While we were saying the prayer the other day Heath said, "We thank Thee for the snow.... that we can eat, and throw, and chop, and smash, and throw."

Houston has a funny way of saying words lately.  He puts the beginning sound at the end of the words. Some examples:  ooo-sh (shoes),    ish-f (fish),    eeth-h   (Heath),  ow-s (snow)   I hope this doesn't' foretell  dyslexia.

When we were putting Heath's gloves on the other day He said, "It feels Me good, these gloves!"

Houston has been getting really good at signing.  He knows so many words now and is able to communicate so well.  It's been such a blessing to our lives.  Some of his new ones are snow, potty, grandma & grandpa, help, share, my turn & your turn.

The other day I let the boys play with some of my measuring tapes.  Everything Heath measured was "28" just like Daddy.

Heath was bathing in the tub one morning. (he had woken up all soaked) Matt went in to wet his hair. He bent down stuck his head in the water and then dried it off with a towel. Heath said, "Thats a cool trick Daddy!"

We had pancakes for dinner last night.  I was telling Matt that we may need to get a second griddle (I think I said "two griddles") soon. (I wasn't being totally serious, one is plenty. They were just really putting those pancakes down, so I felt like I'd been standing there forever) Heath said, "Mommy we don't need turtles. Just Aunt Amanda has turtles."

Aunt Amanda's sweet turtle kitchen

Sick week

 I continued to feel yucky all weekend.  I felt a lot like I did when I had Mono in '08, so thats just kinda what we figured I had.

 By Monday morning my throat was so swollen I figured it was time to call into the Dr office.

 The boys were so great at the office.  I took the stroller and brought along a lot of snacks & full bottles of milk.  They did a throat swab and I had strep. I was so happy to find that out. Strep is so much faster of a illness than mono.

The downside of strep though, is unlike mono, there was a really good chance the boys would get it.   Our Dr just said they probably would and if they get sores on their throats to call him and he'd call in a scrip for them too.

 By that night it was pretty obvious Heath was sick too.  He fell asleep sitting at the table...















sat up for the prayer...










 Then fell right back to sleep.

 Don't worry that Houston made quick use of that time and swiped some food...

Then Heath sat up, grabbed his fork and went right to eating as if nothing had happened.

Tuesday morning we finally got a good look at both of their throats (you take for granted being coordinated enough to hold your tongue out of the way, tickling finally did the trick with them)

 Wednesday pretty much all they wanted to do was watch movies and lay around on the couch.  Poor little guys!

I on the other had was feeling way better and took full advantage of my children in their vegetable like state and made my first quilt all on my own.

It's not very big, just a baby size. It went a lot faster than I thought it would, I started cutting around ten and finished everything around 4. I've been wanting to do one myself from start to finish for quite a while now and I did it! Now I fell a little better prepared for a bigger quilt.

When he tried to talk He had a bubble in his Throat

 Friday morning I started feeling yucky. I had aches and chills and just felt down right sick.

I just chilled on the couch while the boys played, and they were so good.  When Matt got home (about 2) he sent me to bed. I slept until about 5pm, ate dinner then went back to bed again, it was so nice!

Heath made me a necklace.  He brought it to me saying, "Look mommy I made this for Wooo!"

 Then he put a string on some of his tools and said, "We need to go outside and cut down a tree and bring it in our house to hang these for Christmas."

We assured him that it would be just about as cool if he just hung them on the wall.

 Matt was super! He took such good care of us.  He kept the house all caught up and fed us and made sure I got lots of sleep.   We're so blessed to have such a great Daddy!

 Thursday a friend called and said that the Library was having a knight story time on Saturday.  I had told Heath about this and he was super excited! We had even started making him this sweet "knight" shirt.  Saturday morning Matt asked if I was up to finishing Heath's shirt (which obviously I did) and they took off while Houston and I napped.  Heath was one happy little kid.

 Houston wanted to show us his shirt too... Heath's shadow.

 All morning Heath was so excited! We made him a shield and a little lance to take along.





















Matt said there were lots of little princesses, but Heath was the only little knight.  He got to help the knight guard the castle.

