Spring has sprung!!

We are loving the warm again weather!! Carter and I played outside all day today, we had so much fun. We had to clean up all of Berkley's messes in the yard before we could play though...
A few new pictures today, they have nothing to do with us playing outside, but they are a little of what has been going on here.
Two pictures are of Chase in Carter's bed. They love to jump on the bed, but this day Chase cuddled up in the blankets and thought he was pretty big stuff.
The other two are from today, I made some scotcheroos and the boys were licking the spoon after I put the chocolate on...they loved it almost as much as I do! ;)

Happy love day!

Tonight I got to spend the night with two of three loves of my life. The boys and I had a nice night until Berkeley (our dog) let herself in to join us. Berk is not usually a house dog; mostly bc she needs a bath, but also bc she eats all the toys!

While I was not thrilled with her joining us in the house, the boys were! They chased her all over, laughed and played with her. They had so much fun, until bedtime...

Carter actually started crying tonight when I wouldn't let berk sleep in his room. Then berk got in chase's room and woke him up. When Carter heard Chase crying he said, "I'm ok, you should go help chase". And he gave me one of his animals to bring to chase to help him feel better :). He has such a soft heart. Of how I love my boys!

Forgotten blog

So I guess I forgot that I had a blog. It Has been SO long since I have updated. I now have a wild, crazy, (and smart) 3 year old; and a walking, jabbering (no actual words), and stubborn 15 month old!

The boys have completely different personalities. Carter is the loving one, always wanting to snuggle and give hugs. Chase is the leave me alone guy, who will come give you a quick hug but don't try to keep him there to long or he will throw a fit. Although they are so different they play very well together,0. I love hearing the giggles woad they play and crack each other up. Of course, there is also some yelling/screaming when sharing isn't going well, but it seems like that doesn't happen as often as the giggles.

Even though it has been a mild winter, we are definitely ready for some warmth and sun. The boys found some sunglasses the other day and Carter said, "I'm ready for the beach"! Well, it was far to cold for the beach, but we did have a little photo shoot. So here are a few of the latest pictures of my guys!

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!