odd dog...like to blog

trips and dog hair

2010-07-24T16:56:00.007-04:00

We have been one traveling family this summer. The boys and we doggies went back up to the Farm in Virginia this past week to spend time with Oma Sally, Papa Dale, Uncle Luke, Aunt Jessica and Isabelle. We had a great visit of boat riding, fishing, & gator rides.

Jon & Emma voyaged down to Panama City Beach, Florida with Weddington Community Church's youth group. They loved spending time with the kids and other chaperones at camp. It was an amazing experience when several kids gave their lives to Christ and got baptized in the ocean. They look forward to deepening relationships to the other people who went on the trip.

So...where will our family go in a week and a half? To Texas, of course! That should be our last trip of the summer since Colton starts preschool at the end of August. Preschool! Can you believe it? Take a look at our big boy!

And of course you need to check out our doggy lover. This child loves us more than most things- even his new lizard flashlight from Oma & Papa.

And...this looks a little wierd...but we think it's interesting. Emma cut our hair (mainly Jenga's) before our trip to VA...and it looks like she cut a dog off a dog. Enjoy your day.

CAROWINDS!

2010-06-20T22:08:00.006-04:00

Cole's favorite ride...look at that excitement!

Did you all know that Ima Carol is in town? We are having so much fun with her (despite the fact that when she's here, our family goes out and does fun things and leaves us in the backyard...we don't mind though, really.) On Saturday, they went to Carowinds and the boys had a blast! Through the heat and crowds, they had so much fun riding rides and taking it all in. At first, Colton seemed a little hesitant about the bigger rides. But Jon convinced him to go on a "train" (the Woodstock Express which is actually a fun little roller coaster) and he absolutely LOVED it. He rode it about 8 or 9 times throughout the day. Beckett's favorite things were the Woodstock gliders (which actually went really high!), the train, and he even got to go on a fun little waterslide! Next year, we know that if Beck's tall enough, those boys are gonna ride the roller coaster all day together.

One of Beck's favorites...

(Cooling off a little!)

Happy Father's Day, Jon! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Playing Puppies

2010-06-14T20:12:00.005-04:00

One of the boys' favorite things to do right now is play "puppy." They like to pretend to take puppy naps and then wake up and jump up and lick and bark and play. It's cute.

Beckett LOVES us pups. He always remembers to give us attention and hugs. WE LOVE BECK. And he's funny too. This evening, as the boys were playing upstairs with daddy and getting ready for bed, Beckett stole Cole's PJs and laughed hysterically about it.

With all the children leaving Jacksonville and heading up north, our family must have accidentally brought home one of the Keigley children! Bergen stayed with us for a couple days and we all enjoyed having him! Cole & Berg are quickly becoming best buds. They played so well...and even though Beckett felt left out sometimes, they all enjoyed hanging out together.

Go Carts Go!

2010-06-13T19:27:00.002-04:00

In my last post we wrote about Cole's time in Florida as well as Emma & Beck's travels to meet up with him and the boys' new cousin, Rowan. (Look, we're doing so good...a second post in just under a week! We're trying to do better for our few hopefully loyal readers!) While our family was in Tallahassee, they went to Uncle Stin's place of employment, FUN STATION! Cole rode on go carts for the first time and had a blast! The carousel machines didn't work, but we still think Beck looked pretty cute on the lion below! The boys had a great time playing games inside too....Cole's favorites were skee-ball & battleship.

Rowan

2010-06-07T09:20:00.005-04:00

Colton went down to Florida two weeks ago with Oma Sally, knowing that Emma was going down for baby Rowan to be born soon. He had a great time playing with his uncles & with Oma Sally & Papa Dale. We missed him so much and are so glad all our family is back home now! Our family actually grew when they came back and we have one extra boy in the house. His name is Bergen and he's staying with us this week- we like him. Here are some shots of the adorable new baby Rowan & our family with him. Cole had about the same reaction to Rowan that he did to Beckett. There was no way we were going to put that baby on his lap. We wish we could have gone down to Florida to play with Luna- maybe next visit!

Soccer!

2010-05-03T14:19:00.004-04:00

I know it's been awhile since we've posted anything-- we are lazy dogs and we have actually been quite busy. We sure do hope our readers will come back and read about the fun and amazing Joersz boys. The images of this post might be surprising to some of you who know that Cole was very reserved at the beginning of the soccer season. In fact, Emma and Jon were about to call off soccer games for the rest of the season because he just didn't play. He didn't want to- instead he sat on our laps and was very shy towards his coach & other players. But all of a sudden- last Sunday, he decided he was ready to play. He doesn't go out of his way to kick the ball, (and sometimes he runs out of the way to avoid the ball...) but he is running on the field and listening to his coach and talking to the other players. We're so proud of our boy! {Will try to post some more new pictures soon and more often!}

transformer underwear

2010-02-21T15:13:00.002-05:00

did I mention that Beckett is working on potty training?
any ideas, suggestions or words of encouragement?

big boys!

2010-02-21T15:09:00.001-05:00

FLORIDA!

2010-02-21T13:36:00.015-05:00

We got home from Florida this past Monday and we had SO MUCH FUN! The trip down was nice and Jon drove the whole way (Emma liked that). Addie and I were crammed in the back because we brought down several baby things for Erik & Sarah's little guy. Addie didn't seem to care about giving me any space in the back seat and sprawled herself out. I sat up most of the way, but that's okay- I was excited to see where my family was taking me! We spent most of our trip outside with our aunts Maizey and Molly and even got to spend some time with our sweet cousin Luna. We jumped in Lake Sometimes and fetched sticks and splashed around. This was our idea of a fun time- that and running off and making Emma drive to find us!

The boys had a great time seeing most of their uncles during our trip. (Wish we could have had Luke, Jess & Izzy down too!) During our time down in Florida, they went to a dinosaur museum, played outside, went to the BEST PLAYGROUND EVER, played with airplanes, went on walks....all sorts of fun. Our family is traveling again this week but is leaving us home. Don't worry, we'll try to behave. Enjoy looking at some pictures of the fun times we had in Florida!

[Cool life-like dinosaurs that Colton said were "too loud!"]

Yellow Snow

2010-01-31T21:05:00.006-05:00

When I woke up and Jon let me outside to go to the bathroom on Saturday morning, my paws stepped out into this wet white substance called SNOW. I was quite excited to play in it and so was my family. The boys got all bundled up and went outside to throw snowballs and make a snowman. After Beckett's gloves got wet, he decided it was time to go in, but Colton wanted to stay out and play for a long time. He had a blast! We went out again today for a walk and enjoyed some sunny snow time! I hope this snow comes back soon!

-Addie

New bike...

2010-01-01T13:47:00.004-05:00

Colton got a new bike this week with Christmas money from G.G. and Grandpa. He's grown so much in the past few months that all of a sudden, he looked huge on his little bike that we got him for his last birthday. His new ride is a 16" red Huffy that says "Rockit" on the side. (Like rocket and rock it! at the same time) He loves it and also loves the new accessories...a cool horn, new kneepads, elbow pads & even a super-cool pair of bike gloves where his fingers stick out. He didn't like the change to the new helmet (his old one was Cars-themed) but after the bike ride this morning, we think he likes his blue shark helmet which fits better too! We doggies are quite fond of all the walks we are going on as well. Thanks G.G & Grandpa!

Christmas...

2009-12-28T14:50:00.003-05:00

We just had a lovely 4 day Christmas celebration as a family. It was very nice and relaxing! We pups got some new pink collars (our other ones were STINKY! In fact, WE are stinky and need baths too- get on that, EMMA!) The boys loved opening presents this year (Cole especially), and moved from one present to the next very quickly. We read the story of Jesus' birth from Cole's new Bible. When we woke up in the morning, it was raining very hard. Cole asked, "Is it raining because God poured a cup of water down?"

It's been fun to have Jon home for 4 whole days and not be traveling! I'm sure we won't always have Christmases like this one, but I do hope that we will try to be still and remember why we're celebrating in years to come!

Favorite gift for each kid?

Colton- Legos. He loves those things! (And Jon had a fun time assembling them too!)

Beckett- Chapstick. He'd carry that thing around and put it on all day if he could. He's so proud to have his own.

Peanut Butter Kisses ROCK!

2009-12-22T11:43:00.003-05:00

Addie Here. I just wanted to share with you the most delicious treat that I experienced this week. Yes, they might have been sealed in a bag and pushed to the back of the counter top... but I found a way to reach them and eat every single one (even most of the plastic bag too!). These peanut butter kiss cookies were quite a favorite- Jon and the boys LOVED eating them and Emma obviously liked taking pictures of them. I hear they'll be making more and plan to keep them away from me. We'll see how that goes!

