Magnifcent Monday

 

 We have had another awesome Monday!  I am hoping that we don't end the night at Urgent Care like the last time we had a really good Monday!  The weather is just about as perfect as it can be.  72 degrees with a ton of sunshine.  You know that kind of sunshine that just makes your skin feel warm to the touch, that is the sun we are dealing with today.  It is amazing!  We did find out on our picnic that if you are not in the sun, it is a bit chilly BUT we are not complaining...not one bit! 

Here are some snaps from our morning adventure.  I am so bummed that I didn't have our actual camera for the trip to the Capitol but I guess we will just have to go back!

Waiting for Mom is tough but it is easier with your brother right by your side!
(They were being SO patient while I got everything in the car for the zoo!)

Free train ride Monday at the zoo...we are in!  The boys enjoyed their snack on the train today and loved waving at all the people!  Hutchinson loves the fish and says "OH! WHOA! WOW!" when he is looking at them.  He is starting to be able to repeat colors, so it is fun to hear him say the color of the fish!  He also LOVES to drum!  I think he just likes making noise, so the new African exhibit is right up his alley!  Finnean spends his time spying animals and finds ones that I don't ever see.  He also is our tour guide.  Keeping an eye on the map, making sure we know what our next stop is. 

After the zoo we picked up Michael (he is not documented in the pictures BUT he was there!) and headed for a picnic lunch on the Capitol lawn.  It is one of my favorite places to be in Des Moines.  I just love how grand the building is and that you can see the little city skyline perfectly.  The boys seemed to enjoy it a great deal.  They are free to run as they please.  The grounds are beautiful right now-in full bloom.  If you need to get out and about in Des Moines, I totally recommend it hitting up the Capitol Complex for a walk!  I also recommend City Bakery in the East Village.  O my.  They have some tasty food and that is what Michael and I had for lunch!  It was a great little family date.  Here are some shots from the boys running amok.  I am still bummed that I didn't have the big camera...but these will do!

This boy.  I almost don't have words for how much this smile makes my heart smile!  He just loves to be outside and love to watch his "Bo-Bo" run around!

Exploring.
(Top left: Totally going down.  Unlike Finnean, he gets right back up and starts running again!)

Perfection.
These flowers are some of my favorite and I have no idea what they are called.  The are all over the grounds at the Capitol and their purple color just pops off all of the neutrals of the concrete.   They do attract some HUGE bees, which we had to watch out for.  

 

These boys.
Have you noticed that Hutchinson pictures outnumber Finnean pictures about 10 to 1?  There are two reasons: #1 Finnean is SO fast, he is hard to capture and #2 I have to stay closer to Hutchinson because I just don't quite trust him to run too far yet!

I feel kind of weird taking pictures of myself but I thought I should probably document what I look like too.  I love seeing pictures of my parents and grandparents when they were young, so I am trying to do that same for the boys...so they have something to look back on.  The will most definitely make fun of how big my glasses are I am sure :)

Hutchy

Have I mentioned how much I love this little boy?  Goodness, he has my heart.  He is SO expressive and someone just told me that his little smile is contagious.  It totally is.  He just lights up our world.  He has fit right in to our little family.  I especially love this series of pictures.  Michael was throwing the football to him, with football and Dad, there are sure to be smiles.

Ellie, Winston and Carter moved to Des Moines this weekend!  We are excited to have them back in the area and to be able to see Carter grow up!  He seems like he grew 3 feet while they were away for a year!  This series of photos make me smile. Hutchinson LOVES to splash in the water.  It just doesn't get any better than getting your feet wet.  He was sticking his head under the downspout to get water in his hair (just because Finnean was doing it!).  I asked Lisa if she thought I would ever let Finnean do this at Hutch's age...she just laughed.  We both know that it would have never happened!  I am thankful that I have loosened up in my old age a bit!  Sweet boy LOVES the water!

Randomness...

For real.  The cuteness.
  I LOVE how Finnean can make Hutchinson laugh.  Just love it!
 

