my boys

I feel like this entire month has been full of sickness and freezing temperatures. January was actually really nice and pretty warm, but this last week of crazy cold temperatures has made it feel like the cold has been here for forever. And the sickness...well it really has been a month of throwing up, then diarrhea, then a fever for James, then colds for me and Ty, then colds for the boys, then a fever for Thatcher. Nothing has been bad enough to go to the doctor for, but it has kept us in a lot which has made for a boring month and one filled with a lot of baking and eating (I need to learn to channel my energy into something that is not going to make me fat)!

Even with all the time cooped up and together just the three of us I never seem to tire of my boys. Ok, so maybe I am ready for them to go to bed or take a nap, but I am surprised by how much I love being around them and their infectious personalities. They are so happy and fun and mischievous.... ironic that after writing those last few sentences I just got to forcefully place a screaming, kicking Thatcher into timeout.

Anyway...most of the time they are the easiest sweetest boys. Thatcher (though bossy) is very sweet with James, loves to make believe that he is Dash from 'The Incredibles', loves to do puzzles (he is shockingly good for a 2 year old), talks about going to school, loves playing with his friends even when they are more than twice his age, is obsessed with his new Buzz car (whenever I ask him if we wants to eat lunch or take a nap or go potty he without fail answers, "no mom, ride Buzz car"), and is just the best most obedient boy. He is super skinny and thinks it is funny now to call himself skinny. When I suggest that we get dressed in the mornings, he usually tells me, "No, I'm naked." He has been much better about staying in his bed at nights, thanks to his newest best friend Chunk, and he continues to be the greatest little eater. The other night we had Logan over for dinner and Thatcher stayed at the table asking for helping after helping of soup until it was past his bedtime. Thatcher loves taking baths and I think his favorite part is waiting until all the water has drained out of the tub and then getting picked up in his hooded towel and snuggled. He is the greatest. I hope his stomach can get back to normal soon and we can be rid of all the sickness!
This is Thatcher as Dash.

And here is my James. He is the smartest little boy. He has started to wave hello and goodbye. He talks more and more every day and it is hilarious to listen to him. He is such a little comedian and will do things over and over again if he gets any kind of reaction out of us. He is getting better at feeding himself which he insists on doing (usually resulting in a complete strip down after dinner). He can now stand for long periods of time, but has yet to take his first step. He has a particular fondness for Logan who has been around a number of times the last few weeks. James crawls right over to Logan and is perfectly content to sit on his lap and play quietly (which is not in his nature). Today while Thatcher slept we read books and James would dance every time a song came on with Thatcher's Tag Jr. He is so cute....and as I am typing this he is throwing a complete fit over me giving him more of a chocolate dessert I made. I love the irony of trying to record tender feelings about my boys when they are acting like nightmares.

He loved the time we spent outside the last couple weeks (before it got frigid this week) and thinks he is pretty cool when riding on Thatcher's tricycle. This morning when I was taking the garbage out I turned around to find James on the tricycle with no diaper on (the little game we play numerous times a day is that I pin him down to just get his diaper off and then he crawls away from me laughing at impressive speed...I have finally given in and usually let him crawl around diaperless for a minute because I don't have the energy to fight taking the diaper off and putting a fresh one on all at one time).


This week when it got super cold we brought the slide that usually sits on our little deck inside. James learned how to climb up it and go down, but after a while he decided that he preferred to just climb up and hang out at the top. He was on the slide constantly until we put it back outside again.



January has been survived. Let's hope that February is healthier and warmer. It will certainly be more entertaining with a trip to Salt Lake and the end of the bar in sight! Oh...and my kids do wear clothes and my house is usually clean...sometimes.