A Morning Outside

Sidewalk chalk!
Double dutch anyone?
He walks around all day with his tongue out
He doesn't have the sweet swing of a true hitter just yet, but he's getting there
He's not allowed to play under the stairs. His face tells me that he knows this
Commando training. He'll be up in that tree soon, that's for sure
I managed to capture the one split second when they were actually playing well together
I love this kid!
Cade is very deliberate in his shoveling methods
Dirt is just fun, period.
I'm pretty sure that this is dangerous behavior; I believe that it is illegal in several states.

Just the Boys - Live Blog

Well it's 3:45 pm on Tuesday, and April is gone until this time on Friday with the rest of the girls. I'm going to chronicle my Mr. Mom experiences in a Word document as they happen, then I'll share them with the wide world after she gets home...it's gonna be a wild ride!

Life With 2 Toddlers

Corban has decided that climbing on chairs is cool...which it is...but scares this Momma that he will fall, especially when he leave the chair to climb on to tables and counter tops. So, in order to help maintain sanity around here, all the chairs reside on their sides unless we are eating in them. Sorry chairs, maybe some day you can sit upright again.

Today (Saturday) was my day to talk to my Mom via Skype. She has a webcam as do we and it's a chance for my boys to see Nanna and for her to watch the boys and talk with them...that is when they cooperate. So, during my almost hour of being on-line with her today I realized that I no longer have the luxury of sitting and simply talking to my Mom. Thank you C1 and C2. The following list are the things that occured during our "time to talk":

• turn on more lights and open curtains b/c it's too dark for my Mom to see us through the webcam
• readjust the camera so she can watch the boys play while we chat
• turn the TV back on b/c C2 turned it off and C1 is throwing a fit
• turn the camera so Mom can watch the action of C2 turning the TV off and instantly looking to C1 for a reaction...stop laughing Nanna.
• turn the TV off b/c the fight over it is out of hand
• wrestle with a climbing Corban
• try and keep C2 from hitting just the right buttons on the keyboard to disconnect us
• no touching the camera C2
• give both boys books in hopes to have a few minutes of "grown up" talk with my mom
• potty break for me, Mom watches the boys while I'm gone
• return to find C2 stuck in a chair that is on it's side, help him out
• pick up C2 and toy that have both fallen over as he tried to climb on it
• kiss hurt part of C1, still don't know exactly what happened, but a kiss always makes it better. He says, "Thanks Momma, that's much better."
  
• hear the boys in the back of the house, so I go to make sure all bathroom doors are closed (C2 likes toilets and shower drains)
  
• meanwhile, I find C2 playing with hangers in the laundry room
• C1 is on the toilet. I wipe his bottom.
• watch C1 closely as he climbs on one of the upside down bar stools, that kid has amazing skills
  
• go in search of why C2 is crying
• discover C1 is on top of a small dresser ready to leap onto his bed where C2 is sitting
• give instructions to C1 that it's his job to make sure C2 doesn't cry and stays safe
• phone rings once. It's Brett, he wants me to call.
• I say goodbye to Mom so I can call Brett.

I don't remember much of the conversation my Mom and I had...but I know she got a kick out of watching and listening to me mother my two toddlers....remembering what it was like herself.

I love my two boys and love that they are so close in age. Is is hard? Yes. Would I change it? No. Do I still want more children? Of course...I'm just not sure I want them in Togo because living here seems to take motherhood and everything else up a knotch. When I have these crazy days, God often reminds me that they are gifts from Him. It's true, I am blessed to spend every day, no matter how insane, with them. It is those nights that I go into their room long after they're asleep and just thank God for my precious boys.

Activity Books

Caden loves working with mazes, dot to dots, and matching games. Corban likes to make illegal forays onto the table top and eat crayons. To each his own!

Gifts For The Boys

Another surprise of the week was when I weighed the boys...what's your guess?



Caden - 30.5 lbs.
Corban - 25 lbs.

Hey Caden, watch out for your "little" brother!

Morning Face

This is what the boys look like for the first 30 minutes or so after they get up in the morning...all they need is milk and a video and they totally zone out...

Soooooo Sleepy

I think every parent has a video of their child falling asleep in the highchair. Here's ours:

sleepy corban

Well, OK, he doesn't actually fall asleep...but it's still pretty cute.
(FYI: the sign for "all done" is twisting both hands)

Caden's World

Come on in, just remember: It's his world, and we all just happen to live in it...
You're gonna see some really cool stuff...There are hot dogs in C1's world...And a momma...And a daddy...A little brother...A few friends...And lots of smiles...
And just when you want him so say something fun and 3-year old-ish...It's his world, and he'll say what he thinks, when he wants!

Water Fun

Bath time with bubbles is the best...and make some fun pictures too!

...and here's a fun video simply because most people don't go swimming in January.

