Camera Catchup

Play-time in the tent.

Play-time is starting to look a little more like rough-housing.
We've discovered that Reid really enjoys being asked to help. In this case, Eric asked him to carry the ketchup to the table.

Job well done.
Then Aiden grabbed it and set it in the middle of the kitchen floor. We asked Aiden to carry it back to the table, but he was on to other tasks. Not to worry. Reid quickly scurried over and returned it to the table.
Our new trick for getting the boys to smile. Eric used to make a cheesy face and say "Cheese" to get the boys to smile. Now, when we say "Cheese", the boys imitate his motions.

Aiden is still really into his cars. He must be related to his cousin Jordan.

We took advantage of Thursday's unseasonably warm weather and took the boys to the park. Each time we go, it's amazing to see the new obstacles they can take on.

















Aiden was pointing out a car passing the park. On the rare occasion when we have the TV on, both of them stop everything to watch the car commercial. Hook 'em young.

How has your January been? It's been a little chaotic around here the last couple of months. I had been holding off on sharing, but I think a little update would be OK. My dad hasn't been doing very well lately. He was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes right after Thanksgiving. He was feeling really crummy during the week of Thanksgiving, so we were thankful to finally figure out what was wrong. Obviously, he and my mom needed to take a break from watching the boys for us. Luckily, Eric's schedule worked in our favor, as he was home to take care of the boys for the last part of the semester in December. There were four days right before break when I took the boys to my friend's house. She runs an in-home daycare and we were so grateful that she was able to look after the boys, while my dad worked on getting better. At daycare, there are a couple of older kids (3-4 years old) and there are a couple of toddlers the same age as A & R. The boys really enjoy going to her house and playing with the other kids. They also love chasing around their wiener dog. I've taken them to her house a couple of times this semester, but once again we've been lucky that Eric has been home on long-call quite a bit. I'm returning to teaching full-time next year, so this is where the boys will be going for daycare. They get a little upset and sometimes cry when I drop them off, but I'm sure by next fall they won't want to come home when I come to pick them up.

At the beginning of January, my dad was getting worse and we took him back to the hospital. We found out he has colon cancer and had surgery to remove a mass. It was diagnosed as Stage 2 and we're still waiting for final results, but the oncologist is optimistic about his prognosis. My dad was finally able to move to a rehab facility and work on getting his strength back. This past Sunday he started experiencing sharp pains, so it was back to the hospital. He had surgery again because they found out that there was a small leak near the site of the original operation. We're keeping our fingers crossed for a speedy recovery. The boys especially miss spending time with Grandpa, who Reid now refers to as "Pa Pa".