Mullet Time

Here's a fun one from the archives: Jaron and Em schooled the competition at the Orthopedic "Mullet Contest" last spring (of course, we were some of the only few that went all-out...). You can't see it here, but not only does Jaron have a sweet mullet, but it's even "dove-tailed" in the back. I know, I know...we're a HOT couple!

Bad Luck!

Our third camera in less than 2 years has gone the way of the buffalo...(four, if you count our video camera too). It met it's fate on our kitchen floor. I was making Christmas goodies with the boys, and I let them have turns taking pictures of each other and the treats...I guess I should have made them use the safety strap! It's been a few weeks since this happened, but I've been too sad about it (and the fact that we went all Christmas without picture-taking!), that I haven't wanted to post. We'll be back up and running soon, but until then, you can shed a tear for us and the bad luck we've had with cameras.

Let It Snow!

Snow day!!!  We were all SO excited to get our first snow day yesterday (which has turned into another today!).  We had our first big snowstorm, with over a foot of snow.  The boys made a "fort" in the front yard, complete with a tunnel, stairs, slide and sitting area.  I didn't get a photo of the finished product, but here's them working on it.  I mostly wanted to capture how the snow piled up on each tree branch.  There's something magical about waking up in the morning, and it's still dark, but it's sort-of light outside because of all the white snow.  It was fun to be outside in the cold, play in the snow, then come in and get cozy with hot chocolate and marshmallows.  As long as we don't have to be out in it for too long, we really love the snow!!

Some Fall Pics

Just Because...

...He's so stinkin' cute!!  (And I can't believe he'll be 10 months on Saturday!!)  He's crawling, eating all sorts of food (both on and off the floor), and laughing a ton.  Such a happy boy.  We love our little Trev!

Trevor's latest pastime: eating leaves and sticks.  I'm all for it cause, hey, a little roughage does a body good!

A rare shot of Trevor actually CLEAN in his highchair (and the chair is actually clean too!  Don't know how we managed to pull that one off!).  Who can resist those blue eyes??

Best Bubbas!  Bathtime is a crazy wet party at our house.  Trevor's arms go flying to splash the water the moment we set him in.  Then, of course, his big brothers can't be outdone, so you can imagine the state of our bath-mats after a bath session.  I know they look like little angels in this photo, but don't be deceived---they're really crazed splash-monsters!!

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Nov 7!

...A big day for me...I ran a Half-Marathon in Indy.  My 7th Half, and I finally broke 1:50!  It was a personal victory, and not an easy run.  But a huge motivator for me was knowing that my wonderful boys and Honey would be cheering me and hugging me at the end!  I feel so blessed for my sweet boys, especially for Jaron, who is always encouraging me to do things I enjoy, to set goals and achieve them.  I loved training for this race.  

With Spencer in school and Mikey in 5-day morning preschool, it was the perfect set-up for me to take Trevor for morning runs (until the weather got colder).  I love being out in nature, especially sharing it with my family. I feel like Trev and I shared many special mornings running together.  Trevor loves the jogging stroller--he gets excited when I put him in it, and I don't think he ever fussed during any of the runs I took him on (not even my long ones!).  

I've also felt SO blessed to have a body that can run and exercise and experience life in a different way than I would if I couldn't use it.  I want to remember to treat my body well so that I can keep experiencing life and bonding with my family in special ways!

HALLOWEEN!

Halloween-week was a non-stop party!  From pumpkin-carving to school parties, a ward party/chili cook-off, and an Orthopedic dept. party, the boys had a blast collecting and gorging themselves on candy! Spencer's costume was a black hooded robe with red fire-and-skull trim.  For one party he called himself a "Fire Lord", then another time he was a "Sorcerer", all with the same outfit.  Mikey was Spiderman and Batman (different costumes for different parties).  Trev was...what else?  Our little Puppy Dog!  Holidays get more and more fun for Jaron and I as we re-live the excitement through our kids (and get to mooch off their candy!)

Batman and Puppy at a school party.

Dr. Sullivan with Puppy, Sorcerer, and Batman at the annual Ortho Dept trick-or-treat (all the children of Ortho staff trick-or-treat the staff offices and clinic receptionists, then get cookies, punch and balloons at the end).  There was a line of Ortho families with their kids, weaving through the halls of the Ortho offices.  Jaron had a chuckle as we were walking in line when he heard Mikey sing to himself (which isn't very quietly if you're a Mikey voice), "Fowow the Pwophet! Fowow the Prophet! Fowow the Pwophet, he knows the waaaaaay...!"

