A New Sandbox

Nobody fall off your chair. I am posting a new blog update!

We finally mobilized to create the sandbox we've been contemplating for a while. We conscripted manual labor (mom & dad were visiting and know how to wield a mean shovel) to dig dirt out of one of our unused flower beds. Just tonight a brother of a friend brought over a load of beautiful white sand, drove it into our backyard and dumped it into our sandbox (no hauling a hundred bag from Lowes - sweet!) The boys were excited - Stratton was a little overwhelmed at being in it and preferred to stand outside and reach in. After a very messy sandbox-side picnic dinner, we were ready to call it a night. As we were picking up stuff to go in, Stratton decided to christen the new sandbox by tossing an empty beer bottle down the brick stairs (yes the same stairs on which the terra cotta pot met its demise - pattern, anyone?). So, before the sun set on it's first night of existence we were picking shards of glass out of the sand...hopefully we got them all!

Before - a neglected flower bed

Let the digging begin!

A snack for the hard workers!

Learning practical skills with Grandma.

A real hammer, oh boy!

Eric got to play with his new "toy" - a circular saw.

Measure twice, cut once!

Lined and ready to go! Now all we need is...

SAND!

: )

Another Big Storm

For living in Richmond, I feel like we've had quite our share of winter weather recently. We had another huge dumping of snow (12"+) this weekend. Enough to shut schools down for probably most of the week. Today is day 5 being cooped up at home and I was starting to go crazy (ditto for the boys) and desiring some fresh fruit, so we did head to Ukrops for a quick outing. They plowed our street while we were out, so now it's quite good driving.

We shoveled just enough of our driveway to make a good sledding run. Stratton liked it if we did short runs from one parent to another. It was full out screaming when we took him down the whole thing! Oops.
He wasn't all that happy in the snow - I think the mittens, snowsuit, snow bibs, jacket, big boots had something to do with it - but I did capture a moment or two when we thought it was fun.
Three going on...thirteen??!?
The speed demon.
This was this morning when we had finished playing with water in the playroom. I took them upstairs for baths right afterwards since they were mostly undressed already!

State of the Family

Eric was in Las Vegas the past week for work and he was missed by all of us. Even Stratton seemed to miss him at dinner time. He'd occasionally look at the doors and say "Dah Dah" as if looking for someone to walk in. Although he was sleep deprived from being on a plane all night, the boys couldn't get enough of him when he got home. A huge thanks to my parents for coming and keeping us company in Eric's absence. It made the time a lot more pleasant!

This idea was birthed from Stratton's love of puddles outside. He makes a beeline for any standing water after a rain fall. Both of them really enjoyed the tub of water in our playroom and a few towels and change of clothes later, it was all cleaned up!

Dawson volunteered to "read" this train book to Stratton. Trains are definitely one of Stratton's current obsession - books being the other one - so this was an offer well received.
Stratton's vocabulary is exploding these days. He'll try to say several new things each day - "pasta", "tree" - tonight he even named each person in our family, including himself.

I've recently been on a kick to get more and different birds for our viewing. I invested in this stick-on feeder to go on the window in our sunroom/playroom. It took a few days, but the birds have found it and seem to be willing to come up close - it's a lot of fun.

A few more...

I just really liked this picture. Dawson got to go ice sakting for the first time when we were in Stillwater - Aaron and Eric got quite a workout trying to keep him on his feet, but he had a blast.

Dawson created his own car ramp by turning the table on it's side. Stratton, of course, had to try it out for himself, too.

Christmas in OK

These are in no particular order (well, no order that I can control, that is!) Captions are above the pictures...

Look at those smiles.
Stratton and Papa Chop reading a book.

Trying to capture the Terry Bradshaw-esque look that Stratton has perfected.
THe boys dressed up from church. Stratton looked at his vest and excitedly started spouting, "T -T - T" which is his word for train.

Dawson sporting some new OSU gear.The snow gave a great reason for JR to get out his tractor and clear the street and driveway.
Checkin out the Christmas tree.
We flew in to Wichita and got to Stillwater just in time to watch a good winter blizzard roll in. A great thing to watch while inside with plenty of food and a hot cup of tea...S
Uncle Aaron with Stratts.
Stratton likes all things soft. Here he hugs a plush bear. Hugging is a full body activity.

Christmas in VA

The boys in front of our new embroidered stockings. We had our own "Christmas morning" the day after our big snowstorm. We pretty much couldn't go anywhere anyway, so the timing worked out well!
We learned our lesson from last year's snow and shoveled our driveway before it turned to ice...Dawson was actually a big help!Stratton in a rare cuddly moment! Check out the hair...
This is a more "natural" moment.

December 10 - Stratton turns one!

Stratton's birthday was pretty much a normal Thursday, and our activities are chronicled below. But we did have some cake after dinner!

The birthday boy was incredibly tired by the time dinner happened, so right after these pics, he completely fell apart and went straight to bed. : )


Daddy coming home is always a highlight of the day.
Some outside playtime in the freezing cold.
A playdate with our friends, the Farkas' who have two boys the same age as ours. This is a dance party the boys had after lunch.