{Trying to Catch Up}

I start posts and load up all the pictures, then totally forget to write and publish them.  Ahh!  So trying to catch up quickly...

 

1.  Luke tried jiu jitsu a few weeks ago and LOVED it!  He went with his cousin for 'bring a friend to class day". He was the youngest one by about 2 years. Everyone was 6 years old to about 10 years old. And he totally hung with all the kids!  It was really fun to watch. I considered letting him take a class, but it is three times a week.  They let you go just once, but you still pay for three, so we are going to wait for awhile :).

 

2. This is Luke and Ben talking about poop outside after a walk. It is their favorite topic much to my displeasure. Okay, sometimes it is really funny when they get going!

3. Luke got these pink teeth out of a vending machine and proceeded to wear them all day a few weeks ago. And profusely drooled might I add.

4. This boy loves his corn. And if you don't believe me, check his diaper the day after he ate three whole ears. 

5.  This one just kills me. He is super emotional and super whiny these days.  But oh so cute!

6. We went to the zoo in the blazing heat about two weeks ago with cousins Molly and Jack. They boys LOVE their cousins, so zoo with cousins is even better! Both the boys looked they had dunked their heads in water by the end, but they didn't...they are sweaty SWEATY boys.

 

7.  I love moments like this. They were just holding hands as they were eating watermelon. It makes up for the massive screaming matches I hear at times!

 

8. You can barely see them, but that is Luke and Ben. They are just blurs. This is what we are resorting to at times to beat the heat and get some of their energy out.

9. Luke is super into writing and trying to spell these days. Here are some of the words he writes over and over again since he knows them. I am super proud of my buddy!

10. We are still battling Ben with naps. If he takes one, he is up till 10:00 at night. If he doesn't take one, I usually find him like this around 7:30 pm. So it is truly trying to pick between a rock and a hard place. Either get a break during the day as he naps for an hour and then be kicking myself that night or have to deal with getting through a loooooong day with no break but being super happy for the early bedtime.  Oh decisions!

11. Impromptu pizza nights are the best! Since most moms know I am a single mother on Monday and Thursday nights, if anyone is ever without their hubby, they know to call me and we call for pizza and enjoy some company! It makes the nights Chat is gone go by so much quicker!

12. This boy would rather be naked. Nuff said.

13. I am seeing using a bra as a sling shot in their future...

14. We love fun playdates with friends this summer, especially those we don't see often because of school conflicts. We headed to a train ride and feeding the ducks (which really means pigeons these days). 

 

Okay, hitting publish before I get distracted for the thirteenth time! 

(Our Little Swimmer}

We finally have a swimmer on our hands!! 

 

Luke started swim lessons when he turned two and took them for about a year before stopping last summer. He learned some things but to be honest I didn't feel like he was old enough to really grasp anything about true swimming. So as summer was approaching this year, I felt like it was time to try it again. I knew it would be hard at the pool with both boys if he didn't get some independence. In late March we signed up with some friends and he has made huge strides in the past four months or so. He can swim independently across the pool now! He still has trouble coming up for air while swimming though, so I try to get him to do shorter distances or he literally will be gasping for air when he finally gets to the wall. 

He has learned how to use his goggles as well and that has really helped. Luke loves to dive for things at the bottle of the pool too. He really has turned into a little fish! He does get tired eventually and then will put on his float if I ask him too. He can really wear himself out and that is when I don't think he is really strong enough to swim without me being right there to help. But he is happy to oblige once he gets some time do the fun stuff first!

I realize now between four and five years old is the best age in order to really learn strokes and how to swim. So I have decided to hold off on Ben this year and we might start him next year as he will be a bit closer to four years old.  He is just happy with his floats on and just kicks around the pool!

{Railroad Museum}

It is no secret that Luke is train-obsessed! It started when he was 18 months old and is still going very, very strong. So when I heard about the Rosenberg Museum just about 40 minutes away from us, we were game to go!  We went some friends of our's that also had two boys the same ages of Luke and Ben. 

The museum had a small indoor area that had old railroad and train items. They also showed a video of railroad safety that was a cartoon, so the boys sat for a few minutes and watched that. They did have pages for the boys to find six items in the museum and got stickers to place on their sheet when they found it. Luke was super into that and found all six! Ben just followed him around.

We then went out and got to see a few old train cars. This was an old caboose that showed where workers would sleep, eat, etc while on the road.

We also got to see the big machine that would tell trains when to go or stop or which railroad to take, etc. It was actually pretty neat and something Luke had never seen before.

Luke posing with an old railroad crossing sign...

This was an train car that was 135 years old.  It had two bedrooms, a kitchen, a sitting area and a dining area. Apparently a very wealthy family owned it and donated it once it retired back in the 50s.  Luke was saying "Choo Choo!!" in this picture...

 

This was the hallway in the fancy train car...

Of course Ben was interested in the food (that wasn't real).

The last part of the museum was this room that had a whole model train set up. This was truly a treat -- the boys loved it!

The museum was located right next to real train tracks. They built this deck that was high that this kids could go on when real trains went by. At first the boys freaked out about how loud it was when the trains went by and blew their whistles, but ended up loving it. What a great idea this museum had to do that!

We had a picnic lunch on some picnic tables right outside the train cars. The boys ate a little bit, then chased around a poor, lonely chicken and then we all got our picture taken for an article about the museum for the Fort Bend Newspaper.  Ha!

Here are a few more pictures of the museum and area. Overall a very small museum, but great for a bunch of small kids who love trains. 

Right across the street was an old fashioned soda shop. So after lunch, we decided to treat the boys to milkshakes!

The boys actually opted for a sprite/sherbet concoction that they loved!