Sorcerer and Batman with their trick-or-treat bags and pumpkin flashlights (thanks Mammy!), ready to hit the neighborhood.  We didn't trick-or-treat last year since we had gone to so many parties during the week of Halloween, and I was pregnant and tired, so we stayed home (I know, I'm such a neglectful parent!).  So Mikey doesn't remember trick-or-treating when he was 2, and this was like his 'first' time.  He had SO much fun, running from house to house, saying "Twick o' Tweet!", and "Fank you!", and before they could close the door, he was off like a bullet to the next house.  He kept up that pace for about 10 houses, then decided that eating the candy would be more fun than hunting for it.

Jaron did the pass-out-candy duty this year.  He went all-out with his scary witch-nose, scary beach hat, and detached leg-and-foot-bones sticking out of his jeans.  I'm not sure how scared the trick-or-treaters really were, but he gets points for creativity!!

Trevor is 8 Months!

Wow-ee!  How our little angel is growing!  He turned 8 months this week, so I thought I'd post some pics for all to adore!  Some of his recent milestones are: eating a variety of baby foods (he eats a TON, and we wonder how he can stay so small!), sitting up, rolling everywhere (even out of his doorway and into the hall!), and army-crawling backwards.  Trevor loves interacting with people, especially with his big "Bubbas".   He also loves blowing raspberries ALL the time, especially when he's hungry (it's really funny)!  Trevor absolutely loves being outside; he gets so excited and kicks his legs wildly and starts breathing heavy even when I open his window to look at the trees with him!  With Spencer and Mikey in school, and since the weather has been gorgeous, I've taken Trevor running in the jogging stroller a lot lately.   It is a special time for me to be with by baby and surrounded by the nature I love, and I like to think that he enjoys it too (since he never cries :-). 

Here's some pics, not the Jaron's 'sisters-and-mom's-professional-quality-photos', but they do the job!  This first one is kind of silly, but it shows off his HUGE blue eyes.

I love this little guy!

This is Trevor's reaction when Spencer entered the room! (he's laughing)

Spencer loves to play with Trevor and make him laugh.  He's such a fun big brother!

Spencer thought it would be so cute to give Trevor a "halo" and take a picture.  I love the face Trev pulled for this one!

Happy Birthday to US!

Such a fun time of year, when Jaron and I get to celebrate our birthdays together!! (Sept 6, 7).   He had the whole weekend off, including Memorial Day, so we really lived it up!  On Saturday, Jaron took Spencer and Mikey to the Iowa Hawkeye football game, and Trevor and I did some serious shopping at a nearby outlet mall (talk about DREAM birthday for me--lots of stores...very few kids!)  I have to insert here that Spencer, Mikey and Trevor are SO lucky to have such a wonderful Daddy.  For a variety of reasons, but last Saturday illustrated just one.  Jaron had been on call Friday night, got basically no sleep, and then spent the whole day Saturday with his boys at the football game and playing afterward.  Despite working a lot, Jaron has so much fun with his children and really makes it a priority to make meaningful memories with them.  I love him for it!

  

On Sunday we had a nice peaceful Sabbath, some not-so-peaceful Blockus-playing, and a delicious ice-cream cake.

On Monday, since Jaron had the day off, we decided to explore a rock climbing site here in Iowa, about an hour from our house.  Who would've thunk that there'd be climbing in Iowa??  But there was, and it was actually good climbing, and the boys and I had lots of fun!  We went with our friends who have 3 boys too, so there were always enough adult hands to help belay or hold a baby or play with bigger boys.  Everyone got a couple chances to climb (except the babies), and Spencer was thrilled to make it to the top of this wall!  We were all so proud (Jaron especially!).  

Here's Jaron belay-ing Spencer at the start of the climb:

This is the entire wall that Spencer climbed.  Of course it's a lot bigger when you're on it!

Classic Mikey expression, after finishing his turn climbing / Tarzan swinging:

Happy Birthday to the love of my life!  You are truly an amazing man--kind, unselfish, sensitive to others, fun, witty, crazy, intelligent, sweet, honest, and oh-so-handsome! (Doesn't he look great for 30??!!)

Happy Birthday Mikey!

