Kid Fishing Tournament!

This was Connor's 3rd year in the fishing tournament & I think it was the best one yet!  He is old enough to hook & reel in his own fish & I think he loved it!!

Huge huge thank yous to Nana & Papa, who come with chairs, snacks, bait, fishing gear, and lots of love every year!  Connor finished the tournament with 5 fish total & won himself a new fishing pole & bait bucket!  It was a great day!

He's changed so much since his 1st year.

Pre-fishing photos.

Cheese face from the goob.

Connor's favorite people!

About 5 minutes into the tournament & he had his first fish!

Snuck in a family photo :)

Snapper #2

Fish 3 was a blowfish & the boys were attempting to get him to puff up for our photo, but the little guy wasn't interested.

Me & my tiniest little Lovey!  He was such a trooper hanging there for 3 hours.

Noah was content hanging with Dad and getting a large dose of watermelon & chips.

The Pringle Monster

Another awesome tournament in the books!  So so grateful to share this tradition with my kids!  I'm thinking next year, we may have FOUR family boys in this tournament.  It should be interesting!

Finally some more blog posts...

I want to apologize to my devoted readers

(aka G.G.),

for my lack of posting in the last month!

I've been rather busy with my photography ventures & I've been slacking on taking photos of my own kids.  It doesn't help that Noah is moving non-stop, whines when I pull my camera out, or I'm busy holding him which makes it tough to lug around my big camera.

Here are a few photos I've managed to take on my phone (one day I will find time to dump a bunch of videos on here).  Noah is a hilarious little booger, so I have oodles of videos of the boys together lately.

Connor is waiting on me to play Mario Kart (my promised bonding time with him while Noah's napping), so I have to be quick.

About a week ago, we headed up to the Causeway with Nana & Papa to get out & explore.  Easy, cheap entertainment is finding shells, seeking out critters, and running from the rain clouds.

Noah thinks he owns the town.  Literally.  He's the most independent---I do everything myself---kid.  He will insist a particular person hold his cup while he drinks it.  He will prefer a different person put his cup away.  He demands ice cream all day long.  C & I have to refer to it as our code word, "cheeseburger," so Noah doesn't know what we're talking about.  He's very particular.  He won't hold your hand anymore.  He's Mr. Independent.

And these two.  After a long week with the boys while Matt was traveling for work, I ended the week with this beautiful sight in my backseat.  No denying that these boys are brothers.  Rubber necks and all.

Connor is begging me to go play.  Sorry G.G.! I promise to keep up with my kid picture taking/blogging more!!  We have the kid fishing tournament this weekend, so promise to get more then!

Spontaneous beach trip!

At first, I thought we'd do the pool.

Then, I thought we'd do the Causeway.

Then, I checked with Ki to see if they'd like to join us.

When they noted they were already at Sanibel, our quick trip to the Causeway turned into a trip to Bowman's beach from 8:30am-12:30pm!  It was a beautiful day with wonderful company!

Noah was content with his shoes on at all times (not a fan of sand), bouncing between throwing shells in the water, and devouring some goldfish crackers on the shore.  He was a busy body to keep happy, but he was happy!

This water bug spent a good amount of time shell and sand dollar hunting!

These cute kids were in my perfect models :)

Connor adores his play time with Deb.  He was happy to show off his baby sand dollar.

When all else seems boring to this goob, I put a sea pen to good use & wrote the alphabet in the sand.

He was thrilled to point out his letters to me.

Noah was wiped out before we got back to the car & Connor even snoozed in the backseat on the way home.

Both kids were content all morning, I got some fresh air, and we were surrounded by some great family.  It's hard to beat days like this.  Here's to early bedtimes for all now!  I'm wiped out!

Memorial Day

Today was pretty close to perfect.  It was a gorgeous day on the water.  My kids were happy, the weather was beautiful, the company was a pleasure, and the food was yummy!

Connor scored himself 6 fish today.

Noah scored himself lots and lots of chips.

Connor was thrilled to have his Nana & Papa with him all day.

And this kid was happy to have his chips. :)

I love how easy babies sleep out on the boat.

I could not have posed my sweet boys better.  It was a rare moment that Connor was admiring his quiet, sleeping brother & he didn't move from the moment when I grabbed my camera.  Some times this rough & wild big brother can be soft & oh so gentle with his Noah.  My heart swelled right here.

