Our warm January day!

Today we hit 64 degrees in NWA!! I have been excited all week about the approching warm weather, and we're trying to soak up every second of it! A week ago today we were making snow angels, and next Tuesday the high is supposed to be 23...so when we get above 50 degrees, I get excited!! This morning we headed out for a walk around the neighborhood, tricycle riding, and playing with sidewalk chalk and bubbles. After lunch Ayden and I played on the trampoline while Ethan soaked up some sun in his bouncy seat while watching us! I am SO ready for springtime!!

So sweet...

Couldn't you just smooch that sweet belly all day?!!

Loving the Mommy Life!

It's no secret to those who know me best that I love being a mommy. But this morning, as I changed Ethan's poopy diaper, made chocolate milk for Ayden, helped him find his favorite Hot Wheels car under the bed, and then snuggled with both my boys while drinking coffee and watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, I became overwhelmed with just how much I love this life!! It's certainly not glamorous...I am usually still in my PJ's at noon everyday, and makeup and fixing my hair is reserved for the days I work, but I am just so glad that I am the one who gets to change the diapers and fix the chocolate milk and find the missing Hot Wheels car. I know some women don't have a choice but to work 5 days a week, while others prefer the career life, and there is nothing wrong with that, but I just feel so blessed that I get to spend the majority of my time at home with my boys!

Even though I always knew I wanted kids, I never put much thought into what would happen after they were born--whether I would stay home or work. I think I just always assumed that since I had a college education, I would work and my kids would go to daycare. Having Ayden changed that state of mind immediately! I am just so, so glad that I chose a career with such flexibility, even though when I was choosing my major, spending time at home with my future children wasn't even on my mind! There are definetely times, especially after an extremely stressful or physically or emotionally exhausting shift, that I think I should have chosen a different career path...but then I think, how many jobs allow you to spend much more time at home with your family than you do at work, and still make a nice income.....not very many!

Anyway, I am just feeling especially grateful and blessed today. Like I said, there is really nothing glamorous, and to some people, nothing altogether exciting about staying home with your kids....but to me, making peanut butter sandwiches, reading books about animal sounds, nursing a baby and kissing his sweet chubby cheeks, playing hide-and-seek with a 3 year old who shrieks with excitement when he finds you, and deciding which of the trilogy of Toy Story DVD's you will watch next are some of the most treasured moments of my life. Sure, I don't remember the last full night of sleep I got, and it's not unusual to get peed on, pooped on, and spit up on all in one day. But I wouldn't trade this life for anything in the world :)

Who needs a binky...

When you've got such a yummy thumb!

Spiderman takes on the snow!

This morning, after lots of persuasion on Ayden's part, we bundled up and went outside to play in the snow for a little while. This is our 2nd snow in just over a week, but I didn't let him play in it last week...it was just toooo cold!! I hesitated this time because he is getting a cold, and because quite honestly I hate this kind of weather! But, the good mommy side of me finally won out and I dressed in layers and played right along side him :) We attempted to build a snowman but the snow was just too fluffy and didn't pack well. He made a few snow angels and ran around for awhile making footprints, which he loved! Ethan enjoyed his morning nap in the warm cozy house while we were out :) Here are some pics from our snowday!

Loving the Bumbo!

Ethan just loves sitting up in his Bumbo seat! He looks like such a big boy! Ayden loves having him at (almost) eye level too!

Precious little sleeper

One of the most precious things to me is how my babies look when they fall asleep nursing...round soft cheeks, sweet pouty lips, oh I could just stare at him forever!

Swim lesson pics!

I did my best to snap a couple pics at swim lessons today...the quality of the first one is terrible, I took it with my phone, through a window from a floor above the pool while holding a wiggling Ethan, lol! But I thought it was still cute, it is of Ayden and the 2 other kids in class on a big floating mat learning to kick their feet! In the second pic I was trying to get Ayden to smile after the lesson was over, but he wasn't in the mood...he was upset because the lesson was over and also because he wanted a locker of his own in the dressing room. Oh, to be 3!!

Jumparoo Time!

Ethan's first time in the Jumparoo! He loves it! It didn't take him long to figure out how to bounce, and unlike his older brother who needed books stacked under his feet the first few weeks, he reaches the floor just fine!

Our long-legged jumper!

Ayden's expressions

Ayden loves to do his "mad and happy faces" for the camera...

And this one is just his cute face!

Ethan's food face!

Last night we whipped up some rice cereal before bedtime and gave Ethan his first taste of solid food! As we suspected, the whole ordeal was much more about getting cute pictures than nutrition. I don't think he swallowed a single bite :) There's just nothing cuter than a messy baby face!!


Smiling at Daddy!

First taste... he is not impressed!
This one speaks for itself...lol

What IS this stuff mom??


I guess it's not so bad!

Our Little Dolphin!

