Going Crazy

Cooper's oh so cheesy response to the "smile" command. I'm not sure why I can't get any text above this photo, but I'm too tired to care.

When you tell Cooper to hold still he really takes it seriously. He didn't flinch or move a muscle for this picture. He does some pretty funny stuff lately and I find myself constantly wishing I could find the camera. I'm never in time to catch the shot I want. He (they) just moves so fast! The other day, Tucker was sitting on the arm of the couch facing outward with his brother and said, "Suh-lide down!" Then after a few moments of silence, he turned to Cooper and with a sweet and sly grin on his little face inquired, "You comin'?" Times like those warm my heart. I try to remember them during the chaos that fills the other 95% of our lives.

This is Tucker showing off his new duds from my sister. She's a very thoughtful auntie who surprised us with a box in the mail with new clothes in it!
The boys and I have some serious cabin fever over here in the land of never ending snow. We've exhausted all of our movie favorites (one of them is actually no longer working properly) and toddler-friendly indoor activities. I would like to have more time to blog, but with the two of them (the boys) following me as though we were magnetically connected, I don't get to do much. I never knew I was so interesting. :-p

This is what happens when Tucker gets a hold of the camera you're holding.

Some serious monkey business.

Two Times Two

I can't believe that these guys are almost two years old! My sister just had her first little one (the most adorable girl I've ever seen...so maybe I'm a little biased) and it just reminded me how small the boy's were when they were born. Granted they didn't stay that way for long at all, but sometimes I miss those squishy little newborns. I'm now faced with the "terrible two's" times two. It's not so bad for the most part, but there are certainly days it can be VERY taxing. January and February have been filled with some playing in the snow, getting sick and going stir crazy. We are dying for the snow to melt over here! We miss going outside to play in the GRASS and be warmed by the sun as we stroll around the block waving to our friends and neighbors. Luckily we have been able to have some family and friends over for dinner to at least change things up a bit and feel connected to the outside world. The boys ask every day to go "owside?" and it breaks my heart to tell them that it is too cold. They're pretty good about it, but I know they're a little bored with the daily routine. We've tried to change it up with some fun indoor activities (today we will be making necklaces). And there is a lot of silliness that happens while we try to maintain our sanity. For example: Cooper "smiling" for a photo while wearing daddy's stuff in the hopes that I will let him out the door behind him.

What a cheesy little grin.

And then we attempted a camp out in the living room after having Aunt Carrie over for dinner for her birthday. You can see how well this turned out. After 10 pm the boys ended up back in their beds and so did we. We'll have to try again sometime when they're older. I don't think they really understand what camping is, though they certainly love their "tet!" (tent).

There has also been quite a bit of this around here lately. The boys are determined to choose their own wardrobe lately and to dress themselves (with a little help from mommy) most of the time. Here is Cooper's most frequent choice. As long as the house is warm, I'm choosing to pick my battles and let this one slide.

Recap

The boys are almost finished with their nap so I will have to post this quickly. Here is a recap of our last few months:

September/October: We (the boys and I) got to spend a whole month at my mom's place in Washington and saw the children's museum (several times) and went trunk-or-treating and rode on buses (this was particularly exciting to the boys) and had fun at the pumpkin patch and played with my mom's dog, Gracie and, and, and..... There were lots of adventures while we were away. Most of them at Nana's house and some on the way to and from. They went swimming in a big pool at the hotel (this was their first time) and LOVED it! Seeing family all the time made it hard to leave and the boys didn't quite understand why Nana and Papa and Cobee (Colby) weren't at our house in the mornings after we came home. The boys also had a language explosion at this time. They talk and talk and talk and amazingly easy to understand. They pick up on things they hear very quickly so TK and I have been VERY careful about what slips out of our mouths when we're frustrated or excited or anytime really. It has been extremely cute to hear Tucker say "ah donnit" (oh darn it) when something doesn't work or gets lost or broken.

