When I picked him up from Gam's house he was so tired he couldn't see straight. When I put the boys down Barnes did his usual, "I WANT MOMMY!" while Miles tried to calm him with his best "Gam" voice. The one that finally worked was this: "Barnes, This IS Mommy, you're okay, now go to sleep." I guess Miles has a pretty good "Mommy" voice too because B finally hushed up and went to sleep!

Little Things

 

We have been watching a mushroom grow in our neighbor's yard for a few days. After the rain we had Sunday morning it really grew! Miles asked me to take a picture of it-So here it is...We had to go stand beside it, lay on the ground and look at it etc..It is so exciting to see things through little eyes again!
This morning when I left for work Barnes said, "I go to work." He cried and I hated to leave him. He will get to go to school soon enough. Although he doesn't want to do that. Saturday we were passing Miles' school and Barnes said, "Miles' school." I said, "I know you will get to go to school with Miles soon." He said, "No...I stay with Gam.
Miles is wise beyond his years also...He kept sneaking into the fridge to get grapes this evening (after dinner). His daddy told him to stay out of the fridge. Miles said, "Daddy, it's okay, grapes are healthy." Little people are so funny!

ENERGY

Okay-These little people have only been on the run since about 7:00 this morning! This little clip of Barnes and Sae Sae was taken aroung 9:00 pm! They never stop! They had already played "Ring Around the Rosie" and find Sae Sae! Dean, Liz, and Sara Preston stopped by tonight and B and Sae acted like they haven't seen each other in weeks! Miles and Barnes love all of their cousins! I think it would be okay with them if they could just stay together all the time!

Fun on The Beach

This is just a clip from a beautiful day at the beach! The boys had a wonderful time doing things that boys do! That just means that I spend a lot of time doing what boys do!

The Little Wiggles

I am still catching up from our beach trip which was so much fun. Too many times we just capture videos only to put them away and never look at them again. Clay gave me a Flip Video camera for my birthday in April and I have been able to catch so many little moments with this tiny camera that fits into my purse. Anyway, this video captures every little person's personality. Sara Preston loves a juice box, she would prefer milk but a juice will do. Lan loves the Wiggles. We almost made it through the toddler years without these crazy men but thanks to Lan and Ellis at the beach we have to at least sing some of the songs. Barnes loves to dance! He has this special move he does with his shoulders that just cracks me up. He doesn't get going here but, I just love to watch the little ones be little.

Summer's Coming to an End!

Well I went back to school on Tuesday and Miles and Barnes are back at Gam's house during the day! The beginning of the school year is always bittersweet for me because I miss the boys terribly but, I enjoy my job and we all enjoy having some time apart. Barnes has been attached to my hip all summer. Monday morning he didn't want his Daddy to get him out of his crib. He wanted Mommy. Clay pulled him out anyway and B ran to me as fast as he could. That is a good feeling. Now when he gets picked up in the afternoon he doesn't want to leave Gam's!
Miles is a mess and is becoming so independent. He wakes up, potties, then dresses himself. This morning he wore a red shirt with a dinosaur on it and purple skin tight Clemson shorts (backwards)-I really wanted to make him change but he was so proud of himself I couldn't. Gam and I love him even if he looks "tacky". Pop Pop and Daddy on the other hand got rid of the Clemson shorts. Miles came home in his Juice t-shirt and no shorts! Pop said he doesn't know what happened to the CLEMSON shorts!
Miles also told me we were going to have another baby and it was going to be a girl and...it was going to be Sae Sae (his cousin Sara Preston). At this point if we had another baby it would have to be Sae Sae. Miles loves her with all his heart and is so sweet to her! She is so quiet and sweet...We have sweet at our house but not a lot of quiet.
Lately everything we do is BIG and LOUD! A trip to Target turns into a sqealing, pinching, play fight...They were having a blast...I on the other hand left an entire box of diapers on the bottom of the cart because I just had to get out of there! I usually don't lose my cool so thinking back they must have been really loud.
We ate dinner at Wendy's tonight-everyone in the place ate dinner with us-We didn't give them a choice. Miles was so chatty, Barnes was yelling, "Hey" to anyone who would listen and repeating everything Miles said.
Barnes copies every single thing Miles says and does-He does everything Miles tells him to do, including going into the refrigerator and pulling everything out just to get to the lemon juice that Miles told him to drink.
Miles has definitely come out of his shell. He has always had this dry sense of humor-he has great comedic timing. He is just plain funny. I think he enjoys entertaining his brother. And they both love their Mommy! I think I get a thousand kisses a day! Although summer isn't officially over-My break is and I have to say that it has been so eventful. We haven't done anything extra special but, it is those everyday moments that you really remember, that make life happen, that make you happy. Just to wake up to two sweet voices every morning and play and talk and read and sing...That's what it is all about!

Smile

Ellis and Barnes share a snack at Ellis' pool. They wouldn't talk to me but I love the smiles that they give me because they know they are on camera! Thanks Ellis for letting us swim this summer!

One Cool Kid!

I am posting some older videos...my computer has been crazy and my videos haven't been downloaded so I am playing catch-up.

Peep Eye

Barnes and Sae played peep-eye with Liz at the pool!

Miles the Fish

Miles has always been hesitant around water but on our vacation he decided he liked to swim. He relies on his life jacket but he is so confident and I am glad to see him having such a good time.

They Sleep...

