King Brothers at the Zoo

Look at that beautiful little face! Eli loved the rain forest exhibit!
After the boys were done terrorizing all the animals they got to play in the waterscape at the play area out in front of the zoo! 

We had quite an adventure today! We drove to Normal, IL (about 1 hour away) this morning to go to the Children's Discovery Museum only to find out that it isnt actually open on Sunday mornings (this is a serious mommy brain oops!) 

Luckily there is another totally fun spot in Normal... The Miller Park Zoo! So off we went and a great time was had by all! The boys saw sea lions, otters, tigers, sun bears, wallaroos, tortoise's, and more. They also got to go into the petting zoo and hang out with goats, pot belly pigs, chickens, and bunnies...too funny! I think the chickens thought Nate was trying to eat them...well, he might have been! We never know with Nate! 

The coolest part of the day is that they just opened up a waterscape play area in front of the zoo so we stripped the boys to their shorts and let them free! I even got into the action when a very brave 6 year old boy sprayed me with a water cannon deliberately! I laughed so hard! Just imagine my boys in 3 or 4 years and there you go! 

They both crashed on the car ride home which made for very peaceful travel! Life is such fun with our little animals! 

P.S. Nate was the elusive big foot today and all of his pictures turned  out blurry...he is just too fast! 

Vindicated!!!

Don't mess with baby Nate! For his 15 month checkup Nate weighed in at 29 pounds and measured 33.5 inches (this is a full 10 days before he turns fifteen months which means tack on another 1/2 pound). The boy is gigantic! Though he was born 1.5 inches shorter and 6 ounces lighter he has now caught up to big brother and has nearly the exact same measurements ! Too Funny! We have the two most gigantic toddlers on the block! 

It has been nearly a year since Nate became so terribly ill with ITP and we are thankful for every healthy day we have had with him! He is a big robust boy! We love you Pork Chop!

Bragging Rights!

Camera shy but still a little flirt!
Nate is a maniac... enough said!

Ok, I hate to be the braggy mom but... my boys are pretty phenomenal! What can I say they are such smarties! Nate is blowing our minds these days with his vocabulary and understanding! His favorite word is THAT, which covers everything. If he really wants something he will add a second word and say "that ball", "that car" "that cup". He has close to 20 words in his vocabulary including a very garbled version of "big brother". It melts my heart! He is a definite rock star and will groove to any and all music (and by groove, I mean the boy rocks out!!!) He shows a definite preference for 80's pop/rock and has a love of rap! Strange boy our Nate! Nate is the giver of huge smiles and even bigger hugs and that makes every day a good one! (this of course more than balances out the temper!!!).

Living with Eli is like living with an 50 year old man stuck in a 2.5 year olds body (albeit a giant 2.5 year old). He has an unbelievable vocabulary and it would be very strange for him to speak any differently than any adult you know! He has something to say about absolutely everything! He asks questions like crazy! A few of his favorites are: "I dont know what this is/means/does?" " I dont know what this is/means/does in spanish?", "Momma show me how does it go?", etc... Sam and I have become veritable fonts of information these days ( though sometimes we have to make stuff up/say we will look it up! Eli is turning out to be the best big brother any little brother could want. He is patient and sweet and almost always willing to share (there are a select few things he wont share but he is 2.5). 

I love our boys! 

Playgroup

We are part of an amazing play group! We started with 4 moms and 4 12 month olds and now we are five moms four 2.5 year olds, three 15 month olds and a baby on the way! You could say that every thursday afternoon from 3-5 is pretty chaotic but very fun! Play group was at our house today and this is a shot of 4 of the 5 boys digging and trucking! That is a lot of man for one very small sand box! (Eli is hogging the sandbox and Nate is posing in his cool orange baseball cap holding a shovel)

Happy Father's Day Daddy!!!!

My four men! 
Handsome Daddy!
Stinkers!
A Motley Crew!
These boys love there daddy!

The boys and I have decided to pay tribute to the man who is smart enough, strong enough, and wise enough to handle two wild man-children and their crazy momma! So here are 10 reasons why Sam is the best Daddy ever!

