Insta-Weekend 10.30.11

Practicing with our black panther hats.

Cuddling with Perrito, Aunt Cara and her perritos

Decorating for Halloween.



Cartoonies in Mom and Dad's bed

K & Malinda

Unbelievable weather (and seats). Forgettable ending.

Ben and T - the final score did not inhibit our ability to enjoy ourselves!

Halloween pizza cookies with auntie Cara

Paintin'

The boys love painting with watercolors. 


Emphasis on the "water". 


I love how you can see the leftover blueberry pancakes on their faces. I didn't dare edit that out...very fitting for a typical Sunday morning!

Insta-Weekend 10.23.11

Family pictures. Notice the red eyes? That's from the meltdown that occurred 8 minutes into the photo shoot. Mason wasn't feeling well (ear infection) but Prior was just crying because it was the thing to do. The day after, Prior said: "Mommy - we be naughty at pictures?" YES! 

Guess what!? Ben and I both left the boys together for the FIRST time since they were born.  More pictures to come! Destination: Newport Beach, CA

Olive oil tasting - so fun! 

Olive oil

The view...
Reminds me of the pond in our back yard. Well, kinda.

Making a mess...

Headed home... 

Bye-bye ocean - you're not that cool anyway...

Mason and his sticker-stash.

Prior and his sticker-stash.

Playing with the toy airplanes we brought home from the trip. 

Oh - and wine tasting...how could I forget?!

Photos by Erika

Erika loves photography. I swear that wasn't a requirement when we hired her! The cool part is that she's really good. And while the pictures remind me of all the FUN stuff I'm missing out on during the week, I still love seeing them. These pictures make my job look pretty boring compared to hers!

I promise we cut their hair! It's nearly impossible to keep up!

Girls ARE trouble! Erika has regular play dates with another au pair - this is one of her kiddos, Maria.

Mason shoveling leaves. You'd think we moved into a forest with all of the trees and leaves we have around. 

All of this practice with their shovels will come in handy in a few short weeks when the snow starts to fly...

Mason on the swing set. 

There's a random pumpkin patch in the parking lot of a church near our house. I love pumpkins!!

Erika and P - how cute is this picture!?

Curious George(s)

We had a halloween party at a pumpkin patch put on by our real estate agents recently.

I promised the boys popcorn if they wore their George hats. 

(Sometimes parenting is about bribery.)

Fall Ball

M

P

P

Ben continues to force encourage the boys to bat left handed. We were very fortunate with some fantastic early October weather to practice our swings.


Recently we've been watching our Red Birds play on TV. Ben is a big Cardinals fan. They boys call Albert Pujols "Uncle TwoHoles". We laugh every time!

Insta-Weekend 10-16-11

Finishing up the final touches in the bathroom remodel.

Friday fun-day with Mom

Haircuts

Showing off the tattoos we got after being good for our hair cuts.

Yummy greek yogurt.

Lunch at IKEA!

Mason's milk mustache.

A couple quick rides at Camp Snoopy - aka Nikelodeon Universe

Lucky boys.

Coloring.

Our new $1.99 bath toys from IKEA - funnels!

In a matter of 6 minutes in one isle of the Home Depot, the boys unpacked an entire battery display. We counted over 30 packs of batteries as we attempted to put them back.

Ben showing off his 'carpentering' skills.

Building a stack of diapers / wipes after a trip to Costco. Some think diapers are fun (i.e. P&M!!) Others do not (i.e. Mom and Dad!)