Today

2009-12-16T14:47:00.001-05:00

Highlights of our trip to Texas

2009-12-04T16:39:00.012-05:00

We doggies were not allowed to fly out to Texas with our family for Thanksgiving this year. We're not holding it against them, just saying that Jessica made the effort to drive down with her pups and they had a great time spending time with our family. In this blog post, we're going to pretend we got to have fun in Texas...

Jessica and the boys. Suprisingly Emma didn't take any pictures of Banter and Taupper!

Grannie and Grandpa with the boys. I think we bribed Colton with dessert here...

We went down to Temple to spend Thanksgiving day with family and had a great time!

Zane and Maddie kept the boys entertained and they had a great time together. Zane even taught Colton how to tackle his mommy. Hmm.... Thanks Zane!

Here's Jessica and Al when we went to the Botanical Gardens to take family pictures. It was a beautiful place!

The boys loved playing with Jeremy and Chillon. The boys quickly warmed up to Chillon when she gave them a piece of gum. GUM is their favorite these days! Beckett finally keeps it in his mouth now.

A goofy family photo. Those are always fun.

The boys' favorite activity in Texas was a train ride in Fort Worth. We went twice and the train went through the park, across a river and under another (real) train track. They thought it was great!

Besides the trains, an all week favorite activity was playing in the leaves in Ima and Papa's backyard. Neighbor kids came over.

They ran, jumped, hid in & threw all over- wonderful fall leaves!

skydiving

2009-12-04T11:06:00.005-05:00

As some of you may know, Jon got to go skydiving while he was out in Texas to celebrate turning 30 this year. He dove along with his brother, sister & dad. They had an amazing experience!

Jon's grandparents along with his Aunt Sheri & Uncle Benjie joined the rest of the family to watch the event and we all had a great time together. The boys had a great time playing outside, drawing with chalk on the pavement & watching their daddy jump out of a plane!

[ Beckett liked playing in the doorway to the airplane hangar. ]

Beckett's 2nd Birthday!

2009-12-03T16:42:00.007-05:00

BECKETT is 2 years old! Since our family was in Texas for the big day, Emma and Jon took the boys and a few of their friends to Plaza Fiesta, an amazing Latino mall with a gigantic playplace in the middle. The kids had a blast!

just some cute pics from this week...

2009-11-02T22:06:00.005-05:00

{WHO LOVES THESE BOYS?}

{Beck made it to the top of the playground jungle gym and daddy was very proud when he saw the picture!}

{Colton was in a very photographic mood this day!}

{Beck shows Colin which way to hit the stick on the playground}

SUPER halloween

2009-11-02T21:42:00.005-05:00

SUPER Lion and SUPER Fix it Man will save the DAY! The most adorable lion and the cutest daddy wannabe made their way around the neighborhood and collected a fair amount of candy on Saturday night. Unfortunately, those little guys can always use a hand and we weren't invited to walk down the street with cute little humans (Not to mention the fact that we LOVE little humans and would have been a little WILD!). Colton and Beckett's buddies Maddie and Eli came over as a unicorn and a HOTDOG. The hotdog costume was a hit- and everyone wanted to eat him up! Well please leave comments and tell Emma to get working on our capes. We are SUPER dogs, after all. Addie finds a way most nights recently how to position herself on the couch no matter what barriers Emma and Jon place for her. And Jenga's superbark definitely wards off evildoers from the Joersz home- especially that blasted UPS man (Though she did manage to sleep through someone opening our car door one night this week and taking our ipod and gps....)

2009-10-29T15:16:00.006-04:00

We have some new friends and a set of amazing pumpkins displayed on our front porch. The Daraja Children's Choir from Africa came to our church for a concert this week and we were able to host 3 boys from Kenya and their chaperone from Atlanta. We had so much fun with Eddy, Kevin, Ian & CJ and wish they could have stayed longer! The concert was awesome- to see the kids' passion for worshiping God was contagious. We painted pumpkins on Monday night and all the boys (including Colton and Beckett) absolutely loved it. The boys also loved the fish and were interested in us doggies, but we were a little too hyper to come in and play! To see more about the Daraja Children's Choir, check out their website! We miss you boys!!!

[Kevin, Eddy, & Ian]

Biking fun!

2009-10-29T14:54:00.003-04:00

It's beautiful outside today and so Emma and the boys went on a walk...without us! We were so upset, but then we realized that Cole was riding his bike for the first time around the neighborhood, and we figured Emma wanted to devote extra attention to him rather than keep up with a stroller, a biker AND two pups. She had nothing to fear at all though and should have brought us with her, because COLE WAS A PRO! He did so good! He has been really nervous about getting on the bike and is finally getting used to it. Maybe we'll go on a walk after naptime... and this time, we'll get to go!

2009-10-20T13:11:00.003-04:00

Emma and the boys had a great time at Riverbend Farm with Kristie, Norah & Eliah yesterday! Apparently the mornings there are set aside for schools, but they were able to group up with some schools and go on a wagon ride, pick a pumpkin out of a field and then explore all the fun things at the farm! There were fun animals at the farm- even a Beckett sized turkey. The favorite activity might have been the handmade climbing tower/slide made out of farm equipment---or possibly just the wagon ride. The fun time ended with a wonderful picnic in the grass...which ended with a not so wonderful experience with fire ants! Poor Eliah!

[Who loves the boys' new winter hats???]

cute pups...

2009-10-11T20:55:00.004-04:00

our new favorite spot.

2009-10-11T20:35:00.007-04:00

we have a wonderful new place to sit and relax and enjoy doggy life- a screen porch Jon and some men he works with have built over the past week. we have an amazing new contraption called a doggy door. we love it and think our family loves it too. please come over and visit us to sit in the pleasant new room!

lots of kids at their house....

2009-10-10T14:00:00.002-04:00

[we're going to be best buds even though it may seem we're always upset with each other right now...]

Lacey and Kevin went to Atlanta to go to a concert this week and so Emma and the boys went down to hang out with the Keigley kids minus baby Otto. 6 kids 6 and under was a little hectic but fun! Oma came for the night as well and we went to Skytop Orchard Wednesday morning. It was a beautiful day to go apple picking and the kids had a great time. They loved the apple doughnuts and cider. We got together with neighbor friends last night and enjoyed cinnamon apples and apple pie! We doggies didn't get to enjoy the apple treats but heard they were delicious!

this kid...

2009-10-09T13:54:00.002-04:00

...is so cute and fun. Beckett has really been into wearing hats lately. He gets upset when his hats don't fit anymore. In this picture, he really wanted to wear Colton's VT hat. He felt like such a big kid and was so proud of himself wearing it. He also likes wearing mommy's hat and just got a new hand-me-down hat from Bergen. It looks adorable on him.

lots of kids at our house...

2009-10-09T13:45:00.004-04:00

The Keigleys came to stay the night a couple weeks ago when Kevin flew back into Charlotte from his trip to Israel. The kids had a lot of fun playing together!

we miss luna!!

2009-09-25T16:58:00.008-04:00

On our way to Florida, we stopped at Emma's college friend, Summer's house. Emma had a great time seeing her and we doggies loved exploring her house. Cole and Beckett liked playing with Lucy and Elly- very fun girls! On the way HOME, we stopped by Uncle Erik and Aunt Sarah's house in Jacksonville. They have a new Weimaraner puppy named Luna that we doggies didn't care to play with...at first. Eventually Addie and Luna became best buds and wore each other out playing! On Wednesday, they went to the Jacksonville Zoo and the boys had a great time, despite the heat- it was soo hot! Their favorite part was the train ride and Cole said he liked the elephants the best, but it seemed like he enjoyed the reptiles with Uncle Erik more than the elephants! Here's one of the creepy snakes! (This is for you, Mandy!)

beach fun!

2009-09-25T14:58:00.005-04:00

We traveled to Florida a couple weeks ago and of course couldn't resist a good trip to the beach. Apparently dogs weren't allowed at the part of the beach we went to, so we reluctantly stayed home with Maizey and Molly. The boys had a blast though and it surprisingly ended up being a beautiful day for beach fun! The boys got to spend a good amount of time with each uncle and of course Oma and Papa!

This bucket was used in many creative ways!

Even though it looks like Cole is pouring water on Beckett's back (which is why Beckett was laying there), the water is actually landing on the ground behind Beck. Funny.

They LOVE playing in the sand and actually spent a lot of time in the water this beach trip (before they have been a little scared of the waves...)

Having some fun in the sun with Uncle Jesse and Uncle Stin!!

oh addie...

2009-09-25T09:45:00.003-04:00

yeh. this is me- in the pool. do you see my claws grasping the edge in fear? i may look like i'm smiling for this picture....but in my head i'm thinking, "why would emma be taking a picture of this and not getting me out of this strange pit of torture?"

doggy cousins

2009-09-08T12:31:00.000-04:00

Aunt Jessica came for the weekend along with her furry family. We doggies became quick friends...especially Banter and Addie as they met for the first time this trip!

