June 2, 2010: There is a Sweet Side to Sibling Rivalry !

Big H bursting into tears for seemingly no apparent reason can only mean one thing. . .



But don't be so quick to pity this child. This is not the bitten arm of an innocent brother. I'm afraid both boys are equally to blame for the latest in baby brawls around here. Yes, whether it's pushing, hitting or biting there are times that these two just don't get along.

Believe it or not this has happened before. It all started when the boys were 6 months old. Before you even knew what was happening innocent playtime had resulted in scratch marks.

Before the boys were born I told myself I would take a boy out all by himself to spend some "Me" time with the folks. I just didn't expect it to be so necessary so soon. Yes at 6 months old, when the fighting began, we'd find a way to separate the two for a date with Mommy- or Daddy- and it actually seemed to help a lot.

Back then it was just a happenstance trip to the store, but we've since improved the practice.



On Wednesday, Little H packed his bags and spent an evening with Grandma and Grandpa.

Big H packed his fish stick dinner and went to Dairy Queen with Mom and Dad.



Big H loves his Daddy.



Mmm. . .ice cream.



Though sibling rivalry is expected, and happens everyday, these little date nights really seem to improve the situation. You can see a definite difference.

Craig is dressed up because he was on his way to the beginnings of a job interview. He is now employed with Living Scriptures as a door-to-door salesman.

June 1, 2010: June is Busting Out all Over!

We had quite an eventful beginning to June around here.

We had a big haul of moldy bread, so we went to feed some ducks.




Ducks aren't the only things that eat bread in this pond.




I wonder what they eat? :)



Little H decided to take a little swim.



Don't worry it wasn't anything scary. His back limbs slowly slipped off the rock and Craig had plenty of time to pull him out before his head went under. The little bugger has a good grip.

Lets go fetch you boys a change of clothes.



Onward to my brothers house to see the kittens and borrow a car seat.



Did I mention we like Brady's dog now. Buddy is the same dog mentioned here




And yes that is Little H himself in the pictures playfully petting the dog with no sign of fear or hesitation.

*This is the part where we are supposed to be eating lunch, but no one grabbed the cooler off the counter*

We rounded off the afternoon with a trip to the American Fork DI- this was our intended destination all along :). Craig and I both felt an urge to go there, and we came across a handsome table and chairs for a very decent price. We are now the proud owners of a dining room table that isn't borrowed and that doesn't have the look of being from the 70's. It's now in the shed and has become part of our "Need's to be painted or stained" collection. We're going to pick a day here pretty soon to complete all those projects.

At the end of our outings mom needed a rest, and the boys needed a nap. So we headed home, and Craig and enjoyed a nice picnic lunch in our front yard.

May 31, 2010: Memorial Day

Good Morning!




It's time to kick off the celebration of the unofficial start of summer.

First lets go shopping! And since shopping ran into nap time a sucker is a reasonable purchase.



Ahhh. . .thank goodness the boys went down for a nap on Grandma's bed. I'm always nervous when there's no crib to contain them.



Now it's time to get in the pool!



No not that pool!









That's more like it!

Oh water feature, how we love thee!




Time for some good eats.





How about a game! This is the boys favorite game- especially Little H.




Peek-A-Boo!




Why must little boys be obsessed with going up stairs?



I know you don't need to go in to use the bathroom. The party's over here!




The water was a little chilly, but a heater for the big pool- and buckets of shower water for the little pool- helped fix that problem. Of course, when we were ready to get in the pool the clouds came in, but we still jumped in and had a good time- after all it was still warmer then last year's Memorial Day. When the clouds finally left the swimming was really good!







Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the fun Memorial Day celebration!

Baby Contest

The boys are in a Local baby Contest. The public votes on their favorite pics, so go vote if you can. To vote just go to the Springville City Civic Center. It's on the corner of Main and Center (pic below).




Big H is 36



Little H is 37



Voting ends on the 12th! Thanks everyone!

One Little Monkey Jumping on the Bed. . .

One fell off and bumped his head- after he had fallen out of the wagon earlier that day.



It would appear that Little H is taking the torch from his brother for being the victim of the accidents around here.

May 22-31, 2010: Our Week With Grandma Stratton!

Last week Grandma and Grandpa Stratton came up for a visit. Grandpa went home on Monday and Grandma stayed to help me through my last week of work.



It was so great to have Grandma there to help out. It made the last week of work go by very smoothly.

Here are some of the fun times we had.













Thanks for the fun times Grandma! We really enjoyed having you, and we greatly appreciate everything you did for us this week!