Here they come!

Bubble Poppers

2009-05-30T21:43:00.002-05:00

You can tell who knew the camera was on. Hamtastic!

Parking

2009-05-04T17:22:00.002-05:00

In a never-ending desperate attempt to play catchup, I present some park pictures, taken before the buds were on the trees. Above, Nolan is jailed.
Conrad is a ham.
The favorite unstable-hug pose (they inevitably start wrestling on the ground after this nice embrace)
Nolan has no fear.

Birthday continued

2009-05-03T16:55:00.002-05:00

Because the boys' party was the day before their *real* birthday, Nate took April 6 off and we headed to Nick Universe at the MOA. Above, the boys are sure they are really playing something in the arcade. They aren't.
Nate's scared of Swiper's Sweeper.

They purchased some fake teeth with their arcade tickets.
N & Mama
C-Monkey
Dr. No
It was a tough day, but not too tough to play in one bed until they couldn't play anymore. Note the palm from church.

The 4th Birthday

2009-04-12T09:41:00.008-05:00

Conrad and Nolan are *4*! After weeks of being "almost 4," they finally can tell everyone that they are really and truly 4 years old. And trust me, they tell everyone. The boys birthday party was the usual craziness- 30-some people sardined into our house, lots of gifts, and of course, Batman. The boys don't actually know much about Batman, except that he's cool and we do have the vintage "Scooby Doo meets Batman and Robin" episodes on DVD. But that's apparently enough to require Batman-everything in terms of party supplies. Overall, 4 was worth the wait.
*note- the tree pic above was taken just before everyone arrived at the party. Yes, that's exotic West St. Paul on April 5.
Nolan looking tough
Really tough
Conrad looking slightly less tough
Liz and Nolan were hanging in the hallway, because there is no room anywhere else.
Mmm...Bat-tastic!
Elena and Brook are enjoying lunch at the Wall-E table.
Conrad actually said to me the following day, happily, "Mama, we got so many new clothes!"
Nolan inspects a shield.
Solana and Ynez
Kyle and Mary
Jenna and Elena
Transformer!
Cupcake time
Try not to look so excited over Nolan's new Iron Man, Nate.
Finally, Darth "Mader"!
Conrad
N & C inspect the biggest hit of the day- the Batcave from Nana and Gumpa.

Shakopee

2009-03-22T19:49:00.003-05:00

A couple weeks ago we headed to Shakopee and spent a Saturday afternoon making the rounds and hanging with Great Grandpa. It wasn't really that long ago, but the pictures make it look like ages ago, with all the snow on the ground that has since melted. No matter, you'll enjoy the pictures anyway.
The bar has candy!
Watching for snowmobiles at the bar.
Chasing Great Grandpa

Hours of entertainment

2009-03-15T09:16:00.003-05:00

Occasionally, C & N will declare a holiday, frequently the birthday of one of their "friends." This was Baby's birthday. You can tell by the fact that 80% of their toys were in attendance, all gathered around Baby, who was looking quite content.

Can you see Baby? He's receiving a significant amount of attention.
Another morning, the boys played "Knight Hospital." It was quite the soap opera. The game consisted of duels followed by peaceful moments on makeshift stretchers.
Healing quite nicely, thank you.

Card talk

2009-03-13T11:51:00.005-05:00

I just found these pictures from Valentine's Day week and thought I'd post them a month later. The boys got a wide variety of valentines, but their very favorite was...Strawberry Shortcake. Not sure if it was the big red hair or the short-shorts, but the cards with Miss Shortcake on them were very in demand. At one point I had to remove both Strawberry Shortcake cards and keep them on my person until the fighting stopped. I also observed Conrad, in a calmer moment, set both cards on the floor, lay on his stomach, start his mp3 player and listen to 3 songs in a row, just staring at those two valentines. Hilarious.

A Valentine's lesson

2009-02-27T09:01:00.004-06:00

Nolan explains hearts in this informative video.

Translation:
Nolan: "A heart is in your bobby...in your body, and heart for love of family, and heart is for Valentine's."
Conrad: "No, I eating my sandwich."

Because I have so much extra time...

2009-02-25T12:21:00.000-06:00

I make jewelry. Most of you know this because I've already made you one. :) But someone was asking to see photos, so here are a couple of the necklace that I finally made for myself...

An ode to White Doggie

2009-02-23T12:10:00.001-06:00

Ages ago, someone went to Wendy's and got a kid's meal. I don't remember who it was or when it happened, and I don't think it was me and the boys, or we would have purchased two and made life significantly easier... but I'm getting ahead of myself. The Wendy's meal, on that fateful day, came with a toy, a tiny stuffed dog. The dog kicked around the house for a good 6-8 months, never receiving any attention, except when a patient was needed at the animal doctor. But one day, when the animal doctor set came out, Conrad spotted this miniscule canine and fell swiftly in love.
You may remember Puppy, aka Baby, the rag-with-head lovey. Well, when Conrad saw White Doggie, I mean really saw her, Baby was no longer in the picture.
At one point, White Doggie was missing. We had fashioned a leash for her out of pipecleaners, and Conrad was swinging White Doggie around the kitchen and she came undone and poof! White Doggie was gone. Nate and I turned the house upside down looking for her. Conrad wept, wailing, "White Doggie, where are youuuuuuu?" She was gone for a solid 10 days, finally reappearing (in the kitchen, on the baker's rack, where we had looked a number of times) on October 31, our very own Halloween miracle. White Doggie now gets lost several times a day, has a high-pitched voice, and is not even close to being white. Also, the paint on her eyes is long gone.
Auntie Amy was over once and gave White Doggie a good look. "You have got to take a picture of that thing! Look at it! Where are its eyes? It's filthy!" etc. Conrad snatched it out of her hand and declared defensively, "She cute."
One day we could not find White Doggie just before nap. During nap time, I found him hiding in the cab of an overturned dump truck. No injuries were reported.
Conrad, Nolan, and their favorite things

Shameless self-promotion, again

2009-02-23T11:59:00.004-06:00

So I wrote an article that was printed in the Pioneer Press this weekend. Not really a big deal to anyone but me (many of you do much cooler things on a daily basis). But you'd better click on it at least once from each of your computers, and then email it to everyone you know so they can do the same. Okay, maybe not, but I would appreciate the page views! :D

PiPress Link

I don't want to hear it.

2009-02-22T09:24:00.003-06:00

I know, I know. I have been MIA for so long, I almost feel that I should just shut 'er down. And then I realize that if I don't post photos, I will never do anything else with the photos, either.
SIGH. So here are a few, and there will be more. Maybe I'll even take Liz's tactic of blogging a bunch today and then meting them out one at a time. We'll see how it goes. For now, though, enjoy some shamefully old photos of the boys first bowling excursion. We've been back once since, with Jennifer and her boys, and discovered the miracle of The Ramp. But this first outing was marked mostly by the slowwwwwwwest rolls ever recorded. It was still fun.
Feeling the breeze

Elena and Con
Ynez and Noly
This is pretty much how the boys pose for pictures these days.

