Grant at 5 years 3 months

My sweet sweet boy!! I still can't believe you're getting so old so fast! You're constantly proving what a big boy you are, and while sometimes its hard to accept, I find joy in you being able to do things on your own!

You are such an independent little man. You entertain yourself all day and just keep busy without me having to tell you anything. You are really enjoying being home this summer and each day you ask, "Is it a stay home day?" You would prefer to stay home all day and just play in your playroom and watch TV!

You are doing a great job at the pool this summer! Still a little more cautious than I expected you to be, but you love jumping off the side and trying to touch the bottom with your feet when you jump in. You like to use your diving sticks in the kiddie pool, but its only about 18 inches deep. You do a great job holding your breath and swimming underwater! I think you're going to do a great job at the lake in a few weeks!!

You LOVE playing with your Legos and making lots of creations!! You also love your Tinkertoys, Switch N Go Dinos, and your endless amount of beanie babies!! You play with those things ALL THE TIME!! All your stuffed animals in fact! Your bed is about 1/3 for you, 2/3 for all your animals! The thought of putting them in the toy box breaks your heart because you "love them all so much." It's so sweet!

You have been a very good big brother to Wyatt! He pesters you alot and most of the time you just say, "Stop it Wyatt!" But sometimes you lost control and we've been working on how to solve your problems by showing God's love instead of yelling and screaming. Its definitely a work in progress, but I see such sweet side of you when it comes to that! You're learning!!

You're doing a great job with all your therapies- currently you are doing speech therapy twice a week, occupational therapy once a week, as well as seeing a psychologist once a week. You listen and behave so well during your sessions and we are seeing progress at home! Still not on the eating front, but you're doing better with your writing and your speech. Everything will fall into place eventually! We've been doing homework a few times a week- which includes Handwriting Without Tears, speech practice, Kindergarten prep workbook, and BOB books! You're doing AMAZING with your BOB books! We made a chart to track how many times you've read your books and you like putting a sticker up each time you read! You're currently reading Box 1 and have made it up to Book 3 and about to move on to Book 4. I just love having you read to me!!

You're growing so big! You're quite proud of the little blonde leg hairs you're starting to get! And you're hoping you'll get a wiggly tooth soon. I don't even want to imagine how you'd look with big teeth! You weigh 43lbs, although I'm not sure how tall you are. Most of your clothes are size 5, and some size 6 shirts. You have a long torso and a teeny tiny waist! Most of your swimsuits are size 2t or 3t just so they stay up around your teeny tush! Your shoes are a size 11.5-12.

You're a very sweet little boy! You're always telling me I look pretty or I smell good, or you like my toe nail polish! You like to give me snuggles still, but not so much just sit on my lap for lengths of time. But just this morning after I fixed breakfast and you ran off to play in your playroom, you came back and said, "You know what I haven't done yet today....give you some snuggles!" So we had our moment and you were off and running. I hope that side of you never changes little man!!

I'm proud of the wonderful brother, son, and friend you are! Your kind and gentle heart really shows through in all you do! We are so proud of you big kid and love you so much!!

Wyatt at 3 years 3 months

Oh Wyatt, how do I even put into words how to describe you!! Let's just start by saying you are one in a million buddy!! You are now 3 years 3 months and as feisty as ever!

You've really been enjoying having your brother home this summer! You two just play and play and play! You never seemed to play on your own when he was at school, but now that he's home, you two get into the most elaborate (and messy!) games! Usually involving Imaginext, Rescue Bots, and Switch N Go Dinos. There's always Legos, Beanie Babies, and Tinkertoys in the mix as well! You two have your fights, which we  are trying to teach you how to solve on your own- which usually means Grant giving in to whatever you want. You're kind of a bossy and stubborn little brother. You will never know how lucky you are to have a big brother who is so flexible! But you two are the best of friends!

You haven't quite liked the pool like you did last year. You're still very cautious, even with your life jacket on. And you definitely don't like to be splashed or get your face wet. Last year, you were jumping off the dock three feet into the lake, but I can't quite imagine that happening this year. We've probably been to the pool a dozen times already, so hopefully you'll warm up to it sooner than later.

You are still such a mommy's boy. You need to be near me or on me, unless you're playing with your brother. But you have to sit on my lap to watch TV, play the iPad, eat a snack. You have to sit on the counter while I'm preparing meals or snacks. You like to stand on the toilet seat as I'm getting my makeup on. You're just a mommy's boy and I still love it!

