Texas Mommy's Ramblings

Happy Valentine's!

2012-02-14T15:53:00.002-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day! We have had a really great day. I have been recovering from pneumonia and Noah a tummy bug, but today we are all doing fantastic! The boys worked hard on their Valentine's for their school party today. Andy was so cute. As he worked on them he said "Mama, look at my Thanksgivingtimes!" Oh it cracked me up! Andy worked so hard on his Valentine's. He wrote his name on many and truly made from scratch nine Valentine's! He loves crafty things and it is just so fun to see him pay so much attention to something. He normally has a very short attention span, so it was really fun!

On Sunday night Noah went to sleep sad that my roses he and Josh got me were dying. He was sound asleep when Andy and Josh got home with more roses. Josh said Andy saw them at the store and said "Mama's roses are dead, more will make her feel better!" Andy picked gorgeous roses...Noah was so excited to see the new ones. He told me all girls should have roses:) Josh is teaching them well:)

Today at school drop off I got to see a sweet cousin/friend that I have missed while I have been sick! I got to snuggle her new baby girl for a couple of minutes. On the way home from school Noah said "Mama, baby C is just so cute! She is so cute that it makes my blue eyes into a heart!" Oh he comes up with some doozies! Then while looking through all his fun Valentine's he got one from a certain little girl in class. He seriously clutched it to his little chest and said "Oh Mama, I am going to keep it forever!" Then as I sit on the couch he looked over and said "Mama, your tummy is getting so big! I guess soon your shirt will not cover your tummy and your belly will be hanging out like Mr. Smee!" I definitely reassured him I WILL buy bigger shirts as his baby sister continues to grow. Ha!

I am sitting here now with my two littlest Valentine's, waiting for Daddy to come home to celebrate! So fun!

Funny things...

2012-01-25T10:20:00.002-06:00

I think every day about blogging, but then choose to rest instead! But now I realize how many cute and funny things I am forgetting to write down that the boys say. They have been cracking me up lately!

Yesterday Andy had a bad earache. We laid down together on his bed and he said "Mama, you're the best cuddler ever!" Then he said "You're the pwettiest Mama ever." Oh man, that makes a Mommy feel good! As we lay there he said Mama, does your back have itches? Since my back has been itching constantly since found out I was pregnant, my answer was definitely YES! He laid and scratched my back til we both fell asleep. It was so sweet. I got up a couple of minutes later to find Noah, who was playing toys VERY loudly in the living room. I really was in need of a nap and some Noah cuddles too. We laid down in bed and he was so wiggly. Every breath he jumped or twitched. I asked him to just be still for twenty minutes. It was cute, a couple of minutes later he said "Has it been twenty?" I said no. He said "Nineteen or eighteen?" I loved that! He is just learning so much and to be able to think of numbers backwards cracks me up.

On car rides lately all Noah wants to do is count. He loves that he can count to 100 and does it as often as he thinks about it. He asked Josh "Can you count to a million, what about a billion?" We did not even know he knew about a billion!

Noah is also full of really good questions. He was asking me the other day "How long does it take the coral in the ocean to grow? And do scuba dibers (divers) get scared under the water?" Sometimes his questions blow me away. Truthfully I did not know he knew about coral!

We are all super duper excited. We find out Friday if our little one is a boy or a girl. Noah is pretty adamant it is a girl, he wants to call her sissy, and he always says her or she in referring to the baby. I really would love another boy or a girl. I will be happy with whatever little one God decided was right for our family, but it is hard to hear someone saying her and she so often and not think of the baby as that gender yourself! Funny!! Josh took Friday off and he, the boys and I will all get to see the big ultrasound. I am so excited to have all three of them there. I truly cannot imagine how special that will be!

So many updates!

2011-12-12T14:19:00.004-06:00

Well, where do I start? So much has changed since I last posted:)

First things first....

We are expecting our third little one! We are SO super excited! Josh and I feel so blessed to have this little one on the way, this upcoming June. The boys are SO excited too. Andy lays his sweet little hand on my tummy often wanting to know if the baby is still in there. Noah talks about it all the time too. I love how excited they are and I know they will be fantastic to this little bean!

My first trimester is over. I a tad relieved. The exhaustion and nausea were a little overwhelming. On top of that Josh had knee surgery in October and could not drive for eight weeks, so I drove him a lot to appointments, work some (thankfully some sweet work friends stepped in and help a TON with that) and then to Oklahoma and Louisiana for his work. Josh can now drive and I can now go most days without feeling like a walking zombie! I still have a few major food aversions. I hope they go away, because it really limits what our family is eating in the meat department. But I just cannot handle the smell or the thought!

Andy has learned now how to write almost all of his letters. He is so proud of himself about it too. Noah's 5th birthday is next month and that just blows me away! Where has the time gone?! He has such a sweet heart. If he starts getting over excited or hyper all I have to do is just visit with him quietly about how I know he wants to be behaving and he usually starts acting nicely. It is so neat to see that change in him and how badly he wants to please me. What a good boy! Andy is so funny. He LOVES reading now, which is amazing, because he does not sit still for much. One of his favorite books is Going on a Bear Hunt. It is so sweet to hear Noah and Andy both saying the words "Going on a bear hunt. Gonna catch a big one. Such a beautiful day. We're not scared!" But my favorite is when they say the over it, under and then say with a hand motion "We've gotta go through it!" SO cute!

Andy also really loves the book Guess How Much I Love You. He ALWAYS reads along with me miling and at the end says "Mama, I love you to a cannon ball and back!" SOOOO funny and SO cute:)

Well...working on Christmas gifts today. Resting on the couch while my folks have the boys. Wishing the house was clean, but figuring someday I will get it that way again:) Happy Holidays!

Happy 3rd Birthday Andy!

2011-10-07T21:00:00.003-05:00

Our dear sweet Andy. You are truly one of the two brightest apples of my eye. You and your brother both are so important to me. Each and every moment of every day I get to spend with you is such a blessing. I miss you terribly for the couple of hours a week you are at school and my heart swells when you run into my arms saying you missed me and are ready to go home. Each day as we get in the car you ask me "Mama, what was your day like?" You truly care. You have such a big heart and such a caring personality. It is so obvious how much you love your Mama and your Daddy. Or lately, as you have been saying your Mommy and your Dad.

The years have blown by. I look at how quickly you have reached three, how quickly Noah has reached four and realize these are truly the best days of my life. Having you two home with me. I am so lucky. I am so blessed. All because of you two and your Daddy. Thank you for that sweet pea!

Your favorite things lately are legos, anything chocolate, drawing and coloring, practicing writing your letters (A, H, T, F, X, and O) and riding on the toys in the yard. Most of all though, you love your red crab sandbox. You could stay in it all day if I let you. Your favorite foods are pizza, fettuccine alfredo, goldfish, and tiny oranges. Your favorite color is yellow. You have a yellow room, yellow shoes, yellow clothes, and you say you even have yellow hair:) I love that about you! You decide you want or like something and you stick with it! It is adorable! Tonight you were sitting on the couch with your Daddy and I. We were looking through your baby things. Your bracelet from the hospital. Your take home outfit, the sweet little hat, shirt and blanket from the hospital. After seeing the tiny diaper, you looked at me and said "Oh, I was just a little baby doll." It was such a sweet thought you had, and such a true statement. Our sweet baby doll.

When out taking your picture the other day, you saw flowers. You just KNEW your Mama needed a yellow flower. I love that every time you see flowers you pick them for me:)

You just think I am still so funny! I love that! I love laughing with you and playing with you. You have such an infectious and fun laugh!

You are so handsome!!! You have grown so much in the last year and I just love you absolutely to pieces! I wish I could pause time and enjoy this time with you even longer, but am so blessed to get to spend each day with you:)

Just thinking back to the past year, it amazes me how much you have grown and changed! Our sweet Andy at age. 2.

Age 1...so tiny!!!

We love you so much our sweet three year old! Words cannot express how much we love you and how much we love spending time with you!!! HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY ANDY!

It's Raining It's Pouring!

2011-09-27T15:35:00.002-05:00

About a week ago we got a few droplets of rain. Noah quickly ran outside to see if he could feel it hitting his face:) A couple of nights before that we had a brief downpour, but Josh, the boys and I were at the movies seeing the Lion King. (that was SO fun!) We were all a tad sad we had missed the highly anticipated rain, but were so pleased to have a few droplets to enjoy!!!!

Last night was super exciting though! I had just put the boys in bed and heard a loud crash, boom, smack on the back porch. The boys flew out of bed and I flipped on the light to see a big gust of wind had flipped over our two rocking chairs and the hanging swing was smacking the post on our porch. The lightning was wild and the storm lasted for about an hour! We were super excited to finally have a bit of rain. Driving through the neighborhood this morning we were amazed how tall all the weeds in the yards had grown just overnight! They must have really wanted rain too:)

When brother is away Andy will play....

2011-09-27T15:17:00.003-05:00

This fall has brought about a big change in our household. Noah has started pre-K three mornings a week. Andy goes two mornings a week, meaning each Wednesday is just a Mama and Andy day. Each Wednesday we go to storytime, then we come home and Andy plays and plays and plays. There is such a difference in his personality. He seems much more independent and has a ton of confidence in himself. He really loves driving McQueen around the yard with his Super Why cape on:) That cape has made many trips to HEB and Target! He is such a fun almost three year old!

Mr. Andy Man

2011-09-24T22:51:00.003-05:00

Oh Andy. It is hard to believe our sweet Anderson is about to be 3. I am seriously emotional over this. H.O.W. in the world is my baby almost three? Where has the time gone? Why do I feel like it flew by and I want to slow the time down? It seriously makes my heart skip a beat to think of him as a 3 year old. I just love him so much and want him home forever. BUT I know that will not happen, but man alive I love this kid!

Our little Andy man. Man of many names. Andyman, Andypants, Anderson, Andy, And (which is the ONLY name Noah really calls him!), buster, lovebug, sweetie pie, and cutie. This little Andy man is seriously determined. I love that about him. It can be trying, but it is such an amazing part of his personality. Josh and I noticed this about him from the moment he could show us what he wanted. From the throwing up in his crib the MOMENT the door shut. No crying had even happened, it was like he just willed himself to throw up because he just KNEW I would open that door and rescue him. (he was seriously not even a year old!) Then he started talking...and anytime he would want something he would say it over and over. For example... "Milk. Milk. Milk. Milk" until he was acknowledged. Or he would repeat Thank You over and over til her heard a 'You're Welcome.' And now, this persistence is even more prevalent. A big part of that rubs Noah the wrong way, but another big part of it just amazes me. Take for instance tonight.... we had a big day. Noah had a soccer game (he scored his FIRST goal today! He ran down the whole length of the field with that ball, tripped and his head butted it right into the other teams net! It was so exciting to see him get that kind of control over the ball, I was SO proud!) we also went to lunch with my Dad, ran an errand, and did a bunch of projects and chores around the house. Andy took a nap, but even with that still falls asleep around 8:30 or so normally. Well...I mentioned Josh was coming home. He had been out of town with his Dad and he was on his way back. I slipped and mentioned his coming home in front of Andy before he went to sleep. Andy seriously is still awake at 10:58. Josh got home 15 minutes ago and Andy was waiting up for him. Singing songs, looking at books, anything he could do so he would not fall asleep because he wanted his Daddy. That is SO late for a little guy, it is amazing the will it took and the determination to stay up! Although at times I get frustrated by his persistence, I really need to focus on the amazing qualities of it. Plus, it is just an integral part of who our little Andy man is!