Christmas 2008

2009-01-10T08:41:00.006-06:00

Sorry about the delay in posting these Christmas pictures. We've been playing musical laptops lately and I still somehow can't access a chunk of pre-holidays photos, so these will have to do for now.
Christmas was wonderful. We had all sorts of visits with Santa before the the big day, and somehow I think they convinced him to get lip balm and lots and lots of cars. Christmas Eve was just about perfect- I took the boys to church alone, where we had to share a single chair but where the boys were uncharacteristically angelic through the whole one hour and fifteen minute service. The priest was holding a tiny, tiny newborn during his homily, and the woman in front of us was holding a baby as well, so the boys were very excited to see that "Baby Jesus" was able to make it (yes, somehow they saw each baby separately so apparently people were just passing a single, important infant around). We rounded the night off eating Little Caesars (I know, we're fancy like that) with Auntie Brooke and Auntie Amy, and followed it up by looking at lights.
Christmas morning was also wonderful, especially because the boys are not yet in the phase of tearing through their gifts. Instead, they would open each one and play with it and basically forget there were more. We kept having to remind them of the rest of the gifts. Later in the day we went to my parents' house and hung out with the rest of the family, which was hilarious as usual.
Before the preschool Christmas concert.
Con
C-Monkey again
Nolan concentrates on playing the jingle bells.
Warming up (and waiting for hot cocoa) after some hard shoveling outside.
Stealing all the heat from the register on a cold morning
Conrad was not thrilled about waking up on Christmas morning.
Before they see if Santa came (ignore the pile of dirty laundry behind them. Classy.)
Santa brought camping lanterns!
Inspecting the "Scooby-Doo Meets Batman" dvd with a magnifying glass- Nolan would hate to miss any details.
Nolan was happy to get a chunky c3po, but Conrad opened Chewbacca and yelled, "IT NOT DARTH MADER."
Nolan gets comfy with a new truck.
The Playmobil Nativity set Mamy gave us earlier that month has seen better times.
Looking sharp on Christmas night.

The boys got these sticker Nativities at school...this is Nolan's which is impressive in its perfection. He did not add the third king because "There no room."
And this is Conrad's, which is impressive in its...creativity. I'm not sure if my favorite part is the levitating Christ child or the prone shepherd.

What's Important

2008-12-31T09:09:00.001-06:00

I am slogging through Christmas-realted pictures to share, but I had to take a minute out to share some belated images with you. Just before Thanksgiving, the boys painted these turkeys and dictated to their preschool teachers their most treasured blessings.

Conrad: My Mom and Dad [whew], My food I will eat, Walking outdoors [okayyyy], For my Grandma and Grandpa, My cat.

Nolan: For Buzz Lightyear, For my Mom and Dad [whew again], For the food I will eat, For my toys, [and last but not least...so sweet...wait for it...] For my best friend Conrad.

Catchup

2008-12-14T22:24:00.004-06:00

It seems these boys are growing. How dare they? Taller and smarter and sassier every day- it’s just cruelty. I can’t possibly keep up with them, and with the impending holidays, and manage to blog consistently, though.

Nevertheless, a few things warrant mention:

Nolan was injured a few weeks back. During one of their famed “Daddy Adventure” days, Nate and James were half watching a Notre Dame game and half watching the kids (note well: this did not happen on my watch, though truthfully it could have). Apparently the four smaller boys decided that playing hockey with some sort of metal golf clubs was a worthwhile activity, and Conrad hit Nolan on the top of the head. There was much blood and five stitches in the emergency room.

“Jammie Races” are going strong every evening around seven. The boys race to put on their pajamas, and then whoever does not win has an absolute meltdown. They are learning valuable lessons, however, such as how not to be a sore loser, and that Mama and Daddy only know four or five phrases of the theme from “Rocky.”

Speaking of music the boys insist on listening to “King of the Road” at least a few times a day. They know most of the words and occasionally sing along. The song contains the line, “and every lock that ain’t locked when Nolan’s around” and during every careful listen, N & C are thrilled to hear Nolan’s name mentioned. I haven’t had the heart to tell them that the song actually says “no one’s,” but I’m sure they wouldn’t believe me even if I did. It’s now “Nolan’s song” around our house. Conrad has recently claimed some Pink song that is on the radio all the time as his song. He kept asking me for the “rock star song.” I didn’t know what he was talking about until it came on the radio and he sang along to the line “I am a rock star.” I guess I listen to top 40 more than I realize.

Holiday prep is underway, and we’ve visited Santa (twice!), listened to a lot of Christmas music, and decorated the tree. Nolan in particular enjoyed putting the ornaments on, and after each one he would place, he would run around the room and say, “It’s beautiful! It’s beautiful!” Unfortunately, that whole “Santa is watching” thing is not really working in the discipline department.

Enjoy the pics...

C-Monkey on Turkey Day
The boys are wearing their super-convincing headdresses and beads they made for the Feast at preschool.
Con shows off.
Nolan plays monkeys.
The boys are hypnotized by Bob Ross.

Playing in the snow, in the dark

Holy Crap!

2008-12-02T17:31:00.000-06:00

The boys got a present from Ryan, Kim, and Declan today. No, you're not mistaken, that is Kota the dinosaur. Nate and I are off to burn all of Conrad and Nolan's other toys, because they certainly won't need them. The giant prehistoric creature has eclipsed it all. Thank you thank you thank you, friends! And rawr to Declan.

I'm guessing it's genetic...

2008-11-21T17:25:00.004-06:00

An uninvited guest has arrived, and I'm sure it's here to stay. It's called Star Wars Obsession, and everyone in the house is afflicted, with the exception of yours truly.
Conrad and Nolan have not seen any Star Wars movies. They've known for a while who Darth Vader is (Darth Mader, though...brother to Tow Mater I think), and they have Darth and "Oda" Pez dispensers. We also tried to see the Star Wars exhibit at SMM but they were royally freaked out.
Not long ago, Mamy was looking up youtube videos for them to watch, though, and there was one of Star Wars costumed characters dancing. Since then, it's been allll about the Star Wars. Mames thought she was pretty clever by replacing our normal living room art with Star Wars posters a week ago, and they haven't moved because they actually provide a lot of entertainment for the boys (this is not to say they will not move. They will move, Nate). Nate busted out a bunch of his toys, like the giant horse-lookin' thingey (apparently it's an "At-At" and yes, I'm likely spelling that wrong) and a bunch of spaceships that aren't called spaceships. It's probably a kizillion dollars worth of toys that until now I didn't think were worth taking up attic space. Now it seems I'll never have to play with the boys again because they are making up dramatic stories and "puppet" shows involving "storm people" and "d2d2" and "ppo."
Nolan also insists on asking everyone questions about his "best friend, Darth Mader." Target, IHOP, the drive thru at Caribou...it's getting a little excessive. It goes something like this:
"I NAME NOLAN, YOU KNOW DARTH MADER?"

This is a bank, where the "bobots" talk when you make a donation. Try not to notice how trashed the living room is back there. I've got two three-year-olds, you know.
Matching up some favorite characters. (C)
Notice the pictures still have packaging on them, which means they are not staying there.

