Brothers.

Love these progression of pictures...

Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero. ~ Marc Brown

Vacation in pictures.

Last week I tagged along with my parents and Sister on a vacation to Wisconsin Dells, and a quick stop in the Minneapolis area on our way home.

wednesday

 I was glad to be escaping the Kansas heat for a few days...

 jaxon was on cloud-9 riding in grandpa's car...

 cohen was happy to just be sitting next to mommy in the back...

 nap buddies... what else do you do for 8 hours?

the boys did perfect on the trip there.  perfect!

thursday

 grandma nancy and michelle drove to the dells to spend a couple days with us as well!

 we spent the day racing down water slides and tanning by the pool...

 later that night we walked downtown...

and through the river walk.

 loved spending time with my parents this week...

 jaxon and i enjoying the "glock"... i think that's what it was called? 

my dad + anything German = a happy guy

friday

 my parents and grandma took jaxon on a train ride (ps: mom, i need those pictures!), so what's a girl to do? go to starbucks with her sister, of course!

 then to the outlet mall...

 my sweet boy sleeping with his new train... dreaming of trains, i'm sure!

 always great to see grandma nancy!

after jaxon's 30 minute nap, we hit the pool again...

... where jaxon decided to be a big boy and swim by himself! {of course, with a life jacket}

 later that night we enjoyed mexican food by the river...

as you can see, cohen thoroughly enjoyed it...

a bath followed this picture pretty quickly.

 and after the boys were in bed, we played some cards in the hallway.

saturday

we packed our bags and headed northwest to the amazing state of minnesota...

where i haven't been for about 10 years... sad face.

 just as we were starting to enjoy some scenery...

 we heard this really loud noise, which yep, was a tire that blew.

we waited for over an hour on the side of the road (hello heat + 2 kids), but once we finally made it to the tire shop and found diet coke in the fridge and a dog for jaxon to play with, we were all happy again.

 and of course, ecstatic to be back on the road!

we eventually made it to my cousins house, dolled up before the family reunion, and made our way to my aunt's house.

hugs for momma before bed!

sunday

 i decided to test out the "caribou vs starbucks" theory, and was proud to no longer be a caribou coffee virgin.  however, i have to stay loyal to starbucks and say that i do prefer their drinks, although caribou was good.

 off to breakfast to see some more family...

 cari, we love you <3

said our goodbyes, and hopped in the car for another hour west to the family reunion...

it was held at a family members house, who lives on the lake... gorgeous home, gorgeous location.

 jaxon was quick to meet a new extended cousin that was his age...

then... 

we got back in the car (do you see a pattern here?)

headed south to go home

stopped at kallie and shane's new house on the way

fed some cows

ate some casey's pizza

made it to columbia at 12:30am

slept on my parents couch

left early the next morning for home

drove really fast

couldn't wait to see my hubby

monday

traveling is fun, but nothing beats being back home. 

home sweet home. 

Jaxon - 30 months.

Jaxon,

Today you are 2 1/2 years old.  Weren't you just turning 2 yesterday?  sigh... I feel like the past 6 months of our lives have slipped between my fingers and you're growing up in the blink of an eye.  Transitioning from a toddler to a little boy who is becoming independent in so many ways, and yet still small enough to need his Mommy and Daddy from time to time as well.

Here's a few things you're up to at this challenging fun age!

Your vocabulary has finally started to explode, and you've reached the "what's that?" stage.  Every noise peaks your interest and you are quick to ask (usually multiple times) "Mommy! What's that?".  You repeat just about everything that we say (ie: "Let's get dressed, Jaxon."  "Okay Mommy, let's get dressed!), which has resulted in us being careful what we say around you.  We don't cuss at our house so that is not a concern, but even the small things, like calling something stupid or saying "oh my gosh!"... which now seems to be your favorite line. (bad mommy alert!)  You talk with what sounds like a lisp, but it is actually tongue thrust according to your speech therapist... she says you will outgrow it by the time you're 5 years old.  I happen to think it's adorable.  :)  You constantly refer to yourself in the 3rd person ("Jax do it") which may be my favorite thing right now.  Your speech has greatly improved and each day I'm amazed at the new things you're saying and absorbing.

