A day of firsts...

First Pair of Shoes
We ventured out to Stride Rite to get the boys' first pair of big boy shoes.  I was equipped with a coupon and we were ready to go.  Unfortunately, so was everybody else on the planet.  Because of the giant N'oreaster, the store was packed with people looking for winter boots (and "fashion" boots, but don't get me started).  So we had the mildly frazzled girl measure the boys for their shoes...

Ben...size 4

Nate...size 4

Sam...size 4.5

 We decide that to make it easy, we want all size 4.5's.  We send the girl back (in between helping a lady with far too much money) to find whatever she has in stock in 4.5 x 3.  She comes back with the most adorable GREEN shoes.

Now, I love green, some may say I have a mild obsession with the color green.  Unfortunately we needed to be practical.  We need to buy 1 pair of shoes for 3 boys.  They need to work for play, church, going out, in the house, out of the house, etc.  We simply can't accommodate a different pair of shoes for each day of the week.  So...

We couldn't get the green shoes...and we left empy handed.  So sad.  I really wanted their experience to be the same as Eli's.  No worries though.  I had an online coupon for a better deal so I ordered some nice navy blue ones that will be arriving this week.

First Hair Cut

Ben had a bit of the Beiber fever ("Baby, baby, baby..ohhh...") and Nate and Sam were starting to fly away with their curls so it was time for a cut...and we came prepared with 3 ziploc baggies labeled for each one's first snip...

We headed over to C'est Chic and took over the place.  Katie was all lined up and ready for us. 

Ben was up first...

Then was Mr. Nate...

And last but not least...Sammy...



They look AWESOME!!!  Thanks Katie!!!

First Taco

We decided to head out after nap and get some delicious Mexican food at our favorite restaraunt, La Carreta.  The boys have tried quesadillas, but this time, they wanted to try tacos...

Senor Nate

Senor Eli con Senor Ben

Senor Sam

They even had some refried beans and fried ice cream for dessert!!!

First snow of the season

When we headed out for dinner, it was mearly raining.  After dinner, we headed up to BJ's to buy our weekly 5 gallons of milk, 6 pounds of bananas, and giant box of Cheerios.  After we were done, this is what we saw when we went out to the car...

Ben & Sam

Nate

Where's Nate???  Behind the snowflake...

OK...here he is!!!

Ben is trying to catch snowflakes

Sammy is checking out the landscape.



Yes...we did this all in one day...Yikes!  No wonder why I'm exhausted!!!

Halloween Festivities

We're sort of known for making a big deal about Halloween.  Even  more than that, it's expected.  Last year, (when I had 3 babies in the hospital), I got comments as to why I didn't do much for Halloween....

ummmm...have a heart people...

So, now we're back on track.  I am pleased to introduce the 3 little pigs and the big bad wolf...

Nate (straw)

Sam (sticks)

Ben (bricks)

Sammy's little secret...

Sammy has a secret...

He can walk!!!  Yay Sammy!!!  He's been practicing for a few days now and can put 7 and 8 steps together at a time.  He actually walked over to greet me when I got home from school today!!!

Go Pats!!!

Sam

Ben

Nate

1 year photoshoot

Once again, our favorite photographer, Gail, worked her magic with the boys for their 1 year photoshoot. We had a bit of a hiccup because the boys got their vaccines the day before and were all out of sorts. Ben did not smile once. He's usually my smiliest guy whenever he sees a camera. We definitely learned our lesson though. No more shots before pictures for sure!!!

Benji

Natey

 Sammy

A family portrait

The boys are totally photoshopped here.

Each boy was photographed separately then put together.

Smash cakes a la Sarah

Before

Smash cakes

After

Go Big Blue!!!

Since Steve & Barry's isn't in our neck of the woods, we have to improvise with our Michigan gear...but we're ready to go!!!

13 Months Old!!!

Can you believe that our little pumpkins are 13 months old?  Who said we have to stop counting at 12???

N-B-S

Sippy Cup Switch-a-roo

One of the more dreaded experiences in a baby's life is the transition to sippy cup.  Because I didn't want the boys to be walking in on their first day of Kindergarten with a bottle in their lunch box (don't laugh...it's happened...binkies too, but I'm not ready for that yet), I decided to cut the strings and go cold turkey.

One Friday morning, when they woke up, we gave them sippy cups instead of bottles.  By that evening, we were all ready to pull our hair out and we teetered on the edge of giving them a bottle to make it easier for everybody.  We had about 35 different kinds of sippy cups to choose from and we just had to figure out who liked which kind.

This is what we've ended up with:

They haven't quite mastered the "tip back" necessary to drink cups while sitting up.  When sitting is necessary, we use sippy cups with straws.  They work well too.  I can't believe we did it, but we have and we haven't gone back to bottles in over a week!!!