Hide and Seek

Nicholas likes to play hide and seek a lot these days, although he doesn't quite understand the whole concept. He will make noises and pop out sometimes, but it is still fun and he can play it for long periods of times which is great for me. I can put away laundry while trying to find him. One of his favorite hiding spots is behind the couch. Sometimes this is where he hangs out to go number 2 also. Fun times. I digress though. One day I was wondering what he does back there for such long periods of time and so I checked it out and this is what I found. He had a pack of stickers and was putting them on the couch, taking them off, putting them on, etc, etc. At least it keeps him occupied and happy back there I guess. Oh the things toddlers come up with to entertain themselves.

New way of sleeping

If you notice here, Joshua is holding on to the rail while he sleeps.....

And here he just decides having it hang outside is more the way to go....

I have tried to move him from these positions, but then that disturbs his sleep and it takes another 15-30 minutes to get him to go back to sleep so it is just not worth the trouble. Obviously he is comfortable and eventually he usually moves himself. I just found it funny that he likes the bumper and rail so much. One time when I was looking in on him he got startled and reached up for the rail, almost like a security blanket to him. Funny kid. I like to see the positions they sleep in once they know how to roll over both ways. Sleeping babies are so sweet and cuddly don't you think.

Trip to the zoo

We went to the zoo on Friday. It has been almost a year since our last visit. Nicholas enjoyed it a lot more this time around, although he still didn't want to walk the entire time. We ended up putting him in the stroller and carrying Joshua. Guess it is time for a double stroller. We had a wonderful time and the weather wasn't too bad since we went right when it opened at 9am. We also caught some of the animals actually playing instead of sleeping which was nice. At the end of the tour we stopped at the playground to let the boys play. Nicholas was so worn out that by the time we got home to have lunch he was falling asleep while we were cleaning him up to eat so he just went down for a nap instead.

Gotta check this out....

I went to have Joshua's 6 month pictures taken on Thursday by our friend Anita. I also had Nicholas take some with him. Then when it was just Joshua's turn Nicholas still wanted to be part of the action so he joined in again. Joshua wasn't too sure what to make of it, but Nicholas was easily impressed with laughter by Anita hitting herself on the head. The pictures turned out really cute. She always does such great work. Feel free to check them out here to see just what I mean.

Look at me ma!

So, Joshua has now decided that he doesn't want to use the bath seat anymore. Instead he wants to sit on his own and play in the water with the toys just like his big brother. Man he is growing up too fast. How cute is he though. He was having so much fun splashing around and chewing on anything he could get his hands on. Gotta love bath pictures.

4th of July Weekend

Warning: This is a long synopsis and many pictures follow. Skip the writing if you want. Hey I will never know right!

We were able to spend our 4th of July with our wonderful friends the Hemphills. We drove to Florida on Thursday night hoping that the boys would sleep the whole way and we could just transfer them to bed once we got there. That didn't quite go over the way we intended. Joshua did sleep most of the way, but then we ended up missing the turn we should have taken and it took us an extra hour or so to get to the house. So, needless to say, by that time Nicholas had had enough, wouldn't fall asleep and ended up waking up Joshua. By the time we got the boys to go back to sleep it was around midnight. Fun. At least we made it there in one piece.

When everyone got up on Friday morning the boys started playing right away while the parents tried to wake up from a not so restful night. The babies were off on their sleeping times so we ended up just hanging out at the house all day which was just fine with us. We sat around and talked and played with the boys while getting ready for a 4th of July BBQ. A few of the neighbors came to join us also. We ate and ate and talked and talked and watched as the boys played in the dirt and the big boys played horseshoes. Then we went to watch fireworks, well, what we could see before the kids had enough and needed to go to bed.

Saturday morning we got up and ready to head to the beach. I rode with Brittny on the way over there. We were able to have a nice talk without running after kids which was refreshing. Not that I don't enjoy being with the kids, but it is nice to have an adult conversation without an interruption once in awhile. We were at the beach for about three hours and then headed home for naptime. After naps we stayed in and played and ate again of course.

Sunday morning we went to the splash pad on base and watched the boys run about in the water and at the playground. What joy they had on their faces. The babies took a nap while Brittny and I chatted. We then went home, had lunch, took naps and then ate again before heading out. We had such a wonderul time with Brandon, Brittny, Christopher and Sophie. It was great to see their new place and enjoy a weekend with friends. The kids love playing together and the adults get along well too :-) So, that is the brief synopsis of the weekend. Below are a few pics of our time. To see others please visit the Hemphill blog. I have tried to put different pictures from them on this blog.







Chillin' on the couch watching cartoons.


The beach....




Splash pad fun.



The boys showing off their muscles. Gotta love their expressions. Priceless.


Sophie and Joshua playing together. Aren't they just too cute!


Hey Christopher, where are you going with my ride???? They didn't want the party to end.

After leaving the Hemphill's we went to see our friends the Carter's. The plan was just to stop by on our way out, but we ended up spending the night there and leaving at nap time Monday morning which worked out fine too. Joshua slept the whole way and Nicholas watched Finding Nemo and Baby Einstein. He fell asleep ten minutes away from home and slept for another three hours after that which was fantastic. Ryan and Melanie hadn't met Joshua yet so it was nice for them to see him and we were able to see their five children and how big they have gotten since December. Nicholas had tons of fun playing with the big boys and running about their new house. It has a wonderful backyard which we hope to utilize in the future when we are able to stay with them for a weekend. It was definitely a short visit with them, but nice to see the kids and talk to Ryan and Melanie for a few hours at least. The kids had been sick which is why we weren't able to see them before Sunday night. Next time.....
We didn't get a picture of all the family, but here are three out of the seven. Ryan, Ethan and Rose.