8 for a while now

Well, my boy has been 8 years old since Sunday, April 13th and I am just finally getting to blog about it.

We had a pretty low key celebration. Grammie came down and we had pizza, cake, ice cream, and some gifts. All of us except dad and grammie were sick. I finally felt well enough Friday to take cupcakes in to school. Eric is still waiting on a fun day out with is best friend. Hopefully we'll be well enough for that soon.

I tried to put this post up a while ago with his answers to some questions about being 8 years old but he just didn't want to do it. So I finally decided this is all he gets!

Happy Birthday Eric!

Introducing...

Mr. Cody Man

Yep! We finally got a dog. We have been waiting for just the right dog to fall in our laps for quite a while now. I didn't want to do the puppy thing, didn't want a dog that was too big to clean up after or so small that the boys would kill it. I wanted a dog that would be great with the kids and I was really hoping for Free! It's a lot to ask I know but God knew what we needed and brought him to us.

This here is the shaggy mop of a creature we acquired. He is a 3 year old buff colored Cocker Spaniel. Pure bred, AKC certified with papers. He had been kept outside and his previous owner went to college and wasn't taking care of him anymore. His name is Cody (Karl and Steph, can you believe it?) We thought about changing his name but he's been called Cody for 3 years and responds to it. We tried other names that the boys suggested but he just didn't seem to take to any of them.
Here he is after a very long time at the groomer. The poor thing was dirty and stinky and over grown but now he is absolutely adorable.
Our Cody is so sweet. He adores the boys and all the attention they give him. He doesn't growl or snarl at them even though they are in his face even when he is eating. He doesn't jump on us and isn't a shameless beggar (although the boys are determined to turn him into one because they want to feed him everything). He did leave puddles in the house Wednesday night when I brought him home and Thursday during the day but he did not at all last night or at all today. He's catching on fast and aims to please because he has been deprived of attention for so long. We are all looking forward to the fun we will have with him!

Meet Big RED

Big Red is the very bestest tricycle in the universe! We got it for Eric when he was 3 years old. Once David got big enough Eric would take him for rides. Then it was David's trike. And now...

...It belongs to Mr. Levi and he is in LOVE. He has been waiting to be able to ride Big RED since he was born. Just recently we dug it out of the shed, pumped up the tires and to Levi's delight he is finally big enough to reach the pedals!! This is a big kid's trike and he is now a big kid. (Part of me thinks that's awesome and part of me wonders where my tiny little boys have gone)

He almost can't be stopped...well...unless of course he turns too fast.

Cause for celebration

#1 He Is Risen!

#2 David learned to ride his bike

#3 Loot

HAPPY EASTER

Grammie and Uncle Steve came to visit this weekend and we had

So much Fun!

Painting

Decorating Cookies

Enjoying the sunshine

and getting Grammie kisses!

More rainey day fun

You'll have to forgive me...the following pictures are pretty bad. We've had some more chilly, rainey days and we are trying to turn off the "idiot box" and excersize a bit more. Thank you again to my mom for allowing us to do this as kids. My kids had the time of their life!

No, he did not break his neck!

ART FAIR

Eric had an Art Fair at school where they had all the kids artwork framed. Here is Eric's "City scape" complete with airplane and taxi. His art teacher says that he really creative and particularly detail oriented in art class especially for a boy. The rest of his teachers think she is confusing him with some other child:)

We are proud of Him!

Boring Winter Day

It's cold and rainy and gross out today so we are stuck inside. David and Levi were playing so well together that I decided to make them a fort. We put the couches together facing each other and took off the cushions. I put a fitted sheet over the top for a roof and VIOLA! They were amazed. They really got in to it and made a pretend fire over which they prepared dinner and roasted marshmallows.
Thank you mom for doing this with Steve and I when we were little so I could pass this fun on to my kids!

Mini Golf

Who says you can't play miniature golf in the winter?

We found an indoor miniature golf place in Ocean City that we tried out. It was really fun. The boys are finally getting old enough to do fun things like this without making me completely crazy!

I want my gum!

Yes, Levi is long since past the age of overturning trash cans. I was shocked to see this sight when I walked into the kitchen. When I asked him why he dumped the trash he said "I want my gum" I looked at him quizzically and then...his eyes brightened and he reached into the middle of this mess and picked up the piece of gum that he had been chewing. EEEEEWWWW! Apparently he thought he was done chewing it and threw it away but then changed his mind! Tasty!!