One of my all-time favorite boy pictures is of Rhino. One day he found his way into my baking cabinet and opened up a jar of green concentrated icing tint gel for a snack. What a mess! With a three year-old boy, almost-two year-old boy, and a newborn boy, I'm up to my neck in mess all day, every day! Even with the most frustrating of messes, I try to just chill out for a minute, snap a picture, then I can move on to the scolding and cleaning. This green food coloring mess wasn't a big one, but it makes for one of my favorite photos — plus, green's my favorite color. Good pick, Rhino!

Do you have a favorite photo that fits this week's i heart faces theme? Head on over and post yours! Of course I have a soft spot for boys and I'm loving looking through all the great shots this week!

This is what happens when I take Raven out and leave the older boys home with Grandpa. I guess he'll do anything to get out of doing his own chores!

We picked up some fun toys for the backyard. I was thinking of getting just a normal oscillating sprinkler that the boys could jump around in. Then I saw this fancy little sprinkler hose at Walmart and thought the boys would get a kick out of it!

They were both a little hesitant at first. Heron would let someone carry him, but wouldn't walk through alone. Rhino would go with other people but not by himself. They both warmed up to it eventually and were running through it by themselves. I love Rhino's faces whenever he'd get sprayed as he ran through!

The days have been so nice lately and it's been fun just hanging out on the porch. The boys have been enjoying their first popsicles. I'm loving all the summery fun!

We also went out for ice cream at Josh and John's and watched the trains. It's great to spend time with my little brother. And I love how he plays with the boys! They both love their Uncle Matt!

Well, this month has been another interesting one! Last month we were affected by the large earthquake off Japan's eastern coast. Many Japanese people don't have power, food, clean water, and fuel. Our base has been trying very hard to conserve our resources to provide more for the people of Japan. There are still large aftershocks quite frequently and the nuclear reactor at Fukushima has melted down due to the tsunami. The military gave dependent family members the option of leaving the country and staying for a while in the States. Because I am very pregnant with your little brother, the doctor recommended I have the baby in the US, in case there are any complications. We had to decide very quickly whether we wanted to fly back to the States or stay in Misawa and it was a hard decision. Daddy and I aren't afraid of the aftershocks or the situation at the nuclear power plant, but we do want to make sure there is a hospital with emergency facilities just in case there is any problem with the birth. And we'd both rather have you boys safe in the US while the situation at the plant is being resolved — just in case. So, you flew back with Heron and I to Colorado to stay with Grammy and Uncle Ron. It was a long, exhausting, and difficult flight back (I was 38 weeks pregnant on the flight) but we finally got here!

You've been having a good time with Grammy and Uncle Ron. You like to help Grammy with her garden and play outside. The dogs, Jack and Tilley, are a little high-strung and don't really play well with little kids, but you are very interested in them and want to play ball with them and pet them. So far, no dog bites!! You got a haircut since we've been here. You've always had sort of a long, shaggy hairdo. I decided we'd go for something shorter so I don't have to keep getting it trimmed out of your eyes. You look so grown up now!

I enrolled you in a Montessori preschool for the mornings while we're here in Colorado Springs. It is a nice opportunity for you to play with other children your age, see some new toys and activities, and have a little routine. It's also a great time for me to get a little bit of a break. You really seem to be enjoying yourself and are very excited every morning to carry your lunch bag and go see your friends!

You have been having a hard time since we left Japan. For a little while you didn't want to talk to Daddy whenever we saw him on the computer. I'm not sure if you are mad at him or think we won't see him again or what. I try to talk about our situation and that Daddy loves you and will see you again but I don't know how much you understand. I really have no idea when we'll be back in Japan. We've been here three weeks and are waiting to hear next week about how much longer the evacuation will last. Hopefully we will be seeing your daddy again soon. He loves you very much and misses you tons. Hang in there, sweetie! I love you very much!!

Hugs and Kisses,
Mommy

We get these out nearly every day and he spends quite a bit of time at the kitchen table, attempting to copy designs from the booklet or making up his own.

I remember playing with this exact set when I was little. What a timeless toy! We also use them to practice counting and colors as well as sorting.

I asked for identical cuts and I think the lady who did Rhino's did a better job. Heron's still cute with his spiky new do!

I think the haircut aged them drastically! I feel like my babies are now little boys with just the snip of the scissors. I'll miss their shaggy hair, but I think they look really sharp now too!

This has been quite a month for you. Now that you're three, I decided to start a casual preschool. We learn and read and play all the time, but I thought I'd put together some sort of actual lessons for you. You love to do dot-to-dots, are awesome at mazes, trace letters and numbers, and are learning how to fold paper and cut with scissors. You seem to be having a blast!

You're getting to be more and more independent. You like to make your own lunches (favorites: peanut butter sandwiches & homemade pizza.) You like to draw (people with giant heads and trains / tracks.) Yes, you're still obsessed with everything about trains!

A few days ago, we experienced a really big earthquake. We live in Japan and get quite a few earthquakes, so you've felt your share of shakes. This one was really big — a 9.0 — the fourth largest in the world in history. You and I were in the living room, Heron was napping upstairs, and Daddy was at work when it hit. When the walls first started shaking, I didn't think much of it because, like I said, we have them all the time. It grew more and more violent and lasted much longer than usual. I ran you over to the toy closet doorway and ran upstairs to get Heron. We sat in the doorway and said a little prayer and talked about all the objects that were shaking. I knew if I panicked, it would scare you boys, so we kept it light-hearted. We lost power and didn't know anything about what had just happened. We actually went three days without power; it just turned on today. Now that I can get online and use the phone, we are learning how severe this earthquake was. There was a tsunami that destroyed many homes along our coast. We thank God that the base and the town of Misawa is safe, even though we are on the coast and not too far away from the epicenter. Unfortunately, there are thousands of Japanese people who were not so lucky. We will do what we can to help out. I am hearing about families that are separated from each other and children that are orphaned and am just so thankful that we are all okay and I can still hold you in my arms.

I did say it's been quite a month for you! This month has had its ups and definitely had its downs, but we're all still here and looking forward to another wonderful month together!

I love you,
Mommy

I didn't want to make more messy snowflake cookies, but still had a lot of dough left. So Rhino and I made some plain sugar cookies! I had a bunch of leftover sprinkles, not a ton of any one kind. So we made a variety of different sprinkled sugar cookies!

Rhino made all the heart cookies pretty much by himself. He did sneak quite a bit of raw dough and had a hard time lifting the cookies off the counter, but I was surprised how pretty they all turned out in the end!

When he had enough, I just got a glass and went for plain round cookies and all sorts of sprinkles (dinosaurs, cows, patriotic, etc.) Yum, yum!

I love my super easy sugar cookie recipe, which you can find here. Easy peasy and super delicious!

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He wasn't very helpful, but it was super cute! He mostly moved snow from one big pile to another. Sometimes he took already-shoveled snow from the pile and put it back on the sidewalk! Usually, his shovel only had a small piece of snow on it. He had so much fun "helping" and was out there for nearly an hour! Every now and then Rhino and Matt took a break to toss some snowballs!

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When Rhino came inside, he took off his boots and said he wanted a "hot drink." Matt didn't mention it to him and he's never had a hot drink before, so I'm not sure where he got the idea from! I was all ready ahead of him and had gotten everything out for some cocoa. It was his first time trying hot cocoa and he loved it! He licked his lips and declared "Mmmm! Very yummy!" There's nothing better than coming in from working in the snow to a mug of hot cocoa with marshmallows. Of course, Matt had one waiting for him, too!