I love being a Mama!

2011-09-22T12:56:00.003-05:00

All of my life I imagined myself with little girls. Frilly little socks, the white ruffled diaper covers, embroidered dresses, princess clothes, baby dolls, and my little ponies. Seriously. I am so glad I am not the one in charge of these decisions! I feel like God just KNEW our first two children should be boys. I LOVE being a Mama to two boys! If God blesses us someday with a girl, that would be fantastic, but if not, this boy thing is fun!

Here are the reasons I love being a Mama to little boys...

*Tea parties do happen in this house! We just have them with the guests of dinosaurs, Elmo, Mickey, and all our other stuffed friends!

*Bed time stories about super powers and flying through the sky, rodeo clowns and roping, and knights and their castles are really pretty magical

*Collecting sticks, rocks, and dirt is really fun

*I now have a little one to pick bugs up and put them in the trash, back out side, or flush them for me! (Thank you Andy! Noah inherited my squirmy nature with anything creepy crawly, but Andy will bring me any lizard, cricket, spider etc with no fear!)

*Dress-up clothes are super fun, Buzz, Woody, and Cookie Monster are really fun, football players too!

*A whole day spent in the sandbox is a day well made.

*Planes, trains, and automobiles. Pretend, real, you name it...makes their day.

*Little boys are so super sweet. They love me 'to the moon and back' and I just cannot imagine life any other way.

So although a lot of these things may apply for little girls too, I really do love life with our little boys. They made get super dirty, but a warm bath and some lotion and they are the best cuddle bugs on the planet. I sure thank God everyday for knowing just what Josh and I needed. I look forward to the future and seeing if we are blessed with another child, what God thinks will be the right

Dinner Time...

2011-09-15T18:49:00.006-05:00

Tonight at dinner my heart really swelled when I heard Noah's prayer. He was praying for the firemen and all those that had fire by them to be safe. It was such a sweet heartfelt prayer and I could tell he was so concerned about the people. He then asked me....

"Mama, is Kristin's house okay?"

.... I really had to compose myself here ...

I replied, "Noah, Kristin does not have a house here on earth. Remember sweetie, she is in heaven."

Noah then said "Is that the same heaven I will go to someday?"

"Yes Noah, if you continue to be good and learn about God and Jesus. Then when you choose you should be baptized, then keep being a good person and then a good man and believing and you can go to heaven." I said.

Noah thought for a second, then said thought after thought "When I am baptized do I have to open my eyes under the water or can I keep them closed? And will the water be deep or can I stand right back up? And do you think eleven will be a good age for that?"

...I was floored. It is amazing to me how much our little four year old knows and understands. His heart is so sweet and so pure, it is such a blessing to see.

At bedtime tonight Andy was singing a little song I had not heard before, he said...

'I love you Lord I love you Lord

I sing with ALL my might'

It was such a sweet little song!

I asked Noah where they learned it and he said at their new school. I am loving hearing all the new songs and all that they are learning about. Then Noah said, Mama it was actually a prayer, not a song. He was able to remember all the words, but now I cannot remember them and he does not want to perform :)

National Celiac Awareness Day... My Story!

2011-09-13T15:34:00.006-05:00

Today is National Celiac Awareness Day. It really has made me sit and think back to 17 years ago when I got sick. It made me think about my diagnosis and how few people probably know any of this about me. So, here is my story.....

It was my freshman year in high school, spring semester. The year was 1995. My sister was a senior and was driving me to school. I thought I was so cool! I played the alto saxophone that fall in the marching band and had started playing the baritone saxophone that spring for the concert season. I tried out for Softball and made the high school team. I worked it out with the band directors and the Softball coach to do both. I was seriously on top of the world! I was so excited to be able to do the TWO things I loved the most. One night during a softball game my parents came to the dugout. They asked me if I was okay. I said I was alright, but I felt like I was running in slow motion between the bases. Both my Mom and Dad said, "Amy, you WERE running in slow motion!" I will never forget how sluggish and gross I felt. The following day I stayed home from school sick. My Mom made me a doctor's appointment with our pediatrician, Dr Rahman. (Oh how I miss her! She was also our boys doctor before we moved!) I had a killer sore throat. I was spraying my throat with chloraseptic, which is something I do not like at all. She did some blood work and said I had mono. BLECH. I had not even had my first kiss and here I had the "kissing disease." Thank you softball and probably drinking after someone!

Fast forward a couple of weeks. I had been told I should start feeling better, but I did not AT ALL. I was still so lethargic and was starting to drop weight like crazy. I remember very vividly, I started off weighing 147 pounds. Within just a couple of weeks I weighed about 120. My sister knew my clothes were falling off, and I will never forget she went and surprised me with a new outfit. I still have it. A mauve colored shirt and an elastic waist a-line knee length skirt that was sage green with little mauve flowers on it. I was starting to have horrible stomach cramps. Through Kristin's transplant team my Mom got in touch with the head of pediatric gastroenterology at Texas Children's, Dr. Klish. I started seeing him. At this point I was still losing weight very rapidly. He put me on a feeding tube (NG tube) which is inserted in your nose and goes into your stomach. Through that they pumped in Ensure. I was hospitalized and they started running tests. At this point I had been eating very little and now my only nutrition was Ensure. With the occassional cherry limeade slush with a good friend! All blood tests for Celiac Disease and anything else they could test for came back negative. But I was showing signs of severe arthritis in all joints, my feet were quickly shrinking in size, I shrunk an inch in overall height and was losing my hair at an alarming rate. I could not concentrate. My memory was very poor and all I wanted to do was still sleep. After testing me for osteoporosis, they said I was losing bone mass too. At this point it had been months, with two separate feeding tubes. I was out of school at this point, being homeschooled by a really neat lady the school district sent to my house. Desperately wanting to stay in touch with friends and really feeling sad.

School pictures were quickly approaching, so after a talk with Dr Klish we scheduled the removal of the second feeding tube for the morning of pictures. I vaguely remember my Mom helping me wash my hair that morning, then my Dad taking me to school for pictures. At that point I realized how important it was to be around friends. I had my freshman class picture taken, then headed right back to the medical center to have my third feeding tube put in. We then decided I should maybe try to go to school half days. The fall semester came around and I was still not feeling well. A lot of this is hazy, because my memory did not ever really come back from the time I was so malnourished. Our band directors let me march, even though I could not make it to all practices, games etc. The posters, cards, and calls from all the band members just truly made every day amazing. I marched in every single game. I was homeschooled, but would occasionally try to do half days at school (which usually included band!) as often as I had energy. A lot of that time I had a feeding tube. It was so hard to be seen with it. It was a very vain feeling, but a lot of people did not know what was going on. One kid asked me in Geometry "Are you dyslexic" I know he meant to ask "Are you anorexic" but as I sat munching on my counted out amount of jelly belly jelly beans trying to keep my caloric intake up on days I was unhooked from the feeding pump I am sure I was a sight. But to me, sitting in that classroom amongst the peers I had gone to school with since kindergarten was absolutely theraputic.

During this time I had multiple cat scans, mri's, radioactive isotope tests, six endoscopies, and one horrible test where I had to eat dry chicken and they put three long tubes down my throat that had sensors and I had to sit completely still for hours while they tracked the movement of my food. The only movie they had was Dumb and Dumber. Yikes! None of these tests showed the doctors anything. They ruled out cancer. They ruled out rheumatoid arthritis. They ruled out Celiac Disease. They ruled out Lupus. What was left?

At this point I was going on Tuesdays for weekly weight checks. Slowly the weight kept creeping down til I was about 90 pounds at 5 foot 7. At this point my heart started skipping beats and I had to wear a halter monitor. They called it tachycardia.

My doctor was amazing. I will always love Dr. Klish. Seeing him each week made me happy. My Mom would drive me to him and we would try anything we could to see if I could feel better. Then he threw up his hands and referred us to Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota.

In the next couple of years I went to Mayo Clinic a total of three times. This first time though was the most pivotal. We got to town and checked in at the Ronald McDonald house. The next morning we were scheduled for an appointment. We arrived with all of my boxes of medical records. A team of doctors sat down with those records and began pouring through them. I was called back to see my doctor, Dr. Camilleri. He looked at us and said "She has Celiac Disease." We were shocked. I had been blood tested, stool tested, endescoped. How could I have Celiac? He said "I am pretty certain she has Celiac, but has been on a gluten free diet because of the feeding tubes, therefore her tests came out negative. I think she has another problem which is also masking the symptoms of the Celiac making it even harder to diagnose." WHAT?! So he started dictating in his little recorder then made me 10 or more appointments for the next week.

The tests were pretty wild. One was called a Sweat Test. I was covered from head to toe in a yellow/orange powder. They then put me in an "oven" and "baked" me for over an hour, trying to raise my temperature and get me to sweat. Anywhere that I did sweat would turn purple and they could see how my nervous system was working. I had one tiny ring of sweat around my navel and they aborted the test after over an hour. Another test was called a Radioactive Isotope study. They mixed radiactive isotopes with eggs and had me eat them. Then over the next couple of hours I would return and they would take pictures of my intestines. They learned from this that the eggs were still sitting inside my stomach after many hours of walking. Meaning my instestines were basically not working at all.

Towards the end of the week I had a diagnosis. First, I have Celiac Disease. We were given a small pamphlet on the gluten free diet and were told I needed to adhere to this for life. Second, we were told I had something that only one other person had a recorded diagnoses of... Selective Cholonergic Dysautonomia following accute infectious mononucleosis. Oh the mono, THANKS a lot! The other person to have this Selective Cholonergic Dysautonomia had also seen Dr. Camilleri after many years of problems. My diagnosis and theirs were nearly identical. Basically, the sweat glands, the gastroentestinal tract, and many other parts of the body fail to work. Here is the link for the published article from 1991.

After making many friendships from our week at Ronald McDonald we returned back to Texas. My Mom dove into a gluten free support group (without the help of the internet!) and all the books she could find. After many yucky pastas, cereals, etc she found a good knack at cooking gluten free! Within the next few months my stomach slowly felt better! Within the next few years, my problems from the Dysautonomia became better and after two more visits to Mayo Clinic my Senior year in high school I was back to feeling great! You can just say, the Celiac Disease diagnosis saved my life! It is now a huge blessing. With HEB having a gluten free aisle, General Mills having a gluten free facility to make chex, many restaurants having gluten free menus, a husband that does not mind having a gluten free home (saying he loves me more than food!) and many brands willingly labeling their foods as gluten free (for example Ore Ida!) life has become so easy and instead of Celiac being difficult it is just a way of life!

So nice...

2011-09-13T15:17:00.002-05:00

The school year is going along well! Andy was a little hesitant at drop off last week and did not seem to happy with me at pick up either. This morning on the way to school we had a chat. We talked about how me leaving means.... I ALWAYS come back. It also means FUN with friends. And Noah sweetly added "It means I am only TWO rooms away from you at school, Andy!" I love how supportive and helpful Noah can be. Drop off was awesome. Andy ran in his class, sat down on the little striped rug and waved bye! YIPPEE! Noah takes off running and does not look back. He just flat out loves school!

This morning I left the boys and headed for MOPS. I loved every second. Sometimes I have a hard time feeling like I fit in. A ton of the ladies are super cute, with adorable fun clothes, and funky jewelry and they all know each other because their husbands are in the residencies at our local hospital. BUT then I got to thinking.... we are ALL there for the same reason. We are stay at home Mom's...we have young children, we love God, and we want to find a bond, eat snacks, visit, talk about the bible and how to make home life easier, and do crafts! At that moment I relaxed a bit and hope to have made some more friends.

