Picture Mania!!!

I have really, really fallen behind on the blogging lately. Also I started a blog makeover and never finished. Alas, it is the life of a working mother with 2 small children! But, the important thing is, I am still taking plenty of pictures! And the main reason for this blog is to archive these precious, if somewhat chaotic, years of our lives. So, today we will not be having a series of clever, well-written blog posts on a cute and well laid out blog, but rather one large post full pics and captions. Someday, when I get a minute, (and a few extra hundred dollars), I will catch up on printing my blog books and be so very glad I made this post full of pics today.

Many of these are taken outside, as we are having a gloriously beautiful fall here in NWA. I literally fall in love with our house and yard everytime I go outside. When I pull up in the driveway, I just sit and stare for 5 or 10 minutes before I go in. I don't think I have ever enjoyed the changing of the leaves as much as I am this year! To have a yard full of trees is so nice!!! (Check back in a few weeks when we are doing leaf-cleanup and see if I feel the same way ;)

We had a fun Halloween weekend and have been enjoying lots of time outside. We attended our first neighborhood block party and met the neighbors which was so much fun! Ethan has been bouncing back from his first ear infection, Ayden has been coughing and rotten but otherwise ok, and I am on the mend with strep throat. Chris still works a thousand hours a week and I am contemplating finding a new job, but currently still working 1-2 nights a week and living in complete and total exhaustion 99% of the time. That's about it with us! Despite the chaos and sickness and exhaustion, I only need to take one look at these pictures to remember I am blessed beyond words. I love these little men SO much!!

This little man loves climbing up on his slide! Getting down is another story ;)



Not so long ago, Ayden was the little one with his binky on the slide...



Enjoying playing in the leaves!

Beautiful baby boy!

love him!!

How much more handsome can he get???

A crawling race!

Ayden loves posing...such a little ham!

This boy could swing all day!

playing in the front yard

Ayden pouting because Ethan won't play soccer with him ;)

Making Halloween cookies!

Ayden's favorite part-decorating!

Wresting with daddy! The boys look forward to this every night!

Daddy is losing!

All dressed up and ready to trick or treat daddy's office

cookie taste tester!

sweet little dragon!



My handsome Knight in shining armor!



Ethan, the less-than-enthused Dragon

Block Party!

Our BEAUTIFUL block!

hanging out at the party

Another costume pic...

sweet little man!

Ayden loved the party too!

Trick or treating at Daddy's office

Ready to trick or treat Halloween night! These boys got plenty of candy this year!

And we will finish with one more pic of a gorgeous tree in our yard :)
I love fall!

I have a really cute Boy Band in my kitchen...

Pumpkin Patch 2011

Okay, so I'm a little behind with my blogging, but better late than never, right?! We took a trip the one of the local pumpkin patches a few weeks ago for an afternoon of fun! We went alone so we had no one to take a family pic, but I took plenty of the boys! :)

The scarecrow actually scared Ethan! I wanted a pic of just the boys here, but he wouldn't let go of me!

My little Razorbacks!

Our little pumpkin with his pumpkin :)

Momma turned THIRTY!

Last weekend I celebrated my 30th birthday! I honestly still feel like I should be turning 20, maybe 21. Even with a husband, a house, and 2 kids, I do NOT feel 30!! But, even so, I was excited about the big day and not one bit depressed. Really! :) I am so very blessed and have such a wonderful little family, and such wonderful extended family and friends. My parents, brother and his wife, and one of my best friends and her husband joined us for the weekend. I started my day with breakfast and a Mimosa at Mimi's Cafe, then headed to Ayden's soccer game and the pumpkin patch. That night, mom and dad watched the kids and we had dinner at Bonefish Grill, then went to a Bar for a few (more) drinks to finish watching the Hogs beat Auburn! It was a very fun night, and I remember almost all of it ;) My cake-making BFF even made me a delicious pineapple and coconut birthday cake! Here are pics from my big 3-0!!

My honey with his "cougar"

It was like prom for 30 year olds!

  My yummy cake! We didn't have enough candles...that kina made me feel old!

Jenny, Brandy, and I at Bonefish Grill

Me and my big bro. Having a 30 year old baby sis makes him feel super old!



I was just tired.... ;)



Bedtime Snack with my boys :)

13 months old!

Wow, this month REALLY flew by! In fact it just occured to me tonight that Ethan is 13 months old today! He is one busy little boy these days! Here's what Ethan is up to at 13 months old:

-He is drinking from a straw sippy cup. We tried a regular sippy and he wasn't interested, but he took right to the straw one! It's funny because Ayden was at least 18 months old before he figured out how to use a straw!

-He is drinking whole milk during the day and formula at night (so we don't have to come downstairs to make the bottle, we keep the formula and water in his room). Yes, he still wakes up for a bottle at night, sometimes twice, and no, I don't know when we plan to wean him from it ;)

-Busy is the best word to describe him! He is at that age where everything is something to explore! We can't turn our backs for a second if he isn't in a babyproofed area or he will be into something or on top of something before we know it! I have to get creative when I need to take a shower because he screams if I put him in his crib, so he now hangs out in the jump-a-roo in our bedroom with a Yo Gabba Gabba DVD on the TV, and even that only buys me about 15 minutes. Momma doesn't wear a lot of makeup and have rockin' hair these days!!

-He is a speedy crawling, master cruising, climbing machine! Still no interest in walking at this time, although he is standing independently for a few seconds at a time.

-He current favorite word is bubba, and I think it's sooo cute! He loves when Ayden plays with him and they have started "rough housing" a bit which Ethan loves!!! I really have to watch that Ayden doesn't get too rough! He also thinks pretty much anything Ayden does is hilarious!

-He got his 2nd haircut this month and this time got a "big boy" haircut with the clippers! He did very well and looks like such a little man! Mommy loves it but misses those curls! ;-)

-He absolutely loves bathtime and throws a screaming fit when its time to get out of the tub!

-He still loves going to Mom's Day Out and is doing great there! The ladies just love him!

-He still hasn't met a food that he doesn't like!

He is such a sweet, lovable, happy little guy who loves to laugh! He is different from Ayden in many ways, but they both have that loving, laughing, upbeat personality! I just love my happy little guys!

Happy 13 months Ethan Jeffrey!!

Handsome new haircuts!

It's an iPhone pic so it's not the greatest quality, but seriously...how CUTE are they???

Sunday afternoon with my boys

After an especially emotional night at work Saturday night, the kind of night that only another Labor and Delivery nurse could understand, I was more than anxious to get home and hold my sweet babies. After I got up from my nap, we headed out for a drive to the lake and then came back home and spent the evening roasting hotdogs and marshmallows in the backyard. I love making memories as a family and am blessed beyond words to have these sweet boys (and their daddy!) in my life.

 



Checking out the playground at the lake





Swinging with my boys!



Getting a pic of these two together is never easy at this stage of life!

But they still turned out pretty darn cute :)

My favorite Anderson boys!

Big boy!

"Mommy, I found a sea shell!"

                                                          Our water-loving dog!

Hanging out in the backyard

Helping daddy start the fire

Roasting hotdogs!

Pure s'more joy!