Fun time with Aunt Jessica

2009-09-08T10:27:00.004-04:00

We had a great time with Aunt Jessica this past weekend. We doggies played so much until we were all tired out. The family went to Matthews Alive on Saturday and the boys loved their first fair rides! Cole absolutely loved the swings and went on them twice. On Sunday, they travelled west to Chimney Rock. They hiked to see the waterfall and then went to the top of Chimney Rock, which was beautiful and amazing! Cole walked the whole time and loved it. We're so glad that Jess came and can't wait to see her and the rest of the Joersz family in November! Emma and the boys are heading down to Florida tomorrow to visit family. Who votes for us to go with them? It's still up in the air, but we would really like to go.

we are here.

2009-09-04T09:34:00.006-04:00

Look at these adorable boys! We're having their friends Abel and Shea over to play today and they are very excited. We haven't written much on the blog lately- partly because we feel like we have to catch up for most of the summer that we haven't written about....and partly because we just haven't felt like it. Sorry! Everyone deserves to hear stories and see pics of the Joersz boys, just like every doggy deserved chew bones. Colton & Beckett been playing really well together lately...most of the time. I don't think we've mentioned this on the blog yet, but they share a room now and sleep in bunk beds- it's very fun and cute. Well, enjoy the pictures of the boys and check out our newly refinished dining room table and chairs too!

(Notice in the background our wonderfully organized pantry- thanks to Lacey Keigley!)

july fourth

2009-08-24T21:01:00.003-04:00

Here's a glimpse at the fun time we had at the farm on July 4th this year. Emma put the boys in cute red, white and blue shirts....wouldn't it have been cute if us doggies wore red and blue bandanas and we took a family picture?? Yeh. We had a blast at the farm and ended up staying for most of the month of July while Emma was in Africa. Those pictures and stories to come soon....

Thanks Ima!

2009-08-24T21:00:00.000-04:00

the boys had a BLAST with Ima Carol in the middle of June while Jon and Emma chaperoned a church youth trip to Panama City, Florida.

Back to June...

2009-08-10T10:52:00.006-04:00

We assume that many of you have seen pictures of our family at Sarah & Brian's wedding at the beginning of June. But for those of you who haven't, this is the weekend that our busy summer began! It was such a fun weekend spending time with family. Congratulations Sarah & Brian- We love you!

Lazy pups!

2009-08-05T15:00:00.003-04:00

Remember us? Two lovable doggies that live in North Carolina? We love our family and normally we share lots of fun stories about them. You might be wondering where we've been and many people have been commenting on our laziness towards our blog. Sorry!

Here's our EXCUSE: Our family has been going here and there all summer. We enjoyed a long stay up at our favorite place, the farm in Virginia. We've been back for a couple weeks, but have so many stories to share, we don't even know where to start.

So we'll start with today...and then we'll backtrack and tell you of our adventures of the past two months!

Today, we have a story about our dear Colton. He's such a sweet kid. But as some of you may know, he has not had the desire to place poo poo in the potty. He's been great at going pee and pulling his shorts back up, but every time he needs to go poo, he goes and gets a pull up, goes and then sometimes even cleans himself up. Yesterday, Emma told him that there were no more pull ups. And today, he decided to go poo poo in the potty! I know some of you may not be as excited and jumping out of your seats like Jon and Emma are...but we just wanted to share with you the big news at the Joersz house today!

More to come soon about multiple trips to the farm, the beach, the boys staying with both sets of grandparents, doggy treats, chasing chickens, painting, Emma's trip to Africa, fun at the pool & bunk beds!

the picture tells the story...

2009-05-26T21:53:00.000-04:00

hugs and chapstick

2009-05-11T17:45:00.009-04:00

Thanks everybody for the comments! It's nice to know that our words are read and pictures seen. We have had a good start to the week. Emma and the boys went to music class and for some reason, the boys decided to hug constantly. They would embrace for 2-3 seconds at a time and then do it again minutes later. The other moms in the class "ooh-ed and ahh-ed" over it and Emma said it was stinkin' cute. Gotta love the Joersz boys- just spreadin' the love.
Colton loves chapstick. He woke up this morning asking for it. "FOO-stick" is how he says it. Saturday he had the song from the Veggie Tales movie, Jonah, in his head all day. "Say your prayers....da da daaa....A message from the Lord," he would sing.

Beckett loves his sippy cup. If he's upset about something, the sippy cup usually fixes the problem. His favorite song lately is "The wheels on the bus." He does hand motions and the last couple nights has been singing along really well, especially at the part where you sing- "all through the town."

Backward shorts

2009-05-08T10:35:00.003-04:00

The boys have been creating some beautiful artwork this morning. Colton really gets into his drawings lately. Beckett mainly enjoys throwing markers everywhere in the midst of some scribbles. Oh- and they both think putting marker lids on their fingers is the best thing ever. Colton has 5 on each finger on one hand right now and just said, "Mommy, look, I'm the muffin man!" Hmm?
Colton has been doing a good job at dressing himself lately. He puts his underwear and shorts on several times each day. Sometimes, like yesterday, they end up backwards. It's pretty cute.

I don't know if anyone reads my blog anymore. It makes me sort of sad. I haven't gotten comments in almost a month. I KNOW it's my fault because I've been lazy at posting new things. I'll work on that.

I have been working on some other blogs though lately. If you didn't know, Riley and I are going to Africa this summer with our church in July. We just posted a new update this morning. And I'm working on getting a blog ready for my business, Odd Dog Design. Right now there are some senior portraits up of our Pastor's daughter, Brianna. I plan on putting other projects up soon!

Please ask Emma to fix our dog bed!

2009-05-05T13:36:00.005-04:00

We agree that Emma should think about fixing our dog bed before giving the boys new beds, but obviously that's not how things roll around here lately! They moved the double bed into Colton's room last week and he really loves it! The twin bed was moved into Beckett's room too, but with much surprise, Beckett has no intentions to sleep in it. Play in it- yes- but nap and bedtime he belongs in his crib is what he thinks.
Colton has been doing really well with underwear for bedtime. He has had a few accidents, but is clean and dry most mornings lately.

The boys have a new favorite activity: washing the car! Jon got out the soap and buckets and sponges last weekend and the boys had a blast helping out daddy. We weren't surprised when Colton hated being sprayed with the hose and when Beckett absolutely loved it. He was soaked and so happy.

big boys

2009-04-22T11:15:00.004-04:00

OUR boys are getting so big!

Colton wore his boxers for the first time last night and did such a good job! We're so proud of him!

Beckett has really grown up the past couple weeks. He's looking and acting more like a little boy. He really wants to sleep in a big boy bed like his older brother, but we don't know if we'reready for that.

They love playing together, just like we pups love playing together. (Well, they don't bite each others necks...)

We love Colton and Beckett!

a note from addie

2009-04-14T15:37:00.007-04:00

We had a very nice and relaxing Easter weekend. We did a lot of yard work (Okay, Jon did most of it- we just dug a little!) and had a good time together. Our family went over to our friends Jenny & Ben's house for Easter dinner with their family and left us at home to chew raw hides.

The boys and Maddie had a fun egg hunt and played together really well. It was my idea to put the boys in the matching shirts that Ima sent- aren't they so cute? I know it's been a long time since we've taken our time to update the blog- I hope that everyone will still read it!

Jenga and I are doing well. We had a little incident last month in which we thought Jenga might have eaten a sock, but we are in the clear and she's fine now. I've been a little naughty lately and chewed up part of Jon's shoe. Apparently I'm not supposed to do that- or eat poop- Emma says that's GROSS.

They boys are doing GREAT. Beckett is starting to use more words every day now. Yesterday he told Emma to "stop." Colton helps out a lot around the house and lately likes to tell Beckett what to do. It's funny sometimes. Today he told Beckett (in a very serious voice) "Beckett, you need to listen to mommy." He also LOVES singing lately and will randomly burst out in song at any given moment.

Well, I just wanted to share a little of what's going on in my house. Enjoy your day!

Love,

Addie

Bug hats and barfing dogs...

2009-03-23T16:09:00.003-04:00

Just thought I needed to share this photo today. These boys are so cute. It was taken right after Cole's bug party and those hats are definitely in bad shape right now. I think some bug eyes are missing!

Anyways, Jenga doesn't feel great today- Emma and the boys took her to the vet this afternoon. We are hoping she doesn't have a stuck sock! She looks like she's feeling better and has started eating and drinking.

I hear rumors of a farm trip this week. Emma started packing some bags and I'm getting really excited!

Love,

Addie

Things I find in the trash can...

2009-03-14T13:52:00.005-04:00

Beckett is very proud of his 2 new chores: putting things in the trash can and feeding the us doggies.

