Potty training official

Joseph has developed a fetish for being constantly without clothing. Everyday when I come to get him from his quiet time I find toys all over and a little naked boy--I feel like I'm walking into a scene from Lord of the Flies.
So, I told Joseph that if he is not going to wear a diaper, he has to start using the toilet, and he's been doing great for a whole week. Phew! This potty training was easier than I thought it would be!

Kids Museum

We had a lot of fun going to the Explore and More Museum and East Aurora.
Two cute boys
"I caught one"
This fish kept trying to be caught
Our crazy little Mexican baby

Easter Fun

We had an exciting easter weekend with Peter flying back from an interview in Texas, then celebrating his birthday, and then all the Holiday celebrations.
Happy Birthday Peter!! Yum, strawberry pie.
Joey loved dipping all the eggs into all the different colors!
Poor little Kimball was suffering from a nasty cold and 2 ear infections
Joey had to lay out each piece of candy and see everything he got.
Joey and Kimball in a mad dash for the candy. As soon as Kimball gets within two feet of something Joey wants, Joey will dive froward and do a full body block out on Kimball.
"I LOVE TREATS!"
"How do I get this thing open?"
Kimball loved the little chick from Grandma Gurr's package. He would intently listen while it chirped, and then ...
.... laugh

Buffalo Gardens

T-Rex Tree
"Wow, I'd forgotten what these things looked like."
Kimball tried really hard to eat that chocolate (cocoa bean) tree















We spent our pre-Easter Saturday going to the Buffalo Gardens, a complex full of huge greenhouses which were loaded with beautiful flowers and trees. It was nice to imagine it was spring time (even though it was still in the 20's). Joseph was first able to withstand the freezing temps and participate in a quick Easter egg hunt.

Mr. Sunshine

Last week I walked into the living room and Joseph had removed all of his clothing and was sprawled out on the floor, just basking in the rare sunshine we get in Buffalo--he must be really vitamin D deficient. I called him Mr. Sunshine all day and he thought that was so funny.
The next day we had another sunny day, so Joey again began to see how much skin he could expose to the light. When his clothes were off he came over to me and said, "Mom, do you want to take off your clothes and be naked too?"
I declined :)
We are now having frequent talks about modesty.

Peek a Boo

Kimball and Joey love to play a little game where they peek at each other through the hole in Kimball's highchair. I LOVE hearing them laughing together!

Fun Together

Last week when I went to get Kimball after his nap, Joey came running in and wanted to get in the crib and play with Kimball.

It's fun to see them having fun together. Now Joey will stand outside his bedroom door and say, "come here Kimball" over and over until Kimball crawls in. Then Joey will immediately shut the door so Mom and Dad don't know what trouble those two are brewing up together.

Joey was often telling me "Go away Mom," when ever he and Kimball were playing together, but since I have been trying to teach him that that is not a nice thing to say, he has gotten more creative. The other day I went to check on them while they were playing in the basement, and Joey immediately said, "Go upstairs Mom, you need your privacy." What a funny kid!

More snow

Here's some of our fun snow pictures. I guess if you're going to have 2 feet of snow while the rest of the country is enjoying spring, you might as well have some fun :)
We are happy to report that today (March 30th) the temperatures have finally broken out of the 30's--it was so wonderful!

Baby Prison

The other day Joey ran into the kitchen and said, "Mom, I closed the gate." I had no idea what he was talking about so I followed him into the living room and saw that he had rigged up a little blockade so he could keep Kimball right where he wants him.

Snow much fun!

Joseph has been loving the 2 feet of snow on the ground. He had fun running around and falling down with our neighbor, Adam Kingsford.

I love food!

Poor little Kimball has been having a really rough week with all 4 of his top teeth breaking through the gums. One night we gave him a piece of cold watermelon and he could not get enough!



Kimball has developed a great love of the refrigerator--I'm sure this love will only intensify as he grows older.
Whenever I open the door, he does his mach-speed crawl to try and get in before the door closes.

