April showers bring...May showers? I thought it was supposed to be flowers!

Well another month has gone by again without me posting an update. So here it is...the boys are growing like weeds. Carter is getting so old...he cracks me up daily with the things that come out of his mouth.



I was taking pictures of Chase when Carter decided he wanted to be in them too. He was smiling so nice for me when he turned and saw Chase wasn't really smiling. So he says to me, "Chase isn't smiling very well. I will hold his hand". Then procedes to grab Chase's hand and squeeze it.

Needless to say Chase wasn't thrilled and looked at Carter with a "why are you doing that?" look. He never did smile for those pictures, but Carter tried his best to help! :)

Chase has one lone tooth on the bottom and is chewing on everything like crazy. He is just starting to eat solids and get the hang of it. He is smaller than Carter at this age so he has some catching up to do!

In their Easter outfits! 

My little Easter bunnies!

Carter and his cousin Addie eating an ice cream treat from Addie's great uncle Nolan. This was the only bite Carter took, then he gave it to me and said "I don't like it"

Ted and Carter at the twins game. Unfortunately the game we went to was cold and sprinkles but Carter loved his hot dog and popcorn!

Happy little man...

and happy big brother! Carter's latest thing is to sing 'Fishers of men', 'VeggieTales theme song', 'Jesus loves me', etc. He is quite the little music man. Although he says "I will make you fishers of mend, if you foddow me". He always tells me to "take it easy, mommy, take it easy" when I am washing his hair in the tub; so on this mother's day I think I will take his advice ;)

March on to April...

Two weekends ago now, we went to Sioux Falls to visit with Darin & April, Bev, Dee and mom &  dad. It was fun to see Bev and Dee and have Bev meet the new babes. Carter had a great time, especially because he got to go swimming.

Here is Carter "greeting" Afton. Its his head rub he is usually doing to Chase; this time Afton got to experience it.

Here is our little fishy swimming! He loved having Ted throw him up in the air.

Chase (5 months) and Afton (2.5ish months)

Chase and Carter with Bev and Dee. Neither of the boys are being real cooperative for the photo! ;)

Grandma VW bought the boys Easter outfits. So we had a fashion show one day and tried them on. Here is Chase in his little suit. He looks so grown up!

and without the vest...

Carter wasn't wanting me to take his picture...so this is the best I got.

Playing with his cars...

So ready for some warmth so we can get outside and play!! Hopefully this week we will hit 50 degrees and get outside for some walks. Also I gave Carter a hair cut Thursday so I will try to get some pictures of that posted soon too!

Time flies!

Wow! It is March already! It has been a while since I have updated this blog, so here it is...I have some happy pictures from our household as we have all just gotten over a week of fevers, coughing, boogers, and puke...and I am glad to be done with all of it!! Carter-his new favorite word is NO! not just no, but shouted loudly...he definitely is feisty!

Chase is starting to find his voice as well! Our house can be quite loud at times...

Chase in his swing, his hood somehow worked its way up and he sat in the swing with it over his eyes for a while and was quite content. Carter thought it was funny, "Chase so silly" he kept saying and would then go uncover his eyes, only to have the hood fall back over in the next minute. That game kept everyone entertained for quite awhile! ;)

Grandpa and grandma with the grandkids...we were all there celebrating Afton's baby shower and Darin's 30th birthday and finally got a picture of them all together...although not one picture has them all looking in the camera's direction.

Can't wait for some warm weather so we can get outside and play. Ted was petting Berkley the other day and Carter walked up and said "thats a nice puppy you got there" like he hadn't just played with her yesterday;)

Happy Valentines Day!

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day!

I can honestly say I could care less about this "holiday". Ted and I have not done anything for Valentine's Day since we've been married. Oh we will occasionally get each other a card, but we don't really do gifts. So this year, in my efforts to be thrifty, Carter (and I) made a card for Ted. Carter colored in it and gave it to him when he got home from work. I tried to get him to say Happy Valentines Day, but all we got out of him was "Happy" then "yes" after I told him to say valentines. It was pretty cute.

Speaking of cute...here are a few pictures that I have taken lately that I think are pretty CUTE!! I have to say that I feel so very blessed to have a happy, healthy family. I love them so much!

Carter really likes to "play hoops" lately. He was trying to be like daddy-wearing Ted's hat.

Carter also really likes to share his toys with Chase. Sometimes I think Chase would rather he didn't like to share so much. One of the last pictures with long hair before he got his first real haircut. He found an old pair of my glasses. I'm surprised he is looking at the camera because he really couldn't see a thing-the prescription on them is quite strong! The after photo showing off his new haircut and new cookie monster toy. Chase-almost 4 months old already!

