Preschool!

Well, our big boy has started school.....preschool, that is. He was SOOOOOO excited on his first day. Didn't even notice when Andrew and I left. He's so independent! :) When we picked him up he was still so excited from the time at school, and cried/whined when we put him in the car to go home.

He went for his second day this morning.....loved it. His teacher says he is doing great. We're so happy for him that he loves it so much and that he is getting this opportunity. He doesn't share much about what he did in class (typical kid, right?), but today when I asked him what he did in school, he said "I learned." That about covers it, I guess.

On a separate note, here's a little video of our guys. They are so cute...we just love them!

My little boys are growing up.......

It's only the beginning, isn't it? First off, I can't believe Evan is almost 5 months old! Time truly has flown. To a large extent I feel like he has always been a part of our family, and yet I can't believe how quickly time has passed since he was born.

Second, Benjamin is starting preschool next week!!! My goodness, preschool. He is so excited, and we are so excited for him! We went to meet the teacher and check out the school last week and he was invited to join in with the class. Although he is sometimes shy in situations like this, he jumped right in there and had a great time. It's going to be great for him.He has got such an extensive vocabulary it is amazing. He loves to sing & read, "fix" things with all his tools, and on many occasions, drive his parents crazy. He is such a good boy--we really lucked out! I will be happy, though, when we can put him in a sport that provides a healthy avenue for his endless energy!

Hmmm, what else is new? Andrew's 29th birthday is this week, so we are hoping the cold weather will hold off just long enough for us to take our first (and Evan's FIRST ever) and last camping trip of the season. Can't wait for next year when Evan will be older and we can go more.

Things are looking promising with the house-flipping venture. I'll post more about that another time...don't want to jinx anything :)

I guess that's it from Colorado. I hope to write more soon.....but don't hold your breath! :)

Don't forget to check out my new blog, if you haven't already--- SavingForTheBoys

Best Buds

Sorry for the delay in posting....I started back at Starbucks this week and have been pretty sick.  What can I say.....my boys are great.  They are so cute together--I know as soon as Evan can play they are going to be best of friends.  Evan watches EVERYTHING that Ben does and you can just tell by his face how much he loves Ben. 

Ben, on the other hand, has finally gotten to the point where he wants to be involved with Evan.  He never didn't like him, but for the first two months he was pretty indifferent to his presence.  Now he loves to hold him, hold his hand, feed him a bottle, etc.  It is precious.  

It's been just the boys and me for the better part of 4 weeks now.  We bought a house to fix-n-flip in Pueblo (2 hours south of our house) in July and Andrew's been going down for 3-4 nights in a row to work on it.  Now that I'm back to work, we're trading off days....it's hectic.  

We are looking in to preschools for Ben.  It's about that time.....  I'll keep you updated.  While most days it can be a handful to watch my ultra-energetic 3-year old, I know I will miss having him in the house once he's in school.  Summer is wrapping up quickly, but he's had a good time staying with his grandparents a lot this summer....he just loves those sleepovers!!

Evan is currently a bit of a mama's boy, but he is such a sweet angel.  He is so content and loves to smile and laugh.  He has also rolled from back to front a few times.  He's trying to sit up.....I'm not ready for that!!!

He eats and sleeps well and only poops every 9 days or so.  Yes, you read that right.  It's awesome.  And well-deserved since Ben pooped with every diaper until he was over 2 years old!!

Speaking of Ben and pooping, he is doing an EXCELLENT job potty training.  Thank goodness boys can pee anywhere (i.e. pulled over on the side of any road), but I tell ya, it's hard potty training boys.  I will be happy when this milestone is behind us.  

Well, it's late.  We did get back from a vacation in the mom-mobile (my Pilot).  Mimi (my mom), Uncle Tom, Daddy, Ben, Evan, and me all packed up in the car and drove for about a week.  I'll post about it with pics in a few days (I hope!)

Hope you enjoyed the update....sorry it's been so long!

Shameless Plug

I wanted to direct you all to my new blogging venture, Saving For the Boys. It is a blog I've been wanting to start for a while and finally did yesterday--so go check it out--it's lonely without any visitors!!
It is, of course, a work in progress, but hopefully everyone will benefit from my daily posts!  It's about the things that I do to save money...it's pretty cool stuff, if I do say so myself!  :)

Yes, I have slacked incredibly on my personal blog about the boys. I will try to update it tonight--but only if you visit my new blog! :)

Thug baby

These pictures cracked me up when I saw them...I had to post pics of my little gangster.  

Are the gestures below some sort of gang sign or is he just getting ready to bust a rhyme? 

Seriously, though, with the exception of his colicky moments, he's an absolute angel.  Can you see the halo?

Displaying his male-pattern baldness hairline (thanks to all branches of family), he's getting so big.  I hope he'll fit into all the hand-me-downs!!

