We're still here!

Sorry it's been so long! We've been busy this week and Carver and Kayden have been keeping me on my toes. Have I told you how much fun (and how exhausting) it is raising a 1 year old and 3 year old?

Let's just say Carver has been showing his terrible 3's this week. :)

Kayden had his 15 month check up on Wednesday and he is as healthy as can be. 50% for weight and height with an exceptionally large head (just like Daddy of course!). Dr. even said he thinks we have another "highly intelligent" child on our hands. I told him I am starting to wonder if that is a good thing now that Carver is 3. :) It's funny how proud I was when he told me that about Carver and how scared I am now that he has said that about Kayden. :) He was very impressed with his personality and how easy going he is. Kayden was just chatting him up the whole time. He didn't even cry when they stuck him twice for vaccinations.

Here are some pictures of the boys enjoying some time outside. They don't seem to even notice that it has been about 95 degrees here everyday. Oh the joys of being a kid!

We love to get comments (and we don't get them often) so don't be afraid to say hi!! :)

Run Bankers, Run!

Bix weekend was a success!! The boys did the Jr. Bix last night and they both did great!! I ran with Kayden and Chris ran with Carver and they both ran as fast as their little legs would take them, and we of course declared that they were the winners. :) It must be the competetive Banker/Cross blood running through them but they would not accept any less than knowing/thinking that they finished first. Kayden even stopped at the end and waited like, "hey give me my medal!"

This morning it was Mommy and Daddy's turn to run. Yes, you heard me right, even Daddy ran!! I was sooooo proud of him I can't even tell you! I ran the 7 mile Bix and he ran the 2 mile Quick Bix. This is no easy feat, considering the Bix is famous for being 1/3 mile straight uphill on a 7-9% grade to start the race. It was tough but so rewarding to know we did it!

In true Banker fashion Chris had already finished 5 beers at the post race party by the time I got there to join him. :) We had so much fun I think we may try to do a 5K together this fall. I am so glad to have him taking interest in running since this is something that I have always enjoyed.

When I first started running again this year I came home from a run one morning and Carver asked me where I had been, I told him running and he asked what I was running from! :) I thought that was pretty cute and I think that that is pretty much how Chris has always seen running, if you're not running from someone or something then why are you running? That's why I am so glad that he has started running and has begun to understand why I enjoy it so much. I hope it is something we can do as a family for years to come.

Here are a few pictures of the boys from last night. Sorry, no pictures of the sweaty parents from this morning. You'll just have to imagine how buff we looked running up that killer hill!


Daddy and the boys getting ready for the race.


Kayden getting ready to run!


Carver stretching before his race.


Carver showing Daddy his muscles while he was waiting for his race to start.


Run Carver, Run!!

And the winners are...... Kayden and Carver Banker!! :)

Summer Fun

The boys love the pool and they love playing with their cousins, so Tuesday was a great day all around. Here are a few of the pictures from the day.
Kayden and Cousin Connor

Popsicles!! Ava, Kayden, Carver, & Connor

Lucky to have Daddy (aka Uncle Chris) along to give rides and play! Aunt Sarah and I love when he can make it so we can actually talk.

Just a bonus picture of the boys.

Kayden has decided that he wants to sit like a big boy at the table for breakfast. I can't believe how big my boys look in this picture. I know someday I'll look back at this picture and think, "I can't believe how small they were," but for now they are just my babies!

Lots more pictures to come after the weekend. We have the Bix this weekend. It is a big race here in the Quad Cities and is sure to be lots of fun. The boys run their race tomorrow night and Chris and I run (and party!:) on Saturday. Have a great weekend!!

In the dark

That's been us for about 56 hours! But, guess what? We survived! No air conditioning, no refrigerator, no stove, no TV, no electricity.

We had a "derecho" (yeah new to me too) which apparently is a wind wall with about 100 mph winds on Monday morning.

I'll set the scene for you....

6:00 AM I wake up to go out for my run and realize we are having a thunderstorm. Now I have been known to go out in a storm for my run but this morning I decided I would just wait so I woke Chris up to let him know that I would just go a little later.

6:02 AM Chris realizes that the storm is really picking up and says maybe we should head from our upstairs bedroom down to the main level where the boys are.

