album 10\23\2010 (53 photos), by maureen jenkins

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
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IT'S A BOY!!!

Hey fam

It is a boy! We are thrilled! I have already started everything needed for him to get here. Boston was a bust :( , Devo training is a bust and our first choice Phoenix house is a bust. Other than that our house seems to be progressing in the sale process (that is huge) and dates are set to have us delivered in Phoenix. Finally the Halloween count down is on.

The fam went in last Friday for a sex determination of the baby and as most of you know we are moving closer to having our own Doane Basketball team! The boys are excited and B has been giving me updates everyday on what he is going to teach his new brother; Friday: how to jump, eat candy corn and play with the dogs. Sat: how to keep food away from the dogs, how to crawl out of the crib and how to do his plasma car....to be continued I am sure.

As far as baby planning I know exactly how I want the nursery decorated and I hope GiGi is up to the challenge of sewing the bedding :) (I was gonna call and ask soon). I have my top ten names that is now a top 6 because of Robbie's first round knockouts. We are treackin...

So we didn't get to go to Boston and the whole fam was bummed but the Dr office was less than easy to reschedule with. We will be out there in the Spring for sure! Devo training being a bust is really half and half. We have been doing "training sessions" in the evenings and she is great. She will "Sit", "Stay" and "Come". I can run all around her while she is staying and she doesn't budge till you say "Come", then she runs right to you and waits for the next command. It is really amazing how great she is and how quick she learned! The other half to all of this is that is only seems applicable to the backyard. Once she has jumped the fence it is anything goes. Ugggg!!! Finally, first choice Phoenix house was a great hs in a perfect location and had great schools but seems the owners will not rent to anyone with dogs over 40lbs. Second choice here we come...

Phoenix is happening! Nov 1st movers come to pack us up. Nov 2nd we get loaded in the truck and Nov 8th we are there for delivery!!! YEAH!

The last thing going on is Halloween. The kids have been making really great holiday crafts and they have made so many pumpkin variations that we have the whole Laundry room door dedicated to "the pumpkin Patch art work" It is really cool how into it they are. (Rob when you get home, show no concern that you have old undershirts flying in the front yard breeze :))

What can I tell you about the boys? They are huge and eating like crazy this AM they each ate four pieces of french toast and a bowl of Rice Crispies! Caleb is getting skinny! (not to be confused with Thin). He is also talking a lot more. His words are not easily understood by an outsider but he can express most anything he wants these days. B is mastering all types of new tasks and is expanding his interests all the time. He can ride a bike wonderfully and started cruising on a scooter (these are all neighbors toys, so Rob and I have some xmas shopping to do) he also likes shooting baskets and plays a lot of golf in the backyard!

Enjoy the pics!!

We love you all.

We are up and running again

Hello everyone!

We are back! we had some major camera issues but as you can tell from the adorable pics we are up and running again. Lots has happened since the last blog, the house is under contract and we are out of our "option period" so things are clicking along with the house. We have started packing, the boys got new beds (very exciting) and more.

I LOVE BEING AT HOME! These little guys are so great and we have a blast together everyday. I am learning A TON! We have had a lot of adventures but mostly playdates, park time, outside with neighbors, and a few field trips of our own. The boys have helped me start packing and getting some of the house ready. They also got new Big Boy beds. That is right! Caleb will be going into a bed when we get to Phoenix so that baby 3 will have the crib set up in its room. The new beds are very cool bunk beds. B is dying to sleep on the top and asks about it every night. These guys are getting big!

It has been a great break not having showings every other day. The house is still holding together but I will admit it is much harder to keep it clean with the all day in-house playing than before. I am begging anyone out there to share their fav receipts that consists of 3-6 ingredients and minimum prep time. So feel free to post back or shoot off an email. Also did everyone see those adorable pancake pics on the side of the blog? Thank you Aunt Bobby. The boys love eating these and they come out so cute.

Lucky us! the boys and I are getting to go visit the Burke family in BOSTON! we are so excited. We will have great pics in the next few weeks so stay tuned.

