Adam looking at his tractor book.
This is a "truck halling a boat to the beach"
This is a "giant truck squirting ewe water".
"Truck with a scoop"
My "messy boy"

Riding his horse (my bag and blanket)

Well I woke up with a sore throat and the boys woke up with colds. They are both coughing and Jacob complains that his throat hurts. He didn't even really want to eat his pancakes but did nibble on them because there his favorite breakfast meal. He asked where Kenzie was first thing this morning and several times throughout the day. I got my bag packed and some last minute things done for our trip. We went out to fuzoli's for dinner. I made the room dark and Jared went to bed at 8pm. It is around 11pm now and he has woke up so I'm trying to make this short. I stayed up and played with the boys. Jacob had fun playing with his moon sand. I gave him his train cookie cutter and he pretended it was a masher. We'd pack the moon sand in the container and he'd mash it up saying he was making applesause cake. Adam tugged on my shirt and begged to sit on a stool and play with it. I'd make a ball and he'd squish it in his fingers. They played in the tub for a long time this evening. After Adam got out Jacob wanted me to turn the shower on. He loves it. They both had a hard time getting to sleep this evening. After they were in bed I packed the cooler and got the last of our banana chips packed. We'll be back in a couple weeks. We are getting up in about an hour so I better get to bed.

Kenzie wanted me to video tape her and Uncle Jared's hand shakes

Jacob with long, curley hair:)

Kenzie making breakfast.

Blowing out the lights.

I didn’t get to bed until 2:30 last night. After Jared left for work I stayed up and finished the dishcloth I’d been working on. . I heard the rooster crowing for the first time this morning. Jacob woke up shortly before 8am. I heard him trying to wake up Kenzie. She stayed sleeping. Adam woke up around 9am. We all went in to wake Kenzie up at 9:30. She made us pancakes for breakfast. The boys loved them. At 10:30 we went outside. I picked beans from the garden. Adam played on his truck for a little while but then came and joined me in the garden. He loved running through the corn. It was like a maze to him. Each row has spots where the corn didn’t come up. He smiled at me and laughed as he ran up and down and through the rows. Kenzie and Jacob caught chickens. Then they played in the fort for a little while. Adam asked to swing so I put him in his swing. Jacob and Kenzie went into the barn to play in the hay area. Kenzie was raking the hay and making rooms for their “house”. I brought the beans in there and sat on the steps to look over and cut up. Adam loved climbing around on the wagon and holding a bean. Jacob gave some hay and a bean to the hen setting on eggs under the hay area. She puffed her feathers and squawked as he got close but she didn’t peck him. We went back inside for lunch. After lunch Kenzie and Jacob sat in the chair watching the grasshopper they had caught and put in the butterfly cage. Adam pushed around the container to the blocks. Then Kenzie and Jacob played hide and seek from Truman. They have him stay, hide, and then call him to come find them. Adam likes to go in a room and shut the door behind him. He’ll run to our bedroom, shut the door, and run to the dog bed just waiting excitedly for me to come get him. He giggles and wiggles because he knows he’s going to get tickled. I lay him down for a nap at 2pm. Kenzie and Jacob lay on our bed to rest while reading books. Then we put in the Charlottes Web dvd to watch. I knitted while we watched the movie. When Adam woke up he was ready for a snack and drink. He opened the cupboard and brought me a bowl. He drank his water quickly and then ran to the sink, holding his cup up and begging for me to refill it. He begs by saying “Mommy” over and over until he gets what he wants. After dinner Kenzie and Jared went outside while I washed the dishes. Then the boys and I went out to join them. Kenzie told us that the goats were loose and they couldn’t find them. Jared drove down the road but didn’t see them anywhere. Then he drove up our neighbor’s driveway that goes along the fence at the back of our property. They were out there. Jared brought them back and got them into their paddock. This evening we worked on the fence. Jared had to nail up some fence that was down. Then we walked the fence and made sure there wasn’t anything touching the electric fence. We took care of all that. Adam had fun picking grass. Kenzie and Jacob played in the hay area. We really needed to get the fence working before our trip. This may sound mean, but we tried to coax the goats to touch the fence using corn. They have killed so many nice trees that we plant each year, so we really wanted them to “respect” the fence and we needed to know if it was working. Even after all our work the goats pushed on that fence without any shocks. Jared worked on the electric fence and got it working again. Now it works great and they all felt some shocks. It was 8:30 by them time we went inside. Got the boys ready and in bed. Kenzie typed her blog. Jared and I went outside to pack a few things in the van. A door must have been left open because the van battery was dead.

