Thud!

My computer was in my lap, I was pulling pictures off of the computer and opening up blogger.  I was all set to write about another phenomenal adventure with my parents while they were visiting.  However, I was interrupted by something.

Evan had gone to sleep about 2 hours ago, and we always turn on their monitors while we're downstairs in the evening.  Suddenly, I hear a THUD and a cry from Evan's room.  Then, all was silent again. 

No worries...I've heard this before.  We recently took the little rail off the side of his bed in preparation for getting him a big bed for his birthday.  So, occasionally, he'll roll out of bed in the middle of the night.  The interesting thing, however, is that he never wakes up. 

So, tonight, I headed upstairs, opened his door, picked my sleeping boy up off the floor, set him back in bed, and tucked him in.  He never even stirred.  I don't know why, but there's something so sweet about it all.  I love picking my big boy up and tucking him in when he's fast asleep.  He's getting so big, there aren't many opportunities I have to cuddle and take care of him.  I'll definitely take what I can get...I love that kid! 

However, when we put him in the big boy bed on his birthday...we'll definitely put his old mattress on the floor next to it!

(Don't worry...I'll tell you all about our adventures with Grandma and Grandpa next time.)

Outdoor Adventures with Grandma and Grandpa

We were so excited!  Last week, we were lucky enough to have Grandma and Grandpa fly in from Texas to visit.  It was so great to see them and have them here for so long.  The boys are still talking about their Grandma and Grandpa and we can't wait until they come back for another visit.  Now, Grandma and Grandpa are game for pretty much anything, so while they were here we had quite the adventures.  (I think we might have worn them out a bit, HA!)

The first few days they were here we headed outdoors checking out several great parks.  Ben loved checking out a little park in Chapel Hill and having Grandma and Grandpa all to themselves on Wednesday morning while Evan was at preschool.  Grandma and Ben enjoyed playing "Pooh sticks" on the bridge where they drop a stick and watch it flow through the water, and Ben just enjoyed walking around with Grandpa.

The next day, we headed out to one of our favorite places, Eno River State Park.  We hiked around seeing all manner of interesting sites.  The boys found rocks (always Ben's favorite), sticks, plants with interesting flowers and leaves,   bugs, squirrels, butterflies, turtles, and even a few snakes.  Of course, Rip came too to join in on all the fun and had a great time running into the river to fetch sticks.  Evan and Grandpa did some great rock climbing near a little waterfall in the river, and everyone did some wading in Fews Ford shallow area at the end of our hike.  We finished it all with a great picnic lunch and headed back home.  The boys, Evan especially, just come alive when we head out into nature, so we all had a fantastic time!

Stay tuned for more tales about how we exhausted Grandma and Grandpa! :)

(Ben and Grandpa enjoy a little walk at the park.)

(Evan the climber)

(Grandma and a wet poodle-Hey, why aren't you throwing sticks for me anymore?)

(A little nature exploring)

(A little tree climbing)

(I wonder what they found this time?)

(So much fun!)

(Evan and Grandpa in the wild rapids)

(Ben and Grandma stay a little closer to shore.)

The Stats of a Two Year Old

Our little two year old widget had his two year well check up at the doctor today.  Of course, he is the picture of toddler health.  He could do all of those items on the developmental checklist that they handed us, especially the jumping-we've been working on that at gymnastics.  We had practiced our appointment with our new doctor's kit so he did great when Dr. Pickens started looking in his ears, mouth, eyes, and listening to his heart.  He wasn't too fond of his one vaccination, but the promise of a sticker quickly made everything better. 

They measured his height and weight, which is of course, the part that I'm always most anxious about with these little Davis boys.  However, he was nicely following a growth curve and even made the percentile charts in weight, which I was a bit surprised about (I promise, he does eat!)  Here are the numbers:

Height: 32 and 1/2 inches (10th percentile)

Weight: 22 pounds, 15 ounces (3rd percentile)

Head Circumference: 90th percentile (This was up a bit from last year...couldn't let big brother show us up! Big brains!)

So, Dr. Pickens said he was a perfectly healthy little boy, which we already knew.  So, we went out to lunch to celebrate--and he ate part of a plastic fork.  Sigh. 

 (Two years ago)

 (One year ago)

(Our little two year old now!)

