Ridin' on the Tractor

I had to do an entire post on riding on the tractor. I took so many pictures and the boys just had so much fun! The boys love all things that go--tractors, trucks, buses, planes, boats, etc. But, they've always really loved tractors. The boys got to ride the tractor for the first time when we went to see my parents for Thanksgiving when the boys were 15 months old. I love that the boys get to do this, I remember riding a tractor with my Papaw and I'm just so tickled that the boys get to experience the same thing with their Papaw.

They were so excited to ride on the tractors with Papaw. Carter went first.

You can see Carter helping steer. :)

Then, Evan got to ride with Papaw.

Look at Evan's face, it's blurry when I zoom in, but you can see how happy he is. (and Papaw too)

 

Of course, when Carter wasn't riding the tractor, he wanted Meemaw to hold him. :)

 

I took the tractor for a spin too. First, with Carter.

 

Then, with Evan.



I love that he looked at the camera for me. I don't have many pictures with the boys. I need to be better about getting in more of the pictures. I wasn't going to take one because my hair was up and I didn't have on make up, etc. but I'm glad I did, I love having this picture (and all of them) to look back on.

Even my city boy husband took the tractor for a spin. This was his first time on a tractor, ya'll!! There's hope for him yet. :)

 

I got so many pictures of him driving it, just like I did when Evan and Carter got their first ride on the tractor.

 

 

Everybody watching Greg.

 

He thinks he's funny. ;)

 

Carter was being a little ham and I was able to get this picture of him. I love when the boys are still and look and smile at the camera. I love the candid pictures and action shots too, but I don't have a lot of pictures of them posing, so it's so nice when I get them.


And just for fun and because I'm obsessed with comparison pics, here's Evan's first time on the tractor in November 2011.

Here's Carter's first time. How tiny and cute are they!

This is them playing on them last year when we went. They love to go out and sit on them (my dad has two) and pretend they're driving. This was November 2012.

Evan saying "cheese" for me in November 2012. Such a goober--I love it!

Trip to Georgia

Last Friday morning, at 2:30am, we loaded the sleeping boys in the van, and drove to Georgia to visit my family. I like to get most of our driving done while the boys are sleeping if possible. Greg ended up coming down with a cold the night before we left, so I drove the whole way. Thursday evening about 8:00pm, we weren't sure if he was going to be able to go. I thought it might be just me and the boys, but Greg felt a little better when I woke him up at 2am and decided to make the trip with us. The long car ride was rough on him, but he was able to sleep when we got to my parents house and was feeling better within a day or two. I don't know how nobody else got sick, but I'm so thankful we didn't.

We try and stop at rest stops or restaurants with indoor playgrounds when we take long trips with the boys. We stopped at Chick-Fil-A for breakfast and they had the biggest indoor playground I've ever seen at a Chick-Fil-A!

We made it to my parents house a little after 12. It was a long drive, but it was so worth it. The boys haven't seen my parents since Christmas. I got to see my mom and sister a few weeks ago in Tennessee, but that was only for a day, so I was so ready for a visit "home".

My parents bought the boys the best blow up pool. It was huge!

We ended up moving it to the deck so it wouldn't be right in the sun. It was easier because we didn't have to worry about sunscreen on the boys or their bathing suits, they just played in their swim diapers.

In the evenings, after the boys went to bed, we'd sit on the deck and talk. The weather was perfect while we were there. It actually got a little chilly after the sun went down. I love the view from their deck. They moved into this house after I had the boys, and we've only been down twice since then and both of those times were in November. This was the first time that it's still been light out after we put the boys down.

My parents had the best house for the boys. They are holding a couple of things for us, like the boys play kitchen and this play house, but they have a lot of toys that they've got for the boys. I brought a bag of toys from our house for the boys and I never had to get a toy out of it for the boys. We got there Friday at noon and left Wednesday at 3:30 and we have TWO 2 year olds, so that's saying a lot that they had enough stuff to keep them busy.

The boys didn't keep their napping schedule while we were there. They skipped naps and we would just put them to bed early. One day, me, my mom and sister, were sitting at the kitchen table talking while the boys were watching cartoons and we peeked in and saw them both sleeping on the couch. Evan and Carter have NEVER fell asleep like this. Ever. I always see pictures of toddlers sleeping in weird places, but my boys have never done that, they only sleep in their beds and the car. I couldn't believe that they both fell asleep on the couch. It was so cute to me. I just could not get over it. Greg was taking a nap and when he came down, he was making as big of a fuss as I was about how he couldn't believe it and how cute it was!

The boys eating was also a little off while we were there. We didn't keep any set schedule with them, they'd graze off what we were having for meals and then had plenty of snacks of fresh fruit, freezer pops, etc. My dad grilled a lot while we were there, so they'd hang out around the grill and get "samples" of what he was cooking. I think they ate a couple of hot dogs, hamburgers, ribs, etc that way. They love Papaw's cooking!

