Halloween 2010

Tonight we took Jake and Josh trick-or-treating as Handy Manny and as a giraffe, respectively. Auntie G, Titi Eva, Eva's two younger brothers, Oma, and Pa were on hand for the fun! The boys were REALLY into it this year. Both of them ran up to every door step in anticipation of adding more and more candy to their pumpkin bags. Josh perfected his "trick-or-treat, thank you, bye bye" routine at each house. Jake loved going from house to house with Matthew and Lucas, the "big kids" (Eva's brothers). Enjoy slideshow below!

Through the Years: Cox Farms

Three years of Cox Farms with Jake & Josh!

2008: Jake is 14 months old and Josh is in my belly!

2009: Jake is 26 months and Josh is 5 months old.

2010: Jake is 38 months (3 yrs) and Josh is 17 months, almost 18.

And just for fun.... a little comparison around the same age.

(Top) Jake at 14, almost 15 months old.

(Bottom) Josh at 17, almost 18 months old.

Silly to see how similar, yet still how different they look!

Fall is in the air....

Jake and Josh took their first trip to a winery this weekend.... without mommy and daddy (we were working, boo!) It was a crisp, cool, but sunny day and they had the time of their lives with Oma, Pa, Auntie G, Aunt Allison, Titi Eva, Mr. Brent, and lots of other friends. A couple of my fav pictures below.

For those of you who aren't in on the joke, Jake has a funny way of holding up three fingers to show us that he is three. Makes us laugh every time!

To Infinity and Beyond!

Amazing but true, Jake does like something other than tools.... He loves Toy Story, and more specifically, Woody and Buzz Lightyear. I am not sure which one is his favorite out of the two though. I am pretty sure he likes them equally, maybe a little more partial to Buzz. So he was wearing his Buzz PJ's this morning and starting jumping from one side of the couch to the other with his arms out yelling, "to infinity and beyond!" Super cute, had to catch a video of it on my blackberry (hence the not so great video quality). Love that little man!

299

This is my 299th post. Whoah. I have spent a lot of time blogging since July 2008. Maybe not as much as I used to but hey, two kids, a full-time job, and weight loss program (refer to mention of two kids) take up A LOT OF TIME. It's okay though, we're still having fun.

Here is a bulleted list (I organize my life in a bulleted fashion) of our current "favorite" activities (really, they aren't all fun, but at least they are funny.... most of the time):

• Jake is the most opinionated little boy I know when it comes to the clothes he wears. This is applicable for: outfit to wear to school, underwear, socks, shoes, and pajamas. You never really know what to expect when it comes time to dress the little man. Every once in a while he will surprise you and not really care about what you're dressing him in. Most of the time it becomes an all out battle with screaming, tears, and tantrums (and that's just describing how mommy and daddy react!). Great example: this morning. First off, he insisted on wearing the same Handy Manny underwear that he wore to school yesterday AND to bed last night. Okay, whatever. It still looks clean so fine by me. BUT it has to be on backwards. Why, you ask? Because Handy Manny has to be on the FRONT, not the back as designed. Again, okay, whatever. (Paul, please tell his teacher that we aren't the WORST parents on the face of the earth.) But the icing on the cake was going through FIVE different shirts before finally picking.... which one you ask??? The HANDY MANNY t-shirt. Oh well, at least he wore a jacket to school. I do appreciate and enjoy the fact that he is opinionated and somewhat stubborn. He stands up for what he believes in and doesn't back down. That's not such a bad quality to take through life!
  
• My dear sweet baby, Josh. What the little character he is. He's a stinker. I can see it in his eyes and in his smile. He is diabolical. But oh so sweet and lovable. At 17 months old, he is talking A LOT. I am super impressed with his expressive language skills. Of course that also means that he shrieks "mama, mama, maaaaammmaaaaa" at the top of his lungs when he wants me to pick him up or give him something (usually a banana). Oh, the other kicker? "NO!!" Oh, he has that one down pat for sure. "Josh, come here and put your shoes on, please." Running in the other direction, "NO!". Well okay then. But he has learned his manners. He is very good about "please" and "thank you". He thinks that most dogs are named "BoBo" which is super adorable. (Jake and Josh both call Mosley, "BoBo".) He completely skipped the sippy cup and went from bottle to straight open cup. It must be a competition thing. He had to keep up with what his big bro was doing. Of course that translates to many "wet events" that entail water all over (1) his plate, (2) his pants, and (3) the floor. But he's gotten pretty good and getting most of the "wawa" in his mouth. Really he can do no wrong because he sleeps like a champ from 7:30pm to 7:30am every day, NO exceptions!
  
• Paul is back at VW and doing real estate on the side. There were a number of factors contributing to this decision: (1) money (self-explanatory), (2) he missed hanging out with the guys at the dealership and talking about guy things, and (3) he was bored at home by himself. An extra perk? He just brought me home a brand new shiny VW water bottle. Of course that also means that now he wants to buy the new VW Touareg. I had to remind him why we got rid of the one we used to have. It isn't BIG enough! I love the Honda Pilot. Nice and roomy. He can keep driving the BMW. (Not that you will hear any complaints from him about that. I do believe he likes the BMW more than the Passat!) Downside? He isn't home AS much but he is still off on Sundays which at least makes it seem like we spend the weekend together.
  
• I have two kids, work full-time, and am going to the gym as much as possible. Yep, that about sums it up for me! No really, I find myself very happy and content staying busy and feeling productive. I feel fulfilled (especially when I sneak in the occasional massage or facial). And to think I want a THIRD one! Well, really because I am desperate to see what a little girl produced by Paul and I would look like. I need some pink in my life. No, no, not seriously going down that path right now. I still have some convincing to do. I have been committed to the gym and dieting (read: eating healthy) lately. I started working with a personal trainer at the beginning of August and two months later, am down *almost* 15 pounds. It's nice to have my pants feel loose for a change. I still have a ways to go and some work to do, but for someone who never saw herself as a "gym member", I really do enjoy going there as often as I can. I love food so the modified diet is tough but I am working on it. Probably the most exciting recent development is that I will be working from home a lot more often starting in November/December. Right now I am working from home one day a week but beginning later this fall, I will be working at home anywhere from 2-4 days a week. WOW. Talk about dramatic improvement to quality of life. I might not know what to do with my free time!

I'll be back soon with some pics/videos to round off the 300th post!