High notes

We're back...and since we have been away for so long I won't bore you with all the gory details of our lives. Here are a few of the high notes.

We are really lovin' the warm weather and have been busy inside and out of the house.

The boys have really come into their personalities in the last few weeks too. Matthew turned 18 months old, and I swear is already in the "terrible twos". He is outgoing, curious and BUSY. At his 18 month check-up he measured in the 90th percentile for height, and 50th percentile for weight. He is about and inch and a pound smaller than Dylan was at the same age. The weight thing surprised me because he is a super good eater. He eats pretty much everything, not fussy at all. He loves to sing and dance and climb. A very good climber, actually. His vocabulary is exploding. He loves animals and squeals with delight whenever we come across a dog, or any animal, bug or creature. He knows all the animal sounds now. Knows also where his eyes, nose, ears etc. are. He gets into everything and I can barely keep up with the housecleaning because of him. He is exhausting and a handful but so darn cute.

The thing about boys is that they are non-stop. There is never a quiet minute. They are very physical and active. And loud. God help us when the third boy arrives.

Over the Memorial Day weekend we took a day-trip to New Buffalo, Michigan. Matthew did not like the sand on his feet. It took him about 15 minutes to finally surrender to nature. After that he was fine. Dylan went through the same phase.

Here are the brothers, cheesin' it up for the camera. Matthew - 18 months old and Dylan - almost 4 1/2 years old.

My pregnancy is, well, blossoming. I am huge! At my 25 week appointment I learned that I have gained about 28 lbs. Which is par for the course for me. Actually, looking through my past charts I have gained a little less in this pregnancy. But I am carrying differently. People are constantly asking me if I am having a girl. I am big all around this time.

Luckily for me I have been able to get out of a lot of projects around the house. Poor Joe is busy busy. So far in the last month he has painted the stucco on the outside of our house. He re-landscaped our backyard and he is now gearing up to repaint all our bedrooms. What a man! He actually has a "to do" list that is over 60 items long. I didn't write "honey-do list" because I didn't put the list together - he did. Again, what a man. It is going to be a busy summer!

I wish I had taken a "before" photo, but here is an "after" photo of our backyard that Joe redid. We transplanted the hostas from some mature plants that we had around the house.

Joe painting the house.

Here is Dylan and Joe playing war. He was able to understand the card sequence in the very first game they played. That is impressive to me because I don't understand cards at all. Dylan is now on book 5 of the BOB books. I haven't been able to stick with the program as consistently as I'd like, but I am very proud of his progress. His confidence has really exploded since starting the books.

Remember these seedlings? This photo was taken about 2 weeks after we planted the seeds (about the end of March).

Check them out now! I transplanted them into planters and they are thriving.

These are the carrots and bok choy. We will probably harvest the carrots next week. Dylan can't wait!

Here is my cilantro and cucumber. And a few herbs which were just recently planted (dill and chives). I can't wait to make some homemade salsa with the cilantro. Also, a lot of Asian food!

As many of you know, we have had a heck of a time getting Dylan to stay in his own bed through the night. Basically, he has been sleeping with us all his life. Until this weekend. We had a breakthrough! He is finally sleeping through the night in his own bed. I basically sat him down a few nights ago and had we had a heart-to-heart conversation about the sleeping situation. How is he too big (literally) to be in our bed and how mommy can't sleep very well when he is taking up so much space (especially since I am bigger now too)!

Lo-and-behold something must of clicked because he has been staying in his own room ever since. We are keeping our fingers crossed that this will stick. As a reward, we got him a "big boy" bike. It is his first bike with training wheels.

Last summer he was riding the tricycle around and he was probably ready for a bigger bike at his 4th birthday, but since it falls in December we didn't think it was fair to get him a bike that he couldn't ride until summer. Anyway, he is still trying to get the hang of it (the kid is so uncoordinated!)

I saved the best news for last. The LeFort family were vacationing in the region and we got to spend a little time with them. I am so sorry I didn't get more photos but here is one of their beautiful children, Anna and Alex, with Dylan. Thanks for a nice visit Fran!

Here is a sure sign of summer - sandals crowding the doorway. Bring it on, we can't wait, it is going to be fun and hectic and our last as a foursome!