See ya 2012!

What a year! I learned so many things this year - some good, some not so good, but - that's life.

I learned on January 13, 2012 that I was able to get pregnant without medical help! This was a big deal! I shortly after learned what morning all day sickness was about too! Both of these were new experiences to start the year off with!

I learned how strong I am through Ryan's delivery. That was a very scary experience and I look back and am amazed I was able to keep it together.

I learned how to care for two children this year. Honestly, this has been easier than I anticipated. But, it helps that Ryan is such a good adaptable baby and Nathan has been amazing to step up and help out more. I am fully expecting it to get harder though.

Unfortunately, my "real friend" list got shorter this year. I have lots of people I consider my friends, but the "real friends" list is very short - and for good reason. There are few people in this world I trust with very much. I am sort of a loaner in that way. I let my guard down a little too much this year and it, of course, came back to bite me. Lesson learned.

I did get to add one special person to my "real friend" list this year - congratulations - you know who you are :)

I learned alot of people like to read my blog. I love hearing that people enjoy it because I enjoy posting. I have had people I just know of tell me they read to family members. Who knew? HA! I love reading other peoples blogs also - it is such an awesome way to record memories and to look back and read how life was at certain times.

I learned that I picked a good one with Nathan. He has really stepped up this year and helped me in alot of ways. He has really made me feel loved. He is quite the man and I love that we laugh every day.

I learned that help is ok. I still do not like asking for it and probably never will - makes me feel too vulnerable. But, knowing it is there is awesome.

I learned that I am allergic to penicillin. Apparently highly allergic. (sorry, no picture here - not going to post that for everyone to see).

I learned that good things come to those who wait - congratulations Cassie :)

I learned a little about being a better Christian. I say I only learned a little because I am only acting on a little of it. I can do more and try when I can. I love to do random acts of kindness and give all I can. I can do more and plan to try to do more.

I learned this year (and every day) how amazing my kids are. Don't get me wrong - Noah is no angel and the odds are if you have seen him lately he was throwing a fit, but he is still amazing nonetheless. I prayed for that boy for years before God chose me to be his momma. He makes me belly laugh everyday and smile by just thinking about him. I am so glad God didn't take Ryan from me. Nathan said God didn't want us to be sad so he saved her. Whatever the reason, I am eternally grateful. I kiss each of my blessings on the head after they fall asleep each night and whisper "I love you more than anything". I am so blessed.

I can't wait to see what 2013 brings! It better be good if it is going to top all this!

EAT HAT!!

Noah is really taking off with talking! I wanted to document a few of our favorites so I don't forget them. When I picked him up Sunday from his class at church, his teacher even commented that he talks alot now (he gets that from his momma). I love that there is a short list of people who understand a majority of what he is saying, it is like our own special group. He is pretty clear on alot of things, but there are certain words and phrases that only Nathan and I understand and can decipher. Sometimes Nathan will even ask me to come tell him what he is saying because he can't understand it.

If you are around Noah at all, the odds are you will hear him say "eat hat" at least once. It is something I have gotten used to explaining. Noah has a bath toy that is Goofy and for some reason Disney decided he didn't need a hat on. So, that confused Noah and he was always saying "hat? hat? hat? hat?" over and over to us, until finally Nathan told him to stop saying "hat" and if he said it again he was going to get him (aka: wrestle and tickle him). So, he would then go find Goofy and take it to Nathan and say "hat" just to get on Nathan's nerves (he got that from his momma too). Now, on to the eat part. When Noah would ever get in trouble or in time out he would say "eat" and hope that he could get out of it by saying he was hungry. So, I would scold him for something and his reply would be "eat" every time. I told him to stop saying "eat" every time he was in trouble (hoping to avoid a habit of him eating his troubles away). Well, he caught on that it was a no-no, so what does our genius child do - puts it together into "eat hat" which he says all the time to get Nathan to wrestle him or if he gets in trouble. It has multiple meanings depending on the situation. When Nathan walks in the door from work, he will run over to him and say "eat hat" and they wrestle - so it means come and get me. When I spank his hand for dumping bath water in the floor or throwing toys he says "eat hat" and gives me a mean look like he is telling me off. He even said it once and threw himself down on the ground after a spanking I gave him - meaning he was ticked off. It is so hard not to laugh when he says it but I do find myself saying "no you eat hat" when he says it in a mean way. This has got to look crazy to people who don't know what is going on.

