Excitement!

We have had some very exciting days here at our house leading up to Christmas.  Sunday we took the boys to a birthday party for Jesus at our church.  They sang songs, had a balloon drop and got to have a cupcake, yum!  The boys loved it and it was a good reminder of what we're truly celebrating before all the craziness begins.  After the party we took the boys through Winter Wonderland to see the many, many Christmas lights.  They amazingly sat very still in their seats while we waited in our car for 45 minutes just to get in the gate.  Once we got in, all three boys were shouting out characters that they saw: snowmen, Santa, reindeer, Elmo, McQueen, Mater...all their favorites.  It ended up being a late night, but it was worth it!

We had told the boys we would be celebrating our Christmas early and opening our presents the next morning.  Jackson came in our room at 6:45 Monday morning all excited, "Mom we have to go downstairs and open our presents!!"  So off we all went downstairs.  The first thing they all saw was the trampoline which they proceeded to get on at the same time!  Jackson was so excited to open his presents, but I think Grant and Cooper would have been content just watching Jackson open his presents and playing with his toys.  All presents were opened and being played with by 8:00 AM, and they spent the rest of the day playing with all their new toys.  Jackson was thrilled about his Polar Express Train set, Grant was super excited about his car ramp, and Cooper loved all the Shake-n-Go Cars.

Showing off his Polar Express train

Cooper pushing the Polar Express through the North Pole.

Cheese!

Showing off their new Giants gear.

Grant on the new trampoline.  I hope this will keep them busy this winter!

Grant playing with his new ramp.

Tuesday Jackson had his last day of school before break, so Jeff and I took Grant and Cooper sledding while Jack was at school.  It was their first time sledding so we weren't sure what to expect.  Would they love it, hate it, be terrified and want to go home??  Well, turned out the loved it, especially Grant, and wanted to go again and again and again.  We had so much fun!  The only thing that would have made it better would have been to have Jackson with us.

Grant all bundled up.

Cooper all bundled up.

Wheeeeee!

Grant's version of a snow angel.

Wrestling in the snow

This afternoon Jeff, Jackson, and Grant went back to the sledding hill and had a blast!  Jackson was even brave enough to go down the hill by himself.  I have a feeling we will be frequenting the sledding hill this winter. :)  We have many more exciting days ahead seeing family and celebrating Christmas!  Hope you all are enjoying time with family too!

Holiday Train Garden

We took the boys to the Botanic Gardens last weekend to see the Holiday Train Garden.  We had heard from many people how wonderful it was and knew our boys would enjoy it.  It was truly amazing to see!  I can't imagine how many hours it takes to get everything set up.  They had three separate rooms with trains.  The first room we walked through had an entire village of gingerbread houses with a train going around it, along with many Christmas trees and some carolers singing Christmas songs.  I have a video of the room so you can see it but I'm having trouble getting on here...I'm a little technologically challenged!  I'll keep trying.

The next room we walked into was amazing!  It was filled with Christmas trees, poinsettias, and lots and lots of trains!  They had recreated many of Chicago's historic buildings and landmarks which were nestled in among the train tracks.  I would love to go back with Jackson alone, because unfortunately Grant and Cooper did a lot of running around and there was little time to actually stop and look at all of the amazing decorations or even take a moment to take a picture.  This was the only one I got.

Watching a train go by Soldier Field

The third and final room had one large train circular train track with a single train running on it.  We spent a lot of time in this area because it was less crowded and the boys could run around.

This was the view I had of Grant a majority of the time we were there.  He just wanted to run!

How many boys can you hold at once??

Even though Jeff and I were exhausted by the time we left (we both felt like we had just finished upper body workouts!), it was worth it.  The boys loved it!!  I know outings like this will become much more manageable every year as the boys get older.  For now, I guess Jeff and I need to stay in shape so we can chase them around and carry multiple children at once. :)

What a Difference a Day Makes!

I apologize for the rant yesterday, but this blog is about our life, and yesterday life was stressful.  Today life is great!  Oh what a little fresh air and space to run around in will do for everyone's attitude.   It's still freezing here, but Jackson bundled up for preschool today, and the little boys and I bundled up to head to an indoor playground to play with some friends.  It was just what the doctor ordered for all of us.  Everyone is napping peacefully now, and I'm busy making Christmas cookies.  Life couldn't be any sweeter! :)

Playing in the tent yesterday.

