Monday, February 20, 2012

Monster Trucks!!

Well last weekend Riley got to see the Monster Truck show with Daddy!  He had so much fun!!  Total Sugar-rush between the cotton candy and snowcone!  He said his favorite monster truck was the Dinosaur that ate the car!  But I think he liked the Batman one too!  He must have had fun because he wore his "earpluggers" for the next two days straight!  (we had to ban them around here because listening became a major issue!)  Here's some pictures Daddy took:

Then came Valentine's Day.  Like I said we aren't much for Valentine's people, but I did make a cake.  And it was a WHOPPER of a cake!!  Hahaha!!  Another Pinterest idea.  You make a chocolate cake, cover it in chocolate icing, and then cover it in Whoppers!  Yes, it is VERY SWEET!!!  And just so you know it took 4 boxes of whoppers to cover the cake! 


I also did some presents this year, mostly because I've been wanting to do this idea (again from pinterest!!) and I thought this was a perfect opportunity.  It's a picture frame that becomes a dry erase board.  The glass is the dry erase board.  But behind the glass I printed onto scrapbook paper "I Love You Because . . ." then I can write on the glass the reason that I love them!  I like that it's a dry erase so that I can change it as often as I want, and for Cam he can write back to me.  I made three of them, and plan on hanging one in each of the boys rooms and our bedroom. 

Also on Valentine's day we started swim lessons again.  This year Riley and Jayce's are back to back.  Riley's is first and then Jayce's is 10 minutes after his finishes.  I like this way better because then I can watch Riley and see how he's doing (and pick up tips for this summer in the pool).  The only downside is then Riley has to sit and watch while I'm in the water with Jayce.  Thankfully, this year Riley's Teacher is also teaching Jayce's class, so he allows Riley to sit on the steps in the therapy pool where we are.  This helps to keep him happy that he's not sitting on the benches freezing for a half-hour!!  Riley's doing really good in his class - still not a big fan of putting his head in the water, but he's getting better.  Jayce is a little fish though!!  He loves it!  Each day he can't wait to get in the water, and then when he does he has no problem sticking his chin in or floating around the pool.  He loves it!  I wish I would've started this early with Riley, he might be better, but oh well - too late now! 

Jayce is doing much more than enjoying his Swim lessons though!  He's growing up so quickly!!  Running is one!  He's not as quick as brother, but he's not far behind and getting faster everyday!  Talking, most of it all sounds the same but other than the typical mama, dada, baba, he now says thank you, uh-oh, peek-a-boo, and all done.  He's also signing too, he's got More down pat, and we're working on all done (he's got it sometimes) and milk.  He loves giving high fives, and getting more consistent in waving bye-bye.  He also is starting to get tall enough to climb on the couch and bonk his head on the dining room table when he walks under it!  He has become quite the little thief too!  Riley's usually really good at remembering where he puts things (even months later he can go right to it if you ask him for something), but lately it's getting harder and harder to find things that go missing.  And ususally Jayce is the culprit!!!  In the last week 2 sets of Cameron's keys have gone missing, luckily we found them eventually.  However, Saturday Cameron's wedding band also went missing.  Riley admitted to being the one to take it from the bathroom counter (where Cam puts it during the week since he can't wear it at work) and play with it behind our bed (hiding because he knows he's not supposed to play with it).  But he swears he left it on the floor when he was done, although it's nowhere to be seen now.  Cam and I think one of two things could have happened 1. Jayce found it and walked off hiding it somewhere.  2. Riley flushed it down the toilet (Cam found him standing in front of the toilet staring at it saying he was looking for something but wouldn't say what).  So either Riley's learning to lie when he's in trouble, or Jayce is getting better at hiding things!!  We have turned the house upside down looking for that ring, but we know as soon as we go out and get another one it will turn up!! 

Well, not much else going on here.  We have three more weeks of swim lessons.  And we FINALLY get to resume our Skype dates with Grandma Wilson this week!!! YAY!!!  See you Friday Grandma!!!  Daddy's going on a business trip next month to Jacksonville, so Mommy will have a week of the boys all to herself (I'm still trying to decide if that's a good or bad thing).  Oh - I almost forgot!!!  One more REALLY BIG thing happening this week!!!  Riley Registers for KINDERGARTEN!!!!  We go Thursday night to register him.  He doesn't seem overly enthused, but that's probably because he doesn't really know whats going on.  I think we're going to stick with just half-day kindergarten.  He's going to be in school for the next 13 years or more, why not ease into it!  And he's smart enough I think he'll do fine!!  I'm still trying to decide about am or pm though.  Mostly because of my MOPS schedule.  Am Kindergarten gets out at 11:05, but MOPS doesn't end until 11:30, add in the 25 minute drive and I'd have to leave MOPS nearly an hour early to pick him up.  Whereas, to drop him off for PM at 11:55 is more feasible.  But then again it's only 2 days a month so I bet I could find someone to pick him up and keep him for an hour or so until I get back from MOPS (Lacey if you're reading this I'm talking about you!  hehehe)  We'll see.  I'm not really set on either one.  And since he doesn't nap anymore I don't think it will affect him too much either!  So I'll update on that when I know more, probably not until next month.  All is going good here!!  Hope everyone is having a good week so far!  See you all later!