Jacob woke up after Jared left for work. He came in our bed but never did fall asleep. When we got up we went outside to feed the animals. Jacob grabbed a handful of chicken food and knelt down to feed them out of his hand. One pecked him hard but he just laughed and went for another handful of food. Adam sure loves to play "train". Jacob or I usually lead the train and Adam quickly runs to join us. He also loves ring around the rosie. Jacob turned the big horse on its side and we leaned up against the couch to pretend he was driving us in his car. Adam quickly came to sit next to us. Jacob wrapped his arm around Adam and said, "dis my friend". I finished packing the boys bags and loaded them into the van. I started knitting a dishcloth. My knitted dishclothes have been used a lot and I needed some new ones. I got some nice colors of yarn and I'll be knitting with them on our trip north. Jared picked Kenzie up from Nana's after he got out of work. She is staying with us until Friday. I cut up and washed the beans picked from our garden. Jared went outside with Kenzie and the boys. Kenzie was happy to see the ckickens again. She loves to catch Butch (the rooster). He is sleeping in his new area tonight for the first time. Kenzie was loving the banana chips so I gave her a sandwich bag full of them. She ate the whole bag. It takes a lot of bananas to make one of them little bags. After dinner we took the kids to play at the wood park. The kids had so much fun. Daddy, Jacob, and Kenzie took off to play on the train. Adam went right for the firetruck. We sat in that as he played with the steering wheel. Then he took me over to the swingset. First he walked up to the blue swing but for some reason he changes his mind and quickly walked over to the black swing. I pushed him in that until he asked to get down so he could check out the rest of the place. Its such a large place and I don't think Adam ever stopped moving except to hug the wooden animals. I saw Jacob running around and could tell he was having just as much fun. Once when we crossed paths he said to me, "I was wondering where you was". Adam took Daddy over to show him the wooden cat and I took Jacob and Kenzie over to play in the sand. When it was time to leave we played follow the leader (Daddy leading) back to the car. It was shortly after 8pm when we left. We stopped at Tim Hortons for donuts and I got a cappucinno. Before bed Kenzie read Jacob his bedtime books.

