Laughter

Billy loves to laugh.  Every time I change his diaper he honks at me like a goose.  It makes me happy.  A few weeks ago Doug was playing "Do as I'm Doing" with him and he was cracking up.  He liked it so much in fact that a few days later he was laying on the bed and I started singing it to Mikey and he started cracking up.

The other day Doug asked Mikey if he wanted to hold Billy.  Mikey's response was "No. I not hold Billy. He's too big."

Halloween

James and Mikey just weren't that into Halloween.  They were excited to dress like pirates, but when it came time to dress up they just didn't want to.  Once James realized the deal; you dress up, say "trick or treat", and then people give you candy, he was in.  Mikey took a little more convincing.  

First was dinner.  Last year we tried stew in a pumpkin, it wasn't really a big hit, so this year we had chicken and rice in a pumpkin.  Again not a big hit.  That is because the boys were too distracted to eat and Doug was too sick to want to eat anything.  I guess we will try it again next year.

 Then after about an hour of convincing I finally got the boys to put their costumes on so we could go get candy.

James the pirate, the hat didn't stay on and he wanted
a red beard, but Dad tricked him into a brown one.

This is actually Mikey from the trunk or treat a few nights before.
On halloween he would only wear his shirt and pants, no belt
no hat, no vest.  Oh well.

I guess we started a little too early because there weren't very many kids out yet, and only about 1/4 of the houses were giving out candy.  We made it around 1 street then Mikey wanted to get in the van, Doug was done and James was happy with the small amount of candy he had.

Our New House

At the end of August we got a letter in the mail telling us we were being evicted and we had to be out of our house by September 30th.  At first I was panicked thinking we had done something to break our lease and we were getting kicked out, but really the owner of the house we were living in just decided he wanted to sell it.  So we found ourselves frantically searching for a new place to live.  There were several places in our price range but as we drove around the list became shorter and shorter.  Finally it came down to 3 places and we choose the one we liked the best.  Doug hadn't even seen it and there were people living in it until Oct. 1st so he didn't even get to see it until moving day.  But it turns out I did a pretty good job picking and we like this place even more then where we were living.

Our house from the outside

 There is basically one big room and 3 bedrooms.  We really like the open layout.

The living room facing into the kitchen

The kitchen facing into the living room

 In our last house Billy's room was my favorite.  It was clean, nicely decorated and just felt nice to be in.  In this house it is my least favorite because it smells like a dog.  My favorite room in our new house is our bedroom.  It is nice and big, we have a bathroom and a nice big walk-in  closet.

There are a few weird things about this house.  One thing is there is only a shower in the master bathroom.  The other bathroom only has a tub.  Also Doug HATES the refrigerator.  It is old and doesn't keep the milk cold enough.  This is good for our budget since we don't drink nearly as much milk.  Some things that I love: doing laundry in the house and being able to do as much laundry as I want without flooding the garage.  The boys love having their beds bunked so there is a castle bed and a cave bed.  Also we love having a 2 car garage with a garage door opener.  And for the first time in 3 years we have a garbage disposal.

Three Month Old Billy

Today Billy is three months old!  Usually the 3 month mark is a big deal for me.  It is like they go from being a slug to a person.  However Billy has always seemed a little older then his actual age to me, so this time it wasn't such a big deal.  He is getting so big, and is still such a cutie we love having him around.
Some things about Big Billy:

• He is still nursing exclusively.  Although two days ago James, being the great big brother he is, tried to give him a sweet potato fry during dinner.  I don't think I have ever seen a smile as big as Billy's when that fry went in his mouth.
• He is sleeping about 8 hours at night, eating then going back to sleep for a few hours.
• He still loves to sleep in his car seat.
• He is adored by his brothers, especially James.
• He loves to sit up, I think the Bumbo is probably his favorite seat.
• Loves bath time
• He is smiling and "talking" all the time.  It is fun to hear his little voice.
• He is starting to grab his blankets and bring them to his mouth to chew on

Little Mikey

I have been wanting to do a post about Mikey for awhile since there are so many things he is doing right now that I just don't want to forget about.  He finally had his 2-year-old checkup this week so I figured it would be the perfect time.  Here are his stats:

Height: 

35 inches--50th percentile

Weight:

24lbs--7th percentile

He is still my tiny little Mikey.  But if you call him that he will tell you "No, I not tiny."  Here are some things about Mikey:

• He NEVER stops talking.  Sometimes I get a little frustrated because he asks for something and keeps asking over and over and over again while I am trying to do it.  Also he doesn't know how to talk quietly so he is always super loud at church.  
• He LOVES James and wants to do everything that James is doing.  This often causes a lot of fights because if James is on the rocking chair Mikey wants to be on the rocking chair, if James is playing trains then Mikey wants to play trains.  At the same time he always tries to share with James.  If I give him a cracker he wants two so he can give one to James.  

