Best Friends

Alex, Billy and Emmy came over Friday to have "family" night.  We love having our friends over and to see our kids making memories to last a lifetime.

Beau and Emmy have become best friends over the past year.  Emmy loves coming to our house to play with Beau, and Beau definitely loves to have her over!  They better enjoy being able to play alone and be in the hot tub now, because in about 10 years it won't be okay anymore!! :)  

Mommy/Sons Date Night

Saturday night Banx had her dance recital---and she did such a great job!  Joe was home entertaining friends, so I decided to make a date night of it and take Beau and Baine.  They were both so well behaved during the recital, and Beau kept asking when he can go up on stage and dance.  Maybe he will be into dance someday too? :)

New love = french fries

Aunt Dena came over the other night, and brought french fries.  It QUICKLY was discovered that Baine is a huge fan, and would not give us the french fries back once he had a hold of them. Wonderful, now both boys will always want them!

Circus 2015

She-She surprised us by getting tickets for the Circus in Ottumwa a couple of weeks ago.  Shari, Joe, Beau, Baine, Banx and I all went to make a night of it.  Beau had the best surprise of his life---elephants were there and also elephant rides!  The kids had so much fun, had their faces painted, rode elephants, and loved the circus acts.  I hope Beau remembers this night forever :)

Tulip Time

  

This year at Tulip Time we had the best weather possible---thank goodness!  I remember three years ago when Beau was just 6 months old, how miserable hot it was and he ended up naked in the wagon for the parade :).  Beau and Baine did such a good job for the parade, especially Beau!  I am so proud of him.  However, at one point, I asked him to smile and at least pretend to be having fun.  His reply "But I'm not having fun mom".  Lovely.  Can't wait to do it again next year!

Beau was so excited to see Thomas the Train, we had to get a picture of course :)

As good as it was going to get with 4 kids :)

Klompen Classic 2015

Brook and I did the Klompen Classic again this year, and actually were able to run it :).  Our time was so much better than we had planned, since having two kids we both were not in the best shape as we once were.  I am so proud of us!

Beau decided to come watch mommy run and had fun playing in the mean time :)

Videos of the Boys

Beau and Baine are definitely becoming best buds, and I love to see their relationship grow!  Beau is so conscious of Baine and his needs, and Baine loves to play with Beau.  Here are some videos of the boys playing/laughing :)

Baine's laugh is so adorable!  He is honestly THE happiest baby I have ever seen!!

Ornery Baby

Even though Baine is the "baby" of the family, for now, he is starting to act like he has middle-child syndrome----he loves attention!

His newest thing, sticking his tongue out at you!  What a little pistol :)

Sleepy Baby

The other day when Joe went to pick up Beau for pre-school at Mary's, he saw Baine swinging outside with all of the kids.  The closer he got, he realized little Baine-Joe was a little sleepy.  He ended up falling asleep in the swing and took his morning nap there :)

May Day

I was definitely spoiled on May Day this year.  First, Bond surprised me at school by delivering a tulip in a jar for my May basket...it was the cutest thing ever :).  Then when I came home from work, Joe had a May "basket", with a few of my favorite things, on the table for me.  I guess I really need to get it together with being more organized next year and return the gift of May baskets!

Baines "First" Word

Baine had three big "firsts" the other night!

1.  Starting to crawl
2.  Sitting up straight all by himself with NO support
3.  Said "Mama!"

Yes, I am aware that he probably didn't realize he said mama, but he did say it clear as day and kept saying it all night!  And he has said it frequently since when he looks my direction.  So it is going down in the books that he said "mama" as his first word :)

Beau's Quotables: Part III

Mommy: "Beau who is your best friend?"

Beau: "Banx, Banx is my only best friend."

Mommy and daddy: "Well Beau you can have more than one best friend if you want."

Beau: "I don't want more than one best friend!  I just want Banx as my only best friend!"

---sweetest conversation ever! :)

Beau: "Ahhh mommy!  Baine pooped and it's making my room smell really bad."

Mommy: "Well go change him then Beau." (joking obviously). 

Beau: "That's a big kids job.  And I'm no big kid yet."

Beau: "Mommy, Uncle Austin picked me up today from school!"

Mommy: "He did?!  Did you have fun?"

Beau: "yeah, except maybe next time Uncle Austin will take me to lunch"

hahahahaha

Crazy Kids

Last Sunday, Brook and Austin had Harlow at church with them.  Beau loves to play with Harlow!  It was so fun to see all the kids playing together at church, then at lunch.  Joe is such a softie when it comes to the kids.  He loves them all and is definitely a kid at heart.  We hope Harlow is able to come home more often over the summer---Beau, Banx and Harlow will definitely get into trouble when they get older!

Learning to Crawl

Baine is so ready to crawl!  Actually, he wants to walk!  I don't think he will be crawling for long before he just starts walking one day.  He is finally learning to sit well on his own, and now is in the process of taking small crawls.  We actually caught his first attempt at crawling the other night on video :)

Brotherly Love

Beau is such a great big brother.  He is always concerned about Baine and is always wanting to help take care of him.  It has become a morning ritual that when mommy and daddy are getting ready for work, they lay in bed together and watch cartoons until it's time to get ready to leave.  Beau always makes sure Baine has a bottle, is under the blankets, and then holds his hand.  It is the most precious sight for a mother to see.

Fishing With Papa and She-She

Today, my dad and Shari took Beau fishing today up by Dan's house.  I was a little nervous that Beau wouldn't have the attention span to go fishing, but he was perfect!  He first went digging for worms to use for bait for the fish.  Then he actually did the fishing on his own!  He caught 10 fish with his new Toy Story fishing pole :)  He was so proud of his first catch, as you can see from the picture above!  After fishing, Beau went and played in the pond with Easton and Lincoln.  I am so happy that Beau loves being outdoors and doing these type of activities.  I want him to always cherish this day that he had with Papa and She-She.

Future Babysitter

Banx is so in love with Baine.  The other night we were at my mom's, and Banx wanted to just play with Baine.  She kept asking to hold him, play with him, feed him, etc.  He loved the attention from her!  I finally asked her if she was ready to start babysitting :)

Baking Goodies With Nana

This Sunday there was a Bake-Off at church to raise money.  Nana had Beau and Banx each come out a day to bake something special with them to sell.  Beau actually did a great job helping Nana in the kitchen and wanted to do as much as he could.  Maybe these skills will stick around and he will want to bake and cook for mommy at home ;).  Beau ended up winning "Most Creative" at the bake-off and his cookies brought in $90!  Great job Beau-man!!!

Working on the Farm

Joe had to plant a test plot at Dennis' this week, so he decided to take Beau with him.  I think Beau is going to want to be a farmer when he grows up.  He loves to be at the farm, loves to ride in the tractors, combines and be helping in any way he can.  Beau decided to even help Den-Den load the planter up :)