Jacob came in our bed after Jared left for work this morning. It was chilly in our room with the windows open. Jacob said, "I want you a turn the heater on. I turned the mattress heater on for him. The boys and I slept in until 10am. After breakfast we listened to music and I sat on the couch to drink my coffee. Jacob climbed up next to me. Adam saw us and quickly ran to come sit by us. Jacob brought the water container over to me and said the dogs needed water. I filled it up and gave it back to him. He’s so careful about pouring the water in their dish. Jacob likes to kneel next to the couch and play with a handful of blocks, usually pretending their trucks. Adam saw him and quickly ran to grab a few blocks. He played with his blocks on the couch next to Jacob. Jacob built a house out of his blocks and it was cute to hear him tell me about his house. He told me where our beds were and showed me the doors on his house. Then he told me it was an old house and needed to be knocked down. One of his blocks became a tractor and he knock over the house. Then rebuilt it again. Adam ran to the back door and hit it saying, “bye bye, Papa”. After lunch we headed into town. First we stopped at the granary for chicken food. Then we went to the bank on our way to visit Daddy at the blood bank. It was busy in there so we didn’t stay long. Jacob didn’t want to leave without Daddy and said, "I want Daddy to come with us". We made a quick trip into Salvation Army. Then we went to Tim Horton. I got a coffee and the boys each got a Timbit. We went to Walmart for some last minute thing for the camping trip. As we were about to leave it started to downpour with really loud thunder. I decided to walk around the store until the rain let up some. Before we got into the car Jacob lifted his hands up and stuck out his tongue to catch some raindrops. Adam copied him. There were a couple things we needed from meijer so we stopped there also. Adam was a little fussy in there but it was past his naptime. Jacob fell asleep on the way home and stayed asleep as I lay him on the couch. Now Adam didn’t seem so sleepy anymore. I gave him a snack and a drink. Then I lay him down and he fell right to sleep. I cut up some more bananas to put on the dehydrator. I called and talked to Kenzie at Mom’s house. She said she was going to be packing for their camping trip tonight and also told me she posted on her blog. When Jacob woke up we got out his chalkboard to draw on. He loved me to draw tall buildings. Then he’d pretend the eraser was a tractor, knocking down the buildings. He also would draw fields by using the chalk sideways. He used the eraser to plow his field. I looked out the window and saw a turkey and her babies in the pasture. I took Jacob outside to show him and got some pictures. We picked some apples to feed to the horses. Then we went inside and woke Adam up so he could eat dinner with us. Jared didn’t get home from work until around 7:30. This evening I got the boys bags for warm clothes packed and loaded into the van. I can't seem to get my pictures to upload. I'll try again tomorrow.

Watching Nana and Papa

Today was a busy day. Jacob woke up around 8am and played with some cars in our bed on his blanket. Adam woke up around 9am. After breakfast I cut up some more bananas to put on the dehydrator. Then I got out the blankets that have been stored away since last year and washed them. We have one blanket that folds in half and is for walking on inside the screened area of our tent (Truman’s area). This blanket is not very wide but is very long. Truman has chewed it pretty bad. There was a hole the size of Adam in the middle of it and the edges were all chewed up. I cut it, patched it up, and sewed the two pieces together. It should work well for its purpose. Jacob loved helping me push the foot peddle. He said, “I am a great helper”. I then spread the blanket out on the floor and he carefully pulled all the pins out and set them on the blanket for me to put away. He’d pull out a green pin and say, “this green one is my favorite”. Adam napped for 3 hrs. Jacob and I read several books together. Then we sat at the table and drew with the markers. After that he wanted to read to me. He read me his favorite dump truck book. I was surprised that he had the book memorized almost word for word. It was cute to hear him “reading” it. I made chicken noodle casserole for dinner. I gave Jacob a haircut and then he watched his bulldozer movie while I dusted, vacuumed, and swept the house. Then I changed the trash and folded the laundry. We went outside to let the chickens out of their coop. Jacob went inside the coop but came running out saying, "no me like dat big one, he try a get me". Nana and Papa came by for a visit. Nana insisted on picking the row beans in the garden. Thanks Mom. Papa insisted on mowing the lawn. He wanted to surprise Jared. I got him a towel because the tractor seat was covered in bird poop. He started up the tractor and next thing I knew he had crashed into the side of our old tractor. He looked at me with a grin and said, “how do you get this thing in reverse”. I shrugged and said, “I don’t know. I was a little worried to get any closer:) He figured it out and started mowing. There is a bumper guard on our new tractor so no damage was done to either one. I had to take the boys inside for dinner. Jared called to say he was going to be getting home even later than he already was. He made it home around 7:30. He and I ate dinner together while Nana played with the boys. I was watching out the window at Dad mowing and saw him mow over our garden hose (no damage done). Jared went outside to get it out of the way for him. Thanks Dad for mowing our lawn, now we have some things to tease you about. I won’t mention the time we backed his truck into a tree and the other time we dented his tailgate (ok, maybe I will mention it). I also won’t mention all the times Nana backed into our car. Or the time she rode over the post with our van (ok, maybe not over it but really, really close to it). We had a nice visit. Adam loved walking up to Papa calling, “Papa” or over to Nana and saying, “Nana”. This evening he saw the bowl of fish snacks sitting on the counter. He reached for them and said, “ish pease”. I’d hand him one, he'd eat it, and then ask again “ish pease”. Jacob went outside with Daddy to take care of the animals. When he came in it was time to get ready for bed. When I took Adam into his bedroom he couldn’t stop rubbing his eyes.