Slip and Slide

The weather is warming up, so it's time to bring out the bathing suits!  While I haven't been brave enough to head out to the pool, which I imagine is still a bit chilly, I couldn't let the boys miss out of some summer fun.  So, I headed to Target and picked up one of my favorites when I was a kid-a slip and slide!

Evan was so excited.  We invited his friend Nathaniel over and headed outside.  Everyone got in their bathing suits and headed outside.  I got everything set up and twisted the hose onto the end of the slide.  Then, I made the mistake of not uncoiling the rubber on the slip and slide that had gotten twisted when I screwed on the hose.  When I turned on the water, I watched the rubber fill up and burst within seconds.  I looked at the excited boys surrounding the slip and slide and knew I had to do something to fix this, and fast.

So, as my quick-thinking friend Danielle (Nathaniel's mom) suggested, I got out the duck tape and Saran Wrap and fixed the tear as fast as I could.  I managed to get the slip and slide mostly repaired so it was able to be used that day. 

They absolutely had a ball.  While none of them could figure out how to actually slip and slide down it, they had a great time splashing around, throwing balls, and sticking their heads in the water fountains.

Since that day, I have gotten a new, fully-functional slip and slide and set it up properly, and it is still just as big of a hit.  When we got out the slide this week, Evan actually figured out how to slide down it a little bit, so I'm sure Ben's not far behind.  Evan only manages to get about halfway down the slide and hasn't quite managed to go down on his stomach, but everytime he would hit the ground hard on a slide, he would look at us and say, "I'm okay!"  So, I'm sure he will keep trying until he's able to get down the whole slide.   Evan's been talking about getting the slip and slide back out ever since!

 (slipping and sliding)

(a well-deserved break after playing hard)

Ben is Two!

Last weekend, Ben turned two.  So, we had to celebrate.  We had his buddies over and partied the morning away.  Since Benny loves animals, we had the zoo come to our house and decorated everything with all the little zoo animals we could find (stuffed, plastic, and toddler).  Ben had a bunch of guests including his buddies, some neighbors, and some of his favorite grown up friends.

Everyone had a great time playing in the infamous Davis ball pit, playing bean bag toss, and just having a good time.  We all dined on Benny's favorite-hot dogs, chips, and fruit.  We had a bunch of toppings for everyone to choose from on the hot dogs.  My favorite was the "lion dog" with chili, cheese, and fritos.  Yum!

Ian did it again, he created a fabulous homemade birthday cake for the birthday boy.  Ben said he wanted a strawberry blue elephant cake, so that's what Ian delivered. Of course, it was delicious, and you should have seen his face light up when he saw the cake.

Most importantly, he felt loved and had a great time.  Ben was surrounded by his friends and family and had a lot of fun-a great way for a wonderful little boy to turn two!

(Ben waits for the guests to arrive.)

(What a comfortable place to wait.!)

(Daddy's balloon animal creations add to the animal theme.)

(Mmmmm...hot dogs.)

(Ian and Ben blow out the candles on the fabulous elephant cake.)

(Okay, so it was delicious too!)

(Big brother just hangs out.)

(The big two year old plays on the back porch.)

The guests...

Amelia

Ryan

Isabelle

Margarette (taking care of Rip)

Nathan (Evan's best buddy)

Liz and Bob-some of Ben's favorite grown-ups

Amelia helps her daddy Scott look cool.

Kieran

Two Wheels Already?

After we finished Benny's fantastic second birthday (which I will fill you in on as soon as I get all the pictures uploaded), he absolutely crashed.  While Ben was down for a nap, Evan said to us that he wanted to ride his bike...but without his training wheels!  Recently, he'd been riding around with one of our neighbor friends, Isabelle who is in second grade.  I guess he wanted to ride like she was riding. 

Whatever the inspiration, we headed out to our cul-de-sac, dressed Evan in all of his pads, took off the training wheels, and got Evan on his bike.  Ian held on to the bike while Evan practiced pedaling fast enough to keep the bike upright.  Before we knew it, Ian was letting go and Evan was actually riding!  I don't know what it is about that moment, but Ian and I were both tearing up.  Our little boy is not quite so little anymore.