We had a really great lesson today, one that really stood out to me and I wanted to remember. One of the members read this blog post... click here to read it. I definitely plan on re-reading this over the next years as the boys grow older and our lives change. It just had so many great points!

Pick up today went great! Andy was so excited and so happy. Noah was too! We are very excited that Noah's soccer practices start tonight. Andy really wants to play too. He is not old enough until next year. I did get him a yellow pair of soccer socks though, so he can at least dress like big brother!

A few cute things... lately Noah has taken to calling Andy "And" It is just a cute little shortened nickname. Andy has continued to tell him, "Noah, my name is ANDY!" Noah said today "I know And, but I like giving you a nickname" Andy then replied "My name is not nickname, my name is Andy!" Funny!

The boys got sick over the weekend. My folks were in town yesterday, because we had all just returned from a trip to Ft Worth from one of my childhood friends weddings. I woke up and ran to the store so I could get our weekly shopping done without the kids, in case they did not start feeling better. While at Wally World I picked each boy out a pair of black skeleton pj's that glow in the dark. When Noah was laying down to nap he said "Mama, my bones are hurting!" I replied "I am sorry, do they have a tag on them?" Noah then said "No Mama, my real bones, like under my skin!" Then less than five minutes later I heard Andy yelling from the closet "My bones are glowing! My bones are glowing!" I can only imagine how strange those things would sound to someone listening in but not seeing their pj's! SO funny!

Fishers of Men

2011-09-06T17:05:00.002-05:00

I love it when I hear singing in the house. Usually the boys are playing and not even realizing they are singing. Today Andy was singing a favorite, one I knew Noah knew, but did not realize how much of it Andy could sing. He was singing...
Magnify oh magnify
Magnify our God and Father
Magnify of magnify

It just makes my heart so happy to hear him singing about God!

Just now Noah was playing on the porch singing. I did not recognize the song. I asked him what it was and he said "It is one I learned today at that new school you took me too." Then he sang these words...

I will make you fishers of men
fishers of men
fishers of men
I will make you fishers of men
if you follow me
if you follow me
if you follow me
I will make you fishers of men
if you follow me

So neat! I love that he sang it today at school and is already singing it!

First Day of School!

2011-09-06T14:35:00.005-05:00

Such big boys.
Such an exciting day!

Running around the yard yelling - "School time!"

Being sweet and posing for pictures for Mama

(I love Andy's little legs in the background below)

Noah starting his first year of pre-school. He leaves behind him two fun years of MDO and now gets to go three mornings a week! He is super excited and cannot wait to learn to read!

Our little Mr. Andyman, he is starting his second year of MDO. He will go two mornings and is so excited to go to class with friends! He is also excited that one day a week it will just be a Mommy and Andy morning!

Time to go!

So excited!

The boys were so excited to go to their new school and had such a fun day! Andy really liked his teacher and had a great day with no accidents. He loved getting to paint and read books with Ms. Leslie. Noah was most excited about his an adorable picture he colored of an apple and a necklace he made of noodles. He said Ms. Kristie was really really nice and that he made a few new friends! All in all, a really great day!!!!

***This morning made me really stop and remember the past two years of our first days of school. I had to go back and look at my blog posts of our adorable little babies. These two have grown so much!!! Click if you want to see the posts from last year and the year before.

Daddy's Little Helpers

2011-09-01T16:08:00.001-05:00

Josh has been hard at work getting our new house fixed up. He has tiled the bathrooms, kitchen, breakfast room, and laundry room. We have new wood floors in the living, master bedroom, and carpet in the boys rooms and upstairs. Dad, Josh, and I (and a friend) have painted every room in the house. We have almost finished putting in new baseboards. Crown molding comes soon. Josh and I painted the kitchen cabinets. We got new counter tops, dishwasher and a sink. We refaced the fireplace. We have a million and one other projects still going on, but NONE of them could have happened if it was not for Daddy's Little Helpers. They have their own measuring tapes (they call them measurements) that they bring to the hardware store along with us. Josh was measuring for the new back splash we were headed to buy for him to install and the boys starting measuring too. It is always good to double check the work!

Josh working on the board and batten a couple of weeks ago - more posts about that soon!

Noah "installing" baseboards. That day Josh was running around in a swimsuit and no shirt working, so so was Noah! I love the drink and apron sitting in the boys bathroom floor - ha!

Josh taping off the countertops getting ready to install the back splash! We were finally putting on the cabinet doors that day (YIPPEE!) and you can see the board and batten a little in the background. We LOVE how that turned out!

Rare sleepy moments...

2011-09-01T15:56:00.001-05:00

Ever since Andy could walk, he just does not slow down. He is one of those little boys that just goes goes goes. I love that about him, but also it makes Josh and I really miss those sweet baby cuddles. Andy is quickly nearly his third birthday (sniff, sniff) and he is still such a little guy, but is growing so quickly. I miss just holding him for hours. He has reached the age where missing a nap is okay, but it does mean he will be asleep for the night around 6:30-7. We do not miss naps often, but last weekend he did miss his nap. He was sitting on the couch with Josh watching a movie and just feel right to sleep. Josh was so happy, because cuddling Andy like this is so rare. Josh just laid back and enjoyed every moment of the cuddles. Which then sent me running for the camera, since I had not seen this sweet sight in so long!

Andy is just growing up way too fast. His favorite thing to yell is "Moses says LET MY PEOPLE GO!" and yells it in this hilarious little country boy voice. He loves singing "Five little ducks went out to play, over the hills and far away. One little duck went quack quack...." while playing his ukulele. He loves food, but does not eat much. He is moving into the 3T shirts, but still wears mainly 12 month shorts and some 18 month shorts. He can write the letter A and the letter H. He can count to 20 and almost always gets blue and red confused. He loves his brother, and loves pestering his brother equally. His favorite color is yellow. Everything needs to be yellow. He has a yellow room. Yellow silverware. Yellow bowl. And really wants yellow crocs for his birthday! We met his teacher this morning for his new MDO and he is really excited about his class. If he gets embarrassed (which sadly happens often) he either starts swinging like he is going to hit or spits. He is a little riot! Andy wants to do everything on his own. He does a great job with going potty and loves to swim (but not put his head under water!) He truly melts my heart and I cannot imagine not being with him every moment of every day! I love you Andy!!!

Treasure Chests

2011-09-01T15:42:00.001-05:00

The boys really love the new Disney show Jake and the Neverland Pirates. They walk around all day singing "yoho let's go, jake and the neverland pirates!" We have been talking lots about pirates lately and what they looked for or kept in treasure chests. The boys each decided they needed treasure chests. I was so excited. We went to Hobby Lobby for all the supplies and picking them while singing about pirates was really cute:)

Painting and decorating the pirate chests was some serious work!

It was more fun watching the boys paint and you can tell from Andy's "moustache" a treat of fruit punch Gatorade was super exciting too!

Sweet thoughts...

2011-08-24T21:45:00.002-05:00

After bible class tonight the picture Noah colored blew away in the wind. First I thought it was Andy's and poor Andy in his sad pouty voice said "Mama, but I made that fooooorrrrr YOU!" Then I looked in the front seat and realized it was Noah's. Poor Noah then busted into tears. Then he said "OH! God made the wind, so maybe God can send it back to our house and we can find it?!" ... I sure wish that was possible!

We have been experiencing a severe drought and heat around here with just no signs of rain. When we stepped out of church tonight Noah said with complete certainty, "I SMELL RAIN!" I was shocked when he said it, even more shocked when I started seeing lightning! I have my own little rain sensor! I hope we smell it a lot more often in the next few months!!!

I am back!

2011-08-03T19:59:00.002-05:00

Whew, it has been a crazy couple of months. Josh has been working tirelessly on the new house, we finally got all packed up and moved. If it had not been for my parents watching the boys, Josh having time off, and Josh's parents and brother's help it would not have happened. It feels so good to be under our new roof! We still have lots to do, lots of boxes to unpack...but swimming at the new neighborhood pool, riding bikes, and playing in the sand box have been of upmost importance. That and a few rounds of strep throat, croup, and two or so viruses. Sheesh. Our internet finally worked today! We had a couple of missing cords, router, etc...but we are finally in business and I can get back to blogging! I missed it here!

Someday...

2011-05-26T21:49:00.002-05:00

In the car today Noah said... "Mama, when I grow up I am going to be a race car driver, a soldier and an airplane racer!" Andy then said "Mommy, I'm going to be a race car driver too!" It was so adorable to hear them talk, but I sure hope they will pick something a bit safer than race car drivers or airplane racers! (what is that anyways?!)

Later on Noah asked me "Where is heaven?" Andy piped up and said "With God!" It was so cute. I explained to the best of my abilities and Andy then yelled "I'm gonna sit with Lane in heaven!" Noah then responded "And I'm gonna sit with Kole!" It was just the sweetest thing. (Lane & Kole are two adorable little friends of ours from church, school and everyday!)

I love our little guys so much. Noah said to me earlier when talking about Kristin, "You know Mommy, when you miss her, just think of her at night when you are in bed." I thought, wow, you really gets it! Such good advice from such a little guy. Last night Andy and I were feeling yucky and he was laying in bed with me cuddling. We were singing songs and talking. He was rubbing my cheek and saying in his sweet paused way "I love you Mommy" and I started singing Jesus Loves Me, he said, "that's my song!" He asked what Noah's song was. I sang "Twinkle Twinkle." He asked what Daddy's was, I did not know so he suggested "Jingle Bells or chicken fried" and we did not come up with one for me except maybe "Goodnight sweetheart." It was such a sweet moment. One I will cherish forever!

bed time...

2011-05-18T21:23:00.002-05:00

When Andy was born I took care of his bedtimes and Josh took care of Noah's. We had a little joke of saying to one another "You got yours? I got mine?!" Then we would boast a bit as to who's 'kid' was asleep first. Then Andy got older and quit nursing, then really just had one over on us both. We would literally stay in his room sitting there watching him til he fell asleep, because if you dare just step outside of his room he would literally throw up everywhere instantaneously. It was gross and just not fun. Fast forward til a couple of months ago. Josh and I were just worn down and Andy was winning. Finally we said, enough is enough, and we told Andy the new plan, that he would have to stay in bed in his room by himself, or we would shut the door. Period. Amazingly it immediately worked. Josh took over Andy duties and I got the sweet joy of Noah. I was so happy to read Noah stories, say prayers with him and cuddle. Noah has been a dream getting to sleep since he was about 15 months old. He goes to sleep quickly and stays there til he is asleep. He also likes to go to bed early. Andy is a night owl, takes forever to go to sleep and is a light sleeper. So... there have been some nights lately where I am the one putting both boys down... Josh has been busy getting our new house move in ready! (My Dad and I have too, but during the day!) Tonight Andy is like a jack in the box with me, up and out of bed, every five minutes. I went to check on him once and he was not even in his room. He was in my bathroom. I asked him what he was doing and he responded "Ust looking at stuff" as he meddled with my contact vials. Then I watched him sneak a piece of cheese out of the fridge then run back to his room. And just now I went in to talk to him again (because sadly shutting the door is not working tonight because he figured out how to take off the child knob) and he said, "Noah's eyes are closed, he is nice. My eyes open, I rude. See Mama I nice now" and he shut his little eyes and squeezed them tight. Sigh. Oh, I hear him in the hall again - wish me luck!!!! :)

p.s. I really love bedtime with Andy too, he gives such sweet kisses and hugs and has to say with purpose good night, I love you and loves loves loves to sing me "Goodnight Sweetheart, it's time to go, I hate to leave you but I really must say, goodnight sweetheart good night" and it sounds like "good night schweetheart its time to go i hate to leave but i must stay, good night schweetheart good night." It is one of the best moments of the day, but writing the above note I was just tired because I had repeated that part at least 20 times already:)

Eat your dinner, please!