Jon would say that letting Beck feed us dogs is a chore for him. For some reason, everytime Beckett helps Jon feed us, dog food ends up all over the kitchen floor. (Not when Emma does it though...she's just better I guess...)

I guess that Emma has a little bit of a harder time keeping up with the trash can thing. "Why do we have to teach kids how to do things, anyways!" she says. We find so many odd things in the trash can these days. Searching around the house all day for that "thing" you can't remember what you did with it? Yeh, it's in the trash can. Here are some things we've found in our trash can recently that are definitely NOT trash:

Sippy Cup

Iron down curtain hem

Van keys (!)

Socks

Various toys

Why in the world did we teach him to do this? What do YOU find in your trash can these days? Hopefully just trash.

PS-the picture is of the boys at the park last week on one of those beautiful weather days that we had here. There's a walking trail and lake and the boys had a blast.

3 years old...

2009-03-09T14:52:00.000-04:00

Today is Colton's 3rd Birthday! We can't believe it's been 3 years since our lives have changed by having this special boy in our lives. Cole is such a sweet kid and we keep seeing his kind personality more and more as he grows. He loves his little brother and takes good care of him. He's normally the 1st one to go in and say good morning to Beckett. "Hold on Beckett," he says, "Mommy will be here in a minute." At the party store the other day, the lady gave Cole a balloon to take home, and right away he wanted to be sure that Beckett got one as well.

One of Colton's favorite new activities is PLAYDOUGH! So at his birthday party on Saturday, the kids played with playdough and made bug hats. (it was a bug theme- complete with buggy type foods and a dirt cake with worms!)

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLE! We love you SO much. We can't believe how fast you are growing- and are trying to cherish every minute of it.

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

P.S. We needed to include this adorable pic of Addie. Yes, she's lounging on Cole's sofa chair. So cute!

my first trip to the farm

2009-02-24T09:21:00.005-05:00

We are here! We are here! We are here!

That's from Horton Hears a Who. The boys love the movie and Uncle Stin just gave them the book this last weekend. They love it! Anyways, We are here. (HOME!) Oma came down last week to pick us up and take us back up to the farm with her.

It was my (Addie) first trip to the farm and I LOVED it! It is so open and I had so much fun running around free! Jenga had told me about Buddy, but I didn't realize that he would be so much fun. We're good friends now. My favorite part was Jenga introducing me to the pond. We didn't get in all the way, (it was COLD up there!!!) but we got in far enough to get our legs all dirty and wet. Thanks Uncle Stin for washing us off- you're the best!

The boys had a great time playing at the farm and got to see their cousin Izzy and (2nd cousin?) Morgann. Emma was busy most of the time working on Sarah & Brian's wedding invitations. Everyone got together on Friday & Saturday to work on them and had a fun time. Isabelle turned 8 months old while we were there. Emma took some pics- Check them out, she's a cutie! The boys were definitely tired by the end of the week and we are all glad to be home.

Snow to 70 degrees!

2009-02-08T19:03:00.004-05:00

By the way, it snowed here last week! Can you tell I'm trying to catch up on my blog before the week starts? We didn't spend a lot of time outside, because the Emma & the boys have been a little sniffly this week, but we went out for a little bit for the boys to see the snow again. Their favorite thing is to EAT the snow. And yes, we made sure that none of it was yellow!
This weekend, the boys have been full out sick with fevers and feeling really bad, so we've mainly been stuck around the house...on this beautiful weekend! (It was sunny and 70 degrees here today!)

Well I'm off to make sure that Beck isn't getting into my dog food. That kid is into everything these days! Hope you all have a great start to your week!

Omas & Papas

2009-02-08T14:03:00.003-05:00

It's been a week since the omas & papas were here and we miss them so much! Oma Carol came first and stayed for the whole week. The boys had so much fun playing with her. They went to Monkey Joe's with their friends Kristie and Norah and had a blast. Then last weekend, Papa Al came into town as well as Oma & Papa Wick- a house full of grandparents doesn't happen very often!

Our Aunts Maizey & Molly came to play with us outside while the grandparents enjoyed playing with those cute Joersz boys inside. It seems like we are always sent outdoors when our house is full of people. Not very fair if you ask us!

Thanks for coming to see us- we love you guys very much!

Happy Birthday, Papa Al!

2009-02-05T16:59:00.009-05:00

Today is Papa Al's Birthday. We doggies love him so very much, but our family loves him even more. He actually came to visit us just this past weekend, which we'll write more about in our next post.

But for now, here is a top 10 for reasons why we love our Papa Al!

1). He's very funny and makes us laugh.

2). He reads us books, even if its the 3rd time in a row...

3). He lays on the ground and wrestles with us until we are tired of it and ready to move on to something else.

4). He never complains to get up early in the morning and play with us.

5). He makes fantastic pancakes. I think Cole and Beckett each ate TWO.

6). He continues to teach his son how to be a good daddy.

7). He plays a pretty tough card game.

8). He's a godly man. We loved it when he would call Oma & pray with us in the morning.

9). He takes us on really fast walks. (same pace as our daddy)

10). He even gives us doggies some attention and makes us feel special too.

Happy Birthday Papa Al! Hope your day was great!

Guess what we found on our dining room table?

2009-02-02T19:09:00.003-05:00

It's time for socks & shoes! Yes, Beckett has the socks and Cole has the shoes on his hands. They thought this was very funny.

The boys have been playing with each other so much lately and it's very fun to watch. Sometimes Colton will get upset if Beckett walks out of the room and screams "Come back to my room and PLAY WITH ME!!!" It's not the most enticing command, but sometimes Beckett will return.

Throughout the day, they will wander from playing in the living & playroom downstairs to Cole & Beckett's rooms upstairs. (We just added some toys and made Beckett's room a little more play friendly- They like it!)

What else is new with those boys? I guess I haven't written much lately, so let's see....

For those of you who might be wondering about Cole's bowel issues....we have some very good news! For the past few weeks, he has been going EVERYDAY and now feels comfortable enough to tell us he needs to go and then does it. It's GREAT. He's not going #2 in the potty, but otherwise potty training is going well.

Beckett is into everything and climbing on everything. Recently we caught him standing on the toy chest in the playroom looking precariously over the edge. Yesterday he was standing on a little chair in the kitchen playing with the keys on our keyrack. And today he climbed up a chair onto the kids' table and up onto the dining room table. WHAT? Yes! He was on his hands and knees on the dining room table, playing with some leftover mugs from yesterday's breakfast with the grandparents (Yes, we're behind on dishes, okay?) So we've decided that we must a keep an eye out for that crazy little Beck.

snow day!

2009-01-21T08:38:00.004-05:00

Almost all our blog friends around here have already posted about our big snow day yesterday. Does it show that we're all a little excited? Jon tried to go into work, but after some near collisions decided to come back home...and we were excited that he did. He got to play in the snow with us! Beckett liked everything about the snow day except for wearing those gloves. He wanted them off! Cole was having fun throwing and eating the snow. We were all pretty impressed with Jon's snowball throwing and accuracy. He hit a boy across the street in the back! I had never seen snow before and was a little confused, but Jenga knew what this crazy white substance was and showed me how to run and play in it. I got to go out front with the family and play. Rebecca and Colin came over. He's a cute kid and he liked it when I licked his face! I headed out back so that Emma and the boys could go across the street and play with Cameron and Katy for a little bit. I hope it snows again. It was fun! We still have a little bit of snow in our yard this morning but it will probably melt away today.

Triplets!

2009-01-15T15:57:00.003-05:00

This week, Emma and some neighbor girls decided to start a playdate switchoff, where each mommy gets a couple hours without kids to get stuff done. Tuesday was Emma's day and she said it was great. She plans to get a lot of work and stuff around the house done during those hours. Running errands is much simpler without kids, too!

Today was our first day to watch the kiddos. Lelia & Jaydan, the twins from next door, came over for lunch and playtime. Jenga was out front on the leash, but I was able to come in and see the kids in action. (Emma blocked me off from the living room so the kids could eat snacks though- that was sort of a bummer!) I like those kids and am looking forward to seeing them every Thursday while their mommy goes to class. Beckett was somewhat possessive of his mommy, but otherwise had a fun time playing with kids his age. (He especially liked eating their snacks!)

Everyone Poops.

2009-01-12T21:51:00.002-05:00

It's true. For the last few months though, Cole has been fighting this truth. My family talks about poop all the time. Sometimes it's sort of gross. I pooped in the house yesterday (whoops!) So- any helpful hints for Cole (like this great book, which has helped) would be greatly appreciated!

Addie

A bouncy birthday

2009-01-12T21:11:00.010-05:00

Our family went out Saturday to celebrate Maddie's Birthday. Dogs must not be allowed into Monkey Joe's or else we would have been invited too, right? It looks like the boys had a blast with their friend Maddie. Beckett went feet first on his belly down the slides by himself and thought it was the greatest thing ever. Happy Birthday Maddie!

