Sunday, April 26, 2015

Fall Catch Up

Okay, time for a brief photo catch up to hopefully work our way towards blogging about things that didn't happen a year ago:

Our family photo from the session we did in Sunnyside back in July. No one was screaming, so I call that a success!
Rob celebrated his 29th birthday with a strawberry cheesecake...
And his dinner of choice was biscuits and gravy with fruit salad.
September was so nice and sunny, we kept feeling like we needed to squeeze as much summer play in before it got too cold. We loved this splash park in Tacoma!
Blueberry picking at Charlotte's Berry Farm
Oh yes, this day. Rob was at a golf tournament for work during the day and I was going to meet him that evening for the banquet. His secretary Gwynne came to pick me up, the boys were all napping, and we were just waiting for the babysitter to arrive, when Collin came running out of the room screaming and throwing up. I cancelled my plans, and later that evening Truman started throwing up as well. We took this picture because of how cute it was that Elliott was laying next to his sick brother. I guess the timing was actually good though, because it would have been worse if I had already left.
The counter. Sometimes if there are boys clinging while you're trying to do something in the kitchen, it's easier to just set them on the counter for a minute. It works, until they start standing up and throwing things off. And then you try to make a "no counter" rule, and it's a complete failure because they learn to push the end tables up to it and climb up themselves. And then you hide all the end tables in your closet to try to prevent this, and they learn to just climb onto the counter without anything to assist them. Then you just resign to the fact that you will never be able to leave knives or glass dishes out on your counter again, because really it's your own fault for ever letting them sit up there in the first place. We have two glasses left. (T,C,E)
Backyard campout! Collin spend the night out there with Rob and loved it.
One of Rob's patients gave him tickets to the Puyallup fair. We let Collin choose a ride, and he chose this roller coaster. It really made us miss Oaks Park and their unlimited kiddie rides.
The twins were more interested in the petting zoo animals.
Preschool field trip to Scholz farms pumpkin patch! (T,E)
Driving the tractor!
In October, Rob ran the Dog Lake Half Marathon for the second time. We spent the night in a cabin at Camp Z. The boys had fun for the most part. Truman was pretty sick, and we were watching his breathing closely since he's had so many problems with wheezing in the past and we'd taken him off his asthma medication. Fortunately, no wheezing happened and we made it through the night. It was right before the twins' birthday, and we did have to cancel the little McDonald's party we were planning for them after we got back though. (Truman)
Rob beat his last time and had a good time running the scenic route.
Amber, Janai, and Eli met us up there to cheer him on!
Always love a good build and grow picture.
Truman and Elliott's 2nd Birthday! They loved their Elmo/Cookie monster cupcakes.
We made a little Portland trip when Reuben and Dana were in town. We stopped by our old Ikea... (E,T)
And did a Portland temple session.

The boys gave Reuben and Dana a workout. . . a constant line of kids begging to be thrown on the bed at Laurel's house.
I just love when these two are just hanging out together. They're always by each other's side. (E,T)
"Oh no! A bug!" Scared faces at Spooner Farms. (Collin and Elliott in the wagon)
Not a great photo, but we got to practice milking a cow at Spooner Farms.
Halloween! A dragon and two monkeys. They loved trick or treating and got way too much candy. All of their costumes were borrowed from a ward costume swap and they were perfect! (E,C,T)
Just doing a build and grow at home.
Collin loves all things creative. Playing with pattern blocks.
We walked into Collin's room one night to find him asleep like this.
My 28th birthday! A strawberry/raspberry cake this year. Mmmm. (Sitting with Truman)
Next up: Holidays! Stay tuned.

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Elliott

Elliott is such a joy in our family. Since we've gotten a little behind on blogging, I'm going to focus mainly on the things Elliott was doing last year, even though his personality is constantly developing. I just want to remember a little about what he was like as a 1-2 year old, and I'll add more recent photos soon.
He speaks with a growl and likes to make grunting noises. He's done this since he was a baby, and it's just kind of how his voice is now. He sometimes speaks in a high little voice, and sometimes a growl.
He has become attached to small items and usually has something in his hand. He goes through phases of being attached to a toy, usually until he brings it somewhere and loses it, and then he finds another to hold. For a long time, it was a toy cookie, toy shark, and toy lion. I think all of those have been lost now.
He loves making people laugh by funny faces or noises. He also loves scaring them and getting a reaction.
One of his trademark phrases is whenever he sees a bug (or fake bug), he gets a fake scared face and says "Oh no! A bug!" It's become a household quote. But also, he actually is scared of bugs and keeps his distance when there's a real one around.
He put his claim on a toy bug in nursery, and always wanted to hold it. As soon as we brought him in, his leaders would find it for him to try to avoid the tears when we dropped him off.
He was very nervous around animals and would cry and scream if a dog got too close. 
When the boys play together, Elliott is often the monster chasing the other two, and he loves it.
For a while last year, probably age 15-18 months or so, the twins were each a little more attached to one of us. Truman always wanted Daddy and Elliott always wanted Mommy. Since then, they seem to like us more equally, but that was just how they were at the time.


