Beach Shoes!

Casey and I took the boys on a quick shopping trip this evening to good old Fred Meyer and happened upon some sweet beach shoes for the boys. When we got home I thought I would try them on one of the boys to see if they fit (because we were shopping a little too close to dinner time so we had to grab and go shop). To my surprise Evan and Drew started asking for shoes once they were on Isaac's feet. After they all had their new sandals on they started laughing and running around in circles! This is when we were supposed to be winding down before bed-oops! They liked them so much that they put up a fight when I went to take them off. I'm so excited that they have shoes we can finally take them to the beach in. We didn't go to the beach once last year...and we live on an ISLAND!!!! Now we are just waiting for some sun and crossing our fingers that we don't have sand eaters!

Evan and his robot (it's actually a transformer but robot is easier to say).

Isaac showing me how a kangaroo hops in his sweet new sandals.

I love this picture of Drew. It looks like he is tap dancing or something and I surprised him.

Say cheese! Isaac is the only one who will say cheese or smile when I ask them.

A New Kind Of Trouble!

I recently stumbled upon the source of many arguments among the boys that only seemed to be happening when I would leave the room. Turns out when the window is left open it makes a nice little handle to grab onto and climb up with. Isaac is a spider monkey. You should see the strength he uses to get his little body up...and see his little toes desperately gripping to the wall as he makes his way up. Isaac manages to pull himself up into the window sill and balance there while enjoying the view. You would think that it would be enough just getting up in the window...but no, there's more.

(And yes, those are bite marks on the window sill. So glad the boys are taller now!)

Easy does it...turning around...

1...2...3...jump!

I'm a little slow so I missed a couple of frames. I didn't quite understand the full scope of what was happening. The next pictures you can see Isaac in the window and Evan is pretty jealous. The fighting is usually Evan and Isaac pulling each other down. You can see Drew looking at me as if he knows this is not a good idea!

But wait. There's still more. What I noticed after Isaac did some rearranging was that he had moved all of their stuffed animals under the window...you know - to jump onto!!!! Is this type of stuff just part of little boy's DNA? Where do they come up with it?!

The Pool

In my last post I shared a picture of the boys and their "indoor pool" but I have so many more great action shots I just couldn't help myself! These guys crack me up!!!

Synchronized diving!

Running dive.

Balls in, balls out. An endless cycle.

Another dive by Isaac.

I think we told Evan that Brewster was going to get him in this picture.

Favorite Toys

So it's no secret that the boys have a lot of toys but there are some that keep their attention longer than others. It is interesting picking out toys for them because some things just aren't meant to be played with by 3 kids at once. So while there are many fun toys out on the market, there aren't a lot that can hold up to these guys! We are constantly battling the "toy is always greener in the other brother's hands" mentality:) I thought that I would share some of the toys that I had pictures of or that are their current favorites.

Balls. Love balls! BAW, BAW, BAW is what I hear all the time! Evan, Isaac, and Drew have even started trying to say different types of balls, like basketball, football, and baseball. It is cute to hear the additional syllable. Of all the balls there is one mother ball....JUMBO BALL, or as the boys call it, bumbo baw. It is a large silver exercise ball that embarrassingly saw very little activity until the boys came along. We recently took Grandma and Papa's idea and bought a blow up baby pool and filled it with little plastic balls. Now the boys can say pool!

Melissa & Doug Noah's Ark shape sorter. The boys love shape sorters and are pretty dang good at them so we thought we would bump up the challenge. It is all made out of wood so it is heavy, thus preventing it from being thrown (essential for my crew). Although this shape sorter is too difficult for the boys to do correctly because the animals are flat it still keeps their attention and they love putting them in and out of the boat over and over. Who would have thought?!

Truck. This truck has seen it all-including a lot of fights. It actually went on hiatus for a little bit because the boys would fight over it so much. The dumper flips up so you can ride on it or use it as a push toy but now Evan and Drew just sit in the dumper and Isaac will push them around. They also like to put their Mega Bloks in it and use it to build.

