Ok, its been a long time.

So what's new since Conner's 5th birthday.... well we had a great summer.  Spent time near Myrtle Beach with Sig Ep friends.  Conner and Graham enjoyed the beach - especially Conner - who loves the enjoy and is so easy to be around these days.  Graham is a bit of a tough cookie.  He wasn't loving the beach so much so we spent more time in the house.  Thankfully the house was really nice and had beautiful views of the ocean and marsh.  I could not have dreamed of staying in such a cool house when I was kid.  

Graham turned 2 a few weeks ago.  He likes to prove to us that he is 2 quite often.   I'm being hard the guy.  He's a really sweet, sweet boy.  He talks so much, loves to read books, loves cars and truck, and loves cartoons.  When he wants something sweet he asks for one m&m.  How innocent is that?   We all know when he's excited about something bc he does this happy dance.  The same one every time.   He loves his big brother and can't wait to be able to sleep in his bed with him.   

Yesterday the boys played in the rain.   It was a magical moment and I"m proud of myself for letting go and letting them have a crazy fun time.

Conner has started Kindergarten at Park Maitland.  He seems to love it.   His science teacher conducted the "Purple Lava" experiment from "If you take a Mouse to School".   We've been recreating at home ever since.   He says its his favorite class.   For me, its wonderful to see him in his handsome uniform and reading short stories to me for his homework.  It's been a really special time for us.

Well, we have a few trips to Disney in store this month and hopefully a trip up to DC to visit friends.     More from us soon!

Driving in a classic car at Disney celebrating Graham's 2nd birthday.

Conner's first day of Kindergarten.

Happy 5th Birthday Conner!!!!

Conner's turns 5 today.   He has gotten so big physically and mentally that its actually easy to believe.   What's hard to believe is that we've been parents for 5 years.    Its been quite the ride, lots of ups and downs and in betweens.   We hung up pictures of Conner from his very first day through all of his birthdays till today.  The transformation is unbelievable.    What's tough is that it's hard to remember those days.   Where do the memories go?   I have to say that 5 is a great age and being in the present isn't so bad : )   Graham is getting bigger and the two boys are getting along much better.  

Conner's birthday was all about Toy Story.  We overdecorated the house and Conner loved it.  He wanted to help all week and kept asking when will his cake be ready.  He wanted to know what games we would play and who would be there.   We invited a smaller group this year bc last year was overwhelming for Conner at Monkey Joes.   He had a blast with the balloon swords and classic party games.  Then we all went to see Toy Story 3 together - Conner's first trip to the movies.  He liked the movie theater and the previews but, unfortantely, the movie was terrible.   They tried to kill Buzz and Woody and the gang over and over again.   They didn't even redeem the bad guy in the end.   It was heartbraking to see the toys being carried off to the incinerator to impending death with tears in their eyes.  Conner and some of his friends were crying.  So that part was a bust but thank goodness we had gift opening to look forward to.  

So today is the actual big day and Conner has chosen to watch a lot of TV, eat sweets, and hang out in his underpants.   Sounds like a day well spent!   Love you big guy!!!

"I Can't Wait Till After Friday"

Dale's sister and her family are visiting Disney for 10 days.  They arrive on Saturday and with them comes three fabulous cousins, Henry, Corrine, and Tricia, whom Conner adores.  Well, maybe he hasn't warmed up to Tricia yet.  She's younger and only older cousins are cool.    We explained to Conner that they'll arrive the day after Friday so periodically throughout the day he'll declare, "I can't wait till after Friday".    He's always up for a trip to Disney too so it will be a really fun week and I promise to post more pictures.

I have come to realize that I'm not hooked on blogging.  I kinda hoped that I would be.   I'll think of things that I want to write about but totally forget when I finally sit down at the computer after the boys are in bed.  

Right now, I'm counting every single one of my blessings.  It seems like there has been sad news from friends and family and in the news throughout the year.  Our prayer box keeps filling up.

We had a nice Mother's Day.  Conner painted a picture frame at school that he was bursting  to give me.   I love the pictures that's in it.   Graham continues to surprise us with his ability to talk - he comes up with four word sentences and uses pronouns.  He's a real riot chasing after his brother, climbing up on the couch to sit next to him, and saying things like "love you".  Boy is this a cute age.   Can I just freeze this time?  Mostly I'm trying to keep up with their energy and zest for life (maybe its more like zest for creating mud piles).

Conner making a mud pile.  This is the picture in the frame he made.

