And on the farm...........

There was a tractor! 

Jaden enjoyed his ride on the tractor!

 Evan wasn't too sure about this thing......

E-I-E-I-O!

There were some cows!

Evan checking out his cow #26 and his brother's #075

The boys were clearly more interested in the cows than the camera!

E-I-E-I-O!

There were some hay bales! 

E-I-E-I-O!

There was a 4-wheeler!

 They were ready to take off.....if only Jaden's legs were longer!

E-I-E-I-O!

There was a cat!

 Evan and I visited Becca, and Evan got a little worried about this animal that was bigger than he was on all-fours!

E-I-E-I-O!

There was a dog!

Jaden just LOVED Heather's dog, Bella. He followed Bella around everywhere- it was like this giant stuffed animal that moved! Thankfully Bella is such a calm dog and used to babies!

E-I-E-I-O!

Midsummer’s Road Trip Part 1: By the Numbers

For several years, our youth pastor has asked Nathan to chaperone a high school mission trip (Work Camp) and Nathan answered, ‘yes, when we have a baby in diapers, I will chaperone!’ Being the responsible youth pastor, I was asked first if it was okay for Nathan to go, since there were two babies in diapers! Nathan kept his word and went along on the 9-day trip while I took the boys back to South Dakota. The next series of blog posts describe our adventures!

By the Numbers

2114 – Miles driven during the two week adventure (we won’t calculate the gallons of gas this took!!)

21 – days Evan was gone from home

284 – diapers packed and used

1 – tooth the boys left Illinois with

3 – teeth the boys returned with

40 – minutes for a roadside stop complete with diaper change, gas in the vehicle, bathroom break, caffeine purchase, boys fed.

3 – number of stops needed between Illinois and South Dakota

7 – times swimming in their new mini backyard pool

158 – block towers destroyed by Jaden

5 – clowns the boys saw in the 4^th of July parade

5 – clowns that scared Jaden to tears

1 – quart of yogurt consumed (their first)

8 – containers of puffs consumed

3 – summer birthdays celebrated: Grandma Pam, Aunt Laurie, Aunt Rachel

Not to sound cliché, but in the words of Grandpa Al: the time with family & friends = priceless. 

 Evan eating puffs with Aunt Rachel 

The boys swimming in their new pool. 

The boys at the start of the 4th of July parade. 

Evan and Jaden Reuniting!

Evan and Jaden had been apart for one week. This is a short video of them reuniting. I think this is why I am glad I have a sister!! 

Today, they have enjoyed rolling/crawling over each other, ‘sharing’ their blocks, and pulling each other’s hair! It’s been fun to watch them play with both sets of grandparents and their aunts! 

Evan Shares his Adventure to SD with Aunt Rachel and Uncle Kyle!

Aunt Rachel, Uncle Kyle and I left Normal, IL at 1pm-I was full of smiles and talked a lot-I listened to Aunt Rachel and Uncle Kyle argue over music-Aunt Rachel said that whoever is driving gets to choose the music-Uncle Kyle said she could feel free to pull over anytime and he would drive.

About an hour and a half into the trip I got fussy.  Uncle Kyle tried to give me puffs but that is not what I wanted.  Since Uncle Kyle and Aunt Rachel don't speak baby they had to guess what I wanted so they pulled off to get gas and change my diaper.  They guessed right!  I thought it was a bit funny to find myself in the front seat getting changed (don't they have changing tables for times like these?) but was so happy to be in a clean diaper that I went right to sleep!  I slept right through my veggie eating time and just in time for my bottle-boy was that good!  I was showing off by putting the bottle in my feet then spinning my bottle around and then putting it back in my mouth.  Uncle Kyle sang in the front seat and Aunt Rachel played with me in the back seat until we got to Des Moines-it sure was fun to have some entertainment in the back with me-Aunt Rachel videotaped me and since I could see myself I laughed and giggled a lot!

When I got to Des Moines I met Will and Kate-Uncle Kyle’s and Aunt Rachel’s other niece and nephew.  Will kept asking Uncle Kyle if I was his baby Evan, but Uncle Kyle made sure to tell Will that I was not his baby (who would not want to claim a cute baby like me!). 

Later when it was time to eat I sat in Kate's chair but she was not so sure about that-she pointed at me and looked at her mom and dad-I think she wondered who was this kid sitting in my chair!  Lucky for me Kate loves babies, so after supper she played with me-so did Will! He had this neat tractor that I liked to watch him move around. Will and Kate also tickled me and made me laugh! 

After getting my pj's on Uncle Kyle and Aunt Rachel brought me up to the room I was staying in.  I did such a good job drinking my bottle and then went right to sleep!  I slept until 10:30pm and then woke and decided I needed some cuddle time (luckily Aunt Rachel was up for cuddling!) I then slept until 6:15am. After a bottle and diaper change, I fell back asleep. Man was I tired because the next thing I knew Aunt Rachel was waking me up at 10am-wow did I oversleep! 

I ate all of my fruit like a big boy and then spent time playing with Will and Kate before it was time for the big people to eat.  They brought me to a delicious smelling place where I sat so patiently!  Then it was time to go back on the road-it’s a good thing I'm entertained easily!  I started on my bottle but before I knew it I had fallen asleep and slept for almost 2 hours.  Then I decided I needed to have my diaper changed so Aunt Rachel and Uncle Kyle pulled over and can you believe they changed me in the passenger seat again!  Oh well-it felt good to have a clean diaper and we were on our way again.  When it was time for vegetables Aunt Rachel joined me in the back and fed me-talk about fast food!  I decided to tease Aunt Rachel and kept taking my bib off-she kept saying "No, no, no!" but luckily I don't know what that means yet! I did get a little messy but Aunt Rachel cleaned me up.  