Ayden started swimming lessons yesterday at the Walmart Fitness Center!! He was SO excited and kept saying "I'm gonna swim like a dolphin!" lol! It's a class for 3 year old beginners, no previous experience or classes were required to enroll, however, starting at age 3, NO parents are allowed during lessons! I have to admit, this scared me to death!! It's not that I didn't trust the instructor...I didn't trust Ayden! Ha! And with good reason--he came off the steps and went under while the instructor was working with another child, luckily she was right there and able to grab him! I witnessed this from the parent observation room upstairs above the pool, I was freaking out! The other moms probably thought I was nuts! But Ayden is not one to sit still and wait his turn, he was ready to get back out there! The kid is not afraid of anything, and that also scares me to death! But hopefully that experience taught him not to do it again...that and me drilling this into his head every 5 minutes yesterday--"Ayden, you HAVE to stay on the steps until it's your turn!!!!" Ayden's energy, excitement, and overall passion for everything in life is one of my favorite things about him...but oh my goodness, momma is gonna get some gray hairs before this is all said and done! Anyway, besides that "incident" he did awesome and really enjoyed the lesson. He will go once a week for 8 weeks and then will move up to the next class. We're hoping to have a little swimmer by summer! I don't have any pics because as I mentioned, no mommas were allowed! Maybe next week I'll take some pics through the glass window...the other moms already think I'm a nut :)

Ethan's 4 month stats!

Our big boy hanging out on the exam table!

Weight: 15 lbs 15 oz (75th percentile)
Length: 27 inches (95th percentile)

Ethan is a big, healthy, growing boy! The pediatrician said he looked great! He asked how well he was sleeping at night and I told him that he was sleeping 5-6 hours a month ago, but lately has been waking up every 2-3 hours. He suggested we start giving him a few bites of rice cereal before his bedtime feeding so we're gonna give that a shot! Ayden was closer to 6 months old before we started cereal but Ethan is bigger and apparently hungrier :) So we will just see if he is interested, and if not, we won't push it. He got his shots and cried so hard, poor guy! We are currently snuggling and nursing though and it has seemed to help :) So thankful for our healthy boy!!

A (belated) Farewell to 2010

Every year since I started this blog (in 2007) I have written a New Year's post summing up our year and outlining the goals for the coming year. This year is no different, this post is just 10 days late. Losing Grandpa on New Years Day was certainly not something any of us were prepared for and I will admit it has overshadowed my usual excitement and optimism for the new year (how could it not?). We knew he had terminal cancer, but honestly thought up until just a couple days before he passed away that he would be with us at least a couple more months. I have to keep reminding myself that it is indeed a blessing that God took him home before he had to suffer the pain and torment that cancer can bring. I still cry everyday, but pray that the pain of losing such a wonderful man in my life will get easier in the coming year. Also, my grandma is coming up on one month of being hospitalized and has failed 2 attempts at coming off the ventilator. As I have said this entire time, it just seems unimaginable that all this could happen at once. Please continue to pray for comfort and healing for her body and comfort and strength for her spirit, as well as for my mother who has remained so strong through all of this.



And now moving forward with recognition of our many blessings this year, first and foremost, Ethan Jeffrey joining our family! Aside from a slight complication in the beginning, and another slight complication in the end, I had a relatively healthy and uneventful pregnancy, a fairly quick and mostly pain-free labor, and a very healthy baby boy born on Labor Day! As I have said before, as an L&D nurse, I see so many patients with severe pregnancy complications and/or babies born with severe complications, so being blessed with 2 healthy children is by far my greatest source of joy and gratitude in life. Going from a family of 3 to family of 4 was certainly everything we heard it would be! But we have all made the transition quite well and Ethan is just a perfect little fit for our family! Ayden had some acting out and behavioral issues in the weeks following his birth, but not once has he ever acted jealous or angry towards Ethan...he is absolutely crazy about his baby brother!! Watching them together brings me so much happiness and I know it will just get even better as they grow older.



Ayden has grown up so much this year, besides becoming a big brother, he has just changed so much. He became potty trained back in July and it seems like he is learning or saying something new everyday. If there is one thing we are noticing about him, it's that he is hilarious! The kid has a personality like none other and keeps us entertained 24/7! He is so happy, outgoing, and energetic and brings so much joy to our lives. We are looking forward to him being old enough to start some team sports this fall! He is starting swimming lessons this week to give him an outlet for his energy and to participate in a group setting aside from MDO. I can't believe what a big boy he is becoming and couldn't be more proud.



