TWL Zoo Field Trip 2016

On Friday, April 29th Nolan and Carter's school went to the St. Louis Zoo for their annual field trip.  Bill took off work and went with all 3 boys and I.  It was a mad house!  There were at least 40 school buses at the zoo for field trips.  It was a rather long day, but we made the most of our trip and the boys had fun.  Blake was able to walk around a bit and enjoy the zoo too.  With it being so crowded it was hard to stay in a group, so every once in awhile we would meet up with some others from TWL and walk around together for a little bit.

Blake didn't know what to think of the hippo.

It looks like I've got a Pygmy Goat, River Otter, and Koala Bear for kiddos.

Blake had a ton of fun pushing the buttons inside the insectarium.  Nolan is such a great big brother, he showed Blake how to work the buttons and told him what each insect was.

Nolan met up with a few of his friends.  Mariah, Brendan, Collins, Augie, and Jackson.  Carter hung back with Bill, Blake, and I while Nolan explored a little ahead of us.

Carter is such a funny kid with all of his expressions.  He is always keeping us entertained with his quirkiness.

The boys grew tired of looking at animals and requested to have their faces painted.  I was shocked because last time the boys waited in line for 20 minutes to have their faces painted and then chickened out.  Nolan went first and asked for a shark on his cheek, he couldn't have his whole face painted because of his glasses.  Nolan did great!  He jumped right up into the chair and sat perfectly still while the lady painted his face.  At the end, Nolan said it tickled a little bit.

Carter watched Nolan quietly and I could tell he was in deep thought.  When it was Carter's turn he chose the full face cheetah.  He asked to sit on my lap, so I sat down first and them up climbed Carter.  Each time the lady turned for more color I snapped a quick picture.  It was neat to see Carter's transformation into a cheetah.  He did such a great job too!  He wiggled a little when she was painting around his nose and lips, because it tickled.

I got a smile out of him at the end.  After Carter had his face painted, he kept darting through the crowd, going super fast, like a cheetah.  This kid cracks me up!

We ended the day on the ape, but Blake was almost asleep so Nolan and Carter were the only two to get their picture taken.

My little artist

Nolan and Carter are always making laser bracelets, super hero masks, laser rings, and so on with construction paper and tape.  Since Blake is not able to partake in the cutting of paper, I decided paints were safest for him and purchased washable paints, paintbrushes, and canvas boards.  Blake had a blast making artwork!

Blake started out slow and serious with the paint. At first I was dipping his paintbrush in the paint for him and then giving the brush back.  Once Blake realized he could dip the paintbrush himself all craziness broke out!

The picture below is probably one of my favorite pictures of Blake.

I eventually gave Blake the plate with paint on it and let him go to town on his high chair tray.  He thought he was big stuff!

 At the end of the painting session, Blake had broken his paintbrush in two and covered his tray with the paints.  Blake had a lot of fun and we will definitely be doing more of this in the future.

Blake's 18 Month Well Visit

On Tuesday, April 19th Blake had his 18 month well visit with Dr. Hulsen.  Blakey is back on track with growing.  Blake weighed 22 pounds 9 ounces, which places him in the 15th percentile for weight and measured 31 inches, which places him in the 15th percentile for height.  My little peanut is growing, growing, growing.  Dr. Hulsen is happy to see Blake is back up to the 15th percentile in height and weight and is impressed with his development as well.

Blake was kept entertained by the dump truck in the room, while waiting during his visit.  Blake is all boy!!  Anything to do with trucks, dirt, or destruction and he is a happy camper.

B has really taken off lately with his talking.  He now says, "thank you, papa, nana, dada, car, dog, please, cah cah, no, and more."  It seems like over night he has developed into a little toddler and it is crazy!!  Blake has 11 teeth and is working on his last first year molar right now.  In order to fall asleep he has to have his paci and bankie with him.

