Time out

You wouldn't know it by the sweet look on their faces (or maybe you can catch the gleam of mischief in their eyes?), but my little guys BOTH were in time out this afternoon...a first for Sawyer! The time out was really a break from each other AND a break for me. Overall, my red heads get along really well, but battles do occur. I'm working hard to not be the referee of each and every problem (usually involving Jack saying "Ew", Sawyer saying "No", Jack telling Sawyer to "Stop saying no!" and Sawyer giving his blood curdling scream...seriously, he could break glass). My general rule of thumb is if they can't play nicely with a toy together (after MANY tries/attempted teaching sessions), the toy goes away. Today, they needed to go away....from each other. Solo time in their own room where they weren't allowed to play together for a few minutes. We ended the escapade on a positive note...a quick read of Big Brother, Little Brother and hugs all around. I'm not sure if they truly got the message but I certainly basked in the peace....for the moment.

April showers bring May visitors

We were lucky to have amazing house guests this month, and the boys loved every bit of the attention. Uncle Tim, Gramps and Grandma came to town to bring us many smiles while we treated them to the sights and sounds of the big city of South Bend.

Picasso, Van Gogh and Jack Egan

Jack's 3/4 year old class at ECDC just completed a unit on art and artists. Our family was invited to tour their "museum," observe their creative human sculptures and listen to some great music. I'm not sure who laughed more...the performers or their audience!

I took some rather lengthy videos on our still camera, and they refuse to download onto my blog....sorry Grandmommy!

Jack's schools summer unit of study...insects. If only we knew someone well versed in that field???

A laugh a minute

Sawyer has the world's greatest laugh...possibly stemming from the world's largest belly! I'll try to catch it on camera and post it soon. His laugh is quite contagious and he LOVES to make others laugh! It's unbelievable to watch his personality unfold. I predict some interesting parent-teacher conferences in our future!

See-Saw

Daddy set up the trampoline and the boys are in hog heaven. It's amazing to see Sawyer in it now since he hasn't "jumped" in it since November. What a difference 5 months makes. Now he's really jumping!




20 months old and going strong, Sawyer James (aka See-Saw) is our little character. He's a bundle of energy, joy, fire and flame!!!! He jumps headfirst into any athletic endeavor, has a love affair with vacuums, tractors, lawnmowers, trucks, trains, tools, flags, babies, & Daddy's I-phone, loves to "read" countless books, tries to imitate ANYTHING that his brother does or says and can eat an entire apple (I mean the whole apple from skin to seed) in no time at all. Don't even think about trying to take the apple from him either! Sawyer's uses many sign and words to communicate (some easier to understand than others) and has started putting several words together..."Mo cheese peeaze." Some popular words are "no", "baby", "no", "please", "no", "book", "no", "on", "no", "cheese", "no", "flag", "no"...you get the drift!

The other day my youngest son and I were enjoying a few hours together (away from chores, to-dos, etc.), and I realized how much he has changed over the last several months. He's far from a baby anymore and it's hard to believe that Jack wasn't much older when we brought Sawyer home. Basking in the sun on the ND campus, Sawyer walked around while doublefisting his apple and sandwich and took in all the beauty of spring. He then looked at me, straddled a medium-size rock, and proceeded to pretend like he was flying/almost falling off the rock (sound effects and all..."woah!" It was such a little boy thing to do. Sawyer, your babyhood may be coming to an end, but I'll remember it forever.

All boy!!!!

Let me preface this entry, by swearing up and down that we do NOT beat our children!!! This shot of Jack's leg is gruesome, but each scrape, bruise and boo boo chronicle his latest outdoor adventures...tree climbing, bike rides and daredevil activities. Please Lord, keep us out of the ER. Better up the medical portion of our budget!

On another note, Jack had a monumental day this Monday. Currently playing in his second season of soccer, Jack has been working hard to score a goal (and getting a little down on himself when he hasn't met the challenge). With the help of his coach (Coach Daddy), some pep talks from Mommy and a lot of self-determination, Jack scored 2 goals for his team on Monday. You would have thought he won the Heisman...it made our day, week and month. The look on his face was priceless and he insisted on calling all his grandparents to tell them the news. To top off the amazing evening, we saw a rainbow when we got home after soccer. Here's my proud little man...not sure which one shined brighter, the rainbow or Jack.

Beach boys

We enjoyed our first family trip up to Lake Michigan on Saturday. The boys were in heaven, and I think Sawyer was particularly in love with getting dirty in the sand.
The water was absolutely freezing, but we all braved it! We started out with just our feet, but the boys ended up plopping down. Note to self, Jen...next time have more spare clothes in the car!
Looking for fish, rocks, sharks, etc! I definitely have 3 nature loving boys!
Daddy wasn't as fond of the cold water, but the squeals from the boys made it worth it.
A great time on the beach was had by all. We can't wait to go back to see more boats, sea gulls, sand and waves. Don't forget the ice cream, too! Sawyer has been asking for the "beach" all day, and we promise him to we'll go back very soon. Come on up and join us, family and friends! :)