6:05 AM We are watching the storm cautiously out the window when we see Carver's playhouse blowing down the driveway (this thing is heavy!) and Chris and I look at each other and decide we should probably get the boys and head to the basement. Mind you we have not heard any tornado sirens or warnings we just have a feeling.

6:07 AM We grab the boys and head to the basement where we hunker down with the boys and the dogs, all scared, trying to reassure them that everything will be fine as the electricity goes in and out.

6:15 AM Everything seems to have calmed down so we head back upstairs and immediately lose power for good. As we surveyed the damage out our window we were just in awe. There were tree branches everywhere.

Shortly after we went out to help our neighbors begin the clean up. It was just amazing the destruction that wind did on our neighborhood alone. We were very lucky, our tree was virtually untouched. I took the boys on a run later in the morning and we were just in shock. I cannot even describe the destruction. Overall, I think that everyone feels lucky that more homes were not damaged and more people were not hurt.

It was inspiring to see neighbors helping neighbors and everyone working together to make a tough situation better.

So, after most of the cleanup was done, we all made the best of the fact that we were without power. We just kept busy the best we could during the days and made due at night. Chris and I definitely missed the TV and computer (oh and the XBox :) but we actually found that we enjoyed the quiet time. It was nice to just have no distractions. As of 2:00 this afternoon we are back with the world of electrical luxuries! YEAH!

I have another post to do about our trip to Iowa City yesterday to swim with the cousins, the boys had a blast. I'll get some pictures up soon. It may not be until tomorrow though, we'll see.

P.S. Thanks for the comments from those of you that have let us know your thoughts, don't be afraid to say hi!!

Another busy weekend

A new toybox for the boys' boatload of toys. So needed and so appreciated, thanks Daddy!

Carver trying out the new toybox. He says this will be a great place to hide from Kayden! :)

On Saturday we helped the elephants celebrate their birthday at the zoo. The boys thought that was pretty funny and had a great time.

I have no idea what animal this is but I guess it is the Niabi Zoo mascot, regardless, the boys loved him!

Daddy and Kayden. I sure hope that thumb isn't still in

K-Man's mouth when he graduates high school! :)

The elephants enjoying their birthday cake. The boys thought this was pretty cool. Carver even sang Happy Birthday to them.
Are my boys handsome or what? I am the luckiest woman alive!

And at the end of a long weekend, a napping baby. This picture just makes me smile. Kayden is always trying to keep up with his brother and act like such a big boy, but this picture just reminds me that he really is still just my baby!

Tired

Chris is working late again tonight. I'm tired! I've been with the boys non-stop the past couple of days with no breaks. We're still having fun, but by the time I get them in bed I'm exhausted! Thank goodness tomorrow night is a Mom's Night Out! I'm going to need it!

I never realized how much I really appreciate Daddy taking over with bath and bedtime when he gets home! Guess it just makes me appreciate him even more.

I don't know how single moms or moms that don't get any help from dads do it! I am very lucky!

Sorry for no new pictures, I'll get some new ones up this weekend. :)

Babaloo

The boys and I went to a kid's concert at the library today. Babaloo is this really funny guy that sings lots of goofy songs and does all kinds of crazy things to entertain the kids. The boys loved it! They especially loved the drumming part! I couldn't believe how into it even Kayden got.


A moment we may not see again for many, many years! Oh who am I kidding? We may never see a moment like this ever again!

A Love For Reading

Family Time

Sunday's are usually our family day. I love our family time. Just us, no distractions, no rush to be anywhere. We often will go to church, take a walk and then just enjoy some time together. This morning we took a walk with the whole gang (even the furry members of our family). Here are just a few of my favorite pictures from our outing.

Here's the whole crew. Aren't they just adorable?


Just the boys! Daddy, Carver, Kayden, and Riley


Carver training for the Jr. Bix running with Riley :)


Kayden wanted in on the action too!


Enjoying a quiet moment in the shade.

Daddy really enjoys his time with the boys. They are so lucky to have such a great Daddy!


