I ♥ Faces: Hands on Fun

The I ♥ Faces theme this week is "hands on fun". This picture was taken of Griffin; but, easily could have been taken of Noah or Miles back in the day. In our house, little hands + little trains = much fun.



Come join in the fun/check out all of the amazing "hands on fun" photos at I ♥ Faces.

Funny Valentine

We had a laid back Valentine's Day this year. Griffin woke up feeling really sick, so he and I stayed in our pjs all day. The upside to hanging out at home was that Griffin finally went "#2" in the potty (I know, too much info for those of you without kids; those with kids - yes, I did a major potty dance). He's now been 2 days without an accident - including at night. Wowza. Major. Potty. Dance.

During the afternoon, Mike took Miles and Noah to the indoor pool at the Y. Mike said it was p-a-c-k-e-d and fun. And, to top it off, Noah passed a big swim test and earned a yellow swim necklace (had to float on his stomach, float on his back, and swim 15 feet without assistance) which allows him to swim in certain pools without a parent being in the water and allows him to use certain slides (he used them immediately!). We're so proud of him!

For history's sake, Miles earned his green necklace last summer, which required him to jump into water that was over his head, swim 25 yards, and tread water for one minute. He's allowed to be in any Y pool without a parent in the water and can use all of the water slides (which he LOVES). Between my older guys with necklaces and my little guy without diapers (some Y pools are diaper-free), I am insanely excited for summer!

Snowy Saturday

Several inches of snow fell in Charlotte last night. I went out early this morning to take some pictures. It was so quiet. I felt like the I was the only person in the world outside -- while at the same time envisioning everyone else in the world doing the same thing as me. It was too beautiful not to be snapping!

The boys spent all day playing with our neighbors Evan & Sydney. It wasn't the best sledding snow -- but with Mike's help the kids made an awesome snowman. Best part? Its pretty much all melted and the streets are clear. Fun...without the mess!

Dana's Weekend

What FUN it was to celebrate Dana B over Martin Luther King weekend! A long weekend in Blowing Rock -- tubing, playing games, showering Dana with girlie gifts, dancing up a storm, and just hanging out. One of those weekends when you laugh hysterically with brand new friends and those you've known for ions. Love those.

(and isn't Dana the all-time-cutest bachelorette?! here are a few more pics on Lindsey's blog.)

Mountains

We spent a fun family weekend in the mountains a few weeks ago with our friends the Williams and the Hulls. We tubed the first night under the lights at HawksNest. What FUN! Everyone had a blast. With rain for the next two days, we spent the rest of the weekend watching movies, playing games, and just hanging out. It was awesome. 

There was a little snow while we were there -- but not much. It was amazing how many tree branches were broken/had snapped from the ice storm a few days before we arrived.  

The seven kids had such a great time together.  They are such buds.  They had a zillion-and-one sword/light saber fights and were in heaven all sleeping in ONE room (except Griff...next year).  Had to include a photo of the guys, crowded around the computer, playing some music quiz/game.  If you look closely, Mike is using his middle finger to point - something we always tease Noah about doing incessantly.  Mike, maybe he gets it from you afterall?  :)

After pouring for days, a huge chunk of the driveway eroded away. It took serious effort to get across the driveway, including driving over an old Christmas tree. An adventure till the very end. :) You can see a few more pictures on the Williams' blog.

Valentines Fun

We're doing everything Valentines this week.  Last night the boys took a Valentine's bath (thank you, red food coloring). They loved it - thought it was super silly.  I ended up thinking that it was vampire-ish (and will much prefer a green bath for St Patty's Day).  :)

Today we started making the kids' friends' Valentines. I had suggested that we run to the store to buy some fun character cards and Miles and Noah looked at me like I was crazy. Miles said, "Mom, we should MAKE them!" So making them we are. Turned out to be really fun. Griffin loved the glue stick and went wild with a monkey stamp. Noah loved picking out different colored papers and fell in love with an owl stamp.  Miles loved it all and took him time adding tons of special touches with markers.  Each one was clearly made 100% by kid hands. :)

The Brown's "Snow" Storm

(I'm semi-obsessed with collages this weekend. Sorry to our email blog readers -- I hear that they don't come across as well. :)

While our family in VA was getting blasted with snow, we decided to make our own "snowy" fun. I handed each of the boys their own can of shaving cream. We started at the kitchen table. The boys all decided to make creamy "cakes". They got the hang of the spraying pretty quickly, , so I asked if anyone wanted to "get crazy" with the shaving cream in the bathroom.

To say that they went CRAZY is an understatement. The upstairs -- and their hair -- still smells like shaving cream (Mike said he remembers the same smell in his dad's bathroom as a kid -- love that). Totally worth it. Griffin didn't love being covered in it, so he spent most of the time in the bathtub -- but Miles and Noah had a blast. In between giggles, they kept yelling out, "Mommy, this is SO FUN!" I loved it. Every. Single. Minute.

(PS Anyone remember years ago when Miles couldn't stand to have even one finger dirty? Check out that last picture in the corner. LOVE it.)

More Wedding Prep

We all love the tuxes, but the boys tried on their suits -- just to be sure. We went outside for pictures (Miles lasted about 90 seconds in the freezing temps) and Griffin and Noah hammed it up. They looked cute, though I still have a soft spot for their sweet bow ties. :)

Later in the afternoon, Miles hopped on the treadmill and kept challenging himself until he reached 2 and 1/2 miles. Wowza! Afterward he was on an endorphin high and he kept going with a sit-up (turned out to be very hard for him) and push-ups. Maybe he'll be our cross-country runner someday? Will be fun to find out.

Painting

It was a cold, rainy day in Charlotte today. Griffin usually has gymnastics on Fridays, but Noah's school was closed today (for parent-teacher conferences...more on that in a later post) -- so we skipped gymnastics and decided to spend the morning painting. The boys painted for about 90 minutes and then spent about the same about of time "cleaning" their painting supplies in buckets in the sink. They had a blast. I really need to break out the paints more often.

Two Penguins and a Waiter

The boys are so excited about Aunt Dana and Uncle Brad's upcoming wedding. When I told them that they'd get to wear fun duds (trying to talk it up because all they want to wear these days is sweatpants) Miles immediately said, "can we wear bow ties?!" :) I bought a few different outfits (none came with jackets, so I'm still on the hunt) and they LOVED the semi-tuxedos.

Noah immediately considered himself a waiter.


Griff was a little teary because Noah tried to kiss him. Apparently, he was only in the mood for Miles to kiss him today. Poor Noah.


Look at these two. Don't they look like they could take on the world together? Certainly they can feel brave enough to walk down one aisle, right? They warmed up to the idea tonight. I'm getting hopeful. :)

Sunday Snow Day

A rare opportunity in the South -- 2 days in a row with snow/ice to play in! We took advantage and had much fun. This little video is about 4 minutes -- sorry its to long -- but if I wait to post it until I've edited it down, it will never make its way to the blog.

My favorite part is at about 2:20. Clearly I should have been spotting Miles better, though he didn't seem to be phased by his "wipe-out". We wrapped up with fun with cookies - YUM - before we made our way to Imaginon to see the Grey Seal Puppets perform the Emperor's New Clothes. Another perfect day.

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