Mother's Day

This is the necklace the boys gave me for Mother's Day! I had one similar that Alex gave to me my first Mother's Day after he was born, but it only had a mother and one child. I just love it!

We were on our cruise over Mother's Day this year.  We had a really nice trip and even tried to have dinner in one of the fancy restaurants as a family. Alex tried (and loved) his first steak! I'm really proud of him for trying something new because he had been really stubborn about trying anything new.  Now he says that he loves steak and will eat it at home if I make it for him.  Last week we all ate at the Iron Chef and, sure enough, Alex order steak!

Another big accomplishment Alex made on our cruise was in his swimming ability.  He worked up the courage to take off his swim vest and dogie-paddle across the pool without any help.  He could not touch the bottom of the pool at all.  It was a very small pool, BUT this is BIG for a little boy who wouldn't even think about letting go of the side of the pool a few weeks ago.  He is growing up.

We are going to start swimming lessons at the YMCA for both the boys the first part of June.  I hope he continues to progress.

Overdue Update...Sorry!

This update is long overdue and all I can say is, well, life got in the way!  When I'm in the throws of another busy day, it is hard to remember yesterday AND plan for tomorrow.  But I'm going to force myself to slow down and get back to recording the highlights on this blog.  I think this could be something that we will all look back on and enjoy one day.

Today I had one of those moments where I realized just how quickly my kids are growing up.  Alex went to his kindergarten evaluation.  We've been talking about this for months and its not like I didn't know he was going to go to kindergarten this fall.  But somehow seeing him in that classroom and leaving him there for an hour made my mind register the reality of it all.  I'm so happy for him and his excitement is contagious.  He loved the classroom, teacher and met two other boys that would potentially be in his class.  We have one more step next week, a family interview, before we know for sure that he will be accepted.  My biggest fear for today was that Alex would clam up and cry when I had to leave the classroom.  But he was wonderful and the teachers were impressed, I think.  They commented on how talented he was drawing, coloring and using scissors.  He later told us that they asked him to count to 100, say the A-B-C's and draw a picture of himself.  I'm sure they did some other things too.  As we were leaving, the teacher said to Alex that she would see him next year.  I hope that is a good sign!

Tyler will be attending the preschool that is in an adjacent building to Alex's school.  He will only go two days a week, while Alex's kindergarten will be a 5-day full day class. As we were leaving the school building, the buses were lining up to take the kids home.  He is excited to ride a bus, or so he says.  We will see how that goes the first few weeks of school.

So, after we get through our family interview next week and hopefully find out that he is accepted to that school, we plan on focusing on the here and now.  Alex is going to play t-ball this spring, we are taking a family vacation in May, and I'm thinking of having both of the boys take swimming lessons at the Y again in June.  There is a week-long youth summer camp at our church in late June, 4th of July festivities/fireworks, Vacation Bible School in mid-July, and school starts in mid-August!  Whew!  With all this in mind, we are going to do our best to have as much fun as possible and take lots of pictures to share with all of you! 

C-H-E-E-S-E!

More October Pictures

Tyler wasn't in the mood to smile, I guess.

I caught him with this little grin...





Cross the lake with friends Micah, Rigdon & Matthew.



The boys found a caterpillar on the ground!  It was all white.




I don't think he is going to fit!




Alex building a tower of blocks at Dawes Arboretum.




And another caterpillar!  This one was all brown.





Alex found himself a really nice walking stick at Dawes.



Fall Pics



Nothing says Fall like apple picking!  We go several times each year, but this was the first trip with our friends Matthew (pictured), Micah and Karen.



Much to John's dismay, Tyler likes to carry my purse around the house.

Alex is still learning to ride his bike (with training wheels).  Tyler keeps the pace riding his trike!

Niagara Falls Trip





In front of the American Bridal Falls



The Maid of the Mist near the base of the Horseshoe Falls

 

Beside the Horseshoe Falls



BEHIND the Falls!

I think Tyler is looking more like a toddler these days!



Daddy made us a splash fountain on our patio!



The boys just love to play to in the water!



