Mr. Independence

Carter is now showing even more signs of being independent. His new thing is feeding himself. He has been eating finger foods for some time now and as long as things are cut up small and cooked well, he eats everything we eat. Now he likes using his own utensils. Sometimes I have to help him scoop up his food but he does a really great job at doing it himself. In fact today he fed himself his own bowl of mac n' cheese. His favorite is stabbing things with a fork to eat. Let's just hope he sticks to his food and doesn't start stabbing anything or anyone else. Ouch!

when we're helping

Today while cleaning up the house I had Braden help me pick up the toys that were downstairs and bring them upstairs to be put away in his room. When we got to his room I found this:

Braden had made his bed all by himself! I can't tell you how pleased I was. It really just goes to show that it's not just about being happy because we are helping but because by helping it makes others happy too. 

Thanks for making me so happy today, Braden. I love you! 

"Chuver"

This is how Braden says "Each Other." I love it!

Carter Does Tricks

Carter Walks


Carter Kicks a Ball


Carter Says "Uh-Oh"

green eggs and ham

What a fun St. Patrick's Day! It was a GREEN day indeed. From sun up to sun down the green didn't stop. Our festivities actually started the day before at Library Day. Braden goes to the library each tuesday to learn, read books and make a fun craft. This week was a St. Patrick's Day party. The kids read books and got to find special Green Coins and wear Green Beaded Necklaces. They also made a rainbow with a pot of gold at the end. Braden loves library day, and this week was one to top all for him.
On St. Patty's Day we woke up and had a yummy breakfast of Green Eggs and Ham with Green Milk (sorry no picture, the battery on my camera was dead, but let me tell you it was a beauty.) After breakfast we played games together and then later had a special Green Lunch. The rest of the day we played in the beautiful outside weather and made shamrock sugar cookies that we delivered to our friends. At the end of the day, we shared a Green Dinner and a movie together. Next year I'll remember to keep the tradition of all the Green food but I might have to steal a leaf out of my fiends book and invite the Naughty Leprechauns to visit and leave gold coins for the boys...Braden would go NUTS!

Lunch: Shamrock PB&J's, Green Goldfish, Green Cottage Cheese, and Lime-aid.

Brothers

Braden is getting so Good at riding his Trike!

Carter loves to kick and throw the ball.

Cheese!

Dinner: Sweet Citrus Chicken and Stuffing with Green Mashed Potatoes and Asparagus.

Happy St. Patty's Day to Everyone!

This Time I'm Gonna Do It

For anyone who cares, I am starting a personal fitness blog called: irun 4 two. I decided that if I'm really going to keep myself motivated to get in shape that I needed to write down my goals on paper, or in this case, blog it for the world to see. I figure if I post my success and failures each week I'll better be able to overcome the times that are hard and somewhere in it all keep myself motivated. I think by tracking my progress it will also help me to see that the effort I'm going to be putting in is making a difference, no matter how small or big. Wish me luck, cause here goes nothing!

Pittsburgh Yinz Play

Two weeks ago was Kameron's spring break. Unfortunately it didn't really give him much time off. He still had to go to clinicals and to the Anesthesia School for didactics but luckily, he didn't have to go to his classes at St. Vincent's on Thursday and Friday so he used those days to study instead of his usual all day Saturday and we all got to spend the day together as a family. We decided to go to the Pittsburgh children's museum. It was so much fun. They have the coolest exhibits. Braden's favorites were the Garage (a room full of tools to build with wood and other recycled materials, parachutes you could launch and a real MINI Cooper you could wash, play inside of, fill with gas, everything) , Mr. Roger's Neighborhood (a whole room modeled after Mr. Roger's house and the Neighborhood of Make-Believe), and the Studio (a room dedicated to all things art: paint, clay, printing, paper-making and more). My favorite was the traveling exhibit, Pittsburgh Yinz Play. It was filled with everything Pittsburgh including a bridge you could help repair, a Primanti Brother's sandwich shop where you could build your own famous sandwich, a replica of the city where you could build your own building out of recycled materials, and tons of facts and pictures about the city where we now live. The funniest was the wall of Pittsburgh sayings; they really do talk differently out here! We all really had a great time and Braden was really sad to go. We definitely will be going back!

I forgot to take my camera so the only pictures I have are from Kam's phone.

The Artist

Making our perfect Primanti Brother's Sandwich

Building the Bridge

Inside the museum was this huge wall that the kids could climb up and down. It reminds me of one of those marble contraptions where the ball starts at the top and rolls back and forth, down to the bottom. Braden didn't climb up to the top but he did like moving his way from one side to the other.

Next time we go I'll have to take lots of pictures to show you all how cool this place is!

Artist

Even though I am alway seeing the new things Braden creates on a daily basis, I am still amazed at how much he is learning. He really is becoming quite the artist. I asked him to draw some pictures to send to his cousin and uncles for their upcoming birthdays and was once again astonished at how well he is developing his skills as an artist.

The Sun

I have definitely decided that I am not a winter girl. When I was little I couldn't wait for the winter to come. I did hate the cold but I loved doing things outside in the snow like snowmobiling, sledding, building snow forts. I also loved when it was snowing outside and being inside drinking hot-chocolate or eating a nice hot bowl of soup while cuddled up under a blanket. And my favorite part of winter was using a blanket as a tent and sitting on top of the heater every morning! Now that I'm older I have definitely decided that I prefer all the other seasons over winter. I do not like being cold, feeling trapped, and the over-all gloom that seems to hit as soon as the Christmas season disappears and lasting until the blossoms bloom on the trees. I think I could handle the whole winter thing better if I lived in a place where the sun shines most of the year round. Luckily for me today the sun is shining and is expected to shine all weekend. I am hoping this gives me my much needed boost until this yucky winter says "sayonara." So, here's to enjoying the sun while it last and hoping that when Kam is done with school I can move somewhere much more sunny!

Wiggles

When we were home for Christmas we spent a little over a week at my Dad and Heidi's house down in St. George hanging with Abi and Zane while my Dad and Heidi went on a cruise. We did a lot of fun things including bowling, ice-skating, and racing on the wiggles! I was going to post this sooner but I couldn't figure out how to post the video. I guess better late than never.

Carter

Braden

"I think I'd rather nap than eat my lunch."

Carter's very first Popcicle!

Yum!

"Go Carter, go!"


"On your mark, Get set, Go!"