Together

If they aren’t driving each other nuts, the boys like to read together while I get ready in the morning. 
And funny enough sometimes we find them together in the exact same way at the end of the day. 

Friends from out of town came to visit after a long winter apart. It was so good to be together again. 

When you have a friend with the same demeanor it makes for some fun togetherness. Calm down you two.  

And this one. Putting her prayer together with our biggest intentions has made a BIG difference in our lives. 

Warm Spring

Spring has been a little warm for my liking, but at least we can be outside!!! The mud kitchen is very messy...just the way it should be. 

The boys got a picnic table for my birthday. Yes, you read that right. I guess it’s a gift to me because it makes my life easier when they eat outside. 

Augustine and Daddy went to the spring game! They stayed the whole time and loved it. 



Lewis calls this his port-a-potty. 

We filled in the area under the swings with woodchips. Did you know you can get free woodchips from tree companies?! 

It was a family project.



We have a great park 5 blocks from our house. It’s especially great because it has sand, which adds an extra hour of fun if you bring some sand toys. 

Our new neighbor gets along really well with Lewis and Augustine. They play almost every day. He and Lewis compared rock collections. 

Big Boy Life

We had another two weeks of winter, so we pulled out every toy we owned over those weeks to keep ourselves from going completely crazy. Kinetic sand has been a big favorite lately. He made Nebraska free handed!

They also made cupcakes for their bakery. 

Lewis closely examined a ladybug on the windowsill. 

And explained Rush Hour to his baby brother. 

They played soccer and football with Fr. Mills. 

And also with Daddy and one of his disciples. 

On the ONE nice day it was so muggy that we had to pull out the water tables and keep everyone we were babysitting happy along with us!

And we’ve done lots and lots and lots of reading. 

Toddler Life

This boy charms the pants off everyone, and it’s sure that everyone is interested in seeing his chain saw. 

He’s two going on 90. 

He has so many words that we can’t count them all anymore. He verbalizes some emotions. What’s that? You feel sad? Because your brother hurt your arm? You’d like a hug? Can do, kid. Thanks for telling me what the problem was, and how to solve it for you to boot. 

I tell you what. It’s the most convenient thing in the world knowing exactly what your toddler wants and how to solve his problems!

He ate his first colache. 

He poured over the Home Depot ad and worked his Montessori puzzle before breakfast. #90yearoldman

He ate a sensible breakfast with his babies. He always wants a waffle. But don’t be a fool and put it in the toaster. No no. Just straight out of the freezer for this one or he’s MAD. 

He sat still and listened at story time while looking confused as to why all the other toddlers were running amuck. #90yearoldman

He sits for long periods of time and imagines with any toy that’s in front of him. 

He shoots the breeze with Grandpa Mike. They usually read as many books as Grandpa’s voice will last for. 

He prefers to be cautious when being exposed to the sun. #90yearoldman

Watching the dryer get a thorough cleaning was the entertainment of choice last week. 

With a little art and play dough on the side. 

Elias is 2

Elias loves tree trimming and chain saws so much that we decided a lumberjack irthdya party was fitting. He LOVES his lumberjack shirt. He wears it whenever it’s clean.

Grandma Susan made him a log cake and put it on the logging truck. 



Elias got a new chain saw, and it was one of the first gifts he opened, so he opened every.other.gift. with it. 



He also got new tools to replace our current “set” that is a jumbled mess from random thrift stores. 





We had his party at snack time on Easter Sunday since we were hosting everyone. All these guests happily changed into their lumberjack attire for snack time, which was really fun! Cousin Thomas even made a homemade (pretend) ax for Elias. My boys played with it so much that it broke. 


The biggest cousin read the smallest cousin one of his favorite books from when he was little. 
Grandma Kathleen took us out to dinner one evening, and since it was so close to her birthday, my birthday, and Elias’ birthday, we celebrated! Elias liked the hat...

but he really loved the singing!

He also tried a huge treat called dessert with dairy in it. Boy was it good

Yesterday was his real birthday so I ordered his favorite dairy free pizza. He had an Oreo for dessert. I love it when they’re so easy to please!

Happy Birthday Elias! We love you!