The big box

Warning: The picture quality is poor

We had to get Benjamin a new carseat because his last one was out of date and a piece broke off. 

(side note, the whole expiration thing on carseats is legit,  the carseat we were using had just recently expired and a piece just snapped for no reason except that it's part of the normal wear and tear on the seat.  So, moral of this story is check your carseat for an expiration and replace it if necessary- it's for the safety of some pretty special cargo)

And we are back.  Where were we, oh yeah... carseat.  Of course the boys were way more excited about the HUGE box that it came in.  We had fun for a couple days in it and I had actually planned to poke holes in one side and string some lights through it. 

I changed my mind when we let the boys sit the box upright and play in it.  Spence literally walked about 4 steps away before we heard lots of screaming and crying.  The box had tipped.  Ben tumbled out.  Onto the couch.  Chin first.  He got a carpet burn so bad he bled.  For a while.  This is what it looked like a couple days later:

So, the box is residing in the garage ready for a prank or something else creative.  But probably not for the boys..

Christmas at the Summit

Our church this year is having 5 Christmas services.  Each service is identical and there will be childcare provided.  Spence and I are attending the service on December 24 at 4:00.  We would love for anyone to join us.  Other opportunities to worship are December 22 at 6:00, December 23 at 12:00 and 6:00 or December 24 at 4:00 and 6:00.  I will be serving at some of the other service times so I hope to see you there.  If you would like more information, please visit the website.

Hot chocolate

The boys are enjoying the perks of the cooler weather.  I do not like coffee but I adore hot chocolate (and have been known to drink it straight through the summer).  We have been letting the boys test it out and the jury is in with a positive all the way around.

 What's in here?

 It's yummy chocolate

 I'm a chocolate monster

So good!

They love drinking out of the mugs and have now gotten so addicted to hot chocolate, that I can't go to starbucks with out having to share once it cools.  I may have to start getting them their own little kids cup.

Like Father, Like Son

I think that Ben must be spending too much time with Spencer.  After seeing his daddy fish over the fence, he apparently struck genius with this idea:

I also caught him sitting on his stool in the bathroom with his toy fishing pole pretending to fish into the bathtub.  I wasn't able to catch that one on camera, but it made me giggle for a while.

Christmas activites all in one

I have been so very slack about Christmas posts, but we really have been doing a lot of fun things.  We jumped right in as soon as we got home from Thanksgiving.  The boys have had a blast doing all the activites we have planned.  We actually haven't done as much as I would have liked because of my extreme tiredness and Ellie's recent desire to send me to the couch for hours while I am having some strong Braxton Hicks.  Here are some of our pictures that I have caught, please excuse the picture quality they are all from my phone.

 Ben wanted to put all the ornaments on the tree

 Zeke wanted to watch Snoopy more than put ornaments on the tree

 We walk over to see our neighbor's decorations often... Ben decided to become part of the decor

 The boys room got festive with lights around the room. 

It is very bright, so we sneak in and turn them off after they are asleep

 For the 12 days leading up to Christmas, we are pulling a family activity from a jar. 

One was bundling up and taking a walk through the neighborhood to see the lights. 

A few of the others have been having lunch out as a family, getting donuts, and buying new Christmas books.

The boys have enjoyed these activities so far

 What's Christmas with out an ugly sweater party? 

Spence took it to the next level and wore one while making announcements

 Ben go involved with a candy marathon while we visisted YaYa's

 Our staff Christmas party included some special  entertainment from some of the staff...

The church hosted a Ladies Night.  We had a women only band, yummy desserts and one of our pastor's wives shared about our life being a race and that we have the security of knowing our finish line and staying the course.

Bordeom Busters

The boys and I have had to get a little more creative with our activities.  I saw this idea on Pinterest (ps have you heard of that?  I'll do a whole post soon about my love of all things pinterest).  I had these great ideas that this would keep the boys busy for a while (like 10 whole minutes in our world)... yeah that lasted approximately 47 seconds and then they were off and running to get into something else. 

We have since done it and the boys do spend longer on it and it is an independent activity.  If you want me to be quite honest, this is what they are doing while I sit on the couch watching my stories, eating bon bons, and having someone fan me with a huge leaf.  

2 in the bed...

The boys love playing on our bed.  It can be quite dangerous at times.  Ben likes to jump on the bed...a lot.  Zeke is getting braver and braver and even tried to jump off the bed the other day.  The boys especially like my huge pillow that I use when I am pregnant.  They call it their nest and fight over who gets to lay in it. 

Side note: this is where Z has been napping since we put them in a room together and he has napped more in there than he has in his room in the past couple months!

 Silly boys

 Wild and Crazy!

Snugglebugs