I was getting really excited to get to Sioux Falls (and not just because I had been in my car seat for four hours!).  We were going to surprise Grandpa Chris and Grandma Linda for supper-they had no idea that I had come back to South Dakota with Aunt Rachel and Uncle Kyle!  We went to their favorite place (Red Lobster of course) and pulled up into the parking lot.  Grandma came out to greet us and boy was she surprised!  She asked if there was really a baby in that car seat-she could not wait to get a hold of me!  When we walked in, Grandpa was sure surprised-I don’t think he recognized me at first because he just stared and then a BIG smile came to his face-I smiled back.  :)

During supper, I sat in a high chair like a big boy and ate my puffs (they were new ones that were sour-you should have seen my face when I ate them!).  I also did some flirting with other restaurant guests-I guess no one can resist me!  Grandma could not eat fast enough-all she wanted to do was hold me.  Of course I decided to have a messy diaper almost as soon as she picked me up (I announced it by giving a squeal!).  Then it was Grandpa’s turn to hold me-he brought me out to my car seat (I was really hoping this was going to be a short card ride!) and we all went to Aunt Laurie’s house-Grandma Pam was waiting for me there too!  Talk about attention-it was AWESOME!  I sat on the floor and played with my toys and everyone just smiled and talked to me (so this is what it is like to be an only child!).  When it was time for Aunt Rachel, Uncle Kyle, and Grandpa and Grandma Schumacher to go I whined a little (my fan club was leaving!) but Aunt Laurie and Grandma Pam were right there to continue giving me attention.

Overall, I had a good trip back to South Dakota.  I heard Aunt Rachel say I was such an easy baby and she was definitely ready for her own baby-I think Uncle Kyle gave a nervous laugh.  Now I am looking forward to a week with Grandpa and Grandma Raeder-my brother joins me on Friday.  I am excited to see him but in the meantime I think I will enjoy being an only child…

Love, Evan 

9 Months!

If you want to be technical…..the title really should be: 9½ months!! Their 9^th month started off with Jaden being sick, followed by Evan.  Of course they couldn’t have planned it to happen simultaneously!

The boys had their 9-month check up today and are both doing well. I really thought Evan had surpassed Jaden in weight, but Jaden still holds on to his lead by 2 ounces -  topping the scale at 17 pounds, 13 ounces. Hard to believe Evan has quadrupled his weight in 9 months.

The biggest change this past month has been Jaden scooting around everywhere, and finally up on all fours. Although, he is still much quicker with the army-crawl-scoot. We have been following him around baby-proofing our house. Many items are finding themselves in our storage area! Evan is thinking about moving. He rolls around well, and pushes his arms up, but hasn’t taken that forward motion yet. When that does happen, we will have to learn to move in two directions after each of them!

Evan

Jaden

Memorial Day Weekend in the other ‘Twin Cities!’

It had been a while since we took a long car ride with the boys. Luckily, at 9 months, the babies are fairly portable. There was no ‘are we there yet?’ and no ‘I have to go potty’……..I am guessing this is going to be one of the better ages to travel. Although, looking back, my trips from South Dakota to Illinois would have gone so much faster if I would have had a DVD player, an iPod, well, truly- even an iPad would have sufficed!

Evan and Jaden did very well in the car- entertained by naps, music, and watching the cars go by, or us going by the cars depending on who was driving! 

We had a great weekend with my friends from high school (actually kindergarten through high school) and our families. There were 13 kids from 9 families. It was pretty crazy on Sunday, but fun to watch all of the kids play. There were plenty of toys for the babies inside and fun games for the big kids outside. You just kind of got immune to any fussing or crying!

 Evan, Jaden, Ethan, Lilly

Levi playing with Evan

Norah, Levi, Evan, Jaden, Benjamin, Grant, Ethan, Lilly, Isaac, Nora, Lidia, Madeline

It was so great to make new memories with old friends. It may seem like driving from Normal, IL was a distance to travel, but Monica wins for the most miles -  driving all the way from Lubbock, TX with two little ones! Thanks friends for such a fun weekend!

E-V-A-N --------Evan!

I. Am. Exhausted. No, I don’t think it’s from my day with Evan, but from recovery from go-go-go day with Jaden! Evan is our ‘cuddler.’ He and I both spoiled each other as we got to snuggle in the rocker before and after naptime. With two - there is rarely an opportunity for rocking! 

Since Evan is more reserved in the pool, I wanted to take him there by himself to give him a chance to swim. He was his usual calm self at first, but did kick around more in the end and splashed the water over and over with his hands. He loves to ‘jump’ in and out of the water.

We did get to spend a little time with brother Jaden and friend Mason. It was fun for me to see the three of them ‘play’ together. Of course their favorite game was ‘take each other’s pacifier!’ Interesting at an early age they want what the other person has……..

Evan also had some play time in the exer-saucer. Fun to see his face light up at all the characters, sounds, and lights.

We also enjoyed some one-on-one time rolling and Evan shared some of his precious giggles with me. Makes me really appreciate him and his brother so so much.