All Hallowed Out

2008-11-01T20:10:00.009-05:00

It was a blast having C&N really into Halloween this year, but I am just a tiny bit happy to have the holiday over (isn't Mama such a buzzkill?). The celebration really got going last Saturday, when we attended an intense celebration at the Hewitt's involving themed foods, a bouncy house, and a "mummy run." Liz outdid herself, and we have one of the printed party schedules (really!) to prove it. By Thursday the boys were more than ready for their preschool class party, of which I somehow found myself in charge. All of my team's careful planning was for naught, since 15 three-year-olds in costume and all hopped up on ghost-shaped marshmallows aren't much interested in structure, even structured fun. Exhausted, we went on to our next stop, my former corporate stomping grounds, where the boys charmed everyone and went cube to cube in search of candy. As usual, the women of the title department were particularly generous. After spending a couple of hours bringing chaos to the halls of downtown Mpls, we were fully ready for the real deal. The weather was beautiful, the treats numerous, and the boys never even paused long enough to have a meltdown. And just in case we hadn't had enough fun we went to another party today, hosted by the boys' friend Ava. It was another afternoon of good food and lots of friends and great conversation and hot coffee (I have no idea what the boys were doing this whole time, but Nate and I enjoyed ourselves!).
After all of this, I had one more place to be this afternoon. One of Mary's fourth grade students last year, Jesse, ended his school year in the hospital, with what has since been diagnosed as encephalitis. He returned to his family's home just this past week, despite the fact that he has problems moving, is in a wheelchair, and cannot speak at all. There was a benefit for him today, and Donna and I went, along with Mary and her boys, and the rest of the free world. The place was packed, and the room was filled with so many families and literally hundreds of silent auction items (Donna and I put together a particularly great basket that Brooke helped out with- thank you Brooke!). I scored some Wild tix and a couple of gift certificates, so that was fun. But mostly I am left with a mix of sadness and gratitude. Jesse literally went from being a normal kid, great student and athelete to being trapped and unable to communicate. It broke my heart to see Kyle approaching this boy who had been a good friend and teammate before his illness, though Kyle and his buddies quickly found that making a few faces and dancing around a bit got a big smile and laugh from Jesse. Jesse didn't show a lot of interest in the adults around him, but he seemed just electrified by the other kids present. I don't know this child at all, but I am moved by his story. It made me so happy to witness so much generosity for this kid. And I am so grateful for my own kids and their incredible energy and life and joy, even (maybe especially!) their sassy words and ability to bring me to the very edge and then jump on my last nerve. Jesse's family calls his progression "Jesse's Journey" because they know their child is on his way back to them, however long it may take. And it's a time for me to be a little more aware of what we have, right this second.
Post-pumpkin-picking
A snapshot of the preschool party. Some identities disguised to protect the not-so-innocent.

Waiting for tricks & treats, late Halloween afternoon.
Nolan and Ynez (Donna made this costume in a day, and yes, that's Ynez's real hair!)

Larry & Rhonda's house was one of our stops, where the boys did some mag-lite fire inspection.
Our goddaughter Elena, a.k.a. Rapunzel (and yes, except for the lavender parts, that's her real hair!)

Fairy Princess Solana

C is still in good spirits after a longgggg evening.

No has no lack of energy at 9 pm, a full two hours past bed time.

The boys and four of their favorite girls!

ChChChanges

2008-10-31T00:02:00.002-05:00

'member ages ago when I happened upon this climber for free on a boulevard? That was a good day, but not as good as the recent day when Uncle Dave, Neal, and Kyle dragged over their old swingset and installed it in our backyard. The boys are beyond thrilled with having their own swings and "tree house" right outside. We spent our summer going to at least one and often several playgrounds per day. Instead of begging to go to the park, they beg to go to the backyard. Which is fine, but there are no coffee drive-thrus on the way to the backyard. I have to do something about that.
Above, C. & N. show how they are just way too cool and mature for this little-kid toy, on the day it went to another home.
Tree house/pirate ship/spy hideout/...
Dr. No demonstrates the slide (and look carefully! Mama's in a photo!).

Variety Show

2008-10-26T21:42:00.002-05:00

You'll notice the lack of multi-colored leaves in some of these photos, indicating that they are not exactly recent (it snowed here today, for crying in the sink). Nevertheless, these photos needed to be shared. Above, we have the boys acting like groupies at the Target Book Festival a while back, trying to get close to a 'yardigan.
Conrad acts like a turtle at the Children's Museum. Well, a turtle with big teeth and claws.
Out on one of our many "nature walks" which are so lovely in the woods of a local park, interrupted only by the sound of the freeway just on the other side of the trees (which demonstrates as close as Mama wants to get to actual nature.)
Funny close up, taken at the Children's Theater, where we went for the first time, to see Madeline. You can see part of an Eiffel Tower outline behind Con. They did so well, though they were alternately thrilled and terrified by live theater.
I'm pretty sure this monkey (at the Book Festival) is trying to abduct my children.
PANDA!

Because it's...Wednesday.

2008-10-15T11:55:00.002-05:00

C & N were watching a kid video this morning and it turned into quite the interpretive dance party. Nolan is wearing red socks, Conrad, blue, and both are sporting Ben Sherman shirts from Mamy. Enjoy.

SCHOOL!

2008-09-30T10:56:00.003-05:00

In a ridiculous attempt to appear vaguely efficient, I thought I’d squeeze the “back to school” post in just before the end of September.

Nolan and Conrad aren’t exactly back to school, as they haven’t attended before, so we’ll call it “to school.” Actually, “to preschool.”

Yes, now, twice a week, C & N rush from the house (really, considering their usual dawdling, the determination is striking) to get to preschool. Everything about preschool is great, but when you ask them why they want to go, they will scream “TOYS!” at the top of their lungs. Toys, friends, snacks, art, teachers, and the playground are all draws, though. It also helps that the attached elementary school has a particularly fabulous teacher (Auntie Mary!) and a few important students (Cousins!), not to mention illustrious alums (you know who you are!). It’s all very exciting, and that’s not even taking into account my excitement at having a few hours each week to mow the lawn uninterrupted and walk silently through the grocery store.

As far as the boys are concerned, preschool is divine, and this week we’ll find out at the official conferences what the preschool thinks of them. At press time, we’ve received only two brief sentences of feedback as I picked them up: The first day, a teacher described them as “hilarious,” and at another time informed me that “it was a wrestling day.” Uh-oh.

Beyond the excitement of preschool is the other destination every week- speech class. Speech class has different friends and different toys and different teachers and different snacks than preschool, but what sets speech class apart from anywhere else is the school bus. A short (in Conrad’s words, “a tiny, tiny”) yellow bus fetches the boys once a week and drives them a whopping six minutes away to speech class, and drops them back home when class is over. As far as the boys are concerned, it’s a transportation dream come true!

I wanted to be sure to share a few funny things the boys have said lately- when we can understand them, they are undeniably clever and hilarious. For instance, they talk about their friends at school, but refer to them only by the color of their shirts, which isn’t particularly consistent. But Nolan still grabbed the toy phone the other day and declared, “Hi, blue shirt friend!”

When we were in the car the other day, I said, “Oh, guys, I love you two!” to which Conrad replied, “Mama, I love you one!”

And yesterday the boys were sitting in the glider together, covered in toys, just talking and listening to the Cars soundtrack on their little MP3 player, aka “the microphone.” The slow song that plays during the somber part of the film, when the characters are mourning changes to their town, began playing. Conrad and Nolan quieted down and looked serious for a few moments, and Nolan explained, “Mama, the cars in the microphone are sad.”

First day of preschool!
Hanging out after a long morning of fun at preschool
Showing muscles while waiting for the bus.
C-Monkey, looking mature.
Nolan is hamtastic.

Is it here yet?
Getting off the bus, wearing handcrafted, fashionable and delicious fruit loop necklaces.
Their first preschool art projects. We LOVE these, especially the googly factor on Conrad's owl.

Mississippi evening

2008-09-11T13:32:00.004-05:00

Over Labor Day weekend Nate, the boys, and I found ourselves with nothing to do and a picnic dinner. We thought we'd try my favorite park, Harriet Island, despite the fact that the city was quickly being taken over by RNC activities. Happily, we had the park nearly to ourselves, save for the many people setting up for the next day's events. Scootering, kite-flying, and playground hijinx ensued.
I love autumn, and the structure that fills our days now... but those last evenings of summer are always extraordinarily bittersweet. This one was no exception.
Nolan, looking a mess. Note the chocolate lips and the forehead bruise.
The boys showing off their tattoos.
Muscles!
The boys went out with Nate one afternoon and came back to show me their tattoos. They exclaimed, "Look what we got at the beer store!" Umm...super.