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Bowling

 Hi There from Snowy Colorado - Finally!  We are finally getting some snow around here.  We got a few inches late last week (Denver and other areas got more than a Foot!!  Boo), and then last night we got a few more inches.  Nothing much to talk about, but Riley is surely loving playing in it.  Jayce still isn't a big fan (I think he takes after me) so he and I stay inside while Riley takes the dogs in the backyard and has a blast! 

This week we've just been hanging around the house mostly.  Tuesday Lacey and I had a mini-girl's night to celebrate her birthday.  I took her to Rasta Pasta (one of my favorite restaurants in old town) and then we just did some shopping.  Yes, we spent our time away from kids walking around Bed Bath & Beyond and Target . . . and it was AWESOME!!  We didn't have to yell 'sit down' or 'come here' every 30 sec., and we didn't have to hear 'I want this' every 10 sec.  One of the best girl's nights I've had in a while.  Just the two of us engaged in adult conversation for nearly 4 hours straight!  Heaven!!! 

So back to our uneventful week at home!  Here's a few pics of the boys. 
Sometimes it's easier to jump right in rather than drag all the toys out!
Jayce doesn't play Wii, but he has to pretend whenever big brother is playing!
 Friday we went Bowling!!  Real Bowling - not Wii Bowling!  It was Riley's first time.  We found out that Chippers lanes does really cheap pre-school bowling on weekday mornings so a bunch of us moms got together to let the kids play.  Riley's friends Jack and MaKenna were there.  He did really good.  They used the racks to roll the balls instead of throwing them, but I made Riley roll it himself a couple times for photos.  He was so cute - he got so excited when he got a spare!!  No strikes for him, but he did pick up a few spares.  Jayce had fun too.  He kept trying to pick up the heavy balls off the rack, thankfully he couldn't!  and his other favorite thing was the fan on the ball return!  So cute!!  Here's some pictures of the day. 
Jack and Riley

First game scores - Riley got an 89 - not bad!!!
Riley and Makenna
Jayce Playing with the balls
Right before he picked up a spare
After picking up the spare!!
Second game score - 109!!  Way to go Riley!!

Tonight our good friends Jackson, Tanner and Ryder are coming over.  Riley has such a good time with them, and they love Riley and Jayce too.  Now if we can just keep Jayce from tackling Ryder we'll be all set!!  lol

MOPS bake sale is tomorrow, so I spent this afternoon baking away.  2 doz. cupcakes and 2 pies later, I'm all set.  Man, I love Pinterest!!  Got both these ideas from there. 
Peppermint Swirl Pie
Red Velvet Kiss-cakes (surprise kiss in the middle!)

 If you don't know what Pinterest is . . . you need to find out!  But only if you have lots of free time because it's super addictive and time consuming!  I could spend hours looking at all the cool things people pin! 
Also tomorrow Daddy is taking Riley to the Monster truck show!  Wow Fun!!  We aren't doing anything special for Valentine's day though.  We aren't much the Valentine's people.  Plus Cameron took me to see Cirque du Soleil last weekend, so I kinda count that as a Valentine's present!  It was so neat!  The acrobatics those people can do is amazing!!  I can't wait to see another show. 

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

New Business, New Car

Well, things have certainly changed in the Louie household the last couple days!  2 exciting additions . . . no, I'm not pregnant!!  But I did start my own business!  It's Called Baby Bear Designs, and I'm selling crocheted hats, blankets, and more for babies and kids.  I plan on expanding to other items, but I thought I would start simple and see how it goes.  You can see more about what I'm selling on my business blog - babybeardesigns.wordpress.com and PLEASE like my facebook page here - www.facebook.com/twobabybears.  I am taking "custom orders" for just about anything, so please don't feel limited to what I'm offering on the websites. 






The other new addition is Cameron's new car!  We've been talking for a while about getting him a new car, the Jeep is just not gonna make it much longer as a daily driver.  And were planning on getting something this summer.  But if you know Cameron you know he spends hours upon hours researching what he wants, and then once he decides he spends every spare moment searching for the best deal.  (this trait can be a little annoying at times, but I have to admit - it has saved us money . . . sometimes lots of money!!) And this was the case too.  I did have to put some limits on his car selection though (like has to fit the carseats, and be under a certain price - that one was kinda difficult for him to swallow), and again if you know Cam, you understand this!!  ;)  Anyways - he decided on the Subaru WRX STI for his choice vehicle and found a really good deal on one in Colorado Springs.  So, it was fresh off the boat and we went to pick it up last night.  I think he was giddy!!  It is pretty nice, and it's been awhile since he had a new car, and I know he's been wanting a sports car for a while.  So he deserved it!  It would have been nice it we could afford to finish the basement first, since that may not be possible with another car payment now, but Oh Well!!  Like I said, he's due, he deserves it, and it make me happy to see him so happy!!  (silly boys!!)  So here's some pics of Daddy's new car!  It is a pretty shade of blue!!