Silly, silly boys.  They can't get enough of the outdoors!  It is easy entertainment!

This is my favorite.  I love H's crazy, messy hair and Finnean's long lanky legs.  He is killing me with his "kicks."  Michael thinks they make him look very little rascal-like.  I would have to agree!  It was hot and humid for lunch today (and the risk of ketchup on their shirts) made for a no-shirt lunch.  This is fine by these boys.  Finnean would rather be in his underwears most of the time anyway! They sure had fun!

Outdoor lunch = perfection.
Michael came home for lunch and I grilled up some hot dogs.  We stopped at the store after all of our errands today and got some chips and cookies (to make it extra special), added some fruit and called it lunch!  I love when things fall together easily.  After the boys finished up, they ran off the last of their energy before naps.  Finnean even took a nap today (he NEEDED it) until the storm sirens went off.  I wish they only went off for tornados.  We have had a TON of severe thunderstorms lately...just seems like they are crying wolf.  YES, I do understand that thunderstorms are dangerous BUT it is not a tornado.  Maybe if there is super high wind, I want to know that too but come on...we can't have them going off all the time.  They seem to lose their effectiveness!  I am alone on this? ! Anyway...we are enjoying watching the rain now... :)

Yesterday it was bright and sunny!  SUCH a nice change a pace from all this rain. We headed outside after a slow start to the morning.  Weekends are hard on all of us...we stay busy!  I have found that I like side walk chalk WAY more than the boys, so they tell me what to draw and they play ball.  It is a good collaboration..chalk is SO relaxing!  :) 

Soooo....gas is outta control.   We jumped on the Hy-Vee fuel saver bandwagon and are loving it!  I only buy things that we need and manage to save quite a bit of money on gas.  We drive the trailblazer until it is on E and then fillerup, 20 gallons baby! Today I saved almost as much money as it takes to fill up the Vibe (our other car)!!  I LOVE saving money, I mean who doesn't, but today was extra awesome!!! 

Have I mentioned how old this kid is?  He is too big for sippy lids right now...so that just means I have a cleaner floor with all the water that is being dripped on it :) 

Family Walk

We go on "family walks" as much as possible, usually everyday if we can.  I asked Finnean one day what one of his favorite things to do and he answered family walks. :)  I am so glad because it is one of my favorite things to do too.  We don't always walk the fastest but we do try to soak up as much time together and soak up the nature around us.  Tonight's walk proved to be extra awesome!  We found lots of worms after the big storm rolled through and even had a few sprinkles land on us.  There was a bit of a chill in the air but the sun was peeking out, just a little.  Mr. Golden Sun has been hiding for the entire day, so it was a nice change! Hutchinson is getting big enough that he can make it around the block without a stroller, so he gets in on the exploring too!  Here are a few pictures from our adventure.

 

I love this picture.  Captures all the boys on the walk.  Hutchinson is surely spying a bird, one of his favorite things to spot!

O man!! Did you just say "Awwww!!"  I did! Goodness, I am just smitten with these boys.  I love watching them interact, problem solve, play, imagine and even, not get along.  It is amazing to think that each boy with shape the others life and how they are as an adult.  I love when they learn from each other or when Finnean really plays up being Hutchinson's big brother.  One of my favorite things is when Finnean is so patient with Hutchinson and helps him get something done.  Finnean said tonight that' building with Hutchison' is one of things he loves about him.   

Hutchinson is such a copycat these days!  He does or tries to do EVERYTHING that Finnean does.  I was squatting down to get a picture of him and that is why he is squatting down.  :)  He is still pretty darn cute.  I can't get over how old he looks in these pictures.  He really loved looking at the worms and when I would tell him it was time to keep moving he would wave and say "Bye-Bye" to every worm.   Tonight he started saying Mom-Mom.  Halleluiah!  He totally made my day!  He has also started shaking his head "yes" when he actually means it!  This is a big improvement from always shaking his head "no!" He also signed his first "sentence" earlier this week by signing "more please."  It was so cute and Finnean thought it was so cool! 

