Devon: May

"I'm feeding Audrey noodles, mom!"

Took the kids to the fair this year and despite the INSANELY hot temperatures they had a great time. We let Devon go on a pony ride on a little pony named Tex. He trotted that horse around and around with this shy little smile of pure glee.

He was pretty adamant about not wanting to ride any rides. Can't say I blame him, they don't look particularly safe and not to mention the germs :) He finally decided that he would ride this plane. Joe had to literally peel his fingers off the wheel. Sorry, buddy. Next year.

We road tripped to California and the only place to stop and eat was Taco Bell or McDonald's. I literally cringe when they takes bites of their "food" and don't encourage them to eat more if they don't want to, but it's such a treat for them since they've only been there a handful of times. He was so excited to get his disk shooting spy watch :)

Devon got an entire king size bed all to himself. He was so happy when he woke up in a hotel. He was just happy to be there.

Sea World was kind of a bust, but there were a few shining moments like running in the grass, running down the plank bridge and climbing the rope course. Adults got to play, too :)

Beeeeaaaacccchhhh!

Super fun.

Umm. I think he's excited to go on the boat.

Just driving this boat all by myself no big deal. :)

Daddy won this crab for Devon in one of those impossible-to-win claw games. I think this is a good spot for it.

Funny faces and piggy back rides.

Just dumping shovel fulls of sand down Audrey's diaper no big deal.

Climbing up the slide. Look at my strong muscles!

Can't even eat a meal without a super hero mask. And why shouldn't he, really? :)

Devon is the sweetest boy I know. He is thoughtful, smart, funny, polite and sensitive. He knows how to throw a punch and has a dresser drawer to store his arsenal of swords, guns and daggers. The shields and helmets needed their own section. He is such a cute little kid with an imagination that goes all day long. He can totally sit and hang with the grown ups and actually interject into the conversation or just sit there quietly. He is starting to play with kids when we are at the park and is getting more brave every day.

Audrey: May (22 months)

Audrey is such a sweet little girl. She loves to color in her brother's Spiderman coloring book and is happy to be Green Goblin or Catwoman and be a bad guy.

Audrey loves jelly beans, soy beans, black beans (lots of beans for this baby), carrots and pasta.

Since learning of Sampson's lymphoma, I have been letting him out into the yard with the kids in the afternoons and the three of them dig in the sand together.

And when I say "dig in the sand together", I mean that Devon dumps sand on Audrey and Sampson poops in the sandbox. :)

This little girl loves her blanket. Loves it. She hates to leave it behind when we leave the house or go outside, but she has learned to do without it by finding a special place to leave it so she knows exactly where it is when she gets home.

Hello!

Audrey happily washes her hands and, like most kids, loves to play in the water. She is quite a clean kid, like her brother, and proclaims,"Oops! Mess! Mama, need towel. Clean up." If she spills her crackers she picks them all up and doesn't miss a single one. That's my little OCD baby!

She loves to be around animals especially dogs. If we ever get a dog it will be the most loved dog on the planet.

They both wanted this same little chair so instead of giving it up to the other, they shared it. Works for me.

We took a long weekend vacation and went to California. The kids had a blast. I have decided that a vacation with kids as little as ours is not a vacation. It's harder than real life ... just different scenery. SO worth it, but you don't have all the stuff you need, they're off schedule, etc.

We went to Sea World and it was mostly a waste of a day until we found the kids play area and that saved the whole experience from being sorta sucking. They had so much fun just running around and playing on different equipment outside in the beautiful weather and couldn't have cared less about the shows.

I think their favorite part of Sea World was the grass :) Figures, right? Give a kid a new toy and they play with the box. That was Sea World. Just as well. Audrey just kept crawling along the ground running the grass between her fingers.

We met up with my parents at their boat. We stayed over with them one night and spent the rest of the nights at our hotel.

Somebody get this kid a toy I think she's bored! They did great in the car and had a pretty even split of watching movies and playing toys.

This is one of the boats my parents have. Don't be fooled by her terrified expression ... she loved the boat. She just didn't like me leaving her with her life jacket riding up to take her picture. Handsome Daddy :)

The beach. AAaahhhh the beach. Probably our least expensive and hands down BEST days with the kids. They didn't want to go near the water so we didn't really have to freak out about them getting too close. They could take off running down the sand and we just called them back when they got too far. Easy peasy. Joe and I got to actually relax. Wish we could have spent more days there.

A giant sand box.

Audrey is such a joy. She isn't eating as much as she used to so I think her little growth spurt is over for now. She is still above the 80-90% for height/weight.head size :) She loves to snuggle and give high fives.

Devon: April

"I'm eating my chicken. See ahhhhhhhhh!"

Me: Dude, what are you doing?
Devon: Licking the fireplace with Sampson.

Convincingly pretending to sleep in my bed.

Heard me take his picture, but still desperately trying to get me to think he's asleep.
I made an airplane out of card board with a steering wheel and moving propeller. He insisted on laying down and making this face until I took his picture. Guarantee you will see this particular expression again soon.
And there is is. Happy Easter!
And again. Feeding the ducks bread with cousin Charlie Belle.
Doing cool tricks on the parallel bars at gymnastics.
Walking the cat. No biggie :) Really though, he loves to walk the cat.

Audrey: April (21 months)

Audrey is starting to love to paint and color. She loves to do glitter and be involved in whatever art Devon is doing for the day.

Such a happy-go-lucky lady.

Man oh MAN is Audrey independent! She is off and running. Literally. The kid runs everywhere she goes. I was having a rough time keeping track of her and Devon at the zoo and "Mom-Guyvered" a baby leash from my purse strap. It didn't last, but it gave my mind a break from the constant,"Audrey! Devon! Stay with me!"

There was a puddle at the park and both my kids splashed right in. Of course, Audrey sat down. In the water. And of COURSE it was the ONE time I didn't bring a change of clothes. Ugh.

When it's cool enough to make it to the park, she loves to swing and climb where all the big kids are.

"Lips!"

Two ponies.

Audrey loves to play toys, guns, swords, dolls, bad guys blocks ... whatever is around she will play with. She is so busy!

I made some "cloud dough" (baby oil and flour). It's moldable, but easily breaks apart. Makes everyone smell great :) I put some in a big bin on the back porch and let the kids go nuts for about an hour. I am so in love with these pictures I can't pick a favorite.

In spite of her expression in this picture, and ALL pictures of all the cousins, Audrey had a fun time hunting down all the eggs at the hunt we had at our house. She loves candy and I would bet that jelly beans (a.k.a. jubellines) are her favorite.

Audrey loves to snuggle stuffed animals and animals in general. She is very sweet and nice little girl. She loves to run and be tickled. Peek-a-boo is still a favorite.

Audrey loves dogs tramendously, but has a special bond with our cat, Sampson. He, unfortunately, has lymphoma and the vet doesn't think he will make it to Thanksgiving this year. He has been my baby before I had babies for the past 13 years. He has always been an indoor only cat. I want him to have a happy life and figured that he would really enjoy being outside. So, I put a leash on his small frame (down from 20 poinds to 10 in just a few months) so he can learn the parameters of the yard. Now I let him out with the kids to play and he rolls in the dirt, chases bugs and digs (and poops) in the sandbox with Audrey everyday.