More Christmas Photos

Braylon wrapping his brother

Kaden

Braylon

Braylon

Kaden

Christmas Village Display

Bryan and Brenda started the collection when he was little and now we are continuing the tradition


Handmade Toy Boxes From Grammie M and Papa Mike McDonald



Christmas Night at Locomotive Park

Our 1st Christmas

This years Christmas was the most special by far. You truly rediscover the World through your children's eyes and it is the best thing ever.

We started off the Christmas celebration the weekend before and Grammie M and Papa D-D's. The boys got to open their very first presents. They loved ripping open and of course chewing on the wrapping paper. We all got camp chairs from Cabelas, mommy and daddy got the kind that recline and the boys got little camo ones. They also got a few toys, sippy cups, their own plates, and new winter hats just to name a few. We are excited to use our camping gear this summer.

This year we had Christmas Day at our house and our families came to us. We shared Christmas Eve with Papa Mike Howland and had Christmas Eve Chili, relaxed and watched television, and drove around looking at Christmas lights and ended the night by decorating cookies for Santa. Great Grandma Betty, Great Grandpa George, Great Uncle Terry, and Fendi stopped by to see our Christmas Village display and wish the boys a Merry Christmas.

We woke up early the next morning and the boys got to open their first gift from Santa with Papa Mike. It was actually surprising how into they were. They are beginning to understand how to open gifts already and the squeals and giggles were especially fun.

Later that afternoon the rest of our families showed up. The boys got to open their stockings and the rest of their gifts. The boys received two very special gifts this year that they will cherish for years to come. Grammie B and Papa Mike McDonald handmade the boys their very own toy boxes with their names on them. They are absolutely beautiful (I don't have pictures loaded to our computer yet but I will post photos of the toy boxes). They also got rocking horses that make noises and move when you push the button on their ears, which they will spend hours on when they are a little older. Mommy and Daddy also got a canvas print of one of our favorite photos of the boys.

They got antique toys that are replicas of toys their Great-Grandpa George had, from Great-Grandma Betty and Great-Grandpa George. They also got bath toys and bath towels from G-G Cloann.

The boys were very spoiled by Santa and our families this year. I wish I could list every gift they opened but the list would go on and on. I guess they were extra good this year.

Bryan and I must have been extra good too because we received the best gift ever only ours came before Christmas, on March 1, 2010.

The boys' cookies for Santa, with a little help from Dad and Mom

Kaden getting into the presents

Braylon wearing his Christmas jammies

The boys with Papa Mike (Braylon showing off his new obsession, screaming! and Kaden doing the fist pump, take note of Braylon's bed-head too.)


Braylon getting into the presents, he just couldn't wait any longer

The boys in front of the tree (Braylon left, Kaden right)

The boys opening gift from Great-Grandpa McNall

The boys playing with their gifts from Santa

Braylon

Kaden

Better Late Than Never, Right!?!

Sorry for the late Thanksgiving post. I hit the wrong button so it did not actually post it just saved it.
Also, sorry for not posting as often. The boys have been extremely busy these days. They are crawling and into absolutely everything so we have to watch them constantly. Along with everything else life has thrown our way. I also have been picking up quite a few shift in the Emergency Room which has been great but exhausting too. The extra money is quite nice though.
I recently discovered that the lens to my really nice camera is broken and explains why a lot of the pictures I had been taking wouldn't turn out. I got out and charged my smaller camera that I carry in my purse and have been using it and getting pictures from Brenda too.
I will post a blog a pictures of our very special First Christmas with the boys very soon.

Two Thanksgivings

Happy Belated Thanksgiving to all of our family and friends. This year we were fortunate enough to get to celebrate Thanksgiving twice with our wonderful families.

We spent Thursday evening up in St Maries and enjoyed a wonderful meal prepared by Grammy B. The boys got to have their own sweet potatoes which like every other kind of baby food they gagged on, but mommy and daddy sure enjoyed their food.

We left Wednesday evening after Bryan got off of work. I am just going to admit it. Since the boys have been born, well, even while I was pregnant, I have become the worst back-seat-driver in the world. I have taken the liberty of bossing everyone I am riding with if I think they are driving too fast, following too close, or if I feel they are not paying close enough attention to the road, etc. I keep telling everyone, eventually Bryan is going to leave me on the side of the road. (When he overheard me telling someone this he admitted it has crossed his mind).

All day Thursday it was snowing and then by the time we were ready to head home it was snowing big flakes.

I think Bryan had heard enough because he decided that I could drive home Thursday. I think we topped out at about 45 miles per hour that night and we sure didn't break any records for the amount of time it took to get home and Kaden let us know it.

Kaden decided to cry all the way from Moscow to Lewiston. Both boys are usually really good in the car so this was a little unusual. Bryan tried everything to get him to stop crying aside from taking him out of the car seat.

When we got home and I opened Kaden's door to get him out I got a smell of what he had been crying about. I quickly took him to their room to change his diaper to discover that he was trying to tell us, "Hey you idiots, I'm trying to tell you I got poop running down my leg, not that I lost my binkie!!!" Bedtime quickly turned to bath time for Mr. Kaden.

The next morning it was time to get up and get ready for our trip to Orofino. I had an appointment to get my hair done, FINALLY! It was about time. The last time I had anything done with it was Father's Day weekend in June. I feel like a new woman. My brother and Paige were in Lewiston so the boys and I hitched a ride with them so when Bryan came up Saturday we would only have one vehicle to drive home. My brother did not escape from my orders from the back seat. I could tell he really wanted to say something, but I think he had been forewarned by my mom about my new little problem.