After we came around the corner we saw a rainbow!  The boys LOVED it and then it kept getting brighter and brighter!  After a bit we noticed a second rainbow and Finnean that was extra awesome!  He thinks that Jesus makes the rainbows.  Michael said (not to him) well it is technically God who makes the rainbows but who are we to rain on Finnean's parade :) 

We could almost see the whole arch of the bright rainbow!  I am just fascinated by them...just so beautiful and an amazing thing to witness.

When the sun did come out, it put on a show!  The clouds made for a beautiful sky.  Rainbow on one side of us and these crazy clouds on the other.  It really made for a great walk.  So thankful for the time with my beautiful boys. 

 

 

Overheard...

Michael likes to keep things tidy at our house (thank goodness)!  So he started cleaning up the "library."  The conversation went something like this...

M: We should clean up the library.  We have a lot of books!
F: HEY!! We should donate some of them! (My heart!)
M:  Sounds like a great idea.
F: Okay,  let's start organizing!!!!!!!!

This only seems funny if you know my very organized husband.   :)  Thanks, Michael Wagler for passing along your skills to our son.  

A few minutes later, Finnean ( holding a notepad and pencil) says to Michael.  "You missed some, Dad!"  Michael responds, "You are going to be a great supervisor someday, buddy."   :)

Date Night!

Last night, Michael and I volunteered in Valley Junction at Smoking in the Junction.  We hoped for nicer weather but we still had a great time.  It is so fun to volunteer together.  So often when we do get a chance to volunteer it is separately.  It is nice to get a chance to spend time together and sets a good example for the boys.  It is hard to volunteer with kids-you have to get a sitter to help!  SO we just made it a date!  We had a blast and we are so thankful for our sitters, Jane and Dan.  They seemed to have a pretty good time too! :)  After we finished our duties in the Junction, we met up with the Murphy's at 515 Brewing.  If you are in the DM area, check it out!  It is a fun little brew company with a fun tasting room!  On a side note, we try to have a date night each month.  Sometimes we get to do more than one, which is awesome!  We even have a line item in our budget for date night.  It is something that we have made a priority and it is so good for us!   It is the perfect way to make sure we are taking adventures without the boys :)

Wrapping up the week...

We haven't had too much excitement here...which is just okay by me.  We have been hanging in because the weather has been chilly and rainy-hoping that shapes up this week!  We need to get outside and explore!! 

So this guys just seems to be getting older and older every second!  He has been adding new words, repeating colors and eating cereal with milk! He LOVES cereal and milk.  He does a pretty good job of not getting it everywhere but it seems that it takes a lot of concentration!  Sometimes I add a spoonful of yogurt in the milk to thicken it up and that seems to help!  He also RUNS everywhere he goes and climbs on anything.  He is a real pro at hit the golf ball and has been trying to get on the plastic motorcycle outside but is just a little too short!  He is really good at "coloring" and loves to play play-doh.  He just seems like he skipped being a little, little guy and went straight to being an old boy.  He is kind of destructive but I guess that is just a part of the job, right?

This is how I work when I need to get something done for Bare Root while the boys are awake.  It is not easy but we get the job done!  Finnean actually LOVES to help but Hutchinson's form of helping is not productive :)

Oh, sweet summer!  We are excited for the yummy fruit that summer brings.  We got these blackberries from Sam's and they were the size of a small egg!  Crazy big and soooo tasty.  Sometimes they were "too tart" according to Finnean but he powered through.  Hutchinson eats them like candy.  Oh man, so tasty and now I want some berries!

Wedneday fun!

