Hug

This is why you have siblings for your children.


And no, it's not posed.

successful mommy moment

if you need something for your 12 month old and your almost 3 year old to do...TOGETHER...(this is key to those who don't have these two ages at the same time - they don't DO the same things...) Take a look! This was my genius idea of the day:

Let's wash our legos!!
Put a huge bag (I'm talking 200+) of duplos on the floor and let them toss them one by one into the bathtub full of soapy water. Honestly, what is more fun than that?!?!?!

Feel free to take that one to the bank.

Goodbye hair and hello big boy!

Noah got a big boy haircut. Jason and I took turns with the at-home clippers (whatever happened to the Flobee?). I thought I might regret cutting off the curls. But I don't, not one smidgen...Lara, you were right. :) Here's a before and after:

Before

After (he looks so much older!)

Noah turns 1 on Tuesday, so we had a little bash for him this evening. He is obsessed with basketballs (promise, he is, it's not just his dad wishing...), so we had a basketball (illini) themed party. First a cute shot of his big stuff uniform, and then a short clip of him walking after the party. He's had a bit too much to drink. :) He has been taking steps now for a week and he thinks it's hilarious.

Dylan loves to eat snow

This weekend Dylan figured out how much fun it is to eat snow! Jason and I took her sledding and afterwards, she told us her favorite part of the whole event was "eating snow." OK...

So, today, with Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Clark, we got some snow from the backyard and poured maple syrup on it and made an amazing dessert treat!

And here's just a shot of the sheer love Dylan has for Noah (yes, this is tough love...)

DuPage Childrens Museum

We had an awesome time this morning at the DuPage Childrens Museum. It was so fun there! I can't believe we've never been as it's 20 min. from Jason's parents' house. The kids were in heaven. Here are a few slices of our morning...

Noah working on his light board shape building. So sweet for the camera.

Sister joins in on the fun. Quick, take a picture, they are working TOGETHER!

Caroline, Iain and Dylan crawl up into this awesome tunnel near the ceiling. Us moms watch and take pics from below. They loved how independent it made them feel! And we loved how there was only one way out!

Noah watches in laughter as Dylan stands stoic in a "wind tunnel." She loved it in there and stayed for about 20 minutes, just holding these butterflies on a stick and "taking the wind." (It was a huge industrial fan blowing into this clear plastic tunnel. The kids could put scarves and other lightweight things at the front and watch it blow them through the tunnel...or they could just stand there and get air in their face... :))

Playing in the bubble area. There were several tables of bubble fun. She just preferred to stick her whole arms in the bubbles (wet shirt) and swish around her fingers.

Dylan loved the water area too, and took it upon herself to find all the rubber duckies and line them all up along the edge. Then she proceeded to hide them all (hord them) in a corner of the water area before we left...saving them for later?? (not pictured)

This was one of my favorites. It was so simple and so GENIUS! They had a regular chalkboard and chunky paint brushes with water cups on the side. Dylan literally painted water on that chalkboard for over 30 minutes, SOLID. I finally tore her away to go have lunch. But, not before Noah joined in for a few minutes of sibling teamwork.

Ahh, the simple joys in life. Jason saw these pics and was jealous of the fun we get to have. It really is fun. And for some reason, I had to justify it all, "Remember, I took pictures of the high moments. It's not all this picture perfect you know." But why do I have to justify it? It really was a wonderful, special outing. And I really am blessed and extremely grateful to have this time with my children every day. So yes, it comes with low times too, but let's just keep on bloggin' about the highs. Thank you God for my little babes who keep me humble and show me how to have fun every day. And thank you God most of all for my husband, who supports me, stands behind me and walks with me on this crazy parenthood journey, allowing me, through the HARD work that he does at school, to be at home with our kiddos.