Pioneer Reunion 09....

I'm sorry we haven't posted in forever! I am getting my camera back tomorrow and I will have to put some pictures on the blog from August that I haven't been able to download yet. In the meantime, I thought I would add these pics that I took on my mom's camera today. We are in Henrietta for Pioneer Reunion (which I have attended every year faithfully since 2 years of age and love carrying on the tradition with the boys)! Uncle Casey made it in for the parade and rodeo as well so he got to see the boys and play, play, play!!! I must say that it has been really fun this year with the boys! They were a little more interested in the floats, firetrucks, and horsies than last year (they were only 3 months old then). After the parade today, we sat on the courthouse lawn and the boys had cheetos for the first time (thank you Grandma!) and played ball in the grass. It was a wonderful time spent with old friends and new ones (including a set of really cute "younger" twin girls)! Watch out!!!

Papa on the floor playing with Caleb, who kept climbing on Papa and tickling his belly button! Chooch getting a ride from U. Casey...

Go TECH...all the boys in Red Raider colors...let's hope for lots of luck tomorrow night---we will need it!

Caleb giving out kisses!!!

Papa working with Chooch on his form....he is a former basketball coach, what else would you expect?!

Snack time with Grandma at the table...

Uncle Casey and Caleb at the parade...

Windblown hair!

Papa and Uncle Casey entertained the boys while they were waiting for the parade to start. We had to get there early to get good seats! Unfortunately, the camera battery went down during the parade so we didn't get any pictures with floats or horses. But, a few friends did take some pictures on the lawn after the parade so if we get those, we'll post them!

This is a sweet video of the boys playing with a doggy chain....lots of giggles!

Plumber Chooch and His Assistant...

I know I say everything happens when I turn my head for just 5 seconds, but it really DOES! These little boogers are SOOO fast! This is what I witnessed after a few seconds of quiet when I realized that those two were likely up to no good!
Sunday afternoon ritual---ripping the paper up after Mommy and Daddy read it...it entertains for HOURS and the cleanup is not too bad!

This is Mr. Caleb going Commando! I have learned now that I have to put shorts on him for his nap or else he takes off his diaper! Thankfully, we caught this before any accidents occured...little toot! He was SO proud of himself and laughed when we walked into the room. I have to admit- it was really funny. It probably wouldn't have been had there been an accident though!

This is Caleb's rabbit face which he used to make to copy his Daddy. Now, he will just do it spontaneously for attention and its really cute.

Playing with his cars...

Chooch in his hat...he will actually wear a hat for extended amounts of time.

Grandparents, Graunties & Gruncles...

Sorry it's been so long since we've posted! We have been on two flights/trips the last month, had sick kiddos and trips to urgent care, and had family and friends in town as well. It has been kind of a whirlwind, but really fun and we always love help with the kiddos. With twins, a support system is the NAME OF THE GAME! In the midst of all of this, I forgot my camera in Park City and it will be a few weeks before I get it from Mere-Mere...Tim had a few pictures on his camera so I posted what I had to work with. My brother (Uncle Casey) has been asking me to post a video of Matthew walking and the boys talking and unfortunately they are on my silly camera. So, I PROMISE to post those as soon as I get access to the footage!

Caleb is wishing his Pops a "Happy 60th" at his birthday dinner.
The boys were all about "Grauntie Nelda..." It was so great having you guys visit! You were INCREDIBLE with the boys and such a big help to us!

Chooch and Daddy have matching mohawks!

Big grins from Mr. Caleb!

Matthew is a happy camper with those sunglasses in his hands...he loves his Joe Cools!

This is Caleb's rabbit nose/face...it's really funny and now he does it for attention during meals!

Gruncle Steve is holding Caleb while he plays a never ending game with G. Nelda. She taught him how to stick his little finger out to hers and she would then tickle him. He loved this little game and wanted to do it the entire time she was here. She also taught him how to rub lotion on his legs and feet and now after bathtime he brings me the lotion and points to his leg. It's really cute!

Here is Mere-Mere with Nun Choochy at Big Tom's 60th birthday celebration dinner! Tim and I devoured Uncle Julio's fajitas while the boys were entertained by Mere-Mere and Pops.

The boys loved it when Grandma tried on the sunglasses and they took turns taking them off of her...so fun!

Chooch loves his Papa...they were enjoying time in the great outdoors!

Changing our school of thought...

