As Promised...

I know... 2 in a row... I am on a roll!

But I did promise pictures of our finished product so here they are. It's still a little incomplete ~ the burners are still waiting for knobs ~ but it's almost there. The boys LOVE their kitchen, and have already spent a ton of time down there cooking. So far today I have had an egg and sausage sandwich, cheeseburger and fries, chow mein, rice, cake and ice cream, and macaroni and cheese - that's all in addition to the actual toast I had for breakfast and real mac-n-cheese for lunch. Must have been hungry! I went down to check on them just before lunch today and found 4 boxes spread out and covered with their little red kitchen towels. Sam then welcomed me to his restaurant and pulled out a tiny little chair for me to sit at one of his tables. :) I am so glad they are having fun with it! It was a lot of work but definitely worth it. Plus, we've been recycling all kinds of food packages... they've been grabbing up every container imaginable the last few days.

Zoo Day!

In the last couple weeks we've had so many sunny, beautiful 50 degree days, with just a little snow in the middle. We've really been enjoying every moment of sunshine that we can. The boys have spent so many hours outside running, swinging, digging, bike riding, etc.

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On St. Patrick's Day, after a breakfast of green eggs and sausage (of course!), we loaded up and headed to the Zoo. We had a blast! I always let the boys choose the area they would like to visit since we can't fit it all into one day. So... we chose the monkey kingdom for Aaron. He loved it! They were active so he was able to actually see them, point, and growl (because every animal growls... monkeys are no exception for him). Sam chose the reptiles, and Seth chose the Giraffes and Elephants (as usual). We took a picnic lunch and just enjoyed the whole afternoon. Aaron sat in the stroller pretty much the whole 4 hours without a single complaint, just kicking his legs and singing away. And, he kept his hat and socks on for the entire time also... a huge accomplishment for him. We came home and cooked up a yummy Corned-beef dinner and collapsed. I was so exhausted the next morning. Pushing a stroller around for 4 hours, up and down hills, while carrying a small watermelon is some good exercise!

Crazy, Cute Hairdo

This is what Aaron looked like when he woke up from his nap this afternoon ~ so cute I just had to share =)

I just love this kid!!!

Seffer's 3rd Birthday

Well, I think we really made his day.... sausage and eggs for breakfast, McDonald's for lunch, custard at Culver's, and tacos for dinner. Yes, our lives revolve around food here :) We all just love to eat!

We did presents and cake the next day... and once again, I think we made his day. For the last few weeks, anytime I have asked him what he wanted for his birthday, his only response was "Cake!" so it was pretty easy to please this little guy. For his gift this year, we made him a kitchen... pictures to come when it is complete... hopefully soon! We turned an old entertainment center ($15 on craigslist) into an amazing little kitchen. Along with that, we got him his own dishes, pots and pans, and I made him a very cute chef's hat and apron. He actually picked out the fabrics himself.

We've decided to do a cake swap from now on... homemade one year and store bought the next. With Aaron and Seth's birthdays so close together and Sam and baby girl's so close we thought we'd do a trade off each year. With the amount of work Adam always puts into them, I am thinking 2 cakes a year is plenty. So Seffer's got a cake from Sam's club this year, and there were no complaints about that... it was YUMMY! By the way, we have found a new favorite kind of ice cream ~ Blue Bunny's Double Strawberry... if you haven't had it you should definitely try it.

3...

Tomorrow is a very big day for our little Seffers... he's turning THREE!!!

It's just amazing how fast time goes when you are so busy, chasing little boys. He has been the sweetest, most loving little person, and I have fully enjoyed every moment of those 3 years... well almost. He has definitely made that a challenge the last several days (I think he turned 3 in his behavior just a little prematurely). He gives me hugs and tells me he loves me all day long... what's not to love about that?!! I had made the goal of having him potty trained by 3, but that's just not going to happen apart from some crazy miracle. He is on his own schedule and will not be budged. Sooooo, my next goal is July :)

I am hoping for some sunshine for his special day... he has been begging to play at the park for months. So if the sun shines in the morning... we'll be off for a picnic at the park or maybe the zoo. Adam and I have been very busy preparing his birthday gift for a few weeks now, and we are so excited to give it to him. I hope he loves it! I'll post all about it sometime soon =)

Hope you all have a terrific day!

