Happy Leap Year...

To celebrate Leap Year, we went out to dinner.  Ok, not really, I just didn't want to cook.

Since the weather is so nice, we decided to go to Desert Ridge (it's an outdoor shopping place with lots of places to eat), where we could sit outside and enjoy some live music.  The boys loved it and couldn't stop dancing.  Music is in their blood.  

This is how James smiles for the camera now.

This is Matthew imitating James.  

James was either done with pictures or having his brother in his face.  I'll let you decide.  

Matthew couldn't be happier, though.

Just because they're so cute...

I love his blue eyes in this photo.  What a cutie.  

And check out those chompers.  He ate 2 whole chicken nuggets today.  

Didn't choke once.  I'm so proud.

This rarely happens, so when it does I have to take a picture.  

James had a ball in the mall's play area.

I couldn't get James to look at me, but Matthew is always

camera-ready. 

Swingin' Good Time...

James wasn't so sure of the swings.

But he loved the sand.

Matthew wanted to try out the "baby" swings.

At least someone had a good time on them.

Kite Runner

For about a month now, whenever we pass the kites at Costco, Matthew asks for one. Well, today we decided to go for it. I loved flying kites when I was little. And the lack of wind was not going to deter us.

If James wasn't eating the grass, he was sucking his thumb. I love that thumb, it's attached to a pretty cute little guy.

Matthew's kite. It was love at first sight. We even had actual Blue Angels fly overhead while we were at the park. Matthew got a kick out of that.

Who needs wind when you've got speed?

The end of a very successful day.

Babe in Toyland

Matthew got a few new toys this week and he wanted me to post them on the blog.

My mom and dad sent him a RoboSapien, which he loves more than anything. Well, besides computer games. He named him Robo. We spend a good part of the day looking through the RoboSapien pamphlet deciding which robot we'll get next. Robo, apparently, needs a friend.

With his own money, Matthew purchased a Ninja Turtle action figure. He loved it, up until Robo arrived in the mail. Now it's okay for James to play with it. It came with a really cool "kite."

Do you have what it takes?

I'm pretty sure I do. Anyhoo, I like Claire. I think her hair is fun and doesn't everyone drink their own breast milk? No? Hmmm... I like that "Environmental Warrior." Go Big Green! My favorite moment of the night was Tyra jumping out as homecoming queen. That was the most shocking moment of the night. Okay, so maybe it wasn't the most shocking, but it was definitely awkward. Remember her diva moment from a few cycles back? Shudder.

So who was your favorite model?

Look at my new trick...

This morning Matthew was complaining about something hurting inside of his nose. He has a runny nose, so I didn't think anything of it. Well, after complaining a few more times, he came out of my bathroom with my tweezers. Uh-oh, we've had to use those before. To extract a silver ball from his nose. So I asked him if he put something in his nose, and sure enough, he did. So I took the tweezers and turned his head so I could see up into the nostril. Nothing. "Matthew, have you already tried to get the thing out of your nose?" "Yes, but it was really hard. It kept going up higher and higher." I had no idea what he put up there. I tried pushing down from the top of his nose, couldn't feel anything. A few minutes later, he started making his infamous throat clearing noise (for those of you that haven't had the privilege of hearing this noise, it sounds like he is hawking up a lugey. he does it all the time, especially while the Sacrament is being passed. fabulous). "Mom, I put this in my nose and it came out of my mouth," he proudly said as he holds out his finger to me. I'm still not sure what it is. He tried to do it again.

Happy Valentime's Day

I love how most kids say ValentiMe's instead of Valentine's.  That's how Matthew says it, and it's just so cute.

I saw on another blog about a year ago that a mom had her kids hold signs that spelled out "I Love You."  I thought it was such a fun idea, but mine didn't turn out near as good as hers.  But you get the idea.

Since you've been gone...

Tim,

Since you're gone, busy putting every other construction school to shame, we thought we'd keep you up to date with the goings-on at the Blood house.

James got a new bib.  I know he just got new bibs, but look at it!  It is too cute.  How could I resist?  And besides, James loves it.

Matthew has decided to become an artist.  He spends his days painting and sculpting (play-doh).  He loves the colors.  I know because he tells me over and over and over and over and over and.......

And he loves to mix the colors.  Gulp, I had to use quite a bit of restraint.

James keeps busy under the desk, while I keep busy above the desk working, 

aka checking blogs and the latest on Britney news.  Can we adopt her?  I think she may be house-broken.

We love you so much and miss you, too.  Work hard and good luck!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Tim and I celebrated Valentine's Day a little early this year.  We decided to have a Converse/Apple themed Valentine's Day.  I LOVE my new computer!  And I think Tim loves his very own iPod (we've been sharing mine for a couple of years).  And look at those cute shoes.

We hope that all of you get to spend tomorrow with the ones you love!  

Happy Valentine's Day!

Splish Splash

James loves bath time...

...except when he bites it...

Are you ready for some football?

I think these guys are!

James kept his hood up like this until I took it off.

He probably would have kept it up all day. If you're not interested in the game, Grandma and Grandpa have lots of fun toys to play with. Matthew preferred perfecting his yo-yo skills instead. I love that he has to stand on a stool!
The boys were having a great time, until...
Matthew decided he was done sharing.

That always involves knocking James over or pushing him out of the way.
My dad is a big sports guy, and I feel like a traitor if I don't watch the big games. I usually enjoy them anyway. So, of course, we couldn't miss the Super Bowl. I'm such a nerd though, because most years I always try to find out which team my dad is going for. That way I root for the same team. I don't keep up with football much. Sure, I can tell you a bunch of the big quarterbacks right now, but that's as far is it gets. But this year, I actually picked the team myself. I know, I know, I'm such a big girl. And I don't mind having a football game on when it's Sunday. It reminds me of my dad.

With that being said, Hooray for the Giants! The team I usually want to win not only loses, they die a terrible death. Not this time. So that was pretty exciting.

ROY G BIV

The other day I was craving a Jell-O salad my mom used to make. So I decided to make it for our Super Bowl par... er, Sunday dinner. It was a big hit. So I thought I'd share the recipe with you. The picture doesn't really do it any justice. It was beautiful.

Ingredients:

7 cups boiling water

7 packages of Jell-O that are the colors of the rainbow

(If you cannot find blue, buy a red and mix it with a ton of blue food coloring)

2 1/3 cups sour cream

2 1/3 cups water

Directions:

Mix one packet of Jell-O (starting with purple) with 1 cup boiling water until the powder dissolves. Split this in half. In one half, add 1/3 cup water. In other half, add 1/3 cup sour cream. Use a whisk and whip until smooth. Pour one half, whichever one you want to start with, into a 9" x 13" glass pan. Refrigerate until it sets (do not refrigerate other mixture, leave out on counter), about 20 minutes. After it sets, pour second mixture onto the first layer. Repeat these steps until you have all 14 layers in order of the rainbow. Yummy!