2011-05-16T15:22:00.003-05:00

Dinner time is usually fairly peaceful at our house. We have found that lighting a candle seems to mesmerize the boys a bit and they sit still much longer than normal. That and we have a dinner time game that is a ton of fun and makes dinnertime really enjoyable. The boys love to "read" cars to us. Each and every time Andy says "What's your favorite movie, Mama?" Noah has a great imagination with "reading" his cards...he asks questions like "What is your favorite combination of foods?" or "What was your favorite day ever?" I did not know he knew to use the word combination until playing the game the other night!

A couple of nights ago dinnertime was much different with Andy than normal. He was not feeling well, but until this point I had no idea. He was sitting there and Josh told him if he did not eat his dinner he would not get a snack later. We were not going to throw away his dinner and then make him something else. He looked Josh right in the face and yelled "BUT I WANT MY BESSERT!!!!!!!!!!!" OOoooh it was funny! We do not often eat sweets right after dinner, so it was funny to us that Andy wanted dessert, especially without having had dinner, but the clarity of the B in the front of the word as Bessert was just hilariously cute!!!!! Sadly, we then realized he was really not feeling well, because Josh said "okay, eat your dinner and you can have bessert" and Andy still did not eat his dinner. It was so cute:)

Heard in our house…

2011-05-11T19:40:00.000-05:00

Tonight when it FINALLY started raining Noah thought the thunder was a jet! That really cracked me up! I opened the curtains so Andy could see the rain and he yelled “I wanna drink it!” It cracked me up – shows we have not had rain in way too long!

One of my favorite moments of the day is when the boys are taking a bath and they want to wash their bodies. They both stand up, side by side and sing “Wash your body, wash your body, wash your shoulders, wash your arm pits, etc….” It is just too cute!

New house!

2011-05-11T19:36:00.000-05:00

We are SOOOOO excited! We soon will have a new address! We closed on our new house last week and were so ready to get started working. Below are a few BEFORE pictures, as we progress with the updates I will post some new pictures.

One thing we are BOTH so excited about is the nice yard! We cannot wait to get out there and play with the kids!!! These photos were taken the day we closed, so no yard work or anything had been done yet.

The shed that just needs a new door and dog run we will remove….

The other side of our yard….

Looking at the fireplace from the dining room….

Looking at the front door from the fireplace….

And….the covered back porch! I CANNOT wait to paint that ceiling baby blue! :)

So many updates, so many changes!

2011-05-05T19:34:00.002-05:00

I really need to make a point of blogging more often!!

First off, I have to say a couple of things about our sweet boys. It is unbelievable - they are friends! They WANT to play together. They want to wrestle, tumble, push cars, crash cars, take baths, and even nap in the same room! (when Noah does nap that is:)) It is such a blessing and something we have hoped and prayed for. Having them so close in age was rough at the beginning, but now I really see so many benefits to this age gap!

Mr Andy pants. WOW. He decided last Tuesday night that Wednesday morning he was wearing underwear. Period the end. Wednesday was a long day in the potty with him. But amazingly it was my favorite day with him ever. Noah was so encouraging and sweet. He kept talking to Andy about what a big boy Andy was and even gave Andy the special RC Drifting Lightning McQueen we gave him when he got potty trained! It was the sweetest moment between the two of them. Andy was so excited by Noah's gift and Noah was so proud to give it. The neatest thing about the day was the fact that Andy was truly the center of attention. He absolutely loved it. He was just precious. He decided he was going potty on the "potty train" not being potty trained:) And he was going in the tunnel. I LOVE that. A week later and he is doing awesome! Max 2 accidents a day since Friday - that is amazing! It was such a breeze!

The sweetest thing about Andy - he loves giving kisses, Daddy hugs and baby hugs. But his kisses melt my heart, he has to either grab both my cheeks when he does it, but it is so gentle, just placing both palms against my face. Or he places one sweet hand, which has almost lost the little baby dimples on them, around the back of my head. Then when we put him to bed if you say "Good Night Andy" you then have to make eye contact with him, so he can say "Good night Mama" or "Good Night Daddy" and know you are listening. He does the same thing when he says I love you...he has to know you are paying attention. What a better moment to give him my undivided:)

Noah is just growing up to be so sweet and compassionate. Also just so full of energy! He has given up naps 95% of the time, so by the end of the evening he is just moving constantly to keep himself awake:) He loves being Daddy's helper. Especially with Grampy's old Mater truck, but loves washing cars, painting, and really wants to do dishes for me:) I hope he still wants to when he is old enough for me to trust him with them!

I feel so blessed to have our little family. Josh and I had the best day together today. We closed on our new house yesterday and spent today putting color up on the walls so we could choose paint colors, then we tore down the wallpaper in the master bath, boys bath, and breakfast room. It was so much fun to have that time with him! We even got some lunch and ate together at the house. FUN fun fun!

:)

Target employee saves the day!

2011-03-05T15:44:00.003-06:00

Sometimes shopping trips are really fun, sometimes they are something from my worst nightmares, and sometimes they include some really funny moments. Yesterday we needed to go to Target. The boys were very excited, because Target has toys and they like to look! When we got there they wanted the big cart, the kind that has the two seats facing each other in the front. I would rather Andy ride in a normal cart and Noah walk, but they said they would behave, so sometimes all works out fine in that kind of cart, other times, not so much. We started off towards the paper towels and the boys were just being sweet, talking to each other, keeping their feet away from each other (I mean seriously, who thought having their feet face each other is a good idea?!?) We get over by the paper towels and Andy decides he needs to kiss Noah on the arm, over and over again. At first Noah was laughing, then he quickly was annoyed. We asked Andy to stop and he just kept kissing Noah. I asked Noah to get out of the cart and walk, but he was very tired and wanted to ride. Andy said "I walk! I walk!" I decided to try it. Andy really did pretty well. He was a pretty good listener and we got the other couple of things we needed and headed for the check out. At that point I needed them both to sit still in the cart so I could pay, I put them in the cart and they both started whining "He's touching me!" "I want to walk!" "I want to touch that!" etc. etc. At that point I figured they could just whine for another second and check out more quickly, then trying to make them happy, then leave. Then a Target employee comes up, says "Shhhhhh" in a whisper, gives them each a "quiet" sticker and tells them they cannot talk until we get home! Noah started to ask why, but she quickly shushed him again and I finished checking out. They were seriously ridiculously quiet. It was awesome. We pulled in the driveway and Andy decided he could peel off his sticker and proclaimed "We can talk now!" It was hilarious, and awesome too... So Thank You Target lady named Samantha, I hope the visit I had with your manager by phone later today served you well, I really appreciated you today!!!

Snow Flakes!

2011-02-28T13:59:00.001-06:00

After our big snow the boys came home and got to see some flakes! I was overly excited!!!

Noah seeing the snow flakes from the porch!

I was really super cold. The boys were perfectly content to run up on the porch out of the wind for a minute, then continue running around in the yard. That seemed to be enough warmth for them! We had so much fun playing outside, even though it was not even 20 degrees out!!!

MDO Parent Lunch & Program

2011-02-28T10:31:00.001-06:00

Josh and I were invited to Noah and Andy’s Mother’s Day Out for a parents lunch and short little program. I get SO super excited over these things and it did not disappoint. It was absolutely adorable!

When we first arrived Josh and I found our table which had us seated with the boys. They had Noah, then me, then Andy, then Josh. On Josh and my plates were little crafts the boys made for us, along with adorable little tags.

The kids put on adorable performance for us!!!

Andy’s facial expression did not change much throughout the entire program! He ended up sick that night, so I do not know if that is why he was not participating or if he had stage fright:)

Noah was quite the little ham!

After the performance a yummy lunch was served! Salad, lasagna, bread and brownies! The boys really enjoyed the lasagna!!!

THE PERFORMANCE:)

Texas Snow!

2011-02-28T10:10:00.001-06:00

Having been born and raised in Texas, a ground sticking snow just does not happen often! The week of our big snow the boys were with my folks at their house, while I frantically cleaned out closets, did laundry, sorted through old toys and prepared for a garage sale, that we thought would not happen, because of the snow!

I seriously purged our house. The boys closets went from mayhem to a nice place for the things, without needing a hazard sign when the doors were opened. My closet was rid of all things that do not fit, and the kitchen cabinets were purged of all things either too bulky or just not used! It felt good!

The night the snow came Josh and I were like little kids! We kept running outside in the dark to feel the flakes on our faces. It was so fun! We even woke up at 2 in the morning to see if it was still snowing, and it was! We woke up the next morning to this! Josh’s work was cancelled, which was awesome, because he had already taken the day off to help me around the house. We finished up a lot of things, and then even ventured into the garage to work in there for a bit. BUT then the ice on the driveway started to refreeze and so did my fingertips, so we moved back inside to get more done.

Saturday morning we woke up to ice and snow still in the grass, but a forecast that looked like it should really warm up. We set up our garage sale out front, opting instead for a yard sale since our alley was still VERY slippery because it is in the shade. The awesome thing – we ended up having VERY good business and made almost $500! We still have a lot to donate, but I refused to let it all come back in the house. We boxed it all up and this upcoming weekend I am hoping to get Josh to take it all to goodwill. I have a couple of things to sell on ebay/craigslist, but the rest of it I just want gone!!! Such a good feeling! I still have one closet I have not fully tackled, but out of the 6 total, it feels good to have only one left!

Here are the fun pictures we took the morning of the snow! I was SO very sad the boys missed it, but was thankful to be there with Josh and hopeful the boys would see at least some flakes in the weeks to come (which thankfully they did!)

Ice Packs or cold snacks?

2011-02-24T19:56:00.003-06:00

Most nights we go for walks after dinner. Tonight Noah walked the first quarter mile or so while Andy rode in the stroller. Noah was starting to get tired, so he asked when he could get in the stroller with Andy. I told him he could at the cul de sac. A little while longer he kept asking me something about the cold ice pack. I told him it was home and in the freezer. Josh then started laughing and said, "Noah, what did you say again?" Noah repeated but added a bit and said "Mama said I could get in at the cold ice pack, I am getting tired!" It was SO funny. I loved that he heard cold ice pack instead of cul de sac! Noah got in the stroller and Josh and I walked about a mile and a half and made it back to the cul de sac. We had decided Andy could walk that quarter of a mile back home, in hopes he would be good and worn out and ready or bed! When we approached the cul de sac Andy said, "look Mama, the cold snacks, the cold snacks!" We were really cracking up by then, wondering what the cul de sac might be called next:)

Beautiful Bluebell Birthday Bash

2011-02-24T12:33:00.002-06:00

Friday, January 7th we had SO much fun! Noah, Andy, Baby L and I loaded up in our van and headed for Brenham, Texas to the Bluebell factory to meet up with our dear friend Stephanie and her sweet little boy, Peyton. That day was Peyton’s third birthday and it was two days before Noah’s fourth birthday, so we thought a celebration was in order! The boys did SO unbelievably well on the drive and when we go to the factory I fed Baby L and we were good to go for the tour. The kids really seemed to enjoy the tour and were so well behaved, it was fun!