He refers  to alot of things as "this". He sees a toy on tv he wants "momma this, this momma" meaning I want this momma. I will ask him what he is doing when he is playing ball with his cousin - "play ball with this momma" meaning this as his cousin. It cracks us up - everything is a this! Every night when I put him to bed he says "blue snake in toy box momma" and I tell him I will go look for it because he has never had a blue snake and we have looked for whatever he is talking about for a month now and there is nothing! So, I just say "momma will look for it" and leave.

Some things Noah says are just weird like he calls juice "muice". Then there are funny things he does like replace the c with a d when saying "click" (singing the click the camera song on Diego) - so he sounds like he is being dirty. He calls Diego "O" and he will say "watch O" and then when it starts "O on" - it is so cute! He is really starting to repeat things too. In order to keep him "regular" I give him one pureed fruit pouch a day. Well, one day I jokingly called them a "poop bag" one day and of course he decided to repeat me! So he now calls them "boob bags" (he calls poop "boop"). We really have to watch what we say!

He has really started reenacting the shows he watches too. I swear every animal on Diego ends up getting stuck in a net, so if anything ever gets stuck he says "stuck net!" - his shoe gets stuck, he can't get a chip out of the bag, Nathan is holding him down to tickle him - all occasions where he yells "stuck net, stuck net!" Noah is obsessed with The Lion King right now. He loves to wrestle/fight so he reenacts the fight scenes between the lions all the time. I cannot count how many times a day I see a stuffed animal hanging off the couch and another one on the couch holding onto it and Noah saying "help me Scar, help me! Oh, Dada Lion fall down, red boo boos!" It is so funny to watch.

This kid seriously has me belly laughing every day! I can't wait until he can start telling me stories and how his day went. At least I know that of anyone, I will be the one who is able to understand what he is saying :)

Our Christmas 2012

We always start our Christmas celebrating out on Christmas Eve morning with brunch at my mom's house. We do all our gift exchanging and eat awesome breakfast foods. I finally got my new camera (mine broke 3 months ago and I have been patiently waiting on Santa and using a loaner until I got mine), Noah got a knight costume and Ryan got an exersaucer and mobile.

Ryan on Christmas Eve

Ready for presents!

Cheese momma - now new toys :)

Dad kept Ryan occupied during the party at my moms

Noah brushing slinky dogs hair with the dog hair brush he found :)

Enjoying some marshmallows :)

Ryan was partied out!

 

From there we went home for naps and to get ready for Nathan's grandparents Christmas. We went out there for dinner. We only buy for the kids there so Ryan and Noah both got lots of new goodies! Then we had to hurry home because Santa still had a few toys to put together!

Daddy Santa fell asleep and didn't get the plasma car together. So, we had to do some last minute assembly Christmas morning. Noah is still in his crib and woke up just as we were getting finished. I have a feeling next year he may be in his big boy bed and we will have to get it all ready the night before. I didn't want the cats messing with anything so I kept it in our room, but that won't work for much longer!

It took Noah a minute to figure out what was going on - he was watching Mickey's Christmas Carol on tv - then he finally saw the tree and said "yay, new toys!" It was priceless. He claimed them all "Noah's" and jumped right on his stick horse and took off. He also got a little dyson vacuum that really works, books, and puzzles, and a truck that hauls cows. He was so excited about it all! We did just enough not to overwhelm him and he played with everything the first day. Ryan is at the age where she is very clueless and needs nothing yet. So, she got a few stocking stuffers and that was it. I bought her some new outfits that I had already washed and put away.

Santa Came!

He knew exactly what to do with his gifts this year!

The cuddleupet he wanted from tv!

Ryan's first Christmas!

Nathan and I decided not to exchange gifts this year - or so he said. I thought I was being sneaky and got him stuff for a stocking. Then, he goes and buys me a shirt I wanted and a giftcard! I felt really bad! He said he didn't need anything and not to worry about it - he had all he needed with me and the kids! Very sweet (almost like he is up to something!)! But, nothing I can do about it now! I won't fall for that again and he will get a nice Valentine's gift!

 Great Grandma Bobbie was so excited because Ryan let her hold her without crying, finally!