Our sweet Mikey has turned 4!!  We just adore little Mikey; he has such a sweet, yet spunky and silly personality.  He has been a great blessing to our family, making us laugh when we get too serious, giving cuddles and kisses without reservation, and using his super-hero skills to ward off any imaginary threat to the home-front.  I love this picture of Mikey because it captures his essence: happy, playful, rough-and-tumble, sweet little guy.

Mikey was really lucky that his cousins (Morgan and Rachael), their dog (Chief) and parents (Chris and Dee), AND Nana and Opa all got to come out for his birthday celebration.  It was a short visit, but we squeezed as much fun out of the time as we knew how.  (Thanks so much for making the trek out here guys!)  Here's some of the fun we had...opening presents...

...Eating Spiderman cupcakes and ice cream...

...Taking a ride on the "Little Hawkeye Express", and other "fair" rides at a nearby park...

...Getting spoiled by daddy, whose present to Mikey was a homemade tree-swing.  Of course, Daddy had to 'jumar' (rock climbing term--look it up!) up to the tree branch to hang the swing, and that was an adventure in and of itself.  Lots of fun for the kids (and for the people driving by--'What in the world are they doing?!!')...

(Spence 'jumared' all by himself up to the tree branch too!)

...And for the grand finale of fun-ness, the kids discovered another use for Jaron's half-pipe!  Take a look:

(It might be too small to see, but Mikey discovered that being in his "birthday suit" really gave him the advantage!)  Who needs a waterpark when all you have to do is build a skate ramp?!

Fun in Texas

At the beginning of August, we took a road trip down to Texas.  We had SOOOOOO (x 100!) much fun with the Sullivan's!  We spent a few days at the beach in Port Aransas, got to visit our best friends from med school, swung by the Haley's in San Antonio, and spent some time in Stephenville at Mammy and Pappy's house.  There was way more fun than I can convey in one measly post, but here's some highlights:

Pappy, Em, Mammy, Jaron, Trev, Mikey and Spence at the beach.

Jaron taking Mikey out to catch some big waves!

Of course, there was time for dummy-ropin' too!

All the cousins at Jaimie and Aaron's in San Antonio.

Getting spoiled by the Allred's in their pool.

Pappy took us out to lunch at the hottest new restaurant in Stephenville: McDonald's.  The kids got to eat inside a giant football!  Thanks Pappy!

Helping feed the horses.

Thank you so much Sullivan's, Haley's and Allred's for a wonderful vacation!  This is what we thought of it:

Bye-Bye Summer!

WOW.  Who knew summer could fly by so fast?? It's already back-to-school time in Iowa, and I'll miss having my boys around.  Spencer and Mikey are both going to school this year, Spence in 1st grade, Mikey in 5-day Preschool.  Jaron and I are blessed with extraordinary boys--loving, thoughtful, and lots of fun to play with!  I loved having my boys around all summer, and having lots of adventures with them.  Here's a sampling of some of the fun we had (and more yet to come!): 

Spence and Mikey love to invent and create, so here's a sample of some of the home-projects they did.  From top left, clockwise: plastic cup-with-string-telephone; "school" workbooks (they earned money for completing each one--BIG motivator!); "snakes" made from painted cylindrical wood pieces, string and beads; a "jet pack", made from an oatmeal container, paper towel tube, and string; in the middle is the remnant of Mikey's "binoculars", made from T.P. rolls.  Not pictured (just made today), is a rocket ship, constructed out of a box (it even has seats! Spencer's idea).  I love how innovative the boys are; they constantly challenge me to "think outside the box".

One of my FAVORITE things to do with the boys this summer was running on the beautiful trails around Iowa City.  It was gorgeous and green, and fairly mild all summer, so we got out a lot.  Spence and Mikey would ride bikes while I tried to keep up, pushing Trevor in the jogger.  Every time we'd go I'd think, "I've GOT to get a picture of this scenery!"  This is the one time I actually remembered (this trail runs along the Iowa River):

There's a few lakes really close to our home, and we made it out a few times.  Beautiful landscape, but notice Spencer's blue lips?  Our Iowa mild summer is to blame for that.

Spence and Mikey took swim lessons.  Spencer learned a lot--backstroke, diving, treading water, and swimming in the deep end, and Mikey had fun bopping about in the kiddie pool.

Fort-making is a staple at our house.

One of 3 public pools in our community--this one's a mile from the house, so sometimes the big boys would ride bikes here (me huffing to keep up).

And quicker'n you can say Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtle, our school year has begun!  Here's our big boys posing with their packs on the first day.