All that playing in the mud and cold means lots of baths, which luckily both boys enjoy.






We got lots of fun things for Easter from Grammy, Erika and Grammy Diane. We also got treats of course and made some very fattening sugary cookies. Nolan is a great help in the kitchen and really enjoys working on treats with me.



This road has been a major focus in our lives recently. It's unfortunate to be so caught up in a trivial matter, but we were told for a year we could use the road to the north of us to access the new house site. The neighbor just produced a deed to it however and is hiring a lawyer to block our access, as well as our neighbor to the north who recently purchased that parcel to restore a wetland. We had to hire an attorney and have evidence that her title is invalid and the county owns the road, but it's messy and we're not sure what will happen. Trying to just relax and know it'll all work out. Too bad start out on bad terms with the neighbors though.

We've had a few breaks in the rain and we've been able to get outside a little. The boys have been having a great time finding all of the mud puddles. Both boys and puppies seem to go right for the mud and we've been doing a lot of laundry.









They puppy earned that name of Happy. We always said if we had a little girl we'd name her Happy, but we never got our girl so the puppy is our Happy Camper! =)



Our birdfeeder is getting a lot of use, but sometimes the little chickadees get stuck and the boys love looking at them up close when we open up the feeder to let them out.










We've mostly been inside a lot and going buggy. We've used up most of our craft project items and paint. What we haven't used Caleb has eaten. He especially loves the markers, hopefully they really are non-toxic!



We've been so bored even washing dishes has been fun.

We got a puppy!


Well, it probably wasn't my finest idea, but I couldn't resist seeing some Austrailian shepard pups I saw in the paper. I've been looking for a couple years for purebread/unregistered and haven't seen any. Teh breeder, parents and litter looked good and this one little girl just loved the boys. Two of the pups got taken by the guy before me (he already had a dog from a previous litter of theirs), two of the dogs hid and one was more focused on me. But this little one chased the boys all around the whole time and she was very alert and loving. She doesn't have a name yet, but she's been a great little gal so far. She seems to listen well, is sleeping in the crate and is going potty outside when I take her. She's a tri-color black so she'll look like Oz but black instead of blue merle.



Oz has been good with her so far, but based on past experience he's likely to get nippy with her at some point. He's a grumpy old man and doesn't handle puppies well so we'll have to make sure he doesn't get too jealous.




The pup loves the boys and cries when they aren't around. Her and Nolan run in circles and back and forth for hours and everyone gets worn out. Nolan has been great with her so far and I think he's really enjoying his new friend. Caleb likes her too, but she's a little rough for him sometimes and can knock him over.



We gave her a bath to get rid of that litter smell and she didn't seem to mind.



The puppy sometimes shares the mudroom with Oz and I'm sure she'll end up chewing on some shoes.



At the end of the night she was ready to sleep and didn't cry to long in her crate. I woke up in the middle of the night to let her out to go potty and I made Nolan go to since we're ready to move him into underwear at night, but he sometimes can't make it until the morning. It should work out well.

All the rain and sun has been bringing out the flowers. The previous owner had a bulb/rhododendron and rose fetish. The bulbs are popping up in places I had no idea they were.



Lots of daffodils, allium and tulips right now. Earlier there was crocus and I can see crocosmia, lilys and glads coming up for later. I've been moving a lot of them to new locations.




I've transplanted and given away tons of rhodis. We've been pruning them like crazy too but they're starting to bloom. The magnoial and fruit trees are too.



I used my mediocre buildingn skills and the pile of scrapwood we have from tearing down part of the barn to build a sandbox for the boys. They had a small plastic sand/water toy but they needed something to crawl around in. I needed a distraction for them while I garden. So far they seem to really be enjoying it although the sand has been getting wet. I used an old canopy I bought last summer for the top and through a tarp over the top of the sand overnight but it still got wet through the cracks in the bottom. They don't see to mind.





Nolan did actually help me build the sandbox. It was probably a bad idea but I let him screw in the screws with the drill and he did a perfect job. I just got the screw started and he was very slow and meticulous and drilled them all in. He wasn't quite as good with the hammer. Caleb picked up the hammer to help but I took it away. He definately wasn't ready to help!

The sun has been out a bit and Nolan and dad have been able to ride the bike we got for Christmas a little more. Nolan is still a little nervouse because even with the training wheels, the bike tips over.









Here's Nolan and his best buddy Cole.



We've been able to have some friends over to hang out. Here is Cole's dad Mike and brother Carson hanging out.