Professional Pics

I had Carter's 2yr pics taken back in dec and chase's 3 mth pics taken a week or two ago. The link to the photgrapher is www.photographybysteffanie.com. You then need to click on the graphic to enter the site, then on the next page click on "client proofing". You will then pick either Carter 2yr and enter your email and the passwod "CTAATJES2010" or you can pick Chase 3mth with password "CTAATJES3MTH". I always have so much trouble picking photos to purchase b/c I always want too many. Anyway...enjoy!

To cut or not to cut?

Carter's hair has been a subject of debate for a while. I trimmed it this past summer with a clipper and did a horrible job-I admit it. It is quite uneven all over. However, we have just let it grow out regardless. Well, it is quite long now. In fact, I can even put it in a pony tail. Exhibit A below: We have been talking about maybe getting it trimmed recently. His "bangs" I guess you could call them, tend to get in his eyes when he is playing. Last week at a basketball game Ted was coaching at, Carter was cheering for the team. A man from the crowd said "Get that girl some pom-poms" Well he had baggy jeans, sneakers, and a brown toy story Woody shirt on...not what most boys would wear and get mistaken for girls.

This is what his hair looked like this morning after waking up. He went to bed with wet hair after his bath last night, so that always makes it a little more crazy in the morning.

So the subject of this post...to cut or not to cut...I personally like the long haired, surfer look. But I do think it needs a little trim. What do you think? Cut or keep it long?

This next picture shows a little less crazy hair, but still long. These next pictures were from our trip to Sioux Falls this past weekend. This is Carter saying hi to his cousin Afton.

Kisses for Afton...

On the was home, Ted had his hat on so Carter decided he had to wear his. I had my sunglasses on so Carter had to wear his too.

BIG boy bed

So here are the pictures of Carter in his "new" bed. He thinks he is pretty big stuff being in such a big bed. The funny thing is when he sleeps he uses no pillows or blankets. He wants us to tuck him in each night, but the takes the covers off when we leave. He also sleeps with several toys and books cluttered around him... This is Chase's room, I have yet to put up decorations in it, but he is only 3 mos old right? Carter of course wanted to lay in the crib with Chase and watch the mobile. If you look close enough you can see 2 boys in the crib. Carter being the big, loving brother he is, feels the need to teach Chase about the animals as well. So here he is teaching Chase which animal is which :)

Carter trying to share his cow with Chase...

Carter very rarely wants his picture taken, so here is one where he was being cooperative.

I love this toddler stage for Carter, I was putting laundry away in his room yesterday and he walked up to me and said "love you mommy, love you" and proceded to give me a hug and kiss. He is always trying to share his toys with Chase and give him kisses too. Then there is the rough and tumble boy side that loves to wrestle with daddy. And today he wanted to play football, then trains, then basketball...he is non-stop!

First timer!

Ok well I guess my pictures will come first...I am new to this give me some time and I will figure it out!

The first picture is one I took of Chase today...he is in his cloth diaper and new baby legs. He is not a big fan of pants with tight waistbands, they make him cranky with that pressure on his tummy. So thus the baby legs that are just as warm as pants, but no waist band. Plus then his cute diapers can be seen! :)

The picture above isn't the greatsest, but I can't figure out how to delete it. I was hoping to have one that had Chase's face showing too, but now I have this one up and it is staying. Chase loves hanging out on his playmat and Carter can't be left out, so he often lays under there too and "shows" Chase the toys. Sometimes I think it is a bit overwhelming for Chase, but he is a trooper.

Again, this was not the photo I was hoping it to be. I had one of Chase in this diaper on this changing table, but with a HUGE smile on his face. I guess I will have to put that one up next time because, again, I can't figure out how to delete this one. :(

At least I have one successful picture! This is Chase helping me make supper one night. He is really starting to smile and coo...I just love this stage!

This picture pretty much describes Carter! He is a wild man! Here we are playing superheros. He is diaperhead Carter lightyear...can you believe he gets me to wear a cape and a diaper too and we run around his room! ;) He has quite the imagination already. You can see Betsey, the cow, in the corner. She was also wearing a cape because she is a super-cow of course!

So here it is...I have decided to start a blog to share with friends and family what is happening and how the boys are growing and changing. I love being able to read friends' blogs to see how their kids are growing and to hear what is happening in their lives.

So the lastest news is that I did some rearranging today. I took the toddler bed/crib out of Carter's room and made it back into a crib and put it in Chase's room. Then I moved the dresser and changing table from Carter's room into Chase's room too. There had been a big dresser and queen?full? sized bed in the room we were going to use for Chase so I moved that into Carter's room. Did you follow all that? I will have to post some pictures later. Carter is now in a REAL big boy bed! He was quite excited for it and even took his first nap in it today! Yeah! Now I don't have to worry about switching it all back tonight!

Thats all for now. I will figure out how this all works a little better, then try again soon!