Down on the farm

Sing to the tune of "Old MacDonald" -

"Kurt and Wyan had a farm, E-I-E-I-O. And on that farm they had some pigs, E-I-E-I-O.
With an oink-oink here, and an oink-oink there, here an oink, there an oink, everywhere an oink-oink.
Kurt and Wyan had a farm, E-I-E-I-O!"

This is a tune sung almost daily around here since we spent Labor Day Weekend at my cousins' place in Iowa. The verses following this one usually include them having a combine, a tractor, and a 4-wheeler, but often when I suggest 4-wheeler, Brock corrects me and says, "No, Mom! We only sing about the big things!" One time when I asked him what else we should sing about Kurt and Wyan's farm, he thoughtfully responded with, "House!". I guess that is a big thing:). Here are some pics of our time on the farm. It's a good thing that they didn't have any work to do that weekend, because Brock and Kyle definitely occupied all of their free time with "I want to ride!"

We started out the weekend with lunch at the Machine Shed Restaurant in Davenport - quite yummy if you're ever in that area. They have these old tractors parked out front and the boys were smitten!

Kyle is all about driving!! Anything with a steering wheel - he's all over it!! I'm already worried about his 16th birthday:).

They also have this pig statue, which the boys thought was pretty cool, too. I love this pic of them with their cheesy faces!!

And, I love this one of Brock:).

My 3 boys:). I love them so!!

The next day the real fun began!! Here's Kyle on his first real big tractor ride with Uncle Wyan. He looks so serious!

"Okay, Mom. I guess I can look up and wave for just a minute, but there's a lot to look at up here."

Telling Dad all about his awesome ride.

Brock needed some gently encouragement from Aunt Kara. This is the typical response to new things - Kyle jumps right in, and Brock needs a little coaxing and encouragement.

He finally agreed to ride, but only if Papa drove the tractor. Papa was more than happy to oblige, as you can probably imagine. You can take a boy off the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the boy:).

Happy as a clam with Papa at his side:).

Kurt and Wyan have a nice long lane - perfect for tractor rides!!

Then, when Kyle saw Papa behind the wheel, he had to have a turn with Papa. Poor Kurt and Wyan. Their tractor had been taken over!!

Papa liked to do circles with the tractor, which the boys loved. It was pretty cool to watch, also.

Next, it was time for the 4 wheeler. Finally Uncle Kurt gets a turn to give rides!! Don't you love those shades?!?!?! This is one cool dude!

Brock gathered his courage right away on this one - and loved it!!

This picture doesn't look like much, but notice where Kyle is sitting. That's right - in the driver seat!! Each time Wyan would put him in the combine on the side seat and then turn around to get Brock in, Kyle would scamper over into the driver seat, and Wyan would have to move him back over to his rightful place. That boy yearns to drive!!

Love this pic, too!

Having the time of their little lives.

Watching with anticipation............what do you think we will get to do next???

Brock got tired of waiting and took off for the shed by himself. We found him in there pondering how to get up on an old skid loader. If we had given him a few more minutes, I'm sure we would have found him in the driver's seat!

Next, we moved on to the pigs. Kyle said, "These pigs stink!!". Wyan got an ear of corn out of the field, shelled it and let the boys feed it to them. Brock is busy throwing corn in this pic and Kyle is reloading:).

Trying to get corn to those piggys in the back:).

Another day led to more combine rides. We joked with Wyan that we probably owed him for a tank of gas, but I'm pretty sure it was true!

Feeling more confident and moving around in the cab - checking out the scene below.

Uncle Kurt got his turn driving the tractor on the second day.

And.....more piggy feeding:).

"Here, piggy-piggy-piggy!!"

One last little kernel of corn. Poor pigs - they expected so much more:).

On our last evening there, Kurt and Wyan were even generous to share their beloved Hawkeye baggo game with the boys, which they loved!! They didn't know enough to let that big yellow bird bother them:).

