Getting Messy...and Cleaning Up (Together)

Being a mom of two boys definitely involves dealing with lots of messes. Quite often. Quite messy. Whether it's mealtime or play, I constantly find myself getting out the wipes, bringing someone into the bathroom to cleanup or having to strip someone down after said activity is complete. Well, a few days ago while Ben was helping me make a Halloween treat, I left him in charge of mixing our recipe together and was pleasantly surprised with how obediently he did his task. Maybe he has grown tired of constantly making a big mess? Uh, wrong. Well, I turned my back for a second and when I turned to face him after asking him to now scrape the last of the mixture into the serving dish, I found that he had other plans for his mixing bowl.

First he stole the empty Cool Whip container and got some all over his face.

Next he decided that he would be able to scrape more of the mixture out of the mixing bowl with his tongue...while the bowl rested on his head!

Yuck! Ok, patience, Mommy. Breathe deeply :).

Well of course this called for a bath in the middle of the day and since Nate was also due to take one that night, I decided to multi-task and give Nate his first shot at having a bath in the big tub. He had been using his infant bath up to this point but had seemed as if he wanted more space to splash and play lately, now that he is more curious. And so the first joint bath in the Martin household begins!

The boys looking so cute in the tub together...of course, playing with trucks! Ben seemed shocked that Baby Nate was in the tub with him at first but definitely enjoyed the experience of having his brother to play with. He has asked me several times since this first bath when he and Nate will take another bath together.

Getting their hair washed. We go through a lot of shampoo in our family :). Ben loves to dump water on his own head once I am finished doing his hair, but I did have to instruct him that Baby Nate probably wouldn't be so thrilled to have his big brother hit him with a waterfall.

Nate "trying out" all of the bath toys and his washcloth :).

I love being in the big tub! Nate splashed and made noises throughout the entire bath. He had the best time exploring this new world.

Nate isn't as laid-back as he appears to be. Watch out, Ben, when Nate starts to crawl and walk...better guard your toys!

Teeth!

Finally! A good photo of Nate's two teeth! Of course I am to blame for this since I have not really tried up until this point. Mr. Smiley doesn't really have a problem smiling and posing for the camera :). He may be getting the two top ones soon as well. They feel pretty close and he has the signs of teething again. Oh, and the second picture is Ben showing me that he also has teeth :).

The "Twins" in Their Sunday Finest

The boys are all ready for church this morning in their matching L.L. Bean sweaters from Nana and Pop. Ben learned the word "twin" from one of his videos that shows twin baby girls so he calls Nate his twin when they dress alike. Maybe we'll have to explain this one a little bit better but at least he has the idea...sort of :).

Yum!

Just two photos tonight of the boys enjoying their food. Nate with ABC pasta and Ben with a special chocolate treat for going potty consistently all day long! :)

Bucks-Mont Indoor Sports Center

This morning my meetup group had an outing to the Bucks-Mont Indoor Sports Center. Basically, this sports arena offers organized sporting activities for kids and adults but a few mornings a week they have Play Pals, where they fill their field with tons of toys, books, games and the kids can just run wild for 2.5 hours playing. It is fantastic! Both boys had so much fun!

They had one of those inflatable bouncy things and Ben actually went on this and enjoyed it. Man, he is really starting to surprise me by overcoming all of these fears as he was always terrified of these things. This one was a smaller one and there were no "big kids" to rough house inside of it so that also probably helped.

Here, the two Martin brothers relax on a Diego sofabed together, wondering what to play with next.

They loved the slide. Nate also smiled as he went down it but since I was helping him out (and forgot to bug another mom to take a photo) I only have pictures of Ben on it.

There are lots of toys for babies as well as toddlers and preschoolers. Nate had fun exploring and was stuck on this rattle ball the entire time. He didn't want to give it up!

Oh no, it rolled away! Get it back for me, Mom!

Halfway through the morning, they even do a storytime and this week the featured books were some Elmo book and also one of my favorites, The Giving Tree. Ah, memories of Shel Silverstein. Ben had to be front and center.

Here the two brothers play together again with some fun infant toys.

Ben loved pulling around the big red wagon they have and loved it even more when he got the idea to fill it with big trucks!