While Noah snoozed, C showed off his fishing skills.

When C was done fishing, he decided it was a good time to hop in.

I just love this photo of C & his Papa.

Papa will always be C's fishing and swimming buddy, but his Nana~ She's everything to him.  Goodness, I love these two.

After a good snooze, Noah was happiest playing with the ice in the cooler & splashing in any boat puddles.

Papa dropped us all off before the afternoon rains came & we headed to the pool to cool off.

We had such a great day with family & now, it's back to routine tomorrow!

Kindergarten awards!

Just finished up at Connor's school for his Kindergarten awards.  Each kid in the class got a 'candy award' and Connor received the "Smartie Pants" award.  While I was grateful he was recognized for being so smart & didn't receive something like the 'gummy wiggle worm' award, Connor was excited to receive smartie candy instead of  something chocolate!  He was also recognized for his high reading level in AR books and receiving all A's.  Connor rocked Kindergarten.

Hard to believe in just a few weeks, Connor will be considered a 1st grader.  Really, I'm in denial.

He was so proud to have Me, Matt, and Noah there.  Noah would say, "Ton-tor" and run over to Connor's seat where the boys would smile at each other & then Noah would run back to us.  It was beyond adorable & I loved to see how proud Connor was to have his brother there.  Noah was distracted with the ABCs on the classroom wall and number displays (along with lots of snacks) during the ceremony (thank goodness).

Some of Connor's buddies in class--Amna, Nadia, and Noor.

(Not sure of the other little girls in there...they all just hop in when you pull your camera out)!

Countdown to summer!!! Yippee!!!

Mommy's new ride!

Exciting changes around our house!  

After having Noah, my Rogue suddenly felt realllllllllly small. Matt & I were in no hurry to get a new car since mine was paid off.  We did lots of research & found a deal we couldn't refuse on a new car.  So over the weekend, after a ridiculously amount of time spent at a car dealership with a sick baby, we have a new, much bigger, ride!

I refuse to get a mini van (and give up my last ounce of 'coolness'), but this was the closed thing!  Our new Pathfinder has a 3rd row of seating (or exceptional grocery/kid gear storage), my children can move freely & I feel much higher & safer in this car.  Praying I don't run anybody over in this thing! 

I didn't really have a chance to bid farewell to my old car...the car I got when Connor was a wee baby.  Onto our next chapter, I guess!

Side note:  After being behind the camera so much lately for my 'job,' it is really hard for me to let Matt be the photographer.  He may have chopped off the front of our car in all 30 pictures he took of me & my monkeys in the car, but you get the idea.  We still love him very much, regardless. :)

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is a love/hate holiday for me.  I love love love seeing Connor rush into my room bright & early with a handful of cards and art he made special for me.  I love to see just how excited he gets as I look through and read each one.  The boys usually ask what I want for breakfast & make it, which is always nice to see them so thoughtful.

The part that I hate is that the hype of Mother's Day being that 'it's all about Mom' and 'Mom gets a break today' is kind of, well, bologna.  The processes in the house don't run without Mom doing most of it.  What to dress the kids.  What to feed the kids.  How to pack the diaper bag.  What to plan so the kids are happy.  The kids whining still exists.  Pleasing everyone else still exists.  Hear me loud and clear when I say I love being a Mom and wouldn't trade it for anything, but thinking that on Mother's Day, I'll get a break, is kind of a stretch.

I did get a nap while Noah napped, so that was the absolute best.

Instead of wrangling the kids out at dinner, C and I decided to pick up subs, and we had a picnic on the patio.   

My boys were happy, so I was happy.

Happy Mother's Day!

I'm due for an update...

As a stay at home mom, the days seem long, but they pass all too quickly all at the same time.  I know I have been bad about updating the boys' baby books, so thought I might be due for a quick update on the boys.  Here we go...

Connor is 6 1/2 and a month away from completing Kindergarten already.  I'm seriously in denial.

