Carver gets us another win! :)

Well, he's 2 for 2, I'd say that's pretty good! Daddy took Carver to another Hawkeye basketball game on Sunday, and wouldn't you know it we pulled off another victory (in overtime!). Looks to me like he had a pretty good time. He did admit he had a tummy ache this time though after eating half of the concession stand. :)

Where oh where did this week go?

This was one of those weeks where I look back and wonder where did this week go? And what did we do? Lucky for me, and for you too of course my camera can catch us up! So here are a few highlights of our week. :)

Carver finished up another session of swimming lessons. He just loves the water and is becoming quite the little swimmer.

I didn't get a good picture of him without his float, but here he is practicing swimming all the way across the pool. He can do it all on his own without a float now. Pretty impressive!

Kayden always wants to go in when Carver is swimming so he's never too happy to be sitting and watching but he was being my little model posing for me while we were watching Carver this week. :)

I actually caught the boys getting along this week. I know crazy! I'll have to print this one and put it on the fridge it is such a rare occassion! No really, the really do love each other but somedays they just fight like brothers and drive their poor old mom mad! :)

We mad pinecone bird feeders........

Grandma stopped by on the way to her Master's class and the boys managed to lure her into reading them a book.

And after a long week the I caught my boys relaxing on the couch before bed one night.


Hope you had a great week! Enjoy your Banker boys fix! :)

Seriously?!?!

I was working on this

tonight, and I am still just in total disbelief that it has been almost 4 years since we were anticipating the arrival of our baby Carver. Seriously? I don't know where the last 4 years have gone. Carver is becoming such a little man. No worries though, he assures me that he'll always be my baby. :)

Cousins Encounter

We spent the afternoon yesterday at the Family Museum with the cousins and Aunt Sara and the boys had a blast. They love hanging out with their cousins and they all get along really well. It is so nice that they are all so close in age. Carver and Ava are about 6 weeks apart and Kayden and Connor are also about 6 weeks apart. It worked out pretty well considering we didn't plan it that way! :)

Carver, KMan and Ava playing dress up.

The boys having a little picnic lunch at the museum.

Connor and KMan hanging out. Yes, those are the same boots that you've seen in several posts lately. I call that picking your battles. He wants to wear them and I don't want to fight him. :)

All of the boys playing in the Bob the Builder exhibit.

All four of our beautiful kids Carver, Ava, Connor, and Kayden. Aren't they just adorable? :)

Make sure to scroll down I actually posted twice today! :) I know, madness! :)

Messy Art Class Fun

Kayden has started a creative discovery/art class. He LOVES it! Carver used to take this class, so he wanted to visit and Ms. Robbie, the instructor, was so glad to see him. I really like this class because it allows for my boys to be boys. They get very messy and get to explore lots of different mediums. It is fun to just let them explore and not be too structured. So, here they are exploring and having fun. :)

I love this one, Kayden is telling Carver what to do and Carver is doing it. :)

Painting with cars.

Helping carry the paint. :)

And this one is just for fun. This is a picture of Carver when he was just a couple of months older than Kayden is now during his art class. I can't believe how big he is getting! :(

Isms and Cute stories

Carver
Carver.....what can I say? He's a character! This kid has always had a very unique personality on him for a little boy. For as long as I can remember he was cracking us up with what he was doing or saying and he always knew that he was funny. He has always had a great comedic timing. I'm guessing he gets that from his Daddy. :) We are never surprised by what comes out of that kids mouth and he makes us laugh often! So for a couple of recent stories/Carverisms.....

Saturday night as Chris and Carver were walking into Carver Hawkeye Arena for the basketball game they got to witness a man getting handcuffed and arrested for public intoxication. Yeah, great thing for him to see! Anyway, he heard the police officer telling the man, "you can't be drunk in public" and of course started asking question. "

Carver : "Daddy, why are they handcuffing that man?"
Daddy: "Well, he drank too much beer"
Carver: "Oh, and he shouldn't go out in public." (like he even knew what that word meant).
Daddy: "Yep, that's right." (I can just imagine Chris trying to minimize this conversation as
much as possible)
Carver: "Well then I think Uncle Josh should get handcuffed because he drinks lots of beer." :)

Seriously, the way this kid's mind works! I laughed so hard when I heard this story and when they got home I asked him about it. He knew we thought it was funny so we immediately followed up our laughter with a warning to not talk about this story to anyone else. I could just see him trying to share this one with his teacher. :)

Here's another good one. We were at the grocery story one day last week and we saw some firefighters there. They were standing by us in line and I said Carver, look firemen, you should tell them thank you for everything they do. They were very kind and talked to the boys for a few minutes and told them that they had the fire truck outside. Then, out of the blue Carver looks at me and looks at the firemen and says, "My mommy and daddy drive me crazy sometimes." Needless to say he gave them a good laugh and they just looked at me to see what my reaction would be. I of course just shook my head and laughed too. :) If he only knew that the feeling is mutual. :)

Last week at swimming lessons Carver and one of the other boys were playing around while they were waiting for their teacher. The lifeguard told them that they better not fall in because she wasn't going to jump in to save them. Carver looked right at her and said, "That's okay, we know how to swim." So she asked him is it okay if I go home then and of course he answered yes!

