Basketball Season is Here!

After having done two years of "basketball camp," the boys were ready to take on a full season playing on a team! Levi and I were so excited because basketball is our sport! We both played it and loved it and it was a big part of our past! It was so fun seeing the boys get just as excited!! They are each playing on teams of school friends, which makes it super fun! And Levi is the assistant coach for both their teams! 

The first few games were kind of brutal to watch. No one knew if they were on offense or defense. Pretty sure my boys played defense 97% of their first game. They were so confused!!! But to watch them learn and grow throughout the season has been amazing! Each game they get better and better!

Grant's team, The Panthers, plays 5 on 5. The first few games they weren't allowed to steal, but then once they could, it was a whole new ballgame- literally. The aggressiveness out there was intense- almost too intense for Grant as he's not aggressive. But as the season progressed, he's been down on the ground scraping for the ball more than I imagined he'd be!! So far, they've only lost 2 games and won 5 of them!! 

 Wyatt's team, The Lions, plays 3 on 3. So they are able to get the ball a lot more often. Plus, they have to pass at least once before a shot is taken. Wyatt's made a few baskets at each game. They don't keep score, its more for just learning the game. He has learned so much and has gotten better each and every game! He's also developed a love for shooting baskets at home. When we have some nice weather, he's outside shooting layup after layup and playing Around the World all by himself! 

 Wyatt's got one game left and Grant has two games left. I'll be a little sad when the season is over, but I know its just the beginning of many basketball seasons in the years to come!!!

New Beds

When Wyatt first entertained the idea to stop sucking his thumb, we knew it was not going to be easy. We had been telling him for a while that as soon as he loses a tooth, he has to stop. Well, considering the fact that he doesn't even have one wiggly, we thought it best we just go ahead and tell him enough is enough. While it ached my heart a little bit to know he was giving up the one thing that still kept him "little" in my eyes, I knew it was time. While walking around Ikea one time, he came upon this really cool loft bed. We had been talking about the idea of loft beds for their room for a little while, but once he saw this one and his eyes lit up with excitement, Levi told him that as soon as he stopped sucking his thumb, we would buy him one. We figured we had a little bit of time on our hands because he didn't really want to stop sucking his thumb. I figured maybe sometime over the summer. But no. In about 2 weeks, he stopped himself from sucking his thumb. And he was ready for that bed ASAP!!! So it was time to head to Ikea again. And we couldn't leave Bub out. His end of the deal was that he was taking over laundry duty for him and Wyatt from now on. All washing, drying, sorting, and putting away (well, Wyatt has to put his own stuff away). So we rang up 2 loft beds from Ikea and home we went! 

We had a plan in our heads of we would arrange the room, but Ikea threw us for a loop when the bed can only have the ladder on the right side, so we had to do a little adjusting, but all worked out!!

 Wyatt wanted his bed "just like the one at the store" so his is L-shaped, while Grant's is a standard top and bottom. But we love the giant desk and drawers, the bookshelf, and the little closet that is just perfect for their t-shirts!! Perfect beds for growing boys!

This is Grant's desk and shelf area.

 This is Wyatt's desk, shelf, and closet area. The amount of time they spent "accessorizing" those bookshelves was comical!! They could've made a mini-series on HGTV!!!

 And what do you do after making a big purchase from Ikea?? Well you make a kicking box fort with the millions of boxes you now own!!!

Great job earning your cool new beds Broeckelman Brothers!!!

No More Thumbsucking

I can't believe this, but I will never see this again. My little Wyatt boy gave up sucking his thumb! I mean, he is almost 7 and this should've happened long ago! But how he sucked his thumb ever had an impact on his teeth, so I never felt the urge to really push it.  But is it wrong to say that I kind of miss it? Because I do! I feel like it was the last thing that was keeping him "little."

His thumb sucking kind of evolved over the years. It went from just when he would see his lovey to doing it in the car without his lovey, to pretty much just anytime- other than anywhere in public! Even the hand he used to suck his thumb changed off and on. Sometime around age three he had a "preferred thumb" and an "emergency thumb." I think he used it as a sun-shield in the car because he held his fingers up to his eyes. It really was a multi-purpose tool ;-)

Since he's stopped sucking his thumb, we've definitely seen him a little less snuggly and a little more "grown-up" acting. I guess it really was the one thing that was keeping him "little." 

