And the handmade object goes to...

Ms. Brittany B. Congrats Brit! I'll send you a facebook message to arrange delivery of whatever your winning item is. That is still to be determined :) Stay tuned for a new contest in another month. In other news, I am way behind on posts because I can't find my cord to plug my camera into the computer. Imagine that, I lost something--who could have guessed? Tomorrow is clean until you think you will die day, so it may turn up then. I will have lots to post whenever it makes it's appearance again. Happy V-day everyone!!

31/365

Having a brother is pretty cool. I admit, willingly, that I have spent a fair amount of time over the last five years fantasizing about the possibility of having a daughter at some point. However, there is nothing I like more than seeing my boys be brothers. They fight, they wrestle, they torture each other. They laugh, they chase, they play together. In many ways, Rex is like the older brother because of Jonah's limitations, but in most cases, Jonah is the boss. Rex loves to imitate him. I love this picture because it is pure brothers. Sitting on the couch (you can't deny that it is an AWESOME couch) eating Cheeze-its, enjoying life but also in the perfect position to start kicking one another (which they began just after this picture was snapped.)

It's a contest

To spice things up a bit, for you and me, I'm having a blog contest. The winner of the contest will receive something made by me. This something could be delicious, it could be snuggly, (it will not be both) it could be lavish or humble. Whatever it is, if you win, it is yours. To enter the contest, simply leave a comment on any post. If you have already left a comment, you need not take further action, although comments are always welcomed. The winner of the contest will be chosen randomly on Arizona's 98th birthday. (google it if you don't know when that is) The winner will be announced that day, and the prize will be awarded sometime in the next several weeks. Happy commenting!!

30/365

Today after church Rex wheeled Sammy in his walker over into the corner and pulled up his rocking chair. He collected half a dozen books and sat down. As I walked by, I could hear him saying, "Sammy listen to the lesson. You can't play with toys until you're done with the lesson." I asked him what he was doing and he said, "I'm teaching Sammy his lesson from church." It was such a sweet little minute in a busy day. I was glad to catch him being so sweet to his brother.

29/365

Jonah has never been all that into books, but once in a while he sits and reads. His favorite books are from the Brown Bear, Brown Bear series. Rex thinks all books are his territory, so he is making his presence known here. I love to watch him read books; he is so intent.

28/365

We went to the park today. The best thing about Phoenix is the winter weather. Here's the cutest of each of them (I know, its only supposed to be one picture a day, but they are all so darn cute!)

27/365

I love to hear Rexie laugh. When he gets going, it is the most infectious laugh you'll ever hear. He has this little raspy voice, he always has, and with it comes a throaty little laugh I can't resist hearing. Right now, the funniest thing to him is this iguana puppet Grandma got him for Christmas. I made up this game one time where the iguana ate pacifiers. Turns out, it was the most hilarious thing Rex had ever experienced. Now, he brings me the iguana, gathers up pacifiers and says, "Mom, I think the iguana wants to eat. He's hungry," and the laughter begins. You can see in this picture Rex ready for the iguana attack with Sammy watching in anticipation.

26/365

Boys love to play. There are certain elements of being a mom that I discover newly with Rex, even though he is our second kid. Jonah is so into his own world that he doesn't often need me to play with him. Rex NEEDS me to play with him, for really long periods of time. Today, we played cars. It was really fun to see his little brain work out plans for where our cars would go and what we would see. In this picture, we crashed, and you can see disaster, in the form of a chubby baby brother hand, sneaking into the frame.

25/365

Rex has CRAZY hair. When he was born, he had three perfect spirals, one on each side of the front of his head, and one on top of his head. They have since turned into viscious cowlicks, and his hair has to be kept at a pretty specific length if we want him to look like a well cared for kid. I hate paying for haircuts, so I thought, "Hey, I can do this, haircuts are easy." Anyone who knows me well knows that I tried this once before. I went to an Enrichment on cutting hair once and got overconfident on Layne's hair. The stylist that fixed it the next day said, "You should never let your wife do this again." and he hasn't. Rex hadn't had the same warning. Grandma had bought a special tool that promised to make it fool proof. This is the result. It is not good. We will visit Great Clips to get it fixed, my haircutting days are through, until I get my hands on one of those "Suck-cuts" from Wayne's World. Those have to be awesome, right?

24/365

My other boys didn't do this, but seriously, I. Love. It. Sammy blows raspberries. He laughs at himself and makes more. This is another little blessing of this project; I catch all these cute everyday behaviors. And he is adorable!