Engineer Aidan

Did a little photo shoot of Aidan yesterday morning for his birthday invite. Of course, he was in rare form and balked at wearing his overalls and hat. He had a major meltdown for about 30 minutes, and then even after some bribery, I was worried when this is what I got. How about a, "I'll cry if you don't come to my party" caption?


Luckily for me though, he recovered, thanks to my silly bantering behind the camera, and Caleb's enthusiastic encouragement, and we ended up with the likes of this. What a cute little engineer. My cute little engineer.

Forever Friends

They had their first playdate when they were just a little over a year old, and that did it. These two became fast friends, making each other giggle like no one else could, and always begging to spend time with each other.
It was extremely hard to say goodbye to Hailey, and her mommy, when we left CA. But almost a year and a half later, Caleb still brings her up often, and will immediately say her name when asked who his best friend is.

Last week, we had the privilege of having my close friend Brandy, and her daughters come visit us for a week, even braving the IL winter. We had a blast and are SO thankful we had the chance to reconnect. Here are some cute pictures of these two forever friends. I will post more pictures of their visit later.

Parking their "motorcycles" for dinner.

We got these 'racing' helmets, which immediately became motorcycle helmets to motorcycle obsessed Caleb when he wasn't even quite two and Aidan was just a few months old, at a friend's birthday party. They have taken quite a beating, and have been very well used. They'd been in the basement since we moved in June, and Caleb finally convinced me to drag them out this weekend. They sure love wearing them! I just snapped this picture because I thought it was pretty cute how they 'parked' their motorcycles for dinner and even hung the helmet on the 'handlebars'.

Mercury his 27 below!

Friday morning marked the coldest day in Galesburg in 104 years. Our luck to relocate here for that, eh?

And get this... how fortunate are our students? Not only did they have 2 days of school canceled (giving them a 6 day weekend instead of the 4 day previously scheduled), but it was also FINALS on those 2 days. AND, the high school decided the students wouldn't have to make them up! (unless they want/need to to help their grade). They absolutely lucked out!

You know your child is growing up when...

you play hide and seek and you actually have a hard time finding him!

I'm used to Caleb "hiding" with some body part still visible, and then not being patient enough to stay completely still or quiet... but last night, he hid behind the pack-n-play and was quiet for about 5 minutes! Granted, I was 'seeking' with Ethan in my arms and Aidan in tow, but still, he actually stumped me for a moment. It was actually Kellan who found him! :)

What's with this face?

I simply asked him to smile for me.

More Caleb Comments

Caleb at the table tonight, "May I be excused please?"
Mommy,after examining his plate to make sure he ate enough to survive, "Yes, you may."
Caleb, with extreme enthusiasm as he got up and carried his plate around the table, "Yes! Rock and Roll!"

And yesterday, he said something kinda absurd (I wish I could remember what is was!) to which I raised my eyebrows and gave him 'the look', and he responded with emphasis on the first syllable, "Joking!". I had to look at him to make sure he didn't do a little head swagger or hold up his hand as he said it, cause that's how it sounded.

Seriously, where does he get this stuff?

Twins in the Snow

Ethan
Kellan
Yep, it is cold here. Extremely cold. Weston reported the sign at church stated NEGATIVE 13 degrees, without windchill, which is supposed to kick it up to feel like -35 or worse. Yikes. Everything was canceled yesterday, and today. (school, church events, etc.) Kind of nice being given "free time", but its also a long time to be cooped up, and to keep the boys cooped up.

Yesterday, it wasn't too bad in the AM, and we got several good inches of snow overnight, so we thought we'd give Kellan and Ethan their first 'play in the snow' experience. Their first you ask, don't you live where it's been snowing for over a month? Yes, but do you want the hassle of dressing, monitoring, and undressing 4 little boys, for a few minutes of 'fun'? Yeah, I didn't think so. Plus, the snow actually does melt for days/weeks at a time and is rarely optimal for playing. And the chance of optimal conditions on a day when daddy is home to help me? Rare. But yesterday the planets aligned, plus I needed some pictures.

They only lasted a few minutes, and weren't too thrilled with the whole experience. Caleb and Aidan, on the other hand, had to be coerced inside 30 minutes later before they lost a finger to frostbite.

Where does he get this stuff?

Caleb said tonight (with the perfect tone of voice), to the babies who were screaming in their high chairs because they did not want their fruit or pasta, only more bread, "C'mon babies, it's not the end of the world." Made us laugh big time...

Finally, Caleb and Aidan's Christmas Performance

So, I (Weston here) finally got the video edited down a bit. Notice the contrast between Aidan who is front and center and garnishing the whole church's attention, and Caleb, who the soloist kids end up standing in front of. Might be a precursor of things to come. I apologize for the less than stellar camera work, though in my defense, there were several large heads right in front of me, and I was laughing most of the time. (Also, there is one part where one of Aidan's friends gives him multiple spankings but it's kind of off to the side, so I highlighted it for you, enjoy).

Snowblast

We hold a high school winter retreat over New Year's. Last year, we took the twins (they were still nursing) and the big boys stayed back. This year, Caleb and Aidan got to come along while Kellan and Ethan stayed home. The camp we stay at is up in Wisconsin, with lots of snow. The boys had a great time, and especially enjoyed ice hockey and tubing, but probably not as much as hanging out with students. We are so incredibly blessed to be in Youth Ministry.