Ew!

Boys love bugs. Fortunately, this one wasn't real. Typically, they're bringing me all kinds of real ones to take a closer look at. It's a good thing I'm not afraid of them!

Duh!

While at the Field Museum, Dera saw this neat little room. He decided to try to run right in, but instead ran smack into the glass door that prevents people from walking through the exhibit. This photo is slightly staged, but it's a funny memory anyway.

Boys

Boys will be boys!

Cutie

Gavin didn't find much to do at the museum, but he sure thought the baby in the mirror was cute.

Chess

Chris won, but barely!

Tractor Tire

While in Chicago, we took the boys to the Museum of Science and Industry. I love this picture because you can see just how little they are.

Cool Dude

Now that Gavin's crawling, he thinks he's just the coolest thing under the sun!

Chris' Birthday

Chris turned 27 today. We celebrated together as a family, since Friday is also Family Fun Night at our house. It was a nice little celebration.

He's Crawling

Today, Gavin crawled for the first time. He only made it about four feet before he collapsed, but we're counting it! Pretty soon, he's going to have me running in circles.

Finger Food

Against my better judgement, I went out and spent the money on some of those baby biter biscuits. I thought they'd be the easy option for me as Gavin starts gnawing on finger food. Turns out, they're more messy than easy. So, we're onto Cheerios now.

Dera's Hair

Every night Dera likes to style his hair after his shower. He's always so proud, no matter how goofy he looks.

Grandma's Birthday

It's my grandma's birthday today. A few of us got together last weekend to celebrate. My uncle Gary is holding his two grandkids in this picture--Hunter and Jordan.

Blackjack

Chris decided to teach Roth and Dera blackjack. I drew the line when they pulled out the rolls of nickels!

A Boy and His Friend

Gavin is loving Sofie now that he's down at her level more. She pays little to no attention to him, but he loves to watch her and grab her ears whenever she's close enough.

Sparring Champion

Here's Roth in all his sparring gear. What a star!

Tae Kwon Do Tournament

Last Saturday, Roth competed in a local Tae Kwon Do tournament. He competed in a back spin kicking contest and won this combat stick (you can see I know a whole lot of the terminology). He also competed in his pattern, in board breaking--he took second place, and in sparring--he took first place. Here he is with his medal and trophy. We were all very proud. Oh, he also has a mouth guard in!

Snowy Day

Gavin and I also enjoyed the day out, but we didn't get to sled down the launch. Maybe next year.

Zoom

A couple of weekends ago we took the kids sledding at a local campground. They had this launch. The boys were aiborne for at least 10 feet. Thy loved it, of course, and got plenty of attention from our friends were there. I think they enjoyed that even more.
This picture is of Dera on his way down.

Snow Day

Today, the 13th of March, I've already had 24-36 inches of snow accumulate on my sidewalks and driveway. It's insane! Of course, Chris is in California, I'm sick, and all three kids have been home all day--snow day. So, I paid the neighbor boy to snow blow me out of the driveway. He's been at it for nearly three hours and still isn't done. The best part...it's still snowing.

What's Cuter?

I don't know what's cuter...the fact that Gavin's standing in his crib, the fact that his hair's standing on end, or the fact that he's pretending to be a Vikings fan just for his daddy (notice the pjs).

Gulp

Dera's favorite part of the museum was the giant mouth tunnel. He didn't quite grasp that when you come out the other end, you're literally coming out the other end, if you know what I mean! Oh well, he had fun and got rid of quite a bit of energy. In fact, all three boys slept the entire ride home.

Lucky Roth

Unfortunately, the Children's Museum is geared for kids up to age 9. Roth had to come with us, so I told him he could play his Gameboy. I hated letting him do that, but he loved it!

Gavin's Fun

Gavin even got to have a bit of fun at the museum. There's a small baby/toddler section. He was "crawling" around in a little pond.

Pizza anyone?

Gavin thought that the food Dera was serving was real--or he just likes to put everything in his mouth. He was pretty ticked when I wouldn't let him chew on the "pizza".

Day Off

The kids had no school on Monday. A friend of mine and I took our kids to a Children's Museum. Her son, Kole, and Dera had a great time playing in the diner.

Wheeeeee

Here he is, mid-jump. He loves the Johnny Jump Up, now that he's figured out how to use it!

Johnny Jump Up II

As you can see, Gavin's doing much better in the Johnny Jump Up. At least he doesn't look like he's choking himself this time.

Ummmmm

I guess letting Gavin try the sippy cup is okay. Letting him try to feed himself peas...maybe not okay.

He's Trying

Gavin's really trying to use a sippy cup. As you can see, he doesn't quite have it figured out yet.

Got It

Roth got the green belt--you can even see the board that he broke. We are very proud of Roth and all the hard work he puts into Tae Kwon Do.

Testing for Green

Roth tested for his Green belt in Tae Kwon Do earlier this week. Here, Roth breaking a board with his foot. It's a good action shot. He's got a lot of power behind that kick!