terrible TWO's

Yep, its official... our angel child has officially hit the dreaded terrible 2's. I don't even remember the girls at 2 being like this (probably a little distracted with a newborn at home) but I certainly remember the girls terrible 3's (which no one tells you about)! After blaming it on ear infections or new teeth I have come to realize that it is just the terrible 2's.

Here are some phone pictures over the past few weeks to document the lovely behavior of our once sweet Court...

Thanks for the hershey kiss mom... I decided to smear it all over my face then take off my shoes and make sure it was covering each toe.

Time Out.

Court pouts and puts his head down. His tantrums are generally quiet thank goodness but I see quite a lot of the top of his head these days.

Hmmm, let me eat this chalk mom just told me not to put in my mouth then spit it out and paint with it...

Unattended for a brief 2 minutes while getting the girls ready for school... climbed up on a chair, found a marker, created a masterpiece and then Mom made him pose in front of his creation. He felt pretty bad about this one. Glad we are in our rental house for most of the terrible 2's!

Can you tell what he did here?

Pretty sure this was done on purpose because mom was about to put Court in a cute smocked bunny outfit... Court has certainly not done this since he was 2 weeks old.

Terrible 2's go away and bring back our sweet boy!!!

SO big!

When did these 2 get so big???

Big Girls

H & T

Age 4

Take 3!

We are all hopeful that the third time is the charm! Poor Court had to have yet another set of ear tubes put in yesterday. After chronic ear infections since tube set #2 just 5 months ago, we decided to be proactive and get this little guy's ears working properly so that he will hopefully be able to hear and talk soon. A new doctor and titanium tubes are hopefully the right move. Fingers crossed!

Seriously... again???

Giggles withe Daddy before surgery.

Everything went well and he barely even fussed after coming out of anesthesia.

Hours later he was back to himself running wild.

We all went over to the house late afternoon to check out the progress...

Lots of action there this week... 2 huge trees had to be removed since they were in pretty bad shape from foundation work. Lots of excitement for our truck loving boy.

Standing on what once was their beloved tree where they each spent many afternoons swinging away as a baby.

So, we decided to keep 2 huge trunk pieces and use them as a base for a new outdoor table for the backyard. Girls loved that we were keeping some of their favorite tree.

Progress... next up brick!

Sprinkler fun!

For about the past 10 days we have either started or ended our day running through the sprinkler. The early spring weather has been such a treat and this is by far our favorite activity these days. I need to video tape it soon because the shrills of joy as they run through the cool water are precious. I think Court's squeal can be heard around the whole neighborhood in its high pitched shriek when he gets sprayed.

Harper

Tyler

So fun!!!

Yea for Spring!

Splish Splash.

Big boy.

And we had a fun surprise on this day... 2 baby squirrels. "Twins" as the girls called them. Don't worry, we did not touch them. After a call to a local squirrel specialist (thank you google) we learned that the mom will let the babies learn how to hunt for food on their own and come back and get them when it gets dark. The kids loved seeing them and still ask where the squirrels are every time we go in the backyard.

Dad with his bucket and glove in case the squirrel got crazy! ha.

Baby squirrel.

Happy ONE cousin Banks!

Sweet Banks turned One and we celebrated over the weekend.

Cutest Niece Ever!

The proud parents.

Survived Year One.

The birthday gal!

Eyes on the prize...

The cupcake cuties.

Happy One Banks!

We love you.

Scooter Squad

This is the scooter squad.

They are fast.

They are skilled.

They will run you over.

Soccer Shots!

Spring time means soccer for the ladies of the house. Last spring the girls played soccer for the first time and loved it. I think the jellybean they got at the end of each practice from their cute coach helped sealed the deal. This year they are back and feeling pretty confident in their skills. Dribbling: check. No hands: check. A little flirting with the boys: check. Goal: check.

A little pre practice pep talk.

Brother getting some pointers... think he will be in the game next year.

Harper's dribbling skills.

A whole open field yet these 2 are always on top of each other.

Silly Courty.

Ready, set...

GOAL!

(Tyler)

and GOAL!

(Harper)

spring fever!

It was a backyard ice cream treat kind of day...

yum. yum.

A little update...

So, what's new? We have been enjoying the pretty weather and lots of family time. The girls have been very loving lately and we have been working hard to point out each of their strengths (that are very different!). Tyler is the artist- our "student" always talking about kindergarten (even though that is almost 2 years away), writing letters non stop, preferring to do math programs on the ipad and always asking how to spell things. Harper is our free spirt- the party planner extroidinaire. She loves dressing herself and always adds a little flair to her ensemble whether it is upside down sunglasses or rainbow striped socks. We realized that some of the "fighting" lately was simply realizing that they are different. Harper being left handed makes for a lot of frustration when it comes to writing and she simply gives up and says Tyler is better at letters. Tyler gets annoyed when she is not allowed to come to one of Harper's parties until it is totally set up and just right. Oh the joys of having daughters born two minutes apart. And well Court is just being Court. Quiet as a mouse not saying much these days which is stressing us out. Super smiley and super cuddly with Mommy, super cool with Daddy giving fist bumps and doing boy stuff. Holding his own with her sisters signing "no" by moving his hand back and forth when he does not want to do something. He got a thumbs up from his teacher today for being aggressive and standing up for himself at school. So looks like our softie may be turning tough guy. Stay tuned....

Sweet Sisters!

Sweet Court

Harper

Court

"Mom I need a haircut"

Tyler

Back in Action!

Finally, everyone is healthy over here. We enjoyed a full week of school and the camera is fixed. Hooray! Top that off with some wonderful spring weather and we have been having a pretty great week over here.

Early morning squeeze!

Breaking News: Tyler & Harper do not 100% match hardly ever anymore. Never thought this day would come... It actually makes it easier on Court as he is starting to be able to tell them apart.

Why hello Spring! I think I saw 80 degrees today.

Short sleeves & Ice cream.

Tyler

Harper

Court

Court, can you smile for Mommy?

Sweet boy!

And look closely in the monitor, you will see two brunettes on the floor having a camp out in their sleeping bags because they wanted to "hold hands to go to sleep." Wonder what brought this on... enter the below email home from their teacher and a lecture from Mom about how important it is to love your sister. I think they got the message.

Email from the girls teacher:

Elizabeth,

I don't know if the girls have commented about me separating them to play recently but I have had to do that.

Generally they get along so well but each of them is becoming more aware of likes, dislikes, and "not" giving in all of the time.

Tues. on the playground G and Tyler ( I think) had an altercation over the broom so I asked G to play on her own and let the twins have some time together. 5 min. later the twins were fighting over a dish so I sent each of them to play separately. All was well

Today, Harper hit Tyler in the eye/ eye brow and told me Tyler made her mad but could not tell me why so she sat out for about 4 min. until she was ready to play. Both girls fussed a little over toys in the room.

Maybe a break from each other would help a little. They may be a bit tired of each other and are determined to stand up for their own rights.

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome. This is NOT major, but is unusual behavior for them at school.

LOVELY!!!!

And the house... good weather = lots of work!

Getting there!