Scootin' at the river
As a nod to the craziness that the RNC brought to our area, I thought I'd tack this pic on. After all, no family picnic is complete without snipers!

Remember when it was summer?

2008-09-10T20:49:00.005-05:00

It wasn't so long ago. But these pictures, taken just a week or two ago, seem ancient. Before Labor Day, the boys and I snuck out in the middle of the week to spend a couple of glorious days at the cabin. We had all sorts of wonderful adventures swimming in the pool and then the lake and then the pool, helping Gumpa with all sorts of hard labor, getting the pontoon stuck in the dam, hanging at the barber shop, and more.
Nolan even got his first bee sting. We used something called After Bite on the sting, and he only cried for a few seconds before he started begging for a band aid. We subsequently bought a tube of After Bite for our house. Nolan looked at it and pointed along the words, "reading" them.
"Mama, it called 'After Bite Nolan Use This.'" So smart.
Happy to be dragging brush to the fire pit!

There are so many of these Gumpa-and-grandkid-driving pontoon pics, but I always want more.

I waited on the deck for 20 minutes for these pictures. Not sure if it was worth it, but then again, the cabin is the only place I can sit and stare into the trees for 20 minutes, so who cares?

A Fair of State

2008-09-03T08:32:00.005-05:00

We loved the MN State Fair this year! The boys were troopers- we didn't bring a stroller, and they didn't even start doing the "leg collapse" until about 5 hours in (what is that move, anyway? If I had a dollar for every store floor they insisted on dragging across...). So it was lots of food, rides, perfect weather. A lovely end to summer, as usual.
This was our first ride last year, too.

We found another set of twins!

How we roll...to SD (warning: photo overload approaching)

2008-08-11T20:01:00.017-05:00

Approximately 20 hours in the car were spent reading, playing with cars, singing, eating, and hitting each other (the boys, not Nate and I).

The boys cool off in the shade at Stav Kirk, a big wooden chapel-thingey in Grandma & Grandpa's neighborhood.
Aww.
Storybook Island!

Had to include this photo, which in case you can't tell is Nate on the left (also taking the photo) and Chris ("Riss") on the right.

Pic-a-nic basket
Lunch includes a ham, apparently.

Getting into the spirit at Firehouse (C)
Dr. No

Dinosaur ParkYes, that's the whole family. Too bad we have to tickle our kids to get them to stand near us.

Every morning, the boys enjoyed the dozens (literally) of turkeys that gathered in Grandma & Grandpa's back yard.
Nolan rides a pony named Chief.
Yee-haw!
Conrad and Little Jake got along famously.
The farm had a train pulled by a John Deere.

Umm...this is my family.
Noly finds out what tiny turkeys feel like.
C-Monkey feeds a baby goat.
The prairie dogs play a game.
Approaching Mount Rushmore, which the boys kept calling "Mount Fillmore," which I'm sure has something to do with Fillmore, the van character from Cars.
The whole family again? Who's editing these things?

George looks kinda ominous from here.
The donkeys turned out to be nearly the only wildlife on the Custer State Park Wildlife Loop.
Good thing they put on an impressive show (yes, that's a donkey's head in our car, and I'm not talking about Nate, either! har har har).

Hiking in the Needles
A good old-fashioned Sturgis-week Needles-tunnel traffic jam!

A Wall Drug photo op apparently confuses Conrad.

Nice Sturgis shirts, boys (and thanks, Grandma!)!

This moved AND played the theme from Bonanza!
Badlands
The coolest people we know.
When I showed these pictures to Conrad, he asked, "Mama, I in a cage?" Like I said, coolest people we know.

Milestone summer

2008-07-25T22:02:00.004-05:00

This summer has been full of so much activity, and most of that is because as the boys grow, so does their energy. I am amazed what they can do in a morning (think swimming, running, playing, eating) and then, instead of a nap, they do it all over in the afternoon. Personally, I am exhausted.
A couple of particularly fun things happened recently, like the boys' first pony ride (sadly, Nate had the camera in Colorado at the time so there is no photographic evidence- you'll have to take my word for it), during which Conrad kept saying, "I doing so good, Mama." I took the boys shopping for their very first "school bag" that they needed for speech therapy class this summer, and they chose identical "choo-choo" backpacks. I dropped them off at their first class- the first time I have ever really left them anywhere save for with friends and family, and choked back tears for most of the two hours they were at class. When I went to pick them up, they were happy but quickly became upset when they saw that some of the other kids got to ride a schoolbus home. Nolan was especially upset, and as I buckled him in, I told them, "I missed you so much, boys!" To which Nolan replied, "I never miss you, Mama. I never love you."
Allrighty then.
Another major development this summer is the switch to "big boy beds." On a particularly crazy evening, Chris and Nate dissassembled the recently-recalled cribs and put together the new beds, while Matt and Meagan and Amy Irene and I attempted to corral the boys' obvious excitement and general spazziness over the whole happening. Nolan frequently declares out of nowhere that "I love my new bed," so I guess the transition is complete.

Leaving the house for the boys' first speech class, aka The Morning Nolan Never Loved Mama.

Nolan demonstrates how tiny he is in relation to his new bed.
Conrad looks comfy.
Don't worry, these bed are bobot-approved...
not to mention Baby-approved.

Not listening

2008-07-08T23:16:00.003-05:00

I have a few items to post from recent days, but I just found this photo and thought I'd tack it up to appease C & N's anxious fans...
The fourth of July was crazy, mainly because we went to the cabin and foolishly- really, Nate and I did not think this one through- decided it would be a great time to introduce the boys to sleeping in a tent (okay, it was my first time, too). Yeah, that's a freaking great idea- put nothing but a thin layer of nylon between us and hours of fireworks spectaculars, led by neighbors two houses down on each side of us. The sound was compounded by the fact that every other house around the entire lake was having their own show, and piercing pops travel across water quite well.
There were a few loud blasts during the day, so by dinner time the boys were demanding to go home. Thanks to Gumpa's lawn-mowing earmuffs (he just happened to have two pair, one in each of the boys signature colors), we survived. C&N wore those things all evening and most of the night, and even managed to sleep with them on. To add to the fun, Nolan had a random fever. Neither boy actually saw a firework in any exploding form, but we survived the tent sleep, and may even attempt it on a quieter night sometime.
The pic above was taken just after the earmuffs were discovered, and just before the camera battery died. Nolan is on the left, Conrad on the right.

At the lake* (*lake not included)

2008-06-24T16:25:00.008-05:00

With Dahdah pretty consistently either on-call (aka working all hours of the day and night) or out of town for the past month, the boys and I have been lucky enough to enjoy the incredible weather. We spent the majority of this last weekend at the cabin, which would have been more pleasant if the lake that we count on playing a large part in our fun wasn't so...well...not fun. We don't know if it's all the rain or what, but the beach pretty much looks like a 70s rec room with green shag carpeting, and smells even worse. Hopefully, all it will take is a bit of correctly-directed wind to make things more clear and usable, but all we've had is sun, sun, sun. Too bad, isn't it?

The next best thing on a hot day- instead of a huge lake at our disposal, we have the world's tiniest pool, filled with the world's coldest well water.
All five kids crammed in...

Elena and Solana and the boys tough it out in the icy waters.
Elena is always posing; my boys...not so much.

Getting warm on the porch

Watching the old-school FP "tv."

