The First of Many......

This week we received Darren's very first school pictures!   He is in preschool this year, and LOVING it!  He's the youngest kid in his class by about 6 months, but he seems to doing pretty well and keeping up.  His teacher always (well, almost always) has positive things to say about him.  Of course, that makes a Mom proud!  My boy is growing up.  So far, he has learned to identify all of his letters and numbers, and can spell/write his name!  He is much better at following instructions, and using his words to tell what he's feeling.  He is a good friend to those around him, and loves to make other people smile and laugh. 

I peeked into his class one day, and watched for a minute - Darren was oblivious to my presence.  The kids were sitting on the floor in a circle singing a song about the colors each of them were wearing.  When it was a specific child's turn, they got to go to the front and jump, dance, or whatever (most just jumped), while their friends sang about them.  On Darren's turn.... he jumped, flapped his arms like a bird, spun in circles, etc. and REALLY hammed it up!  His friends were pointing and laughing so hard, they could barely sing the song.  His teacher was even cracking up!  Darren was quite pleased with his little "performance" based on the HUGE grin he had on his face!  I should also insert here that when his turn was over, he went right back to his place on the floor and remained on task!  I was pleased with that.  He is obviously developing a love of performing.  For show and tell a couple weeks ago (topic: letter O), HE chose to sing "Once There Was A Snowman" in front of his whole class.  There is one other little girl in his class that we know from church, and he had her sing with him.  They were so brave, and the teachers were impressed!  Tomorrow, his class is putting on a little Thanksgiving program, and he has been so excited about it, he has taught Joseph the songs, and sings them all day.  And, he's excited to dress up like a turkey.  I can't wait to see it!   

So, back to my original topic.... school pictures.  While I think his picture is a bit washed out (not sure if it's the lighting, or the fair skin/toe head blonde, light colored shirt against a white background issue), I think the photographer did an excellent job of capturing Darren's fun-loving, energetic, happy personality.  I will say the actual print is not quite as washed out, so looks better - I used our scanner to get this on the computer. 

Here is his class picture....

I love my fun, sweet, daring Darren! 

Things That Make Me Smile....

This is just a simple little post of some recent pics that make me smile.  Most of them are just from our normal everyday life......

I LOVE this picture of my sweet, mischievous, independent Joseph.  He asked me to take this picture.

1 very happy, exhausted, jet lagged Daddy, 2 very excited little boys.  Matt seriously gets attacked and has 2 (okay, 3) little shadows for a few days when he returns from long work trips. 

Snuggle time.  

I never know what this kid is going to do next......  He makes me laugh everyday!  

I went to check on the boys before going to bed a couple nights ago, and this is what I saw......

...... How he managed to stay asleep like that, I don't know. 

These 2 brothers have such a deep love for each other, and want to be together all the time - even when sleeping.... 

The boys dumped out a glass of water, and laughed about making footprints and had a blast jumping in their "puddle!"   

Darren INSISTED he wasn't tired, but didn't even last 10 minutes into his movie!   

Of course, this handsome man won me over with his smile a long time ago, and I smile because I am the lucky girl that gets to spend forever with him! 

I should add that there are many other things that make me smile too, so this is just a small little sample.  :)

Introducing......

The debut performance of Darren Coleman:

Conducting and singing an excerpt from:

Beethoven's 9th Symphony, movement 4 (Ode to Joy)

Latest Project

Our kitchen chairs are gradually breaking.  So, in an effort to conserve money, we found some on Craigslist for a good deal.  However, the seats were in desperate need of being re-upholstered.  They were hideous, and covered in cat hair.  GROSS!  I've never done anything like this before, so I was a little nervous about my attempt.  I went to the fabric store and picked out some upholstery I liked (plus it was on sale for 50% off - definitely a bonus!), and some clear plastic to put over top - a necessity when small children are in the home!  Anyway, I love the new fabric, but I think it looks a bit tacky with the plastic over it.  But, I'll live with it, because I don't want to redo the seats again in a couple months!  Maybe we'll end up restaining them, too.  Who knows.  They don't match our table color, but we've talked about refinishing that, too.  We'll see what happens.  For now, here's what the "new" chairs look like:

Before....

