Finn- 2 weeks

Finn is here! He is 2 weeks old and cute as can be. Everyone says he looks just like Joe. He is a good baby and his brothers love him very much.

Blog Back Log

OK, I have been WAY behind on my blog. I am going to try and get all caught up but please be patient with me.

Finn asleep in his swing. Here he is a week and a half old. He is a keeper, that is for sure!

Joe's deployment

Ok, so Most of you already know this but Joe left for his deployment with the Army last month to Kuwait. In the past month it has been a crazy hectic world with just me and the boys. I keep meaning to take pictures, but by the time I am chasing the two boys I often forget (or it is the least of my concerns at the moment). I really hope to get better at at this single parent thing. It is tough. I don't know how single parents do it, or why they would want more kids once they are a single parent. The boys and are are slowly getting adjusted to our new routines without Joe here. It has been a lot more challenging than I thought it would be at first. I just assumed that life would be the same, Joe would be the only thing missing. I know Joe does a lot for us, but it really throws our entire family's schedule out of wack having him gone. We sure miss him and hope for a speedy return. As I have been praying all along, I pray that the days pass quickly and the nights be slept through. We also of course pray for Joe's safe return, and that he gets accepted into the Physician's Assistant program for 2010. So, I invite you to keep us in your prayers as well. Also, please check back, I promise I will start taking pictures again. Thank you for thinking of us.

Moto and Tiger

In a moment of weakness I let the boys get a kitten. The Kitten came as a pair, a matching set to be exact. They are Manx mix orange tabby with very wide stripes. I had to go out and get them different colored collars so I could tell them apart when their tails are tucked. Moto has a short, half a tail and appears to have a slight mohawk running down his spine and Tiger has a regular tail. They are quite the pair. They play very well together as they are litter mates and are used to having each other around. There were 3 other kittens in the litter and they are all black. It mush have looked like a Halloween litter full of Orange and Black kittens. They were born 18th Feb 2009, so they are now 11 weeks old. Tiger weighs 3.3 lbs and Moto weighs 3 lbs. They came to us already litter trained and have not had a miss yet! The boys are having a lot of fun playing with these two clowns and chasing them around the house. I am enjoying watching the circus as well.

Meet Tiger and Moto

Here we have Skoebie holding Tiger, black collar, and then Moto, blue collar. Then Stew doing the same. Stew holds them much better than Skoebie, with the extra support under their bum. it is really funny to watch the boys interact with these kittens because Skoebie is fearless and will chase them and catch them while Stew is much more timid. You have to practicaly set the kitten in his lap for him to feel OK holding it for a minute. Stew is constantly telling me that Moto and Tiger are his friends, but he is just not sure what to do with them. He also really wants them to sleep with him. Yesterday, I put one of them up on his bed just as he was waking up and he was so excited thinking that Tiger had slept with him. He is really a sweet kid. The other morning we had to take the kittens to the vet to get their first check up and shots. I told the boys to hurry and get their shoes on because I had to catch the kittens and put them in the carrier. before i know it Skoebie had them both and placed them both in the carrier and tells me, "There Momma, done!" I was quite surprised. i know he is good at catching them, but to get them both in the carrier....WOW! He is hired!

Stew's Pictures

Stew insisted on using my camera yesterday afternoon to take some pictures outside. Here is what he captured. "Skoebie smelling a flower" -apparently Skoebie leaned forward to smell the flower and not towards Stew because Stew told him he moved wrong. "Dirt, rocks, and sticks" -as we all know how important those are in the life of a boy. "Grass and a flower" -he told me that this one was "because you need flowers Momma". Finally we have "a picture of the neighbors car and bikes" -because "I like cars and bikes" Stew said. I thought this was a fun little project to give him the camera and then ask him about the pictures he took. He was well pleased with himself. I think it even made him more proud that I seemed interested. Truthfully, I was just very thankful that he handled my camera with great care, wore the strap around his neck without me asking and didn't even come close to dropping it.

Grey Squirrel, gray squirrel shake your bushy tail

Ok, we have a couple of squirrels that frequent our back yard. The boys love to watch these crazy critters romp and play in the back yard. We even got to watch this chubby guy fighting with a crow over some food the other day. Yesterday morning (or was it the day before) Skoebie comes and gets me by the hand to tell me "Silly squirrel, look Momma!" and points outside. This is what we saw. Our squirrel was basking in the sunlight (a rarity here in the Pacific Northwest). Then when I got the camera the crazy thing appeared to puff out his chest a little more and even stand a little taller. What a poser!

I'm watching you

This past week I got the boys a new pet fish. It is a Betta fish. The boys love to lay on the kitchen counter and watch him swim. skoebie is especially fond of this activity. The boys even gave it a name, Hemmet. A Hemmet is a heavy duty army truck with a pointy nose and just happens to be one of the boys favorite vehicles. Stew grins every time he tells me that his fish is named Hemmet. He also quickly adds that hemmet's are his favorite. I just love the picture with Skoebie's nose pressed up against the glass.

No training wheels!

Yesterday, Stew decided that he was ready to have his training wheels off! Cna you believe it? At 3 1/2 he wanted to ride his bike like a big kid. Joe worked with him in the back yard and he would ride about 5 feet at a time. He even kept trying and had 5 successful attempts. He did really well! I was so proud. I must admit I did get a little teary eyed at the thought of him growing up so fast. He did toward the end get a little sacred about falling down and getting hurt and wanted his training wheels back on. We will just have to keep practicing. Go Stew Go!