I always dreamed I would have my home filled with children. Hosting "bonus" kids makes me happy and tired.
February has been very spring like this year. We had a blast flying kites.
We saw Nani again in February! She came back for President's Day weekend and she followed through with her promise to take Nathan to a hotel for learning to use the potty. The boys were thrilled with hanging out in the room, Nathan jammed out to the clock radio, and of course their hotel highlights always include the pool and the "FREE" continental breakfast. Nani said she slept like a champ in her bed. Both boys ended up "sleeping" with me. I had ZERO sleep but managed to smile through Saturday anyways. It helps when Nani drives and provided Diet Coke.
Of course aside from visiting Target, hotel staying, and just having fun a trip wouldn't be complete without making rice krispy treats with her oldest grandson.
One afternoon we decided to wash cars. Nathan of course took it to the party level.
We have been playing games lately. Nathan loves Sequence and was quite pleased that he set up the game all by himself.
Operation is way too frustrating for him so he took on the role of cheering for Joshua. Joshua needed a massage after playing. That kid was so tense!
Play group goes from good to great when you get to play with baby chicks!
Y'all when I see my two boys together my heart overflows with gratitude. They love each other. I hope this bond never goes away.
We bought Nathan a school book. We made it a game that the colors were lava, slime, etc and he was dying with laughter to keep his tracing in the white. Gotta make life a game for Nathan to get him interested. I may not send him to school but keep him at home to learn with me.
After a crazy afternoon where the lights were all red and there were no obvious rainbows, I decided to stop and just sign Joshua out of school early. We were planning on leaving for SC that evening when Matt finished with work. Long story short, there was a Mardi Gras parade that we HAD to attend. The boys loved it of course. We finally made it home probably 30 minutes sooner than if he had just finished his normal day.
We were excited to have a family trip to SC. We didn't really advertise our trip because we weren't 100% sure it was happening. We were so glad we did.
Matt and I talked about it beforehand and said we were going to embrace opportunities to be silly, let the boys be free, and just make memories. This is the face of a rule follower on the wrong side of the rail!
Look who found us?! We spent the morning in Greenville, SC. We would be happy if this became our home someday. The boys loved climbing all over the rocks and Joshua said it was his first waterfall that he remembers ever seeing.
There were a few moments in the rock climbing that we had to remember our rule to be chill.
Boys went to swing and Nathan said he wasn't going to do it.
I think he was happy he decided to change his mind.
Pushing Matt on the swing.
Being wild and letting Joshua pee on the side of my parent's driveway.
Teaching him about the game where you drive off every time the person tries to get in. Simple things. :-)
Nathan found this stick on a hike with Grandpa and we let him keep it.
Trampoline. Julia decided to join them for a few jumps. Then she realized these boys need the whole thing to themselves.
The boys also lived on their bikes. We may never travel without these again. Joshua especially loved the freedom of riding without the nuisance of cars or worried grown-ups. We had a day where all the family was invited to play. It is nice to have all the extended family around too.
So a highlight for us was playing with our nephew, Collin. He decided we were the only ones that could take care of him all afternoon. Honestly, he loved me at first and then moved on to Matt. That actually just made my heart melt even more.
He started crying and Nathan rushed to the scene. He was determined to do anything to make him smile.
Success.
Joshua had the baby bug too.
Nathan got some stickers from my Aunt Lisa and this was the reaction. She said she would buy that boy a sticker book if this was the thanks!
Aunt Lizzy always plays and plays with these two.
Aunt Julia outdid herself again with cleaning the house, preparing all of our meals, and even had little toys for the kids. Plus, she made a carrot cake for Matt. It was her first cake from scratch and it was delicious!
We went to one of our favorites, CFA!
We followed that up with a private showing of Lego Batman.
Then it was birth family time at the Big E. This has become a tradition. The boys love it and love the people that spoil them there.
Nathan and Joshua love every minute. I am so grateful that they want to see us and be apart of our lives forever. Kids never complicate things with labels. They are happy to accept anyone that wants to love them. Birth family, adopted family, it is FAMILY.
TV watching with Grandpa.
We went to school with Nani and then she left early for lunch and the park. The boys performed moderately well. I think JoAnne's coworkers may believe my kids are cute. ;-)
We ended with a little grocery shopping for treats for our long drive back. Joshua enjoyed pushing the cart but didn't want it to say customer in training because he was too grown up!
We really felt bad for waking these sleepers up but we did it anyways. We made it back in record time. I'm so tough but I love that so far my boys all comply with this view of road trips. We eat our meals in the car, we fuel up and empty bladders at the same time. We run in and out with a timer running to see how fast we can do it. :-)
It was wonderful to see our family without Joshua missing school. We love Mardi Gras break!
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