Hard at work

Jordan got a couple toolbenches for christmas and he has been enjoying both of them. He has been actively playing with all his new toys. Alex has been enjoying his new things as well. Thanks to everyone for all the wonderful things.

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Train Fun

Last year for Christmas, we bought Jordan a train set.  Every now and then we set it up in the basement and Jordan plays with it.  We took Alex down with us while Jordan was playing and just watched the train go around.  Jordan would watch every now and then but he is as busy as ever.

Best or worst toy?

We decided to stop and get Wendy's food on our way to hesston. Jordan's toy happened to be a microphone. He was really excited. It is pretty cute that he is belting out the alphabet song right now. I think soon it might become a little bit much. It is fun to hear his version of songs for sure.

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Down time

Alex enjoys some down time n his playmates while Jordan is in his bath. Often Jordan wants to play with Alex wherever he is sitting. It is cute but I would think even a 2 month old would want some space every now and then.

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Smartie pants!

So we were getting Jordan's bath ready and he informed us he wanted a bubble bath. He then picked up the bottle of bubble bath, looked at the back and said, "It says put bubbles in bath." Pretty smart thinking for our little 2 year old.

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2 months down

This was a week of doctors for Alex. First, Monday we took Alex to the children's dermatologist at children's mercy in Kansas city. He was diagnosed with a spot of mastocytoma. Nothing major, just a nuisance for now. But while there he had to wear a hospital gown. It was pretty cute but yet a little sad that thy have to make gowns that small. Then today, he had his 2 month check up. He weighed 15 pounds 11 ounces (98%) and was 26.25 inches (99%). He is doing great and obviously growing fast. He did have to have 2 shots today and didn't like that at all. Tomorrow marks the end of my play days with the boys. I officially go back to work full time tomorrow. So sad! But at least I'll get to see Mark more often. :-)

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Vacation

So the boys (minus mark) and I decided to try smokin on the beaver. I've never been but from What I've been told it seems to be an all day tailgate but my mom specified it would have smoke. Anyway, Alex did great sleeping in the pack n play. Jordan not so much on the air mattress (but really who does). So by this morning, I was laying in bed with Jordan kicking me on one side and Alex snuggled up on the other. I should also mention that Alex did great until 6 in the pack n play and since we didn't climb in with him, we were all in the queen bed. Good thing mark didn't come I guess, he may have been on the not so comfy air mattress by morning.

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Super helper

Jordan loves to help out unless it is cleaning up his own things.

He helps grandma peal & core apples for pie, 

He helps pick up all the extra insulation at grandpa's shop,

do anything that involves grandpa, dad and/or uncle Andy,

still more insulation,

and makes sure grandpa wears off any extra energy.

This is our little helper!

Has it been 6 weeks? Time flies!

So it is hard to believe that it has already been 6 weeks.  Alex is growing crazy fast, Jordan continues to amaze us with the things he learns, and the school year started with wheels spinning.  Here are some cute pics.

He's here!

Our newest addition finally made an appearance at 3:24pm today. Alex Michael weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces, he was 21.5 inches long. He came very quickly and is a little bruised due to that fact. We are all doing well.

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Estes Park Bound

So even thought we have lived in Kansas all our lives, we decided to stop and see the sights along the way to Estes Park.  We stopped at the Russell Stover Factory (sorry no pics there), and then continued on to the Cathedral on the Plains in Victoria, KS.  Beautiful church!

We then drove the short distance to the Sternberg Museum in Hay, KS.  Jordan was really excited to see dinosaurs.  They were HUGE and the T-Rex moved and roared.  It was a little intimidating.  Jordan and Mark enjoyed looking at the live animals.  Shawna did not partake as there were numerous live snakes among them.

We were going to stop at monument rocks but were tired on being in the car and travelling, so we headed on to Colby, KS to stay.  We enjoyed the swimming and relaxation of an evening there.  More pics to come.

Tailgating fun

So shawna's dad bought a bus for tailgating and Jordan loves to play on it. This should be a fun football season.

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Zoo Day

It's like a match made in heaven. Jordan loves to watch animals, but is also wishes they would keep a respectable distance. Zoos are not only okay with this; they make sure it happens.

Jordan and Mark finally found a nice day to visit the Manhattan Zoo. We got there at 4:00, thinking that would give us an hour of animal viewing before it closed. As we were going in, the lady at the ticket booth mentioned that they put the animals away at 4:30. And so began a very hurried attempt to see a lot of animals in 30 minutes.

Overall, it worked out well. It was still a little chilly, so a short stop wasn't a bad thing. Plus, Jordan didn't want to be "down" for much of the trip, so Mark's back appreciated less carrying time.

Jordan enjoyed the anteater and red wolf that were living together in one of the large pens. It was a while before he stopped pointing in their direction and asking to go back to the "animals." But, we found a creepy emu who followed us around for a while, and that captured Jordan's attention (there was a fence between us, fyi).

He also enjoyed the Tigers who came right up to the edge of the cage (about 5 feet away). There were red pandas (picture above), flamingos, racoons, ducks, and tons of other creatures. The animals he talked about the most, though, were the little monkeys.

Jordan was disappointed that we couldn't find the chimpanzees in their cage. As he pointed out, they were "hiding." But, he did get to pet the statue out front.

Man Cave: Opening Day

Jordan and Mark decided to end Winter break in style. Shawna's side of the basement has always felt too "crafty," and, well, "girly." The boys have always felt they needed a space to call their own (beside all of the rooms upstairs that Jordan has taken over).

And so, they launched an intense, 20 minute project to convert the other side of the basement into their own Man Cave.

The East wing is dedicated to a series of desert race tracks. Cars, trucks, airplanes...it's all manly.

The center of the Man Cave is a (nearly) regulation-sized basketball court.

The main attraction, however, is the Man Tent. With its spacious interior and convenient escape tunnel, it's perfect for having camp outs, reading manly books or playing exciting games of chase. The "Man Cave" look is accentuated by the bear-skin rug at the entrance. Thanks to Grandma O'Halloran for that contribution.

There's plenty more to come from the Man Cave!