Cookies and Colds

Noah ended up staying home today because of the weather. He started driving to work but ended up turning around and coming back home because the roads were so icy. And it was definitely nice to have an extra set of hands in the kitchen this morning since the boys wanted to make cookies. We weren't about to try and get out to storytime this morning, so we decided cookies it was! The boys were very interested in the whole process, and I know they thoroughly enjoyed pouring in the ingredients and mixing the dough. This was a nice little practice run before we do our big valentine cookie-making day with frosting and sprinkles and the whole she-bang...I know they're going to love it!

It seems like we've all caught a bug or something at our house. The boys have had snotty noses for several days now and within the last week Nolan's been coughing a little bit too, but mostly just at night-time. Just on Saturday we noticed Carson had some boogery eyes accompanying his runny nose so we called our doctor's office and they got him a prescription for eye-drops to take for the next few days. His eyes are already 100% better. And also on Saturday Noah woke up feeling like he had a sore throat, and then I woke up on Sunday with a really bad sore throat. So Noah and I have been downing medicine and cough drops and the boys have been drinking lots of fluids and taking vapo-baths every night and I know that's been helping. The boys' colds have really gotten better. Nolan's nose is much better than it was and his cough is finally starting to go away too. Carson still just has a runny nose, but no other symptoms. He's going in soon for his 18-month appointment so they'll be able to give him a thorough check-up then.

Prep-work for making our cookies.

Well, the oatmeal almost made it into the bowl!

Busy at work.

Carson's not about to miss out on the action!

More oatmeal!

Watching the dingy lady crack an egg...excuse her for still wearing her pajamas.

Done with the cookies, not done with playing on the chairs.

MMMM-mauh!

We were hiding from dad under the table.

Dad found us!!

"This is the ceiling."

Walks, Triangles, and Other Fun Facts!

Noah got home early on Friday and it was such a beautiful afternoon that we bundled the boys up and went for a walk in our neighborhood. We haven't been on a walk in months, and it was so nice to get outside again. Really hoping that spring is coming soon because these boys LOVE the outdoors! We started out putting them in the stroller, but they really just wanted to walk on their own two feet. Once we got back home, they were both fascinated with finding big blocks of ice to throw down into the sewer drain. I guess you could say we're lucky since we have a sewer drain right by our driveway (lucky us!) so it was easy access for the boys.

I included a video of Nolan displaying his newly acquired skill: drawing triangles. He mastered circles long ago and probably 3 weeks ago I introduced him to triangles. I broke it up by the word (tri-an-gle) and for each sound I would make a line until it formed an actual triangle. I think that little technique really helped him because when he draws them, I'll almost always catch him saying "TRI-AN-GLE!" and there it is! He's making better triangles than me these days! And little Carson's been making lots of circle shapes too. He learned that probably a month ago...maybe a little longer. I taught him a sound technique for circles as well and I'll always hear him saying it when he draws circles. It's so cute! He'll say "ciiiiiiiir-CLE!" with the last part at a higher pitch and very short.

I'm also including some "fun facts" about the boys. With Carson hitting his 18-month milestone tomorrow, I'm reminded of the cute things him and Nolan are both doing these days. (This is also for my benefit, so I can look back and reminisce...).

Carson
* Has a foot fetish! He's always wanting me to take off my socks so he can kiss, smell, bite, just be in my feet! He likes his feet too but seems to gravitate towards mine. This is a funny story and I'm really bummed that I didn't have my camera out...Carson had a really snotty nose and was once again grabbing at my socks asking, "Toesies?"..."Toesies?" Well, I was wearing a pair of black socks and took them off so he could see my toes. He got this big smile and dove his face into my feet. When he came back up, the snot on his nose basically glued my black sock lint all over his chin and cheeks! His hair was all wild and he had this black lint stuck all over his face....H.I.L.A.R.I.O.U.S!! I was losing it!!!

* We rarely put onesie p.j. sleepers or onesie outfits on Carson anymore because his biggest self-soothing technique is to lift his shirt and caress his tummy! Sometimes I'll peek in on him before going to bed and see that his shirt has been lifted way up to his armpits. He loves touching that tummy!!

* He loves handing trash or toys or really anything lying around to me or Noah. He'll grab something and run over to us, "Ear, Mommy!" or "Ear, Daddy!" It's adorable.

* Loves waving to us from across the room. "Hi, Mommy!" And he always has a big wave to go along with it.

* Has really learned how to joke with AND push Nolan's buttons. Taunts Nolan with a toy and then charges down the hallway wanting Nolan to chase after him.

Nolan
* Always requesting that mommy put on her "Ming-Ming" coat, as he calls it. Him and his brother love watching "The Wonder Pets" on Nick Jr. and there's a duck named Ming-Ming who wears a green cape. My winter coat is green-ish as well and I'm always asked to put it on and zip it up "all the way to the top" so Nolan can pretend that I'm Ming-Ming. Then I'm instructed to say things that Ming-Ming says on the show. I've been trying to hide my coat (because it becomes quite the process), but he always seems to find it!

