Dusty

Dayton likes riding on Dusty. I like it that he likes it because it buys me at least a few minutes of time when I suggest that he play on Dusty.

I love this profile of him laughing!

Curls

Look at those curls!

Shades

Dayton’s rockin’ the shades!

Cousin Time

Jordan and I watched Kyle, Ryan, and Evan while Stephen and Mel went out of town for a few days. We had lots of good cousin time. 

Breakfast Time (Those boys love cereal. On about day 3, Claire asked why we were having cereal so much. I told her it was because the boys like it so much!)

Mardi Gras Time

Art Time (Kyle made all sorts of monsters).

Map Time (Kyle was interested to see five states over - where his parents were).

Movie Time

Outside Time

Uncle Bando Time

More Uncle Bando Time

Silly Time

Pet Store Time

And Sleep Time

Random Pictures

Here are lots of random pictures from both the recent and not so recent past.

The mustaches that occasionally make an appearance in my life. (I’m glad they don’t last very long!)

Claire made a castle one day during her quiet time. I love her imagination!

 Dayton sleeping. So sweet.

Dayton lounging in the swing (back in November). We had the swing set aside to put in the attic, but he got in there one day.

Dayton and Claire

Coloring at the kitchen table

One-boot-Claire

Dayton just waking up

A cute snowman Claire made at school

Back in December, I went to Claire’s school on the day they performed the nativity for parents. When they practiced, the kids took turns being all sorts of different characters in the story. The day of the performance, Claire was the angel, and Ryan was a shepherd.

Dayton at the park

Claire at Blue Baker during the play group tour. She decorated this bread dough, and they baked it for us. I picked it up later, and it was very tasty!

Claire has been dressing up in my closet lately. She’ll say, “Don’t look at me!” and then come out with a cute, crazy, or silly outfit made up of my clothes and accessories. 

School Valentine’s Party

I got to help with Claire’s school valentine’s day party. I made the game, which was actually pretty simple! (I’m always happy when I can actually do something somewhat crafty!) I cut a heart out of a box, painted it, and made some arrows out of skewers and felt. The kids took turns throwing the arrows (hopefully) into the heart. It was a big hit at the party!

 The kids also had heart shaped fruit on skewers with chocolate sauce.

And they got to make a heart collage. Claire made me a (BIG) heart necklace with many, many feathers. 

When the party was over, the kids got to play outside again, since it was such a nice day. But Claire asked her teacher if she could show me around the classroom. She showed me all sorts of things in there! We had a good time.

Valentine’s Day

We have lots of love in our house! Claire saw instructions for how to make a valentine box in a library book, so she asked if she could make one. She made it, and then she made valentines and put them inside. She was especially excited when I made a few valentines and put them inside, too!

While Jordan was at work one Monday, Claire and I had a family home evening about love. We made and decorated hearts and then gave Jordan a heart attack on his door. Claire was so excited, and Jordan was surprised. Later, Jordan and I put some hearts on Claire’s door and Dayton’s door, and Claire was beyond excited to see them in the morning on Valentine’s Day.

I had some free Shutterfly cards, so I made one for Valentine’s Day. I love these kids and their sweet, silly faces!

Dayton - 15 Months

Here he is -- the Daytonator!

At 15 months, Dayton likes to carry a ball (and say “ba”), look at books, drop anything in a bathtub full of water if he can, run, stand in a chair at the kitchen table, “color” with markers, wear socks and shoes, go (he’ll go to the back door and hit it if he wants to go or if we say we’re going somewhere), eat, hold his own spoon, brush his own teeth (he certainly doesn’t want me to hold his spoon or brush his teeth!), give kisses, and (unfortunately) wake up in the 5 o’clock hour. 

I love his curly hair, his sweet laugh, his happy smile, his wet kisses, and his means of communication (just today he started saying “eee” when I was reading The Little Blue Truck). I love how he bends his knees to dance and how he’ll sometimes spin around and around for no apparent reason.

He’s a sweet boy! (And hooray for 3 more months until nursery!)

Bath Time!

We exchange babysitting with Stephen and Mel for date nights on a weekly basis, and let me tell you. That is heavenly!

Sometimes, all five kids end up in the bathtub at the same time. I thought I should document it, since I’m sure it won’t happen much longer. - That tub is running out of room for these growing kids!

I couldn’t decide which picture to include, so I chose three. (Kyle was pretty upset with a certain consequence he would soon face, so that’s why he’s not into the pictures at all. He usually has fun in the tub). At least he other kids have smiles - or just funny faces. :-)

More Shoes!

He just can’t get enough of the shoes!