The boys hanging out by the race car bed.

And some more...




Caleb is really enjoying books and puzzles now. He also loves to draw. He's a very different boy from Nolan!



It took a long time for us to feed all our tickets to the ticket machine and pick out our prizes.



Caleb and Nolan both played in the hot tub (it was way too cold for the outdoor pool). The jumped in, kicked feet and blew bubbles with dad.









Both boys are very entertained by playing peek a boo and do so whenever they can find something to hide under.



The favorite game was the ball roll, although they both cheated by climing up on the ramp after seeing other kids doing it.

More photos!

The boys tried out the giant Thomas set. (We were warned by personnel to make this the last stop)
We went for icecream and coffee on the boardwalk.


Nolan tried out his toy train on the big track!


Caleb was obsessed with all the toy train displays, but very upset by the glass.




Both boys got to use the model train set buttons and Caleb could just reach.



The giant locomotives were really fun to see and we got to go inside and check out all the craftsmanship of the old days.

It's been a busy month so far and I've got a lot of updating to do. I've been working hard on my thesis and my defense date is scheduled for the 12th of April but I'm skeptical that we'll be able to do it. My advisor and I can't seem to see things eye to eye and we keep going around and around and it never gets done. It's been over a year since I first turned it in. I'm running out of energy, money and interest for the project so I'm hoping he's happy with it soon. I found out I have another semester worth of coursework as well so I might as well just wait one more semester. I'll get it ready to defend and just wait. I'm too burned out to put much more energy into it this semester.

The boys are awesome. Nolan is getting down all his letters and numbers. He's very into Dinosaurs and space. He's also on a Dora the Explorer kick. He finally got into preschool and quit clinging to my leg when I leave about two weeks ago (after three years of partime daycare, it's quite an experience to leave with him happy). Caleb continues to smile and laugh almost always. He went through a grumpy stage with some toddler tantrums but appears to be over it again. His favorite hobby is climbing on things and jumping off when I'm not looking. He has a scratch on his head, bruise on his cheek and scratch by his nose. He's very into drawing, balls, and books. He's really verbal like his brother was and not shy at all. He'll hug a stanger in the grocery store if you let him. Nolan on the other hand is still a little shy. Nolan is still very into trains and we had a great trip to Sacramento where we got to go to a train museum. The trains don't run until April so we didn't get to ride as promised but at least he got to look and play. Most of the photos here will be from that trip. We also went to Chuck e Cheese while we were there and it was more fun for me than them I think!

Well. The sun is finally out this last week. It's so refreshing to be able to play outside. We've done a lot of fun things in the yard. We also got to hang out with other moms and kids at our friends houses and go to the zoo and the park. Caleb is getting so independent now. He just takes off on his own and he's becoming very assertive. His favorite words are "top" (stop), "un-unh", and "no". He's also taken to running away when I say I'm going to change his diaper or anything else he doesn't like. He loves the bath and never wants to get out, hates bibs, loves to color and is getting really good at it, and loves going outside. He sprint-toddles for the gate to the driveway to find one large puddle that's normally there Nolan is very into the birds by our bird feeder and shrubs outside. He also likes chasing flies around with rolled up magazines when they make it into the house (not sure where he got that one).=) Nolan has some separation anxiety when I drop him off at preschool still, but he's always having a great time when I spy on him and his teachers say he's doing really well. I've gotten notes that he's great at clean-up and she uses him as a model. He's also really into space. That was the topic last week. He's counting to ten in spanish and learning some spanish words at school too. Our house plans are in to the county now so we're getting bids from contractors. Should be a crazy summer, but hopefully we'll remember to get lots of rest.

Nolan is still enjoying his trains when we're inside.

I'm enjoying the new hats they got from Grammy Diane. I can only get the kids to wear them for a short time, but they're pretty cute!

Caleb still loves his blankie! I'm going to make an album of Caleb with his blankie I think. He calls it "baypee"
Nolan has been taking great care of Caleb and gives him lots of hugs and helps him on the playground Caleb walked up and gave Nolan a hug the other day too.
These pictures were taken at the zoo.
Nolan couldn't quite get his face up to the hole, but his friend Owen was tall enough.
Unlike Nolan, Caleb really enjoys the swing. Nolan is starting to like it now so I can usually push them both if an infant seat is near a big kid swing.
Caleb is starting to pull my hair when he's in the backpack and thinks it's pretty funny. Now that he's really running around, it's the only way to carry him in busy places though.