After the tour we got to have yummy ice cream and Baby L got to have his lunch! Noah had cookies in cream, Andy had chocolate, Peyton had strawberry, and they all seemed to really enjoy it. I enjoyed my ice cream, but more than anything really enjoyed getting to visit in person with my friend Steph. I have missed our long walks, scrapbooking sessions, and playtimes since we moved, so it was nice to see her!!!

After ice cream and shopping, it was time to play on the grounds some. The boys had a blast and the Mommy’s had fun taking their pictures:)

The Three Amigos: Noah, born 01/09/07; Peyton, born 01/07/08; Andy born 10/08/08. SO fun for all three to be so close in age!

The Big Blue Eyed Birthday Boy at Bluebell!!!! Happy Birthday Peyton!

Andy decided he was tired and could take a nap!

Our boys and their favorite baby.

Isn’t he the cutest?!? So much fun too!!!!

Our almost four year old!!! He was having so much fun!!!

Our trip home went as well as the trip there! It was such a fun day!!!!

SOCCER!

2011-02-24T11:08:00.001-06:00

Noah loves sports. He could hit a ball in the yard for hours, kick a ball in the grass for an entire afternoon, and really loves watching sports. We enjoyed many baseball games last year and a couple of football games too. All that being said, I do not think Noah has ever watched a soccer game. His uncle Chris had been to Spain and brought him back a really cool soccer ball this year, and for his second birthday Chris got him a soccer ball I think in Barcelona – so the interest has been sparked for awhile! Quite a few of his little school and church friends were going to sign up for soccer, so we asked Noah if he wanted to and he was SO excited about it!

This past Saturday I took Noah shopping for all his gear. Andy was so sweet at the store and got his own soccer ball too! Noah did not let me forget a thing! We needed…

-size 3 soccer ball

-soccer socks

-shin guards

-cleats

-shorts

-water bottle

As we maneuvered through the store Noah was keeping a running tab of what we found and what we still needed to get. It was neat watching him make sure we had everything and helping me find the best price and the right size. He was unbelievably helpful and the entire time Andy was just so sweet and excited for Noah. It was a really special trip for me and them, it just showed how much they love each other. Andy excited for Noah, Noah wanting to include Andy by showing him things and asking him what he thought, and even asking me if we could get Andy a ball. It was a good good moment!

I got a big laugh in the store. Noah asked me MANY times how the shin guards would fit. I kept telling him I went by the measurements and I thought they would be fine. He persisted. Finally I asked him to repeat his question and I finally heard it “Mama, how are these chin guards gonna fit?” I finally realized he thought they were going on his chin and he could not figure our how those long things could fit on his face!!! I explained what a shin is and how shin guards worked and he was good to go!

Soccer practice day was so exciting for Noah! He could not wait! He was seriously hugging all his new things right before getting ready!

In the house Noah looked so big and so cute to me! I took him outside to take some more photos while Andy finished his nap and was so tickled when he started posing for me! He does not look four, he looks so big to me!

This picture. It is not helping me at all. Makes my eyes fill with tears and my heart swell. I cannot believe this is my little baby. Our 7 pound 7 ounce little Noah. WOW. He is so handsome and so sweet and so big and so funny and so athletic and so smart and….. well, you see where I am going. I. am. in. love.

On the way to practice Noah was really excited. He was excited about his uniform. He was excited about his friends being there. He was excited about his Daddy helping the coach. And then he said “Mama, I am so excited. What channels are we going to be on?” I said “Noah, what?” He said “You know Mama, on the TV, what channel will be on tonight while I play soccer?” OH our sweet boy. I love that he thought his soccer practice would be televised. I love the innocence of this sweet little boy. I LOVE that he thinks the world would want to watch him play. I know I cannot think of anything I would have rather done that night!!!!

The Polar Express

2011-02-24T10:40:00.002-06:00

Our little guys are HUGE Polar Express fans. They love all things Christmas and all things related to trains, so that combination of things makes two very excited boys and two very happy parents!

When we first arrived in Palestine the boys were very hungry! They had food carts outside of the station, so the boys had hot dogs. Andy was so cute, because it was his first hotdog with a bun, he did not understand you are supposed to leave the meat in the bun.

The adorable train station!!! SO cute.

TWO very excited little boys!!!

Before boarding the train we went exploring! It was so cute watching the boys play on the tracks that were not operational. Normally we would not let them on tracks, so they thought this was really neat!

“LOOK MOM!”

My new all time favorite photo. The sweetest little boys I know.

After getting to check out the train in person and listen to the whistle (and cover our ears because of the whistle!) we finally got to board! We were SO excited!

Andy and Noah were so excited to hold their tickets and wait for the conductor to come punch it! Noah kept asking what word they might punch on his! Right after everyone got seated the music started….and they were playing the “hot chocolate” song from the movie. Next thing we knew the waiters were dancing down the aisle with a cart passing out hot chocolate and little Christmas colored rice krispie treats. The boys were SO excited, dancing and having fun!

Noah loved looking out the window!

We were really enjoying our ride. It was so fun to go so far on a train! After going halfway we saw the North Pole and Santa got on the train!!!

When Andy realized Santa was getting on the train he got SO excited. The look on his face was priceless!

Our trip to the Mall Santa this year was unsuccessful, so I was one happy Mama to get a Santa photo!

We really had the best time on our little family trip to Polar Express! The boys had so much fun and so did Josh and I! We ended our night at our hotel swimming in the pool with Daddy!!! We truly cannot wait until next year!

Mike and Sully are Comin'?

2011-02-23T16:42:00.002-06:00

Noah: "Okay, Andy. We are hiding from the bad monsters. We are in jail. Mike and Sully are comin' for us."

Andy: "But Mike'l scare me."

Noah: "It's okay Andy, Mike and Sully are good monsters."

Andy: "You're not scared?"

Noah: "Nope, but Boo will be there. She will rescue us too."

Andy: "Really , Boo's comin'?"

Noah: "Yeah, they are comin' from the factory."

Andy: "Noah, shhhhhh be quiet. They find us. SHHHHHHH"

Noah: "Remember we are not gonna hit Sully. We are not going to hit Mike. We not gonna hit Boo. They are our friends. You can hold Boo in your lap."

Andy: "I like Boo! Mike comin'! Boo comin'! I hold Mike!"

Noah: "Andy, you can't hold Mike, he is a big boy. A big monster, not a baby. He is too big. Ya know, not as big as Sully, but he is big. You are little!"

Andy: "Mama, Mike is comin'!!!!"

Noah: "SHHHH Andy, the bad monsters will find you! Don't talk to Mama!"

Noah: "See this blanket. We are going to share it. No worry Andy. Mike is going to be nice. He will talk to you. He will not roar. Like, this, ROAR! He will just talk."

....The boys popped out from under the couch's table to tell me their friends the nice Monsters were coming! I think Andy is going to be really sad when he finds out all of this is pretend!!!!! I know one thing, they may have seen Monsters Inc. one too many times recently:)

Blogging Slump...but I am BACK!

2011-02-23T16:35:00.002-06:00

Hi!!!! I feel almost weird blogging after such a LONG break. What was I doing? I was just overwhelmed. We have had so much going on the last couple of months, that blogging just seemed like too big a task...even though it is one I enjoy SO very much. I love thinking about the funny things our kids say, or enjoying the moments we have with them through photos...so like I said, here I am again!

I hope to start blogging about the new things in our life and at the same time catch up on what I skipped. The new things include Noah playing soccer and he and Andy being the best of buds. They are seriously under the couch's side table right now behind a blanket whispering, and have been for the last half hour. It is amazing to see how much they have changed together in just the last month or so! SO fun! The older things include Andy's birthday, Noah's birthday, Thomas the Train, Christmas, etc!!! I have a lot of work to do!!!

So...expect to see some posts from me! And in the meantime, I hope that all my bloggy friends are doing great, it feels good to be back!

The world through Andy’s eyes…

2010-12-29T12:08:00.001-06:00

The world through our little two year olds eyes….

The world through Noah’s eyes….

2010-12-29T12:06:00.001-06:00

The world through our almost four year old little boys eyes…

2010-12-11T10:53:00.002-06:00

Okay, so I desperately need to find the websites where I found these photos and credit them....but I wanted to post them so I do not lose the photos in the depths of my computer.

I am getting very anxious to get settled into a home we own and can work on! In the meantime, I am going to keep gathering pictures of homes that inspire me!!!

I love love love these wood walls. I am not big on the starfish, etc...

but really love the texture these walls have!

Josh and I both really love a huge island. I am sure our next house will not have room for something like this, but a girl can dream! I just love the idea of having a nice huge breakfast room/dining room...then having a table height space to sit at the island, rather than bar height. I could see our boys doing homework there, eating breakfast while I fixed their lunches for school, etc. It looks like something like this would be great for us!
Red doors, need I say more? Me .... swoon.

This. is. the. front. door. of. my. dreams. PERIOD.

More to come!

What a good end to the night:)

2010-12-11T00:01:00.003-06:00

Laying next to Andy tonight at bedtime I said "I love you, Andy." He squeezed my arm and said "I ove You, Mama." Today was the first time ever that he said it back to me!!! :)

When Noah was getting settled for the night he came back out and sat down on the couch. After laying down on the couch he said "I like just taking an extra relax with you. It is a fun time on our own." Then he patted my hand and said "Sweetie, I love you."

Those are words every Mama should end the day on:)

Heard in our House...

2010-12-10T09:29:00.004-06:00

I have so much to post, lots of pictures, but no energy! The boys and I have been under the weather all week:(

Some funny things have been going on around here.

Andy knows he is not supposed to take ornaments off the tree. Yesterday I caught him pulling ornaments off. I went to walk up to him and tell him to stop and he immediately looked at me and started singing "Holy Holy Holy, my Lord God Almighty." I busted up laughing! I did not know he knew the song "Holy Holy Holy" and I thought his timing was hilarious! He knew I would be tickled!

Both the boys are loving singing Christmas carols. Noah loves the 'turtle doves' song...i.e. the 12 Days of Christmas. Andy absolutely LOVES Jingles Bells...I think because he loves singing all the words and then yelling 'HEY!'

Noah was watching the movie Ponyo this morning. In the movie a little boy named Sosuke (sounds like Sulskay) is riding in this little red and white boat. Noah went to his room and got clothes on that looked like Sosuke's and then came back and said we needed to go buy him a boat like Sosuke's. I asked him where and he was so serious, he said 'Well, Target."

Andy loves loves loves oranges and has now figured out how to peel them himself!

Noah is loving waking every morning looking for our elves from Elf on the Shelf. He says they travel to the 'Nurth Pole' and tell Santa if he was good, then come back. He named his Jersey and Andy's Treety, even though Andy says his is just named Elf.

I think the most exciting thing going on around here is chocolate advent calendars! They get so excited every morning for their piece and they both have little felt ones (from Target of course:)) that they move little things on. Noah's is a tree that you move a candy cane on and Andy's is a stocking that you move a star on. I need to fix Noah's. I just realized when looking at his that it only goes to the 23rd. I need to add another pocket - otherwise he is going to be very disappointed when Santa has not come Christmas Eve morning when he is thinking it is Christmas day!!!!

FREE Shutterfly Christmas Cards!

