Friday Fun

There is really not much better than hanging out with Dada on a leisurely Friday morning. Love these guys.

Lincoln Photo of the Day

Poor little man wasn't feeling very good. But I get the best cuddles when he is grouchy.

Zeke and Friends

Zeke is quite a fan of his fishy friends. One in particular. A little salmon from Alaska has to go everywhere with him. Today he ran off with my phone and took some picture of his own, mainly featuring Sharkey feasting on some monkeys and turtles.

Technology

Taking turns is difficult sometimes. But this afternoon, Lincoln was actually willing to just watch big brother play with the iPhone. And Zeke didn't even get that annoyed.

Favorite Things

One of the boys favorite things? Coloring. And they got some new books today. We couldn't even leave them behind to go grocery shopping. In fact, I think Zeke is trying to color and walk at the same time.

One of my favorite things? Little boys, fast asleep with scrunched up lips.

Date Night

"Let it GOOOOO, let it go..." I just can't seem to stop singing that song. Very catchy.

So, for date night this month, we took Zeke to see Frozen. And while it was a fun movie to see, I had more fun watching his little face.

Cardboard Box Luge

I guess the boys have been inspired by all the Olympic coverage. (Truth be told, since it isn't on Netflix, they haven't seen any of it.) They wedged themselves in a shipment of new diapers and were quite pleased with themselves.

Gabby Snap

Not sure if he found what he was looking for. But what a cute little heinie.

Hats are Grand

This is a change. Lincoln usually detests hats of every kind. Even when it is really cold out, we have to tie them on as he will rip them off after a few seconds. But the key seems to be that Dada's hats are okay. Today he grabbed one and ran for the stool in the bathroom so he could check out how cool he looked.

Happy Valentine's Day

We decided to try some cast iron skillet cooking for Valentine's Day. Well, Robb did all the work. He made a blueberry crisp that was quite good.

Be My Valentine

Robb is smitten. This little Ellis creature is just as precious as can be.

Lincoln Photo of the Day

Lincoln revels in the return of his beloved Dada.

Highs and Lows

High: eating a special caterpillar peanut butter and honey sandwich, prepared by Gabby. Low: chopping the top of his finger while trying to cut an apple all by himself (not on Gabby's watch).

Beautiful Dreamer

He is so beautiful when he's asleep. On Robb's side of the bed.

Ezekiel Photo of the Day

Zeke was pretty proud of himself this morning. He "covered" himself with blocks and wanted me to take a picture to send to Dada. (He he, check out those double-jointed knees...)

Cloud Dough

Gabby always has fun ideas for the boys. Today's project was cloud dough, a super fluffy playdough. Since it can end up making a mess, she stripped them down and let them be as messy as they wanted—in the bathtub. We love her.

Vodka Pie Crust

So, this was recommended to us by our OB, Dr. Wujek. Our appointments usually consist of talking about gardening, bees, baking and cloud spotting, so we learn a lot of little tidbits. Besides, of course, listening to little one's heart beat and such.

Well, the premise is that if you use Vodka to make the crust, instead of water, it makes the crust pliable and easy to work with, without making it tough. We finally decided to try it today and it is INCREDIBLE. The crust was like brioche. Don't know if I can go back to the old recipe.

Guilt Parenting

So, Robb takes off tomorrow for a WHOLE WEEK. None of us is very excited about the prospect of being apart for that long, but mostly we are feeling bad about the boys being without Dada for so long. So tonight we took them to Brights and let them each pick out something. With the promise that if they are very good while Dada is away, we will go back next week.

The North and South Poles

Zeke has started a new Sabbath School. So far, he is loving it. Right now the focus is the Arctic and Antarctic regions. There is a talking polar bear that comes out to introduce the kids to new animals. And new songs to learn.

Winter Antics

As the snow seems to be sticking around for another day, we took the opportunity to get out and play again. Okay, full disclosure, Robb and Gabby and the boys took the opportunity. I took a shower.

Snow!

Robb captured this one little snowflake on his sleeve.

Even though we are ready for spring, a little snowfall really is cause for celebration. Mostly because the boys take such delight in playing outside. Gabby took them out for a good long frolic this afternoon.

Sleepy Time

Tonight Robb and Zeke crawled into the little tent to read bedtime stories. As I was up in my loft working, I didn't notice that things gradually got very quiet down in the living room. When I quit work and came down, I found that they had both fallen asleep in the tent.

Lincoln

Sometimes there are just no words for what goes on around this place.

End of an Era

This morning we headed over to grandma's place so Robb could lend his brawn to a little moving project. I think Larry said this was his ninth time moving this piano. They clearly knew what they were doing.

Ranch and Home

For whatever reason, we ended up at Ranch and Home tonight. I think we were looking for the kids rubber boot sale, but ended up trying on cowboy hats and buying a cast iron skillet. Ye-haw.

This kid is a natural.