The little people I spend nearly all of my time with...

The boys haven't been featured a whole lot on this blog lately. Oh, how they melt me. Even when they are fussing or whining, I can't help but look at them and smile. They are too, too precious.

Tate is growing like a weed. I think he's going to end up being taller than Landon - well, that is, if he drinks his milk better and eats his veggies! He can be picky at times, but lately, we've found that if we give him a fork or spoon, he'll eat nearly anything that is on it since he loves this new ability of feeding himself. This past week, we took away his pacifier - he was only using it at sleeping times. We went cold turkey and haven't caved yet. He whines a bit and I caught him sucking on the corner of his blanket today, but thankfully, it really hasn't affected his sleeping too much. He's not saying too much yet vocabulary-wise. All of his words, other than momma or dadda, seem to start with a "B"....Book, Ball, Baabaa (for bottle, which he doesn't get, but still stays that when he wants a drink). He does seem to understand what I say a lot of the time though and he respond accordingly. He's incredibly lovey and likes to be held. Although is very independent at times as well. He's already escaped childcare at church once and wandered away! Eek! He has a big affection for playing fetch with a ball (just like a dog would), playing with cars, and looking at books. He's a keeper for sure.

And Landon. Oh, a day doesn't go by where I find myself incredibly amused and endeared with him. He's a sweetie. He loves holding hands and getting hugs. Sometimes he gets upset in the car because Tate won't hold his hand. And he's soaking up soooo much around him. It's so fun to see and hear how he puts things together and communicates them back to us. We asked him if he was tired one evening and he said, "No, I'm not tired - I don't have any yawns in my mouth." And another one that I've shared with some people already: We ate out at Taco Bell awhile back. He wasn't a big fan. In the middle of eating his dinner, he said, "Maybe next time we could go to Hot Dog Bell." Oh, we laugh a lot with him. He loves anything with wheels. We're in the habit of going to the library every week and getting some books. Once we get home with them, he will sit on the couch and just look at them for a good 20 minutes or so. Well, as long as they are about cars, trucks, planes, motorcycles, tractors, etc. I tried to broaden our selection and get one about animals this past week. He's hardly looked at it and was quick to try to share that one with Tate. Oh, he makes me smile.

Here's a couple of pics from the boys playing in the yard today. I raked this pile just for them to jump in. And then I raked it again. And again. And again.

I like the below picture of Tate, even though he's hardly in the picture. It shows him in the action of "jumping" into the pile of leaves. Although, I know that when Tate jumps, he never leaves the ground. :)

And here's a picture of one of Tate's first time-outs. And just so we keep it even. Landon has a first yesterday also! He used the potty! By his own prompting! He hasn't wanted to use it since. But hey, we celebrate even the small steps.