2010-12-06T21:02:00.004-06:00

This is truly my FAVORITE time of year! I get SO excited to check the mail, anxious for another card from friends and family. I LOVE seeing the cute picture cards, they really make my day! I hang them all over our fridge and leave them for months. It is a fun way to remember all the ones we love!

This year I am just now working on my Christmas cards. If you are too, you can get them for FREE!

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I am love these...

I love the chocolate brown and candy cane stripes on this one...ADORABLE!

I think the 'top ten' idea is just precious!

What a great way to share what your family has been up to!

More chocolate brown! This time with plaid - SO stinkin' cute!

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Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-27T09:28:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday before Thanksgiving we started our drive towards Coahoma, Texas to visit Josh’s grandparents and his Mom’s side of the family. Our week of reflecting on thankfulness started with a moment of great thanks for my van and the DVD player it has!!! It really made the trip a bit easier. I thought it would be fun to surprise the boys with a new movie. I purchased the movie Santa Paws. I thought it was super cute, but Noah did not at all. In the movie there is a lady that runs an orphanage wearing green and she is not very nice. Noah found it to be pretty scary! Andy wanted to keep watching it though. I was surprised by the G rating with the dark content it had! Once the movie was over the boys took a nice long nap. They woke up about the time we made it to Abilene. We met Josh’s folks there for dinner at Cracker Barrel. YUM. It was a great place to stop, the kids got to look at the toys and stretch their legs and see their grandparents too! Noah was really really funny. Over a year ago on a camping trip Noah watched Bolt with Darren. In that movie there is a “green eyed monster” that really freaked Noah out. There is a theme here, Noah getting freaked out and the character being green or wearing green! Needless to say, we check all movies now on Focus on the Family and read all about content first! Anyways, the MOMENT Noah saw Darren, probably because he was so freshly freaked out by Santa Paws he informed Darren “I do not want to see that green eyed monster again, that movie is rated POG.” I had the hardest time containing my laughter. It was so funny. Noah’s chest was all pumped up and he was VERY adamant. Darren was so sweet and told Noah that movie could go in the trash and no worries they did not have to watch it again. Noah really is so funny!!!

We made it to town and were able to go over to Josh’s cousins house to visit and let the kids play. It was nice to let them get some energy out after being cooped up in the car!

The next day we went back out to their house and the kids go to ride their pony! Noah was very into it and did well, but Andy just seemed to be a natural. He wanted to be right up in the ponies face, touched his hooves, rubbed his back, and even seemed to be shifting his weight when riding. It was fun to watch both the boys!

The rest of Thanksgiving day was really nice. We had a really nice meal and spent the rest of the weekend visiting with cousins, playing, and watching movies. It was so nice to spend that time with Josh’s grandparents. They are really neat people!!!

Oh Nose...

2010-11-23T14:12:00.002-06:00

When Noah was real little he was just so laid back, never did any climbing on furniture, jumping off couches, or putting things places they just do not belong. Then along comes Andy. I think I have this Mama thing made. I know how to handle boys! Then it hit me...Noah was just SO laid back. Andy is a very gentle, sweet boy, but he has SO much energy. Fun for Andy is standing on the couch arm and diving head first into the couch. Jumping on the bed, that is fun too for Andy. Standing in a chair, no fun, he goes for the middle of the table! I have found him on top of the washing machine (and there was NOTHING for him to climb on to get there), in the bathroom sink, on the kitchen counter (again, no stool or chair!), half way up our bookshelf, and inside the cubbies of our toy storage shelf. All of that, surprised me, but I can handle it. But now...Andy has really thrown down the gauntlet. He is taking after me. In a way I wish he would not! When I was little, I stuffed stuff (mainly once a bead...bleh) up my nose. Yuck, right? Well....Andy thinks it is funny. Me, not so much. The other day I looked over right as he stuck a kernel of corn up there. It thankfully was on the edge, so I just pulled. No problem. Then it hit me. Could there be more? I got the flash light. Yep. Just I suspected. WAY up there. Josh mentioned I should get Baby L's little nose suctioner...I feared it would shove it up further. Then I remembered from MOPS first aid training...close the child's mouth, cover with your hand and blow in the other nostril. I did and out flew the corn! WHEW. Yuck, made me shudder and Andy laugh uncontrollably. Today the boys were making little cards with some foam stickers I bought. Innocent, right? I thought so. An hour later I was changing Andy's diaper and noticed something royal blue up his nose. It was a foam ornament. GROSS! Thankfully easily it came out, and this time there was just one. I know they say not to ask what next, but some days I wonder with Andy...what is next!?!

Oh - and Noah...now thinks jumping on furniture is fun...thanks to his little instigator of a brother:) Who would have known Andy would have been the ring leader!

Heard in our House….

2010-11-19T19:33:00.001-06:00

As both of the boys get older, the funnier the things they say seem to be! I love listening to them and finding out how their minds work. But most of all, I keep getting blown away…sometime by the amazing joy in their hearts, sometimes by the shocking bluntness children have, sometimes out of horror when I realize they are being tacky, but mostly I get buckled over with laughter at the funny things they say! But that laughter has to stay inside usually, as neither of our kids like to be laughed at…I cannot blame them there!

NOAH…

When Noah was so sick recently he kept waking up in the nighttime with really high fevers. When the fever would get close to 105 the poor thing would start throwing up. One of the nights I was in there rubbing his back and I was just so sad he was feeling so ill. I guess Noah could read that on my face. The sweet child said after getting sick again “Mama, I’m so sorry. You are working so hard to make me feel better.” Wow.

While Noah was napping that next day I had Andy color Noah a get well picture. Andy was so proud of it and took it to give Noah when he woke up. Noah said to Andy “You are my most special boy. You made me a beautiful picture.” It was so sweet and I could see the pride just beaming off of Andy!

Tonight while making dinner and setting it up, Noah was getting very excited. I had some gluten free fish sticks, corn, tator tots and apple juice…you know, seriously epicurean stuff here:) Anyways, I put candles on the table and turned the lights off. Noah was so happy, he ran over, hugged my legs and said “Mama, you are the prettiest girl I ever seen.” A girl can seriously handle those kind of comments daily:)

We have a couple of words that are not necessarily BAD words, but we just do not think they are too nice coming out of little boys mouths. Two of them being stupid and shut up. It seems that ALL the rated G movies have them somewhere in them. Noah recently has been through a faze where he would grab the remote and shut the movie off it he heard one of those words. Saying ‘that is not a nice movie. I just do not want to watch it!’ I so appreciated that, but when it ended up we had only Super Why left to watch, he and I sat and visited about the meanings of those words/phrases and how tone and context are why they are not good. Anyways, he now stands very firmly in front of his shows when those words are said and shakes his little pointer finger and says ‘that’s just not nice at all!’ He also understands the rules we have placed on only wanting them to watch G rated movies. I guess he has seen us at Red Box or looking on Netflix enough searching for appropriate G rated movies. Anyways, recently Josh was looking for something on Netflix and Noah said “Daddy, can I watch that? Is it rated G or POG?” :)

ANDY…

Can say “Allie!” Instead of Awwie :)

We watched the Polar Express recently and were talking about our upcoming trip and ride on the Polar Express and our recently past trip to ride Thomas the Train. Andy is so excited and runs around saying “I ride Thomas. I ride Po Express!”

My sweet little Andy. He really has this unbelievable gentle personality. Mainly when his big brother is not around, but it is just so contagious and endearing. Whenever he is getting tired he comes running at me saying “uddle me, Mama, uddle me” (uddle =cuddle) ….ME=a big melted heap upon the floor:)

Today I was asking Andy…’What does a dog say?’ he said ‘ruff ruff’…’what does a cat say?’ he said ‘meow meow meow’…’what does a pig say?’ he said ’Boink Boink!’…’what does a horse say?’ he said ‘giddyup!’ and ‘what does a goat say?’ he said ‘don know?!’ It was so cute, his answer to the pig, his seriously funny one to the horse and the fact that he tried so hard and came so close to saying ‘don’t know!’

I have a tendency to say “Oh my gosh” a lot. Andy has now started saying “O dosh, O dosh” when he is surprised or startled!

Recently Andy had a little runny nose, he was laying in bed with Josh and very clearly said “Daddy, my nose RUNNIN”

e-ooooo = pick me up!

e-up =cover me up with a blanket!

MDO Thanksgiving Program

2010-11-19T17:06:00.001-06:00

This year I was SO excited and so nervous about the Thanksgiving program at the boys school! Last year parents and grandparents were invited…when Noah spotted us he burst into tears. He watched the program from our lap. I was really hoping not to have a repeat of last year. Noah had a springtime program last year and did fine…but this year Andy was part of the festivities too! The school has a lot more students this year, so only parents were invited, so Josh and I sat and hopefully waited to see our two sweet little boys…this is how it went…

We saw Noah peeking out the doorway, you could tell he was SO excited to see us! Happy, not said! WAHOO I thought! It looked like he was holding another little one’s hand…

Here comes our cute little pilgrim! He told us he was going to be a “pilgram in the progrim!” :)

“OOOH!” I thought! That little hand he was holding, it is his baby brother!!!! You could see the look on Noah’s face “Where’s my Mama and Daddy?” I was frantically waving as my heart pounded thinking “Andy stay there with bubba, no crying, k?” But all that hoping worked out! Andy spotted us…

…looked to his brother to make sure all was okay….

…Noah kept walking taking Andy along with him….

…And there they were. My two little boys…on the left hand side. Among all their little friends ready to perform. ….sigh…..

Our two big boys. They did such a great job! So cute. I love our little indian and “pilgram”!

Not feeling great....

2010-11-08T10:39:00.002-06:00

Noah has been feeling really yucky the past couple of days. He falls asleep very easily and in the most random positions and places. We had plans this past weekend to go camping, but we heard it was going to be in the 30's at night and decided we should camp at home instead...so we did not freeze! Friday night Noah fell asleep in the big blue chair with his hood and play cowboy hat on too. We thought he was just tired, since he had not napped. We decided to forgo camping in the living room since he was already asleep. Saturday morning we woke up and went to the zoo. It was so fun taking Josh and we did not take a stroller, which was awesome! Just us, the boys and the camera bag. We had walked for over an hour and Noah sat down on a bench and said "I am done." We went to the car and drove home. At that point Noah just said he was tired, he did not have a fever or anything. We get home and the poor kiddo had a 103 temp! No symptoms, just a fever. ONCE he had coughed like a barking seal, so I made a doctors appointment. They said it was croup, but he had only coughed once like that! We gave him tylenol, then he watched a movie. Around 7 I noticed he looked kind of dazed and when I spoke to him he was very confused. I took his temp and it was 105.1 :( I called the doctor's office back and they said to take him to the ER. After a forever long wait at the ER they gave him a huge dose of motrin and said to give him tylenol every four hours, then anytime he had a breakthrough fever of 104 to give him motrin. But if he got back to 105 to come back to the ER. It was a long night of setting alarms and giving tylenol, upset tummies for Noah and coughing. He ended up with 104.5 overnight, but never 105 again, thankfully. Yesterday he had moments where he got down to 101, but got back to 104 overnight again. Today he says he is just exhausted, but right now his temperature is 100...so I think he is feeling a bit better! Here is to hoping Andy does not get it!!!

At the ER Noah was just the cutest thing! He played for hours with wiki sticks making different letters and shapes. Then when we were done at 12:30 a.m. he was still the sweetest thing. One of the administrators asked him if he wanted a sticker. He shrugged his shoulders and said "well, sure!" It was funny. She gave him a sticker then he said "Could I have one for my brother too?" It was so nice and so sweet for him to think of Andy when he felt so yucky and it was so late at night!