Cheese!

Look at the static in his hair!!

Can I Vent?

These are the questions running through my head today:

1)  Will my house ever be clean and organized again?
2)  Will I ever be able to walk around my house and not step on a piece of half-eaten "fill-in-the-blank" (raisin, cheerio, cracker)?
3)  Will my children ever stop throwing their cups, spoons, bowls, food onto the floor?
4)  Will my children ever play together peacefully instead of ripping toys from each others hands or purposefully tormenting each other?
5)  Will we ever be able to get out of this house and get some fresh air so we're not at each others throats?
6)  Is it spring yet?!?!

Happy Day!

We hope you have a super special day!  Wish we could spend it with you, but you wouldn't want to spend your birthday wiping snotty noses anyway, right? :)  We love you!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Christmas is in full swing here at our house.  Almost everyday Jackson asks if it's Christmas time.  Now that we have snow on the ground he feels like we should have presents under the tree.  Little does he know, I have been terrible about presents this year and am seriously procrastinating!!  I've decided next year I'm going to get all of my shopping for the boys done by Halloween.  (We'll see if I stick to that promise!)  This is too stressful doing everything last minute.  Hopefully everything I've ordered online will actually arrive before Christmas.

The boys and I went to a cookie decorating party at a friend's house last week.  There was a lot of eating frosting and M&Ms and very little decorating being done by my boys, but they had a great time!  Thanks so much Lindsay for hosting!  It was a crazy great time!

Jackson hard at work.

Cooper left his hand in the M&M bowl almost the entire time he sat at the table.

Licking the frosting bowl clean.

 Tonight we took the boys to see Santa.  We had a recommendation to try out the Bass Pro Shop so that's where we went.  We only had to wait in line for 25 minutes and the boys were able to check out the ATVs while we waited.  We knew two things for sure before we got there:
1)  Grant was not going to sit on Santa's lap.  He's mister stranger danger.
2)  Cooper would be excited to see Santa and have no problem sitting on his lap.  He's mister social.
We just didn't know what to expect from Jackson.   We were both happy to see that Jackson wasn't afraid and went right up to Santa with no hesitation.  We were spot on with G & C, and that is why we ended up with a family picture.  The boys loved checking out all the wildlife in the store.  Grant was much more excited about seeing the fish than seeing Santa!  We spent almost an hour in the store before heading off to dinner.  In my eyes it was a successful night and more wonderful memories made!

Grant and Cooper checking out the bear.  They were both growling!

Jack and Grant watching the fish.  Don't worry, no children fell in to the pond, although it looks like Grant is about to go overboard.

The big fish tank.

Wow, look at that big one!!

The Polar Express

Thank you Ava and Addy for the awesome gift!!  Jackson was so excited to open his package and when he saw it was The Polar Express, he was thrilled!  You girls are too sweet!  Jackson is so obsessed with The Polar Express right now.  We read the book before bed every night and he now can recite the entire book!  For anyone that hasn't read the book, there are a lot of words.  So Jeff and I were amazed when he recited it to us.  I've been on the hunt for a Brio Polar Express Train online with no luck yet.  They retired it, which I don't understand, and I've been outbid on two different sets on eBay.  For now, Jackson is really good to pretend his trains are the Polar Express.

Oh my goodness, it's The Polar Express!!!

Thank you Ava and Addy!

Celebrating the Small Things

Cooper went potty on the big boy potty this morning!!!  Ever since Jackson has been potty trained Grant and Cooper want to sit on the potty any chance they can get.  Jeff put Cooper on the potty first thing this morning and when I went in the bathroom to check on him, he had gone potty!!  I cheered for him, and he stood up, in his birthday suit, threw both hands up and said, "WOO-HOO!"  Now this probably will not happen again for another year, but I don't care, we are still celebrating!

Thankful!

This is the time of year we all take extra time to recognize and remember all the things in our lives that we're thankful for.  There are so many reasons why I'm thankful this year, but these are my top 4!!