Graham eating his first corn on the cob.  He loves to eat!

Meatmoaf and Pageddy

It seems like I spend most of my day feeding the boys.  It reminds me of a line in Winnie the Pooh where, "Pooh ate and ate and ate" all of Rabbit's honey.   If only it was so easy and I could just feed the kids, and Dale for that matter, pots of honey.  

Conner and Graham both have their lists of foods that they like, er, are willing to eat.   Of course, these lists rarely intersect.   One of these rarities is my homemade Italian meatloaf.  Graham likes to call it meatMoaf.  I don't care what it's called because I'm so happy to have everyone in the family eating the same thing for dinner.  Conner has his with a side of spaghetti.  He decided he liked spaghetti noodles after watching Lady and the Tramp.  Seriously, that actually did the trick.  Now if only Disney would make a movie to get my kids eating veggies!   I broke out into song... can you guess... on top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese, I lost my poor meatball...  

In other news, Dale and I went up to Norfolk over Easter weekend for Allison and Matt's wedding.   It was a great weekend and so nice to see a few college friends.   It was like we saw each other all the time.  Conner and Graham had a fun weekend with my parents and Natalie.   Lots of egg hunting and chocolate eating. 

At the reahearsal dinner.

The happy bride and groom.

Easter brunch : )

Easter Sunday with Mimo and Opa.

Funny Boy(s)

A big thank you to God for giving us a sense of humor.   Conner and Graham make us laugh just about every day.   Sometimes it's the kind of laugh that brings you to tears and you know you'll never forget the moment.  

The other day, Conner heard his Opa making a phone call.   My dad's name is Bernie and I suppose we've never mentiond that to Conner.  So when my dad said, "Hi Vic, it's Bernie" Conner heard, "Hi Vic, it's burning".  Conner immediately jumped up and started screaming, "What's burning, Opa???!!!".  My mom and I could not stop laughing.  I'm laughing while I'm typing this just thinking about it : )  

Graham also has a sense of humor, possibly even overly developed for an 18 month old.   He had his butt in the air, proceeded to fart, laughed out loud and declared, "fart!".  My mom's response was classic. - "I didn't even know that he knew the word fart".   Good times kiddos.  Good times.  

More pictures soon.  I'm having lunch by myself sitting at Panera with my laptop.   I feel collegiate and I love it.  I think there is unwritten ettiquette for computer use at a coffee shop and I think that watching videos of Olympic Ice Dancing is a no-no.  Oh well.  What are they going to do???

Have a great day!

Playing inside the big tree in Winter Park

In the Brotherhood

Starting to see the boys playing together and loving on each other - woohoo.  Of course, the hugs only come in between Graham chasing after Conner while he's yelling, "mine, mine!".   Most of their day is spent with Graham chasing Conner.   Shouldn't it be the other way around?   I'm beginning to learn not to question these things.   The best time for both of them is their bath time.  Graham laughs his biggest laughs of the day when Conner pretends to shave his cheeks with bubbles.   Periodically during they day, the two can be found hiding in Graham's closet.  They have the place tricked out with a light, music, and blankets.  Yesterday the bonding came when the two of them discovered a shiny blue bug digging a tunnel.   They were fascinated.   Conner even broke out his magnifying glass.   It was definitely a boy moment.  Next came playing with the puddle that had a tiny worm in it - yuck.  I was holding myself back the whole time trying to think of an excuse to get them out of the puddle without being a stick-in-the-mud mom. Actually, I feel like I spend most of the time feeling that way.  When will I break loose and just have more fun with these guys????  

A Return to Disney

As a Christmas gift to Conner, we bought seasonal passes to Disney.    We're not sure who is more excited, Conner or Dale and I.   The first day, Dale, Conner and I went to the Magic Kingdom (Graham spent the day with my parents) .   It was the coldest day of the year which could have been a bad thing but it kept the tourists away.   This translates to short lines, happy parents, and happy children.  Children who get their wish when they ask, "Can we ride it again?".    We even caught a glimpse of the parade that we've never had the patience to wait around for.   Conner was most excited to Bert from Mary Poppins and Woody from Toy Story.   The big event of the day, by far, was Conner's first real roller coaster ride on Thunder Mountain.   He loved it and was not scared one bit.   Wow.   Here are a few pictures... we didn't take many because Conner was not in a picture taking mood.

The racetrack with Conner driving.

Mickey's house still decorated for Christmas,

The castle covered in lights.