Max picking flowers

In to EVERYTHING!

Sawyer is into everything. The bathroom cabinets have been his latest target. I finally dragged a chair and a foot stool into the bathroom to barricade the cabinet doors. Normally Max is there to help. The toilet paper used to have paper wrappers. They unwrapped all of them and now Sawyer likes to get them out and stack them. To say the least, they are not happy about the additional furniture in the bathroom and spend some time fussing at it. (I might add it is very inconvenient to use the sink.)

In the Garden

In the Garden

The other night the little boys were in there high chairs eating dinner and they could see Ben running around the yard playing ball. They fussed to go out. The weather has been cooler lately so we could actually go in the back yard. The boys want to go as far and as fast as they can...often in opposite directions. They have each eaten their first handfuls of dirt. Sawyer wants to run and play ball really bad. He discovered the orange tree which seems to be covered in green balls. Max likes to pick (aka destroy) flowers. Ben is the entertainment constantly running, kicking and hitting balls. I wear out chasing the little boys before anyone else wants to go in.

We want to go outside.

Tulare County Fair

Jason took the boys to the Tulare County Fair Saturday for thier anual pilgrimage. They had a great time.

Saturday the boys went in this little pool out back. They loved it, of course. Ben is always so good to play with them. The picture of Max crying is after we took the hose away from him which he was sucking on. I had to include it because we often see this face and we love it. He can throw a great tantrum.

Fun in the kitchen - who needs toys...

I thought I would take pictures of what the boys do to the kitchen most days. Max loves cords of any kind. (He holds the vacuum cord when I vacuum.) And Sawyer likes all drawers and cupboards to be completely empty. The bottom right photo is of him climbing in the cupboard to retrieve one last pot. As you can see the kitchen is often a hazardous area. We have had to start keeping the clean kitchen towels on the countertop because Sawyer was spreading them all over the floor several times a day.

Ben

Here is a collection of photos of Ben. Ben is enthusiatic and fun. He has a vivid imagination. Ben loves Jason's bedtime stories because they often involve burping etc... Ben is a wonderful big brother and even lets the little boys come in his room and play sometimes when his friends are over. (The little boys sit at the closed door and cry for access.) We love Ben!

Symphony

We went to the annual Tulare County Symphony last night at the park. Our good friend Patty stayed home with the little boys. (Many thanks to Patty!) We had a great time. The music was wonderful. The final number was a patriotic piece that ended with loud cannons being shot off that gave off a little firework. So the bottom left picture is Ben enjoying the closing number of the symphony.

Ben's photos

Ben took these photos of the little boys playing this afternoon. I trimmed Max's bangs this morning. Maybe I could have trimmed less. They look much better in person.

Going to church

This morning the boys all looked so cute so I thought we'd take a picture. You can see how well that went. Ben is always a good sport about these things and a wonderful big brother. (Note the tie, the Birds gave Ben a bunch of ties before they left and Ben wears them every Sunday no matter what.)

Sawyer

Sawyer is a good time baby. He loves to laugh. He doesn't care if it's someone else having the good time, he joins in with the laugh. Sawyer is a cudler. He like to come over and get a big hug and then go on with his playing. We are currently calling him The Destroyer. Sawyer likes all drawer, baskets, shelves, etc empty. He even frantically empties things as you try to pick them up. When ever Ben helps pick up the baby toys, Sawyer ends up in the saucer contained so Ben can get the job done. Sawyer's favorite toys are whatever Max has and anything long that he can swing and hit things with i.e. swords, wooden spoons, etc. Sawyer is always on the go and races you to any open door or cupboard. We love our Saw Bob.

Max

Max is a joy. He is either contented or having a tantrum. And he throws great tantrums. Max smiles when you look at him. He is a biq squishy baby. Sometimes we call him Mr. Squish. When he is happy to see you he gives hugs and squeezes you. Max started biting when Sawyer started taking his toys. Max has left many bruises and welts on Sawyers arms. (Also meaning Sawyer still takes all of Max's toys) We constantly watch for him leaning in to get a good bite so we can fend him off. Max loves the big bear and also a purple stuffed snake he has been dragging around. We love our little Max.

Freedom

At 11 months the boys started drinking regular milk in a bottle. This has been happy times for all. Max has always liked a bottle, but Sawyer was not interested until it was warmed whole milk. They are now crazy for the bottles. They often take them from eachother and check to be sure every drop is sucked out.

Birthday Cake

It's Max and Sawyers first birthday. They each got a cupcake with whipping cream. Max needed help getting started, but as you can see he was doing fine.