Anna Maria Island Vacation - Part 1

After packing and loading everything I thought we'd need on our vacation, we hit the open road bound for Florida!  Of course, there were a few things I forgot that required a stop (or two or three) at CVS and Target.  But that always happens.  The more frustrating thing is the fact there were several items I packed that we didn't even touch.  Oh, well!  Better to be over prepared, I guess.

Our first day of travel would end in Duluth, Georgia, where we spent the night with John's sister and her family.  The boys were so excited to play with their cousin, Gina.  We arrived around 7:00 pm and let the kids play outside in the backyard since they had spent the last twelve hours in the car.  The next morning we loaded everyone back into the car and headed for Florida.  Eleven hours later, we arrived at our rented condo just in time to see the sun setting.  We all rushed out to the beach to see the spectical.  The sand was pure white and oh, so soft.  The waves were gentle and splashed onto shore as the big orange ball sank into the ocean.  Alex explained to us that the Sun needed to take a nap.  So did we.  We went back into the codo to unpack and get some sleep.

We rented a codo called La Plage 5, and it was perfect!  It had two bedrooms and an office where I set up Tyler's pack-n-play.  There was a veranda with a view of the ocean.  The kitchen was well equiped and even had a laundry room (like I wanted to do laundry).  The living room had a huge flat screen TV and each of the bedrooms also had a TV/DVD.  This worked out nice because Tyler was constantly asking to watch "Choo Choo!" (Thomas the Train).

I'll post more pictures when I have some more time...

Birthday Party Pictures

Nothing better than chocolate birthday cake!

So many new TOYS to play with (Thomas is his favorite right now)!

My niece, Lorelai (9 months old)!

Let the birthday fun ROLL!

Tyler's Birthday!

Today, my baby turns two!  This morning I pulled out the announcement we mailed to friends and family when he was born.  It seems like just yesterday.  After we picked up Alex at preschool, we did one of our favorite things - eat lunch at the park and then play!

The boys always have so much fun, but it is better now that Tyler is big enough to chase Alex up the steps and down the slide!  I think Alex still laps Tyler at least once, but he doesn't notice much.  I like to sit in the shade at the picnic table and watch.  When their little legs get tired, they run over to the swings and then I get a chance to work on my arm muscles pushing the two of them.  "Push me higher!" Alex yells.  Tyler just giggles and watches as his brother flys back and forth.

Tomorrow I take them to the peditrician for Tyler's annual check up.  I love our doctor, but hate taking them into the office because one (or both) of them always ends up getting sick from all the germs.

We are celebrating Tyler's birthday on Saturday with our parents (both Memaw's and Papa).

The Works

Today Alex's preschool took a field trip to The Works in Newark.  Tyler and I tagged along for fun.  Of course I forgot to take my camera, but a friend took pictures of the boys and promised to email them to me.  I'll post some here when I get them.


The Works is a hands on activity museum (like a mini-COSI).  We built a race car and watched it race down a gravity track.  Alex wore out his little arms using the cranks to generate an electrical current.  Tyler had fun in the little tykes area playing with paint brushes (dry) and plastic vegetables in the Farmers Market.


All in all, it was a good morning.  Getting them to leave for lunch was the challenge!

Spring has sprung!

We, in the Hayes Household, know when Spring has sprung when Daddy fires up the tractor and begins his daily roam of the grounds.  Daily?  Yes, he can always find a reason to use the tractor.  If he's not mowing the grass, he is spraying the lawn with some concoction of beer, dishwashing detergent, salt and who knows what else!  Whatever it is, it works!  This weekend he launched an all out assult on the dandelions.  Alex still enjoys riding on the tractor now and then, but Tyler won't have anything to do with it yet.  Daddy keeps trying to coax him onto his lap, but he is adamant. 

We put new play sand in the sand box and the boys have kept busy displacing each piece onto the ground.  Tyler is officially too big for the baby swing.  He actually sits on the regular swing and holds on while I push him. We don't go very high though.  He has also discovered the superman style of using the swing!  The boys love to run around the yard kicking a ball or shooting rockets.  They are ALL boy, let me tell you!

We are taking them to the beach later this summer and Alex is looking forward to seeing the ocean again.  Tyler loves the water, so he will have a good time too.  We are driving them to Florida so that should be fun for Mom and Dad...

Birthday Pictures