The Birmingham Zoo

Grandma, Grandpa, Joshua, & Noah

So the rest of April has really flown by. From a work perspective mommy and daddy have been really busy with the tie-in outage at the plant. The "tie-in outage" is the part of the job where you tie the new equipment into the existing equipment. It can be challenging, stressful, and ultimately (hopefully) successful. So here are some funny quotes from the boys.

As we were driving back to Pensacola, I decided to stop on the road for lunch.
Me: Joshua, do you want a hamburger or nuggets?
J: Hmmm, I want steak!
Me: That's not an option.
J: *sigh* Ok, then I want a hamburger, but I do not want any marbles or nuts on it.
Me: I think that can be arranged.

It's the little things in life that truly do bring you so much joy. I love that Noah doesn't want you to put on his socks on until you grab his toes and tell him "This little piggy went to market..."

I had to work late one day and forgot to change out of my work boots before leaving. When I got home Joshua saw me and asked "Mommy, why are you wearing man shoes?"

Big milestone announcement. In late April Matt and I discovered that Noah can sing his ABCs and count to 10. We were so surprised! He's been holding out on us.

OK, I saved the best for last. Joshua found a dvd that contained old cartoons and I mean old as in the cartoons that were old when I watched them as a little girl. Anyway he totally cracking me up because he pronounces Popeye like this "P'pie." It sounds very french and sophisticated, just like... oh wait, that's nothing like Popeye!

Also mommy had another training class in Birmingham so the boys got to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa and visit the Birmingham Zoo. They had a lot of fun - and by "they" I mean Grandma & Grandpa and Joshua & Noah. The boys really liked the monkeys - why am I not surprised? Thanks for the zoo trip!

Noah is studying his brother's next move.

Easter pics and Egg Hunts

Chatham Family - Easter 2012

Noah and Joshua

Happy Noah

Look at my egg!

Here are the rest of the Easter pictures. I was glad that Noah was able to fit into the Noah's Ark jon-jon. Joshua wore that for his 2nd Easter and it was a perfect fit. Noah is not as petite as his big brother so we had to keep catching the snaps to make sure he was still dressed.  :) We enjoyed a wonderful time visiting in Birmingham. As a bonus, mommy had a meeting in Birmingham the following day so after the festivities with Daddy's family, the boys and I went to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Happy Easter!

I want to mention that Joshua has really been paying attention in his AWANAs Cubbies class and during church.  In fact he was quite evangelical while we were out at dinner at Outback. He told everyone in the ladies room "Jesus died for our sins. He died on a cross, went in a tomb, lost his body, and rose from the dead. He's our Savior! Jesus loves me and you!" He was very excited and loud. I am proud of him and the fact he is excited about Jesus.

All my boys

Chatham Family w/ Granddaddy

Chatham Family w/ Grandottie and Jerry Pop

Easter 2012: Easter morning

Easter morning 2012 with Mommy

We stayed at Granddaddy's house for Easter. The boys enjoyed a small egg hunt and going through their baskets after they woke up. The Easter bunny had to read a lot of labels to make sure everything was nut-free and manufactured in a nut-free facility. Noah loved his Elmo basket and Joshua loved his Lightning McQueen basket - ka-chow! And we were really proud of Joshua because he had pneumonia and didn't feel well and was still a really good sport about it. After all the fun and chocolate it was time to meet the rest of Daddy's family for church and then lunch at Aunt Dana's. I'll post our Easter pictures in another post.

2012 Easter: Dyeing Easter Eggs

Easter 2012: Noah and Joshua

Step 1. Drop egg in dye.  Step 2. Celebrate "I did it!"

Yea! insert laughter and applause

We drove to Birmingham to spend Easter with our family. This year we went to the twins house - Aunts Celeste and Elaine - to dye Easter Eggs. The boys had a lot of fun as did all the grownups. Aunt Stoppie was also there to help out. Noah's favorite color was yellow or "lello" as he likes to call it. Joshua liked to dance while we were waiting for the eggs. Neither boys were "gentle" with the eggs and luckily only a few were cracked. Thanks for hosting us! We had soo much fun!