Peek-a-boo!

On a side note, we are very proud of Benjamin this week. He decided last weekend that he did not want to wear his diapers anymore and has been wearing underpants ever since with only 2 accidents the entire week. He wakes up dry from his naps (even though we put a Pull Up on him for those, just in case) and tells us when it's time to use his potty. And two big milestones yesterday and today - he offically did his #2 business in his potty consistently yesterday and also used the public restroom at the Bucks-Mont Sports Center this morning as well. He had been hesitant to use the "big potty" before today but thanks to our nifty fold-up Sesame Street potty topper that we can keep in the diaper bag, he had no problems and no fears. What a big boy he is!

Freddy Hill Farms

This morning one of our play groups planned a trip to Freddy Hill Farms for a fall outing. Ben was sick earlier this week and Nate has had bouts of extreme crankiness these past few days (another tooth, possibly?) so luckily they both seemed pleasant and well-rested enough this morning to go. What fun I had with my two guys and the other moms and kids!

Beautiful Freddy Hill Farms. Is this "so Pennsylvania" or what? It's funny that Ben knows the name of various farm accoutrements such as silos, corrals, combines, "Amish" - ha ha.

Our visit included various activities including a tractor ride, pick your own pumpkin (PYO in Pennsylvania lingo), a corn maze and a homemade ice cream. The tractor was our first activity and SUCH a hit. I think we have finally reached a point where Ben is overcoming his fear of rides. He cowered for a few minutes when it was time to board the tractor but as soon as he was on, he loved it! I have more photos of our return trip later on...

Here is Tember with Truly and Paisley. Also Beth with Kyle and Logan.

Andrew and Will enjoying the ride.

Our destination was a PYO pumpkin patch. The lady is showing the kids pumpkin seeds here and telling them how pumpkins grow. Note how Ben is front and center and so attentive. Hopefully this is a good sign for when he starts school in a few years!

And.....they're off! The kids were each allowed to pick one pumpkin but had fun running around searching for the ideal one. Ben was slow to warm up but once he did, he had a blast!

"That one, Mommy! " as he finds the "perfect" specimen.

"Or wait a minute....maybe this one is better."

Brothers Kyle and Logan with their pumpkins.

Will and Katie Stewart, our friends from colleges' kids. Can you tell they are related? :)

My attempt at a photo with the boys. As usual lately, Ben hates taking pictures and will go out of his way to not smile for the camera. And note my new shorter hairdo. I cut off 10 inches last weekend! Of course being outside on a farm after a tractor ride is not the best environment for the unveiling of my new 'do since it looks sort of windswept. But I do like it a lot and Nate can no longer chew on it!

Ok, take 1. Action! (as Ben tries to squirm away)

Cut! Take 2. Smile, Ben! (no luck).

Final cut. Mommy and Nate. Sorry, Ben, we'll catch you offguard later on!

Mindy with Andrew and Maddie.

Here comes our tractor to take us back to the farm.

And the ride back. The kids had so much fun enjoying the ride and especially, playing with the hay.

Ok, another attempt at a photo with the boys. Take 4! Look here, boys! (drat! no luck again...but Ben likes the hay.)

Final photo. Not too bad. At least Nate is looking right at the camera.

Brooke and Sarah with the kiddos. Brooke with Lincoln and Elliott and Sarah with Will and Katie.

Now this has to be the best picture I got all morning. Will and his little sis Katie showing their love for each other!


Mary with Ethan. What a little cutie he is!

After our tractor ride, we got to go through the corn maze. Ben really liked this too. I figured he would since he likes puzzles a lot. Of course he didn't truly understand what a maze was at first but once we hit a few dead-ends, I think he was starting to catch on.

At the end of the maze is a gigantic slide that you get to by climbing up a huge tractor. Ben loved this! Again, I thought he'd be timid but he climbed right up and went down without a second glance (and then asked to go on again at the bottom!).

Wheeeee! I even went down with Nate in my Baby Bjorn on my chest. Too bad I didn't get a photo of that!
Will and Kyle playing with the hay as the rest of the group went down the slide. After this we went and had lunch and ice cream. What a fun morning!