The Dogs are ...the dogs. I have been reading about how to train a CRAZY BOXER online and her classes start at nap time tomorrow. Wish me luck! She is like a 2yr old (as Jess pointed out) they are really hard to enjoy when they have no rules and run wild. So here goes! If i don't succeed she is being put in Boot Camp with Greg this December (thanks dad).

Halloween is coming too. Talk about a great weekend. The boys have a pumpkin painting party on the 30th and then a block party Halloween night! They have both decided to be Football players (and NO we did not push this at all!!!) B thinks he is like the football players he saw at the UT game and wanted to be them and Caleb wants to be like B so there you have it.

We miss you guys all so much and are thrilled we will be able to see most of you shortly!

How many showings does it take?

Hey fam and friends,

How are you all. We are doing great but asking ourselves, "how many showings does it take?" This week we reached our 12th showing (in three weeks) and two of them were second showings. Rob was in Calf all this week so the cleaning seemed very heavy! How many showings does it take? Don't know if I can handle too many more of these! The boys are great helpers with the cleanings and we have really had some great times "getting out of the house" but I am hopeful we are on our final leg.

Boys are great! We went to Caleb's 18month Doctors apt this week and he is a weed! He is in the 100+ percentile for height and in the 84th for weight, he has not gained any weight since his last apt but has managed to put on 2.5inches! He did great with all his shots and this coming Friday is Braydon's big 3yr old apt so keep everyone posted on how he is doing. So far both have been consistently off the charts with the number of words they know, sentence structure and social interactions.

When it comes to the house cleaning I have to give the two little guys props. They are great helpers. B will walk around with Pledge and spray everything that is wood and I come behind and wipe it off. Caleb helps vacum by going around with his little popper thing and vacuming as well. They are excellent at putting their toys away and over all are very helpful!

They are currently both in the bath that is filled to their chins with bubbles, the giggles are non-stop because Devo is in there eating bubbles and licking faces. Good times! Caleb just let out a shriek that could break glass. This is his most recent form of communication and also one that lands him in timeout consistently. (Now this is where I struggle as a mom, do I take his soggy butters out of the bath and into timeout to prove my point or do I just let this one go....?) I have had to start reading my parenting books again with this kid (good advice JJ). He is breaking all the rules and is throwing some really impressive temper tantrums. I feel like I am starting from scratch.

This week I was able to spend a little extra time with the kids and it was great! We went to the botanical gardens, I got started a little early on Halloween and we made pumpkins. Played Playdough and this weekend the boys made a VERY special something for Mrs. Lauren, we will not go into detail because we dont want to spoil the surprise! They are doing great and we cant wait to see you all soon.

Moment of the week: I woke Braydon up from a nap one day this week, he was really groggy and just reached up threw an arm around my neck and asked me to snuggle. :)

album 09\19\2010 (31 photos), by maureen jenkins

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Click here to view photos

Howdy

Hey guys, hope you guys are all doing well. Everyone is great here. Lots of showings this week, cute boy stories and more.

The week went pretty quick. The house got another 4 showings which is great but also a TON of work. We got really positive feedback and have our fingers crossed that there will be more to come.

Three nights this week we were unable to find Devo and each time she was fast alseep at the end of Braydons Bed. Each time she seemed to have waited about an hour after they went to bed, pushed the bedroom door open and found her spot. It was really sweet. She loves those boys soo much.

This weekend was filled with exciting things for the boys. We painted pottery Sat morning, B painted a car, Zonie/Rob painted a football and I painted a pumpkin. We had to leave them there for the week to get them glazed, B keeps reminding me that "we need to go back to the pottery store to get out things" I think he liked it!

After pottery B and I had a date day in the city. We had big plans and most got ruined by bad weather but it was just he and I for a few hours, we went to a show and then he got to pick out whatever he wanted from a bakery for a treat. We had a blast, and what a handsome date I had.

That same night Robbie took us to a VERY fancy dinner. They boys both wore button down shirts, nice jeans and brown boots. They were so well behaved everyone was impressed. The waiter commented as well as a few other people. I was very proud.