After.....

I've also been attempting to master the art of making homemade whole wheat bread - sometimes made by milling my own flour.  Here's my latest batch (which just has regular store bought wheat flour).......

Silly Boyz!

Yesterday evening, my silly boys thought it would be funny to swap clothes.  So they did - all by themselves.  I thought it was too funny to not grab a picture.... or three! 

All proud of themselves!  If D moved at ALL, we could see his belly button.

J actually walks on his toes like that.  It makes me hurt just watching him.  And, classic D - with a car in hand.  Mid-air works for a road when you have a 4 year old imagination!  

Classic J!  Thumb in the mouth, with hand down his shirt. 

I love my boys!

A Young Patriot

I have a little patriot!  Since he's been in school, he has learned the Pledge of Allegiance, and takes every opportunity to say it.  To the degree that we will be driving somewhere, and all of a sudden he starts saying it.  Sometimes I have to look around to find the flag he's looking at.  While walking, he stops, puts his hand in the general vicinity of his heart (sometimes closer to his tummy or shoulder), and has to say it.  On 9-11, he asked why all the flags were broken and not all the way up.  I had to explain in very brief, watered down terms what happened that day.  Too many details would have been too traumatic for his imaginitive, sensitive mind.  He already seems to have a great love for our country and our planet.  I'm proud of my little boy, and the patriotism he demonstrates already.  Here's a little video clip of him saying the pledge: 

What Happened To My Baby?!

This picture was just taken yesterday - the day he was born....

......And this is how I still picture him in my mind.

 

However, today when I woke up, he suddenly looked like this.....

What happened to my baby?!  He is growing sooo fast, and learning so many new things.  At the end of August, we celebrated his 2nd birthday.  He is officially 2 in EVERY. SENSE. OF. THE. WORD.  From the tantrums and the great quest for independence in EVERYTHING, to the super fun, full of life, starting to understand things, and developing his own personality.  His vocabulary is exploding and he'll periodically say a full, complete sentence.  Some of his most frequent phrases are:  "No! By Self!"  "Hiiiiiii, Mommy!"   (to Matt) "Where's Daddy, Daddy?!"  "Where's Darren?"  "Night night (or bye bye)!  I love you!"  "I try it?!"  Some of his words are much more clear than his older brother, too.  He is a master of gross motor skills.  Anything involving running, jumping, throwing, or climbing is right up his alley!  I love this kid, and he ADORES his big brother.  In his eyes, Darren can do no wrong.  I love watching them interact with each other.

For his birthday, we went on a little family outing to the zoo.  Some good friends joined us there, and the kids all had a good time.  Later that evening, we had cake and opened presents (of course).  This time it was extra special, because Grandma Deeben was able to join us via Skype.  Here are some pics from the day's festivities.......
 

Had to get a little nap in before going to the zoo!

When we got to the zoo, some random lady approached us, and gave us some giraffe food.  They weren't out when she went there, but we had much better luck.  We saw at least 7!  Joseph ate his cracker to feed the giraffe, so Daddy got a turn. 

Darren did a great job feeding him! 

Trying to kiss a bird.  These birds were so tame, we could pet them. 

Reading his new book from G&G Downing.  He loves it! 

Here is his birthday cake.  He wanted a rocket on it, and this is what I came up with.  It is not exactly my most impressive cake, but he was fascinated with it, and that's what matters.

His very favorite gift - a Toy Story book that has buttons to push.  (I've already had to hide this book a few times in order to preserve sanity). 

Couldn't decide what to play with, so why not 3 things at once?!

Enjoying some birthday bubbles from Grandma!  Both boys LOVED how much bubbles it made at a time! 

I think my little guy had a good day.  I'm so glad that he is part of our family!  I can't believe it's already been 2 years since he was born.  Happy Birthday, my sweet little Joseph!  I love you!