The boys are obsessed with travel on "zoom planes," which is what they are playing right now (the fact they've never been on an airplane may account for some of the less-authentic poses).In a weak Target moment, Mamy and I bought the boys these super cute fuzzy Wall-e suitcases from the clearance rack. They have super cute sleeping bags and pillows, and provided LOTS of travel dramatizations. ("I going to zoom-port now, Mama). (Also worth noting is the fact that the movie these products advertise is not out yet. Yes, Wall-e merchandise had already hit clearance racks nearly a full week before the film's release. Not that there won't be much, much more to come at full price, of course.)
They tucked Baby, their soft Bobots, and jammies in their suitcases for the long and grueling overnight cabin trip.
Snuggling up for the night on a pull-out twin.

Space cases

2008-06-19T20:59:00.003-05:00

Yup, still potty training, but shockingly the accident-free days seem to be outnumbering the alternative, so all is generally well.
Last night, though, we took a break at Mamy's pool. Well, we were ready for the pool, but the pool wasn't quite ready for us. The evening was beautiful anyway, and luckily Mamy was ready with "space guns" and new goggles, too, so the boys had a great time.
Between the goggles, guns, and the floaty swimsuits, they do look like they could be from another planet...
Dr. No's action pose
Zapping the enemy

C
N

DahDah's Day

2008-06-15T21:00:00.004-05:00

The night before Father's Day, I took the boys to the Dollar Tree (yeah, I'm a big spender). I told them repeatedly this was a top-secret mission and they would need to each pick out one present that DahDah would like. In the car, I thought it would be helpful to review what kinds of things DahDah enjoys.
Nolan: Food!
Conrad: Bobots!
And really, that does cover it, but eventually they added "tools" and "toys" to the list. Again, quite accurate.
At the store, the plan quickly changed to fine-pick-out-something-for-yourself -in-addition-to-something-for-your-dad. So Nolan picked bubbles (himself) and a screwdriver (Nate) and Conrad picked bubbles (himself) and a tape measure (Nate).
When we arrived home, we piled Nate's gifts into a bag (we had previously selected a shirt- I'm not that bad) and Nolan was holding onto his bubbles. He carefully set them into the bag.
"Honey, those are for you!"
"I give my bubbles to DahDah."
Oh Lord, that was soooo sweet. Conrad begrudgingly did the same. When we finished our top-secret mission, of course, they went out and told Nate all about the "surprise bubbles." Thankfully, Nate couldn't understand what the hey they were saying.
This morning they dragged out the bag and Nolan leaned in to Nate, and said quietly but clearly, "tape measure." You'll notice he didn't spill the beans on the gift he chose.

In other news, we went out to eat as a family on Friday night (!). We ate noodles and rolls and tempura at Fuji-Ya, and stopped in at Candyland (shockingly, not my idea) on the way back to the car. At DahDah's suggestion, the boys each insisted on getting one of those perfect round, flat, rainbow-painted suckers that look just like candy you'd see on tv. When they made their selection, they marched around the store, blessing all the other customers with their sugar sceptres, chanting loudly, "Can-dy. Can-dy." And this was before the sugar was actually consumed.

Happy Father's Day to all those dads out there.

Excuse

2008-06-13T19:54:00.002-05:00

If you are annoyed that I haven't posted in a while, just think about how annoyed I am. I have spent the week potty-training two three-year-old boys. Vague successes have been achieved, but that's all I'm saying. You can't trick me into jinxing myself on this one...
More soon.

Nothin' doin'

2008-06-03T20:02:00.004-05:00

Our life certainly isn't exciting, but it's active. Well, the boys are active and I make an earnest attempt at keeping up. Since the last post, Conrad and Nolan have spent time with Grandma (MeeMah) and Grandpa (PeePah), got caught in an impressive storm ($2873 worth of hail damage to the minivan), been to a few thousand parks, had a couple hundred time outs, found a new favorite adult in their cousins' Abuela, and have passed most of the rest of the time wrestling like the wild animals they can be.
Of note, getting caught in the storm at the cabin has had a lasting effect on Nolan. Every cloudy day since he asks repeatedly when the storm is coming, and a few drops of rain sends him running. Hopefully this will be a brief stage, because the way the weather is going lately, he's going to spend a lot of time scared.
The boys have a spectacular sense of humor. Their favorite joke these days is to insist that "I Mama, you Conrad" and then laugh and laugh. They come up with clever things sometimes. The other day we got to Nana's house before she was home, and I told the boys we must have won a race to her house. When Nana walked in the door Conrad declared "Nana, I beat you to the door!" Nolan is into walking backwards, even when we are just walking down the sidewalk, so I will be holding Conrad's hand with one hand, holding Nolan's hand with the other, only one of us will be facing backwards. Add in Conrad's "HI PEOPLE!" and/or "HI GUY!" greeting to every stranger we pass and we get some weird looks. Speaking of weird looks, check out the pics.
Cute choo-choo boys (N-R, C-L)
Nolan is yelling something in my face while I take a picture.

Con man

Driving
Hammy
Nolan in action
At. ti. tude. (C-R, N-L)

Planes, trains, automobiles, slides, wagons, spaceships...

2008-05-20T21:11:00.002-05:00

Conrad and Nolan are loving transportation these days. In addition to the ongoing Cars obsession, there is the fact that Da-da has been on another trip, prompting Conrad to drag a huge Lego airplane around the house.
"Mama, I'm working. I building Dada a zoomplane."
Long pause.
"Mama, work's too hard."
That's right, sweetie, that's why I'm at home with you right now, sipping coffee and only considering doing laundry, not actually doing it.
So yes, racecars, rockets, trains, police cars, fire trucks, scooters...etc etc etc.
Nolan is just fixated on Dada's absence. I made the mistake of telling him at bedtime last night that Dada would be home "tomorrow." After a long 30 minutes of crazed crying for Dada, I went in to see what the issue was.
"Banana bar milk!" Nolan was demanding breakfast in the same way he does every morning.
"Noly, it's nighttime, you haven't even slept yet!"
"No, Mama, it's morningtime, please!"
It was soooo sad and after my particularly discouraging day, I was ready to whine for Dada, too.

Nevertheless, we've had an adventurous last week or so...as you'll notice.Conrad practices being a firefighter at the WSP Municipal Center Open House. Apparently south metro firefighters do a lot of bouncy-house rescues.
That's Noly.
Our boys were the smallest to insist on going on this slide, and watching them climb the "ladder" I wasn't sure they'd make it. They did. Three times.
C drives a "bobby."
...and a cop car.

2008-05-20T21:10:00.001-05:00

Nolan actually managed to put the blinker on at this point.
Conrad, this time in a lawn mower

The boys at the MOA in front of some car.
Waiting for food in the train car at Chris & Rob's in St. Paul.

2008-05-20T21:09:00.002-05:00

The food was kinda yucky, but who cares when you are eating in a train car?
Eating an ice cream cone while waiting for the stellar West St. Paul Days Parade.
The boys haven't eaten ice cream cones before- you can see how C-Monkey started to eat his- from the side of the cone.

Aside from a wagon-full of candy (not exaggerating, actually), a beach ball, can cozies, gift cards, bubbles, and fine jewelry, the boys managed to score carrots at the parade.

2008-05-20T20:54:00.007-05:00

And what's WSP Days without a few carnival rides?

The height of this I'm-sure-frequently-inspected-and-extremely-safe spaceship ride made me a wee bit nervous, but it was the highlight of the weekend.

And Mamy bought a bag of cotton candy, aka "cloud," and while Dr. No ate a few bites, you can see what Con thought of it.

Pajama time!

2008-05-15T20:19:00.004-05:00

These first pics are from the other morning- and yes, it's sadly and completely appropriate to be wearing fleece jammies in the middle of May in Minnesota. Dr. No's on the left, C-Monkey on the right.

