August Phone Favorites

 August was filled with lots of activities around home. We started out the month with Duke's birthday. E really wanted to run over top of it but had to wait until I took a picture.

 E wanted me to draw a picture of Pa's car. She then wanted a picture of Pa but I ony got to draw the circle. She drew the hair, eyes, and teeth. :)

 This totally spoke to me and made me miss home. :)

 If you follow me on instagram (@mamatobler) than you may have seen me post about E's new play doh princess obsession. More on that in our weekly fun update.

 Seriously... that face! Hahaha

 I had to include this one even though you can't see Manfred's face. E and I were taking slefies and Manfred crawled up and put his head on my shoulder to be in one. Love, love, love this boy.

 Duke was going to town on this Papaya.  I love all of the little teeth marks in it. Hi-larious!

Trying to make me laugh! It worked. It has been a super fun month! I can hardly believe it's September?! I am stoked for the fall though. Time to break out the pumpkins!!

Outside

 I {love that we have grass in Nashville. Soft, run around barefoot grass. Since it has been so hot outside I decided to spray the kids down (even in the heat the mosquitos are evil) and let them run about fro a bit. We had fun! 

Duke really enjoyed swinging the shoe horn around. This boy can stand and take several steps but still refuses to walk. Babies.

 As per usual I decided to take some pictures. My Dad gave me a new lens and I am really loving it. 

I love these beauties!

Friday Fun

This week our little family battled illness once again. We have caught, the flu, colds and now croup and seem to just pass them along just as the last one gets better. It's a bit frustrating but here's hoping that we are finally on the mend. Since Duke had croup this week, we tried to keep things pretty chill. It's hard when you have a sick, tired and cranky little one. 

Monday:

Community story time. The kids really like it when we take pillows off the bed and spread a blanket out on the floor to read. Manfred pulls all of the books off of the shelf while E and I read. 

Most of the time this turns into "Peanut, Duke is just a baby and doesn't mean to steal your books (namely the book she's reading.) Why don't you read to Buns? (Her bunny.) So E reads a lot to her toys. It's rather precious. 

Tuesday:

Sometimes we play "basketball" with baskets from around the house. This usually turns into lets-all-sit-in-the-basket. 

Which is usually when Mama decides it about time to watch a show. They really enjoy watching shows from in their baskets.

 Some days we don't do an activity... we just play.

Wednesday:

 I've really been working with Ethnie trying to teach her how to spell her name. This was a fun activity but the glitter puffy paint didn't stick so well. Next time I'll use white glue with food coloring in it. 

Thursday:

 Chalk. Enough said.

 I love the colors all over her legs and feet :).

 

 Sometimes she even asks for Mama to take pictures of her even though she has no intention of sitting and smiling. Good thing my camera has a sports mode.

 In other news... after chalk we came inside for a snack. While E was eating her Elf Poop she started yelling "Ma! ELMO!" as she pointed at her poofs. Some people see Jesus or the Virgin Mary, my daughter sees Elmo. She makes me smile. 

Friday:

 This activity was meant for Manfred but E thought it was pretty cool too. Pipe cleaners and a colander. E could put them in all by herself. 

 Manfred was really good at pulling them out. It was a fun and busy week. I really think that these Friday posts make the week go by faster. Time needs to slow down. September is right around teh corner. I'm secretly ready for fall. Warm sweaters, falling leaves and hot cider. I have a feeling Nashville will be beautiful in the fall.

Dress Up

 Ethnie has entered the stage of  "princess." First thing we do in the morning is pick out a dress. I was telling Jakob that I wanted to make her a dress up box. I really liked this one, but since we are students once again we are on a no spending kick. Plus I really do not want to move it once it's built so Jakob suggested a temporary replacement.

 This is our laundry basket holder. I cannot find the bags to save my life!! so we brought it upstairs and hung E's dresses up. She loves it! 

 Next we pick out a pair of shoes.

I love having a princess. I think Santa might bring her some costume dresses for Christmas :)

Miss E

 I have taken a lot of pictures of Duke as of late and realized that I needed some updated pictures of E. While these aren't the best I did what I could solo with a very energetic two year old. I really think that these capture her personality perfectly though. Here are some of my favorites. 

 Twirling. She likes to have a dress that "pins" (spins) nicely. :)

 I sure do love this sweet girl. She is always making me laugh and smile, especially now that she's talking more. She is such a wonderful helper and is always up for having fun, dancing and making crafts with Mama. She loves her Pa, little brother, Daddy and Opa with all of her heart. She helps me to enjoy the little things like fake tea, shoes and dressing up or kisses from toys. I couldn't ask for a better little person be mine Peanut. We sure do love you Ethnie Lauren.

The Apple Doesn't Fall Very Far from the Tree

Have I mentioned before how much I {love} old photos? This is Dad Tobler's baby photo. Cute right :). 

 Here's Manfred. Same chubby cheeks, same dimples and pudgy arms. 

 I tried to get one wearing some coveralls but Duke just wasn't in a sit-still-and-smile mood. It was cute none the less so I had to share. 

 

 Any guesses at who this is? If you said Duke Manfred then you would be wrong. This is Jakob. I know right?! They couldn't be more alike!

 Duke wouldn't make the same face to save his life but he made his very own special face. When he does this it melts my heart. It is hilarious and the more you laugh the more he does it. 

 Like father, like son.

 I just wouldn't be me if I didn't share a few more of my favorites.

This boy has the bluest eyes. I love that I don't even have to photoshop them, they are just naturally stunning! I love being able to look back at old photos and see similarities. This boy is Tobler, through and through.