Update!

Well, it took getting sick for me to finally sit down and think about blogging... yeah, okay, it was Christa's idea. We are spending the day relaxing, and eating as little as possible (Jungle Book and a half cup of dry cheerios and a little 7up is all we've attempted for today). My boys are begging for food, so I think we may try a little broth and rice for lunch. Seth, Sam and I all came down with this horrible flu yesterday, and poor Adam was left to take care of us all day and all night. He was up with Sam every hour last night and then got up to go to work this morning... what a guy! Please pray that he doesn't get sick also.


Aaron's 1st birthday was our most recent big event. I can't believe how fast this year has passed. He has been such a great addition to our family, and I can't even imagine the past year without him. We celebrated his birthday with a little trip to McDonald's. He LOVES cheeseburgers and fries. His brothers were pretty excited about this as well. Then, we had his real party the next day. Adam made THREE amazing cakes for Aaron... what a lucky kid! We had chili dog pizza (I know it probably sounds gross, but it's amazing... a new family favorite around here!), opened gifts with Grandma and Grandpa Weller (over Skype), and gorged ourselves with cake and ice cream. YUMMY! Aaron was an old pro at presents; he knew exactly what to do with them and was looking for more afterwards. And he really enjoyed the Oreos on his cake. Unfortunately, he got the flu that night so the Oreos didn't work out quite so well.

Baby Girl - Quilt - Cork Board - Aaron's Rough Night

It's been a pretty busy month for us. I started this quilt for Aaron a few weeks ago and was amazed to have finished it in time for his birthday... well, just the top. I had all the strips cut already from a previous quilt, so the hard part was done. I just had to come up with some way to incorporate all those strips. I think it turned out so awesome!

We also found out recently that we are having our 1st baby girl... I am beyond ecstatic! I have been busy trying to think of girl names, going thru boy things and weeding them out, and just loving the fact that we are finally having a little girl. I purchased my first ever pink thing last week -- hot pink crocs. I can't wait to see those cute little toes filling them.

And, Adam built me a cork board thing for my Craft/Baby room. Yay! I had been wanting a really big one, but even on Craigslist they were really expensive. So, we bought a 4'x8' sheet of insulated sheathing from Home Depot and a $10 table cloth... and it turned out perfectly. He's a genius!

Other than that, it's been kindergarten, lots of doctors appointments, sickness, homeschool co-op, and just plain old living.

Me, Binky & Freddy

Today was a very big day in our family. We traded "Me" (a binky for most people, but commonly called the me in this family) for Binky and Freddy. We've been trying to convince Seffers that he was too big for his me for quite sometime, but he just wasn't in agreement. So, I got a brilliant idea from a lady at church, and we made a little trade. We took the boys down to the Build a Bear Workshop and Seffers adopted "Binky" the little brown pony and lovingly placed his "me" inside. So now when he feels sad and lonely at night, he can squeeze Binky and feel his little me inside. We'll just see how well this works out. Samuel traded in 15 very close to perfect school papers in for "Freddy" the frog. Both boys were so excited to finally be able to build their own pet. They enjoyed being a part of the process - filling, picking out the heart, and bringing them alive. It was really fun!!!

Here are some photos of Aaron's big day last week. Adam took him down to the Surgery Center and he got tubes put in his ears. After a straight 5 months of ear infections, we decided it was time to do something about it. He was a little worried at first but was soon happy as can be... thanks to Versed! The actual procedure was over with in just a few minutes, and they were home soon after. Easy as can be!