Super-awesome clearance "racecar" pj pics from this evening...

2008-05-15T20:15:00.001-05:00

I like to yell in my brother's face!

Validation

2008-05-11T10:09:00.000-05:00

The monkeys got some pics taken at Sears recently. There are a few cute ones - they'll be showing up in some mailboxes soon - but overall I was just glad to see that it is nearly impossible even for a professional to get C & N looking at the camera at the same time, without spontaneous underbites or the fake-smile-squint. This is about as good as it got. No matter, they are still the funnest (I would say "most fun" but "funnest" seems to fit better) kidlets evah.
Happy Mother's Day to all the awesome mamas out there!

NTR (not twin-related)

2008-05-09T15:36:00.004-05:00

So I'm no hot shot like JD, who was on CSI last night (shout out to the Walshes! Holla!), but on occasion, I'm a tiny, tiny bit cool. And by a tiny bit I mean really hardly at all. But I'll still go ahead and share my recent minuscule episode of coolness: you can currently hear me singing on a Baby Einstein website, where I sing a little song at the beginning of a preview of a new video they are coming out with called "Einstein Pals."
Okay, so I didn't mention that this only makes me cool to toddlers. But cool to toddlers is still cool, right? (Actually, don't answer that. I have a lot riding on my current assumption.)
The video pops up when you go to this website. That's me singing the 30-second song at the beginning...

Comfy

2008-05-08T22:49:00.000-05:00

A recent conversation with Liz (yes, that Liz, and apparently she and I can speak again without detriment to my children, thank goodness) inspired this post. As you have all witnessed in the past, sleeping can be adorable here at the Miller house, mainly when the boys insist on sharing the same crib. However, there have been slight adjustments to the boys' sleep. For instance, now that it's nicer out and lighter later, N & C tend to stay up much later, like, until 7:30! Of course, since they go to bed so "late," they also wake up a bit earlier (what is that, anyway?), around 6:30. Yeah, let me just apologize up front to those of you who don't think 7:30 pm is late, nor 6:30 am early. Sorry about that. Also, every morning begins with a forceful and repetitive knock on the boys' door, which is how Nolan alerts us to his awake state. When we open the door (they can't open it, is that mean?) he always reminds us, "I knock on door!" Because we need reminding, apparently.

Back to the night-time. Before I go to bed every night, I pop into the boys' room, just to make sure they are breathing (paranoid, much?)and nothing is amiss. Every night recently I encounter this in Nolan's bed:

That's Nolan, puppy to the left, "bobot" under the elbow, and...is that fireman?
And then I reach Conrad's crib, where I find something like this:

That's it. The first couple of times it was startling.
Until I get down on the floor, pull up the ("bobot") dustruffle, and find this:

That's garbage truck, Conrad and an orange car, pillow, and "bobot," all under the bed.
I've been taking him and dragging him up and resettling him ON his bed, but that doesn't always work. The other morning, I went to get Nolan after his daily "knock on door," and Conrad was still asleep. So I go in, greet Nolan, and open a shade. Nolan looked over at his brother's bed, and asked, panicked, "WHERE CON GO?" The concern was real, and adorable. I just took these pictures tonight, and I just left Conrad where he was. He looked too comfortable.

Slice of spring

2008-04-29T16:51:00.001-05:00

Nolan tries out his new scooter and protective gear, which I am considering making them wear 24/7.

I love how Nana's yard looks, scattered with every toy they could drag out.

This was the same skateboard I used to sit on to ride down the driveway when I was a kid.

Conrad looks awfully cool.

Three down...

2008-04-24T13:18:00.003-05:00

It's been a crazy couple weeks, so I'm just posting extensive pics of the boys' birthday now. We started prepping the boys a couple days beforehand, attempting to teach them to answer "three" to the inevitable age question. We also went to the party store, where both C & N perused the "boy aisle" and, despite vague interest in all things Bob the Builder, Firemen, "'Yardigans," and Spiderman (how do they even know who Spiderman is?), and despite the fact that Nate and I suggested more than once that they each choose their own theme, they both insisted on Cars, aka "racecars."
So 32 (!) people gathered in our - ahem - cozy house for sandwiches and salad and cupcakes and presents, and, of course, lots of Cars paraphernalia. The boys were truly excited about their gifts, and we were so happy to have a nice afternoon of celebrating with family and friends. Thanks, everyone!

2008-04-24T13:16:00.002-05:00

Wow, Conrad's smile is so genuine.
I LOVE this pic of Kyle and C-Monkey!
Laila guides the boys in the ceremonial unwrapping of the first gifts (from Hewitts), Lightning McQueen and Red, to which all subsequent gifts will be compared.
C.
Colorforms from Mamy!

2008-04-24T13:08:00.002-05:00

Noly looks like he's actually reading. I mean, um, he's definitely actually reading. By himself. I swear.
Teamwork
Cupcake attack
Wendy sent birthday cards in what are certainly the coolest envelopes ever made.

2008-04-24T13:07:00.002-05:00

So- So and Ynez
Elena tests- with style- one of the new scooters.
Marie and Solana are content enough with the boys' "old" scooters.
Conrad looks happy...and exhausted.
Obviously, the boys consulted with the Katos before choosing their outfits for the day.

Diversion

2008-04-21T08:18:00.001-05:00

We interrupt this blog to post a picture of a scene in our new favorite place, Puerto Vallarta. We had a wonderful time there last week while the boys had their own vacay with Grandma and Grandpa. I'm happy to be back to the boys, though, and happy that the sun is finally shining here at home, too...

C on Drums, N on Guitar & Vocals

2008-04-11T19:50:00.001-05:00

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Three!

2008-04-06T18:40:00.001-05:00

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Happy 3rd Birthday

2008-04-06T18:38:00.001-05:00

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

A couple quick stories

2008-04-05T21:22:00.002-05:00

The last week or so has been a bit too eventful, and I'd like to relay the happenings now. Call me a bit superstitious but I'd rather share these things on the eve of their birthday, rather than on the day that begins their fourth year.
A week ago Friday, Conrad was having a health issue with a semi-dramatic symptom. I won't go into it- trust me, it's for your own protection. I called the doctor and he gave me the happy news that I had to pick up a stool sample kit asap, and, presumably, actually use it. Being the frustrated mom I am, I hung up and called Liz because she knows about these things. As I'm on the phone with her, I notice both boys sitting on the floor, chewing on something.
"Conrad, what's in your mouth?" He reveals a dime. I turn to Nolan. There's nothing in his mouth.
"Mama, I eat monies."
"YOU EAT MONIES?" I didn't have time to conjugate correctly.
"YEAH!"
I hear a sharp intake of breath and a "Bye" from Liz, who knows better than to ask what's going on.
I try to clarify. "What was in your mouth?"
"Quarter, Mama!"
"Where is the quarter now?"
"It go down down down my belly."
So I call the doctor again. It's been about 10 minutes since I talked to him last. He didn't say so, but I'm pretty sure he was thinking my life is kind of ridiculous.
The stool sample showed a nasty bacteria had temporarily taken Conrad's digestive system hostage. And the xray showed that Nolan was lying, which I was fine with.

Two days later, I am on the phone with Liz again, when Nolan runs himself into the front of the couch, almost completely biting through his bottom lip. Once again, Liz hears just the basics, including me saying, "Whoa, you're really bleeding" and hangs up. Urgent care was not very urgent but caring enough, and assured us that No didn't need stitches as the inside of the mouth heals so fast. Again, I was fine with this conclusion.

