Nursing Is Underrated, Sleep Is Overrated Unless Accompanied By Nursing, Then It's Amazing!

This is Owen's mantra and he follows it well.

Backyard Sunday

We're in the backyard playing with sand and our sandbox. Daddy is using the lawnmower to cut our tall grass. It's a bright hot day. Mommy's inside. We think she's a little grumpy and needs her rest. Owen's with her. She'll be okay. We wish we could show you a picture of the tall weeds in our backyard -- they're taller than us -- but we have no batteries for the camera. Oh well. Now we're putting our sand buckets over our heads. Ha!

This Morning, Friday, June 25th....

"Daddy! I have to go to the potty!" Rhys screams from the bedroom. The Daddy walks in and escorts Rhys to the bathroom where Rhys pulls down his training pants. Once on the potty, Rhys pees...Victory!

Later, the boys are released from their bedroom.

"Special Cup McQueen Daddy. Pwease, Pwease!!" - Rhys as Noah charges quickly and repeatedly through the family room. What follows is lots of excited chatter to The Daddy from the boys while in the next room Owen sleeps soundly snuggled against The Mommy.

Rhys' Potty Training

Rhys is now almost three and is going through potty training. It's been almost a month and we've gone through one set of "potty" cookies (Chips Ahoy mini chocolate chip) in Rhys' jar. Mornings now are Rhys sitting on his potty seat drinking milk from his Special Cup McQueen (a Lightning McQueen sippy cup). He's wearing his big boy training underwear and is almost officially out of diapers. He is making great progress. When he sits on the potty, 9 times out of 10 he pees. Looks like we'll have to stack up on Chips Ahoy mini chocolate chip cookies....

Owen

He is 3 and 1/2 months old and growing bigger every day. He loves to give big smiles and spits up daily. He loves to be held and thinks his big brothers are kinda cool. He smiles whenever one of them is in his sight. They are pretty fascinating to him. Calm during the loud cries and screams that his brothers make yet very crabby when he's close to food but not quite able to get at it, this little guy has settled into the Bates family quite nicely. He's iffy about his crib but passionate about breastmilk and feels riding in a carseat is overrated. He's now 12 pounds, 12 ounces and continues to surprise The Parents everyday with a new little sound or expression. The family is very fond of him and thinks we will continue to keep him.

Noah

Noah Matthew Bates. That's my whole name. I'm 5 years old and soon I'll be in kindergarten. I like my space. I like my trains too. I build things like car washes and train stations and hotels from different little toy parts from my toy box. I love to watch the Dinosaur Train show on t.v. and play games on the computer. I like maps and flags. I have two big maps - one of the United States and one of the entire world including all the flag of the different countries in the world. Sometimes, my Dad gives me flags from different countries to look up and I run to my map to find them. I love it. And I love my brother Rhys too, most times. Mom and Dad call me the "sensitive" one. I feel everything. But Mommy say I'm "mischievous" too. I just try to be funny and silly all the time. I like to imitate people. Now that's funny.

Rhys

I'm Rhys Elliot Bates. I'm almost 3 years old and love to sing songs. I'm jumpy and squirmy and full of life. And I love my big brother Noah. I have my special cup which I carry around with me along with my dinosaur train. I play with Noah and push him and sometimes grab him and take him down. I like to crash. I crash into Noah sometimes. According to Mom and Dad, I'm a sweet "bull in the china shop". Things can fall over when I'm around. I like my trains and my cars and my planes and the toy parking garage we have. And I like hearing stories from books when I'm not flipping upside down or jumping off the arm of the couch.

The Boys Indeed Are Back

The Bates Boys are back and better than ever especially with the addition of a new boy to our family. Owen Micah Bates was born March 3, 2010 weighing in at 7lbs., 4oz. and at the height of 19.5 inches. He came early morning, a couple minutes before 6 am on Noah's birthday. Truly special.

And so Noah and Rhys are back with a new bro in tow and a bunch of adventures to be had. As told from two perspectives: theirs and their Mom (yours truly), what follows are snapshots of their daily lives in Boulder, CO. Enjoy!

The Bates Boys Are Back!

We're back!! And this time there's three of us which means triple the adventures! Oh yeah...stay tuned!