Slave Labor

 One project I really wanted to get done while Mom and Dad were here was to paint our living room. (Talk about fun hey?) It was brown, which would have been fine accept for the rest of the house is grey. It was random and since this is "our house" we can do whatever we want. The pressure of picking a color almost had me going insane. I wasn't after a dark grey, I wanted the room to be light and bright, but still dark enough to make the trim and all of the built ins pop. So we ended up going with the middle color. 

We kicked off the morning with donuts for breakfast. The kids were pretty excited! 

While the boys were getting paint and painting gear, Mom and I started moving the furniture. I was pretty nervous. 

And so it begins!

 The kids spent teh afternoon with Aunt Gretchen but they were so good, just hanging out watching shows and playing play doh. 

 

Mom was our spackle expert and gopher. She was chasing everyone around! 

Dad and Jakob were this combo team and boy they worked quick!!

OH. MY. GOSH!!!! Such a difference and I am SOOOOO in love with it!!! It just makes everything so much brighter and just gives it a super clean look!!!! 

 I do plan on replacing the couch sometime with a dark grey one, and I may repaint the mirror frame to a white. 

Mom Tobler was looking at the wall behind the T.V. and asked what we thought about doing ship lap? I don't watch decorating shows but apparently ship lap is very vogue and I love the looks that I have seen on Pinterest. So that project is in the works. I'm pretty excited about it! 

Thank you so much to Mom and Dad Tobler for working so hard to make our house more like home. I know painting isn't exactly what someone has in mind when they think of visiting family or fun, but it really means the world to me. You two are the best!

Grammy and Pa Come

 Grammy and Pa made it to our house and we are beyond excited! First item of business was to get out and enjoy the sunshine!! We headed over to the lake to enjoy a little picnic. 

 Duke and Pa were just so gosh darn cute!

 Throwing rocks at the geese. (They deserved it.)

 After community nap time we headed over to our previous ward for their Blue & Gold ceremony. Nothing says "Thanks for coming to visit us" like taking your parents to a scout dinner. The food was delicious ad it was nice to see some old friends. 

 Jakob was in charge of the Arrow of Light Ceremony as Chief Wannahuckaloogy. It was fun seeing him all dressed up. 

It was a great ceremony and a fun evening. Now it's time to get to work tomorrow!

Spring?

Is anyone else loving this warm weather? It's a beautiful 65F during the day and cool at night. I know I love fall, with the colors, the cozy feelings, scarves and pumpkins but I think Spring is my favorite. Despite the thunderstorms, the windows are open, there are no bugs and the flowers are starting to bloom. I love being in Kansas and having seasons. Now if only I could get rid of those wicked storms!

The Crasin Strikes Again

Some of you may remember back when E was about two and she shoved a Crasin up her nose during Sacrament. Crasin's and children just don't mix. I'm not exactly sure what is so appealing about shoving things up your nose but I left Bear with some snacks and then he started crying and holding his nose. 

I knew he shoved something up there and he would let me use my finger and look but he had nose desire for me to use tweezers to get it out. He also couldn't grasp the idea of blowing out either. So after 10 minutes of trying to reason with him I called my neighbor over to help hold him down. (Of course I had laundry piled in the hall ready to take down and lunch was still on the table.) We tried a few different variations but in the end i sat on him pinning his arms down and she held his head as tight as she could while I use the tweezers.

It was scary for not only Duke but for E too as she ran back into her room and bawled. Poor girl thought we were hurting him and Duke was just traumatized. 

We got the Crasin out and I learned a few things. 1. Crasins are ONLY to be enjoyed when closely supervised by an adult. 2. Keep your house clean because you never know what you'll have to call the neighbor to come pick something out of your child's nose.

Valentines Week

 It's Valentines Week in our house! While I know Valentines week is a little over the top, the kids really enjoy it! E excitedly races to her backpack every morning to see what surprise Mama left for her and this year Duke really got into it. I kept this super simple this year and only did 5 days instead of 7. Here is a round up of Valentines Week.

 Day 1:

 

 This kiddos got a ring pop that said "You are a Gem" and Daddy got some hand grips that said "You are my main Squeeze"

Day 2:

 

 This kiddos got "You're One in a Melon" with candy watermelons.

 Daddy got some kisses.

 Day 3:

 Duke got a truck Chocolate that said "I Wheelie Love You." and E got an owl chocolate that said "Owl Always Love You."

 Daddy got Reese's Pieces that said "I love you to Pieces"

Day 4:

 The kids got stickers that said "I'm Stuck on You!"

 Daddy got thumbprints which he really liked. 

Day 5:

 The kids got puzzles that said "I Love You to Pieces" Daddy's gift was funny but a little inappropriate for the family blog. 

 E was pretty excited about her heart dress and her heart hair for Valentines Day at school.

She wrote out all of her friends names and signed her Valentines to hand out. She came home with quite the goody bag and was just so excited to show me which friend gave her what! 

 Duke didn't dress up, but he's cute regardless.

He was over the moon about his Valentines and dumped them out on the table. He pointed at each one and would say "Duke" then point to himself. It was adorable.

Holidays are so much fun with little people. I am so thankful for my sweethearts!

Zoo Day

 The sun was shining at it was a beautiful 67F so naturally we headed out for a day outside!! The kiddos were super excited to go to the zoo! 

 It was even better because it was the weekend so Daddy was with us! 

 I asked E if we could take a picture, this is what we got. :)

 

 Poor Duke, his little feet needed a rest!

 Duke was beyond excited when it was our turn to ride the train!!!

 And E's favorite part was the carousel and riding her favorite white horse!

 Mama hopped on too!

Bear with some bears. It was such a wonderful day! We had a great time and the sun felt amazing!!

Paper Stitching

 As mentioned before, E is all about being my helper! If I'm cooking she wants to cook, if I'm cleaning she wants to clean, if I'm sewing she wants to sew. I was making a blanket for our little man and E asked if she could help. She hopped up on my lap and surged away.

 She was very careful and a good listener and she did a great job!

 After our successful time surging I figured she was old enough to start paper stitching. I was about 4 or 5 when I wold sew with my Mama and E was more than ready. She sat down on my lap and I explained about how to hold the paper and how to lift the presser foot. And off she went.... ALL BY HERSELF PEOPLE! I mean look at those lines!!! I was BEYOND impressed!!

Shortly after finishing her creation, she asked if she could have her own sewing machine and if we could make something. I see pillow cases in our future! So proud of you Miss E!

Duke's School

 I honestly cannot say enough wonderful and amazing things about the program that Duke is in. I often wonder what would have happened with him if we had moved to Missouri instead of Kansas. Everything that Duke has enrolled in has been free and they have been OUTSTANDING programs. We have been so blessed beyond measure and I am so thankful!

In this 4 day a week program they do a ton of different activities with different themes from week to week. The teachers also try to keep you in touch as much as possible, which is difficult given the number of students so I am grateful for that. These are some pictures that they have sent us from class time. 

Duke's vocabulary grows more and more each week. It is so difficult for him but he is simply thriving in this program. Currently he can count to 13, he knows most of his colors, knows lots of songs and is stringing together three word phrases. Not everything is accurate but his approximations are wonderful!

Considering the fact that Duke wasn't even making sounds such as b-b-b or ma-ma-ma, I am just so proud of him. Apraxia is hard, it takes patience every day from the entire family but mostly from this sweet boy. He has come such a long way and I am so excited to see where he will go. Way to go Duke!