• He LOVES animals.  We have a ton of stray cats around and he always tries to play with them.  There is one that is really nice and always tries to come inside.  Mikey loves this kitty and lucky for him it is really nice and doesn't even try to scratch him when he is dragging it around, or carrying it outside.  And of course the whole time he is talking to the cat and telling it what to do.  I love this little voice. 

• He is a really great napper.  He sleeps for several hours, sometimes 4 if I let him.  But he is definitely learning the art of stalling.  He always asks for tons of stuff to take to bed with him.  One day I told him he had 5 minutes until nap and he went around the house finding stuff to take to bed with him.  He ended up with quite the collection.  He always has to take his 2 blankets, donkey, sheep, and 2 turtles.  One time Doug was putting him to bed and he kept asking for stuff and realized Doug had already gotten everything and just said "I need more." 

• He loves the ABC's.  He always sings the song and the other day I heard him say "It's an M"  and I looked over and saw him with a marker coloring on the kitchen cabinets.  I looked and sure enough he had written an M.  I though it was maybe just a fluke, but he then did it two more times.  Once on another cabinet before I could stop him and again on a piece of paper.  

• His favorite color is yellow
• He still eats like a champ.  He loves fruits and vegetables and pretty much anything I put in front of him.  His favorite food is peaches.  But he asks for a banana every night before bed (I think it is part of his stalling technique)
• His favorite game is "tackle Dad" 
• He is super social.  He wakes up about 6:30 every morning so Doug puts on a cartoon before he goes to work so I can sleep a little longer.  Usually as soon as Doug walks out the door Mikey is climbing in bed with me to watch YouTube on the iPad.  He just doesn't like to be alone.
• His favorite cartoon is "birds" (Backyardigans)
• His favorite book is Go Away Big Green Monster, but only when Dad reads it
• His favorite toy is "jump" which is the bounce house the boys got for Christmas last year

Overall he is a super cute, fun two-year-old.  We are so glad that he is in our family and definitely brings a whole new aspect to our family, since the rest of us are so quite.

Billy is HUGE!

Today Billy had his 2 month old checkup.  I have figured for awhile that he is a pretty big baby.  But didn't know just how big until today.  The outfit he is wearing in this picture is a 3-6 month old outfit and most of his 0-3 month clothes do not fit anymore, but I haven't gotten out the 3-6 month size because we are moving.  So today we found out how much he weighs.  Here are his stats:

Height

24 inches 90th percentile

Weight 

12 lbs 10 oz 75th percentile 

Can I just say, this kid is HUGE!  He must get the height from his dad because he certainly didn't get it from me!  It is kind of different having a kid on the other side average.  Mikey was always in the 4th percentile for his weight (and still is only in the 7th).  James was a little bigger but still only in the 25th.  

Here are some things about Billy at 2 months:

• We have started calling him Billy, it won out over Willy, William and even Billiam.  James declared one day that he likes Billy.  Mikey still calls him William, but he also calls himself Michael so it would seem that he just likes the full proper names.  
• He smiles all the time and this morning I heard him starting to laugh.
• He sleeps like a pro.  Usually he sleeps from 10-4 or 5 at night then eats and goes back to sleep until 8 or 9.  So nice to not feel like a zombie anymore.
• His brother LOVE him.  Especially James who I have found laying next to him on the bed just playing with his hands.  And Mikey hates when he is crying and always wants me to go get him when he is.
• He can hold his head up by himself and is pretty steady for quite awhile.  
• He is by far my easiest baby and loves to interact with anyone who will give him attention. 
• He loves bath time.  

Billy in his turtle towel after bath

2nd Annual Pinewood Demolition Derby

Ladies and gentlemen,

The American PineCar Demolition Derby Association or America is please to inform you that you have been selected to participate in this years world championship event.  You have qualified to participate in this event based on you performance last season or have received a sponsors exemption.  You may enter up to 2 cars for the event.   There have been several changes this year including a new faster track and less restrictive rules.  Please respond to the APDDAA as to the number of cars you will enter and if you will attend in person.

Date: 

November 26th 2011

Location: 

Aurora, Colorado

If you will not be attending in person please mail your car to the following address by 11/22/11:

17522 E. Wesley Pl.

Aurora, CO 80013

Objective:

The winner will be the individual with the last car running.

Track:

From the starting points each track slopes downward into the crash zone, which is the intersection of all the tracks. 

Rules:

Each car will be allowed to continue driving in the event until 2 wheels are broken or disabled.  A cracked wheel that can still spin is flat and not disabled.  

At the beginning of event the car must rest on its wheels.  Each car must have 4 and only 4 wheels.

Wheels must be stock and may not be reinforced.

No repair work, can be done during the event.

Weapons may be reset but not repaired.

50% of the surface of the stock wood block must be exposed.

If a car falls off the track in 3 consecutive trips it is eliminated.

Once “go” is said the car must be immediately released, no delayed starts.

Broken or bent parts can not be removed or adjusted

Car can be driven in either direction.

Thank you for you interest.

Sincerely - The American PineCar Demolition Derby Association of America

Here is a picture of some of last years entries:

You can also see last years event here