I went in the boys' room tonight to check on them and Miles was completely covered in stuffed animals. He told me he was scared when he went to bed but, he said it with his little grin so I wasn't buying it. Now I am not so sure but I guess his animals made him feel safe because he doesn't do this every night. Then I snapped a picture of Barnes "Filling Up" his crib. He will be in a big boy bed soon enough! The crazy moments are wonderful but knowing your little ones are sleeping peacefully is an awesome feeling.

Here are a few more pictures from today! After a bath Sae and B went down for afternoon naps and Miles and I had quiet time. When they woke up they all played with the kitchen in the playroom and cooked and ate and had a great time. We are so glad you could come and play with us today Sae! We love you!

A Day with Sae!

Barnes and Miles see all of their cousins almost everyday. They are used to spending everyday of the school year with Sara Preston so both boys have been asking for her a lot. Today Sara Preston spent the day with us. We kicked off our morning with a trip to the pool. Sara Preston and Miles dove right in but, B had to wait on his mommy! They swam and had juice and ring pops! After an hour at the pool they were pooped. We headed home and had lunch-Now I know why Sae is so slim! My boys kept stealing her hot dog! I had to remind them to use their manners. Here are a few pictures from our day. If you see the kids with their hands in the air that is just what we do sometimes when we take pictures. We hold our hands up and yell. We can thank Liz and Dean for that but it makes cute pictures!

Back to the Beach!

Miranda and I headed back to the beach with our boys this past week! The Dads joined us for the weekend! We had a really good time. The boys were in full swing (I think they knew they had the big people outnumbered). Daniel and Miriam even came for one night and spent some time on the beach with us. We went back to the Aquarium and to Build a Bear. We had to have a Red Sox t-shirt and some Dino pj's. Other than that we just stayed on the beach! Our last day there was the most fun-We took Allan's boat out and found a found a quiet spot to play-While Allan and Clay were trying to anchor the boat, Clay got stung by a jellyfish on both legs...Then Allan got stung! The jellyfish were awful. We were wondering what to do because we didn't want to let the boys in the water when we saw a wonderful little tide pool! We all spent the whole afternoon in our own little "hot tub". None of us were ready to leave. Baby Luke had a wonderful nap and then relaxed in the water. Barnes who doesn't like water because he is a little diva and it is too cold loved it because it was so warm. Miles and Lan had fishing rods and they fished much of the time. I really think we all could have stayed all day! We had a really great week at Nana & Poppy's! But all of the grandparents and Sae Sae were missed!

Sleepover!

Miles had his first sleepover last night. He has stayed with his Gam and Nana before but never a friend. He spent the night with his cousin Lan! He slept on the "trundle" bed. He was so excited! When I picked him up this morning he said, "Mommy I spent the night with Lan and I didn't wake up until morning time"! His Mimi said she heard him in the bedroom early so she went in to get him and the shutter was open where he was checking to see if it was morning time outside. I guess if it was still dark he would have gone back to bed (those were the instructions I gave him before he left our house).
Poor Barnes missed Miles-He woke up this morning asking for "Milfes" Both boys played hard all day and Barnes took a short nap right after lunch. Miles wouldn't nap which is normal. Then Lan came over to spend the afternoon with us and they destroyed the playroom and the bedroom and ate everything in my kitchen. Miles was getting in trouble a lot which led to timeout. That did not go so well so I sent him to his room and made him sit on the bed. Five minutes later he was fast asleep. I know three is a crazy age but I am just going to blame his yucky behavior this afternoon on being tired from his sleepover, and playing so hard with Lan and Barnes. He slept for almost three hours. He was supposed to go to his friend Ellis' house to decorate cookies but B had to go without him. When he woke up he told us good morning. Then when we got on the golfcart to go see Nana and Poppy he said, "Are we going to decorate cookies?" Poor thing was so disappointed when he found out he had missed it! I told him we would decorate cookies another time and we will. By the way-Ellis, Barnes loved his cookie-I could see it all over his face!

Summer Shorts

A few of my favorite moments of the summer so far happened at the beach last week. MIles called Nana and Gam and told them his Mommy and Daddy bought him a beach house. He told them he liked his new beach house. Today he told me he couldn't wait to go back to our beach house.
When we were at the old house (Atalaya) taking pictures of the boys-Mimi Miranda bought the knight costumes as a surprise. Miles said, "I can't wait to tell Nana we went to a castle and these knight clothes just appeared!" He was so excited! Miles is such a funny child who makes everyone laugh and laughs at himself. He is a real mess!

I also love the tender moments children share. They are so quick to hold hands or give a hug or kiss to each other or say, "I love you!" If more adults would do the same our world would be a different place! We can learn so much from our little ones!

1 House 18 People!

What do you get when you put 10 big people and 8 little people in 1 house? A Blast! Most people would think chaos but seriously ,a good time was had by all! The grown ups behaved and so did the children! They were so precious and had a great time on the boat, on the beach, at the toy store, and at the pool! We are now back home and in the swing of things! Laney, Andrew, Sara Preston, Lan, & Luke were wonderful playmates! Ellis was the best playmate! Barnes loved sitting in her lap! Thanks for making the trip so much fun for Miles and Barnes! Daniel and Eliza were glad to be able to spend some time with you and Flora! I wanted to head back to the beach today but Miles wants to stay home for a while! Maybe next week! Summer will be over soon!