Blake is now a master at climbing things, but needs help getting down sometimes.  Usually Carter will assist, knock down, Blake and it turns into a fight.  Blake loves anything to do with being outside, playing with his brothers, and being read to.  A few of his favorite books right now are Dear Zoo, Brown Bear Brown Bear, and That's Not My Hedgehog.

Happy 19 months today to my Blakey boy.  You're the most precious baby boy with an adorable attitude.  Even though you are the smallest in the house, you know how to run the household and keep everyone hopping.  Mommy loves you baby B.

Carter's Spring Program

On April 14th, Carter's preschool class had a Spring Program and Art Show.  Ms. Megan is Carter's teacher and Carter is in the Froggy Class.

Bill and I were prepared for Carter's shyness because of how the Christmas Program went, so we weren't surprised in the least when the program started and Carter stood and didn't participate.  Carter would lean on the chair in front of him, stand with his fingers in his mouth, or stare off in the distance.  Bill and I were proud he went up on stage and stayed put.  I'm sure in the years to come his shyness will go away, at least I hope.

Carter is the one standing in the green shirt and jeans on the left side.  He doesn't seem too impressed with the songs. Haha

The program songs were sung and everyone was invited to view the art displayed.  Carter was all smiles now that he was done being on stage.  Carter's class studied Eric Carle, Vincent van Gogh, and Claude Monet for art history.  The students were asked to recreate each of their own masterpieces in the form of each famous artist.  I was rather impressed with Carter's artistic abilities!!  Carter chose to recreate an Eric Carle carterpillar, he painted a rainbow with lots of little dots for Vincent van Gogh, and painted a beautiful vase with flowers to interpret Claude Monet.

Carter showed us all of his masterpieces and was ready for his snacks.  Cupcakes, juice, and cookies were enjoyed by all.  Thanks to Grandma Donna for coming to Carter's program.  Also, for taking our family picture.  I love how random our little family is! haha

Mommy is so proud of the little boy you're becoming Carter Lynn.  I love how expressive you are even when you're stubborn.  Carter, you're such a kind-hearted, loving little boy that is going to do amazing things in life! I love you Lynn Lynn.

Happy Easter 2016!

I know I'm about a month behind, but I finally made myself take the time to fabricate blog posts again.  I last left off at Easter.  Easter took place on March 27, 2016 at Papa and Nana's house.  This Easter marked the first time Blake was able to Easter egg hunt with Nolan and Carter.

The boys woke up Easter morning and were so excited to hunt for eggs, I didn't take pictures of them opening their baskets.  Nolan and Carter were off hunting eggs right away.  Blake however wanted to ride the Kubota and went straight to the garage.  After a little coaxing from Papa, Blake started to hunt for eggs too.

Once the boys found all the eggs the Easter bunny had hidden, it was time to ride.  I was unable to have a family picture taken due to one of the boys being gone on either the 4-wheeler or Kubota all day.  At least they had fun!  A huge thanks to Jimmy who was the main chauffeur for the day.  Blake went on his first 4-wheeler ride and he is obsessed like his older brothers!  Blakey didn't want to lose sight of the 4-wheeler all day.

It was time for the family dinner, so we headed up to the shed to eat all the delicious food and spend time with family.  The food was eaten and the little cousins were ready to hunt eggs.

Blake was super excited to hunt Easter eggs the second time.  His face was priceless when he would spot an egg.  Blake caught onto the attention he was receiving if he made this face, so he kept it up for awhile.  Carter wanted nothing to do with hunting eggs, so Jimmy gave him 4-wheeler rides all afternoon.

Nolan was an egg hunting machine! He had a lot of fun with Owen searching for the hidden eggs.

Blake was exhausted from his busy day and fell asleep on daddy's lap while taking a ride on the Kubota.  All of the eggs were found and second helpings were eaten, so it was time to pack up and go home.  Nolan and Carter were strapped unwillingly into their carseats and the Purcell family headed back to Edwardsville.  As we drove past the Coffeen Lake, all 3 boys were asleep.  The ride home was nice and peaceful!

Happy Easter!!