This AM was another story......from our bedroom we heard screams and what I thought was crying. I rushed upstairs and Caleb has pulled off his diaper and peed (deliberately) on everything. He thought he had invented the best game ever. B thought it was all pretty great as well. He was on his bed jumping up and down laughing hysterically!! So what I thought was crying was shreaks of fun. A bath happened, breakfast and that was wonderfully followed by Devo digging up the flowers again only this time it was in mud (tons of rain) so it was back in the bathroom, the Johnson and Johnson was put up and Lavendar Puppy was brought out.....Awesome guys...awesome....

Lunch just finished (PB & J) and Caleb finished his looking like a war victim. B was in fits of giggles. they got hosed off ( i am over giving baths at this point) and put down for a nap. It is days like this that they are sooo lucky they are cute. :)

We miss you guys!

Mo

Howdy

Hey Guys

How is everyone? The Doane clan is great and growing. We went to a football game this weekend boys had a very successful trip to the library, we survived what felt like a hurricane and the house is listed, showing are happening and Phoenix here we come.

Doane addition 5 (the dogs count) is getting big and doing great. We went in to the doctor this week and baby is thriving! Big as ever, last time we saw it on the screen it was itty bitty and now it has a full profile, you could see the little hands up at its mouth, so cute! We are excited for it to get here only another 6mos!

We went to the UT game this weekend and had a blast. It was hot as Hades but the boys could have cared less. B went into the game with Rob and last the whole time!!! Not only was it late and Rob forgot to feed him but he had to stand the whole time. He loved it, Funcle was with them and B cheered and chanted the whole game. He could not believe that Bevo was a real live thing! It was adorable. Caleb and I stayed out at the Tailgate, he played with all the babies, shared toys and ate all the food at the Tailgate. It was great to see Jons again and the boys loved it!! I do have to say that it was Rob's moment of the week for sure. He loved being in there with his little guy.

There was a Library trip, multiple park trips and tons of other outings this week for the boys. Mrs. Lauren had them everywhere, they loved it!

We had our first showings this week....very exciting.....3 to be exact. I was hoping for more but am def not complaining with 3. No feedback so far on how they went, we are just hoping for more. Phoenix plans are set to go. Rob will be starting mid October, my job will be done here mid October as well so me and the boys will be on our own. Hopefully not for too long without Rob. If all goes according to MY plans we will be packed and out in no time. Things are pretty busy between now and then as well. Rob has been work events every weekend almost, he and I are going to head to Phoenix the weekend of the 24th to look for houses, the following weekend I am in Miami for a girlfriends wedding and we both wrap things up at our respective jobs and Phoenix is on!

As for the boys and the interesting part of this blog. They are doing great. They had a special dinner out with Mrs. Lauren and her family this week while Rob and I got a date night. We are so spoiled by her. Caleb is talking more than ever and has turned into a little love bug this week. He will repeat anything he hears to the best of his ability and will crawl into your lap, lay his head on your shoulder and just give snuggles. These last anywhere from half a second to a full 30seconds. I love these soo much. B is becoming more and more self sufficient. He can put on all his clothes, take them all off, feed dogs, open car doors, do his carseat belt (even the one that non of the grandparents can figure out), he goes potty by himself, scrubs and rinses himself in the bath, helps set the table, etc. It is really impressive stuff. He is always eager to be a helper and try new things. Right now Rob is getting one of Caleb's snuggles and B is building with Legos. The dogs are passed out (probably sick from eating all my flowers again) and we are having a great relaxing Sunday night.

There were so many amazing things that happened this week...where to start?

1. B has been revering to his clothes as "inside in" rather than "inside out"

2. We lost power for 6 hours or so on Tuesday and B went around to all the light switches, tried them all and then announced that all the lights were out of batteries.

3. The best this week was shared by Lauren. B went to the potty by himself and when he came out she asked if he had closed the lid "yep" and did you wipe the seat? "yep, and my leg". Classic!