They actually did pretty well - playing by their own rules, of course!!

Pile on!!

We ended our tractor riding week end with some construction equipment at the mall - definitely not quite on par with the days before, but a fun way to get some energy out on the drive back. We love Bob the Builder, so it was cool to ride in Scoop!!

Can we build it?? Yes we can!!

And, more construction equipment - the dump truck. Now only if this one was Caterpillar yellow........

Thanks, Kurt and Wyan for an awesome time. We would definitely accept another invitation to come and ride next year:). We love you guys and appreciate all that you did for us!!

Sheep sheering and cake baking:)

This past weekend, the boys got much needed haircuts. I realized that it had been a while since their last haircuts, but we took off so much hair that it felt like we were sheering sheep:)!! It was also Aunt Ruthie's birthday so we baked her a cake. Like all kids, Brock and Kyle love to lick the beaters, so I got some pics of them in action with their new do's.

There's no combing necessary with these haircuts - which is good, because Mommy always forgets!! It's a good thing we have boys!!

"Yum, Mom!! I love frosting!"

"I'm saving some for later!"

Still working............

Love this face!!

The dynamic duo. They've been getting more squirley lately - I think it must be a "2 1/2" thing. Everyone talks about the terrible 2's. I used to wonder what they were talking about. Unfortunately, I'm starting to find out:(.

Notice that this beater NEVER leaves his mouth.

Still saving more for later. This guy can't keep the beater in his mouth - he's got too much to say!!

Happy Birthday, Aunt Ruthie!! I can't believe I forgot to take a pic of her with the boys - we'll have to remedy that this weekend!!

Day of the Dozer

We attended our first "Day of the Dozer" 2 weekends ago. Day of the Dozer is an event here in town purposed to raise money for the Community Cancer Center. It is a chance for kids to see construction equipment close up and in action - a very cool opportunity for 2 big truck-obsessed little Leman boys. The day arrived and the weather was beautiful, but our poor Kyle had developed a fever the day before. He had no other symptoms, so we decided to try it as we had already been talking about it and they were definitely looking forward to it. He was feeling pretty good when we left the house, but after standing in line for over an hour for the 1st ride (this is a very popular event- in case you hadn't guessed:), the meds had worn off and he was feeling pretty rotten. We were sure of this when he asked to go home just as we approached the front of the line:(. Needless to say, he was taken to the van, given some Motrin and watched Elmo until Brock was ready to go.

The boys - waiting patiently!

There was definitely enough to watch to keep them occupied through the long wait.

Here's what we saw: 1 grader, 1 hauler, 5 dump trucks, and 1 semi truck driving up and down these paths with 1 or 2 children in each one - fully experiencing the ride.

Here's the hauler that the boys had chosen to ride on - calling it the "yellow truck". Grammy and Aunt Kara would be so proud that they chose to ride on the yellow one - Go Caterpillar!!

A line of about 5 excavators all with a kiddo in them watching from the inside. Each time a different kid would get in, they would dig and spin around- fun even to watch from afar.

A close up of the excavators with a backhoe in the foreground.

Two bulldozers were available for rides, as well as a skid steer. It's amazing to see all of the equipment and man-hours that were donated to make this fund-raiser possible - so cool!!!

Well, after Kyle had returned to the van, our turn finally arrived. Brock paired up with another single rider, and I really tried to talk up what a big boy that he was and how much fun that he was going to have. I wasn't sure if he would go, but he walked over and up he went!!

He started to climb in.............

..........and the driver noticed me and held him up for a picture - and that was the end of it. He saw me and dissolved into a puddle of tears:(. They couldn't get him off of there fast enough for his liking, and as I apologized to the driver, he smiled and said "I'm glad he started crying before we left and not after we were out in the field." Me too!! Brock said confidently as we walked away "I'll ride next year - with Kyle!". Of that, I have no doubt, and we are already looking forward to next year.