Addie's in trouble...

2009-01-04T16:06:00.005-05:00

The boys are having so much fun playing together lately- it's so much fun to watch them together. They will go into the playroom or go upstairs to Cole's room. Last night, Cole grabbed Beckett by the hand and dragged him into the playroom with him. Very cute.

This mess you see is all (or mostly) Addie's fault. She's in the dog house! No more blogging for her for a while- that's for sure.

I'll try to take and post some more pics of the boys soon...

Love,

Jenga

I like fetch!

2008-12-29T16:52:00.010-05:00

This is me and my new *PINK* tennis ball. Jenga and I absolutely love these. They came in a set of three and I cannot manage to set any of them down for a long period of time. They're so pretty!
We had a wonderful Christmas. It was very relaxing and me and my family spent good family time together. Jenga and I are officially playing rough again and loving it.
This was the scene at our house this morning. Beckett has been wanting a little more freedom with his "silverware" and Emma accidentally left the yogurt within his reach. It actually got a little worse a couple seconds later and baths were needed.

Look at my cute boys!

Yes, this is Beckett chewing on my dog bowl. Look how much fun he's having though. The boys love playing with us so much. Their favorite activity lately is playing CHASE all around the house. We get in on the action and it can get pretty loud!

Well it's about time to put those sweet boys to bed. Thanks for reading! Goodnight!

Love,

Addie

I'm fine, but my water dish isn't...

2008-12-21T08:53:00.004-05:00

I am feeling much better now after my surgery. Jenga and I want to run and play together so badly, but Jon and Emma won't let us. We've been seperated many times...I hope we get to play fight again soon. I am feeling a little cooped up. 10-14 days? Yeah right- I feel fine now!!!

So the other day, Emma dropped a light bulb off the counter and was cleaning it up with Beckett in his chair and Cole on the other side of the room. Don't ask me why, but our water dish was sitting next to Beckett on the table. He was playing in it and Emma said it was okay- she would take it away from him after she cleaned up her mess. Well right after she finished, Beckett decided to drag the dish on the floor and make a new mess for her to clean up. Look at that face. He looks so proud!

Get well soon!

2008-12-17T13:04:00.007-05:00

You might not know, but our sweet little Addie is at the vet today, so I thought I'd write her a letter to cheer her up. She has been gone since this morning and I miss her VERY much! Emma said she's getting spayed- whatever that means- something about not having puppies.

Dear Addie,

Over the last 2 months, you've become a very dear friend. I must admit that I didn't like you very much when you came to my house- but now it's our house and I like it much better with you here. Sometimes Emma says it gets a little crowded when we're rowdy, but I think it's so much fun. I like that you let me stick your whole head in my mouth. I think you're cute when you sleep with your tummy in the air and your legs stick out funny. (So cute that sometimes I try to mimic it now...I like it when Emma and Jon say "awww" to me!) You also snore, but I don't mind.

Emma said that the vet just called to say that you are starting to wake up from your surgery. I hope that you feel okay and just wanted to let you know that we are all anxious for you to get home this evening! The boys are thinking about you too. They have been playing your crate and think it's fun. (I'll post a picture- it's pretty cute!)

See you tonight!

Love,

Your big sis Jenga

late blog update...

2008-12-14T21:21:00.012-05:00

Well I guess it's about time that we stop digging in the backyard to write a blog. We haven't updated in a while and we're sorry we haven't. I guess we should start with what we did for Thanksgiving. Obviously you know that we were not invited to go to Florida- we stayed home to take care of the house. We got many visits from neighbors, especially Tammy (Sam & Missy's mommy). We enjoyed seeing her each day- she rubbed our bellies.

Oh Yes, back to our family....They had a great trip to Florida (despite the van breaking down in Georgia....) and had a blast with friends and family. Thanksgiving was so much fun. Eating outside, playing football and playing truth or dare were some highlights. Erik & Sarah's wedding was beautiful. We are so excited to welcome Sarah into our family! We know many of you have probably seen the photos, but for those of you who haven't, here are a few of the many great moments!

London and Cole playing in the side yard after Thanksgiving dinner.

Cheering on during the football game! GO TEAM!

Emma and Beckett at the wedding reception. The boys were so good!

Jon and Cole at the wedding. Weren't they handsome in their tuxes?

There was fun dancing all night long!

Sisters!

WE MISS OUR BOYS!!!!!

2008-11-24T18:02:00.020-05:00

Its been a long and boring couple of days. Actually, it feels like its been a couple of weeks. My family left both of us here in Charlotte with Jon who hasn't paid us much attention. He has been doign all sorts of things that make tons of noise. He keeps putting us outside and leave us there for

hours on end. What gives?

Anyways, we are sad and want Beck and Cole to come home immediately. We need some love and attention.

So, i thought i would let you see what Jon has been doing so you understand a little bit why we couldn't be inside.

This is what it looked like in the beginning.

Then he started to really tear it apart. Pulled all the white stuff off, making a HUGE mess all over the carpet and throwing it on the driveway.

Next thing we new, the wall was GONE! We don't know what he did, or why he was doing it, but, it was pretty crazy. We were really worried because it didn't look too safe for my boys. We were actually pretty upset now that i think about it.

Then it started to make a little sense, kind of. This wierd guy came over and helped Jon put something in place. It still really concerned me, because it didn't look like it was going to stop my boys from falling down off the 2nd floor.

And finally, he finished putting up something that looks like the gate that keeps us from going upstairs. Now i feel much better about the boys now. There is NO way they will fall down now.

Pretty Cool huh? Now its Emma's turn to paint and stain the thing. HA!

Our little ONE YEAR OLD

2008-11-17T16:52:00.004-05:00

Can you believe it? Beckett is ONE YEAR OLD! We had a party for him on Saturday. His 2 favorite things at the party were having the slide tower inside and his CUPCAKE. He's never climbed on the slide before and he absolutely loved it. After being shown a few times how to climb up, he can climb up and even slide down on his own now. (We'll post a video later maybe to show the pro in action!)

We watched the festivities from the backyard -like always- but got a great view of all the babies sitting in a row eating food. There were 5 babies around Beckett's age and it was fun to watch them together. The balloons were a big hit. As you can see in the picture on the left, we doggies got into playing with the balloons as well. That is, until Jenga popped one. That sort of freaked us out.

Things are getting back to normal here. Ima & Papa Al went home to Texas yesterday. We had a great visit with them....despite sick boys. Beckett was sick all last week and Cole is now sick. Emma and the boys stayed in PJs most of today. Beckett has been cuddling with us so much lately. He just crawls up and lays on us. It's very sweet. We love our little ONE YEAR OLD!

Moo-Moo and Cock-a-doodle-doo!!!!

2008-11-01T17:14:00.002-04:00

We didn't get to go out with the boys last night, but saw them in their cute outfits today when they got dressed up for Oma & Papa. Boy were they adorable! Last night the family went over to Cole's friend Maddie's house for trick-or-treating and homemade pizzas afterwards. It sounds like they had a blast!

case of mystery blogger solved.

2008-10-28T11:11:00.002-04:00

I can't stand the suspense any longer! I would like to introduce to you the newest member of the Joersz family, Addie. At first I was a little upset that my family wanted to replace me, but I'm warming up to this sweet puppy. She's very full of energy and likes to take my toys, but that's okay. Addie is 6 months old and is a golden retriever just like me. She's lighter than me though and has straight hair. We've been going on lots of walks and Addie is doing great walking next to the stroller! She's been a little mischievous and Emma keeps having to wash our feet before coming inside (those bags of topsoil were pretty irresistible!) So they've been busy getting the house in "puppy order" and we dogs are busy playing. I'm sure Addie can't wait to meet all of my friends and I'm so excited to take her up to the farm for the first time. She's going to love it! Apparently she's going to start helping me with the blog. That will be nice. Well I just wanted to let you know about our latest addition. We can't wait for you to meet her!

Long time no blog.

2008-10-27T16:36:00.009-04:00

Wow, it looks like Jenga has been a real big slacker lately. As a guest blogger, I'm going to get you all up to date and let you know what's been going on in the Joersz house since she has hardly posted all October. Don't worry, I'll try not to let her take such long blog breaks from now on as I plan to help her out in writing posts- she is getting old you know and sometimes needs reminders. Let's see--what has happened....

Beckett turned 11 months and can you believe it...he is almost one year old. Emma doesn't know where the last year has gone. "What did she do this year," I hear her saying often. He is walking like a pro and loves making sounds like da-da and ba-ba and ma-ma. He loves his food. He just started getting up on our riding zebra "Marty" on his own and thinks it's the greatest thing.