Silo Christmas Tree Farm Pumpkin Patch!

2010-11-08T10:38:00.002-06:00

A beautiful day. Two new friends. Carter & Noah.

Sweet two year old Andy amongst the pumpkins. Granny, Grampy, Mama, Daddy, Beth and Sarah watched as the little boys climbed on pumpkins and played!

The boys loved the duck races! They played for a long time before moving onto the petting zoo and riding horses and donkeys!

SO beautiful. Little Sarah not long after waking up!

We had such a fun day with our friends!!! It was so fun to share this day with Beth, Carter, Sarah, Granny & Grampy!!!!

My friend, Daddy...

2010-11-03T14:07:00.003-05:00

I was just putting Noah to bed for his nap and he was cold. He asked to sleep in my bed, which was fine by me. He said he wanted to sleep on his Daddy's pillow. Also fine. Then he said something that melted my heart... "I love my Daddy. He is the best Daddy and my favorite friend." I will never forget that moment, so true and so sweet.

**picture from summer of 2008**

School Halloween Fun!

2010-10-28T15:15:00.001-05:00

Today was the big Halloween Party at our boys MDO. They were both (Noah especially) excited for this party! They got to trick or treat the different classrooms all dressed up! Andy was not interested in the Aggie jersey, because of the shoulder pads, but was perfectly happy with his little Texans jersey. They really had a good time today! Noah loved his friends costumes, one kiddo was dressed like Slinky Dog…Noah thought that was super neat. All the kids were adorable!

Our two boys:) I cannot wait to trick or treat this weekend, it will be SO fun!!!

Happy hearts...

2010-10-15T09:16:00.001-05:00

This morning my sweet Noah and I were talking over breakfast. He was eating his cereal and I started coughing...I have not been feeling 100%. He said "Oh Mama, I will cuddle you and make you feel better." I smiled and told him how much it means to me and how much I love him. I walked out of the room to get something and heard his tiny little voice say "That would make God's heart happy too, Mama." It sure feels good to be a Mama, even when I do not feel so good otherwise!

Dinner Time Prayers

2010-10-14T22:05:00.002-05:00

In our house Noah usually starts with the first dinner time prayer, sometimes followed by Josh and then followed by a teenie 'Amen' from Andy. Tonight Josh was gone and Noah said the first prayer, it went like this...
"God, bless Mama, Daddy, Noah, Andy, Allie and all the blessings. Amen." I reminded him of a special little baby L in our lives and his little tummy, so Noah said "Oh and God, make L feel better and thanks for my cups, drinks, food, and blessings. Amen." It was so sweet. I usually just prompt Andy to say "Amen" tonight he said it, then a moment later bowed his sweet little head and said "God, mloamnatni*, Amen"

It was such a sweet moment!!!

*meaning, something I could not understand.

Football and birthday parties!

2010-10-06T15:36:00.005-05:00

Lately Noah's entire world is football. He lives and breathes it. It blows me away. I went to football games in high school for the band and in college to people watch and be with friends. Rarely did my eyes even land on the field. Until now. Noah is absolutely obsessed and asks me all kinds of questions, so I feel the need to actually know the answer! He loves to watch football on TV (Andy does too!) while all decked out in his football gear, he even likes to listen to it on the radio, and this past Friday night got to go to his first real game! It was awesome. We drove to a local small town. It was homecoming and it was packed. The weather was perfect and Noah was about to come out of his skin he was so excited! He sat with my Dad and Josh for most of the game and his eyes never came off the field. I could hear him asking about time outs and uniforms and what are they doing and wow look at that type of comments. It was adorable. Come half time I was really excited. Because you know...everyone comes to football games to watch the band, right?! Noah was interested kind of. Then VERY interested when he realized that two of the saxophone players were football players still in uniforms. Andy was literally freaking out. He was SO excited. He kept yelling "Music, I DO IT. Music, I DO IT." Over and over. Yep, you could say I was seriously happy! I will not keep Noah from playing football (Andy either) but I really think band has a lot less injuries associated with it! We left right after half time. Noah really wanted to stay and finish the game. It was cute to see how really into it was. My Dad even took him down to watch the guys run back on the field and they gave Noah high fives...he was elated!

This past Saturday we went to see Thomas train, it was so fun! When we got home and put the boys to bed Andy woke up and said "Ride Thomas" smiled and then just went back to sleep. It was the sweetest thing! In some ways he is really starting to talk and communicate. He still has moments of frustration where he does not know how to say what he is thinking, but for the most part can tell me if he wants Mickey Mouse cheese or yellow cheese, chocolate or plain cookies, etc. He even has a preference in clothes, both the boys want shorts and basketball shirts ALL the time. So funny.

I cannot believe this sweet little boy is going to be two in just two days. Sigh. He has the biggest heart of any child I have ever met. When our little buddy we watch gets fussy Andy says "It's okay buddy, it's okay" and when I have the little one in the Bjorn Andy says "Hold on tight buddy, hold on tight!" It is precious. He really loves bible class and loves school. He does not cry at all any more! For a couple of days he cried for about thirty seconds, but now he walks into class and kisses me bye and is ready to play. Now if only the kids would quit pushing him:(

We are in full party mode around here. Last night Josh took the boys to the mall for pizza and their first cookie cake (which resulted in Noah up with indigestion and Andy awake til 10!) but they had so much fun. I got all of Andy's presents wrapped and favors done, tomorrow I will grocery shop and finish up laundry folding and putting away and then we should be ready to party! I am excited. And sad. My sweet baby is growing up and I cannot slow the clock! But he is turning out to be so handsome and so kind and so unbelievably grateful. He always says Thank You and really and truly means it. But when I look at him, all I ever want to do is look at God and tell Him thank you. This little boy is truly a blessing.

Just Because Fun Party

2010-09-24T20:08:00.002-05:00

Every once in awhile we have a fun party. No birthday or special occasion, just because. Tonight was one of those nights! I made dips and taquitoes (simple but fun) and had fun party plates and those little blower toys that shoot the thing out when you blow (great description, I know). We popped popcorn and watched Polar Express and had fun cups for milk shakes. The boys were beside themselves with excitement. Noah kept saying "Mama, you the best party put togetherer EVER!" and Andy came and patted me on the arm and said "Mama, me happy." SIGH. Melt my heart. And made me realize THIS is why I signed up for this job. I love these boys more than anything and enjoying these simple moments of joy with them is better than anything in the entire world.

Turning 30 is not so bad…

2010-08-26T15:38:00.001-05:00

My 30th birthday was truly my best birthday yet! We spent it playing on the beach, going to Schlitterbahn, camping, and eating at my favorite breakfast place Mosquito cafe. Josh made my traditional birthday pie (chocolate pecan). Noah was completely confused by the lack of cake:) but I was completely thrilled with my pie! I got all kinds of fun presents and enjoyed playing on the beach more than anything! I have TONS of photos, something like 400, but here are some of my favorites from the weekend. I am so in love with our boys. I fall deeper in love with them every day. Even the days they are crazy couch jumpers! Being their Mama is really the best birthday gift!!!

First Week of MDO....

2010-08-26T14:11:00.003-05:00

Our boys have grown up so much! This week marked a big event in our house. BOTH our boys started MDO. Noah was so excited to be back with all of his friends. The summer program was only one day a week and many of his little friends were not there. Andy was starting for the very first time! I was so excited and nervous for him. It would be the longest we would be apart while he was with non-family members.

The week started off with a Meet the Teachers Open House on Monday night. We were all SO excited to find out that Noah would have Ms. Cindy again, his teacher from last year! He just adores her, so that was really fun news. All the teachers are great up there, but for some reason Noah has this huge attachment to Ms. Cindy:) We then met Andy's sweet teacher, Ms. Amanda. She is a cute young girl, who is very good with the little ones. We dropped off our supplies and went on for an ice cream treat at Maggie Moo's. Noah was so funny, he said "Ice Cream School is fun!" Noah picked half strawberry, half chocolate with rainbow sprinkles and we got Andy half vanilla, half chocolate with rainbow sprinkles. They kept trading ... it was pretty funny!

Tuesday morning was fun, packing up their backpacks and talking about school. I of course HAD to get pictures of them dressed for school., just like I did with Noah last year. Andy was SO excited about his Buzz packpack and lunchbox.

Drop-off for Noah was a breeze. He took off running to his classroom and barely looked back. Andy on the other hand was a bit more timid. He was playing with toys and fine when I left. I then ran errands, came home and made a big mistake...I started sorting through Andy's baby clothes to return the borrowed items. NEVER ever look through your childs baby clothes the first day they are at "school" without you! YIKES. I was a mess missing him. BUT, the amount I got done in that 3 1/2 hours was amazing. The boys eat lunch at school, then I pick them up right after lunchtime. Andy was so excited and did not cry, which I feared he would do! They said he spent most of his day knocking on the door though, which made me sad. They said the only time he participated was during a dance party - silly boy.

Today was their second day going and it was great! Andy fussed for a minute when I went to drop him off, but I stood around the corner and listened and he was quiet within 30 seconds, so that was good. When I went to pick them up Noah's teacher said he had a great day, because of his best buddies from last year came! Andy's teacher said he was such a helper eating his lunch unassisted, played with the other kiddos, only cried when everyone in the class was crying at once, and would not let go of her hand walking to the playground! I am so proud of my big boys! I got a lot done around the house today too, including playing with the sweetest four month old around that I watch:)

All in all, an okay week for my boys:)

Still exist...

2010-07-30T08:57:00.003-05:00

Howdy! I promise I still exist! I have been so unbelievably busy and overwhelmed lately, but will get caught up in posts before long. We got so many cute pictures in the last couple of months, hopefully I can make some time soon to process them all!

In the last month we have had a couple of camping trips, I started watching the sweetest little baby boy, Josh's Granny got VERY sick with a staph infection in her blood, my Mom had a heart attack and ended up in the hospital for over a week total, my folks house had an A/C leak which made the ceiling in my old bedroom collapse and the same in the dining room below, the boys and I got sick twice with nasty sinus stuff and Noah dislocated his elbow (nursemaids elbow). It has been one crazy month. Josh's Granny is still fighting and has some good days and some real bad. I spent time helping my folks box up some of their things in preparation for getting their house repaired, which was inbetween my Mom's hospital stays. My Mom had two cath procedures, one which resulted in a stent being placed in her main artery which was 80% blocked. She is doing a lot better. The boys and I are still fighting the latest round of sinus and tummy junk and Noah's arm is thankfully fine. What a crazy time. I have seen blessings in all this, but have found myself overwhelmed.

The blessings....So many sweet family and friends really stepped up and showed their true sweet nature in all of this. From emotional to physical support, I know we needed each of them to lean on. Josh and his Mom got to go visit his grandparents. He so enjoyed that time with them and I know how different a visit can be with or without the kids. I am so glad he got to go without them, it makes for a much more focused visit, which I know he needed. My Mom is okay, which is amazing. I was so worried and she has many follow up appointments, but for now, all is okay. And on a personal note, I tend to be an emotional eater. This past month I was determined not to use that as an excuse and joined Weight Watchers. Not only did I not emotionally eat, I lost 7 pounds so far in my first three weeks on WW. After Noah was born I did it and lost 40 pounds...then I found out I was pregnant with Andy. I am so glad to be headed back towards my old and more comfortable size.

Well, hopefully pictures to come soon! I have a lot of catching up to do!