So excited to make Easter eggs!

My tech-savvy boys waiting on their eggs to finish dyeing.

Ta-dah!

Noah's class

Here is a picture of Noah's class at daycare and a picture of Noah painting.

Community Easter Egg Hunt

Over the weekend we took the boys to a community Easter egg hunt. The weather didn't cooperate so the event was brought indoors at a local high school. I think this worked out even better because there really wasn't any hunting - just grabbing what was right in front of you. They did a good job of dividing the ages. Matt and Joshua were a team and Mommy and Noah were a team. Afterwards there was a raffle and both my boys were picked for prizes. What can I say - they are my lucky charms!

Did you know there's candy in these eggs!?!

After careful consideration, I believe I will keep this egg.

My Funny Boys

Here are a few quotes/stories  from my funny boys.

This is a recent conversation between Matt and Joshua after Matt hit his head on the headboard while they were settling down to read a book:
BANG
Joshua: Sorry.
Daddy: It's not your fault. I hit my head.
Joshua: Oh, you should say sorry to yourself
Daddy: Sorry to myself.

We have a lot of Toy Story clothing and toys in our house. Whenever I point to Woody and ask "Who's that?" Noah says "Yee-ha!" This amuses me to no end!

When I recently went to pick Joshua up from daycare there was a little girl who kept asking J for a hug while he dodged her. Later I asked him why he wouldn't hug her and he said "I'm too busy doing boy things to hug a girl!"  I'm just glad he's not too busy to hug his mommy.

Noah has reached another milestone of sorts. Up until Friday any question you asked him was answered with "No!" You had to listen to his inflection to know if he meant yes. Well now he has started saying "Yesh!" to some questions. So proud of my big boy!

We have a beautiful drive to work everyday. We drive across Escambia Bay while the sun is coming up. It's a peaceful part of the day. One morning as we were driving across the bridge and listening to k-love, Joshua was really paying attention because he exclaimed "Mommy! They talkin' about God. He's our Savior." I'm so glad he listens and pays attention. He is a sweet child of God.

Celebration in Bham and a Milestone

Joshua and Noah with Jerry Pop

We went to Birmingham over the weekend to celebrate Matt's Aunt Linda and Uncle Doug's 50th Wedding Anniversary. It was great to see the immediate and extended family together for such a special occasion. Here are some pictures from the fun event as well as some fun the boys (actually Noah napped the whole time but Joshua had a ball) had at the Trussville park playing with Grandottie and Jerry Pop before the party.

Wheee! Fun with Daddy!

Cousin Ryan sneaking up on Noah and Jerry Pop

Look at my belly Jerry Pop. I'm full!

The milestone I want to mention is that Noah has learned how to grab a doorknob and close doors. He's so sweet giggling as he slowly walks backwards with the door. Yea Noah!

Also Joshua gave me a new definition:
Vampire - It's like a potato, only the bad guy kind.

A little birthday fun

Joshua's friend Barrett recently turned 3. Here are a few pictures of the birthday fun from last weekend.

Here is some proof that Joshua is paying attention in school and learning new things... While we were in the car Joshua asked for a toy to play with. I found a slinky and handed it back to him. He said "Oh I NEED that Mommy." I asked him "Why do you need that?" He replied "So we can talk about opposites. This is small (as he held the slinky together) and this is big (as he stretches it as wide as it will go). I was super impressed!

Brothers

Joshua recently told me "I'm a growing boy. Next Halloween if my Buzz Lightyear outfit doesn't fit maybe I can be Woody."
Me: That sounds great. Then maybe Noah can be Buzz Lightyear.
Joshua: Mommy, Noah can't be Buzz. He's not a Space Ranger.
Me: Oh, then who will he be?
Joshua: He can be pig...

Spoken like a true brother. In the spirit of that, here are some pics of my boys playing together.

Brotherly love

Too much brotherly love...

Tooty, Fruity, Shake Your Booty