Random April Pictures

Before it really got warm (so all of April), the boys' favorite afternoon hang-out was in our sunny front yard, digging in the dirt. (We (and by we, I mean Ed) cut back some shrubs last year in front our house and are still waiting to see if they'll be bouncing back or not, so in the meantime, there's a lovely little dirty patch, perfect for two diggin' boys.)

 They dig holes, build mountains. And repeat. And repeat.

Big fans of their new rubber boots. Regardless of the weather or temperature, they wear them. And while Jojo has a 50-50 chance of getting them on the correct feet, 90% of the time they're on wrong.

Actual documentation of the boys being sweet together. The reigning favorite book in our house, Trucks Roll, brings these two together. TJ has it memorized, so he reads it to Jojo, who chimes in with "Trucks Roll" in a low growl at all the appropriate spots.

 Jojo does a run-through of his best facial expressions. Still trying to get a video of them. He will often pop them off on demand, which is a big hit with everyone we meet.

Angry eyes (a weak effort):

Happy (also a bit weak):

Pouty lip:

Scared:

Surprised:

 Not to be outdone, TJ brought his best faces to the table:

 He has some amazing eyebrow action.

Chair tipping

Maybe a precursor to cow tipping?! 

A very popular activity at our house; no captions necessary, beyond the knowledge that each boy ALWAYS wants the chair the other boy has. 

Easter Weekend

The Tuckers drove up from St. Louis to join us for Easter this year. Katie had spring break, so it was perfect timing. The next time we'll see them is likely after their little boy is born in September!

Even though the boys had dyed eggs the weekend before, we did it again so that Tucker and Katie could experience the fun. We're helping to get them ready for parenthood! :) We did this egg dyeing shirtless for obvious reasons. 

Jojo shows off colorful hands.

Getting some dyeing help

Posing with the finished eggs

Thomas has gotten quite good at carefully taking the eggs out of the dye.

The best picture of the boys on Easter morning. Yes, Jojo has a black eye. His second in two weeks, same eye. One was caused by TJ; the second was self-inflicted.

The boys with the Tuckers

Our family photo

Our friend Justin was in town on a layover (he's a pilot), so he joined us too. The boys were glad that Ethan and Jacob had shared their daddy for the day.

Jojo found his basket. For some reason, we didn't take many photos during the egg hunt. I think this is the only one!

TJ tried on Justin's boots!

Moms and Boys Weekend

Each year during Dads and Bros weekend (which started in 2010 as a sort of bachelor party for Pat and continues each year as a basketball-watching, beer-drinking, male-bonding weekend at Pearl Lake), we have Moms and Boys weekend. This year, it fell the weekend before Easter, so our activities were themed accordingly. 

The best (?!) bunny ear picture

The outtakes:

Egg dyeing

James napped through the actual dyeing (probably a good thing) but was in charge of quality control for the finished eggs.

Love how he can just be rolled up and fall asleep anywhere, though in a house with a perpetually-motioned TJ and Jojo on the loose, it's not always that simple.

Jojo was NOT happy to share me with James. Anytime I had James, he squirmed his way onto my lap or into my arms, staking his territory. I remember TJ doing this when I held a friend's baby.

Marbleworks, a toy from our childhood, is always a hit with the boys. Aunt Jenn Jenn was the Marbleworks pro.

Me dyeing eggs with the boys

James and Jojo playing the piano

Probably Grammy's favorite part of the weekend--snuggled up in bed reading stories with the grandsons.

TJ and Jojo love to have tea parties with Grammy.

The Easter Bunny made an early stop at Grammy and Buppa's house.

Chocolate! Peeps!

James checks out his first Easter basket.

Bathtime mohawk!

And two photos of the guys' fun up at the lake. Last year they swam in the lake; this year they built a snowman and used the trick (water) skis behind a 4-wheeler on the frozen lake! 

There's always a photo of the empty beer can display, this year artfully arranged on Mom's shelves.

Alli's Baby Shower

Back in March, we headed to Cincinnati for a weekend for Alli's baby shower. It was a great blue and puppy dog-themed weekend, and so nice to have an extra weekend of extended family time.

Ready to open a pile of gifts!

 Alli with the shower hostesses: the Demko sisters, Mary Beth, and me

 Pregnant sisters! Alli is/was due in early May, and MB in early September. I think it's neat that Mary and I were pregnant together twice and then she and Alli were pregnant together. That means cousin buddies that are close in age!

Playing the oh-so-fun guess the belly circumference game! Mary Ann's string wrapped around twice plus. I have learned the best way to play this game is to guess short. Makes the mom-to-be feel good! 

 The shower was blue and gray in color, and puppy dog themed since Alli and Micah have two dogs. Paw print cupcakes.

The dessert table

A diaper cake

 Puppy chow in dog dishes and baby washcloths folded into puppy dogs

Mary Beth flew in for the shower, so she was kid-free. She enjoyed some 1 on 1 (or 1 on 2?) nephew time--here snuggling with TJ.

Another of Thomas' buddies from the weekend was Uncle Lloyd. He and Thomas (and Jojo, a bit) did a lot of coloring.

Ed and Jojo were in town too!

The original Ruble five. This group will number 17 in September!