Okay, so there are two schools of thought on babyproofing in my opinion. Thought one---you can teach your children not to get into things like drawers, cabinets, stairs, bathtubs, toilets, electrical outlets, etc. by watching them like hawks and disciplining and redirecting when they try to get into these things. Eventually, they will learn not to get into that area or else there will be consequences.
The second school of thought is that you can do major babyproofing and put outlets on plugs, latches on drawers and cabinets, gates up, toilet locks on, etc...Initially, I thought that I would just be SuperMom and teach the children what they could and couldn't get into and that we wouldn't have to babyproof every square inch of our home. I also assumed that I would be able to watch them constantly and they would not escape my watchful eye.

Well, forget that---first of all, I'm NOT super mom! Secondly, it is physically impossible to have your eyes on both children at all times. Third of all, my house is a wreck ALWAYS and it is time to change our school of thought for our sanity.

So, I am now on board with major baby proofing and as we speak Tim is putting those cabinet and drawer latches on in our kitchen to keep our kids from getting into every single pot, spoon, pan, tupperware, lid, placemat, dishtowel, and cup and throwing them in the toilet, bathtub, our shoes, the dvd player...you name it--its been done! So below are the pictures that finally put me over the top.... The boys got into our spice cabinet...they spilled cookie sprinkles EVERYWHERE....
Caleb also managed to get into our broom cabinet and find the mini broom...however, he definitely was not using it to clean up all those sprinkles that he spilled, EVERYWHERE!

Look how innocent they are looking up at the camera...YEAH RIGHT!!!! This little stunt took about 10 seconds and as you can see, every single spice that we own is on the floor. TWINS!!!!

A good time had by all!

We went to West Lafayette, Indiana to visit the Davis family this past week. They moved from Ft. Worth in June to begin RUF, a college ministry, at Purdue University. We had such a great time with them and even though it was crazy juggling 4 boys the whole time, it was so much better doing it together than apart. We really miss them a lot and it was good to spend some quality time with them and their sweet boys. Dustin is about to go up the slide and Jack is attempting to swing in the swing!

All the boys loved playing outside together!


Brian, Jack, myself, and Tim went on an ice cream run while Jeanette graciously watched Dus, Matthew and Caleb. We had lots of fun and as you can tell, Jack really enjoyed his ice cream. Not only did he finish his cone, but asked his Dad for "just one bite" of his and ended up finishing that, too!

Jeanette of course was amazing with all the kiddos and loved all the chaos. Here they are having a picnic together...

Caleb is a real servant and thought he would help the Davis clan out by mowing their lawn...what a guy!

Tim and Brian on cookout duty...Brian made these amazing burgers with onions and bread crumbs....the students at Purdue are going to love cookouts at the Davis casa!

Chooch (with a ball in hand of course) was fascinated with the guitar and loved to hear Brian play.

The guitar playing began with Jack on his guitar singing "Bob the Builder" and then he convinced his Dad that he needed backup from him.

Tim and Caleb at dinner....

Jack and his surprised face!

Here is a pic of all of us getting pizza together at this local pizza joint near Purdue. The food was AMAZING and all of the kids loved it!

Jeanette, Dustin, Caleb, Emily, and Matthew hanging out after playing in the water...

We went to these really fun fountains on Purdue's campus where kids go play in the water on sunny days. Jeanette and I were thinking it could be disastrous if the kids were afraid of the water, but it ended up being great and all the kids seemed to really love it, especially Jack!

The Davis fam cooling off...

The Bates fam keepin it real in polos and and wet diapers....

Caleb's sweet smile....melts your heart! He is so thinking about jumpin off this couch!

Both boys were fascinated with Jack's KU football helmet and would put it on and off and then sometimes leave it on and run around...it was very entertaining!

Aunt Emmy with her sweet boys who she misses so much! We love you guys!

Mr. Clean, Mr. Clean...

Caleb cleaning up with the duster....

Matthew can't decide if he's that interested in the duster or not :)


Still loves to put everything in his mouth!

Caleb chasing Matthew...really funny!

Caleb LOVES dusting!

Twinker Stinkers...

Caleb scowling at the camera as per usual!

This is, Laci, my roommate at Tech my freshman year. She came down for a visit and was so great with the boys. We had lots of fun catching up!

Matthew loves playing with these big bouncy balls...we caught a big grin!

Caleb is doing his version of "touchdown!" Tim has been prepping the boys for the upcoming college football season!

Pickin' out a recipe for dinner...

Big boy...he's taking steps consistently now, but not officially walking yet!

Mommy getting some snuggles in right before bedtime...the boys love to play on these chairs before bed and "tackle" one another (which mainly involves Caleb grabbing Matthew's legs and then Matthew giggles).