I am thankful that today was a much happier day.  No time outs, no grumps, no staples.  It was cold and dreary, so we had the make the most of an inside day.  Thankfully, I got to iron the crap of some clothes!  I despise ironing BUT my handsome, hard-working husband needs to look crisp.  I always feel like a super hero when I iron a whole bunch of clothes.  You should too.   :)

Our morning started off like this...can you see his grumpy face?  Yes, he is eating macaroni and cheese for breakfast because that is what he did NOT eat for supper last night.  I felt terrible but he just dinked around the whole time at dinner, so I took a stand.  My neighbor gave me the idea and I thought I would give it a shot!  He declared that he did NOT like macaroni and cheese for breakfast.  Who knows if it will actually work and that he will eat in the future (we had pancakes tonight-he ALWAYS eat those!) but it was worth a shot :)  



Finnean has been really in to playing "kitchen."  He tells me what to cook, Hutchinson delivers it to him (after adding a sprinkle of imaginary something) and then Finnean takes people's money and gives them their food.  So today I suggested playing grocery store.  They LOVED it!  I love when I have a good idea :)  First, we found all the containers and boxes from our recycling and put them out on the kitchen floor.  Finnean made a cash register with the little couch and Hutchinson was his first customer!  Finnean told me I had to pay with my gift card.  Man, I wish I had a gift card for groceries!!!  Then it was time for Hutchinson and me to be the cashier and I showed Hutch how to scan the groceries.  He made the cutest little BEEEEP and happily bagged the groceries for "BoBo" to take with him.  After they tired of that, they stacked all the containers and then after that we added sprinkles to the peanut jars and they became perfect shakers!  Those boys LOVE to make noise, I mean music!  They had so much fun and kept them entertained for most of the morning!

After naps we headed outside for a chilly walk with Jerry and some outside time.  They can't get enough time outside.  Golf was the thing to do today and I am amazed how far Finnean can hit it!  When we got back in, we timed it perfectly for Curious George to be on PBS.  That show saves me.  Yes, I use TV as a babysitter.  Look at them...completely mesmerized!  I have exactly 26 minutes to get supper ready and I better not take any longer than that! 

Michael was still gone until later tonight (home now-thank goodness!!), so we headed to the library for a little change in scenery.  I LOVE the library in the evening.  It is so quiet and there are not any other children there...perfect for just relaxing.  I can read the paper and the boys just do this the WHOLE time.  They have so much fun! 

 

blah...

Remember how I said that it isn't always rainbows and unicorns around here.  Today was one of those non-unicorn days.  I feel just blah. I HATE that feeling and I really don't like to use the word hate but I really do strongly dislike this feeling.  I tried everything.  Eating healthy, eating crappy, exercise, taking a nap, being grateful, praying---still blah.  Finnean didn't want to listen to anything I had to say today and that only makes me grumpier.  So here is my last ditch effort to get outside of myself and turn this day around (even with a headache sneaking in)...I am grateful for the following:
-My sweet baby boy finally stopped crying and I think he is asleep (without his paci).
-I have one heck of a support system-amazing people in my life that would help me if I just asked.
-I have a nice bed that I am going to sleep in tonight-so many people can't say that.
-I have a girls night planned for Thursday and business meeting on Friday-so thankful for Michael who is always willing to have "Dad Days" and shoos me out of the house
-Finally, I am thankful for my non-listening child, Finnean and that he is okay.  Last night was scary and I am so thankful that it just took one quick stitch to fix him up.  Just as an update, he is doing great and was full force this morning and took it easy this afternoon.  He said that his head hurt tonight-so hopefully he isn't too uncomfortable. 

What are you grateful for?  What do you do to get out of a funk? 

Here's to a rainbows and unicorns kind of day tomorrow :)

Beautiful little Monday with a side of Urgent Care.

Today was just fun.  Some days are hard.  Some days are super hard but today was just a really good day.  We slept in (loving this no school thing!) and then started playing!  We built a fort, played "kitchen", went outside and then had an early lunch so we could get to the zoo.  The sun was SO warm and sunny-just a perfect day! Then it got a little crazy at the end...here are some pictures from our adventure!

I love Hutchinson's expressions!  These were all taking within seconds of each other!  Silly boy loves to dance (even without music) and always seems to have a beat in his head! 