Another out of order post

In case you didn't notice, there's another new post under an older one. Look for "Hooray for Underpants" on August 14th.

More Florida Pictures

Hi - I posted more Florida pictures, but since I started the post a while ago (a bit delayed by potty training), they are before some of my more recent posts. Scroll down to July 26th - you'll find them there.

Hooray for Underpants!!

Well, Brock and Kyle have crossed another item off on the list of "Things to do to become an official big boy!!" - potty training. We started last Friday, and I'm happy to report that by this Saturday, I could confidently say that "We're there!!!". It was a long road (figuratively speaking:), and in the middle of the messes, I had my doubts, but they persevered and conquered. We tried the 3 day potty training method, and even though it took longer than 3 days (which I hear is quite normal), it was a good method to follow. It has definitely taught the boys how to listen to their bodies. I never could have imagined how grateful I would be to have a main level with all hardwood and tile flooring and because of that, my home survived the experience in pretty good shape:). The method encourages lots and rewards and praise, and the boys loved it. Tonight before bed when I was snuggling with Brock, I asked him if he liked being such a big boy who goes on the big potty. He responded with "I like the big potty, I like big boy underpants, I like stickers, I like everything!". Here are some pics of my big boys:

Brotherly love - awwwwww!

Showin' off our big boy underpants - we have Mickey, Elmo, Thomas, Lighting McQueen and all of their friends. What 2 year old boy wouldn't want to be part of that!?!?!?!

"See my belly button?"

There were many rewards along the way - coloring books, play dough, stickers, gummy bears, M&M's, glow in the dark necklaces (which were used as glow in the dark hoops to roll on the driveway and throw in the air late one evening - typical boys:), bouncy balls, and tools (these boys love to "fix"things and tools were just up their alley), and the final reward was to go and pick out a balloon. We went on Thursday night as things were progressing pretty well by then, and the boys had a blast shopping for their balloons. Here they are at the store, probably trying to talk us into buying all of them instead of just one a piece:). Thank goodness for Dollar Tree. The rewards would have broke us if not for that place!!

Celebrating their "big boy status"!

Home with their balloons.

Kyle, of course, chose a balloon with balls on it. A funny from the potty training files: each time Kyle would toot on the potty, he would scrunch up his nose and say emphatically "sompin' stinks!". I would gently remind him that it was probably his toot, to which he would reply "Oh.". After thinking about it, we realized that the scent and thickness of his diapers had probably hidden most of the odor of his toots before, and this was a totally new experience for him. Too funny!!

Brock chose the funny face. We passed the time of our 3+ days at home partly by watching "Elmo's Potty Time". I can probably quote the whole movie by heart, but I'll spare you all but our favorite line of our favorite song "Accidents happen, that's what they say- accidents happen, night or day - accidents happen, when we're awake or we're nappin', accidents happen, and that's okay!". This has been our motto around here this past week and a half, but if things continue as they are, we're going to be searching for a new motto - maybe we could try "Hooray for Underpants!!".

Brock-love :)

So, any of you who know us well, know that Brock loves his Momma - a lot. Kyle is a Daddy's boy, and Brock is a Mommy's boy. It kind of works out:).

The boys have been on a kick of wanting to sleep with all of their animals in the bed with them - especially Brock. We've had to put a limit on the number of critters that he shares his bed with, but some nights he bargins for how many will make it into sleep with him. Here was a conversation that occurred last week as I was putting the boys to bed:

Brock: "Can I have the Moose in my bed with me?"
Mommy: "No, honey. You already have enough friends in bed with you tonight."
B: "Can I have the Monkey in bed with me?"
M: "No, not tonight."
B: "Can I have the lion in bed with me?"
M: "No, honey, you have enough animals."
B: "Can I have you in bed with me??" with a smile and his most pleading voice.

That boy does love to snuggle with his Momma, and she's really okay with this - most of the time:).