How do you eat an OREO cookie??

These boys LOVE Oreo cookies. But, true to their food personalities, they have very different methods of eating them. Here's a pictorial play-by-play of the cookie eating action around our house:


Brock - he's not afraid to dig in and get his hands dirty. "Mommy, can you open it please?"

"Two parts - good. Now I can get started on that cream!!"

"It works well if you lick it first, then dig your teeth in."

"Once the cream is gone, we're ready to dip it. This is my favorite part!!"

"And a little milk to wash it down."

"See - dip, then bite. It works!"

Now, do you want to see how this guy eats his cookie?? He looks pretty serious, don't you think??

"Cookie, please, Mom."

"I prefer to keep my hands (and my face clean) in this process. I need a spoon to eat my cream."

"This works well, don't you think?"

"Bite by bite, I get it done!"

"Almost clean."

"Now, for the dipping. For this, I don't mind getting a little dirty. Besides, I haven't quite figured out how to keep the cookie on the spoon yet."

"Yummy in my tummy."

This is what I turned around to find after I had told him that 4 cookies was enough. He was going to help himself!! What a pumpkin!!

And, one last shot of this sweet cookie face. It may take a lot of wash cloths to keep him clean, but he's totally worth it!!

Big boy beds!!

I said it before, but if I say it again, it may just sink in:). My boys are growing up. We have definitely crossed out of "baby" realm - some time ago, but this past weekend made it very real. We converted their cribs into toddler beds. They are doing good thus far, and we are thankful. Here are some pics of the finished products and the proud boys, and then some of the work in progress - a little backwards, but it works:).

Brock and his "big" bed.

Kyle and his "big" bed.

"See, Mom, I can get out if I want to!!"

"Enough of the pictures. I'm ready for a nap!"

Still Mr. Smiley.

The boys helping daddy read the instructions. He was a little frustrated with all of the help from the very beginning, so he told them to go and read some books. They did, but had to sit right beside him, as to not miss anything important.

"See, Dad, I think it says that you should let me work the screw driver on this nice wood."

Tough guy.

Crazy man.

"Look at my great big muscles!!"

"See, I can do it, too!"

"Watch out, world!! Here I come - whenever I want. No more crib rails holding me back - no-sir-re!!"

Pure sweetness.

"I got it!!"

My boys are growing up fast!! Last weekend, when we were having lunch, we ended the meal with a favorite treat of Brock and Kyle's - Loft house cookies. They love them (and we do to:)!! I gave each boy one cookie and set about clearing the table and cleaning up the kitchen. The cookies disappeared quickly, as usual, and several times I hear Brock asking for another one. I had replied "No, one is enough." several times, but wasn't really paying attention to the actions that were accompanying his words. Then, from the table we heard, "I got it!!" in a small voice, muffled by something in his mouth. Brock had reached over to the table (when did their arms get that long??) and helped himself to a 2nd cookie. He thoroughly enjoyed each bite, but the best part was the proud look on his little face. Sorry that these pics aren't the best, but you'll get the idea.

Such a big boy who can help himself to what he wants:).

"See, Mom? Now I'm full."

Here's Kyle, because he's too cute to leave out:). He, while all of this was going on, was still slowly savoring his 1st cookie. Pretty typical - Brock wants his food whole (like a big boy) and eats as fast as he can in large bites. Kyle wants it "broken" and savors it all:).

Funny story about Kyle - This pic was taken right before nap time and he was tired. He rubbed his eyes and, I would guess, got some cookie crumbs in them. Any time his eyes itch or he gets something in them he says "I got a bug in my eye." I think this goes back to an evening bike ride earlier in the spring when I really did get a bug in my eye while we were riding. It really had an impression on him, and he's been imitating that scenario ever since. What a funny guy:).

Here he is getting the "bug" out of his eye. Too cute!!

We have some work to do..........

Yesterday, we were outside in the morning and the boys were blowing bubbles and playing with sidewalk chalk. As a result, we came back in the house with very dirty hands. The boys immediately went in to the living room to play with their toys. As I entered, here was the conversation that ensued:

Me: "Boys, don't touch anything before we wash your hands. They are dirty."

Kyle: "No. I don't want to wash my hands." (typical 2 year old:)

Me: (taken aback slightly with the defiance of a typical 2 year old) "Who's in charge here, anyway?"

Kyle: "Um, Bob the Builder!"

I sure hope that Bob the Builder likes clean hands:).

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

"Come and see my tower, Mommy. It's beautiful!!" These were the words of my boy Brock this afternoon. He and his brother took naps at different times today (very rare), and it was kind of nice spending one-on-one time with each of them. It was also interesting to watch them play on their own. They did really well, but who wouldn't when you have full reign of the toys that you usually have to share:).

Brock and his beautiful tower:).

"Do you want to build a tower, Mommy?"

"See the colors? This one is black!"

It's good to have a brother!!

It's good to have a brother when.........

....you have a big basket to load with stuff.

Two makes the job go much quicker:).

It's good to have a brother when you want to "line things up" a bit. Hey, at least this time they organized the chaos:).

It's good to have a brother when you want to have a tower building marathon:).

"See me, Mom?? My tower is in my wagon."

"This is a really, really (pronounced weally, weally) big tower!!"

It's good to have brother when you need a ride with all of your stuff!!

And, it's good to have a brother when you need someone to cover for you. I came downstairs yesterday, and immediately found Kyle playing with his trucks. I went looking for Brock and couldn't see him, but could hear rustling from the family room. As I called for him, he pop's his head up from behind the couch and says, "I'm here."

"What are you doing?", I inquired.

He replies ever so sweetly, "I'm picking these cd's up for Kyle. He did a no-no, but I'm putting them away."

It's good to have someone covering your back!! Lucky boys. I hope they always take good care of each other:).

Mother's Day Blessings

Here's how my mother's day started:

with these beautiful roses. This was followed with a yummy french toast breakfast (not in bed - which was just fine by me - I don't like crumbs in my bed:), and a fun day with family.

Mommy and Brock. Unfortunately, we forgot to take our "Mommy and Me" shots until bedtime, so we all look a little tired, but it still counts.

Mommy and Kyle.

Mommy and the boys with Grammy after a fun dinner out.

Daddy and the boys with Grandma Leman after yummy strawberry shortcake with the Leman's.

A cute pic of Grandma and the boys.

Mommy enjoyed all of the festivities of the day, but I think that the highlight for Brock was getting to "drive" Papa's car in the parking lot of the restaurant:).

And, Kyle's highlight was honking the horn. These boys are crazy about horns, and I'm crazy about them!! What a blessing they are to this Mommy:).