You still suck your thumb something terrible! And recently, you started chewing on your lovey too. But that lovey is practically glued to your hand at all times. It goes in the car with us, and it goes to friends houses, its everywhere with us!! The worst is when I have to wash it and you just cry and cry until its in your hands again! Sheesh, that is going to be one habit hard to break!!

You still love doing your homework and sitting with us while Grant does his summer homework. You aren't quite adventurous as you used to be in school work- I give you something and you say, "That's too hard for me." Or "I can't do it good enough." Hopefully you'll snap out of that by fall, because you're going to preschool!!

You're a shy guy when people talk to you in public. You always want to be held and tuck your head into my shoulder. You still have your moments at church when you don't like going into your classroom. Some days you walk in and don't even look back, other days you cry and cry and cry. You do like the 3 year old room much better than the 2 year old room! I just hope you like preschool next year, since its in the same room! But having your brother with you next year will probably help alot!

You say the funniest things! You've been playing with expressions, and you use them quite appropriately. You talk in funny voices, walk in funny ways, and you're always the first to tell a goofy knock knock joke that never makes any sense, but we all laugh anyway! You are such a goofball!

You are 29 pounds and 36 inches.You wear 3t shirts and mostly 2t and 24 month shorts, although you do have a few 3t pairs. You finally grew into a size 8 shoe. You like sleeping in only shorts at bedtime, which is so adorable! I just love your soft skin! You've been completely potty trained since a few months before you turned 3, including nights. So that's been totally amazing! Lately you've been so busy playing with your brother, you've been having a few small accidents, so hopefully this is not something you make a habit of. 

You are just an amazing, adorable, and big attitude little boy and we love you so very much!

Lego Maniac

Grant discovered a love for Legos after a visit to Levi's parents back in October, where Levi found some of his old Lego sets and brought them home for Grant. He was hooked from the get-go. Then Christmas brought numerous Lego sets, as did his birthday! So now we have Legos practically coming out of our ears, but that's exactly how Grant likes it! Although he hasn't technically built anything from the sets that he has, he prefers to do it without directions, and just use his imagination. 

He recently has been starting his "private collection" as he calls them. I suppose you would say his "specialty" is building airplanes. He also likes to name them, such as the DT3000, or the T500S. I just love his ideas! I'm always blown away by the thought that goes into all his creations! Each piece has a purpose and each pieces is a perfect example of symmetry! I always liked building houses when I was a kid and everything had to be symmetrical (lets face it, everything in my life needs to be symmetrical) so I'm always amazed at how easily he grasps that concept! 

He usually his his "private collection" on display on the top of their bookshelf. Occasionally he will take one down and rebuild it, but mostly he just likes adding new pieces to his collection each day! 

I wonder where his love for Legos will take him!
Here is a small sampling of some of his creations! I love the top picture on the right- the boys got the Lego Hospital set for their birthday and they helped me build it. Both the expressions on their face are hysterical! The others were just creations he asked me to take pictures of! He's pretty proud of his work too!

Happy Father's Day!

We had a wonderful day today! Levi has been working 12-14hrs/day, not to mention he was out of town the past two weekends, so we've hardly seen him at all lately! So today was a nice day to just be together as a family! We went to church, lunch, Levi's favorite hardware stores, played outside, and ended the day at Levi's favorite- Golden Chick! 

We love you Levi and are so thankful for all you provide for us- love, integrity, faithfulness, hardworking, goofiness, protection, hugs and kisses!

(I'll update to this post tomorrow with the boys' Fathers Day interviews....so adorable!)

Dinner at Golden Chick, Levi's fave!

Deanna Rose

One of my favorite places to take the boys in the spring/summer in Kansas City is Deanna Rose! So when Levi went on cross country for the second weekend in a row, I knew we needed to get out of Enid and cheer us up with some Kansas City fun! It's so hard to pack in everything I want to do in just three days! But Deanna Rose was on the top of my list! 

The first time Grant went, he was just a few months over one and he loved it there! Wyatt's also been a few times when he was very little, but neither of them remembered too much about it. I knew it would be pretty crowded since it was such a beautiful day, so we didn't plan on staying too long- just enough to explore everything really quick! We fed the fish, the goats, rode pedal tractors, saw the cows and pigs, checked out the old schoolhouse, walked through the tee-pees, played on the playgrounds, and of course, checked out the gift shop! The boys had a great time, and I'm super happy we made it out there this summer!

