More memory makers:)

Since I still can't give you any pics, I have a few more stories to entertain you:

More dinner time conversations - When Daddy comes home from work, I usually, at some point ask him how his day was. Typically, this happens over dinner. The boys have picked up on this, and have taken over the task of asking Daddy how his day was, and everyone else in the family, too. Here's a snippet of our dinner conversation - remember this is happening during dinner and they would be calmly eating bites in between their conversing. Mommy and Daddy, on the other hand, almost couldn't eat because they were laughing so hard after this repeated conversation went on for about 10 minutes:

B - "How was your day, Kyle?"
K - "It was good!"
B - "Good!" "How was your day, Daddy?"
D - "It was good!"
B - "Good!" "How was your day, Mommy?"
M - "It was good!"
B - "Good!" "How was your day, Kyle?"
K - "It was good!"
B - "Good!"

Then, they would so nicely take turns (a rare occurrence:), and Kyle would take over:

K - "How was your day, Brock?"
B - "It was good!"
K - "Good!" "How was your day, Daddy?"
D - "It was good!"
K - "Good!" "How was your day, Mommy?"
M - "It was good!"
K - "Good!" "How was your day, Brock?"
B - "It was good!"
K - "Good!"

Eventually, it was just a conversation between the two of them, and this was when we really fell apart:):

B - "How was your day, Kyle?"
K - "It was good!"
B - "Good!"

K - "How was your day, Brock?"
B - "It was good!"
K - "Good!"

And so it went on. They are so cute:).

Then this morning brought another funny. Unfortunately for Mommy, it happened at 6:30am, when she would have really liked another hour (or at least a 1/2 hour) of sleep:(.

I've heard that kids start dreaming around the age of two, and I think that we have reached this milestone. We have lately heard talking over the monitor at night, and checked to find everyone sound asleep. We are not sure which of the boys is our sleep talker, or if it's both, but whom ever it is comes by it honestly, as their Mommy likes to chat away in the middle of the night, too!! This morning, I heard someone saying something, but I couldn't understand what they were saying, and they were almost crying as they were so upset. I went in to investigate and found Brock, still laying down with his eyes closed crying out "I want marshmallows. I need marshmallows!" - with tears and everything. We had gone shopping on Saturday, and bought the boys a bag of Easter marshmallows- pastel colored bunny-shaped marshmallows, or "Hip-hops" as the boys call them. Brock absolutely LOVED them, and apparently in his dream, he was being told that he couldn't have any:(. He eventually opened his eyes, but his request for marshmallows persisted. With such a dramatic presentation, of course, his Daddy had to comply with his request for a marshmallow - at 6:30 am:). What a start to the day!! I wonder how bunny marshmallows taste in coffee?? I'll let you know if this becomes a trend:).

Arguing at the dinner table - already

Since we are still having computer difficulties (one down, one to go -thanks JA for working so hard to get us back up and running:) and I cannot share any pics with you, I thought I'd share with you a snippet of our dinner conversation one night last week.

Brock: "I hear an airplane!" (these boys have super-sonic hearing-best for hearing airplanes, fire trucks, and big trucks rumbling down the busy road near our house, but not for hearing what Mommy tells them to do, like pick up their toys:)

Kyle: "No, Brock, that is the furnace!" (our furnace in this house is quite noticeable when it runs, and I think that he's heard us discuss it:)

Brock: "NO! Airplane!!"

Kyle: "NO!! Furnace!!"

Actually, they were both right. The furnace was running and an airplane was flying overhead. Too cute how they stand their ground with each other already.

Also, even though the birthdays are over and Christmas has long since past, we still hear frequent strains of "Happy Birthday to You", "O Christmas Tree", and "Little Drummer Boy (otherwise known in the Leman house as "Rum-pa-pa-pum":). They are quite the singers - even on key most of the time, and break out into spontaneous song on a regular basis.
Oh, the fun we have:).

Happy 2nd Birthday!!

It's hard for me to believe, but my boys turned 2 years old today!! The past two years have flown by, and it seem like just yesterday that they were born. We've had lots of birthday celebrations this weekend, and today was just a day to play with new toys, play in the snow, eat leftover birthday cake, open the last present, and sing a few more verses of Happy Birthday To You!!

