Mother's Day

We had such a wonderful Mother's Day this year. The weather was great, the kids were in great spirits and we were surrounded by very special and wonderful mothers. My mom, sister, brother, sister in law and niece all came over to eat and play. We had a great lunch and took the kids outside to color, climb, dig and play with a little frog that we found. We then finished the day having dinner with another great mother, Mike's mom. I feel very blessed that we are all still able to get together on these special days and look forward to many more days like this.

Bikes and Balls

We have been so excited to see that Ivan is finally ready to ride his bike. Until now, he has pretty much refused to pedal. He will simply use his feet to move himself up and down the driveway and sidewalk or he will resort back to his baby bike and ask us to push him. We have tried and tried to get him to pedal, but he has wanted nothing to do with it. So, when Ivan finally put his feet on his pedals and moved his bike, we were both so very excited! It is amazing what gets us so excited these days!!!

Easter Weekend

The boys were so much fun at Easter this year. Ivan seemed to finally understand the excitement of the Easter egg hunt as he ran around collecting as many eggs as he could possibly fit in his basket. I actually had to follow behind him to collect his eggs that would not fit in the basket. He made out with plenty of candy, a few toys and some money (his favorite!). Everett also had lots of fun running around shaking his eggs!

Everett's First Shiner

I suppose we should expect more of these now that he is walking.......

Take My Picture???

Ivan will not usually let me take his picture, I usually have to beg and plead for one photo. There may even be a few bribes thrown in there. As you can imagine, I was very shocked when he asked me to take his photo on this evening. Of course it did not last long, but we did get a few good ones. He also asked me to take a photo of him picking his nose, but I decided no one really wants to see that!

Look Who's Walking....

At 10.5 months our little guy started walking. We were sure he was not going to start walking as soon as Ivan did, but he actually started sooner. He enjoyed walking around the furniture, but just like Ivan, he did not seem that interested in walking at first. He would take a few steps here and there, but he knew he could get there faster by crawling. So he would very quickly get back down on his knees and get where he needed to be. We were both surprised when he just took off one day. As you can see above, he is also talented enough to drag shoes around with him. This boy loves shoes!

A Nice Spring Evening

These photos were taken on an unseasonably warm evening in early April. Ivan was pretty excited to break out the shorts and sunglasses and play outside! He is loving gardening this year! This boy loves flowers, plants, mulch and most of all dirt! He has his own set of shovels, buckets and rake that have come in handy while helping us around the yard.

10 Months and Mobile?

With every milestone, I get a little more emotional at the thought that my baby will not be a baby much longer. I am just constantly reminded that although each phase is more and more fun, I am just not ready for my babies to grow up! Ev really is so enjoyable at this age though, he is taking steps and is getting ready to take off. He is very happy boy and just loves to be with his family. I think his favorite thing to do is to climb all over mommy, daddy and Ivan! If we sit on the floor to play with him and Ivan, he is all over us! This makes it a bit difficult to actually play, but it is nice to feel loved :)

Mommy and Ivan Day???

I absolutely love that my boys enjoy each other so much. Ivan will often tell us that Ev is HIS baby and Everett is constantly climbing all over Ivan. They truly love to be around each other and we love to watch them interact! The sweetest sound we have heard is the belly laugh that comes from Everett when Ivan is talking to him. Everett just loves it when Ivan is paying attention to him!
When we had Everett, we thought we needed to spend alone time with Ivan to assure him that we have time for just him. However, when I ask Ivan if he would like a Mommy and Ivan day, he will say "with Everett and Daddy too?" I know he loves to have alone time with us, but he really prefers to have all of us together. I LOVE that about him!!!!

Digging

Finally able to enjoy an evening in the sun, Ivan couldn't think of anything more enjoyable than digging in the dirt! He had so much fun filling his bucket with dirt and searching for rocks. He even managed to pose for a few photos which is unusual for him!

My Little Cutie!

How stinkin cute is this little guy???

Cleaning

When I picked Ivan up from Kathie's one cold day, she told me that Ivan helped her clean the toys. I am sure this was a great way to keep him busy and out of trouble :) She informed me that he loved this task! Sure enough, as soon as we got home, Ivan asked me what he could wash. So, we decided to grab all of his animals and fill up the sink with soapy water. He had so much fun using the scrub brush and making sure every animal was spotless. He was so into it that he had to take his shirt off to really get down to business!