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!

"Wide Orse"

I am trying to decide on Noah's next birthday party theme - horses or bugs and snakes. Ever since Halloween Noah has not stopped talking about riding a horse again. We seriously heard "wide orse" (ride horse) 20 times a day! My mom has a mini horse so we decided to take Noah over to ride it one afternoon. He literally rode it about 30 feet and wanted off to go pick up sticks and rocks. (Looks like bugs and snakes it is!) He is beyond obsessed with picking up sticks and rocks. He would rather do that than anything else! We will take him to the park, or get his bike or jeep out and he bails off of them at the first chance and gathers up every stick he can find! We finally just started taking him outside to play with sticks and gave up on everything else! We have explored every square inch of our yard and parts of the neighbors yard! I love that he is so curious and loves the outdoors! Here are some pictures of our latest adventures:

Ryan Maelynn is 2 months!

I knew time flew with Noah, but it seems even faster the second time around! Ryan is already 2 months old! Here are her highlights:

* She weighs around 10.5 pounds and is 22.5 inches long! She is still nursing when she is with me and takes 4 oz. bottles every 3 hours with her sitter.

* She is a really good sleeper! She is now sleeping 7-8 hours in a row at night! Now, some nights she isn't going to sleep until almost midnight, but it is workable for now! The grunting and choking in her sleep has slowed way down too - thank goodness!
* She is too long for most of her newborn clothes, so she is into 0-3 month now. Some of them are a little big, but not too much.
* She is now in size one diapers.

* She smiles and coos all the time - especially right after she wakes up!

* Noah is still in love with her! He sings to her when she cries and helps me give her a bath and change her diapers. I was really expecting him to be more jealous, but he has amazed me with how good he is to her.

Yay! I am 2 months old!

Broke In...

Noah definitely broke us in as parents. We didn't want to go anywhere or do anything without making sure he was full and asleep. We would feed him and drive around until he fell asleep before going into a restaurant. I rarely took him to the grocery store, and never by myself. I felt like people would look at me annoyingly if he ever was crying in public. Nathan was very uncomfortable at first. He freaked if Noah was crying. I would have Noah at work all day and then all night. So, I would ask Nathan to watch him (you know because Heaven forbid we let him sit and cry for a minute) while I got ready for bed or did the dishes and he would literally follow me around holding Noah, Noah is screaming and he is saying "he just likes you better, hurry up!" It drove me nuts, but he didn't have much baby experience and he was right, Noah was more comfortable with me at that time - we spent alot of time together. Nathan volunteers to hold and take care of Ryan all the time - I will be holding her and he will ask me to bring her to him. It is amazing how much different and more comfortable we are with her.

Thankfully it didn't take me long, a few months or so, until I was less worried about Noah crying or feeling the need to constantly watch him. I remember I would take Noah and put him in a baby seat in the bathroom while I showered and got ready because I was afraid to leave him alone in our room - and now, for the life of me I cannot figure out what I was so worried about. I leave Ryan in our room every day while i shower and get ready - and even better, when/if she wakes us crying, Nathan will get her and take care of her until I am ready. I love it.  We rarely cook, so Ryan has been to restaurants almost daily. Noah is now at the age where he is doing fairly well at restaurants and Ryan is sleeping alot or is content with me holding her so it is working good for now. We all seem calm and happy when we go to eat or to a store together (seem to me, other people may look at us as chaotic).

As far as sleeping goes, Ryan and Noah are different sleepers. Noah was very consistent (best I remember) and he was up every 3 hours, then extended it about 30 minutes to an hour at a time until he was four months old and he would sleep 8 hours a night consistently. Ryan was sleeping 6-7 hours in a row at 5 days old - not every night, but often. She is now sleeping 5 hours and eating then sleeping 4 more, eating again, and sleeping anywhere from 3-4 more hours. So, she is an amazing sleeper (minus the fact that she grunts and chokes in her sleep every night)! However, this is not always the case -some nights I have trouble getting her to sleep the first time, it make take a few hours, but usually by midnight she is out. I know if flies by and before I know it she will be sleeping good like Noah. I know this is just a season of life and it will change. I have to pay my dues as a mom and not get a full nights sleep for awhile. With Noah, Nathan and I were used to sleeping alot more - even to noon on the weekends! For the past two years we have been up by 8:00 a.m. at the latest so we are up before Ryan! Our bodies are not used to sleeping in and sleeping all the time so it just seems easier this time.

So, I don't know if either kid is getting better or worse treatment from us - one more worried over and the other less fuss about - but it seems to be working for us! Who knows what we will do if we have a third child!

Thank you Noah for breaking us in!

Thank you Ryan for going with the flow!

Halloween 2012

Holidays are so much more fun with kids - and Halloween is one of the best! Neither of my kids even really understand yet and I get so excited to get to do stuff with them. I can't wait until they can fully understand! First Nathan's parents came over and saw the kids, then we went to my mom's for our annual Halloween homemade chicken and dumplings. Noah is not a big candy eater so we didn't go door to door, we went to the community Safe Treat at the fairgrounds. Noah got to ride two horses and instead of getting in the candy lines he wanted to run and play with sticks and rocks - fine by me! So that is what we did until the fireworks finale! It was a great night full of memories made :)

Hungry Monkey :)

This is how Noah watched the fireworks :)