And Cole. He's a sweet kid. I like him already. He's been doing really well with the whole potty training thing. Jon says he has his days and sometimes he doesn't want to go, but for the most part, he's doing well and is proud of himself for going. Emma & Jon think he's grown taller in the last month or so and he is saying so much more. He loves his music class on Monday mornings and loves singing in the car and at home. His favorite song right now is "Comin' 'round the Mountain."

I hear that he taught that song to the Keigley kids when the family went to visit last week in South Carolina. They picked apples at Skytop Orchard, had a bonfire, went to the zoo and had a lot of fun with friends.....
The boys are having a lot of fun together. Cole likes to help feed Beckett and they play all the time in their secret room. Check out Cole's idea of giving Beckett some more cereal.... Well, I guess by now you are wondering about this guest blogger. Who is he? Or she? Hmm...I guess you'll have to find out later. I'm going to keep you in suspense....

2008-10-14T20:20:00.002-04:00

Walking

2008-10-11T16:35:00.002-04:00

2008-09-29T21:59:00.002-04:00

A yippee little dog tried to attack me today. It was sort of annoying. I thought I'd blog about it and then realized I haven't written in almost 2 weeks. Apparently I've been BUSY. We've all been busy I guess.

Cole has been busy working on potty training. He's totally in cute boy underwear all day except for at night. He's doing so good and loves his underwear.

Beckett has been busy trying to walk. He's been taking a few steps at a time for the last few weeks. This week he's taken more steps and thinks it's a lot of fun.

Emma's been busy cutting paper. Oma & soon to be Aunt Sarah came this weekend and they put wedding invitations together.

Jon's been busy writing comments on Lacey's blog.

I'll try to make sure we stay less busy this week and write more blogs.

a letter to my doggy friends...

2008-09-19T13:31:00.004-04:00

Dear Boscoe & Kip,
We had a great time with your family on Wednesday! Everyone went to the park for a picnic lunch and then played on the playground for quite a while. Our Neighbor Jodi with her twins Lelia & Jaydon came as well and all four babies were on their best behavior and loved the swings! (Lelia even fell asleep in hers!) After they came home, I got a little playtime with all the kids in the backyard. Bergen is still a little afraid of me, but did very well. It was fun to see everyone- Cole and Beck had a blast with all the kids.

Beckett's favorite Keigley moment: Cuddling with Riley after his nap. Cole's favorite Keigley moment: He says it's watching London on his tractor. Okay. But I think I also heard him talking about how fun it was on the playground... going down the slides and climbing through tunnels. Emma's not so favorite Keigley moment: Forgetting her wallet and making Lacey pay for groceries. Erg. Jon's favorite Keigley moment: Finding out what fennel seed burgers taste like! Hehe. I'm sorry that you both weren't able to make the trip, but I just wanted to let you know that we had fun with your family. Emma is talking about bringing the boys down to see you soon. If I'm not able to make the trip, will you please write me a letter and let me know what happens? Thanks!
Love,
Jenga

I think I'll just lay here...

2008-09-11T08:09:00.002-04:00

Jon- Do you see why I might want to stick Cole in that box? Actually, this has Beckett written all over it...

Diapers on the floor...

2008-09-08T13:12:00.003-04:00

Look at my sweet kid! He is getting into everything (as you can tell below) His favorite new hobbies consist of taking all the books off the shelf and the diapers out of the diaper basket. Good thing doggies don't have to pick up diapers and put them away. Wait a minute- is that my collar he's holding onto?! C'mon BECK! Oh, and another thing that little Beckett loves these days is crawling up the stairs. Last weekend Beckett stood for 10 seconds and took 2 steps. He hasn't tried much since then, but loves walking around our coffee table and pulling up onto everything he can.

Speaking of diapers though, Colton has had a good potty weekend. He's gone pee pee quite a bit and has enjoyed all the naked time. At the moment, he is pooping in his diaper in the bathroom though, so we've still got a while!

We started our music class this morning and the boys had a great time. Their favorite part of class is instrument time. Even Beckett was banging on the drum and was having a great time.

Send Doggy Treats Please....

2008-09-08T13:09:00.001-04:00

crazy zoo animals...

2008-09-02T11:51:00.002-04:00

We love 3 day weekends! It's so nice to have Jon home one extra day. To celebrate, they left me at home and headed down to the Columbia Zoo for the day. (Nice, huh? I guess I wouldn't have mixed well with all those animals!) They had a really good time and saw plenty of neat creatures. The favorite? Most likely the giraffe! What a neat looking animal and everyone got to feed it- even Cole who is normally cautious towards new things. Cole also liked the aquarium. Both boys were great and had a fun time!

You can call me "Paw"!

2008-09-02T11:36:00.003-04:00

Football season has begun and Jon and Emma got to go to the Virginia Tech game here in Charlotte this weekend. They had a great time and got to hang out with some good friends from college. Our friends Chad and Laura watched the boys while Jon and Emma were gone and they all had a good time playing together. Abby, Brent, Sarah & Colin came to our house after the game for a cookout, playtime with the kids and some fun games in the evening. My favorite part of their visit was all the attention. Colin named me "PAW" because he liked shaking my paw. He was such a cute kid--wish I could see him more often! Colton loved playing with Sarah. He kept asking her to come out and play with him and pick him up. We are trying to convince this Sarah now to move to Charlotte---seems our cousin Sarah is becoming quite content in New Hampshire!

Texas Top TEN:

2008-08-26T12:26:00.005-04:00

1). Spending fun time with family
2). Whist Olympics
3). Cole's Boatrides
4). Bonding time during TWO rounds of golf with the guys
5). Cole's sweet prayers...."Dear Jesus, I dub (love) you, AMEN."
6). Fun in the pool
7). GRAPES....need i say "more"?
8). Watching Beckett crawl through the caterpillar and cars tent!
9). Jess & Emma's tubing tumbling
10). Beckett & Banter---just two babies having fun!

I sure had a lot of fun at the farm while the rest of my family ditched me and flew to Texas. But OH!, I'm so glad that we are all home now! I missed Beckett's fingers pulling my hair. I missed Colton chasing me with push toys. I am catching up on my sleep and leftover crumbs beneath the table. Here's a few more pics from this past week:

Ima & Papa

G.G. & Grandpa Anderson

Jess & Emma try cheese flavored larvets-yum!

Fun in the driveway! They both LOVED this time.

Wish I were in Texas...

2008-08-18T17:17:00.003-04:00

Well it sounds like my family is having a great time in Texas. I hear that Beckett is LOVING on Auntie Jessica's dogs, especially her puppy Banter. He's a 5 month old husky and is absolutely adorable. I'm a little jealous that I'm not there. Banter and Taupper sound like fun doggies. The family has been hanging out and the boys have had fun playing with all of Grandma's toys. Beckett's favorite is the crawl through caterpillar. Cole's favorite toy is the tricycle.
The weather has been a litte rainy in Texas, so they went bowling today. Cole got his own lane with bumpers and had a blast. Afterwards they went to Chick-fil-a and had a bite to eat and the boys played in the playground. The boys had a great time but were very tired by the time they got home. I'm glad that my family is having fun, but I'm very anxious to see them soon!

i miss my family...

2008-08-12T10:02:00.006-04:00

Well my family is home from the beach now, and is getting ready to leave this weekend for Texas to visit family. I don't get to go on all these fun trips with them, but don't really mind since I'm at my favorite place in the world. I'm having a blast running around and barking at cows and the donkey at the farm.

I've been getting some updates on my family from Oma. The kids had a great time at the beach. They especially loved playing in the sand with buckets and shovels. They stayed in a condo with friends from across the street. Cole and Beckett played and had so much fun with Cameron & Katy! (If you read in the comments on the last blog, you will also see that the girls dominated in spades...even if the game wasn't quite over yet.) Jon took Beck out into the ocean and he loved it! Apparently it was very calming and he just layed his head on Jon's chest. Emma said it was very cute. They walked down the pier Saturday night and Colton got to see lots of Jellyfish.

I bet that my family really misses me. Going on walks probably aren't the same. And they probably realize how messy the boys actually are at the table. "Normally there isn't food on the floor!!!" is what they might be saying. While I'm gone though, they can leave the door open for longer than 5 seconds without wondering if I'll run out. And they don't have to pick up certain toys or other items in wondering if I'll eat it. I miss them too. I miss Beckett crawling all over me. I miss Colton chasing me around. I hope to see them soon.

Beach Fun!

2008-08-09T15:15:00.003-04:00

P.S - If you care, i'm enjoying my time at the farm. Happy birthday Grandma CAROL!!! We love you.

"Oh Happy Day!"

2008-07-31T21:57:00.005-04:00

Well I have to say that I've gotten a break the past couple weeks. Colton and Beckett have been playing together quite nicely. I still get playtime, but can manage to hide out if I want. Along with playing together has definitely brought out the issue of "SHARING." It's a hard concept, even for me.