* Is really starting to question Noah and I if we remember certain people, places that we went, parts to a story, etc. He'll get this big smile on his face and say, "Mommy, do you remember the ghoul?" (There's a ghoul page in one of his favorite books right now). It's pretty impressive the things that he remembers!!

* Gets within 1-inch of Carson's face and will ask, "Carson, can you say Disney World?", "Carson, can you say Magic Kingdom?", "Carson, can you say animal?" It's so darn cute! I think it's pretty incredible watching them communicate with each other because Carson definitely understands what his brother is asking him and he'll almost always answer back with repeating what Nolan asked him to say. We love watching this!!

* Nolan and Carson have this goofy game that they play with each other (although I don't know how it ever started, but they sure seem to know what's going on!). It usually happens in the bath-tub, but I've seen them do it in the living room too. Nolan will get close to Carson with this big grin on his face and say, "Sorry Carson!" And sure enough, Carson gets a big grin as well and starts waving his arms around and making this goofy squeal sound and then they both laugh. Then Nolan will start again, "Sorry Carson!" And Carson will start waving his arms and squealing! Pretty soon, we're all laughing!!!

On our walk.

This is always a task...

That's what brothers are for!

Carson getting ready to throw his ice block down the sewer.

On the hunt for the best ice blocks!

Biscuit The Dog!!

Today the boys got to meet one of their favorite storybook characters, Biscuit The Dog! He came to Barnes and Noble for storytime and it was very exciting. Nolan has been talking about this all week long and with the way Barnes and Noble has been cancelling certain activies, I was a little worried Biscuit would be a no-show as well. I called the store last night and double checked. Thank goodness he showed! Nolan would have been devestated! :(

When it came to actually interacting with Biscuit, Nolan was probably the most interested toddler in the whole group. He didn't want to get down from the stage. I tried to snap as many pictures as possible, but finally one of Biscuit's helpers asked Nolan to go back and sit with his mommy. Oops...I really hope it didn't look like I was trying to hog Biscuit all for my kids alone. I just think Nolan must have felt like he was right back at Disney World again meeting characters because he said to me, "Mommy, Biscuit lives in Disney World." And let's face it, he's definitely had early exposure to 7-foot tall characters!! Carson, on the other hand, was absolutely fine just watching Biscuit. He didn't need to touch or get too close. Nolan, as you can see, had Biscuit get down to his level so he could check out his name tag. He also said, "Mom, come and feel him!" Here are the pics:

Here's Biscuit!

Nolan petting his tummy.

Time for a hug!

What a nice dog!

Checking out Biscuit's name tag.

High 5!

One last pet.

Time for Biscuit to take a nap. Bye, Biscuit!

"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star!"

Here is an adorable video of Carson singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" this afternoon. He picks up with "Up above the world so high..." Enjoy!!

Indoor Play Center

This morning we went to the Ager Indoor Play Center. We've been to this play center several times before, but today was by far the busiest I've ever seen it. It was full of kids! (Although you certainly wouldn't be able to tell from the pictures). I posted 3 videos today. One video is of Carson doing his usual loop around the facility on his blue bike. And this is seriously the way he gets around the play center (pretty darn quickly) over and over and over again. The kid has to be burning hundreds of calories! Another video is some super cute footage of Nolan going down the slide...gotta love that victorious smile at the end! And the last video is of Carson with his "homemade" rollercoaster. And he seriously thought of this little trick himself within the last few times we've visited the play center. Leave it to a boy to think up something like this!!

One HUGE benefit of when the play center is packed full of kids is that the height and age requirement really don't apply. There are about 2 staff on hand at all times and when it gets super busy, I think they just give up! Which, in my opinion, is fine because then my boys can actually climb around on the bigger equipment - and they need the challenge anyway. The toddler area is most suitable for babies who are just learning how to walk. I don't know how they expect kids Nolan's age, who aren't quite 3 yet, to stay stimulated in that section! So enjoy the pics and videos!

Carson trying to jump on the soft mat.

Nolan driving the camper. He told me he looked like Stewart Scott (from the ESPN deer commercial!).

Carson behind the wheel.

Making a call.

Carson prefers using the windows as his exit in the castle.

On his rollercoaster.

Ball Pit!

Nolan getting ready to jump...

It's a race! Nolan loves it when Carson's on his heels.

Cute!!

Getting comfy for a quick read.

Fun at the Library

This morning the boys and I went to our favorite library storytime at Corey Eiseley Library. The storytime teacher is so wacky and fun and the kids just love her. Today's storytime was about tractors and farms. Enjoy the pics!

Nolan singing along with the teacher.

Nolan getting ready to sit on his brother....I had to quickly yank him off because Carson gets pretty ticked when that happens!

Playing in the kids area of the library.

Carson doing puzzles.

"I found a rocking chair just my size!"

This is poor quality, but can you find Nolan? (Sippy cup and twirling hair!!) He wanted a closer look at the pictures and I was proud of him for going up there by himself.

Color time!

Two at a time! Pretty sure only Carson could pull that off.