Hutchinson LOVES the zoo.  He has so much fun checking out the animals and I think he just likes being old!  It is member appreciation month, so the boys got get something extra today!  Hutchinson picked "Ba-Man" for his special treat!

 

Finnean picked face painting...how can you pass up Spidey!?

 

Monday is FREE train ride day at the zoo for members...so we love Mondays at the zoo!
The boys LOVE watching the animals from the train.  Highlights today were seeing the lions sleeping with their legs in the air and hearing the watusi's moo when we went by!  Hutchinson spends most of his time saying "choo choo!" Finnean spends most of his time spying...everything! 

We hit up the Sculpture Park on our way home from the zoo.  Michael had a 6 pm meeting, so it was nice to see him for a bit after work.  The sky was crazy blue.  The clouds were perfect and the Sculpture Park has this lush, thick green grass...perfect for exploring.  The hill by the Nomad is always a favorite and both boys spent most of their time running up and down it (well, Finnean rolls down).  Have I mentioned that I LOVE this city?

 

I snapped this picture while STOPPED at a stop light.  This crazy cloud was rolling in.  Little did we know that there was some nasty weather heading our way. 

 

After we got back from the city, it got crazy.  We just got in the door and Finnean fell down the stairs and hit his head on the trunk at the bottom of our steps.  I didn't see it but he was screaming like crazy.  At first I just thought he was over reacting (like normal) and then saw some blood on his arm.  I got him to the bathroom but he wouldn't let me look at it.  He was still screaming and I found a good sized goose egg and a little scrap.  I thought that must be it.  I got him calmed down and got them some dinner...THEN the storm sirens started going off.  We were under a tornado warning...really!? AGAIN!  The boys needed baths anyways, so we head to the basement bathroom again, just to be safe.  When I was washing Finnean's hair I found some more blood and the HOLE IN HIS HEAD!  Michael was still at his meeting, so I couldn't take him in to the Urgent Care right then...so we just finished up our routine and waited for him to get home.  Thankfully the storm passed and I got Hutchinson to bed.  Finnean happily watched The Backyardigans and then we headed to the doctor.

 

This is how we decided to keep the "boo-boo" pack on :)

 

 

The sky was CRAZY on the way to the doctor.  I snapped this one when we got there.  Finnean kept saying, look at those clouds!  Part of the sky was bright blue, another this pink and then the other crazy dark and stormy!  We got to see a lot of lighting, which was a great distraction!  We also saw a rainbow and Finnean knows that Jesus makes those after the rain, so he really liked that! 

There weren't too many people at the Urgent Care but we you tell them there is a hole in your kid's head, you get right in.  They told us we needed the one staple, just to make sure it didn't open back up.  Finnean was a champ!  He didn't mind them putting the numbing gel on and didn't even flinch at the staple.  I did, it was GROSS!!  The worse part is when she showed me the hole in his head...it literally was a puncture in his head...ick.  THEN the doctor realized he hasn't had his tetanus booster and she recommended getting it.  He is strong!! I had to hold down his upper body while the two nurses gave him the shot.  The nurse said he would be sore tomorrow because of how tight he had his musles flexed!  Silly boy.  After that trauma, he had to be carried the car...

 

...but as you can see, a stop at Sonic made him feel a lot better.  He is sleeping soundly now and I am exhausted.  I thought for sure that Hutchinson would be the first to get a staple or stitches but Finnean proved me wrong tonight.  Life with boys will never be dull.  I am just thankful that I get to experience it and now I can check staples off the list of things to witness! 

 

 

 

 

Tornado warnings...

We have had some summerlike thunderstorms the past 24 hours.  We got home from our bible study last night and in a panic put about everything we could think of in the downstairs bathroom.  It is hard to not freak out when there is a tornado warning BUT you have to keep it together because Finnean would freak if we did.  So instead of freaking out, we had a "party" in the bathroom.  Nothing a little Curious George couldn't handle.  Thankfully the storm passed and we were okay.  Unfortunately, that is not the case for some folks to the south of us.  Just hearing reports of the OK tornados-makes my heart sad for them and sending prayers their way. 