Cole has been singing a lot lately. It's very cute. He sings songs from his music class (which ended last week) as well as Jesus Loves Me, the ABCs, and my personal favorite, Oh Happy Day.

Beckett, as you can see in the pictures below, is EVERYWHERE! He climbs up on a chair, gets down, crawls to a shelf, stands up, gets down, crawls over to me, climbs OVER me and then heads into the kitchen for some more standing and sitting and moving. PHEW! I like to watch Colton on his tricycle chase Beckett around the kitchen. It's pretty funny and they both laugh hysterically.

2008-07-31T21:51:00.001-04:00

"I can't!"

2008-07-19T14:13:00.003-04:00

I guess it's about time that I update my blog, huh? I have been so lazy the last two weeks. I tell ya, running and playing at the farm really takes it out of me!

My Joersz boys have been SO cute lately. This last week they have been playing together quite a bit each day. Cole will take out tons of toys and set them in front of Beckett, all while running around and making little Beck laugh & squeal.

Jon was out of town last Thursday-Monday for a church youth group trip to Panama City Beach, FL. (NICE! I would have loved to run around on the beach) We really missed him, but definitely got by. Oma even came down for a visit to keep us company.

Beckett is on the move---all the time. Emma says it's a little exhausting! Trust me, it's exhausting for this canine too (He loves crawling all over me!) Sometimes I go out in the backyard to relax. I have officially found my favorite chair to sit under during meals, by the way. Colton has gotten much better about not dropping food, but Beckett is quite the mess. I LOVE IT! Normally I'm sent out back at dinnertime, but breakfast and lunch are fair game.

Colton is speaking very well lately. He can say full sentences, though we can only understand the main words. "Can't" and "don't" are favorites at the moment: "Cole, do you want to go pee pee in the potty?" "No, mommy, I CAN'T." Speaking of the potty, Cole went pee pee on the potty once this last week. It's a step!

So far this weekend has been really relaxing. It's been nice spending time together as a family.

our week at the farm

2008-07-07T15:50:00.010-04:00

There are so many pictures to go through today...are you READY? I tried to consolidate the pictures into daily collages, but some are just too cute and need to be on their own. We had SUCH a fun week. It started off Monday morning when we drove up to Virginia. Lacey and the kids were already up at the farm and so the kids got to play that afternoon. For some reason, the Keigley kids are sort of scared of me...maybe because I'm so big. I tried to stay away from them, but sometimes just couldn't help myself from going up and giving some love- they're just so cute!

We had a good time on Tuesday. Cole, London, Mosely & Bergen had a fun time playing together. The weather was AWESOME. We were outside a lot and went on a walk in the afternoon. Look at these cute wagon babies!

The kids played in the sandbox and definitely needed baths that night. The babies got baths together, then the 2 boys and then the 2 girls. It worked out quite well. Baby Izzy got her first bath on Tuesday as well! Wednesday was another one of those beautiful days. The kids had a picnic lunch while Oma, Papa, Stin & Luke planted trees by the playset and sandbox. Oma got an alphabet foam mat for the kids and they played on it all week. Mosely started putting a foam square over her head and it caught on. The kids also liked taking the edges off and called them their "ninja swords." Cole had a blast with it. (and Beckett liked chewing on the ninja swords too...)

All week long, Lacey & Emma took turns feeding both Piper & Beckett at once. (It was a real time-saver and we think they liked it too.) Piper loved hitting Beck on the head and stealing his cheese. Beckett tried many new foods this week and absolutely loved it! Every night before bed, Cole called Jon to say goodnight. The bottom right pic is of Cole kissing the phone. Cole and Bergen shared a bedroom this week. Every morning they would get up and play so well together. They especially liked drinking their "coffee milk" with papa in the morning.

Jon finally got up to Virginia on Friday. We were so glad to see him! Lots of people arrived at the farm on Friday actually. Abbey and Morgann drove down from New Hampshire and came over to play on Friday. We went on another walk down the pond road with the babies in the backpacks. The girls loved picking flowers, Colton loved playing in the dirt and throwing rocks, I loved running up and down the road, and we all loved looking at the snake that Uncle Kevin found on the side of the road!

Ah, the day we looked forward to all week! Saturday was our family's annual fourth of July party. The party had a bit more of an intimate atmosphere this year and everyone had a great time spending it together.

One of Cole's favorite parts of the day was playing in the ice tub!

It was supposed to rain all day Saturday, but ended up only raining for a bit and then was great weather for dinner outdoors.

Jon & Emma

The guys had a blast playing paintball this year. They played all morning until about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Those paintball guns scare me...but probably not as much as those fireworks they shot off after dark.

Thanks for spending the time & looking at all my photos and reading about our fun week. I'm definitely spending a lot of time catching up on my sleep. Barking at those cows all week can really take it out of you! (Sorry Oma!)

home again.

2008-07-06T20:55:00.003-04:00

Ahhh....the soft carpet of home between my paws. We just got home this afternoon from spending a week at the farm. I've hardly moved from my dog bed...Emma and Jon say that I'm OUT! But I would like to quickly share a glimpse of our fun week in Virginia. We had a blast playing and spending time with everyone. The Fourth of July party was great (though I spent a lot of it cooped up in the barn....) After I sort through all the photos, I'll write some more posts filled with cute photos and stories of the boys from the past week.
p.s...note those two top teeth that Beckett has recently aquired. what a cute smile!

we're home....

2008-06-26T21:16:00.002-04:00

...for a little bit at least. We had a great trip to the farm this past week. My new friend Buddy came over and we played non-stop. It was great. Emma and the boys got to spend a lot of time with new baby Izzy (unfortunately I haven't been able to meet that sweet girl yet). At first, Cole was a little stand off-ish, but by the last day, he was giving her little tickles and staring quite cute at her.

We are in town for the weekend and then are heading back up to Virginia for the week. Next weekend is July 4th! I'm so excited! (Except for the fireworks. Everyone loves those things, but I think they're the scariest things ever.)

Beckett is having a rough time with his top two teeth the past week. One tooth is finally through and hopefully the other one will come through soon! That boy has been climbing on me all day today. He's climbing over things, people and basically whatever else is in his way. He's pulling up onto whatever is in front of him and loves it!

Izzy is HERE!

2008-06-22T08:59:00.002-04:00

Well, I haven't met her yet, but she's on her way home from the hospital TODAY! Emma, the boys and I drove up here Friday night and Isabelle Grace was born 5 minutes before Emma got up to the hospital that night. Yesterday they went up to spend some time at the hospital. The boys were great. Izzy is just adorable. As you can see, she has a full head of hair. Her mommy and daddy are doing GREAT. Jessica had a good delivery. I've been having fun hanging out with Maizey and Molly and of course my new friend Buddy. Will write more and add new pictures later when I get a chance!

happy father's day!

2008-06-15T06:00:00.007-04:00

Top Ten Reasons why our daddy is the BEST daddy!

1). He gives the best hugs!
2). He knows how to pick out the best toys. (even for jenga too)
3). He works really hard and well at everything he does.
4). He's so much fun to play with. (we especially like to climb on him)
5). He calls us a lot each day while he's at work just to say hi.
6). He knows how to fix everything.
7). He comes home every evening after work and we play. This is our favorite time of the day for everyone in the fam!
8). He's a godly man and is teaching us about Jesus.
9). We love his tickles. He makes us laugh!
10). He reads the best bedtime stories, sings the best bedtime songs and says the best bedtime prayers.

We love you, daddy- YOU'RE THE BEST!

Love,
Colton & Beckett

my favorite place...

2008-06-13T16:40:00.002-04:00

I'm so excited! We are getting our stuff packed and are heading up to Virginia tonight! Jon is going to build a super cool sandbox (that apparently I'm not allowed to play in- though I might try it out when they're not looking...shhh!!!)

So I just wanted to share this cute picture of Beckett, who is changing and doing more fun things everyday. He's now crawling all the way across the floor and is starting to pull up on Jon and Emma (or whatever he can get his hands on) and is standing! What in the world?! I'll post some pictures of that when I get back. Today he was standing at the bottom of the stairs and trying to get up a step.

Hope you all have as good a weekend as I plan to have up at the farm!

pool pictures that i promised...

2008-06-09T09:55:00.003-04:00

Here are the boys enjoying the nice cool pool with friends! [Beckett's hanging out with Katy in the top picture and Rebecca & Colin in the bottom picture.] I almost didn't want to post these because it looks like they are having too much fun without me. I did get a bath this morning and got to run through the sprinklers last night. So I guess I've had my share of water fun too.

it's HOT outside!

