Our Little Ring Bearers

The boys were in their very first wedding this weekend.  We were approached about 18 months ago when Peter's cousin Caroline and her fiancee, Mike, announced they were engaged and would be married in the fall of 2012.  We agreed to allow the boys, in all their cuteness, to be ring bearers.  This weekend was the wedding!  Leading up to this day, I struggled with the tuxedo, shirt, shoes, etc.  It was a mess!  First, I ordered the tuxes from Men's Wearhouse, and at a great deal...BOGO FREE!!  I thought we were set, with the exception of ordering an ivory shirt and getting black dress shoes...WRONG!  When the tuxes arrived, size 3T the size they currently wear, it became evident that they would not fit, especially JT.  But, I thought we'd try them on anyway and see....boy was that a mistake.  The vest wouldn't even button and the arms on the jacket looked like it had been through the dryer and shrunk.  Not to mention that both boys screamed and cried when I made them put the items on.  It didn't look good.  So, that was July.  

I spent all of August searching for the same brand of tuxedo at a good price.  I finally had some luck online and the best part is it came with choice of an ivory shirt.  Again, I celebrated too soon.  The tuxes were fine but now the ivory shirt looked, well, not ivory but just white.  So, those had to be returned and we had to haul the boys out to Men's Wearhouse to size them for the ivory shirt that we would be renting.  For the same price as it cost me to buy the ivory shirts. Fun.  

I spent the first week of September looking for shoes and luckily had more luck with that task than I did with the tuxes and shirts.  I found one pair of dress shoes at Once Upon a Child for $3.50 and another at Payless for $9.50.  Finally a break!  The only thing left to do was to alter the tuxes so they weren't so big in the pants and sleeves of the jacket.  Luckily, Meme was able to do that for us!

All in all, the boys did awesome at the rehearsal and the actual wedding.  We were "those parents" who bribed their children down the aisle with dum dum lollipops...whatever works, it wasn't my wedding.  They boys practiced about 15 times during rehearsal so they knew the drill and they knew what would be waiting for them.  Grant did go out a little early when Peter was distracted with JT, so Peter had to go and pick him up and bring him back, which was funny.  Everyone laughed and it was super cute!  I think their highlight for the day was getting to sit in the Escalade limo!  That and staying up way too late dancing at the reception!  Here are some shots of the day:

No more pacis!

Well here's a bit of exciting and unexpected news (no, we're not pregnant)...the boys gave up their pacis over the weekend!!!  A few weeks ago we planted the seed that they were big boys and should send their pacis to baby Cami, who definitely needed them more than they did!  In the meantime, two of Grant's had to be thrown out because he chews on the side of them and they finally split.  JT also had to have one thrown out because it just looked nasty.  I had kind of had it with the darn things so I just asked them if they were ready to send them to Cami and they actually said yes, as they placed them in the envelope shown below!  Can't believe it was that easy.  They've only asked about them once in the past 24 hours and when I reminded them they sent them to Cami, they just moved right on!  Sweet success :)

Day out with Thomas

Today the boys were in heaven!  We took them to see "big Thomas" at a Day out with Thomas at the Lebanon Railway! They had such a great time and the weather was just perfect.  Although the ride itself really didn't take us anywhere special, the boys loved being on a real train.  They were very quiet as they looked out the windows at the things we were passing.  After our train ride, the boys enjoyed playing on the red "boose" (caboose).  They also enjoyed story time and playing with the trains on the various train tables that were set up.  It was hard to get them to leave despite the fact that they have a train table at home. One thing they really didn't go for was the Thomas and friends tattoos.  Those are still sitting on our counter.  

Second Haircut

Today the boys had only their second haircut, but the first time in Sandy's chair.  Sandy has been cutting my hair for about 10 years so I was happy to have her cut the boys' hair.  It definitely needed it before the wedding.  They did so well! Of course, we sweetened the pot by allowing them to play games on the iPod touch.  I think they'll want to come back to have Sandy cut their hair again, because afterwards they got a sucker!  It's thrilling to be 2!!

Harvest Home Parade and Fair

It's that time of year again, time for summer to come to a close and for fall to kick off with the Harvest Home Parade and Fair.  Watching the parade is a family tradition, we've gone or participated every year since we've moved to Cheviot.  My most memorable, of course, have been with the boys.  It's just so thrilling for them to see all of the vehicles and I just love to watch them get excited over the little things in life.
New this year was the fair.  We've never taken them there because there just wasn't enough for them to do when they were so young.  But this year, daddy went to play golf all afternoon and evening so Grammy and I took the boys to the biggest little fair in Ohio!  The boys had a blast playing all of the little games and getting prizes.  They also enjoyed riding the ponies, carousel, Ferris wheel, and viking ship.  We had so much fun that we forgot about the time and missed bed time by over an hour!  Oh well, it was worth it to see them giggle and laugh. Check out the video of their first ride by themselves!