When we first got to my parents house, my dad was at work and Greg ran directly into the house and up to our bedroom (so he wouldn't infect anybody with his sickness) and it was just me and my mom with the boys. She greeted us at the car and it was like no time had passed since they had seen her last. They were so excited to see Mamaw and they hugged her and Evan even asked her to carry him in the house since he was barefooted. Normally, the boys are all about Papaw and even Greg, but me and my mom are chop liver around Papaw. Well, not this time. Carter was so attached to my mom while we were there, they were best buddies. He wanted her to do everything, I'd try and do something and he'd be like "No, I want mamaw" He actually renamed her Meemaw while we were there, so that may be her new name now. :) Obviously, he loved spending time with Meemaw and Papaw, but the little bond he had with my mom this time was so precious. Evan loved spending time with both of them too, but he wanted Papaw to read his stories to him before bed and Carter had to have Meemaw read his stories to him. Let me tell you, I did not mind one bit that they wanted mamaw and papaw for everything. ;) I was getting the boys ready after their bath the night before we left and was telling them about us leaving the next day to go home and Evan said "No, I stay with Papaw, mommy and Daddy go home" (I was like "sounds good to me" ;)) I told Carter we would be going home the next day and asked if he was excited to see his toys and friends and he said "Meemaw  is Carter's friend" So sweet!

This was the easiest trip with the boys so far. They're just at an easier age now, they don't try and get into everything, they're able to entertain themselves with toys for longer periods of time, they're only on one nap a day and while we're on vacation--they're manageable if they skip a nap. They're still two year olds and they have their tantrums and fights, but compared to our other trips with them, it was so much easier and pleasant.

I'm going to break up our Georgia trip into a couple of blog posts. And I'll also be including little random tidbits and things they said or did just so I can look back and remember all of it.

 

Last Day of School

The boys had their last day of school on Thursday. It was a sad, sad day. ;) What am I going to do with them all summer?! Just kidding. (sort of) I can't believe a whole school year has gone by. You can read about their first day of school here.  

This is a picture that somebody took on the first day of school.

I volunteered the last day of school and snapped some pics of the kids at snack time for a comparison.

All the kids have grown so much.

They had cookies that were leftover from the graduation and brunch on Wednesday.

This was a picture I got a week before school ended. The boys look so grown to me.

On the first day of school, the boys were so excited and would not stop and look at the camera. So, I had them face the door on the last day of school, so I could get a comparison picture. Look how much taller they are!!!

I cannot believe how much bigger they are.

The boys have grown so much since they started school. I can see such a difference in them with their social skills and the things they've learned. I knew putting them in a part time preschool was going to be so beneficial for them. We were so blessed this year with wonderful teachers. All the other parents were so nice and all the boys classmates were so sweet. I'm so glad that we decided to put them in preschool and that we chose this one. The boys are really going to miss going to school over the summer.

Preschool Graduation Videos

If the videos don't work, you can view them on my youtube page.

Preschool Graduation

Wednesday morning, the boys preschool had a preschool graduation program. The 4 year old wore graduation caps and got little preschool diplomas since they would be going into kindergarten next year. The kids put on a cute little performance of songs they had been practicing for awhile. Greg was able to come, so he took video on my phone and I took picture. It was so cute to see all the kids singing. Evan has actually been singing a couple of the songs around the house for several days, so I was super excited to see them perform.

The teachers warn you that the kids will lift up their dresses, pick their noses, turn around and stare at the older kids, etc. They say to expect them to see you and want to come sit with you right that minute, so it was nice to have a heads up on what to expect. I thought the boys did good. I was SO proud of Evan. He did exactly what he was supposed to do and sat quietly and followed all the directions. He saw us as soon as they came in the room and he was so excited! Carter was partnered up with his best friend and was just so hyped up! He wasn't being bad (in my opinion) but it was hard for him to concentrate on singing and dancing when there was playing to do. ;)

Evan loved looking back at the older kids while singing.

I thought all the kids did really well and were so cute.

As they were singing one of their songs about a spotted frog on a log, the kids would go and sit down as they counted down the frogs. Here's Carter and his friend, Konnor.

Once the kids sat down because their part was over, I think it was hard for them to stay focused. They didn't have to sit long, but they're 2 and sitting for any amount of time is hard. Evan did SO well,  he still clapped and listened. I was so surprised! They have such different personalities at school than they do at home and they never do what I assume they will--they like to keep me on my toes.

I think he was just super excited that Greg was there.

I tried to zoom using my phone, but they came out a little blurry, but just look how happy he is!

Carter had a blast. He gets so hyped up around Konnor (both boys do) they really adore him. There's another boy in their class that they were sitting next to and they roped him into their shenanigans. :)

 I tried to upload the videos using the blogger thing, but I'm not sure if it worked right. I'll do a separate post with the videos, using links from youtube. We didn't want one super long video, so Greg filmed each song separately. I also got one of the boys while they were sitting.

 

 

 

Fun at the Pool

Tuesday afternoon, we met our friends at the pool. It was sunny and hot and perfect pool weather. It was my first time taking the boys without Greg. I was a little worried, but it went great. It wasn't too busy when we got there and we ended up having the baby pool all to ourselves for awhile.

The boys worked up quite an appetite. We had fresh pineapple, teddy grahams, goldfish, etc. I'm pretty sure Evan ate almost the entire container of pineapple himself.

I know we'll be spending a lot of time here this summer.