2008-06-05T13:11:00.006-04:00

I don't really know where this week has gone. It's stinkin' hot outside but I still really like to get out whenever I can. Emma has taken the boys to the pool a couple times, of which I'm a little jealous since no pets are allowed to go. I guess I would make quite a mess of that kiddie pool. The boys look pretty cute in their swim shorts (I'll upload some pics soon-they are on Jon's camera at work right now!)

If I can say so about myself...and I guess I will...I've been a very good girl this week. We've had 2 friends over and I was very well behaved. Normally I'm sent out back or inside depending on where our guests are. I happily greeted our friends and then mainly behaved and stayed away from them. That's a good step for me! Here's a cute picture of Cole and Hailey when she and her mommy came over on Tuesday. I also got to spend some time with Mandy, Cameron & Katy on Wednesday. That Cameron really likes me, but sometimes I get the feeling that he's scared of me too! I am a little big for such a little guy.

Beckett had a good night last night. I only heard him cry for a few minutes at 4:30 and then he slept all the way till 6:30 this morning! Emma says she sees a light at the end of the tunnel in terms of getting up in the early morning. Look how cute this little guy is! His new favorite thing is...anything that is Colton's. (Mainly cars...) He'll try and most of the time succeed at getting Colton's cars and then Colton takes them away and Beckett cries. This happens many times during the day. I have a feeling this will happen many times in the years to come....

You know who I can't wait to meet? Baby Izzy. Her due date is less than a month away and I hear that it's possible that she will be here in the next week or two. I'm sure you think that I'm excited because it means a trip to the farm, my favorite place ever! And you're probably right. That's why I'm excited. But Jon, Emma and the boys are so excited to welcome their new neice and cousin!

woof! it's almost june!

2008-05-31T21:23:00.001-04:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Joersz TOP 5

2008-05-24T21:20:00.005-04:00

5). Beckett is sooo close to crawling. I know I keep saying that, but this weekend he's been moving one knee and then falling back on his tummy. He's very determined...especially if it means coming to grab my hair!

4). Jon is home for a 4 day weekend! We're getting to spend good family time. (I especially like the walks and going to the park like we did this evening)

3). Emma and Beckett have been sick the last couple days but are finally starting to feel better. Hopefully tonight they'll get some better sleep!

2). Cole's favorite word lately is Okay. "Cole, be nice to Jenga." "Otay." "Cole, it's time for bed." "Otay." "Not right now, maybe we'll watch a movie tomorrow." "Otay."

It's really cute and he says it very seriously.

and the #1 thing in the Joersz TOP 5 is....

1). I don't know how many of you read the comments on my blog, but anonymous...aka Jon commented to Erik that there should be an Aunt Sarah soon....and yesterday, HE PROPOSED! We're so excited to welcome Sarah into our family. She's funny and just perfect for Erik. We like her a lot. Congratulation, guys!

happy birthday!

2008-05-21T12:50:00.007-04:00

Uncle Erik,
We want to wish you a happy birthday today! That's what the sign says, by the way. We spent a lot of time drawing on your sign and posing for this photo. It wasn't easy! Beckett wanted to show you his foot and how big it is getting. He also wanted me to include a photo of him learning to crawl. Look at him on his knees!
Well I hope that you have a fun day today. Is Sarah going to take you out to dinner? I like that place we went when we came to visit you, Chick-fil-a. You should go there. I've been talking about you a lot lately. I have a book and a puzzle with an ambulance and everytime we see it, we talk about you. We love you very much.
Love,
Colton & Beckett (& Jenga)

half a year already?

2008-05-16T10:10:00.003-04:00

This week has gone by so fast---we've been busy I guess. Beckett had his HALF birthday this Wednesday. He's 6 months old! I feel like Jon and Emma just brought him home. Like I've said in the past few blogs, Beckett is really getting ready to crawl. He can get about 4 feet, but then gets a little tired and starts going backwards or just wants to sit up. Pretty soon he'll be all over the house and we will need to start picking up Cole's tiny toys. Beckett has been eating fruits & veggies the past two weeks. He likes his sweet potatoes, but has not been a fan of bananas or applesauce. He makes a funny face when he has eaten fruits so far. I like it when he spits out food and I get to lick it up.

Cole has had a busy week as well! We've had Cameron over a couple days this week and the boys like to play outside. Those boys go back and forth fighting over toys and then playing together. It's pretty funny to watch. So yesterday when Cameron wanted to use the potty, of course Cole wanted to use it as well. At first he didn't want any clothes off, but then he wanted his shorts off and later he wanted his shirt and diaper off! So he sat on the potty for about 5 minutes, and he went pee! Hooray for Cole!

if you thought that was cute...

2008-05-13T14:42:00.002-04:00

...then check out this one! Emma got a couple shots the other night and some of them look like the boys are wrestling. I'm pretty sure that wrestling in this household will be common very soon.

I had an exciting day yesterday. Emma, the boys & I were out back playing in the yard and all of a sudden, two dogs broke through the fence and started playing with me. I was a little scared at first and hid under my dog house. Cole thought it was great and started chasing them with his lawnmower. Emma brought Cole up for his nap afterwards and by the time she came back down, they had gone back into their yard next door. (Taking 2 of my toys by the way!! Don't worry, I got them back.)

Well have a good day! I'm off to bark at the garbage truck....

i want to be like you...

2008-05-11T22:10:00.002-04:00

My boys were sooo cute tonight. Beckett is trying very hard crawl the past few days. He watches me and his older brother run around and is getting very anxious to do the same! Tonight he was getting up on his knees right before putting on pajamas. Since Emma was clapping and getting excited for him, Colton thought that it would be pretty cute to take off his clothes and do the same thing. I love my boys!

walk the line

2008-05-06T15:51:00.004-04:00

Here's me and Beck just hanging out--that's what we like to do. We also like to go on walks. Emma is starting to take me on longer walks this week. She says that I might behave better at home if I'm not so full of energy. I agree. These walks are good for me, the boys and for Emma. Check out Little Beckett's new sandbox hobby- shoveling sand...into his mouth. Tasty!

balloons!

2008-05-06T15:38:00.004-04:00

Well I am just getting over an ear infection and am finally able to catch up on my blog. Hot spots, surgery, ear infections...I think I'm done for now. Well this weekend my family was very busy. They went to Cameron's birthday party across the street. He's TWO just like Cole! They had a lot of fun. The boys especially loved the balloons. Friday we had Maddie and Jenny over to play. They played out back with toys and in the sandbox. I really like the new sandbox. I know I dug in it last week, but I really just want to sit in it now, and Emma won't let me. Cole even asked me to come get in it. It's just nice and cool to lay on. Oh well...I guess the grass will do- it just makes me itchy.

yes! i'm funny!

2008-05-01T16:16:00.004-04:00

That's right, I am funny! Somebody thinks I'm the most hilarious dog out there. That somebody is Beckett. He does laugh occasionally for Jon and Emma, quite a bit for Cole, but most of the time, his laughs are reserved just for me! I don't even really have to do anything. I could lick my rear end and he'll giggle. Haha. That's just funny that i wrote "lick my rear end." Yesterday Jon was holding Beckett and chasing me around the back yard and Beckett laughed more than he ever has before. It's nice to be appreciated by someone. Emma didn't really appreciate it when I dug in the sandbox this morning. Just trying to help--I can dig further than Cole can! Those boys and I are going to be best buds!

to nap or not to nap...

2008-05-01T16:01:00.003-04:00

You might think this picture is a comparison of Colton and Beckett at 5 and a half months, but it isn't. Both pics are of Beckett....a before and after! Yes, we cut Beckett's hair again and I must admit, got a little carried away. It's so short! Little Beck has a runny nose today and it drooling all over the place.

I guess Cole is finally going through his testing stage. We've had almost 2 weeks of naptime & bedtime battles. We've gotten lots of advice, but nothing seems to be working so far. After 2 hours today, Emma was about to go up and get him because he had been quiet for about 10 minutes. Of course he had fallen asleep. Emma wanted to know how many calories she's burning by going up and down the stairs 50 times during the day...

razzle red

2008-04-26T21:33:00.005-04:00

Hey guys...I'm blogging on Emma's new laptop and it's very cool. Now I can write blogs anywhere in the house---even on the comfort of my doggy bed. The boys have been very sweet this weekend. They love having their daddy home. (Emma loves it too- got to sleep in till 10:30 this morning--what in the world!)

Today Jon and Emma showed Cole how to drive a monster truck over all his other cars. He had a lot of fun messing the cars up and then saying "Oh no...what happened?" Later after Cole went down for a nap, Beckett wanted to play with the same monster truck and tried so hard to move forward to get it.

Once that boy figures out how to move, we won't be able to catch him. Well I'm off to bed. I'm tired because I stayed up late last night for Emma to come home from her girl's night. 13 going on 30 and razzle dazzle drinks-wish I could have gone!