Can I just say that besides Sunday's being for family time, I am starting to love Sunday's even more since Daddy and the boys have decided that Sunday's are Mommy's day to rest. They let me sleep in, read the paper in peace, and not have to do much of anything but enjoy my time with my boys on Sunday. Who needs Mother's Day when you've got Sunday once a week?!?! :)

I'm one lucky lady! I love you boys! :)

Bath Time

Our little fishies

The boys love the pool!! They hate to leave and if they had their way we'd be there everyday. They are both just fish in the water. No fear! Kayden is loving the new freedoms of being able to walk around the shallow waters instead of crawling. Carver has discovered a love for the "big" slides as he is now tall enough to go on his own, but he usually likes to drag one of us with him when we're both able to go to the pool. Daddy was able to get there just in time to hit the slides with Carver this afternoon after work.

They love the pool so much that they actually get along while we're there. No fighting. And they were happy to share a snack together today! :)

OUCH!!

Three posts in one day!! Crazy!!

I just had to share this one though. While I was updating the blog and Chris was getting the boys ready for bed, Kayden decided to run into the wall.

Ouch!! Poor guy! We didn't even notice at first because he got right back up and barely even cried. My silly little tough guys!

Normal 3 year old or boy genius?

Mommy says artistic genius, of course!!

Carver made the greatest track out of his playdoh the other day and then made little cars to go on the track. Okay, maybe I'm a little over excited about it but I think he's a pretty creative kid!



Kayden was working on his art skills coloring while Carver was impressing mommy with his creativity! Pretty good for a 1 year old, huh? Maybe we'll be able to sell his art for millions! :)

Teddy Bear Picnic

If you go out in the woods today,
You're sure of a big surprise.
If you go out in the woods today,
You'd better go in disguise.
For every bear that ever there was
Will gather there for certain, because
Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic.

The boys and I had a teddy bear picnic today at the park.

We had lots of fun!!

Oh Boy!!

So what do you do to get back at your big brother for bullying you all day and stealing your toys?

Kayden's answer is........ POOP on his bed!!

Tonight after bath the boys were doing their naked lap (why boys like to run around naked so much I have no idea!) when Kayden went into Carver's room and proceeded to poop on his bed. All I saw was Kayden's butt in the air as Chris ran him into the bathroom upside down (as he told me, "to keep the poop in" duh). We all got a pretty good laugh from that!

Happy 4th of July

We hope you all enjoyed your 4th of July weekend as much as we did.

We started out the weekend with a trip to the zoo with Memaw (my mom) on Thursday which the boys loved, of course. Now that Kayden is walking he wants to do everything just like his brother, which of course includes walking the zoo to see all of the animals up close and personal. :) He was pretty funny though, we had to literally pull him away from each exhibit because he was just loving getting to walk around and see everything. He also insisted on holding Memaw and Carver's hands as we walked. Carver was such a good big brother playing along and holding his hand.

After the zoo Kayden got his first taste of corn on the cob. As you can see, he really liked that!

Thursday night we went to the fireworks. I think the boys liked running around with the other kids before the fireworks as much as the fireworks themselves but they both seemed to enjoy it. Carver sat in Chris's lap and Kayden was in mine. As I watched them both, looking up in the sky with such awe, I couldn't help but think someday I will wish we had this moment back, with both of our boys in our laps cuddling on us and enjoying the excitment of the holiday.

On the 4th we walked the Mississippi River from Moline down to Hampton which is about a 3.5 mile hike and then let the boys play at the fabulous park that was at the end of our trek. Of course Chris and I still had to walk back while the boys napped, but it was so nice and peaceful and the weather was absolutely gorgeous!! It felt more like May than July. I'll take it!

Today we were lucky enough to spend some more time with Memaw and Papa and Uncle Dylan and Kelly as we cooked out and enjoyed another day of gorgeous weather.

So, I guess the weekend isn't quite over but we hope that you all enjoyed your 4th of July as much as we did. On this 4th we're thankful for our freedoms and for all of those who are serving our country and spending this holiday and so many others away from their families so that we can be free and safe to spend time with ours.

Proud to be Americans and blessed to have such great family and friends!

P.S. Don't be afraid to comment!! We'd love to know you're checking in on us. Let us know you're out there! :)