Thanks for Family

I walked into the Primrose school and my heart about melted when I saw this on the bulletin board.

Boys and a Box

I gave the boys this box to play with.  I had no idea they were going to put themselves in a corner and fill it up with all of their toys.  You just never know what boys will do with a box.

Kellan may have been looking for additional toys to contribute to the box while Oliver was distracted with giving Mommy a nice smile.

Not long after this photo Oliver called out for search and rescue since they had buried themselves in the corner.

Lunch with Jen

Jen and I used to have time to get together multiple times during the week.  Over the course of the past several years we gotten married and had babies.  With that, our time spent together has become much more limited but when we do get to spend time together, it is that much more special.  Thanks to a Living Social Deal, we recently had a three hour lunch and and catch up session.  It was the best way to spend three hours with a friend that I could imagine.  (Ok, laying at the pool in Vegas may top it, but who's really comparing?)

It's crazy to think that Jen and I have been in Denver and friends for over eleven years.  The structure of our lives have changed dramatically but our friendship will always be rooted to our core.

November Novelties

November is a crazy month!  It's the transition from fall to winter and from the rest of the year to the holiday season.  We tend to have less major events going on and more odds and ends.  This November is no different.

Kellan is a puker, he's always been a puker.  This may be too much information but it is a fact and that's that.  He's been doing well but then he got a case of a stomach bug the first weekend in November.  This brought all of our plans to a screeching halt and we were home bound for two days.  Kellan also likes to mimic our actions (especially Oliver's).  Mommy cleaned up the floor and then laid a towel on it so that we wouldn't walk in the wet spot.  The towel kept getting moved and I discovered that Kellan was moving it when he was mimicking Mommy cleaning the floor.  Ahh... thanks for helping buddy!

Sunday is Bronos football day.  For the record, since Oliver has been wearing both of his Broncos shirts at the same time, they have won every game.  He LOVES wearing the Broncos shirts and he loves to watch (kind of watch) the games.  He likes to predict which team will win and he usually goes with the animal he prefers.  I never realized that so many teams were animal oriented until Oliver started learning about the sport.

I tried and tried to get a cute photo of the boys in the basket but Oliver kept closing his eyes.

So Oliver tried really hard to keep his eyes open and his mouth opened at the same time.   Maybe this is like when women put mascara on and they can't physically do it with them mouth closed, very well.

Happy Boys in the Basket!

Sometimes the boys just like to sit on the stairs after school and have a snack.

Sometimes they just like to throw things around, even if it's their snacks (OK, so technically this is Oliver's Halloween candy that was more fun to throw than eat)  The most fun occurs when Mom or Dad play fetch and give their throwing objects back to them.  It only takes a few times (maybe a few too many times) for Mom and Dad to figure out their scheme.

Oliver and Kellan plotting the next toss.

Sometimes we just have fun in the bath tub.  Since we can't have dogs to carry toys in their mouth due to Oliver's allergies we make due with what we have.

X Marks the spot as Kellan continues to mimic his brother for the camera.

Oliver mastering four letters in his lips while Kellan looks away to properly anchor one.

Ok, the thrill is dying but Mom keeps taking pictures.

Then, another Sunday tends to roll around and so do the Broncos outfits.

We think these are the two most handsome Broncos fans in town.

Kellan going for the touch down while Oliver goes for a hut-hut-hike!

Go Broncos Go!

Two Touch Downs for the Broncos!

The last man standing.

Kellan is done with this Broncos pep rally and he is giving the cue that it's nap time.

Oh wait... a second wind.  Who needs a nap anyway?

Pumped up Kicks

The Hamilton House enjoys a good dance party every now and then and our latest song of choice is Pumped Up Kicks.  Dance Party's are a great way to burn some energy, get some exercise, spend time together and rock out to some of our favorite music.  Oliver gravitated toward Pumped up Kicks in two seconds flat.  The lyrics may not be the most appropriate for a four year old but we roll with it.  (It could be a whole lot worse I suppose)  It gives Daddy a great opportunity to explain fire arm safety, animal hunting tools, etc.  I'm sure the song of the month will change with the calendar but for now, we're Pumping up our Kicks.  (And... pumping up our knee kicks in front of the fire place with some good finger pointing director hands.)  

Watch out World!

We may have the next Risky Business star on our hands!

Kellan Walking

Kellan has been working on walking.  He loves to walk to you to grab a hug.

Halloween 2011

Every year Oliver gets more and more involved with carving pumpkins.

With an Engineer as a Daddy and an engineer structured brain on Oliver, even carving pumpkins is a serious  matter.

Daddy showing Oliver how to poke the pattern on the pumpkin.

Oliver going to work poking his cat-bat pattern.

Two engineering brains hard at work.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, Kellan is throwing out his critiques of the pumpkin carving process.

Kellan exploring the insides of pumpkins.

Kellan throwing out a few more opinions while the pumpkin goo flew off of his fingers.

The final product ready for Halloween the following evening!

Keith got a new iPad from work and it has become a family focal point.

Plus, did you know that little brothers are good for many things, including resting your arm?

The three boys checking out the latest gadget in the Hamilton house.

Halloween was on a Monday evening so we came home from work a bit early to enjoy the festivities.  Spider Man and Sock Monkey were ready to rock the neighborhood.

Ahhh  Even Spider Man and Sock Monkey love each other like brothers.

We have spent the last couple of years with the neighbors prior to trick-or-treating.  We have a pizza party and then hit the streets after a quick photo of the kids.  When I mean quick, I mean quick.  We placed Kellan, took the picture and then he was off.

Joel (front) Brady, Brock, Oliver, Anika, Brooklyn and Kellan.

Fun fact:  Brooklyn's parents moved in a few months before she was born and she is two months older than Kellan.  The fun fact?  If we were having a girl she would have been named Brooklyn.

Kellan demonstrating his walking skills for the neighbors.

Now that Oliver is four, he is able to keep up with the bigger kids.  Plus, the bigger kids were great at keeping track of Oliver along the way.  They are the best neighbor kids ever!

It cracks me up how much shorter Oliver is but he's right there in the mix, ready to get candy.

Spider Man Oliver inspecting his loot.

Trick-Or-Treat!

Hey, this house looks familiar.

It was SO familiar that Oliver stayed back a bit and picked out his own candy.  Maybe because that is Daddy  handing out candy.

Not much later Oliver called it quits and headed home to inspect his loot.  How does Spider Man eat if he has no mouth?  He rests his mask on his forehead and enjoys his first treat, a box of Dots.

WHOA!  Oliver was SO excited to have fruit snacks in his bag.

Check this out!  The neighbor lady gave him a great new set of eyes.

Kellan wasn't shy to inspect the loot.  Maybe he was building up energy for his Halloween Trick.

Kellan's Halloween Trick.

(Huge Thanks to Theresa for teaching me how to use iMovie!)

YAY!!  Kellan stood up and shook his groove thang.

Just before we turned out the lights, we got one last look at the pumpkins.

Oliver had a yogurt smoothie snack and it gave him big muscles and a moo-stache.

Happy Halloween from the Hamiltons!