Our little puppy

At times it seems that Kimball really is part puppy, probably golden retriever or lab. He will follow us around, come when called, slobber all over you, and chase balls all around the house. He even gets the cutest little puppy dog eyes when he sucks his thumb.

Two messy boys

So, Kimball's mouth is brown because he has been secretly snatching handfuls of dirt out of the plant when we are not looking. And of course, he loves it!


The other day I was trying to keep Joey busy while I made bread, so I let Joey dig for treasures in a big container of flour. He was doing great for a long time, but then he got a little too excited and ended up with flour everywhere! I guess he was taking very seriously the sign behind him.

Brotherly fun

The other day I was making dinner and I noticed that the boys were being unusually quiet so I peaked around the corner and saw Kimball just staring at his idol (who for some reason had climbed into that little hideout to eat his snack.


Now that Kimball is crawling all over the place, Joey has really begun to enjoy playing with him. It is so wonderful to see them having so much fun together, and to hear them laughing in the next room. One day Joey started crawling around the house in the laundry basket, and Kimball had a great time just following him around.

Movie night

Last Friday we rented a movie and made a dinner feast to eat while we watched. It was fun to sit and relax with the boys.

Snuggle

I finally got a picture of My Kimball snuggling. Of course the only time he will do this is when he is passed out, but I'll take it!

Hair Cut

So I discovered a way to actually get Joey to remain still while I cut his hair. Let him play in the sink and he barely even notices I'm cutting his hair--it's great!

Fire! Fire! Fire

Our soot covered furnace filter.
The night we were able to move back into our house, Joey ran upstairs and said, "I want to jump on my bed." This is his celebratory bounce party.
Sleepy Kimball sitting still for the first time in his life :) at one of our host homes
The furnace that started the fire
Shattered glass all over the basement floor from the firemen breaking the windows

We are finally back in our home after being homeless for almost two weeks because of a house fire. We live in a duplex and on Tuesday the 19th a fire started in our neighbors side of the basement (which opens on the top to our side)

Tuesday afternoon I put the boys down for their naps, and then I laid down on the couch to read, and then I dozed off. About 20 minutes later I heard a pounding on the door and then my neighbor screaming, “Get out, the house is on fire!!!” I flew upstairs (still trying to comprehend that this was real) and grabbed the boys out of their beds. We ran outside in the freezing weather (wind chill of 17 below) and into the house of our neighbor Andrea Rhoten.. Brenna(our friend who lives on the other half of the duplex) then explained that she heard the fire alarm in the basement going off so she ran down to check. She then saw flames coming out of the furnace and ran to get all of us out.

Once the boys were safe and settled inside, I ran back to our house to grab my cell phone. I then opened up the basement door just to see, and a huge billow of black smoke came up. That’s when it hit me that this was for real.

In a matter of minutes there were 4 fire trucks in front of the house, and firemen running in and smashing out all the basement windows to let the smoke escape and to be able to get their hoses to the fire.

The firemen were able to put out the fire before too much damaged occured, but the Fire Chief said that if the fire had burned 10 minutes more, the entire house would have been in flames. Luckily for us, we only suffered smoke damage.

I think the worst part of the fire was all the thoughts of what could have happened. When I walked back into the boys rooms, it was so horrible to see the beds that they were sleeping in and think that I was 10 minutes away from loosing them. We definitely were very blessed and watched over that day.

We also received many blessings from friends and church members who offered their houses to us. We stayed in 4 different homes and were very grateful to have a warm, comfortable place to be. And Joseph was such a trooper. One night when we went back to the house to get Peter's car, Joey got really sad and kept saying, "I want to go in my house." But the rest of the time he was great. He thought we were on some fun vacation, and loved to play with all our friends' new toys.

We finally able to move back in this weekend (after a restoration crew cleaned the carpets, washed the walls, repainted a little, and removed the dirty, soot coated filter from the furnace. We are soooo happy to be back in our little home!