Play hard, sleep hard!

Now Patrick I cannot leave alone to amuse himself...at least not for very long. He gets into EVERYTHING!!! I knew he was chewing on these markers and left the room to do something and didn't worry, since he can't get the caps off on his own. What I did NOT expect was that Will would open them for him. Rookie move. What was I thinking? Patrick looks like he's ready for Halloween!

Hey, Mommy! Great look, huh?

Still a charmer...but a sneaky one! 

I HAD to get some stuff done (closet organization in my room), so this was my solution. Will was playing with his dinosaurs while Patrick watched from the hallway, having a snack. I was in our bedroom so he could see both Will and me. 

Getting into mischief is EXHAUSTING!!!

So silly!

Will likes to "help" Justin whenever he can. Since our bathroom was being gutted over vacation, Justin had the safety glasses out. Naturally, Will wanted to make these his own. 

Safety is serious business!

But don't I look cute?!

Will LOVED the Echo Center, which is a science center downtown on Lake Champlain. I took lots of pictures, but they are on Facebook and were taken on my phone...but here's a cute pic from my regular camera. Will loved the play store they had in the dramatic play area. 

Busy boys!

These photos were taken on a day that Will and Patrick were feeling especially independent...in a good way. They were having fun just playing and doing things on their own. 

Doesn't he look so grown up holding the pencil? I love that he knows how to hold it correctly! Woo hoo!

Such concentration!

When we couldn't be outside, we brought the snow inside! This provided hours of entertainment for both boys over the course of the week!

A harmonious moment.

Playdough and snow

Will and Patrick gave their friends at daycare some homemade playdough and a cookie cutter for Valentine's Day. Will helped me make the playdough on Sunday afternoon. He loves standing on a chair and helping me in the kitchen. It's a new hobby!

I mentioned a few posts ago that the first big storm that gave us a snow day a couple weeks ago was just the beginning. Two Saturdays ago we got another 12" inches overnight of heavy, wet snow. The piles got so high that I had a very hard time backing out of the driveway onto the street and turning out of the neighborhood. For Will, I think all this snow has been exciting but also a little daunting! The piles are much taller than he is, which must be a bit intimidating!

You can usually see our garage quite clearly from the street view of our house. And the bushes by the front left window usually touch the bottom of the windows. 

Hmm...not so easy to get into that snow fort anymore! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a happy (and HEALTHY--woo hoo!) Valentine's Day in our house. We all went to work and/or daycare as usual, but we did a little celebrating in the evening. I LOVE my family of boys. XOXOXOXO! Happy 1st Valentine's Day, Patrick!

The balloons (leftover from my school party) were a hit. One balloon for each of my boys. Will and Patrick were occupied with these for quite a while!

I think he's sucking on a conversation heart here. A few manage to escape from the heart cannister and Patrick found them without fail. I did a lot of mouth sweeping last night. He's fast!

Contemplating the loves in his life (ha ha ha) after having a meltdown over me refusing to let him eat chocolate. Mean Mommy! 

Still loving those balloons, even in another room. So funny!

Valentine's Day cards!

The Valentine's Day cards from Grammy arrived on Saturday, a few days before the big day. Will had to wait until V-tines night to open his card. It was fun to watch him figure out the envelope. He was convinced he had to peel off the stamp before opening the envelope, until I told him that is not necessary! He happily tore right into the envelope once he knew he could give up the stamp peeling endeavor! He LOVES his card and spent hours (OK, 10 minutes!!!) opening and closing the bear's arms on the card. He asked me for a magnet to hang it up and then another to hang Patrick's card. So sweet! 

Patrick liked his card too, and Will was more than happy to open it for him. Patrick opened it, closed it, opened it again and then commenced the chewing. :-)

A care package!

Grammy Maria sent a care package that arrived last week. The boys sure were excited about this one! At first, Will was smiling about the candy in the box, which is funny since he doesn't eat candy. Good thing the best part was at the bottom! Will was SO excited to see two motorcycle toys waiting underneath the BIG pile of clothes. Hooray! He slept with them that night, if that tells you anything. Amazingly, Will decided to agree with  me that one was meant for him and the other for Patrick. This is a first! Will usually claims everything as his, even when it's clearly meant for Patrick. Progress! Thanks for some excitement on a Thursday evening, Grammy!

Smile all you want, cute boy, but you're not getting any Milk Duds! Patrick is practicing his brushing skills...with the toothbrush still in the package! :-)

Daddy loves his new U of M sweats!

Gotta get to those motorcycles!

Love Will's smile here...and I also love that Patrick is STILL looking at the toothbrush.

Our first snow day together!

It's been a wild and snowy week! These pictures are "old," meaning, they are missing a lot of snow. I thought this was a lot of snow. NO WAY! You should see it now! And you will, soon. :-) Our first major snowstorm happened with the rest of the country, on Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011. In fact, our measly 14" didn't really compare to the amounts seen in the Midwest, especially Chicago which got over 20 inches! And Grammy Mary was out of school for THREE days because of the storm. WOW! Anyway, Tuesday night/Wednesday was a REALLY GREAT DAY in the Sorenson house. Dad knew he had a snow day as of the close of school on Tuesday, and Mom found out at 6:00 on Tuesday evening. Both were so excited to have a snow day! The last snow day we had was when I was pregnant for Will...and I think we only had one that winter. So, this was big news. (Although I have to wonder if Justin secretly wished Colchester wouldn't cancel school, which would have given him a day of freedom!) ;-) 

We didn't do a lot during our day of freedom...just lots of cozy time inside a a bit of time outside too...Justin and I each went cross-country skiing with friends and Will spent quality time in his snow fort with Daddy (see below). And Will tried hot cocoa for the first time. He's not a big fan...yet. It was a perfect day! And you really can't beat a snow day on Wednesday--a perfect mid-week break! Now I have the itch to have more, that's the problem!

Will absolutely LOVES being in the snow. He loves to "help" Daddy shovel and to play in the snow fort. This pile is twice as high now--I kid you not! We got an additional 11.5" last night!

Snug as a bug in a rug.

Sand toys make good snow toys too!

It was a dark and snowy day...

Inside snow day happenings....

I showed you some outside snow day action, now here's some of what was going on inside...

Patrick discovered the oven drawer!

Will discovered he likes gooey marshmallows but maybe not the hot chocolate!

Will also found out that playing in the snow is VERY tiring, especially when it's deep. Hello, Zombie! :-)

And, finally, I think Will discovered that baby brothers are actually kind of fun to have around. I hope this feeling blossoms, as the "secret" bonks over Patrick's head are NOT fun (or funny)! And check out how dark Patrick's hair is getting...he's still blue-eyed, but it looks like I might get my little brunette after all. :-)

Will made a hat

The Valentines projects are starting to roll in from daycare. I love it! Last week, Will brought home this great heart crown, and he loves it! He does not want to pose for a picture in it, as hard as I've tried. He just wants to be silly with it! That's Will right now--"Funny boy" is how he describes himself. So cute!

Will takes over our bed...

I think the habit is fading, but for a while, Will was insistent on taking his nap in our bed. I think it stemmed from him being sick and us taking him to our bed for some snuggle time. I've been able to turn it around by asking him if he'd rather sleep in his crib or big boy bed. It helps that he has both options in his bedroom! That way, he has a choice about where to sleep without one of the choices being our room. :-) He is so afraid of falling out--he insists on having pillows up against each side of him and lots of blankets keeping him safe and cozy. So sweet!