I don't know what this toy is really called but we call it the monkey toy. The boys have been playing with this for over a year now and still enjoy it. I saw the commercial for this thing over and over while I was in the hospital on bed rest and thought that it looked like something 3 little kids could play with. I was right!!!! When the monkey's hands tilt it starts playing music. One of my favorite memories was watching Drew stand holding the monkey's hands, bouncing, and shaking his head no to the music. This is when we discovered Drew's love of music and wacky dancing! Please note the hippo that can be used for storing balls. I once found that one of the boys managed to barf right into the hippos mouth without getting it anywhere else! Imagine my surprise when I found that!

Puzzles! We love puzzles! It is so fun to watch Evan, Isaac and Drew work on their puzzles. I continue to be impressed at how fast they are getting with them. We usually do puzzles in highchairs after meals and rotate them around. Well the boys know the routine and they will do a puzzle really fast and then hold it up and say done so they can get a new one!

Ninder. That would be blender to you and me. This might be their favorite toy of all. It is a blender shape sorter that plays music. I feel kinda weird about this toy because one of the songs is about adding fruit, ,mixing it up and making a good drink. Feels like I'm training them to make blended beverages for mommy! Thank goodness one of the ingredients in the song isn't tequila:)

Last but not least. Boxes, bins, and buckets. Anything little boys should not be sitting in they love. Sometimes they all try to get in them at once which never turns out good! So, need a gift idea for some kids? Give them a box!!!

Cousin Emma!

Cousin Emma, who is only 2 months younger than the boys, came to visit Grandma and Papa last week and got to hang out with the "boys only" club. She was an honorary member and the boys had fun playing with her - once they got used to her girl stuff-like kissing! The first day we came to play with her the boys would just stand there frozen with fear as she went around trying to hug and kiss each one of them. Drew was the most traumatized by the kissing so he kept his distance from Emma for most of her stay but much to my surprise Isaac (the hot head biter) was a perfect gentlemen. He made sure Emma was included in all of the songs we sang where we name everyone by pointing to her (so cute), he offered her bites of his snacks, and he would stand very still when she wanted to hug and kiss him! By the end of Emma's trip she was just one of the guys:) I have to say the pink, dolls, and chattiness of a little girl was a lot of fun. We miss you Emma!!!

Emma

She would sit at her little picnic table Grandma set up for her and watch the Wiggles and crack up laughing when the boys weren't there to play with her!

I wasn't able to get a good action shot but Emma would launch her little body into the pool of balls. While Evan was playing with her he would grab the side of the pool as if to brace himself!

We all went for a walk and she got to ride with Evan. It was so funny to watch the boys experience something so common to them with a new person. At first Evan just sat there looking at Emma as if trying to figure out what was different.

She participated in the nighttime running of the bulls. This is just before we put jammies on and the boys just race up and down the hallway. We say, "ready, set, go" and then they all run...except for Evan, he takes off at "set".

Grandma and Papa have this great box that when upside down has a door and window for a clubhouse. Right side up it is something to put balls in. And on it's side it becomes a slide! The boys and Emma were all climbing on the box and each other while laughing and having a good time!

Dressing For Lunch

At mealtime I usually carry one boy at a time from the play room to their high chairs because when I am by myself and let them all walk in someone always dumps Brewster's water and someone always races passed the kitchen and straight for the cat food! Today, after I had lunch all ready to go, I went to start transporting babies and found Drew sitting down and reading nicely wearing one of Casey's hats. I told Drew how nice he looked in his hat and we went into the kitchen. When I came back to get Evan and Isaac they had both raced over to the book shelves where we keep various hats for them to play with and each put on their fishing hats! It was so cute that I had to take their picture.

Drew

Isaac

Evan

I know, I know. They are still in their pajamas. Give me a break, they are just going to take a nap in a little bit:)

Here is one more hat I occasionally find them playing with. It cracks me up every time I see them in their wizard hat but they always seem to take it off when I race to get my camera. Here is a bad picture but you get the point.

The Forgotten Child

Once upon a time there was an adorable puppy named Brewster who could do no wrong. He was small, cute and cuddly.

All of his needs were taken care of. Like underpants.

He posed for pictures...lots of pictures.

Some pictures he liked and some he didn't.

This little guy really got to go places...

...like the tulip fields...

...his fight club with Maggie...

...and the beach. He used to get to go to the beach a lot!

Now just look at this face. It is full of worry wondering if his babies are separated or not properly corralled.

Ah, the work of a baby herder is tough stuff!