Living the easy life...

Since Tanzen and Makett have gotten old enough to help around the house, my life has been a piece of cake!

I tell you, if you need to simplify your life, I highly recommend getting some toddlers. They have endless energy and are always up for a challenge, looking for creative solutions to all your daily house keeping needs.

Some of their best skills?

They're such efficient vacuumers, the only drawback is deciding who will go first.

Crime in our neighborhood has dropped considerably since Makett and Tanzen took over the neighborhood watch.

What sweethearts! I only have to request what I'd like for dinner, and Tanzen and Makett whip it right up. I snapped this in the midst of their preparations for a splendid gourmet dinner.

Personal yoga instructors! Did I hit the jackpot or what?

I no longer have to worry about feeding the dog-- and he gets hand fed, just like at those fancy pet hotels.

Their toys are always picked up, and they have a knack for rearranging furniture.

Makett is always on top of replenishing the toilet paper

Tanzen takes care of organizing the cupboards

The only problem now is trying to figure out what to do with all this free time....

Sculptors

My parents gave Tanzen and Makett a bag of 200 blocks for Christmas...that's a lot of blocks! You can tell who loves playing with them...

Do our boys have their Daddy's artistic talents? Or perhaps they get a little help? They are certainly talented at destroying block creations, so if all else fails they have a career in demolition. Seriously, these two can demolish just about anything in thirty seconds!

Daddy time!

Brandon has been studying a ton lately! Luckily he has some good study partners...

Brandon brought home his work lap top so he and Tanzen could collaborate on a presentation

Feeding Daddy is another favorite activity... We have to take turns sharing our apples

I love Makett's reaction to Brandon eating his food-- "Uh-oh! Where is it?"

There's no denying it- we love our Daddy!

Walking around the block...

Tanzen and Makett took us for a walk, proudly sporting hats knitted by my brother Chaz!

J-U-M-P!

Makett's new hobby is jumping, which he does so very well. Tanzen is more of a dancin' man.
**Disclaimer: I've had some concerned citizens worrying about the boys falling off the couch. We had the same worry, which is why Brandon is sitting on the floor in front of the couch-- you just can't seem him. Thanks for making sure your nephews are safe Tosh!

Our Talented Tanny!

Tanny always has something up his sleeve and comes up with ways to make us laugh. He's forever making mischievously funny faces for our entertainment!

Tanny's best sign is "please", which he's demonstrating here.

He's social and loves being in the center of things-- he crashed the nativity to look at baby Jesus
He loves to hold things, and will carry them around for hours, to have them pried out of his left hand for nap or bath time. His favorite objects include baby carrots, crackers, skinny blocks, and pens. He clung to this cracker all through dinner. If even 2 mm break off, he cries for a new one. It has to be perfectly whole.

Walking in Daddy's shoes

He loves dumping out the blocks...luckily Makett likes picking them up, so they make a good team!

Definitely a blankie boy! He loves to hold the corners of his blanket, one in each hand. He also likes to bite the corners.

Another favorite object to carry-- the case to a windshield wiper. He puts it on the ground like he's vacuuming.

Ah, baskets. Endless fun!

Tanny is an independent, on-the-go reader. He prefers to read stories at his own time and pace, vs. Mommy's!

I can't resist these big blue eyes!

Tanzen loves wearing Daddy's gloves

We love you Tanzen!

Our Marvelous Maketty!

Makett loves to laugh! He's always eager to laugh and continually cracks himself (and us) up.

This is his favorite sign, and, coincidentally, favorite word: "Uh-Oh!"
Definitely an all around adjective, whether he's using to after he throws his food on the floor, after Tanny steals his toy, or when the neighbor's dog goes back inside.

Ketty loves animals and spends lots of time looking out the window, anxiously hoping for a glimpse of our neighbors dog. He likes sitting in Khylo's bed too!

Ketty LOVES playing with balls-- he's pretty good at throwing them too!
I loved watching him stack the rolls. Then he picked out a block to go on top.

Makett loves figuring things out and is determined. He will spend ten minutes figuring out how to put the power cord in the baby monitor, how to unscrew a jar, how to open a child-proof cabinet, which, luckily for us he hasn't figured out yet!

When he's almost done eating he brushes all the food off his tray. Then he asks to get down and cleans it all up, which must give him an appetite because then he wants to eat it again.

He loves clearing out this cupboard, it's his favorite spot to sit and ponder.

Walking in Daddy's boots didn't work very well, they were too heavy

He likes wearing this hat, which matches his personality!

His favorite book, he loves to take all the pieces out...still working on getting them back in!

"Uh-oh!"

Ketty loves having fun!

Another favorite place to sit...

Basketball is his favorite sport

He loves playing captain at the Please Touch museum

This page is his favorite page in The Very Hungry Caterpillar. He'll bring me the book specifically to read this page, and will sit and look at it for hours. I'm sure it's because he finds the salami, cake, and ice cream enticing.

We love you Makett!