The problem, then, seems to be with talking to Liz. Which really is a problem, since in the near future I am traveling with her, Scott, and Nate, and not with the boys. So, I'll print the doctor's number big and bold for Grandma and Grandpa when we leave the country. And I'll try not to talk to Liz.

Easter

2008-04-03T20:51:00.004-05:00

Easter was really nice this year, if a bit snowy and cold. The boys were little angels in church, where Conrad literally folded his hands, put them under his chin, and looked up to the ceiling about 90% of the time. There was an egg hunt at our house, but once the boys found their baskets of goodies, the boys practically had to be bribed to try to find eggs. We spent a good part of the day at Nana & Gumpa's, doing the Easter traditions there. Sorry, no pics this year of the happy duck-shaped pinata and its subsequent beating. But trust me when I say the boys thoroughly enjoyed their turns at the bat, not to mention the dive for candy.

Nolan is happy to hop around with these bunny ears on (Thanks, Grandma & Grandpa!)Really happy.

2008-04-03T20:49:00.003-05:00

Chewin' on candy from the bunny that Conrad did not want to stop stalking through the store.
Bunny
Elena comes face to face with the cutest baby cow ever.
Quacking at the ducks.
Stalking the bunny again.

2008-04-03T20:46:00.003-05:00

Waiting for the doctor, as no holiday weekend is complete without at least one doctor visit.

Bobot coming out to search for eggs.
Con emerges. Notice Bobot hasn't given up his character just yet...

2008-04-03T20:42:00.003-05:00

The chase
Conrad got the first one!
Nolan looks only slightly crazed as he finds eggs.
OMG!
Treats!

One month+ in 21 pictures...

2008-03-24T15:38:00.004-05:00

Well, I haven't blogged in over a month and frankly, it's been a nice vacation. I was considering giving the whole thing up, but then I'd surely have to oh, say, organize my photos in some way and/or keep a book of my children's milestones, etc. and frankly, that's not going to happen. So we're back. Those of you harassing me about updates can now find something else to bug me about, as I'm sure you will, Scott Hewitt!
So the boys can hear now. Their last hearing test was well within the range of normal, so that's a relief. Both Conrad and Nolan definitely talk more and use longer sentences, but the surgery was not the end of their crazy pronunciations, and certainly wasn't the end of Conrad saying, "WHAT DAT?" every 15 seconds. Most of what they say is hilarious, at least to me. If I say something to Nolan like, "You're so smart!" he gets all huffy and says, "I not smart, I Nolan!" The other day I was trying to dig through the toy box for a Goodwill run, when he walked in and demanded to know "Mama, what you doing my room?" Adorable, really. And Conrad is Daddy's boy. He is all about Dah Dah 24-7, which is so nice except for the fact that Dah Dah is at work all day. His demands that Dah Dah help him instead of me are kind of moot about 10 of the 12 hours he is awake every day. Oh well!
Of course, I can understand what they are saying, as can others some of the time. Their ENT recommended a speech evaluation, which will probably happen in a few weeks. Oh, goody.
I had the flu in the past month. Yes, it was really the flu, it wasn't one of those "I *think* I had the flu" sorts of situations. We're talking no break in a 103 degree fever for 5 days. This was followed up by the boys having chicken "pots." It was really fun, all in all. We watched A LOT of television. It turns out they still have some of the chicken pox symptoms, and a visit to the doctor over the weekend revealed that maybe it wasn't really the chicken pox...? Okay...whatever. Just give me an antibiotic and tell me my kids won't look like that lion from "Put Me in the Zoo" anymore.
I wish I had more to say, but things have been pretty low-key. The tail-end of winter will do that. The boys turn 3 in less than 2 weeks...so enjoy these pics of the still-2-year-olds. And I'll update again...soon!

Nolan vacuums with his kid-size Dyson, which doesn't work as well as the adult-sized one, sadly.

2008-03-24T15:37:00.003-05:00

Hanging with Chris and their "birthday buddy," Ella.
Inside the fort.
Having fun, obviously.
Posing with Meagan and the beloved Kitty Head.

2008-03-24T15:36:00.003-05:00

All the time in the house in the last few weeks means lots of forts, tents, and new "houses." The boys spent a whole 8 minutes on this fabulous new setup in their room, including couch cushions and DahDah's Eames chair dragged from the living room. They are very proud, as you can see.
Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be interior designers.

Bobot-mailbox. What could be better?

2008-03-24T15:34:00.004-05:00

Nolan does Extreme Doughboy at Matt's hockey game at Williams.
The boys harass Matt while he's on the bench. Now, the boys insist that every photo in the paper of a hockey player is Matt.
The boys observe the displays at the Conservatory with their friends and fellow twins, Erik & Ben. The best part of this picture is the fact that Ben dressed himself and therefore has his polo shirt on backwards.
C-Monkey

2008-03-24T15:28:00.004-05:00

Nolan appears to be angelic.

Riveting.
I actually didn't have to ask them to put their arms around each other, they did it themselves!
Aww...

Surgery Day!

2008-02-11T21:44:00.000-06:00

Dada and Con in the "toy room." (Note: Nate wasn't actually performing the surgery, he was just dressed like it.)

Nolan is wrangled into a picture.

Popsicles for breakfast? Let's do this every day!

The boys had SURGERY last week. That makes it sound much scarier than it actually was- bilateral ear tubes for both. The boys did so well. Part of it is because they love going to the doctor, any doctor, at any time, for any reason. The other reason they did so well is because popsicles were involved, and we don't normally eat popsicles at 10 am. I bypassed the whole "taking them into surgery and watching them get put under" bit, and happily let Daddy take care of all that. I knew when he came back from C's anesthesia treatment actually crying (sorry, Nate, but that was so un-Nate-like I had to share it for dramatic purposes) that I made the right decision. The entire time we were in the surgery center we were hearing the most awful screams from children who went before N & C... and we prepared ourselves for the meltdown that quickly follows coming out of anesthesia. However, that is the normal child's reaction, and as you all know, our children are nowhere near normal. Upon coming to, our boys reportedly sat up and said, "Hi." The recovery room was no different. The only slight meltdown occurred when we told Conrad it was time to leave, and he really, really wanted back into the waiting room to play with the toys again. The nurse said she never had that request before, but she kindly indulged him anyway. Even the follow-up ear drops weren't a problem. Noly declared them "tickle drops" and requested them about 8 times a day, even though the prescription only called for twice a day. The day after the surgery, Nolan complained that my hair dryer was "too loud." We haven't noticed much else, but so far, so good.

Winter Carnival

2008-02-03T20:10:00.001-06:00

Whoa. That's cool.
What the heck is all that?
It's not easy to get the attention of two toddlers among lots of people and huge ice cubes.

2008-02-03T20:07:00.001-06:00

Conrad's hands indicate he is a bit surprised at this one.
Nolan is more interested in the statue than posing- Conrad is far more interested in posing.
Dang these boys are cute!

Well, it wasn't exactly like that

2008-01-28T20:22:00.001-06:00

Nate: "So, what did you do today?"
Conrad: "Wake up. Eat candy."

Sweet Sleepers

2008-01-23T20:48:00.000-06:00

I check on the boys every night before I go to bed. Once in a while I won't be able to open the door because someone fell asleep in front of it, occasionally someone will have stripped down to his birthday suit during pre-sleep boredom, and of course there are the nights they decide their own beds force them to be too far away from each other. This is from one of those nights.

Snowshine

2008-01-13T20:49:00.001-06:00

This lawn isn't gonna shovel itself, you know.
This is awesome!
Discovering the joy of throwing snow at Dada!