Here's Brock, waiting patiently to open his gift from Mommy and Daddy. He looks like such the patient boy, but what you can't see is that he has already torn the package on the other end:).

Kyle really was patient about the present because he was very distracted by the balloon string that Daddy tied around his wrist!!

Brock, showing off his Thomas Choo-choo Beach Towel

Kyle, modeling his Thomas Choo-choo beach towel.

Oops!! I'm a little out of order, sorry!! Here they are digging into the presents after Kyle finally got the balloon off of his wrist and could concentrate:).

Pre-present pic. Brock, thrilled with more pictures and delayed present opening, and Kyle, still working on that darn balloon!!

Eating birthday cake - a highlight of the 2 year old birthday, along with opening presents and being sung to. Last night at their family party, they were so thrilled with the "Happy Birthday to you" song, that they kept asking for encore performances, and their aunts, uncles, and grandparents were more than happy to oblige:). I think that we heard the song at least 4 times - just during cake time:).

"I like cake, too!!"

And a little trip down memory lane, for those of you, like me, who just look at this and smile. We had no idea on that day what a wonderful ride we were in for:). We love you, Brock and Kyle!!!

Scenes from Christmas - delayed by a little virus(of the computer sort:()

I know that it's been over a month since Christmas, but I'm going to share a few pics and stories from the boys' Christmas adventures anyway:). As you can tell by the date, I started this post
some time ago, but we've had a little bug causing difficulties in the technological portion of our lives - no fun!!

The boys had a great time this Christmas. They really got into the present opening, and are well practiced for their upcoming birthday. They have been playing hard with their new toys. So much so that they didn't even notice when I packed up some of the old ones:). We read them a simple version of the Christmas story many times over the holiday, but due to a sighting of Santa at Cub Foods (they were awe-struck by this hairy man in a red suit who gave them candy), they confused Joseph (and the wise men) whose pictures were in the story books, calling them all Santa Claus. Even with much explaining, I'm not sure that we got thru to them, mostly because Joseph was wearing red in their book, and Santa wore a red suit. I guess I would be confused too if I was only 1:).


Here are Brock and Kyle, posing in front of our Christmas tree at home. We went ahead and put up a big tree this year. Last year we just did a little tree on top of a book shelf - you can guess why:), and the year before that I was entirely too pregnant to decorate with much more than a poinsettia:), so it was kind of nice to have a big Christmas tree again. The boys did pretty well with the decorations, considering their curiosity levels. I only had to put the ribbons back on the tree 4 times, put back up the lights on the windows 2 times, and throw away one broken ornament. We were unsuccessful in keeping them from plugging in the lights, despite time-outs and a few spanks, and we eventually gave in and taught them how to do it right and prayed for no shocks:). They survived, and Kyle has been appointed (by himself) as the official Christmas light turner-on-er of the family. It was pure joy for him every single day!!

Cheese balls!! We opened up presents at home on Christmas eve morning, and after naps, headed to P'ville to Grammy and Papa's. While we were upstairs getting ready to leave, the boys got extremely quiet for too long of a time period. Pressed for time, we finished packing - knowing that we were taking a risk, and not knowing what we may find. Daddy finished first, and went down to find both boys, guilty faces covered in chocolate and breath smelling like peanut butter. Rob had made a batch of his famous peanut butter balls that afternoon and they were on the kitchen table drying. We didn't even think about it, but the boys found them and they were entirely too enticing for them to resist. Luckily, we intervened before they were able to start on their second round, and they only ate one each:). Hands and faces were a mess, but their clothes were miraculously clean - these boys don't waist a drop of chocolate!! After we cleaned them up, loaded them in the car, and hit the road, I asked them how the peanut butter balls were. Kyle promptly responded from the back seat "Yummy in my tummy. Have more??" What a funny boy!!

Opening presents at Grammy and Papa's on Christmas eve.

"More pictures, really Grammy?!? Let's get on with the presents!!"

Christmas morning - new bean bags to watch Elmo on:).

After church - delighted to find Elmo laptops in their packages and not just more clothes:).

Kyle trying out his new Elmo backrest.

" Elmo Brock" snuggling with Mommy:). Who knew that you could find so many things "Elmo"!!