Easter fun!

Easter was the last day in March this year.  We stayed in Des Moines to celebrate.  It was a crisp sunshiny day and was so great to celebrate the Lord with our dear friends and church family.  We went to breakfast at our church and then headed to the Murphy's for brunch.  They can host quite the meal.  The food was AMAZING.  It was just a great day.   

Waglers 2013

Sweet boys all ready for church!

I did a little photo shoot the week of Easter to capture these handsome boys in their cute get ups!  Hutchinson's bowtie was actually Kelcee's brother's from his childhood and I made Finnean's tie.  The looked so fancy and just so darn cute! Here are a few of my favorites. 

Easter morning! 

Bubbles at the Murphy's!!

Perfect little Saturday.

This morning was awesome.  Just perfect.  Finnean came upstairs about 7:15 and had some cereal in bed with us (no milk but it did get spilled all over me) and watched George on the iPad.  We win "parents of the year" because he watched until 9 am.  Whoops!! Hutchinson slept til then so we didn't need to get up.  It was BLISS!!  We had breakfast together and then headed to the Ankeny Farmer's Market.  It is nothing special but nice to go and look around.  We took Finnean's bike and headed for a long walk/bike ride.  I bet we went 3 miles.  He was such a trooper on his bike and boy was it warm!  It is so nice to be able to exercise together as a family and it is definitely a goal of ours, to stay active.  Finnean spotted birds and Hutchinson cruised along in the stroller.  It was a great way to start the day.

Checking out the little stream.

Snack break.

Tonight we headed to an old friend's house.  Katie and Michael grew up playing together when they were the boys' age and Laura, Katie's sister, is my dear friend.  SO it is the perfect opportunity to get together plus all the husbands get along swell. Laura, Abby and I all went to high school together and have continued our friendship into adulthood.   It is so fun to be mom's together and be able to spend time together catching up.  We find that it is quite hard to have a long converstation with all the running around of little ones but that doesn't stop us from chatting the whole time we are together.  There is always a lot of laughs and stories shared.  It is a bonus that we know Katie too and makes for quite the fun get together.  There were three boys and two girls all under the age of 5...add in a pool, popsicles, a giant sand box, a putting green and it all equals a crazy fun night!  It is quite possible that someone pooped in the yard AND Hutchinson was almost peed on...it was memorable for sure!  As for the weather, it was absolutely perfect out.  We couldn't have asked for a better way to spend a Saturday night!

Katie and Brian have a putting green in their back yard...yes, in their back yard!  Finnean was in heaven!! I bet he hit 300 balls tonight and sunk A LOT of putts.  It was so fun to watch him and boy does he love to golf.  After golf, he moved on to baseball.  He can hit the ball!  He hit one so far that everyone declared it a homerun!  It was so fun to see him play so hard and he was just an awesome little boy tonight. 

So this guy is SUPER OLD!  Look at him!!! Can you believe that this is Hutch baby?  He won't be left behind.  The sandbox was down the hill from where we were all standing around and the big boys went down to play in it.  Michael said that Hutchy realized they were gone and just marched down to play too.  He looked so old.  I almost cried when I saw him down there, looking ridiculously old.  He loved playing golf and just had a great time!

The girls and the babies.  If you notice I am missing a child but he couldn't be bothered with pictures, he had golf balls to hit!  I love when we can get together.  Hutchinson is 6 months older than Piper and Piper 6 months older than Avett.  So fun to see them grow!

LOVE this little face!  He didn't actually eat much of the popsicle but sure did like the idea of it! He showed everyone!         

Oh how we wish Laura lived closer...maybe someday!  I have known these girls since 3rd grade...and that is quite some time ago...20 years?!?!

Oh, Finnean.

Popsicles are way more fun with friends!