Big changes for Chris this year were that he finished his internship and took a permanent position with Sam's Club Finance. This was a huge accomplishment as well as a great relief for him to settle in somewhere and really "dig his heels in" as he puts it :)



I have been SO fortunate at my job that I was able to go part-time and get (really good!) hospital insurance while I was pregnant with Ethan, and then switch back to prn/flex after I had him so I could ease back into work and set my schedule. I have been working one night a week since I came back from maternity leave, but starting this weekend, I am going to DAYS!!! I am so super excited! I have worked nights almost 9 years, ever since I was an aide in the summers during nursing school. I really never have liked nights and anyone who knows me knows that I am SO not a night owl, I go to bed no later than 9! But nights was what I was used to and I'm not big on change. Plus it just worked for us since we have never wanted to put our kids in daycare. But now I will be working every Saturday and every other Sunday while Chris takes charge of the kids, and I will be sleeping in my bed 7 nights a week! I am so thankful for such a helpful and supportive husband, he is SO excited too, he has wanted me off nights since Ayden was born!

Anyway, with all that has been going on, I haven't had a lot of time to set my resolutions, but here are a few just off the top of my mind:

--Lose the last 40 or so pounds to reach my goal weight
--Exercise!!!!!!!
--Spend more time in prayer and devotion with God each day
--Be more patient
--Be true to myself, more confident and worry less about what others think, while still being considerate
--Print my blog book up to date and put all printed photos into albums
--Continue paying off debt! We are well on our way to buying a house!!
--Take an amazing vacation with my husband!!!!

Happy 2011 everyone!!

Love those baby blues....

4 months old!!

Sweet baby brother is 4 months old today! As one of my baby books put it, this is the "honeymoon" phase of babyhood--and I couldn't agree more! He is in a pretty set eating and sleeping routine, and when he is not doing one of those 2 things, he is smiling, laughing, cooing, drooling, or chewing! He is soooo happy and just lights up the room by being in it. Here are some things about him at 4 months old:

He has found his fingers and loves to chew and suck on them all day. He still will NOT take a binky! I am going to keep trying until he is 6 months before I throw in the towel! ;)

He drools so much that I have to change his outfit several times a day. I don't remember Ayden doing this, but maybe he did? I don't know. But he doesn't like bibs because he flips them up over his eyes!

He still sleeps the same way he was a month ago-swaddled in the bouncy seat. He did move up to a bigger swaddle blanket made for older babies. He is not sleeping quite as long as he was a month ago, he wakes up every 3-4 hours to eat, but that's still not too bad.

He is nursing about 4-6 times during the day, twice at night, and takes four 4-5 oz bottles somewhere in the mix. He is growing like a weed and I can't wait to see how much he weighs at his check-up next week!

He has lost almost all his hair and his eyes are still blue! He may just be our blue-eyed boy!

He can roll from tummy to back and is very close to rolling from back to tummy. If he spent more time in the floor he would be able to master this, but between Ayden and the dogs running around, I don't like leaving him in the floor unless I am RIGHT there to supervise!

He still screams in his carseat the majority of the time, and I avoid running errands and going places with him as much as possible because of this! Luckily, he eventually gives out on longer car trips and sleeps :)

He had his first stroller ride outside this week and seemed to really enjoy it!

And lastly, for anyone who cares, his digestive system has finally regulated and he goes every day or every other day....SO much better than twice a week! He's a happy dude now! (I'm sure when he's older he'll be so glad I blogged about his poops) :)

Happy 4 month birthday my sweet beautiful baby boy!!! We love you!!!

In memory of my wonderful Grandpa

I am 29 years old, and lost my first grandparent just a few days ago. Last Saturday, January 1, 2011, my grandpa lost his battle to cancer and went home to be with the Lord and his parents. Our hearts are still hurting so badly, but we know he is no longer in pain, and able to see his mother, who died in childbirth when he was only 3 years old. If you look back on my blog from the beginning, you will find multiple posts about this great man, all with the same theme--he LOVED his grandchildren and great grandchildren. I am so glad that I have a record of these pictures and memories on my blog. Of course, there were no blogs when I was a child, but my mind is full of vivid memories of wonderful times spent at Grandma and Grandpa's house. I was the one and only granddaughter, and was always adored by them (not that the 4 grandsons weren't, because they were too! ;) Grandma and Grandpa took me home from the hospital and took care of me my first week of life when my mom became critically ill after giving birth to me. This always gave us a special bond I think :) My heart still hurts so bad, and it seems everyday I remember another wonderful memory of him, and just cannot believe he is really gone. If you never met him, then you really missed out. I am so thankful that he was able to meet and love my boys. He has held both my boys in his lap as newborns and talked and cooed and played with them, something I will never forget. The preacher read this at the funeral, and although I have heard it many times before, I have never realized just how fitting it was to describe MY grandpa:

One Hundred Years from now It will not matter what kind of car I drove, What kind of house I lived in, how much money was in my bank account nor what my clothes looked like. But the world may be a better place because I was important in the life of a child.

Here is a link to the slideshow that we played at the funeral. It is a wonderful tribute to an even more wonderful man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns_IWUQeMjM

I love you Grandpa, I miss you, and I'll see you in heaven someday.