Fixing It

Paul's love for "fixing it" has not died down.  He loves to fix, build, create, etc.  This past Saturday (ha- this draft was started in Nov.!), Justin took Paul to Home Depot and aided Paul in making a spice rack.  Paul was able to use a real hammer and hammered in all 8 nails himself (it took what seemed like 100 hits per nail).  He was quite proud to show off his spice rack to me when he returned home.


And look how happy Paul was to be able to be able to bring Ben along with him this month!

Justin's Birthday 2011

We LOVE this guy.

And were very excited to be able to throw a surprise birthday party for him to show him how much we love him.

The party was my idea, the surprise aspect of it was Paul's idea, and he ended up heading the party planning committee.  He decided that balloons were a must.  Streamers were also on the list.  Yellow and blue streamers.  Yellow is holding strong as Paul's favorite color and Paul insists that blue is Justin's favorite color.

Paul also wanted to bake a cake for Justin.  We baked 4 over-sized cupcakes so that the boys could each decorate the cakes with no conflict.  Paul wanted to decorate the cakes with "frosting, sprinkles, and cars."  He hand selected the vehicles for each cake; choosing a car/truck that was the favorite color of each family member.

When Justin arrived home from work, Paul instructed Ben and I to hide in the hall closet with him.  Although we were hidden behind a door, the boys' loud talking gave us away (don't tell Paul!).  We enjoyed a simple dinner and then dessert.

Paul lined up all of his monster trucks in the playroom for us to play with during the party.  Justin, being the sweet dad he is, decided to make a monster truck track (is that what you would call it?) with the boys.  

First they built the ramps.

Then we paper mached it.  Once it dried, Justin planned on painting it brown to look like dirt.

All in all it was a great night for the boys, which made it a great night for Justin....and a great night for me.  All of my guys happy, spending time with each other...what could be better?

Love you Justin!

Cousins

We love them.  Need I say more?

Guns or Babies?

I found the boys on the couch together, one hugging his baby and one loading his 'shooter' with ammo.

All Month?

First it hit Paul.

And then it hit Ben.

It felt as if it lasted all month.  

Fortunately, I think it's behind us now.

After a nice reminder, we are once again grateful for good health.

Halloween

 Catching up with a few over-due posts....

For weeks leading up to Halloween, Paul consistently told us that he wanted to dress up as a present for Halloween and that Ben wanted to be a pumpkin.  We weren't sure where Paul's costume inspiration originated, but we loved how dedicated he was to it and how specific he was about it.  We took him shopping for supplies and here is how his costume turned out.

A major part of Paul's design was to wear a yellow bow on his head-- yellow being his favorite color.  He wore the bow for a few minutes and that was enough for him.  It was a little on the feminine side, so we weren't too disappointed when the bow was left out.  :)

We took the boys trick-or-treating at HP.  Ben was very content holding his bucket in one hand, a piece of candy in the other.  He didn't quite understand the concept of trick-or-treating and instead of gaining a bucket full of candy, at each candy stop, he would trade...

Paul enjoyed spending time with Grandpa in his office.  Grandpa even let him draw on his marker-board.

Mom actually let the boys eat some candy (a rare treat) and Ben thoroughly enjoyed it.

Happy Halloween!

Sledding Fun (and a bloody nose)

Snow + Creative Dad + Trashcan Lid & Rope =

Even a bloody nose, caused by a whack (accidental) in the face, couldn't keep Paul from enjoying some sledding.