Happy Valentine's Day!

A "holiday" to celebrate LOVE, how fun! First of all, I have to say that I am the luckiest girl....I have three very special valentines!  This is my 9th Valentines with Craig and my 2nd with Jack and Mark....hard to believe. And, each year just gets better and better!

Our Valentine's weekend started when we got home on Friday afternoon and discovered a little surprise that Granna and Grandpa had snuck into our refrigerator while we were at work. They brought us some chocolate covered strawberries and Oreo balls that Granna had made with a sweet little Valentine note on the container!  We really enjoyed the treats all weekend!

Craig and I decided to do something a little different this year for Valentine's. Instead of eating out and battling the crowds, I heard of a catering business here in Raleigh that was offering 4 different menus for Valentine meals. They prepared the meal and then you pick it up along with cooking instructions. So, we picked up our meal on Saturday, February 12th and then enjoyed it that night after the boys went to bed. It worked out perfectly and we enjoyed eating an easy yummy meal together in the peace and quiet of our own home. Our menu was as follows:

Rosemary Shrimp and Garlic Toast
Spinach Salad
Baked Salmon with Dill
Twice Baked  Potatoes
Green Beans Almondine
Rolls
Red Velvet Cake (of course with Cream Cheese Icing)

Also on Saturday, Craig surprised me with 15 red roses! Craig, Jack and Mark also got me the first season of Glee on DVD! Craig and I got the boys two new books ("Snuggle Puppy" and "Your Personal Penguin") and new shirts for Valentine's.

Jack and Mark wore their new shirts to daycare on V-Day and were so cute, I must say!  Here's a picture of our family before we left for daycare / work on V-Day!

Happy times on Happy Valentine's Day for a Happy family!

We already knew that there is a lot of love in our house, but my goodness, check out this mantle of V-Day cards!



Next year, we might need a larger mantle.  Look at all these cards.

First Hair Cut

Well, for awhile now, we've been thinking that Jack and Mark's hair needed a little trimming especially around their ears and in the back. So, on Sunday, February 13th, we decided that it was time for a little trim. Of course, Mommy wanted to capture the moment with pictures. So, Granna held the boys, Mommy did the cutting and Daddy took pictures! I think Mommy had the hardest job.....the first hair cut?....our babies are growing up! Mommy made sure to put the boys' hair in plastic bags labeled with their names to be included in their scrapbook. So, here are some pictures from the big day!

"What is Mommy doing back there?" -Jack



"No, Mommy, don't cut my hair....please." -Jack



"Mommy, make it look good for the ladies." -Mark

"Mommy, make sure it's even on both sides." -Mark

Uh oh...the first use of our Timeout Spot

Today, Mark was the recipient of the first use of our Time Out Spot, which they received for Christmas, hopefully never to be used.  Unfortunately, it was used today.  Mark was sitting on his knees backwards in his rocking chair and refused to turn around and sit on his bottom.  After asking him repeatedly, he just didn't change the way he was sitting.  So, we moved him to the time out spot.  He was there for 2 minutes.  He didn't cry or make a sound.  He just looked at us, and looked sad.  Once the 2 minutes was up, he was a very good kid as he usually is.  It was close to nap time and he also was really tired.

Mommy and Daddy, is it time that I can get up now?

Forward Facing Car Seats

This weekend was a big weekend for the boys.  On Saturday, the boys car seats were turned around so that they are now forward-facing.  It took a while for Mark to get to 20 pounds, but at his 18 month checkup last month he reached the magic 20 pound threshold.  Now, that Jack is getting taller, his feet are getting closer to touching the back seat.  So we needed to turn his around.  We waited until Mark got to 20 pounds because we couldn't change one without changing the other. 

When we finished changing the seats yesterday, we put the boys in them for a quick drive to Granna and Grandpa's.  They absolutely LOVED their new setup.  They smiled and laughed the entire way to their grandparents house.  Here is a picture of their new way to ride.

We really enjoy the new way we ride now.

More Favorite things to do

There are two other things that the boys do that they really enjoy in the past few weeks.  Using some of the toys they got for Christmas, like a parking garage, and a couple of workbenches, the boys have themselves a nice looking fort.  They both like to get in their and drink some milk during snack time, or just hang out in there.

This is our fort and no one else can come in.

The other thing that they absolutely LOVE to do is to take the grocery cart their cousin got them and fill it up with any and everything.  Most afternoons when everyone gets home from daycare and work, the boys will get the grocery cart and fill it up with rings, books, blocks, plastic fruit, telephones, and generally anything else they can put in it.  It also happens on Saturday mornings, as you can see with this picture.

Mark, hold on.  I got some more toys and stuff to put into the grocery cart.  - Jack

Favorite things to do

As the boys are now closing in on 19 months old, they are getting smarter and cuter every day.  Lately they have started doing a couple of very cute things that we had to take a picture of them showing what they do.  First off, Mark really enjoys sitting in very tight spots.  He enjoys being surrounded by toys, pillows, blankets, etc.  Here he is on our couch:

Where is Mark?  Is he on the couch?  Is that him in the middle?

There is his head.  There is his shoe.  He is underneath all those toys and pillows.

Also, the boys like to play a game in the foyer where they stand at one end of the entrance and then we say "SWITCH" and they switch sides.  They like to do this for a while.  Jack and Mark both laugh out loud when they are changing sides.  Next they will take a break and look out the windows for squirrels.  It is very cute.

Looking out the window for squirrels, even though it is night time.

At opposite ends of the foyer.  Notice how Mark is getting prepared for standing in the corner for any timeouts that may occur in the future, although we hope he is never sent to timeout.

They also like to sit on either the bottom step or the next to last step and read their books.   Of course Jack's favorite book is Freight Train.  It is the first thing he looks for when he comes down for breakfast and the last thing he wants to see before we go upstairs for bathtime.

Reading books on the bottom step.  Freight Train is never too far from Jack.

One more thing the boys like to do now is to stack cups.  They like to stack most anything now, but cups are their speciality.

Here the boys stack cups in a bowl.  Uhh..guys, stacking cups on a round base probably isn't the best idea.  But if anyone can figure it out, it is the boys.

Going to Pinehurst to see GG

This past weekend, Daddy was in the Southern Pines on his Sunday School class's annual golf trip.  While he was out there trying to make some birdies in his three rounds (he made none), the rest of the family, along with Granna and Grandpa, went to Pinehurst and Aberdeen to see GG (Heather's maternal grandmother).  GG was really happy to see everyone.  The boys did good at the nursing home.  They really wanted to get out of their stroller and explore, but they acted well and had a good time hanging out with GG.  Here is a picture of the boys with GG:

Jack and Mark hanging out with GG.