I'm so grateful for you Jackson!  I love to see that handsome smile and to hear your sweet laugh!!  You warm my heart with your hugs and kisses everyday.  You are so special to Mommy and Daddy and we love you!

Jackson and Grandma made these turkeys for our placeholders at the table.  Jackson had fun putting the turkeys together for everyone, but he really loved tasting everything during the process.  He has my sweet tooth and loves all things chocolate!!  Poor guy ended up getting a touch of the stomach flu and wasn't even able to sit at the table with us for our Thanksgiving meal.  Thank goodness he bounced back quickly!  He is back to running around the house, playing with trains, and pestering his little brothers.

I am thankful everyday for these two sweet boys, Grant and Cooper.  I'm amazed every time I see them that somehow we were blessed with twins.  The last 19 months has been an amazing journey of tears and laughter, but every day Jeff and I are just in awe of the miracle of these two precious little boys.  Grant, we love your sweet hugs and all three of your dimples when you smile.  You wear your heart on your sleeve and even at the young age of 1 1/2, you know just what to do to make everyone feel loved!  Cooper, our ball of energy, we love your big smile and your easy way of always making us laugh.  Sometimes Mommy wishes she could bottle up your energy!!  We love you both so much and are thankful every day for you!

I know I don't say it enough, but I am so grateful for my wonderful husband.  He is amazing in every way!  He is a wonderful father to our three boys and a loving husband to me.  I love watching the boys run to the front door to see who can get the first hug when he comes home from work.  (sometimes I win that race!!)  Thank you Jeffrey for being such an amazing father and husband.  The boys and I are so blessed to have you in our lives, and we appreciate all the hard work you do to support our family!

We had a fun family filled Thanksgiving, with all of the boys' grandparents and Great Grandma Norma coming to visit us.  Now it's on to Christmas at our house.  We decorated the house this weekend and the boys are in awe of the tree.  We've already had one broken ornament, I have a feeling there will be more.  Life always gets terribly busy at this time of year, but I hope that you all are able to take time to cherish your family and the reason for this season.  I know we will!!

Ear Infections and Play Dough

Poor Cooper did a lot of this today.

This is what a severe double ear infection does to my little "party animal."  He spent the first hour of his morning laying on the floor of his bedroom without moving.  That's when I decided to call the doctor.  After having a dose of antibiotics, Tylenol, and a serious nap he was showing signs of his "true" self, like singing The Elmo Song. :)  He refused to take his hat off the entire day, even ate lunch and took his nap with it on!  Maybe it made his ears feel better?

Jackson has started dropping his nap in the last month or two.  I only have him lay down 3-4 days a week.  Today was a no-nap day, so Jackson and I got to spend two hours together with no distractions while Grant and Coop napped.  We pulled out the play dough, which hasn't been touched in months.  Jackson loved making "worms" with his little tool!  I forgot how therapeutic playing with play dough can be!!

Iowa Visit

Last weekend I took the boys back to Iowa for a long weekend visit.  Jeff was super busy with his grad class and swim meets so it was a good weekend for us to be away.  We split up the drive on the way there and spent a night in Cedar Rapids with a good friend of mine from college.  I don't have any pictures from our short visit but the boys had a great time playing with Addy and Ava, and I really enjoyed my time catching up with Tanya!  Thanks for letting us stay with you:)

While we were in Iowa we spent time with my parents and Jeff's family, we got to celebrate my brother's birthday, and we spent an evening with two of my college roommates and their families.  It was a busy weekend, and with the time change added in there, we were all thoroughly exhausted when we got back.  (Whoever came up with Daylight Savings must not have had little children!!)

The boys and I spent a day at Jeff's mom's house.  The boys had a blast riding on Gaga's riding lawn mower.  They spent most of the day outside chasing the dogs or riding the mower.  They were dirty and tired by the end of the day!

Jackson at the wheel!

Grant is holding on tight!  Cooper is just along for the ride!

Grant peeking in the fountain.

Cooper loved chasing after Kevlar.  He kept saying, "I get you!"

Jackson helping Papa pick up the leaves with the leaf sweeper.

The little boys had to check out the tractor too.