Noah playing in Great Grandmas toy boxes - I played with that same castle every time I was at Grandmas!

Noah wrestling Papa Vallie - they do this every time they see each other!

After we opened all the presents we went to my Grandmas for lunch and stopped by my moms to see what Santa put in the kids stocking, then my dad came over to give Noah his gifts from him. It sounds exhausting when I type it out, but it all seemed to go so smoothly and drama free. It was a nice holiday! It even snowed some. We haven't got to play in it yet and I am not sure we will. I am back at work today and the kids are at the babysitters. But, at this age, I worry about them getting sick in the cold anyway. There are many more snowy winters to come! Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Ryan Maelynn is 3 Months!

She is a quarter of the way to one already! I knew it was going to go by fast, and since she is such a good baby, it is going by even faster! Ryan has adapted right into our family perfectly and I do not know what I did to deserve such a good baby!

* She weighs around 12.5 pounds and is 23 inches long! She is still nursing when she is with me (even though I had to only bottle feed her for awhile due to her having an ear infection and being on penicillin which I am allergic to) and she takes 5 oz. bottles every 3 hours with her sitter.

* She is still an amazing sleeper! We are on a regular schedule now of her going to sleep around 10:00 and sleeping until 8:00 the next morning. That is 10 hours in a row! She is still in her nap nanny beside our bed until Santa bring her a video monitor and we get it all set up in her room.

* She is still in 0-3 month clothing now, but can easily fit in the 3-6 month. I am trying not to buy anything new since they grow so fast, but I get really tired of her wearing the same things over and over - she could care less though!

* She is still in size one diapers - I am going to try to keep them as long as I can so I can get more diapers for the money.

* She is very happy all the time and will sit and watch tv or watch Noah play - she is the most content baby ever!

She is finally bigger than Pinky!

Finally looking like Christmas!

I am so ashamed that I am just now getting our Christmas tree and getting it up! We always do a real tree, and something came up every day that we had planned to go get one for the last 3 weeks. It was too cold outside for the kids, so I stayed in the store with them and sent Nathan out to pick one out. He came back in about 2 minutes and said he liked the first four he picked up, and it was freezing outside, so he just picked one. Good enough for me!

The next night I put it up. By I, I mean me, by myself. I like my tree a certain way and I have found it easier to just do it myself. So I cleaned out the tree spot, got all the lights and ornaments out, brought the tree stand in and just had Nathan set the tree in and move out of the way. I managed to string the lights around it, and then little miss Ryan wanted momma. So, I got her sling out and put her in it and she fell right asleep so I decorated the tree with her hanging on me - I will remember that sweet time forever I hope. Noah played in his room the whole time - thank goodness. He is still so good to play by himself.

I knew Noah was going to be so excited about the "Snowman" in the living room - for some reason he calls Santa, Christmas trees, and snowmen all snowmen - we have tried to tell him but have you ever argued with a two year old - sometimes it is just better to give up. I don't want to constantly be telling him not to touch the tree (snowman) so there are some ornaments that I am not that attached to and I put them on the bottom so Noah can touch them and I put a few sound and light ones down towards the bottom too. He loves to play with the tree - makes me sad I didn't get it up sooner!

I get each member of the family a Hallmark ornament every year. I have gotten the holiday Christmas Barbie ever since 1995 - so Ryan will have quite the collection of those someday, maybe they will be worth something and she can sell them and use the money for something she really wants. I usually always get Nathan an ESPN ornament but Hallmark didn't have one this year so I got him a National Lampoons Christmas Vacation one - one of out all time favorite movies. I got Noah a Tom and Jerry ornament and he loves it! He asks to watch "mouse" every night before bed - I love that they are still around for him to enjoy like Nathan and I did as kids! Ryan got a picture frame ornament that says "Baby's First Christmas" on it. I love those kinds of ornaments.

I don't do the traditional Christmas balls or any type of color scheme and I don't buy ornaments other than each family member getting one new one a year. That way my tree won't be overrun with ornaments for a long time and each one has a special year. I do have an "A Christmas Story" section and "Christmas Vacation" section on the tree though - I like those to all stay together. A few years ago I switched from the old ratty looking angel I had to a beautiful pine cone star for the tree topper. I love it and hope nothing ever happens to it - it just fits with our home.