In the process of riding, he ended up crashing quite a few times.  He would be lying in a little tangled pile with his bike, and he would just say "I'm okay" and hop up to continue.  He was being so tough!  The adults were all just thankful for all the padding that Evan was wearing.  However, by the end of the weekend his legs still looked like he had been in battle.  At least he didn't end up with 26 stitches in his forehead like I did when I was learning to ride my two wheeler. 

Evan was so proud of himself, and I was so proud of him.  I can't wait for a summer filled with lots of bike riding adventures!

 (Evan tests out his two-wheeler)

 (Dad gives him a little guidance.)

(on his own-my big boy!)

A Day of Birthday Fun

So, Friday was the second birthday of Benjamin James Davis.  It was a day to do all the things that he wanted to do.  We actually started off with a suggestion from Evan.  Since he had finally turned two, Evan knew that Ben could finally watch TV, so after breakfast, they sat down on the couch and watched an episode of Dinosaur Train.  He loved it!

Next, we dropped Evan off and preschool and headed up to the Durham Amtrak Station.  All little boys love trains, and Ben is no different, so we just headed up to catch the arrival of the 9:42 train.  He was so excited to see the train pull up, but then he got upset as people got on.  I didn't quite know what was going on, but I eventually figured out that he was concerned about the people that kept disappearing into the train.  He didn't know what was happening to them and where they were going, and he felt better when I told him that it was like a car inside the train and they were fine.

After the train chugged away we headed across the street to a little cafe to grab a birthday cupcake.  It was fun to be at the cafe on just a Ben and mom date.  He had his little red velvet cake on a plate and just put his face down into it and proceeded to lick the frosting.  Who needs to get your hands dirty?

Once Benny had licked all of the frosting we headed to a playground.  If Ben has a choice about where to go, he will definitely pick a playground, so it was a great place to go on his birthday.  He had a ball driving the playground car, exploring, and or course, playing in the mulch-his all time favorite playground activity.

Finally, it was time to pick up brother and let the birthday festivities continue as a family.  More tales from the second birthday coming up soon!  Enjoy!

Thirsty

So, it's probably not the most efficient way to get a drink, but doesn't he look smart?

Pedicure Newbies

So, some of our dear friends are moving across the country.  We've been playing weekly games with our friends Patrick and Carrie and the rest of our gaming group for probably about 7 years now.  We played at their house before kids, and once we had kids they were all willing to head over here so we could keep playing after the kids went to bed.  Needless to say, we'll be sad to see them go.

Patrick and Carrie are going on one more scuba trip before their big move, so before Carrie left on her sunny vacation and before she moved across the country, we decided we would take her and all of the rest of the girls from the gaming group to get pedicures.  Carrie and our other friend Stephanie had actually never gotten a pedicure before, so we had to take them!

We headed over to get our pedicures one Sunday afternoon before we all gathered at our house.  We were pampered, got a little chance to relax, and got our toes beautified.  I think our pedicure newbies had a great time and weren't even too ticklish.  It was good to get a chance to go out to spend some time together, and I'll definitely be sad to see our good friends go!

(Stephanie and Carrie and their first pedicure)

(All four of us-Carrie, Stephanie, me, and Liz)

(our beautiful toes!)

Porch Camping

So, Ian and Evan have been wanting to go camping for a while, but we're not quite ready to head off into the woods with a tent just yet.  Ian's compromise was to tell Evan that they could camp out on the porch as soon as the weather was warm enough and the pollen wasn't too bad.

Well, the big day finally arrived.  Last weekend, Ian told Evan that they could camp out on the porch on Friday night.  We headed out to dinner at our friends Pat and Carrie's house.  After a very eventful dinner that involved Ben doing some pretty significant car art with a rock on the side of Pat and Carrie's car (boo Benny!), we headed home for the camp out.

It was 9:30 at night before the boys finally got set up out on the porch.  Ian dragged a mattress out on the back porch, we gathered some flashlights, and I headed up to bed.  I was laying in bed about 11 when I heard the door open again.  Pretty soon, Ian was back up in our bedroom.  Apparently, the boys had a great time on the porch for about an hour and a half.  They played with the flashlights, talked about all the noises that they heard, and then tried to go to sleep.  Ev couldn't stop playing with his flashlight.  Then, finally he said the outdoor noises were too loud and he couldn't sleep.  So, they headed back inside.  They still had a great time, and Evan can't wait for his next camping experience.  We'll see how long they make it next time!