2008-01-13T20:41:00.000-06:00

Con's all smiles.
Nolan is wondering what happened to the bottom half of his body.
Shovel as sled-C.
More flying snow
Nolan takes a brief rest from eating snow, his favorite winter activity.

Christmas Eve and Day

2008-01-06T20:41:00.001-06:00

Conrad really got into the chocolate fondue.
The boys were allowed to open one Christmas Eve gift, a veterinary set from Mamy. Nolan models the part they fight over the most.

2008-01-06T20:37:00.001-06:00

Christmas morning just before the storm, or, "Can't we just open all these already?" (N L, C R)
Stockings
Santa brought Diego watches...no matter that time means nothing, these watches are beloved.
C-Monkey
Meeting some new "bobot" friends

2008-01-06T20:35:00.001-06:00

Beep
Viewmasters=huge hit
Nolan studies the color maze.
Dr. No on drums
Darts

2008-01-06T20:32:00.000-06:00

Even after all those new gifts, it was right back to "animal doctor."
Boxing on the Wii.

Con and Jenna hanging out
The morning after...

Holiday Show

2007-12-29T11:48:00.000-06:00

The first gifts of Christmas '07

2007-12-24T08:37:00.000-06:00

Playing hockey in Matt & Meagan's house...

The next day, Conrad still can't give up his new stick and "hockey ball," even while watching tv and lounging on Kitty Head.

Ryan and Kim's gift was great even before opening it.

Having exhausted the packaging, they decided to finally open the actual gift...

3 of a kind

2007-12-20T20:15:00.000-06:00

Santa 2 (Electric Bugaloo)

2007-12-20T20:12:00.000-06:00

An impromptu cousin photo (Neal, C, N, Marie)

No one looks happy here.

I think Nolan may have eaten a few hundred too many pancakes.

Had to snap this one- they look freakishly twin-like, don't they?

Seeing Santa, round 1

2007-12-18T08:00:00.001-06:00

Robot
Doughboy
Hanging out, coloring, and waiting for Santa.
Conrad colors.

2007-12-18T07:58:00.001-06:00

Concentration
Nolan spies Santa for the first time in '07.
Conrad spots him.
Looking pretty comfortable on Santa's lap...this time.

Random November

2007-11-27T19:59:00.001-06:00

Post-bath faux-hawks!
Conrad looks evil, and Nolan wants to get away from him.
Nolan's Magnadoodle drawing of a cow. It has a couple extra legs and no neck, but overall he shows incredible talent, no?
Playing guitar instead of eating pizza
Performing, as usual.

Fashion

2007-11-12T08:34:00.000-06:00

When Toddlers Dress Themselves

No/Mine

2007-11-12T08:22:00.000-06:00

Those are the boys' fave words as of late. I knew it was coming, I know it will (eventually/not soon enough) pass. But this phase still offers dozens of opportunities daily for me to laugh or get more frustrated with C & N. I've found myself repeatedly telling the following example. It still makes me giggle.

Backstory: The boys say "Whee" while riding in the car on hills, windy roads, etc. Nate says he knows he's going too fast when the boys start whee-ing.
Scene: On our trip to Duluth, driving some windy streets along the lake

Mama (upon noticing we are doing some twisty driving): WHEEEE!

Nolan: NO WHEE!

Mama: WHEE!

Nolan: NO WHEE! MY WHEE! MY WHEE!
(long pause)
Whee.

Wild indeed

2007-11-08T16:13:00.000-06:00

The boys wear some hand-me-down Wild gear from Jack.

5 hole!

Practicing some ice moves

Goalie of the coat closet

"Tankooooo!"

2007-11-01T20:54:00.000-05:00

Whew! Halloween was exhausting, but successful overall. Except for the part when one of the boys had a total diaper blowout in his costume at ECFE, about 10 am- cancelling our lunch plans- the evening went pretty well. It didn't take the boys long to get the gist of trick or treating, though they never actually uttered the words "trick or treat," they were very good at their "thank you"s. They ended up with a large volume of treats , both edible and non, but apparently it still wasn't enough and they insisted on reprising their roles at Mama's old place of employ today, looking adorable and collecting more candy. Don't feel too safe...these firefighters are easily distracted.
Inspecting the jack o lantern for fire safety
Authentic, aren't they?
Sharing the wealth

2007-11-01T20:47:00.000-05:00

Really excited over a "bobot"
Eating fruit snacks
Candy-mouth

Happy Halloween. All!

2007-10-31T14:50:00.001-05:00

(C. insists on hugging our lawn pumpkins)
Dada carved a "bobot" face at Conrad's request.

2007-10-31T14:48:00.000-05:00

2007-10-31T14:46:00.000-05:00

Blehhhhhh

2007-10-30T20:36:00.000-05:00

Doughboy Does Duluth

2007-10-24T18:39:00.001-05:00

Nate had the first two weeks of October off, and it felt too good to be true. We did a lot of work, a lot of fun stuff, and also managed to get away- all the way to Duluth. I know many of you are saying, "WHAT? But isn't that the location of The Debacle?" Yes, we decided to get back on that horse. Overall, it was fine. I'm not going to say it was fun, but it certainly wasn't completely terrible, either. The pictures below reflect the happier moods of the journey...

2007-10-24T18:35:00.001-05:00

Canal Park
The Edmund Fitzgerald: Mystery solved!
This used to scare Mama when she was little- but the Doughboy does not seem fazed.
Throwing rocks into Superior

2007-10-24T18:29:00.001-05:00

Greetings!

2007-10-24T18:26:00.001-05:00

Posin' at Split Rock

Lighthouse!

2007-10-24T18:22:00.000-05:00

Conrad reads all about the old highway.
"Climbing" a big rock.

Nolan likes what the hotel housekeeper did with Baby.

Sunnier Days

2007-10-18T15:53:00.001-05:00

On this ridiculously gloomy Thursday afternoon - one where the boys refused to sleep during nap time despite the fact that it is perfect sleeping weather- I am choosing to post pics of a recent trip to the apple orchard. Ever notice how people say "the apple orchard" as if there were only one? Well it would be fine if there were only one, and this was it. It was a lovely, sunny, low-key afternoon. Grandma and Grandpa had just rolled into town, so they joined us in watching the boys harrass farm animals and pick apples directly off a tree for the first time. We have yet to jump into a pile of leaves or pick a pumpkin to carve, but we are reserving those activities for a sunny day, if we ever have one again...Nolan looks a bit like he got in a fight with a chicken, but those are preexisting wounds on his face.

They didn't get very far like this.

2007-10-18T15:50:00.001-05:00

Stand -off with goat
Looking cute and seasonal
Conrad contemplates a tiny pumpkin.

Nolan helps himself.

2007-10-18T15:39:00.000-05:00

No, it just looks like C is wearing a fruit basket on his head.

Remarking on the orchard dog
Mums

Recent past...

2007-10-14T20:28:00.000-05:00

I found these pics from a trip to the park a couple weeks ago and wanted to share 'em.
C.
Dr. No No No
At some point recently, the boys went from two big babies who were so proud to go down the slide to big boys who insist on climbing up the slide.

Pajama Party

2007-10-07T22:10:00.000-05:00

Thought I'd attach a couple of off the cuff dance films. As you see, Nolan is into the making-himself-dizzy-enough-to-fall move. His other specialties are air guitar, air drums, and air saxophone, which I am sure you will all encounter soon enough. Conrad is currently perfecting his tai-chi type moves, along with a complex head bob. Enjoy!

Mahna Mahna

2007-10-07T22:09:00.000-05:00

Hot Dog!

2007-10-07T22:07:00.000-05:00