We try so hard not to laugh at Carver's antics but it is so hard!!

Kayden
Kayden, now he is a story all his own. He is definitely the baby and we have let him get away with a little too much just because he's so darn cute. Now we are getting to see the negative side of that as he has developed into a very strong will, and he wants what he wants when he wants it and he does not like to take no for an answer. For example, he screamed for about 30 minutes tonight, all the way through bath because we wouldn't give him ice cream after dinner because he didn't eat his dinner. He was not a happy camper and I don't know why, but he still thinks if he throws one of his outrageous toddler tantrums he will get his way. I have walked through many stores lately with him screaming at the top of his lungs because he doesn't want to sit in the cart. I just keep walking and he just keeps screaming. People stare and I just smile. I will not give in! That's the disadvantage for our boys, I'm as stubborn as they come!

Kayden has also become quite a little monkey lately. Last week he woke up before everyone else and I was just laying in bed listening to him play in his room through the monitor when I hear Carver get up and he yells, "Mom, Kayden is on top of his changing table waiting for you!" Needless to say I flew down the stairs just about as quickly as I did the day he decided to climb out of his crib. And, sure enough there he sat with his pajamas off waiting for me on the changing table. I've found him that way several times since then. He knows what he wants so he just goes there and waits for us to figure it out.

He also will tell me lately if he has pooped and will even bring me a diaper. When he doesn't tell me and I ask him he'll say either, "yeah poop", or "no toot" if he just tooted. He thinks this is pretty funny.

So, I've already told you that Kayden is very strong willed. Another thing that he definitely is, is opinionated. He again knows what he wants and he'll let you know. Most mornings he will go to his closet to pick his own clothes. This usually means finding his one Thomas the Train shirt and insisting on wearing it. If it is dirty a fit usually ensues and then once we've convinced him he can wear something else he will study our choices and either approve or deny and he will not wear it if he doesn't like it. Once we finally get his dressed we then have to go through the whole process again with shoes. He is very picky about what shoes he wears. After this whole process is over he usually will look at himself and declare himself, "Cute!" and then go to the mirror to check himself out.

As exhausting as my days can be chasing after my 2 crazy boys they are full of life and they fill my days with laughter and fun. I cannot imagine any other way. They are each unique in there own little ways and I love seeing them grow and learn each and every day.

I'm off to rest. I'm sure tomorrow will be here too soon with more questions and funny thoughts from Carver and more trouble and craziness from KMan. I love my boys! :)

A Break From The Cold!

We have had a little break from the awful, cold weather that we've been dealing with all winter and we are taking full advantage! It was 60 degrees yesterday and we did everything we could to enjoy it. We know it won't last. I mean, it's only February and in the Midwest that means we have another 2 months or so of cold weather before we can really start to enjoy the idea of spring.

So, after I took an awesome run outside yesterday morning (so nice to get away from the track and the treadmill!), Chris went out for his run and then the boys and I met him for a walk. The boys wore their rain boots so that they could splash in puddles and play in the mud and they had a blast! I of course forgot the camera, but I did get a few pictures of them when we got home.

Then, in the afternoon Chris and Carver decided to head up to Iowa City for the Hawkeye basketball game, so Kayden and I headed to the park for a while. He was loving it! He had everyone laughing as he just ran and ran screaming around the playground.

We're expecting more nice days for at least the beginning of the week so we're already planning trips to the park and lots of walks. So, if you don't hear from us it's because we're enjoying being outside before all of our fun is spoiled and the temperatures drop once again.

Carver was showing Kayden how to splash in the puddles.

Then Kayden thought he'd give it a try. :)

Oh, boys will be boys, they had so much fun getting soaking wet and muddy. :)

I have some great stories for you that I've been saving up from the boys so stay tuned.... I'll try to get those up tomorrow night. :)

Dance Party

The boys' new obsession is having dance parties with Daddy. It's pretty funny to watch. They really just run around in circles dancing and singing to Daddy's music. I tried to capture a few clips for you to see. Hopefully you won't get dizzy watching them go around and around and around. Listen for Kayden though, he is pretty funny singing along.

Low, low, low, low! This is Kayden's favorite. He actually brings us Chris's MP3 player saying "low, low" whenever he wants to dance. :)

This one some of my softball friends will appreciate more than others. Remember this song? :)

Thanks for the comments lately Aunt Katy and Uncle Josh! Where are the rest of you? You don't have to have a blog to comment, just a blogger account which is quick, easy, and free to create.

Oh, and the wardrobe comment was duly noted Uncle Josh. I can't believe I didn't notice that Carver was wearing the same shirt (and not a Hawkeye one! :O) in 2 back to back posts. That shirt, although cute (If you couldn't read it, it says "I'll send you crying home to your mommy") has been tucked away in the back of his drawer. :)

And just one picture to leave you with a smile on your face. Kayden thinks he is quite the rock star with his glasses on after jamming out. :)