February in Pictures

We went to the CET studios in Cincinnati to help Clifford the Big Red Dog celebrate his 50th birthday! (Not sure why Clifford looks so sad. Mid-life crisis?)

Wyatt modeled his Clifford ears.

At the Museum Center we discovered a giant indoor sandbox. Both boys were in heaven.

Wyatt's class had a fun little Valentine's Day party. Here he is in his "heart-breaker" t-shirt.

Oh, could they be any cuter?

They have their moments when they're best buddies, and Mommy caught this one on film.

Super Bowl Sunday

Before we had the boys, Super Bowl Sunday consisted of Daddy eating nachos in his recliner while Mommy folded laundry and counted the minutes until the next commercial break. Once we had Wyatt, not much changed except Daddy ate his nachos with one hand while holding the baby with the other. After Colby's arrival, Daddy continued the baby/nacho balancing act while Mommy tried to simultaneously fold the laundry and keep Wyatt's busy little hands from unfolding it.

This year, however, all that changed. Make no mistake--we're not trying to say that the boys paid one bit of attention to what was happening on the screen. Heck, poor little Colby kept yelling, "Who dey!" as if he fully believed the Bengals had made it to the big game. Nope, the boys didn't watch any of the on-field action; instead, they created some action of their own. They played football with Daddy in the living room!

Wyatt amazed us with his accuracy in throwing the ball. Just a few months ago, he threw every ball like a...well, he threw like Mommy. On Super Bowl Sunday, though, he was spot on, hitting Daddy's hands with nearly every throw.

 

Of course,  Colby would not be outdone. His throws were pretty good, but his tackles? His tackles were awesome (and probably a little more plentiful than Wyatt would have liked)!

This was absolutely the best Super Bowl Sunday the Hickle family has ever seen. Watching the boys toss around the old pigskin put a little tear in Mommy's eye. We'll never remember which team won Super Bowl XLVII, but we'll always remember how much fun we had while not watching the game.

January in Pictures

We played with snow indoors!

We also had fun painting on an unusual canvas--aluminum foil.

Mommy gave Wyatt a home haircut. He's eating his bribery lollipop in this picture.

Grandpa Carl turned eighty years old with a big surprise party!

Wyatt showed off some interesting style choices. Here he is with his pajama pants on his head, where they stayed for most of one morning.

Stan the Donut Man

Wyatt's school is very good about arranging fun field trips for the kids. One of the best ones we've attended was a visit to Stan the Donut Man, a local donut shop. We got to go into the back of the shop where all the magic happens. Wyatt was a little unsure at first, just poking the dough and probably thinking, "This does NOT look like the donuts I eat!"

 

Or maybe he was a little scared by the giant dough-hook that the donut man showed them.

Eventually, he got into the donut gig, especially when it was his turn to use the giant rolling pin! He went at it and flattened that dough like a pancake!

If you ask him what his favorite part was, though, it was absolutely the free donut that he got to eat at the end. Sorry, but we don't have a pic of that. If you'd like to see it in person, though, you're more than welcome to go buy some donuts and bring them over.  :)

Wordless Wednesday

Half Past Two

Mr. Colby, your personality is growing by leaps and bounds! You never cease to surprise Mommy and Daddy with your silly antics. Even your big brother sometimes giggles at your actions. Here are some of the things we want to remember about you right now:

• You still love construction vehicles. For awhile you were totally hooked on excavators, but you seem to have re-embraced backhoes. Every night we pray that you will grow up healthy and happy so you can be a big excavator and backhoe driver.
• You are quite the singer. You've been known to bust out with your rendition of "Jingle Bells" in the middle of the grocery store. Thankfully the other shoppers seem to enjoy it as much as you do.
• You're becoming quite interested in independent play. For the past few days you've been making up stories with the Caillou figurines. Your love of music sort of seeps into it, as the other day you had one character say to the other, "Jed, move away from there!" (Big thanks to Daddy for teaching the boys a great TV theme song.) You also like to play with Mommy's old Care Bear, singing Rock-a-Bye Baby to it while you gently hold it in your arms. Very sweet!
• You are attached to Daddy's hip. He is the first person you ask for when you wake up in the morning. Your favorite place to be is sitting on his lap in the recliner with a good book.
• Speaking of books, your favorite right now is a book adaptation of "Brave" the cartoon. You also like books about construction vehicles, and you've recently discovered Curious George. 
• You are still addicted to the iPad. If we let you, you'd play Angry Birds all day every day. As it stands, the iPad is a treat that we let you indulge in once or twice per day. Taking it away from you is always...interesting. Let's just say that at 2-1/2, you love to indulge in a daily temper tantrum.
• You like to "hunt" for creatures all over the house. You'll often find Mommy or Daddy and declare, "There's a bear in my room!" Sometimes it's a wolf or a fox, but usually it's a bear. 
• Your favorite foods seem to be toast with jelly and meat products. Mealtimes are often a challenge, though, as you seem to enjoy engaging Mommy in a power struggle over what and how much you will eat.
• Your health is generally good, but we found out today that you have to get tubes put in your ears next month. Hopefully this will end your struggle with frequent ear infections!
• You have very little interest in coloring, but you love to use scissors. You also like to paint, although you don't like to get it on your hands.
• You're starting to get along more with your brother. You still do things to annoy him and vice versa, but at least once a day there's a moment when the two of you interact and play with each other almost like friends.
• You give Mommy very sweet kisses on the cheek and you say "I love you" from time to time.

We sure do love you, little guy, and we look forward to watching you grow and change as the next half-year goes by!

Wordless Wednesday: Snow Day Edition