Here are the boys watching my parents working. Thank-you Mom and Dad for all your help!

14 Months

Jacob
Adam

This morning Jacob crawled in our bed at 7am. He fell asleep with his feet by my pillow. There he slept until shortly after 9am. Jared and I hadn't been up for very long. Around 10am Jared got dressed for church. Jacob, who was still in his pj's, looked at Daddy and asked, "where we going?". Jared replied, "were going to church". Jacob then looked down at his pajamas and said, "I not going at church like dis". Both boys did really well going into their classes today. Its nice to have them back to themselves on Sundays. Jacob right away opened his mouth to show the teacher his hurt lip. Adam went right to play with the blocks. When we picked Jacob up he was on the teeter-totter with another girl. Got back home around 12:45. Jared and the boys had pizza for lunch and I had a egg and cheese sandwich on toast. Jacob colored on some paper with his markers. Adam sat on my lap and also colored some. Around 2pm Adam lay down for his nap. He loves to "blow" out the lights at naptime and bedtime. I lay down with Jacob and we both fell asleep. I slept about 30 minutes and felt well rested when I woke up. Jacob and Adam slept until around 5pm. Jared had left to get some wood and take my wedding ring to be fixed. He suprised me and got me a headlamp to use while camping. It sure will be nice to use while my hands are busy with the boys or other things. Jared drew with the markers and the boys loved watching him draw different things. Jacob loves him to draw "people". We went into town for to pick up some ice cream. Jacob was having a hard time listening this evening. He said, "I'm all wound up" as he ran around the house. When we were praying this evening I prayed that God would help him to listen better to Mommy and Daddy. He sat on my lap and we sang "My Heart Says I Love You". After I sang it to him he said, "Sing, my heart says to listen". So we sang it that way.

This is their doghouse.

Adam's behind there.

This morning we left for drinks and donuts around 10am. After that we walked through Salvation Army. Then we headed over to Mel's house. Uncle Jared got to meet Jack. He got to hold him while Mel and I took the rest of the kids outside. They played with sidewalk chalk, rode on their trucks, and swang on the swing. Jacob now likes to sit on a regular swing. Up until we stayed here earlier this week he would only swing on his belly. He sits on the swing and tries to pump with his legs. The kids had fun on the "raceship" swing. Jacob liked helping me give pushes. We went inside for lunch. Now I got my turn holding Jack. He was awake and alert for most of our visit. Hailey and Jacob went into the bedroom to play with the doll house. Then they hid in the closet and wanted me to come find them. They used a couple suitcases stacked in front of the doorway and said it was their "doghouse". We headed home around 2:30. Adam stayed awake for most of the trip but fell asleep when we were almost home. I changed his diaper and then he leaned towards his crib. I lay him down and he fell right back to sleep. Jared and Jacob went outside to work on building a door for the roosters area. I worked on cleaning things and packing the van for our trip north. We don't use the van much, so I am able to pack early this year. First I vacuumed out the van. Adam woke up around 6:30. This evening we went to town and did some shopping for our camping trip. We didn't get home until around 10:30. The boys were already in their pj's because we knew we'd be getting home past their bedtime. Jacob fell asleep on the drive home, so Daddy lay him in bed. Adam was awake. He was very tired and ready for bed.