Being a copycat

Every time we go for a well check, they give us a list saying what Xander is supposed to be doing at whatever age. The most recent one said that he should be very good at being a copycat. Well, that is Xander exactly. He has learned so much from his big brother! Zack made up this song, using the wheels of the stroller (folded up and on its side) as a steering wheel. It goes "Drivin' on the road, drivin on the road, drivin on the road, beep-beep." Xander's version is "Road road road, road road road, road road road," and you can hear him singing it with the same stroller wheels or in the car. Xander also sings the ABC's--his way. He ends with "dubbu, eh, whhhhyyyy, zee, na na na na." One more thing that Zack does: in the movie Transformers, when Bumblebee (the main TF) transforms from a "piece of crap" car into a cool sports car, they play this music, like chook-a-chook-chh. Zack picked up on that and makes that sound anytime we see a car he considers a cool car. Xander tries to copy that, too, which is equally adorable. Here are some videos that show the boys at their cutest and smartest!

Zack and Xander with their cool car sounds.

Xander singing the ABC's. He left out the best part, though.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Our Valentine's Day consisted of cinnamon rolls for breakfast, a trip to the grocery store, playing outside with the boys while Mark visited his mom at the hospital, and pizza casserole for dinner. I also made really yummy brownies. I put the leftover flowers from Mom in a vase and lit a candle. So we had a nice family Valentine's dinner!

Before Gramma's surgery, she made up Valentine bags for the boys. I got pics of Xander opening his, but the battery died before Zack came inside to open his bag.

Xander knew how to open his--he just turned it upside down and dumped it out!!

Ball!!
This is Xander with his balloon. They were so cool--we stomped on the balloon inside the package, which started a chemical reaction inside the balloon. Once the balloon expanded and outgrew the package, it POPPED out and flew up in the air! I was actually late for work because we were playing with the balloons and getting them to pop up correctly.

And they play with the box!

Zack had the idea, all by himself, to turn the box from our new tv into a slide. We propped it up on the bean bag chair and slid away!

Flowers and a Picnic

We remembered Mom's birthday on February 13th by visiting her grave site and bringing her flowers. The pink one in the middle is for her, the 10 white ones are for her children, and the 19 blue ones are for her grandchildren. Love you and miss you, Mom!

After we put out the flowers, it was getting so close to lunchtime. We went to Food Lion for crackers and applesauce, and we had an impromptu picnic at the airport, on another beautiful day!

Road Trip with the Boys

I'm still not sure what's going on with the pictures' formats, so hopefully this is readable :) The boys and I made a trip down to Fayetteville to see Susan, my dear friend from high school, and her daughter Alison. We were blessed with a beautiful day, with highs in the 60's in February!! We played in the backyard, went to McDonald's for lunch, and played the Wii. I've said it before, but old friends are the best friends, and I'm so glad that Susan is back in the states!

Susan and Alison

Xander decided that he wanted to dip his cheeseburger in ranch dressing, but he ended up dipping his whole hand. But he ate it!...Zack was driving with the Wii steering wheel, and Xander has to be like big brother!

Zack wanted so badly to hold Alison. She had woken up early from her nap and was mostly cranky. When she had a happy little moment, Susan let Zack hold her, but it didn't last long.

Zack and Xander were so exhausted from our busy day. They both were conched out before we even got back to the big highway (like within 10 or 15 minutes), and they slept all the way back home.

Random Oldies

Kennedy came to spend the day with us back in January. Xander became so jealous of her! It was fun for me to have a little girl for the day, though!

Zack was trying to show Xander his Diego 1-2-3 game. Xander of course didn't understand the concept, but another time we played together, he was learning how to take turns and how to match them (we showed his where to put the pieces, and he put them there).

I don't know why the pictures ended up like this, but I couldn't seem to do anything about it. This is a 6-block tower built on top of a duck about a half a second before Xander knocked it down. I couldn't believe that we got the thing to balance on top of the duck, and honestly, Zack and Xander couldn't believe it either.

Happy Birthday Mo!

We celebrated Mo's birthday with a party at her house. Twenty of us crowded into a little apartment, sharing a subway sub and yummy chocolate cake. As I've grown up, I've come to realize that, while my family can be very loud and crazy, it's fun to get to hang out with so many people I love. Happy Birthday, Mo!

Ken was running the monster truck on Zack's back.

Danny kept trying to give Xander beer. He was tasting what was left on the rim of the can. Xander even had a full, unopened can that he was trying really hard to get something out of. The beer and baby (toddler) thing is a running joke in my family.

Christopher and Grandpa

Damien--This is what he was doing most of the time we were there--laying on the floor playing with cars and trucks.

Caroline, Stacy and Danny tormenting my son

Xander getting some love from Nana Cathy

Mo's Birthday Cake--I made it myself!

Don't burn the house down!

Danny wouldn't take a self-portrait with Eileen, so I did instead. This one didn't turn out too bad.

The boys and girls with cakey faces.

Zack started out reading to Caroline, and eventually moved to Danny and Grandpa.

I think Eileen and Stacy were trying to get Alannah to smile for the picture. She has always been camera shy.

Alyssa reading with Xander. I hope both of my boys continue to love reading as much as they do now.

At the Car Wash

All three boys washing Daddy's car together.

Xander after he swung his sock-sponge around his head. He was completely soaked! He was helping Zack and Daddy wash the car by moving the sock around in little circle, then going back to the soap bucket.

Picnic at Pullen Park

It was supposed to be 60 degrees Monday, so we packed a picnic lunch and met Daddy at Pullen Park. We took the leftover bread crusts and some cheerios and fed the ducks and geese. Some of those geese can get incredibly territorial! After the food was gone, we played on the playground for a little while. I didn't keep my camera out the whole time, but here's a couple cute ones.