This whole stop-sucking-your-thumb talk came up because he still hasn't lost any teeth yet. We told him that as soon as one of his teeth falls out, he has to stop sucking his thumb. We told him it was probably better to try and stop now as opposed to waiting. We thought it might be a long process. So one day, we were at Ikea and he saw this cool loft bed and wanted it so badly. So Levi told him that whenever he stopped sucking his thumb, that could be his reward because we knew it was going to be something difficult for him to do. We expected it to take a few months. Well, we should've know better because this kid has a drive like none other. He sets his mind to something and it gets accomplished. So within a bout 2 weeks, it was a done deal. He stopped sucking his thumb. He even went on a road trip and didn't suck his thumb one time! So he earned his bed (another post!) and he couldn't be more proud of himself! He does say from time to time that he misses sucking his thumb and he wishes he could do it again! But to be honest, I know I will crave him crawling into my lap and snuggling in with his thumb in his mouth! The baby days of my little baby are all gone!

THESE moments I will miss the most!!!

Valentine's Day!

We LOVE celebrating LOVE around here!!! The month of February is always a buzz with all things red, hearts, and LOVE!!!  Come February 1st (well, maybe even a week before!) we pull out all the goodies! This year, I bought the boys some new Valentine mailboxes (and use the old standby Mom and Dad mailboxes) and some little pads of paper. I left them on a tray on our "school table" which became the "Valentine table" this month! It was so fun writing a little message to someone and slipping it in their mailbox. Lots of love letters and little surprises were sent to each other!! It's so much more fun that the boys can read and write!! We also enjoy studying 1 Corinthians and playing a little charades game to act it out! SO FUN!

The boys designed these Valentine boxes for school! Wyatt made a Pokeball box and Grant made a Pikachu. So cute!!

 On Valentine's Day, I made the boys some special heart pancakes! Mimi left us lots of Valentine's surprises on our "Valentine Table." Such a fun and exciting surprise when we woke up!

 We finished our Valentine Countdown and got to enjoy a heart full of M&Ms with our pancakes!

 Grant's class did these pictures at their Valentine's Party! So cute!

It was a day filled with fun and lots of LOVE!!!

Grant and Mommy Special Time

For a few years now, Grant and I have what we call "our special night." It's when I tuck them in to bed. Grant waits for Wyatt to fall asleep, then Grant quietly sneaks out of their room and meets me downstairs to snuggle up and watch a show together. We started this when Levi was deployed because I felt like I never got any one on one time with Grant. He was in kindergarten and I always had extra time with Wyatt by myself at home, but never had Grant just alone with me. It was a way for us to make special time together without leaving the house! To this day, Wyatt doesn't know we do this, which is think is what makes it all the more special for Grant!! I cherish that time with him so very very much! 

A Special Dinner

When I picked the boys up from school, Grant ran to me, whispered in my ear and said, "Wyatt and I are going to make a restaurant for you and dad for dinner tonight." I smiled so big but I had to remind him that Levi was out of town. So he said, "Well we will make dinner just for you!" He came right home and started preparing everything. I told him that Mimi had already made dinner for us that night, so he didn't actually need to cook anything. But he still made the effort to make up a menu, take our order, serve us our drinks, plate our food, and serve us dinner. It was so so sweet!!! He even made dinner for him and Wyatt so I didn't need to do that either!!

I just love that big kid so very very much!!!

January Photos

I feel like this was a pretty sporadic month with my picture taking. Some months are just like that I guess!! Here is our month of January, in pictures...

Christmas decor down and winter up ~ Milli had static ~ Millie the Snuggler

Grant is doing laundry now! ~ We sorted Legos by color ~ Sleeping Brothers

Frozen frost ~ Handsome boy ~ Stuffed animal Millie

Emerald City Meet

We've had some great meets so far this season! I'm always amazed at the butterflies I get in my stomach as each even starts. I get so nervous for my guys.  But they always seem to impress! Such a great group of boys this year! And we can't say enough good stuff about their coaches too- just the best!!

Look at this cute team!!

 This was Grant's 2nd meet and he was so great getting out there and doing his thing!!

 Overall, they were very happy!! The team placed 2nd overall. Wyatt placed 2nd out of 9 and Grant placed 8th out of 9.

The One Snowy Day

This winter has been weird. While we've had some cold spells, it hasn't been unbearably cold. And while a super huge snow would be awesome- just one - its been nice to not have to mess with it!! We did get one snowy day and of course the boys had to go out and play! It was melted and gone by the next day but they had fun while it lasted!