November: We came home from Washington after Veteran's Day so instead of putting up fall decorations we jumped right into Christmas. Shortly after arriving home, I was released from my Relief Society calling and am now teaching the Marriage and Family Relations class in church. I loved taking this class, but I must admit that it is so intimidating to be the instructor. Luckily, it is mostly a forum for discussion so there isn't a lot of "teaching" to do, which I appreciate because I definitely don't have all of the answers regarding this subject and at times am not even a good example of success in this department. It has been a very enriching calling one that I enjoy a lot more than I thought I would.
Speaking of family, we spent Thanksgiving with family in Idaho Falls and it was a nice laid back holiday. I've been itching to have a super casual Thanksgiving and even be a little unconventional with the menu, but I'm having a hard time persuading others to share my opinion. I think a pajama party with comfort food on the menu like pasta or along those lines with cupcakes for dessert would be fabulous! There would be no need to get gussied up in you best duds and worry about spilling on them while cooking or making children behave like their in church because they're not wearing play clothes. All of the ingredients for the meal would still be in stock on the shelves at the store so if you forgot something you wouldn't have to worry about where to find some. And no one would get tired of eating the same meal every time. You could even turkey alfredo for the traditionalists in the family. Change it up! I recently saw a recipe on a friend's blog for cranberry salsa. Perfect! You see my point!? Okay, I'm done ranting.

December: This month was full of snow and playing outside and spending time with our neighbor (the boys' favorite buddy) and former co-workers. There was also a lot of baking and exchanging of delicious goodies so I decided to postpone my exercise/weight loss goal until after there was not an abundance of fattening foods in the house. It was silly of me to think that I, queen of the treats who would be right at home in the real life version of Candy Land, possessed the will power to avoid over eating during the holidays. What was I thinking? That may have been a little ridiculous. I was definitely defeated before I even began. So, with resolution in hand, I will start out 2011 slowly weening myself back into a healthy lifestyle. I feel better when I'm healthy anyway. One would think that would motivation enough to stay in shape, but alas my biggest motivation is my own reflection in the mirror (the fact that all of my clothes are getting uncomfortably tight also helps). I used to love getting dressed and looking nice because I had a body that I liked dressing. Now a days it's just "throw on a baggy shirt and some sweats" to avoid dealing with what's underneath and get to it later.
Moving on, Christmas was wonderful! Lots of video chats and smiles as gifts were opened. We had a relaxing day and our friends the Hendersons came for dinner and hung out which we haven't done is such a long time! It was great to see them again and our kids had a good time playing together. We will see them again tomorrow for our New Year's celebration! It will be fun as always. I look forward the this food all year and I'm going to enjoy every bite! Inari sushi, teriyaki chicken, fried rice, party meatballs, tempura (batter dipped and fried veggies), stuffed eggs, broken glass cake (I think some people call this stained glass cake).....oh yum! Today is for prep work and tomorrow will be full of cooking and spending time with friends. It doesn't get much better than that!

See you all next year!

Something to tide you over...

An update will come soon. Promise. (and I don't break my promises)

Busy

This is why:

Did you know?

...that a plastic toddler fork makes an excellent apple chunk catapult when enough pressure is applied with a slight flick of the wrist? I do now. This learning experience is brought to you by Tucker and Cooper Stokes and by the letter 'A' which stands for annoyed. There are apples everywhere!!!!

It's a jungle in here!

I live with two monkeys. They are happy monkeys most of the time. They love to eat fruit, and they really love to dance and be tickled, but what do these monkeys love most????

Climbing of course!!

I wish I had a better picture (I think there are some on the camera now) of their climbing skills. This is more an example of play than climbing. They climb up the side of the couch, over the recliner, onto tables and into cars. They even scale brick patio walls. This is especially terrifying for me, but they have not fallen yet. I'll just keep holding my breath and having small heart attacks while they discover their world how they see fit.