Elmo's Green Thumb

Waiting to enter the theater

Kev and his bubbies

Can't go to the show without some popcorn and m &m's

Abby's Fairy Flying School is the boys' favorite part of Sesame Street

This weekend we took the boys to see Sesame Street Live. It was down at the Fox Theater in Detroit and the boys had a fantastic time! It was bone chillin cold so no photo ops outside the theater but the boys loved being downtown and meeting up with their "Sesame Friends". The amount of anticipation and excitement in the air was precious. The show did not disappoint, everyone on the show was there....even Grencheta. The boys were excitedly shouting out the monsters names as they came on stage and listening to them sing "Sunny Days" with their Sesame friends was heart melting.

Outdoor colors we chose for the new house. This is the brick, stonework, roof and paint colors we will have.

Possible kitchen inspiration

Possible Kitchen inspiration II

The front door we picked out

Time for an update. It seems like things should slow down after the holidays, but it's been a very busy time for us. I'm feverishly working at finishing the 15 graduate credits needed by the end of the school year for a salary increase at work. Rumor has it we are facing a 20 percent pay cut so this is just to try and balance the scales. If we do get such a large pay decrease I won't be actually getting an increase, just less of a decrease. Sad, but I'm thankful for my part time gig. Last weekend I attended class ALL weekend and it finishes up next weekend. I so missed my bubs.

Kevin and I have also been spending a considerable amount of time making color choices for the new home. We met tonight with an interior decorator provided by the builder. My head is spinning. There are so many choices and I like almost all of them. I'm just trying to make this home as timeless as I can. We are there for the long haul and I don't want the house to look dated before its time because I chose something too trendy. We have looked through all the home magazines out there and one recurring theme we see over and over is white/cream kitchen cabinets. I've never lived in a home with white/cream cabinets so this feels like a real risk to me. I love them, but not sure we could pull them off. The interior decorator tells us this is the way we should go for longevity and that is what she has in her home so that helps. I'll need at least another weeks worth of sleepless nights before the final decision can be made.

The boys are doing awesome. When aren't they? They are looking forward to an exciting weekend. We are taking them to Sesame Street Live and on Sunday they are off to a friend's birthday party. I am going next week to take a tour of a preschool program that is on our short list of preschools for next year. The plan is that I will switch my teaching schedule to mornings and they will go to school three days a week while I work. The other two days they will be at home with one of the Grandmas. If they were potty trained I would seriously consider sending them sooner than the fall. They really seem ready and I think they would love it, but potty trained they must be. Speaking of potty training... well that's just not happening around here. No way, no how, take a hike Mom and Dad. These little guys have close to zero interest and if you took the m &m's out of the equation they would have zero interest. We did however have success taking away the binkies. We're letting them keep them at naptime, but they no longer get them at night. This was a huge milestone and victory for us. Next up will be continue with the potty training and big boy bed transition.

Build a Bear

Anderson waiting in line with his moose.

Making birth certificates

All done!

This was their reaction to the stuffing process

Picking out a heart

This weekend we took the boys to Somerset Mall so that they could "build a bear". Anderson asked on the way there if he could make a moose instead. Not wanting him to be disappointed, we did our best to gently convince him they wouldn't have a moose. It is of course a bear workshop, not a moose workshop. No sooner did we walk in the store that Anderson was holding a moose feeling very satisfied. Jake chose a moose as well for his animal and we waited in a super long line to stuff our moose.

The boys were pretty unsure of the giant machine that stuffed their moose. They could have pushed the lever with their foot to make it turn on but they wanted nothing of it. They did enjoy picking out a heart for their moose and giving it a good bath before we left. There were some dicey moments during the process, the boys seemed overwhelmed at times but I think they had a positive experience.

Sledding

Getting all dressed for the cold

Daddy helping Jake.



Ready to go!

Dad pulling the boys up the hill

Dad and Jake cruising down the hill.

We got a decent snowfall overnight on Thursday, so on Friday afternoon we took the boys sledding. Behind my Grandma's condo there is a small burm that is just the right size for a sledding hill for the little people. The boys were crazy excited as soon as they woke to all the snow on Friday morning. They've been waiting for us to get enough snow so that they could sled. It was pretty cold out so we were only out for about 20 minutes, but the boys loved it. Jake enjoyed going down on the sled whereas Anderson enjoyed throwing the snow.

More Sledding

Jake getting pulled around


Anderson doing his throwing thing

Snow Bubbies

Jake Thomas

Wheee!!

First Teeth Cleaning

Anderson James ready for some oral hygiene

Looking good

Anderson is laughing cause he thought it tickled

Jake holding his own

All done!

Unfortunately it wasn't the first time that Anderson and dentist met. Last year the poor guy had to have a double root canal on his front teeth. This, however, did not detour this amazing little boy from be boppin into the dentist office for his first official cleaning. According to the hygienist, Jake had some "pep to his step" as well.

I was thoroughly impressed with my bubbies. I was so excited about how cooperative and happy they were about their cleaning that I even called Kevin from work to talk to him about it... and he was there for the whole thing. :)

They even tolerated having plaque scrapped off their little chompers, flossing, and a fluoride treatment. Afterwards Jakey didn't want to leave. That made me smile because on the way there he was nervous that the dentist was going to take some of his teeth.

It was as if I saw such a different side of them. They seemed so independent and grown up. Guess I'll have to go overboard with some TLC the next time someone trips. Just so they don't forget how much they need me.

More 3rd Birthday Party

Anderson, Ashley, Simon, Jake and Drew

Anderson sneaking some frosting

Happy Birthday beautiful bubbies!

Make a wish...

The boys had their third birthday party today. The theme was Buzz Lightyear and the boys had a blast. They ran laps around the basement, ate lots of junk and tore through the wrapping paper like little pros. A big thank you to the McBrides for hosting the party for us while we are temporarily displaced from a permanent home.

3rd Birthday Party

Jake wearing his Woody hat

Anderson wearing his

Eating dinner

Time to open gifts

The cousins

Birthday Luncheon

Today we took the boys to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch and a carousel ride. It was a quaint little family outing for their birthday. They have been seeing lots of commercials on PBS for the Rainforest Cafe so they have been asking to go for quite some time. We sat next to the gorillas which was not a good idea. Both of them were pretty freaked out by the unruly gorillas. We had to reposition them so that they were as far away as possible from the gorillas. Poor Anderson sat like a statue every time they came on and was scared to even look at them. They did confirm to us that they liked the elephants, just not the gorillas. Tomorrow will be the big birthday bash.