 The knight read them several stories, they played knight bingo, had some chocolate animal crackers grapes and strawberries, and got to make a little craft. (a princess hat, Heath was happy to just guard the castle with the knight during that time)

 Matt said Heath wouldn't go any closer than about 5 ft away from the knight.  He was so excited, but was still a little bit intimidated being in the presence of a real knight.





















Listening to a story:

 Heath brought home a little goody bag with sticker and bubbles and a ring pop.  He told us all about his wonderful day and shared his ring pop with Houston.

Winter Storm Q

 Thursday around noon the snow hit.  It came quickly and didn't let up much the day.   The boys and I were enjoying the entertainment displayed in the road (snow plows, tractors with salt, and 3 cars that did a spin in the road, yes it was exciting!) when all of a sudden a snowball hit our big window!
Daddy had seen us while he was walking home and attacked!  The boys just loved it!  Of course they just begged and begged for more.







 Daddy walked in the door and told them to get coats and shoes and he'd take them out for a quick look!   Smiles all around!

 Of course Heath had to throw a snowball at the window too.



Later that night we bundled up for real and went out to brave the FREEZING COLD! The temp had rally dropped outside.  I only lasted about 5 minutes before I was too cold.  The boys had so much fun! Oh did they cry when it was time to go inside.

 Matt watched on from our nice warm house... sipping his tasty hot cocoa.

 We got about 6 inches of snow.  The snow lasted for several days.  I loved looking out the window and seeing these little foot prints throughout the week. 

There's no Buddy like a Brother

Braving the scary food storage closet (old stair case) together.

  It makes me so happy to know how close these two little boys are. They really are best friends.

 I never noticed before these pictures how different the boy's noses are...

 I think Heath's is more like Matt's and Houston is more like mine?

 "Because I have a brother I'll always have a friend."  -unknown

Heart & Soul

 Valentines day has always been a fun holiday in my opinion. It revolves around telling people you love how important they are to you, and eating tasty treats.

While Houston was napping Heath helped me make some valentine decorations. It was really fun for both of us, and took me down memory lane.  I remember doing this with my Mom as a kid.

(Where you shave crayons and iron them between wax paper)








Heath swiped the camera and got these shots:

 We strung them on a string, and hung them in our front door.

 Matt got home just as Houston was waking up. Houston didn't want anything but Daddy and just wanted to sit and be held.  It was really cute, and I think it made Matt feel really good.

The boys had helped me make a heart cake earlier.  It is always surprising how much messier it is to cook with helpers, but it sure is a lot of fun while you're making the mess.

After we had chilled at the house for a while we decided to go out to dinner for fun. But first we went to the library.  When we pulled up to the building Matt said, "Oh no Babe! Are we one of those nerdy families that goes to the library on Valentines Day?" as we watched a family walk into the building that one might classify as a little bit nerdy looking. (if one was being judgmental... )   We had a good little laugh.  We took back our books, and picked a few new ones to take home.

 Then we drove around for almost 40 minutes trying to decide where to eat.  (I had wanted to look on map quest before we left and make a plan, but Matt thought it'd be fun to just go and see where we end up.)

Every time we'd drive by a place Matt would say, "Would you want to eat here?"  "Sure!"  "Well they look pretty busy, lets keep looking." so we would.  It wasn't too bad the boys both fell asleep and we got utterly lost on these crazy St Louis roads (that seam to never run the direction they start out to) so we were laughing most of the time.  It was an adventure that won't be easily forgotten.

 We ended up at Steak and Shake.  I was really impressed with all the things they had to cater to kids. The boys each got a cool "boat hat" as Heath called it, crayons, and a little cardboard race car to push around. It was perfect to keep them entertained until our food got to the table.

 My parents gave Houston this binkie for Christmas and I just love it.  Heath has kinda swiped it for himself and uses it any chance he can.

Then we ran home and ate our delicious heart cake complete with whipping cream and strawberries!  Then it was bath time and bed time for the boys, then Matt & I stayed up to watch the Office.   It was a pretty perfect Valentines Day if you ask me.  Spent with the 3 boys I love the most!