  He's reading at an AR 1.6 level (from what I understand the first number is the grade level--so he's reading at a 1st grade level).  He is learning to tell time, aces every spelling test, has the most "Coqui Cash" in his class (it's his school's pretend money that they earn for being respectful & responsible kids), and loves to run on Mile Monday at P.E. (he lets me know he comes in 1st place quite frequently & is convinced his new sneakers make him run faster).  He could play basketball all day every day and still likes to be the leader (not the follower).  He has trouble playing by someone else's rules, as he's a determined little Booger.  He will secretly talk to me about kid's that don't make "good choices" at school & how they don't have "Jesus in their hearts."  He strives to do well, yet still can test me with his "I don't want to's," or giving me his angry eyes.  I can break him with my "Don't you smile..." every single time (a special trick I learned from my Dad growing up).  He is so very into Avengers at the time, loves to watch YouTube videos of kids that open random toys & 'surprise eggs,' and we giggle every night at our "Elephant and Piggie" books.  There are times he still wants to snuggle and be my little buddy, and others when he just wants to play by himself & be left alone.  My goal with Connor's little journey has been to help him feel loved, grounded, and that I'm home to him.  I want him to know right from wrong & how to be responsible.  I lose sleep every weekend he's at his Dad's house.  We talk openly when he gets home & C makes me so proud.  He says, "I reminded my Dad I needed to brush my teeth," "I still remember to say my prayer every night to keep you, Matt, and Noah happy, healthy, and safe from harm," "I see my Dad chew gum and I know that's so bad for his teeth," and "I'm going to eat a healthy snack since I didn't eat healthy at my Dad's."  Connor came to me last Sunday night and so sweetly said, "I love being home with you, Mom.  It's just so comfortable here.  I'm not running all over.  It's just comfortable here."  It was music to my ears.  All I've been striving for--to be his safe place and comfort.  Needless to say, I bawled my eyes out when he wasn't watching.  I love this boy crazy crazy amounts.  

And there's my tiniest Monster--currently 19 months.

This boy makes me laugh, melt, and scream all within the same few minutes!  He can be very hard to please if you aren't doing exactly what he wants you to do.  He cries hysterically if he's watching his ABC videos and a commercial comes on.  He is finicky on what he watches and what he eats.  He will dance if you dance.  I will miss his heavy foot flop sound on the tile as he runs around the house.  He will never ever ever get enough of his ABCs.  His favorite letter is W ("duh doo").  He knows his ABC song, all of his letters- uppercase, and lowercase, knows the sounds of about 10 letters, and can count from 1-10.  His lovey is his bedtime blanket and a book with letters in it.  I will put him to bed, he will sit up and 'read', then he will lay down to sleep.  Magnetic letters, foam letters, books, ABC videos, puzzles...they all make him SO happy.  Noah will make you write the ABCs in chalk in the road every time he goes out to play, or he's not happy.  He is a snacking machine, yet very picky.  His favorites are chips, raspberries, and chocolate protein bars.  As my second child, he's tried more than I would have ever let Connor have at this age (lollipops, juice boxes, candy).  He gets the most compliments on his spikey hair and incredible eye lashes.  Naptimes & bedtimes are currently a dream!  He goes down for his nap from 12:30-3ish every day and goes to bed around 8pm-7am-ish.  I am praying he doesn't figure out how to crawl out of his crib for a while!  Connor did around 22 months, so I know time is coming close.  Noah is currently wearing Connor's hand-me-down Nike sneakers.  They were Connor's first shoes at 10 months old.  Noah can finally fit into them at 19 months old! :)  I love when Noah wants to rest his head on my shoulder when he's sleepy and he really is the cutest thing when he drinks from a straw.  He is also a very determined, strong-willed boy, just like my Connor.  Noah, however, will be my child at 4 years old that packs his bag and says he's running away, and trots out the door.  Connor wouldn't dare make a 'bad choice' like that.  I can see Noah doing it without turning back...well until he needs to come home for a snack. :)  

Matt's been in Ohio for work all week, so although I haven't had much of a 'break' with the boys, I'm surprisingly not burnt out & actually really loving our special time together.  We will be happy to have Matt home in a few days though!

B & B are ONE!

It is so hard to believe my adorable nephews are already a year old!

They are the pudgiest, easy-going little guys & I love them so!

We had a great time celebrating them at their fishing party over the weekend.

 

Now that they're up & walking, that age gap between them & Noah is going too fade.  I can't wait to see these three boys get into trouble together! :)  Happy birthday Bennett & Brooks! xoxo