You are a curious little guy!  You resemble your Daddy in so many ways, but one of the most obvious ways is  how curious you are in regards to how things work.  You love to watch us put things together and then will quickly replicate what we just did.  Your personality also resembles him so much... you observe the situation and then once you're comfortable your outgoing and silly side is quick to come out.  You also love to "help", whether it's with laundry or cleaning or loading the dishwasher, you say "Jax do it".

People talk about the "terrible two's" a lot, and we're definitely in the thick of them.  You love to test your boundaries on a daily basis, sometimes I feel like a broken record telling you the same "rules" day after day.  You recently started saying "NO!" to Mommy or Daddy, but thankfully that was a fairly easy behavior to fix. The current struggle is you telling Mommy to "stop it".  However, for the most part, you are an amazing listener and do what you're asked.  You're a very good boy. We definitely have our moments, but who doesn't.

You are also very smart!  You can count to 10 by yourself and know most of your colors.  You can make any animal noise (ie: what does a monkey say?) and you sing along to a few different songs fairly well.  You can easily say and identify things in a book, and obviously your favorite things to see and talk about are trains.  You love to color and draw, and consistently ask to "wash hands".  I am not sure if that's because you love water or because you're a germ freak, haha!

As cliche as it may sound, you definitely have the red-headed temper.  When you're mad, you're mad, and everyone around knows it.  You do not have any issues expressing your feelings, that's for sure... ha!

You are almost completely potty trained.  Because you are so stubborn, you have days that are a complete fail, but most days are accident-free.  We struggle a lot when you're playing because you have too much fun and don't want to stop what you're doing for a potty break.  You do better and better each day and Mommy is so proud of you.

You know people by name (Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Kallie, Cooper, Benton, Nana, Papa, etc), although you continue to call your Uncle Jason "Mas" which makes me laugh.

You love to play outside, it continues to be your favorite place to be.  Whether it's in the water or with one of your many outdoor toys, you are always happy when we're outside.  Your newest obsession is riding in our bike trailer that we just got.  We are looking forward to the cooler weather when we can take you on longer rides.

You continue to be a great big brother to Cohen.  One of the first things you do each morning is ask "Cohen sleeping?" because you want to see him.  You love to eat next to him, with his high chair parked close to you. You share your toys with him (most of the time) without being asked, and love to say "Cohen, watch this!"  He loves you as well, he is a completely different baby when you're not around... he acts bored without you!

I was reminded this week during my quiet time to encourage you more.  These days when they are so challenging at times, I find myself being prompted by the Lord throughout the day to recognize the small good things you do and encourage them more frequently, instead of constantly bossing you around or telling you "no".  I need to do a better job about that and I promise to try.

You have completely rocked my world.  You bring your Daddy and I such joy and there's so many nights that I find myself wishing you were awake so we could spend more time together.  Each day passes so quickly and I cherish the times I have with you.  I love this age and love everything about you.

With all my heart,
Mommy

Cohen - 9 months

Well, it's official.  You're 9 months old which means I should be back to my pre-pregnancy weight you have been here longer than you were in Mommy's belly.  Here's a glimpse of what you're up to these days!

You are scooting/crawling everywhere.  You are still not crawling the "technical" way, and instead you do it your own way.  The best analogy I've heard was that you look like a fish out of water when you're crawling... and it's so true!  I love it... it just never gets old.

You have 5 teeth!  Praise the Lord teething hasn't been near as bad of an issue as it was with your brother.  For the most part I don't even realize you're getting a new tooth in because it doesn't hardly seem to bother you... and for that I am extremely thankful!

You pull yourself up and will stand for an extended period of time while holding on to something.  I am afraid walking is in our near future.

You decided recently that you absolutely hate Momma feeding you pureed food, so all of your food is now being given to you in small pieces, so that you can do it yourself.  Apparently you're very independent.  Who did you get that from?

You lift your arms to reach for us, which has resulted in lots of "awww!!!'s"

You are constantly on the go... rolling, jumping, or flinging out of our arms.

We love you so much little guy!

PS, Mommy got behind and didn't do your 7 or 8 month recap, so here's your pictures anyway for comparison sake!

 

Monday afternoon.

So much to do, such little motivation to actually do it.