Gramma's Here!

After much anticipation, Gramma's summer visit has arrived!  She is touring Ohio, Kentucky, and Virginia, visiting with her children and grandchildren.  We are so glad she has landed at our home for the week!  We have been practicing with Elliott and Isaac to say "Gramma" and talking about the visit for so long, I think the boys were in shock to see her actually standing in our kitchen when they awoke from their naps on Saturday!  After a brief period of becoming reacquainted, they welcomed Gramma into their world to play! 

And play and play, they did! 

First, they played in the playroom...

Then they read books at the kitchen table...

And last, back to the playroom to work on their fine motor skills...

The weather was pleasant on Sunday, so we took the fun outside!  Elliott and Isaac had a blast playing on their new climber that they had only been able to admire from inside the house!  Before getting the hang of the actual climbing side, they were resourceful and chose to climb up the blue slide and then slide down the green one! 



Elliott slides, Isaac climbs!

Isaac slides, Elliott climbs!

LOVE these sweet faces so much!

Taking a break from playing to "pick flowers" with Otto

Bob captured the climbing fun on video!  Here are a few fun moments...



The following pictures are the adorable way we began our week... On Monday, Elliott and Isaac wore their Thomas the Train shirts for the first time.  I'm not a huge fan of character-adorned clothing, but I couldn't resist these shirts because I knew the boys would love them.  They so enjoy their Thomas books and were so excited to see these shirts!  They said and signed "train" and pointed at the picture all morning. Just another instance of finding the joy in small things through the eyes of our precious boys!

Lots more fun with Gramma to come this week!

Since Daddy has returned...

Isaac and Elliott were so surprised to see Daddy when he came into their room the Saturday.  They were already asleep when he returned late Friday night.  They were so excited they threw their pacifiers, which in the Jewell household shows major enthusiasm!

Isaac decided to show Daddy what a big boy he now is by eating at the kitchen table.  He is so proud of himself when he climbs up in the chair!

The boys loved all of their Daddy time!

Because Bob was traveling when the boys turned 21 months old, we delayed the photo session until his return.  After this session, Bob probably wished we had gone ahead without him!  I know I say this every month, but this was, without a doubt, the most difficult session yet!  There was very little sitting, some smiling, and quite a few tears.  We have decided to use the phrase "personality photos" for sessions such as this one.  They are not my usual preference of sitting in their cute chairs, but the shots are quite characteristic of their current antics...

Isaac smiling for my one and only "chair shot".

Smiley boy

Cheese...or as Isaac says "Tease"

So sweet as he sat and played for a moment.

Attitude in action! 

Just as I thought I would get a cute photo of the two of them together, Elliott is caught pushing Isaac off of the climber.

Elliott ready for his "tease" moment

Another smiley boy

Mr. Sensitive...I'm sure he was getting into mischief.  His reaction to any form of redirection during this session was to burst into tears.

Sweet face after tears

This is what Bob had to work with!  He sure is a trooper every month for these sticker pictures!  Thanks Bob!! 

I could NOT do it without you!

My favorite shot of the two of them together...very typical of this stage in their lives!

And, just when I had given up hope of capturing the two of them calmly in one shot, they paused to read.  I loved this series so I had to include a few...

Elliott and Isaac have always been fans of yogurt.  This past week, they discovered how much fun it is to paint with their yogurt.  Elliott discovered the fun Wednesday evening when he ate dinner late because we spent another evening at the after hours clinic.  Clearly, he was not feeling sick!  It was a false alarm, but concerning for hand, foot, and mouth again.

On Thursday, they painted their trays, pretended to put lotion on, and washed their hair...all with strawberry yogurt!  They were having so much fun doing it and we were having fun watching!  It definitely won't happen every time yogurt is on the menu, but every now and then it is fun to play with food!

We videoed the food fun!  It is a little long, but there are cute moments throughout!

On Friday, the boys were surprised to see their new climbing toy that Daddy put together.  It was torture to have to wait to play on it, but they were good sports and enjoyed watching it from the window.  They kept signing and saying "play" and "outside"! 

We know they will love it!

While Daddy has been Away...

Isaac hung from doorknobs because he was so excited about bath time!

We had a battle of the wills day on Saturday! 

Elliott decided his bib and spoon were optional for eating cereal, so Mommy decided clothing was optional!



The boys enjoyed reading their new vehicles book...Lots of things that go "vroom"!

Elliott and Isaac decided their animal crackers tasted better when eaten from a wipes box than from their bowls!

 They excelled at working puzzles!  The boys would dump all of the pieces from all of the puzzles on the couch or floor, mix them up, then put them all back in their correct places.  Impressive!

Isaac and Elliott perched on their climber and supervised Otto while he was outside.

 

Isaac gave Puppy lots of hugs!

We had lots of snacks!

While the boys were snacking, I decided to take a picture of their adorable, little feet.  I thought they were watching their movie, but Isaac was actually watching me.  He decided to put goldfish crackers between his toes for a more interesting shot!

It finally rained on Sunday.  It was also super windy and we lost power.  The boys were intense storm watchers!

Meme came to visit for most of the week!

Elliott and Isaac became flip-flop fans!

The boys prepared for Splash Day at daycare on Thursday!

Ms. Brandy sent Mommy some photos of the serious splashers!  Love the one shoe on both of them!

Isaac ate pasta and sauce for supper!

 Elliott says "eewwww"!

Meme gave the boys some new bath toys....

And, then she gave them a bath!

We slept like peaceful angels!

And, FINALLY, I am caught up with blog posts!!!! 

I promised Bob he would see some current pictures before he returns home.  Well, I hope he checks the blog at the airport!  I cut it close, but kept my promise!