Nate's New Ride

Well, it's finally over. We closed on the house Friday and the nightmare that is real estate is behind us. Then about 24 hours later, we dove into another far worse nightmare... car dealerships. Yes, we had money for a whole day before blowing the lot of it on a new (used) minivan.

We've really needed one for a while now, but didn't want to buy one while carrying 2 mortgages. When Drew graduated to the big car seat a month ago and pushed his mother's legs into the dashboard of the car, it became apparent that we couldn't wait much longer. So God provided us a buyer for the house and Dodge provided us a minivan. Can you guess which Dodge in this picture has 20,000 miles and which one has 220,000 miles?

When we got home with it, we were pleased to find that it met Nate's approval.

It fits 2 Dudley tots and a Nana with room to spare.

Nate and his neck weasel like the improved view over what they had in the car.

It still has a little over a year's worth of warranty left, and only has a few minor blemishes. We like it an hopefully it will be a good move for us.

Changing gears (no pun intended), what does a normal 2 year old do when he finds his mom's "bustenhalter". Not having a normal 2 year old to test this on, I'm left only with what my 2 year old would do... put it on his head of course!

Drew is mobile and starting to pull himself up on things. No laundry is safe now.

I don't even know what this one is all about...

And finally, no post is complete without a shot of Drew's bare hiney...

We're so proud.... but not as much as him apparently.

Well, it's been another month between postings again. You'd think I'd learn to do it more often so it wouldn't take me so long to do it every time. Anyway, spring has finally arrived and brought more wildlife to our backyard. Liv saw our little fox again and got a couple shots of him.

Just the other day, the groundhog was back again. He's tough to see in these pics, but he's down there at the corner of the shed.

I swear there must be a woodland creature disco or something in that shed with as much activity as there is around it. I also spotted a big fat skunk too, but luckily he stayed back by the timber. Then, just the other day I got this good shot of a whole family of wasps!

I'm horrible, I know. Other than all the wildlife sightings, the boys are keeping the camera busy with their cuteness and antics.

I don't know what they were watching on the tube, but it must have been good.

Liv started dragging the summer clothes out of storage so of course we had to start trying some new things on Drew.

Nate and Nana took advantage of the last few bits of snow for causing mischief.

I love this one. We had a couple old garters from various weddings lying around. Don't ask why, because I don't know. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to doll the boys up a little. I love the looks of horror on their faces...

Drew chomping on his first carrot...

Who needs teeth?

I think this is Liv's favorite... "shar pei butt"

More new clothes...

Drew discovered that he can get food quicker if he just grabs the spoon out of mom's hands while it's on the way to his mouth.

He's finally starting to get up on all fours.

His crawling is still mostly the army crawl, but he's picking up speed and should be pulling things down on his head in no time.

And finally, Liv was sharpening her photography skills and posed Drew for some glamour shots. There were plenty of good ones, but none can hold a candle to this...

Happy Feet and Baby Hef

The boys both got some new stuff this week. Drew got a chair for bath time. He really likes it because it makes it so much harder for his big brother to drown him.

Nathan got a new pillow case. He actually got it from Aunt Shauna for his birthday. But he didn't get a pillow until last week, so this was his first chance to use it. Between the tractors on his pillow and Thomas on his comforter, it's a wonder he ever gets to sleep.

Drew has taken responsibility for feeding himself now.

He should be able to look for a part time job within a few weeks.

Great Grandma Dudley stopped by to see the boys last weekend. Nathan was quite excited to see her which surprised me a little. He's usually more shy, but he and Drew were both very happy to see Grandma.

Drew's getting better about sitting up on his own too.

We had the Olympic opening ceremony on the other night. Nathan took the opportunity to practice his dance moves with the performers...


Last weekend, the wind stopped and the sun came out long enough for Nate and Olivia to go play in the snow for a while. So, we put on Nathan's "fat pants"...

...slid on his cool shades...

... and headed out the door.

He also, uh, made a new friend while out there...

Liv also broke out a new article in Drew's wardrobe this week. Meet "baby Hef"...

It's no surprise he's such a hit with the ladies.

Sir Spitsalot

Here's some more pics of the boys. Drew was being a little exhibitionist at bath time the other night. Look at the tree trunks this kid has for legs.

He's finally getting to where he can prop himself up for a short spell. His balance still needs some work, but he's getting there.

Liv had some coupons for free pics at Sears, so Nate got a couple more 2 year pics.

Nate is in the early stages of potty training. He's usually far too busy to have time to stop and potty. So, Liv is going to start using big boy pants and letting him get a little damp and uncomfortable. Drew, on the other hand, is far more advanced and can't wait to start potty training. He even went so far as to steal some of his big brother's Elmo tightey whiteys.

And finally, this is Drew's latest little quirk. This is what he does when he's supposed to be sleeping...