 It was a great morning that wore the boys out! It is really fun now that the boys are at an age we can do more things like this. Both boys snoozed on the drive back to Houston and were roaring to go again by the afternoon!

{July}

Well it is almost the end of July and the summer is going by rather quickly!  This is the last week of camp for the boys, so I have a feeling August will go by much slower. Although the boys are getting older and it is getting easier to do things with them, the summer heat and the constant being without a place we have to be at (like camp, lessons, etc) can be hard. We tend to have good days or bad. I am usually either super-mom and have things planned and have enough energy to do it all or I am disappointing-mom with little patience and zero energy. I am going to try hard to be super-mom or at least good-mom this month of August as we work through 6 weeks of no school. I have lots on our to do list that I want us to do, so that will help!!

But enough of that...July has been fun!

I have bible study every Tuesday, and some days the boys and I stop by for a breakfast donut right across the street from our church. We also pick up some yummy donut holes for the nursery workers who take care of them while I am in my group too! These two love donuts -- Ben likes anything with icing (and just eats the icing part and then gives me the donut) and Luke loves cinnamon twists. 

That is a donut hole in Ben's mouth. He adds so much spice to our life!

The boys got me an ice cream maker a while back, but the best thing we have used it for is frozen slushies. We just put lemonade or juice in it and within about 10 minutes it is a slushie!  They are delicious especially in this horrible heat that we have. Both boys have learned how to climb up and sit on the counter. I find them on the counter all the time eating snacks or drinking their drink. They are super proud of themselves!!

The boys LOVE seeing their cousin Molly!  This was taken at her house. Someone always seems to be crying, but they always have a high old time. Jack is getting bigger and crawling around now, so it is one more kiddo to add to the mix. We love it!

For Luke's 4th birthday, my sister got him nerf guns. They were for much older kids, so after lots of frustration we put them away for a bit. Well the boys found them last week!  It is amazing how just a few months does so much because Luke can totally do it now by himself.  Ben needs a little help but not that much. So they have been playing like crazy with them!  This was Ben's "tough" face...

Every Saturday we ride our bikes up to Panera for breakfast. It is early enough that it isn't too hot. I really just love our time doing this -- it is our way to regroup and be together after a crazy, hectic week.  Luke loves riding his bike so much so this is an extra treat. Ben rides on the back of Chat's bike, but I am a little concerned. The seat belt barely snaps anymore because he is so tall and he is definitely not ready to ride his own bike, so I am not sure what we are going to do if he continues to shoot up. But for now he loves riding behind Chat!

Oh my little puppy dogs! Luke loves pretending to be "Clifford the Big Red Dog" (this deserves its own post itself!!) and he is always getting into the dog beds or laying under tables since they are his dog house.  These two sillies got in together last week and fit just perfectly.

This past Saturday we had a date night!  We went with our friends Katie and Bryan to Flemings for a fun night out.  I think it has been 5 weeks since our last date night, so it was overdue!  I have to take selfies of us out or I forget that we actually did it. The boys stayed at my parents. Luke was so excited about their 'slumber party' and asked over and over if we were going to leave. He couldn't wait for us to!  My how times have changed.  We reminisced how just a year or so ago we would practically have to sneak out of their house because they were so sad. Ha!  Ben still struggles going to bed at night so when I called to check on them around 10 pm, he was still up. So we went and got him and brought him home. He fell right to sleep once he was in bed!

Oh Ben...speaking of not sleeping well, it is no secret Ben struggles falling asleep at night. He is tired but has trouble recognizing he is tired. So we do a lot of in and out of his room, turn on the hall light, keep the door open, etc. Some nights are better than others. Well his new move to stay away is saying he needs to potty. He is not potty trained yet but he is showing so much interest. I am not in a hurry to do this, but when he asks, I try to encourage it. But it sure is a struggle when it is 10 pm and he is sitting there for 20 minutes doing NOTHING!  Silly boy...

I took Ben to the doctor this week because he has had a cough for weeks now. Turns out he has walking pneumonia so he is now on antibiotics and two inhalers.  I hope he kicks this once and for all!!!  My poor kiddo.

A few funny things I want to remember...

Chat was putting on his work shoes and using his shoe horn. Ben asked what it was and Chat said "its a shoe horn".  Ben goes "oh!" and immediately puts it up to his mouth and blows it like a horn. He was very confused it didn't make a sound!!

I asked the boys the other day what their favorite park was.  Luke said "goodnight park!" and Ben yells "sunset park!".  Luke then goes that is what I said!  I think he associated sunset with the night and that is why he called it goodnight park.  I love when things like this happen!

{Circus Bust}

The boys watched Dumbo when we were at the bay house over July 4th, so when they saw commercials for the circus they were into it!  So I (stupidly) decided to buy tickets for this past weekend...

Family selfie before the show!

It was an okay experience, but I think they were still a little young. They liked it when there was a lot going on or when there were animals performing, but a lot of the entertainment were tight-rope walkers and trapeze artists, etc. That just couldn't quite keep their attention. At one point, Luke got real still and almost looked like he was going to fall asleep during one of those performances. Truly the boys favorite part was the popcorn and sprite that we had to keep them in their seats. Ha!

And I just couldn't get behind seeing elephants and other animals in a setting like this. I know they are treated well, but it just didn't feel right.

So we actually left at intermission. I am glad we gave it a try, but not sure if it is our scene.  As soon as I think the boys are getting to a stage to do a bit more, I get a humbling experience that reminds me they are still two and four and that some things are still better if we give it time. We spent a lot of time making trips to the bathroom and encouraging them to sit still....pretty much impossible for these two!

{A Quiet House}

A quiet house means something is not right...

I am just wondering how much he would have painted had I not walked in when I did!