Y.M.C.A.

On Christmas Eve we put Connor & Isaac to bed....only to find two of the village people had taken their places on Christmas morning.

Our Thanksgiving

I'm a little behind on blogging, so I'll try to catch up in a couple of long posts.

For Thanksgiving this year, we went to Salt Lake to visit family. I was really hoping it would snow while we were there so the boys could play in the snow for the first time. Luckily, when we arrived, there was a little snow left over from a recent storm. The boys loved playing in it.



They also loved playing with Grandpa & Grandma's Karaoke machine...singing children's primary songs (from church).



Unfortunately, both boys were sick for most of our visit, but they did get to play a little with their cousin Mason.

Apparently, Connor was not in the mood for hugs.


Isaac & his Aunt Sheri


I think they both look like they've been hittin the sauce here...


And since their 3rd birthday was only 10 days away, Grandma threw them a fun little birthday party.

Church

Church is never dull when you have two 3-year-olds.

Today, as we were listening to the speakers, Isaac said (not quietly, of course), "Mommy, that boy said 'cool beans'!"....what the speaker really said was "obedience".

In this very same service, Connor, for no apparent reason shouted out "Ta Da!".

Usually my boys are very well behaved & fairly quiet in church. I don't think they were trying to be loud today, but I have no doubt that some people around us were having a little chuckle.

Third Person

After successfully using the pronoun "I" for quite some time, Connor has started referring to himself in the third person. Instead of "I need" he says, "Connor needs." Today Ryan had the funniest exchange with him.

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He likes to play this game where we pretend we can't find him...

Ryan (asking Jenn): Where's Connor?

Connor: Here he is! He's right here! I found him, daddy!
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I really love this age. Rarely a day goes by when one of them doesn't crack us up.

Babe

I'm still laughing from this little exchange with Isaac this evening...

Isaac: Mommy, can I call Babe?

Me: Sure, go ahead. (I'm thinking he must have watched that movie at daycare about a little pig named Babe.)

Isaac: Okay. Baaaaabe! (pause) He's not coming.

Me: Isaac, who is Babe?

Isaac: It's Daddy. He's not here.

I guess I call Ryan "babe" more than anything else when we're at home. Apparently Isaac likes that title better than "daddy".

So Proud

The boys came home from daycare singing this today. I'm not sure whether to be proud or frightened. I guess "Bad" was from Michael's more normal days, so maybe I don't need to be worried...

Connor's Quirks

Connor is kind of a quirky little guy.

Ever since he began calling me by name, I have been known as "Monny" (pronouced exactly like mommy, but replace the m sound with the n sound). Try as I might, I could never get him to say my name correctly. Then, all of a sudden, one day this week he started saying it right. I have mixed feelings about this. All this time I've been frustrated at his inability (or unwillingness) to correctly pronounce my name, but now that he does, I'm sad. Another phase gone...one more step away from being my baby.

Another strange habit Connor has is wiping his hands on his hair. I can't get this kid to understand that a napkin is the proper place to wipe his hands....but even his pants or shirt would be preferable to his hair. Last night he ate a chocolate that melted a little faster than he could eat it. This was the result.



In case you can't tell, the "hair product" in his spiked hair is chocolate.

It must be Fall

Here in Southern California, the traditional signs of fall are few. A little over a week ago, we had high temperatures around 110. The trees don't really display fall colors...they are either still green or have already gone from green straight to brown. Here is what we've been doing to feel the autumn spirit...

This past weekend we went apple picking. The orchards didn't open until September 1, and they were already nearly picked clean only a month later...so it wasn't as cool as we thought it would be. We did manage to fill a bag & the boys (especially Isaac) had at least a little bit of fun.

Connor studying the map


Connor picking


Isaac picking


The loot




Isaac enjoying the fruit of his labor



Ryan was just in Utah for work, and he brought the boys back some mini pumpkins from their Grandma Leitch. They had a fun time painting them tonight.

I don't believe it

If I hadn't been around for all of those sleepless nights with 2 newborns at the same time, I don't know if I would believe that Connor & Isaac are twins. I mean, seriously. Connor is 2 inches taller & 7.5 lbs heavier than Isaac. People always think Connor is older because he is so much bigger (and he's big for his age). Isaac has blonde hair and blue eyes and Connor has brown hair & brown eyes. Their personalities could not be more different. It's so fun to see how they grow more and more different as they get older.

Isaac(l) & Connor(r)


Isaac


Connor

Sedona

We spent the past few days in Sedona visiting Papa and Granny C. We were joined by Ryan's sister, Jennifer, and her husband, Brett, as well as Ryan's brother, Michael, and his little girl, Reese. I hadn't seen Michael & Jennifer for 7 years and we had never met Reese. The kids had lots of fun playing together & we really enjoyed spending time with family we hadn't seen for so long.

Isaac & Connor "sleeping" on the hotel bed


Connor yelling "CHEESE" for the camera. We had dinner at Javelina Cantina for Claire & Jennifer's birthdays.


Isaac being silly on the slide at the park in Sedona


Papa helping Connor cross the creek on our hike


Isaac & Connor taking a snack break with Granny C on our hike


Isaac eating an apple he picked from an orchard on our hike


Isaac & cousin Reese holding hands in Uptown Sedona


All of the kids holding hands in Uptown