It doesn't look very full here, but Nathan literally cut the netting off of it and I decorated it - it is much fuller looking now and smells SO good!

National Lampoons Christmas Vacation

A Christmas Story

Noah's 2012 ornament

Other than the tree, I got stockings out and the Fisher Price nativity scene for Noah to play with and that is it. I am not decorating anything else this year - the thought of having to put it all back up in 2 weeks was just too much work to think about. Plus, the kids are still small and I can get away with it for now :)

What Was I Thinking...

Fridays are Momma days. I am off work and the kids still go to the sitter (I have to pay whether they go or not) and I do the grocery shopping and house cleaning before my weekend starts. So, when the kids sitter said she needed them picked up early this Friday, my first thought was "Oh great, I won't get all my stuff done before the weekend". So, I managed to get groceries and a haircut before I had to pick the kids up. As soon as I put Noah in the car he said "slide at park". It was the last day of November and70 degrees outside so I decided to take advantage of it! So, we went to the park!

While we were there and Noah was running around like a mad man, gathering every stick he could find of course, a thought came to mind - "What was I thinking when I thought picking up the kids early was a bad thing". I was getting to watch Noah run and play outside and it was warm enough to have Ryan out with me - she was snuggled up to me and slept the whole time. That was the perfect start to my weekend. I wish every weekend could start that way. We then went home and watched "The Polar Express" and played until dinner time. It was awesome! Thank you God for knowing that I needed the afternoon with my kids more than I did and letting me have it!

Noah playing with what else - STICKS!

He quit going down the slide forever - but he was back at it again!

My little cheeseball :)

Sweet Baby Ryan being good so Noah can play :)

It was so nice outside!

We found every dandelion there and blew them :)

Thankful 2012

We have alot to be thankful for this year so we were very grateful this Thanksgiving!

Thankful to be a family of four.

Thankful that Noah has so easily taken to Ryan and loves her so much already.

Thankful for our home.

Thankful for our health.

Thankful for our family and friends.

Thankful for our church.

I am also thankful that our families split up the days we celebrate Thanksgiving so we don't have to cram it all in one day and can spend more time with each family. (This is something I plan to do with my kids also - be flexible to their new families) On Thanksgiving day we went to lunch at my Grandma Bobbie's and to dinner at Nathan's parents house. Noah had no nap, but was an angel all day! (And for that, we are thankful too :) ) I left the kids with Nathan that night and met my dad, mom, and brother at Wal-Mart for some Black Friday shopping! It is an annual event for us - we always meet there and pick something we are after and then meet back at the cart! It is so fun! Crowds and lines don't bother me - I look forward to this shopping trip each year! After we got done with the 8:00 sale, I got in line to get Nathan an I-Pad. We haven't had a new computer in 8 years - we were long overdue! I had to wait in line an hour and a half in the feminine product section of Wal-Mart, but I made new friends and got the I-Pad! I was home and in bed by 10:30 - success!

My babies on Thanksgiving

Ryan's first Thanksgiving in her pretty Thanksgiving dress :)

My turkey cheeseball :)

Friday was Nathan's birthday! I made him french toast for breakfast and we snacked on leftovers from Thanksgiving for lunch. Then Nathan went to play cards and hang out with his friends and the kids and I cleaned house and watched Christmas movies. It was a nice day :)

Saturday we had Thanksgiving at my mom's and we did a Mexican food theme - it was all so good! We also celebrated Nathan's birthday that day with his favorite chocolate chip cheesecake from Sweet Treats! We love Sweet Treats! From there we went to Wal-Mart and bought for four angels off the angel tree - one for each of us. I love buying for the paper angels - it is so self-rewarding! Then we had to hurry home because my best friend Cassie was in town! She finally got to meet Ryan! Noah ran to her in the yard when we got home - he had to show her his toys! Last time she saw Noah he was a little scared of her, but not anymore! Ryan was the one scared this time - she cried every time Cassie held her, but she will get better. Her and Cassie will be the best of friends some day :)

Me and my babies ready for round 2 of  celebrating Thanksgiving 

Happy Birthday Nathan!

My beautiful princess :)

Ryan meeting Aunt Cassie :)

Our blessings to be thankful for was showing itself to us each day this holiday!