Dentist Chair

I took Carter on Monday for his first ever dentist appointment! He did great! So proud of him for being brave.
I also had to take Caden. This was not his first time in a dentist chair, but his first time at this dentist. He went right on back there without me, and stayed without me the whole time! Impressive for him, so I had to document it!

Welcoming Daddy Home

After a long week at home we were ready for Daddy! I needed a time filler Friday evening so I decided to let the kids make signs for Daddy to welcome him home at the airport. They loved the idea, and it filled some time perfectly!

Wish I had a pic of Caden's, he got really creative with his artwork!

Cole had a little too much fun! He kept begging me to trace his hands! Carter needed a little help with the words, but had fun anyway!

I took the herd on the road to the airport! I looked ridiculous I am sure, but we were ALL ready to see him! Thankfully there were others there waiting for the team so we got some pictures :) Thanks Molly!

Not sure Daddy was really impressed with the signs, but it was fun anyway!

We were so glad to have him home!!!

Spring Break - Leonardo's in Enid

By the end of Spring Break, I was ready for Cory to come home but not really wanting to hang out at home with the herd. So we loaded up, with our trusty babysitter, Becca and headed to Enid! I had yet to take the crew the Leonardo's and had heard so much great stuff about it. So off we went! It was a rainy dreary day there so we didn't get to play outside, but they had tons of fun inside. I didn't take my big camera so my phone had to do...

Here is Cole spinning

Carter loved the dinosaur area

The carpentry workshop was a great big hit! Don't worry, we didn't take Cole in there...Becca kept him occupied outside, so no nails/screws were swallowed :)

Caden hammering away

Carter trying to nail his pieces together

Caden getting his piece in the vice to saw away

Carter's turn

Crosby once again did well just chilling in the stroller!

Cole was a little harder to capture on camera...he was EVERYWHERE!

I finally caught him painting, that was about the stillest he was all day, but even that didn't take him long!

I was also able to run into a couple of stores quickly to make a few purchases in the big town, we ate pizza and got ice cream. We headed home just in time for a mini hail storm, but made it just fine! A BIG THANKS to Becca because there is no way I would have gone on these two outings without her!

Spring Break Trip to Zoo

We made the annual trek to the OKC Zoo on Spring Break. I had my wonderful, amazing, trusty side kick Becca with me of course! I would not dare an outing like this with all the kids alone :) It was crowded, but it didn't seem too bad. Later we found out that it was a record setting day in attendance...over 18,000 people showed up that day! But we just trekked on! By the time we parked, walked to the entrance, paid, etc...it was pretty much time for lunch. So we headed in and had a quick picnic lunch that I had packed. Then we headed off to see the animals.

First stop was my favorite...the gorillas! This momma gorilla was looking about how I feel sometimes :)

There was also another momma gorilla that had just had a baby...they were precious! The kids were fascinated watching her walk around with the baby! The elephants were finally back from breeding and had a new fancy exhibit area to boot! There was apparently a show as well, but it was too crowded and Cole was on the verge of a melt down so we didn't stay.

As we worked our way back around, we stopped for a pit stop by the gorilla house again and the kids enjoyed climbing on the statues.

Cole and Carter playing on the little gorilla statue.

Then we headed towards the cats. I tried to make sure the kids knew that we might not see much because the cats usually aren't out in the heat of the day. It was well past noon at this point and much to my surprise and kids' delight...they were ALL out!

This leopard was a HUGE hit with Cole. He is obsessed with Pumas, from watching too much Diego, so he thought this was like a puma. He kept roaring loudly at this poor leopard and talking to him. Pretty funny stuff!

The boys checking out the African Serval. The lion and lioness resting on their hill.One of Crosby's naps...he did so good!

While Crosby was napping we finished up looking at the cats, checked out the Rhinos, then headed to the train ride and park. Becca took the kids to the park/playground area while I waited for the train and let Crosby finish napping. He woke up just in time to board. This little train ride is perfect, takes about 20 minutes maybe. Gives the kids a great break but also lets them ride inside a few exhibits. We see several types of deer, warthogs, giraffes, and other smaller animals. It is a great break in the middle of the day!

Caden and Carter ready to take off.

See, I was there :) Momma, Crosby, and Cole riding the train.

After the train we headed towards the new Children's Zoo area. It had also just recently opened and we had heard great things about it.

The children's area was GREAT. They had this stream with rocks and pebbles they could walk in and play with...BIG hit with Cole and the others!

While in the Children's Zoo area, we got popsicles and watched the Spider Monkeys. Can you tell they were orange?!?!?!

Carter says YUMMO! He was all smiles today!

Cole didn't the best day, so this is all the cuteness we got!

Here is the monkey we watched while we ate. They were swinging all over the place, pretty impressive!

My angel Becca with Crosby! Could not have made this trip without her help! We love you Becca!!! Crosby did really well and seemed to enjoy it when he was awake!

While treking to the exit, we saw a lady with a snake. To make surprise (read horror) they all ran up to her and TOUCHED that snake! GROSS!!! They loved it!

A great trip for the most part! Cole was so exhausted that he was asleep in the stroller before we even got to the parking lot. The rest of the crashed quickly after driving off. They slept most of the way home, so I only had to stop once for a dinner break and potty break. We made it home all in one piece and had a blast!

Another First Tooth

Now the irony is complete...

See that little white speck above his lip?

It's there, I feel it!

Carter the Entertainer

Carter loves to entertain his brothers...see here So today just made me smile. He learned a few nursery rhymes last week before Spring Break and was so eager to share them with Crosby. In these pics he is reciting "I'm a Little Teapot"

Not sure if Crosby was really that interested in Carter or his toys:)

Paging Dr. Cole

Is this the cutest doctor you have ever seen?
This boy has a serious obsession with playing doctor, and no it didn't start after the screw incident :) On this particular day, everyone was at school so I had to be the patient! At one point he checked my mouth and found a puma in there! He is also on a Diego kick and there are pumas everywhere in this house!

Cole is one onery boy but when he plays like this he is so stinking cute it is hard to resist!

First Tooth

Did you think this post was about Crosby?

The irony around here is that one boy lost/is losing his bottom teeth and another boy is gaining them:)

Crosby's new teeth haven't quite broken through, but my 1st baby boy, Caden, lost his first tooth tonight!!! It has been loose for a couple of weeks, but he really hasn't let us mess with it. He has been frustrated because other kids his age are losing teeth and our girl , L has lost 3 since living with us! So he has been a little bummed.

Tonight at bath time he let me work on it a little but it just wouldn't come out, so he begged to go next door to see Pa.

*Sidenote - our neighbors, Greg and Becky, have daughters who are my friends and have grandkids that are our boys' best buddies, so my kids just call them Mimi and Pa and it is like a set of grandparents live next door, AMAZING!!! Anway, Pa is one heck of a tooth puller, it is legendary! Caden told me he was the best, and his daughter, my friend Mandy, was 2nd best. I guess that means Cory and I are chopped liver :)

So back to bath time...Caden asked if he could have Pa pull it, and since Cory was out of town, I agreed. He came back in no time with this
He was so excited and Mimi said he was so brave! Caden even told me this was the best night ever...melt my heart! He is so proud! I am a little sentimental though, can't believe my baby lost his first tooth :) Caden and Carter keep talking about how Cory will react when he returns from Africa...so cute! Caden also keeps asking me if he looks different, so if you see him around town and don't recognize him, let him know!