Now my anxiety doesn't come without reason. My fear of wrecking stems from having been in two accidents. One with Bryan on our first Christmas together and one with my dad while I was pregnant with the boys. Nobody was hurt in either accident but both vehicles were totalled, so it was enough to scare me.

We arrived in Orofino safe and happy and I got to enjoy a little pampering while my mom entertained the boys.

Saturday we enjoyed another fabulous Thanksgiving dinner prepared by my mom and the boys tried their sweet potato again and mashed potato with no luck. Everyone enjoyed watching the faces they made though.

Saturday night my parents took the night shift with the boys so Bryan and I could get some sleep. It was the first time I slept over 4-6 hours straight in over 9 months. It was AMAZING! By the time 7am hit I was ready to feed the boys though. They were ready to get up and play so after they ate they played in their walkers. In the meantime all the rich Thanksgiving food I had eaten must have finally hit Braylon because when I went to pull up his jammies to change his diaper I discovered that he had poop from his butt to his neck. Thick, nasty, sticky poop, just like glue.

I attempted to clean him up but this job was too big for baby wipes so I had to put him in the utility sink in the laundry room and give him a bath. He thought it was great and squirmed all around smearing poop all over the side of the sink. I have never seen a more stubborn poop. This stuff was even water repellent. I let the water run over Braylon's back and it didn't even touch the mess. The only way I could get him clean was to scrub over and over with wash clothes. It was unreal. Someone said I should notify NASA because we might be able to make some money off Braylon's Poo Glue.

Kaden

Braylon

Kaden

Braylon

Kaden

Braylon

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!!!!!

During our trip to Orofino, so Bryan could go hunting with my dad and brother, the boys had a couple of unexpected surprises.
The first surprise was their first snow. Although, they didn't realize it was snowing last night. They noticed the white flakes falling from the sky this morning. While we were sitting in a chair by one of the big windows Kaden became mesmerized by the falling snow. He enjoyed it so much I took the boys into my parents room and propped them up on a pillow so they could watch out the bedroom window. It was like they were in a trance.
The second surprise was an early visit from Santa. Santa thought the boys would like their gifts a little early so they could enjoy them over Thanksgiving.
Santa conveniently dropped off two large boxes right about the time the big boys returned from their excursion (Santa is very clever). The boxes contained two walkers. Uncie had the pleasure of assembling the boys new set of wheels. They were so excited they had to take them for a spin. I think you could probably hear the squeals and laughs all through Orofino that night. The boys LOVED them. They aren't quite long enough to move around real well but they can reach with their tip-toes which is enough to get a little movement. It won't be long before they will be cruising around on the hard wood floors at Grammy and Papa's house. The walkers also have toys attached to them that make sounds and music and Braylon and Kaden loved to pound on the little key board. At one point my dad asked, "What song is it playing?" And the only response I could come up with was "Chaos". Thankfully the walkers will be staying up at Grammy and Papa's house because I have a feeling it could get pretty wild when the boys get more mobile.
Speaking of mobile. The boys are now beginning to crawl. We have had to bust out the Super Yard. Which is like a bunch of baby gates hooked together to make a pin, just to keep them safely in one area. Braylon is starting to get up on all fours and Kaden doing the army crawl.
They have also reached another milestone. They are starting to say their first word. Braylon now says "momma" very clearly and has figured out that I have a hard time resisting picking him up when he says "momma, momma, momma". Kaden is beginning to say "momma" too. He isn't as consistent and not always as clear but he is catching on. It just melts my heart.
Sorry there aren't any pictures. The batteries on both of my cameras died but I will be sure to get some of the boys first Thanksgivings. They will be spending Thursday up in St. Maries and Saturday we will celebrate again in Orofino.

VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!!!!!

This past year we were fortunate to have help from the Jackson Pay It Forward Foundation. We are so blessed to have this foundation in our community. They have been nominated for a national Pay It Forward contest through Charity Net USA and they have made it to the top 15 finalists. Lets all pay it forward and VOTE for this foundation!!!

Here is the link below.

http://www.charitynetusa.com/pif-contestfinalist.php

Howlandween

I know Halloween was over a week ago but it has been hard to find time to update the blog these days.
We spent the boys first Halloween at the house passing out candy to over 500 kids!!!!! The boys wore their costumes and took turns helping pass out candy. They both really enjoyed seeing all of the little kids and some not so little kids all dressed up. Yes, there were even adults, without children, out trick-or-treating and one lady who I think may have been dressed as a prostitute almost busted her tushy on our stairs. Anyways, yes, we had a very fun first Halloween.
Grammy M, Papa DD, Uncie, Paige, Uncle Angus, Uncle Izzy, G-G, and Charlie came down and we all enjoyed pizza, sugar cookies, and of course Halloween candy.
After all the candy had been passed out Bryan, Cody, Paige, and I went up to the corn maze. It was haunted this time. I hate it when things jump out at me and so I wasn't too thrilled about this but Bryan said, "Come on! Live a little!". It was sooo cold and sooo muddy since it had rained, no poured, the whole day before. I have to admit it was fun but I was so afraid something was going to jump out at me and I was going to slip in the mud and land right on my behind.
Here are some pictures of the boys in their costumes.

Kadensaurus

Braylonsaurus

Sleepysauruses

Kaden
Braylon
Braylon and Kaden