Just For Fun

I know, I know...you're wondering if it was really cold enough to wear long sleeves and pants, plus a winter hat in Africa. No, not really...but the long-clothing helps with the mosquitoes and when it's cold we take every chance we get to dress our kids up in "winter" clothing. It's a form of entertainment for us. ;)

Yes, I found him this way. I don't think any true "potty-ing" occurred.
Oh, and sorry Betsy, but I cut his hair....not a lot, but one day the tangles were too much for me and Caden. (the dry season was zapping the curls...I'll post newer pics soon)

Warning: Lots of Corban Ahead

That's right, this is a Corban is a cutie post. Enjoy the pics and the video!

I feel the need to inform our viewers that the following video is slightly boring...unless you're family, then I'm sure you'll love it.

Baking Firsts

I've had two "firsts" in the last few weeks that I am quite proud of. So many of you ask about our daily life that I'd thought I'd share some of the exciting parts...at least exciting to me.


Having two little boys in the house, we don't have many "girly" things around and definitely no pink. So when I had the opportunity to make a Barbie cake for a friend of ours, I couldn't think of a better color for frosting than PINK. Let me tell you, my kitchen has never seen so much pink! I wasn't sure how it was going to go....but it was actually a lot easier than I thought. I enjoyed it and Sydney was quite excited to see her Barbie cake.
We had a group of 17 adults and 19 children to serve cake to and I knew the Barbie cake wasn't going to cut it. I had plenty of pink icing, so the cupcakes received the same flower shapes of frosting as the Barbie did. I told you it was a lot of pink!
The other thing I did for the first time was bake bread. I have lived here for 2 years and always let my houseworker make my bread for us. I figured, in the States, I would just buy it from the store so it's not really different if I don't make it myself. Well, recently, we've stopped liking the flavor of her recipe so I got ambitious and attempted to make homemade white bread myself.

The loaves turned out great! Brett couldn't stop talking about how good it was. When I asked Caden what he thought, he said, "it good, Momma" and then proceeded to ask for more bread all day.

Before moving to Africa I always wanted to enjoy cooking but couldn't bring myself to make anything that required too many ingredients or too much effort. Living here and not having convienences has required me to get in the kitchen and just try things. I now LOVE to cook and have become very interested in cookbooks and new recipes. I actually wish I had more time in the kitchen by myself to just cook. Nearly all my cooking requires me to make a lot of extra ingredients...true "scratch" cooking. But I love the feeling when someone compliments my cooking and I know that I made that dish myself. It's funny to me that after a few months of living here I would tell people that the cooking was the hardest thing for me to adjust to...now it's one of my favorites.

Happy New Year

For a special New Year's treat, make sure your speakers are turn on...but not too loud.

FYI: Africa Has Lions!

Enjoy these pics and video from Brett's latest weekend safari trip! Seeing lions in action is a gift from God... Two beautiful beasts...Look closely, this war veteran has only one eyeball...I believe that in literary circles this is known as "rising action"...Still rising...BOOM! The climax...And now, the video!

WhenLionsAttack
Uploaded by emersonstogo

Oh By the way, they have elephants there too...

Let It Snow?

Caden has been all about this fireman costume lately (thanks Gamma!). He also likes this "Let It Snow" sign on his wrist. Irony anyone?

Merry Christmas!

This year we are celebrating in Accra, Ghana with our dear friends the Crowsons and the Koonces. It's 90, it's very humid and we had cheeseburgers for lunch, but the company is great and feels almost like family :)Here are some shots of the boys opening presents and enjoying the season. Caden doesn't quite get it just yet, but he does walk around telling whomever he sees, "Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas everybody!". We are going to spend the rest of our day watching Christmas movies and talking with our families on the phone. May God's blessings be on you all as you celebrate the gift of Jesus to all the world!

Caden Darrel

These pictures should have been posted back in October, fortunately, Caden has changed very little in two months...

Caden, our three year old.....
boy, toddler, crazy man, sweetheart, temper tantrum thrower, funny guy, son.

Ever wondered why we took Maddie pictures? For moments like this...

His smile is contagious.His giggles are precious.
His dimple is from Daddy.
His brown eyes and curls from Momma.


So what is Caden up to these days? You mean besides disagreeing with Mommy and Daddy? He recognizes all upper and lower case letters, can count to 20 (sometimes needing help around 15-17), can spell his name, can spell Corban's name, loves his dot-to-dot book, knows his shapes and colors, loves to say "I don't like it" about everything, occasionally shares with Corban, loves milk, apples, pizza, and cheese and has a repertoire of songs that he prefers to sing by himself unless he invites you to sing along. Oh, and he loves his movies...which can be anything from Blues Clues, Little Einsteins, Backyardigans, Curious George, Caillou, Bob The Builder, Micky Mouse Clubhouse, Winnie The Pooh, Boz, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Sound of Music (a select few scenes), or various Christmas videos.