Date with My Boys

Our neighbors moved and the boys were feeling particularly sad, so what better way to cheer them up than to have a little date with my boys!! Levi was on cross-country for the weekend, so the boys and I had all the time in the world together! We took advantage of the beautiful weather and headed to Meadowlake Park, again! We first went to Sonic to grab some food and then we had a picnic at the park! After we munched on mozzeralla (or monsterella as Grant calls them) sticks and popcorn chicken, we took a spin on the train, and finished up with snow cones! Cheap dates, just my style! 

And though I spend about 99% of their waking hours with my boys, (and do it mostly all alone!) I wouldn't trade it for anything! To know that I share all the memories they have, to know that I have been a part of almost all their life experiences makes all the crying, fighting, messes, and frustrations I deal with ALL DAY LONG totally worth it! 

No More Guilt

It's funny when I think about all the things I was thinking and feeling right after I had Wyatt- one of them being guilt. I felt like I just flip turned Grant's life upside down, and not in a good way. I just felt like everything that was going on was just ruining his life! He moved into a big boy room, became a big brother, and had to deal with his Daddy leaving on deployment- three huge changes most newly two year olds don't have to handle. I felt guilty for changing Grant's life in all one fail swoop and he was going to hate Wyatt.  

Man, was I wrong!! I have to chalk it up to hormones because when I look back at that time in my life, now over three years ago, I laugh at how ridiculous those feelings were...

...Wyatt was the greatest gift I could've ever given Grant. These two are best friends, partners in crime, two peas in a pod. I am so thankful God gave us two boys who could learn together, share a room together, play together, and grow up together. They are inseparable and I wouldn't have it any other way. Sure, we have our moments of fighting and crying, but those screams and tears are erased in seconds. The moments of laughing and playing never seem to stop, and I hope they never will!

The feeling of guilt has been erased as well. 

I love my boys and they love each other! All is right with the world!

Our Last Evening

Our dear friends and neighbors are moving to Korea in two days! We've been soaking up every last minute with these guys while we can! We have been very blessed to have such wonderful people living right next door! They truly have become the boys' best friends and I am so thankful they were brought into our lives!

Tonight, we headed to Meadowlake Park to ride the train and have snowcones! It was a beautiful day- mid 70's and just a light breeze- so we had to take advantage of being outside for sure! We rode the train a few times last year, but it broke halfway through the summer, plus it was just so hot, that we didn't go as often as we would have liked! So I'm glad we got a chance to ride with our friends before they left! 

All the boys had a great time and smiled and shrieked the whole way through!

 Then we headed to the snowcone hut! The boys chowed down and didn't get too messy! Chasing each other around the park afterwards was a great way to end our evening! We will miss The Kinney's very much!

These boys truly became best friends and we will always cherish the memories we've made together!

End-May Instagram

Another busy month on the Instagram front! I just can't get enough of my boys' cute faces apparently!

 Grant at speech, Grant and Wyatt eating ice cream at Braums, Playing at a park on base, Stuffed animal Picnic, Storm clouds, iPad time, Red Light Green Light, Grant wearing boxers!

 Best Friends at Bible study picnic, playing Moon Sand in the tub, Wyatt giving me a flower, Brothers at Base Picnic, Our Morning Music, Grant and Aiden, Wyatt's a homework junkie, Beanie Babies hiding in my house, more homework for Wyatt

Chilling on a swing munchin on popcorn at Atwoods, Grant being "lifeguard," Grants peanut butter cupcake face, Grant's homework, Summer Homework started, Wyatt throwing rocks, Wyatt being super cute, Surprised when I said we were going to Chuck E Cheese, we made slime!

Crazy Oklahoma Weather!

We have been very fortunate to not have been affected by all the storms that have swept through Oklahoma! And while we've been unscathed, there have been times where we weren't quite sure we would be! I mean, with clouds like this, you can't really feel safe! I took these pictures just as I got home from Oklahoma City, where a tornado actually did hit! I was relieved we left when we did! These clouds were just unreal! 

Thank you to everything who has texted, called, messaged, etc. to check in on us! And thank you God for keeping us safe!!