Christmas night, we headed to Grandma Leman's house. Here's Brock, practicing his texting skills with cousin Maddy's supervision:). 22 mos and texting?!?! Kids are growing up way too fast theses days:).

Kyle had to have a turn texting, too. Between this and their new "laptops", these boys are already way ahead of their parents!!

Worn out from all of the festivities.

Snuggling with Grandma Leman at the Leman family Christmas on Saturday. It was a fun season, but we were kind of glad to see January come:).

Snow much fun!!!

The boys have been busy enjoying all of the beautiful snow that we have been getting. Their newest phrase is "I love snow", which can be heard many times throughout the day as they look out the windows, despite Daddy's attempts to teach them to say "Snow, phtttt!!".
Here's Kyle, trying out his snow boot legs. "Do you really think that I can walk in these things, Mom??" They were funny to watch on their maiden voyage in all of the snow gear.

Brock takes it all in stride, at least while he's still in the house:).

"They put us out here and give us shovels. Do they really think that we can clear this whole drive??!?? It looks like a big job for little us!!"

"I would rather stand here and watch the snow fall.", says Brock.

"Well, this patch is clear. I think that's good enough for me.", says Kyle.

Brock, still watching the snow fall. This boy never stands still this long any other time. We can't tell if he's just taking it all in, or if it takes too much energy to move with all of his gear on:).

After watching Daddy run the snow blower and Mommy shovel for a while, they decided their time could be better spent. They disappeared into the garage, and returned with their bikes. "Need a push, brother?"

Then, another trip into the garage produced lawn mowers, or mini snow blowers, if your imagination is working well:). Kyle got right to work on the driveway, but Brock decided to work in the garage for a while. I think he was ready for a break from the elements.

"These darn snow drifts!! How's a guy supposed to get anywhere with all of this white stuff to deal with??"

Kyle decided that this path was just the right sized for his bike. He was right, until he tried to turn around:).

Another traffic casualty. Motorcycles weren't built for the snow, you know:).

A nice place to sit and watch.

Kyle showing off his multi-tasker skills, riding and mowing at the same time.

"Maybe this thing does work better if I just walk behind it."

Cute little rosy cheeks!!

Another rosy cheeked cutie!!!

I think Brock's just about finished. Either he's frozen solid, or just bored by it all:).

There's just nothing like a bundled up little 0ne, huh??

"Elmo Brock" and "Elmo Kyle"

Lovin' our new Christmas gifts - Elmo snuggle blankets:).

Crazy Boys

Kyle has a new dance move that I thought I'd share with you. Brock definitely thinks that it's a good move, but it's a Kyle original. I started this post last weekend, but got busy and didn't finish it until today (hence the probably date of last Sunday:(). The boys are both doing and saying such funny things - totally unprompted. Their little personalities are continuing to shine through, and we love every minute of it (although, it keeps us quite busy;).

Here are some of the funny things heard around the Leman household lately. And, might I remind you, these are the ones that they come up with all on their own - not the ones that they are repeating just after we say it. They definitely hear, and remember what we say, which can sometimes be a bit intimidating!!

Here are Brock's:

"Just a minute, Kyle" - I wonder who he's heard say this??

"What are you doing, Kyle?"

"Hello, Ruffie?? Hi!!" - as he picks up the phone for the hundredth time in a day and pretends to talk:).

"I need orange juice!!" - said with great desperation:).

And, then there's Kyle's:

"Mommy, where are you??" - as he randomly walks through the house looking for me. What I think makes this one so cute is the tone of his voice. He phrases it as such an important question:).

"I love you, Mommy." - This one I NEVER grow tired of hearing:).

When asked on the phone by Ruthie - was your dinner good??, Kyle responded "Yummy in my tummy!"

"Good Job, Mom!!" - not sure what I did to deserve this one, but I'm glad to know that they pick up on the praise that we give them, and are willing to give it back.

"I can hear an airplane!" - I think the boy has super sensitive hearing for airplanes, and also fire trucks, police cars, ambulances, etc.

At the dinner table the other night, Kyle turned to his brother and said "Mommy's proud of you, Brock." - Again, glad that they pick up on the praise:).

I'll try and be a better poster and finish up on some catch up pics soon!!