1. He is the most hands-on, down-to-earth and loving Daddy we know!

2. He gets down-and-dirty, wrestle mania style with my rough-and-tumble boys and is always willing to be tackled and pounced on!

3. He does the best voices when reading stories with the boys! Have you ever heard him do the Grinch? Priceless!

4. He lets the boys be boys! They can get into, play with, dig, throw or destroy just about anything and he is right there with them! 

5. He has a terrific imagination! He flies on "missions" with the boys looking for targets and he is the master of all things adventurous!

6. He created a hand-puppet named Ralph, who serves as Eli's imaginary bathroom friend. Ralph shows Eli how to poop on the toilet using food and sound effects (completely gross but really funny). 

7. Whether it is in the middle of a freezing winter or a hot summer he always finds a way for the boys to safely play outside because he knows how happy it makes them (wintertime: chasing milo on a sled. Summer: chasing milo with the hose and some dog shampoo... poor milo).

8. He loves to do classes with the boys from toddler science class to toddler gymnastics and sports classes he loves to spend that special time with them. 

9. He has a wonderful sense of the absurd and he appreciates and encourages the silliness of our boys!

10. He is the very  best example of what a man should be! 

Boys of Summer

Buff little boy chasing down his beach ball! 
Drinking water like a puppy!
Eli is attempting to get to the beach ball through the spray using his truck a defense! 
Nate: Letting it all hang out !
Arms of steel!

When it is 91 degrees outside and 98 percent humidity we like to turn our yard into water party fun zone! We fill up the water table, the green turtle (which is supposed to be a sand box), and we let loose with this fun new beach ball sprinkler! Good times are had by all! Unfortunately, my camera ran out of juice before the boys took up residence in the green turtle pool! Those two would have stayed in there forever! 

We topped this afternoon adventure of with some good take-out dinner and my momma dreams for a perfect Sunday afternoon were fulfilled! What a great day! 

Cooking with Eli

Stirring up the pink fruit dip.... again!!!
Look at that impish glint in his eyes... pure trouble!
Teasing momma!!!
What an angel face!

Eli and I had a big cooking day today! He has helped me cook up things in the past by dumping in a cup of something here or there; however, today we got to cook from Eli's very own cookbook. It's called "Pretend Soup" and it is amazing!!!

Eli made us breakfast (with a bit of help from momma). He made hide-and-seek muffins. He did all of the dumping and mixing (with a bit of mixing help from mom). I poured the mix into the cupcake liners but he got to add the best part a sugar covered strawberry! He pushed a strawberry into the middle of each muffin before they baked. Eli was so enthusiastic about pushing the strawberries into the batter that we lost 2 muffins to the excitement! His pure love of being with me and making interesting food is such a treat! 

It was so fun that we tried another recipe out this afternoon "pink fruit dip". Think kids fondue! It had cream cheese, yogurt, frozen raspberries and lemon juice (blended together by hand and then in a blender). Eli dumped in all the ingredients and was the official taste-tester! We all loved it. We ate it with graham crackers and bananas! 

I love doing these types of projects with the boys! I cant wait until we can blow stuff up!!! (safely of course)

It was

The Pork Chop Walks!!!

Assuming the walking position! Hands up over the head!
Look at me stand-up and cruise like a big boy!
And I am off and moving! 

Nate is walking!!! Our pork chop decided that 14 months and 4 days old was the perfect age for lift-off! In true Nate fashion, the boy has his own original way of doing it. He takes a couple of steps throws his hands up over his head (like an monkey) and takes off! It is hilarious! We promise to get video footage to post to the blog! We are all so proud of his achievement and cant wait to see what comes next! 

Watch out the King Brothers are driving!

The boys have inherited a car from good friends Brian and Adam (they are big boys that the boys love to play with). Eli is a serious driver who likes to off road in our backyard and chase poor milo around with the car! Nate is a wild driver who goes backwards and sideways and likes to take a stunt man dive out of the door while moving! They are such funny guys!