Here we go again!!

It's been snowing here ALL day! This morning it was very heavy snowfall with huge flakes and it lightened up some but is still steadily coming down this evening. The wind is and has been blowing very hard too...it's definetely the closest thing to a blizzard I have ever seen! It's beautiful and deep but it's insanely cold and windy so there's no way we're going out in it! It's not going to warm up too much for several days either so I think we will just be enjoying this snow by looking at it through the window! Chris worked from home today, I am so glad he didn't have to get out in this mess. Even though he has been busy working all day, there's something about having him home makes it feel like a weekend, so I have just lounged around all day drinking hot chocolate, cuddling up with my heated throw and playing with the kids. Housework can wait! :) Anyway, needless to say, I am SO ready for beautiful warm spring days!!!! Just looking at the snow chills me to my bones! Tomorrow I will post more pics and snow totals, it's not finished yet!

These pics are from this morning:

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!