Last spring, the twins learned how to hang, and have been doing it every chance they get since.
Cute boy at the Point Defiance beach
He really insisted on holding onto the whole block of cheese one day, and I chose my battles.
Running on the beach with Grandma Grothaus
Elliott plays really well with Collin, and the two of them crack each other up.

Checking out the fish at the aquarium

This was from feeding the ducks one day. He was more interested in just running.

Scholz Farms pumpkin patch

Birthday pancakes!
Elliott got really into opening presents and blowing out his candles. He had the time of his life on his birthday!
Oh no! A bug! We had to get him one for his birthday, and he would just crack up at people's reactions when he scared them with it.
Yes, he took this children's tylenol bottle on our walk because he decided to cling to it that day.  Another moment of choosing battles.
Making a scary face in Ikea.
This was taken at Spooner Farms pumpkin patch
Most of our pictures have a little blur. Busy boy!
He is a pro at getting into things, especially makeup!
So excited to make a gingerbread house!

Truman

Two-year-old Truman is lots of fun. 

Truman has been a very active boy in the last several months. 
His vocabulary has grown dramatically and he is able to communicate what he wants the majority of the time. 
He calls Collin "Colkin" and Elliott "El-buh."
He can say 4 word sentences (like: "Colkin take car way!") and we're always amazed at the things he is able to communicate.
He frequently comes up to us and gives us kisses on the arm or leg. Especially if he thinks we are unhappy, or if he is doing something that we tell him not to.
He loves to pretend to talk on the phone and uses any object as his phone.
He is obsessed with Halloween and still asks to watch "How-ween show!"- some youtube kids songs we found in October. Whenever he sees a pumpkin, he points to it and says, "How-ween!"
A few months ago, he figured out how to get out of his crib easily. As soon as we'd leave the room, he would just climb over and ease himself down. He would usually end up falling asleep on the floor. We had to switch him to a toddler bed before he was even 2 since the crib no longer contained him. Shortly after that, he learned to open doors to get out of his room. And shortly after THAT, he learned to dismantle the childproof doorknob covers we started putting on as an attempt to keep him in. Naps haven't been happening very well for him lately.
He loves books and will sit still to listen to them. He always hands us books and says, "read it!" His favorite is a Finding Nemo search and find book, where he loves to point out "Meno!". An honorable mention for all of our boys is "Caps for Sale". They think it's hilarious when Collin says, "You monkeys you! Give me back my caps!" and Truman responds, "tsz tsz tsz!" like in the book.
He was on his daily asthma medication ever since all his wheezing issues last fall. This summer, we saw a pulmonologist who suggested we take him off the medicine and see how he does this fall when he gets viruses. So far, so good- he's had a few colds and no wheezing! We're hoping this means he's outgrown it. He still gets eczema sometimes, but not as bad as last year.
Since he can get out of his bed now, he comes in our room in the mornings and either wakes us up or gets into our bed and snuggles with us. One early morning a few weeks ago, Rob woke up to see Truman standing in front of him with a knife. After a mini panic attack, he grabbed the knife and found that it was just a plastic kids knife.
Lately, instead of just saying "no," he says "no honey." For example, "Truman, come get a new diaper"... "No honey." It actually makes his saying no to everything a little bit cuter.




So tired!
Mall playplace

We stopped by the petting zoo at the Puyallup Fair, and Truman just wanted to hug all the animals!
This boy really shows his emotions when he's not happy. He'll just sit with a sad face or say "ugh!" if he's frustrated.

Pumpkin patch fun
We went to Camp Zarahemla when Rob ran a half marathon in October. We stayed in one of the cabins. It was the day before the twins' birthday and Truman was sick, and by the time we left, Elliott wasn't feeling well either. It made for a sleepless night in the cabin. We had planned to come back home and have a little birthday party for them at McDonald's, but cancelled because of sick boys.
Birthday boy with his chocolate chip pancake breakfast!

He wasn't really into opening his presents, but had fun playing with them once they were opened!


Halloween monkey
Pumpkin patch

Playing with the frozen water (ice) table in the winter!
Snuggler for mommy's birthday
You can't tell from this picture, but he was really excited about making gingerbread houses!