Big Brave Boys

So, there is one park in town with incredibly tall slides.  I'm even a bit nervous to try them out.  However, Ben and I headed to Duke one day with out friends while Evan was at preschool.  Usually, my boys climb up to the top of the structure with the slides and wander around but never actually go down the slides.  I was watching Benny up there and suddenly it looked like he leaned backward and disappeared down the red slide.  I pictured him tumbling down the slide and falling out the bottom crying, so I leapt up.  He popped out the bottom and kept going down the slides repeatedly for the rest of our time at the park.

So, the next time I got the chance I knew I had to bring Evan back to Duke Park.  I thought that seeing Ben and his other friends heading down the slides would make him want to try them.  He was excited to go, but when he got there he was a bit nervous.  He wandered up to the top of the slides and just sat up there and fussed.  Finally, I stopped watching and before I knew it he came out the bottom of the slide.  He was so proud, he just ran over to me laughing and smiling-so excited!

It's so great to see the boys being brave, trying things, and having a great time!  Who knows what they'll be trying next!

(my big brave boy at the top of the slide)

(Evan and his friend Quinn gossiping on the playground)

(more playground fun)

Piedmont Farm Tour-Day Two

I know everyone has been looking forward to this-the report from our second day of the farm tour!  We started off the second day of our farm tour with a little more experience under our belts.  We managed to get Ben down for an early short nap before our tour, so he at least thought he was well-rested.  Our first farm of the day was Spence's Farm.  This is the one that Evan was looking forward to most because the description gave the promise of riding horses.  This was the farm that was the most geared toward kids.

We headed in and our first stop was the chicken pen.  We got to walk right in and feed the chickens and turkeys.  Both boys were interested but a little fearful.  Evan was willing to hold a little chicken feed in his hand but changed his mind after the first chicken pecks.  I can see why because the chickens can be a little forceful when they're hungry.  After that we headed to the little room where the baby chicks were.  Ben couldn't quite figure out his gentle pets again, but Evan enjoyed holding one of the baby chicks.

Then they called everyone over for the horse rides.  This is when Evan started getting nervous.  We listened to a little talk about caring for the horses, and by the time the farmer had finished talking Evan was ready to run the other direction.  I had never been able to get him on a horse before so I was afraid that he was going to back out again.  However, we all walked over and met the horse.  Ben got on him first but immediately wanted off again.  After some more coaxing and petting "Dan" the horse's nose, Evan finally agreed to sit on the horse and actually go for a ride.  I walked next to him while the farmer led us around the track.  By the end of the ride Evan was smiling from ear to ear.  He was so proud of himself!

After our horse ride, the boys had a chance to play on their little playground.  Ben liked the slide while Evan preferred the rope swing.  We dragged Ben into the vegetable farm area so we could pick some veggies ourselves (Evan refused and stayed on the playground).  Ben wasn't too enthused, but I learned several things about how asparagus grows and and how to pick lettuce.

Our next stop was Chapel Hill Creamery which was just down the road.  They specialize in making cheese.  Ian and I were excited about this stop because we were looking forward to tasting some yummy cheese!  We arrived, saw some cows, and hopped on a hay wagon to get to the farm.  I was a bit on edge the whole time because there were electric fences for the cows everywhere within easy grabbing distance, but fortunately we managed to avoid them.  The boys watched the cows and enjoyed using the hand washing station, but I think the adults enjoyed this farm more because of all the delicious cheese and sausage samples.  The boys did actually try the cheese too, and I think they liked it.  We tried to go on a tour of the actual workings of the dairy but Ben decided he would rather stick his hands in every dirty corner of the milking parlor, so we gave up.  However, we headed home with two delicious kinds of cheese!  Yum!

It was a fabulous weekend and we've been enjoying our eats ever since.  We've had buffalo steaks and brats, fresh asparagus with hollandaise and a poached egg, salads with fresh lettuce, pasta salad with smoked farmer's cheese, and pasta with fresh cheese grated on top.  I think the boys learned a lot, and everyone had a great time!

(Horses at Spence's Farm)

(Benny's not so sure about all those chickens.)

(Evan and the chickens got along just fine as long as they weren't pecking him.)

(Who can resist baby chicks?)

(Cock-a-doodle-dooooo!)

(Evan proudly rides Dan.)

(Mooo!)