Chillin' with Daddy.  Mommy's bed is becoming Evan's favorite place to sleep...uh-oh.  :)

Living in a house full of boys is crazy.  Especially with a nutso almost-3-year-old!  Benjamin is just as busy as ever and I am happy summer is here so we can take daily walks in the woods.  He LOVES "hiking," although we made the mistake of letting him play in a puddle about a week ago and now he goes SWIMMING in nearly waist-deep muck every time we go out.   N

eedless to say, he either rides in his empty wagon home or gets stripped down for the carseat and gets an immediate shower.  It is certainly a lengthy process, I just keep reminding myself how much fun he has--although, I sure wish it would result in a nap or something.


My little train builder.  He independently builds some really intricate train tracks (not pictured here)....I wonder what he'll be when he grows up.  He's got some wonderful talents, skills, and interests.  He's gonna make it big someday, I just know it.

Just living the dream here in Colorado.  Trying to remember that these are the best days of my life!!  (do I sound a little sleep deprived?)

Evan Thomas Harvey is here!!

I apologize for the incredibly long time it has taken me to post about our new little angel.  Evan Thomas was born Monday, May 4th, at 2:34 AM.  He was 6 lbs, 6 oz, and a wee 18 3/4 inches long.  As I had him au natural, I'm grateful that I cook small babies!

The natural birth was an awesome experience and I am so grateful we were able to go to a birth center this time around.  Evan was born in the water, and the midwife said he swam right out.  Do I have another swimmer on my hands?  Uncle Tom is probably hoping so!

The picture above is about 10 hours postpartum.  We were discharged from the birth center after 4 hours (we were only there a total of 6.5 hours) and got to come home and rest and recover in our familiar environment.  Definitely awesome--I would recommend it to everyone!

Benjamin is loving his new baby brother, Evie.  He loves to hold and kiss him, although now that we are going on 3 weeks, I think he is starting to realize that Evan is not leaving.  It is crazy how many people (mostly grandparents) are making sure that Benjamin still feels extra loved....I think "prize" and "present" are his favorite words now and he is starting to expect a present with each visit from "his friends," as he calls everyone who comes over to the house.  It is so important for him to know that he is special, and we appreciate everyone who has made sure that he knows how much he is loved!

Playtime!

Naptime!

Mommy and her boys.  What a wonderful time in life.  Of course, after a only a few hours each day with these two I go insane, but that's part of life having little ones, right?  

A rare picture.  On his first day of life, our little guy is so alert already!  I fear that Evan will be an early bloomer---he already lifts his head as often as possible.  The first time he did it, I think on day 1, I thought it was a fluke.  Now, 17 days later, he is still lifting his head and has every day.  I am pretty sure at this rate he will be crawling at 5 months---yikes!!

About a week old.  What a cutie.

About 2 1/2 weeks old.  He was 7 lbs, 3 oz at his 2 week visit.  Gaining pretty good weight.  I sure hope so--I feel like he eats all day long!  It's ok, I like feeling needed!  :)

You may be wondering where Andrew is during all these pictures.  He is either behind the camera or I have stolen some precious moments with my boys while he was doing something else.  

He was actually laid off when Evan was 1 week old, so he has been home with us the whole time.  I can't imagine these past few weeks without him and I've been so grateful to have him home to spend time with us.  You might remember that he lost his job when I was six months pregnant with Benjamin.  I recall that being the worst and hardest month of our entire relationship (because of that and other difficult things---death in the family, taxes due, computer crashed, etc.).  It is strange, but this time around, I have to be honest and say that these past few weeks have been the best of my life.  I am so happy that we are getting to spend quality time as a family and he is getting to spend quality time with his sons.  Of course, I hope to have some income sometime soon, but for now, we are just trying to take advantage of this special time.  

I will try and post again soon....thanks for your interest in our family!

The end is near.....

35 weeks down (almost 36), how many to go?  Sorry there haven't been more pictures along the way.  If you may recall from my pregnancy with Benjamin, I'm not too pregnant-looking until the end--yeah--but it makes for uneventful pictures.  That, and until the end, I just feel ugly and don't want my picture taken  :)

It was a cold and snowy day here in Colorado on Easter.  We made a nice fire, had some hot cocoa, and had the fam over for breakfast and an indoor, Benjamin-only Easter egg hunt.  He had tons of fun, but wasn't too interested in finding the eggs once he learned that there were treats inside the eggs.  It slowed the process down quite a bit.  Kids....they are crazy!

Having fun with Daddy.  I am looking at these pictures laughing because since Easter, which was only a short 3 days ago, Ben has gotten another haircut....this one resulting in much more of a buzz cut.  As his mother, I don't like it.  Hair grows back, right?  :)  Once the baby comes I will appreciate the lack of hairbrushing that needs to take place post-shower and the insane bed head in the morning.  But for now, I just don't like it.