Snow Day

Oh, how we love a good snow day.

Ok, I don't love a snow day, but my boys do.

Really, 2/3 of them do.  What would my excuse for staying inside be if Asher loved it too?!?

Luckily for us, we got close to 12in. of snow on Sunday.  Even I have to admit that it was beautiful!

Sunday evening JZ and CP bundled up and went out to sled with the neighborhood kids.

They had a great time!

They had a great time sledding and playing in the snow

Look carefully - JZ caught a pic of CP throwing snow in the air!

After the playing they did a little shoveling

And then came in to warm up

And have a little "warm" cocoa

That's a happy Snow-boy!

Wordless Wednesday:His Future's So Bright....

Foot Loose and Cast Free!

Yahoo, Castasaurus Rex no more!

Last Wednesday, Asher got his little blue cast removed.  This time he knew what was coming and was not a super happy patient

Luckily, the cast removal was quick and his little toes were free again

That calmed him down a little

Until the x-ray that is.  Then he screamed bloody murder.  

Whatever.  It was worth it.  The x-ray showed great bone growth and he was sent home with a clean bill of health.

I was so happy to be able to smooch those little toesies again

He immediately started pulling up on everything - no slowing this guy down!

Even started squatting up and down (instead of flopping down) - something he wasn't able to do while he was in his cast because he couldn't flex his leg.

That evening, he got to take a bath again.  He had SUCH fun and was a WILD man!  We even Face Timed with Papa and GaGa so they could appreciate the craziness!

You were such a trooper, Bashy!  We're so glad you're 100% healed!

And, as his first trick for a non-casted dude, he tried to climb up the stairs. 

Nice.

Cooker Man

Recently, Caden discovered the only thing better than being the "cooker man" - being the "clean-up man!"

Yum!  Caden is a great brownie cook!

Wordless Wednesday: That CAN"T Be Comfortable!

A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned

It's no secret that Caden loves trucks.  Every time we go to a toy store/Target/gas station he's pretty sure he needs to take home something.  He is beginning to understand the concept of money (although he did try to pay for a toy with pretend money recently).  I have been struggling with how to handle chores and allowance ('cause he's only 3. If I can get him to clean up the playroom it's a miracle!).  I want him to understand that you work, earn money, and then you can buy the things you want, but I also don't just want to pay him for everything he does.  There are things that we all do to make our family run (after all, no one is paying me to do the laundry!).  So (at least for now), we have identified a few things that he does just because he's a part of our team (cleaning up his toys, setting the table, clearing his plate, etc.) but if he does extra things he can earn money. 

I found this idea on Pinterest that I totally stole.  I bought a shadow box and had JZ cut a hole in the top big enough to slip money through.  Caden chose what he would like to work towards earning.  Surprise!  He chose a garbage truck and the cans that you have to buy too.  We printed out a picture of it, slapped it on scrapbook paper, and voila!  We have a new bank!

And what does Caden think of our new plan?

He thinks it's ok :)

And, thanks to a little Valentine's money, he's 1/3 of the way to his own orange garbage truck (we don't have that color yet)

The next step in my plan is to add in tithing as well.  We'll have to wait until we become a little more consistent with the allowance so he can put a percentage into a tithing jar too.  

Happy Saving, CP!

All You Need Is Love

Around here we do Valentine's Day BIG.  Ok, we never have before, but this time we did.  

We decorated like it was Christmas

Boy, was Caden every surprised when he woke up Valentine's morning!  He loved his door decorations and must have thanked me a million times.  Cute, cute, cute!

I guess St. Valentine or Cupid or whoever brings Valentines is as good as Santa!

Caden got a Spiderman electric toothbrush (he's thrilled, wants to brush his teeth all day, and says that Dr. Cara will be proud of him) and a Buzz Lightyear umbrella (again, he was thrilled. We didn't bother to tell him that opening it inside was bad luck.  I'm pretty sure bad luck doesn't happen if the umbrella has Buzz Lightyear all over it!)

He also got lots of cards and presents from other peeps that love him

What did Papa and GaGa leave?!?

A remote control dump truck!  Cool!

Bashy had a good time on his first Valentine's Day too.  Caden didn't let him open very much - but he was kind enough to let Ash play with his own cards.  Don't ever say he didn't do anything for you Bashy!

Asher got a pillow pet that we've named Dog-Dog (we already have a "Puppy").  He hearts Dog-Dog. A lot.  He snuggles it and buries his head in him.  Darling!

After we opened presents the boys sported their official Valentine's Day shirts for a Valentine's Day photo op

And then I tried to get one of the two of them together.  This was how we started

And then we moved on to this - CP was awesome, but I couldn't get Ashy to stop staring and (lovingly)  attacking his big brother

 

Eventually I got a keeper or two

One of my favorites EVER!  Be still my beating heart, they DO love each other.  I'm going to hang onto this for the day that I need to prove to them they were BFF!

That evening we had our traditional heart shaped pizza.

Asher decided that he needed his first taste of pizza too and turned up his nose at the pureed garbage I gave him.  Pizza.  Now.  Please

Yummy!

AND to make it an even better Valentine's Day, JZ was HOME!  He hasn't been home for a Valentine's Day for several years.  Now, he flew in late the night before and flew out Valentine's Day night, but he was here ALL DAY!  Yahoo!

Happy Heart Day!