Little boys

I was up all night with a sick little Isabelle, and since I'm out of energy to get anything else done, I think I will catch up on a few blogs!  I have been enjoying my time with my little boys every day- it seems like I spend more time with Nolan, because Abram has a long nap.  During his nap, Nolan and I take up with our "Gee- school preschool".  This is the preschool that I have done with all of my kids, and we take it very seriously! We have a lot of fun, but there is also a lot of hard work mixed in.  This is Nolan right after we finished a session the other day:

 My mom called, and while we were talking, Nolan fell right to sleep on the bar stools where we had been sitting and playing - in an educational way of course - and working.:)

Some days, Nolan helps me with MY work:

He talks my ear off and shares good ideas like that he thinks there should be "good day" kisses and not just "good night" kisses!  We have definitely tried to slow down the hustle and bustle enough in the morning to fit those in!

Some days, we can't resist the beautiful fall weather, and we get Jack off of his leash and go for a walk around our place and down through the tree farm.  It is so cute to hear Nolan call to Jack over and over:  "Here Jackie! Jackie! Come here boy!" He says it with a pause between each word.

Jack has been teaching the boys all sorts of new behaviors.  When Jack thinks he can get away with it (Meaning the adults or older kids aren't looking) he nips at the little boys.  They always say, "Jack is biting me!"  We try to get Jack to behave better, but we tell the boys that he's just playing and nipping at them. The other day, it looked like Nolan bit Abram.  Shawn said, "Nolan, why would we think it was O.K for you to bite?  We don't let Jack get away with that."  Nolan said, "Oh dad! I was just nipping at him a little bit."

Some days the boys run around the house playing cowboys and indians:

Diapers can be incredible holsters for guns- who would have guessed?!? Why the cowboys of the wild west didn't think of it, I don't know!

Occasionally, while the boys are playing, the Tidy Fairy arrives (I'll have to blog about her sometime) and if the house passes inspection, she leaves a note and a treat on everyone's bed.

Isabelle and Maddie's notes

Kami, Caden and Nolan's notes

 This is always exciting for Nolan and also for Maddie and Isabelle when they get home.  Somewhere along the line Kami and Caden have lost their delight in such things.  (sigh.)

Lately everything has become a toy to Abram.  It is fun to see his imagination developing.  Here he is playing with two "car" mixers.  He and Nolan frequently lose track of their favorite cars, and then I find them in the most unexpected places that no one would ever think to look for them, like balancing in the needles of a shrub, or inside my bathroom drawers.  Wherever I find them, I know that they have had high adventure!! There are all sorts of exciting sound effects going on while they play.