My boys...

are not in these pictures, but they sure are pretty anyway!  I snapped a couple photos of the flowers in our yard this afternoon as there aren't many left.  Apparently 105 degrees is too much for some plants...

Rain, Rain

It's only Wednesday but it feels like we've done a lot this week already...Who am I kidding?  I've usually done a lot before 7am!

Monday we did our usual catch-up day, where I use up all of Garner's water doing laundry, running the dishwasher, etc. but we did manage to sneak in a little painting time in the afternoon.

Yesterday and today we have had some nice rain in our area.  It has been quite a welcome relief from the high temperatures we've had lately.  This week is supposed to be pretty cold, with the highs only in the 80s, as opposed to the 100s like last week.

Yesterday we went to see our friends Christy and Cooper.  We finally broke in our new double stroller and went on a nice long walk around their neighborhood, with Davis and Cooper riding and Reece strapped to me.  After we came home and ate dinner, Davis played in his pool for a while and then we played some naked t-ball.  Only Davis was naked.

Davis played in his new rice bin this morning and really enjoyed himself.  Even I like running my hands through it.  I hope to make several more of these "sensory bins" soon using uncooked pasta, beans, and who knows what else.  It's a cheap and easy way to keep a busy toddler entertained, and you can teach tons of early math and language concepts which I won't bore you with.

Reece had a nice little snooze on the back porch listening to the rain this morning.  I have to admit, I was pretty jealous.  I can't imagine a better place to take a nap!

"Hey, Beach!"

Davis, Reece, and I went to the beach with my mom (A.K.A. "G-Ma") for a couple days over the 4th of July.  It was Reece's first beach trip, and boy was he impressed...he spent most of his actual beach time in a carrier, strapped to me, with a towel over his head.  I really like Ocean Isle Beach, which is where G-Ma has a place now.  It's beautiful and very family-friendly and clean.

Davis had a wonderful time playing in the sand and building sand castles.  He also liked walking down the beach and picking up shells.  My cautious little boy is afraid of the ocean for now, and I'm A-okay with that!  We will let him go at his own pace on that one, as well as the swimming pool.  At the moment he is perfectly content hanging out on the steps and occasionally "floating" with me.  Every couple of minutes I'd try to get him to come into the deeper water, but he was adamant that that was unnecessary.

We did get to see some fireworks, thankfully.  I wasn't too crazy about taking the babies all the way to Southport at 9:00pm to see them and they weren't doing any (officially) at OIB, but we were able to walk out on the balcony and see some from a distance.  It was actually perfect, as Davis could see them clearly but the noise was faint enough that it wasn't scary at all.  

On the way out of town on Thursday, we stopped and met Morgan and Kelly for lunch.  Davis was so excited to see "Moo-Moo" that he was barely able to eat his lunch.  He mostly bounced up and down in the booth and showed off all of his tricks for us.

All in all, we had a really nice time and are hoping to schedule another beach trip real soon!

"That's a biiiigggg ocean."

"All that beach combing has worn me out!"

"Me, too!"

We tried to get a few decent shots of me and the boys...

I love this one.  Davis saw an airplane as I was trying to snap his picture.

My handsome boy

This is the view when we walk out onto the beach.

Thanks for the awesome onesie, Great Aunt Ella!

The one child who actually likes wearing water wings

"More water, G-Ma."

Davis turns two!

Wow!  It's been a while since I've added a new post.  If you can picture me sitting here typing while wearing Reece in a sling and simultaneously typing and bouncing on an exercise ball, you may understand why.  I'll let y'all know if this gives me motion sickness...

Davis has "seemed" like a two-year-old for a long time, so it actually felt right to be celebrating this birthday.  We had a wonderful party with family and close friends at White Deer Park, near our house.  Davis had a ball and we did all those regular birthday party things--snacks, presents, cupcakes, singing, and bubbles!  D's favorite part was probably all the balloons that Daddy blew up for him (using a helium tank, not his lungs) and that are STILL hanging around my house almost three weeks later.

Here are a few pictures from that fun day...

 

Mamaroo

Where have you been all my life, Mamaroo?  This is the greatest invention!  Let's face it, when you have two children under age two, you are crazy.  Also, you don't have the luxury of just holding and staring at your new baby all day long.  I totally did that when Davis was born--and I do it a lot with Reece, but sometimes the big boy needs a snack or something that requires two hands.  

We really didn't need much baby stuff for Reece, but when I saw this thing on Ellen's Mother's Day show, I thought I might "need" it.  Turns out, I was right.  Reece loves it and luckily, today I realized you can adjust the speed to make it go pretty fast.  It has five different motion settings (from "kangaroo" to "car ride") and nature sounds, AND you can even plug your iPod into it so baby can hear some good tunes!

I highly suggest this as a baby gift for new moms...

Snoozing away...his hair looks red in this picture!

Mud

For the past couple of weeks I have thought of several things I'd like to blog about:  adjusting to life at home with two children; the hand-food-mouth virus that Davis acquired and that has ruled our house for the past week; the wonderful help we've had from two awesome grandmothers (Nana has been with us since Monday and my mom is coming back to help the day after tomorrow--we are all so spoiled now!); Reece's first "real" outing to the farmer's market; etc...

But, I think I will write about mud today.  Nothing makes me happier than to see my boy find such joy in such a simple, natural thing.  Yesterday evening Davis had lots of silly energy.  Thank goodness, the rain had gone away and we were able to get him outside for a while.  He quickly discovered some cool mud puddles and, not surprisingly, made the most of them.  After a solid week of way too much time inside, way too much television, and way too much sickness and worry that Reece would get sick, we have been happy and relieved to get out a little.

Sidewalk chalk and a puddle, a natural combination

Proud of himself after his mud bath

What a little boy's feet should look like as often as possible

Early morning iPad session with Nana...and yes, Davis is eating an Oreo before breakfast

So far, the "calm one"

oh, BABY!

Chances are, if you read this blog, you'll be receiving a birth announcement for John Reece Fox in the mail soon.  I just finished creating the announcement on Shutterfly.com and was promised a $10 discount on my next order if I embedded my birth announcement on my blog (see previous post).  I'm a sucker for a good deal, so now you can enjoy some cute baby pictures online as well as on a card!

Our sweet John Reece was born at 1:08 on Thursday afternoon, May 17.  He was a big boy at 9 lb., 1 oz. and was 21 inches long...and absolutely perfect!  After a three-night stay at hotel Rex, we have now been home for four days and are in love with our two amazing boys.

Davis has been unbelievably sweet and attentive to his baby brother and wants to hold him every chance he gets.  He loves kissing him and touching his head and giving him a pacifier.  I never would have imagined that he would be so interested in a new baby at his age.  It might wear off, but for now we will just enjoy it.