OH NO, the BIG 30

2010-07-04T20:08:00.003-05:00

I think I might panic. I did not think turning 30 was going to phase me, but I guess just the thought has me a bit freaked out! Granted, Noah and I are sick, therefore have spent the WHOLE day on the couch reading and watching movies. While choosing to get lost in my thoughts rather than watch Bambi, this all went through my head.... I am starting to wish I had just watched Bambi.

Why I am freaked out about turning 30....
-it is an unknown. I like the known, not the unknown. I know 20's, 30's not so much. They are just SO close to 40's...then ya know...
-where am I going to live out my 30's? 20's I kind of knew...or at least I thought I did....30's no idea where this will take us.
-this next decade feels like it is filled with more decisions than I could ever imagine. Like....what schools will give our kids the best education, what activities should they be or not be involved in, are we happy with two kids, or not?, are we going to buy and restore an old house like we dream or literally build one ourselves (and I mean OUR selves, with just some hired out contractors) ....and the list goes on...

Why I am excited about turning 30....
-I guess it is just another number, but it is another reason to eat cake!
-I get to do so with an amazing family
-Even though the idea of death seriously scares the pants off of me, it means I am that much closer to hopefully being in God's kingdom

Things I hoped to accomplish by 30 and now hope to accomplish by 31...
-run a 5k
-get back in shape, and not a round shape, a fit shape!
-order and organize all our kids photographs
-get an etsy shop set up to sell my picture frames - make said picture frames!
-enter craft sales in the area to sell frames
-read more. I love reading, it is one of my true passions, but since having kids I have not taken the time
-learn to enjoy the gym. Not just for the uninterrupted shower time while the kids are in childcare, but enjoy actually moving around and doing something good for myself.

Things I did that were on my by 30 list...
-learn how to use photoshop elements (I still have a lot to learn, but I have come a long way!)
-have all our children (I am not sure if this is accomplished or not, we are pretty happy with two, but our not opposed to the idea of another, but for some strange reason I always wanted to be done by 30...no idea now why)
-attended Financial Peace University and got something out of it!
-go at least once a year to a bed and breakfast with my husband
-go on one big trip with my husband
-start going on individual "dates" with my two littlest loves

Well...just one month and four days to go until the big 3-0! I cannot wait to celebrate! :)

Happy Birthday, blog!

2010-07-02T20:04:00.001-05:00

Today is my blogs second birthday!!!

I have had so much fun over the past two years documenting our little boys and their craziness:) I cherish my two readers and the few comments I get, thank you guys for keeping updated on our sometimes fun, sometimes hectic and sometimes boring lives!!!! Have a super Happy and safe Fourth of July!!!!

Heard in our Car....

2010-06-16T09:12:00.002-05:00

We are all sitting in the truck, driving down the road, headed towards home.
Noah: "Daddy, are you going to come to MY house?"
Josh: "Well, yes sweetie, I am. I live at your house too. Your house is also MY house."
Noah: "Oh Daddy, that is just silly, you live at Ralf Co*."

......

SO. Who else thinks this means Josh has been working WAY too many hours if your son now thinks you live at work and visit home. So sad. Josh and I were laughing so hard we were practically crying and Noah was so confused because he did not understand what was funny. Ooops. :)

*Changed company name for privacy reasons:)

Practice Makes Perfect

2010-06-14T23:26:00.001-05:00

Noah has been playing pretend a lot lately….he came to me the other day with his little doggie and wanted a blanket wrapped around him (swaddling blanket) and a bottle. At first he was calling the baby our friends little boys name and saying “I love you” and then it became “I am the Daddy, I need to take care of my baby!” It was so cute. He fed his baby. He rocked his baby, he read him stories, he shook baby toys in front of him, he let him rest while ‘Daddy’ ate dinner, even checked on him in the middle of dinner, and told Allie to shush the baby was sleeping. It was absolutely the sweetest thing to watch what he has learned from us! THEN – Andy came wagging a blanket and blue bear at me! I wrapped it up, Noah sweetly handed over the bottle and Andy fed his baby too! It was so cute to see our little boys playing with their babies. Some day I think they will be just as good with their little babies as their Daddy is with them! :)

Nun-Nun…

2010-06-11T23:17:00.001-05:00

Andy: ‘OOOOhhhhh, NUN-NUN!’

Mama: ‘Andy, can you look at the camera, show me Nun-Nun!’

Andy: Gazes lovingly at his new Nun-Nun

Mama: ‘Andy, what you got there?’

Andy: completely in his own world, totally unaware of his Mama’s presence…really ignoring that black thing she is waggling at him trying to get him to pose for…

**smooch, slobber, squeeze, smother….

Welcome to our home new Nun-Nun. You are one loved monkey by one completely fixated, Nun-Nun focused, furry loving little fellow! We are so happy you found us!

….If you did not know, our beloved first Nun-Nun, sweet yellow sock monkey, had a sad experience in our washing machine. His face became injured and he had to be retired. We waited ten LONG days for the new and improved Nun-Nun to come via airmail from Canada. Each night crying out for and needing our sweet lovey. It was one happy night when Daddy came in from work carrying the new Nun-Nun. In a sleepy state, Andy latched onto him with both hands, said ‘NUN!’ and closed his eyes back. Oh Nun, how we love you so!

…If you like our Nun-Nun, you can buy your own, here.

Take me out to the Ball Game! – June 5, 2010

2010-06-11T22:45:00.001-05:00

Josh’s company had their summer get together at the Dell Diamond to watch the Round Rock Express play the Nashville Sound. It was SO much fun! Noah was hilarious, he was sitting in my lap saying, ‘Mama, please no talkin’, I really tryin’ to watch the ball!’ He takes baseball SO seriously.

Well, almost as seriously as he takes himself:)…

Andy really seemed to enjoy the game too, but the highlight for him was the lemonade and popcorn his Daddy got him! He must be going through a growth spurt, because all he wants to do is eat!

Well, food and then getting to snuggle Daddy is ALWAYS a good thing!!! Our boys have been missing Josh like crazy during this last job he has been doing!!!

We truly cannot wait to go out to another ball game. We all had so much fun and really enjoyed our evening!!!!

San Antonio – Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-11T22:37:00.001-05:00

Life has been so crazy lately that we just have not has as much time as we would like to visit with family, but we finally had a quick weekend to go play!!!!

My Granddaddy:)

Good times in Granddaddy Bob’s yard!

We had more fun playing in the sprinklers, playing games, visiting, watching shows and just being together! I wish it could happen more often!!!

The boys playing Ants in the Pants! My Dad and Kyle got put to work blowing up different parts to our new slip n slide!

I am pretty sure this is a ‘why are you taking my picture?’ kind of face, but I love that face….so I have to take it’s picture! :)

I am not quite sure why, but this is really one of my favorite pictures from the whole weekend! The expression on Bobbi’s face just cracks me up! It just says ‘I really hope he does not spray me with that water gun!!!’

Playing on our new two laned slip n slide!

Going…..

…going…

…gone!!!!

…and then really gone:)

Playing with family sure does tucker a little boy out!!!!

Brotherly Love!

2010-06-11T22:02:00.001-05:00

Our boys definitely have their moments as crazy people, but lately have been becoming good friends too! I love watching them race their cars together, throw balls to each other, watch TV together, play in forts Daddy builds out of blankets in the house together…and even join one another in time out! It is so neat to see them become friends. For so long Noah did not understand why Andy could not talk or play and now Noah is so excited about Andy participating in the big boy activities!

Pushing Cars in the Kitchen

Watching movies together

Playing in the yard after painting on the porch!

Andy joining Noah in time out:)

The past twenty months have been pretty crazy with these two little boys and this last picture really makes me smile. Even though Noah is in time out, most probably for something he did to Andy, it makes me so happy to see them hug and be gentle with one another! I love that they love each other!!!!

Mother’s Day – May 9, 2010

2010-06-11T20:57:00.001-05:00

Mother’s Day is really one of my favorite days of the year! It is just always so much fun! We started off our day in a good way – hanging out in the teepee!

Dressed and ready for church!

I do not like the kids to stand up on the hearth, but do not mind if they sit on it. This is how Andy was choosing to go across it. I guess he figured if he had his hands down he was not standing, therefore it must be okay! So smart to be so young!

My Mom and I with our boys on Mother’s Day!

Mother’s Day Weekend!

2010-06-11T19:51:00.001-05:00

Andy painting for the first time at the kitchen table! He has painted outside often, but never inside. He did great! I was covered in paint after he was done, so no pictures of the masterpiece:)

The boys riding in the bike trailer TOGETHER for the first time! I was seriously nervous, but they really did great! We only had to stop once to have a talk about behavior and the talk was with Andy, not Noah! It was so fun to go for a bike ride all together!

I had a ton of fun decorating the house for Mother’s Day! That Saturday both sets of our parents came over to play, eat a tasty dinner and make stepping stones. The pictures are of Judy, my Mom, Josh, me, Kristin, Chris and the boys…I made all my favorite photos into black and white prints and hung them or placed them around the house.

We got each of our Mom’s a plant and put one on each table.

Josh and the boys made these precious cards for me! The one on the left was Andy’s handiwork with Josh’s help and the one on the right Noah’s. The pictures in front are collages I had made for our Mom’s of all the photos I had hung around the house for the day.

My beautiful hydrangeas and lavender roses from my three guys!

Outside playing!

Making our stepping stones. Hard to believe this was my fourth Mother’s Day! I love looking back at how tiny the boys feet were in my past stepping stones!

We had so much fun playing all day Saturday with my folks and Josh’s. I knew the next day would be even more fun! I love celebrating holidays, Josh always makes me feel so special!

Father’s Day Present!

2010-06-11T14:17:00.001-05:00

I will start this with Josh NEVER reads my blog….so here is for hoping he does not get a whim in the next week and two days to do so! Anyways, what do you think? I am so excited about how this is turning out! I am a bit bummed that I took the middle photo horizontally and not vertically. I took another one of the boys with that D that turned out cute, but it was way overexposed and I could not edit it to fix it. Do you think it looks okay with the middle one horizontal or should I try to take another picture with that one? Now I just have to figure out a frame! I had one I liked, but then changed my mind since they are not all going the same direction. Maybe I need to just go buy one and have a mat cut! Honest opinions, please!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

*****

EDITED TO ADD:

I received some feedback that although the horizontal picture was nice, it would be good to try to see if I could make the other one work. The color blue in the second D above is the true color. The color blue below is as good as I could get it:( I really like the turquoise, it seems to pop more. SO – more honest opinions, which one now????

Thanks, friends! I think Josh will LOVE it!!!!

Funny Noah...

2010-06-07T16:30:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Noah asked me to help him put back together his crash and go speedway. I said "Sure, PeeWee." He looked at me and said "Mama, Grampy calls me PeeWee." I said "Then what do I call you?" He replied "Hyper." Yup, I guess I do! :)

Tarzan and piggy banks?

2010-05-27T15:46:00.001-05:00

Yesterday Noah was getting dressed and both of his feet went through one of his short legs. He started laughing and said “ha! I look like a merman!” Then he said “Nah, not a merman, I look like Tarzan!” That sparked a huge conversation between the two of us. He then informed me that Tarzan is a girl. I tried to explain that Tarzan is actually a boy. He is unbelievably adamant that Tarzan is a girl, because he has on a skirt. It does not matter what I say, in Noah’s mind Tarzan is a girl. He has brought it up numerous times today, saying “Mama you are silly thinking that Tarzan is a boy!”

Then today we went to Hobby Lobby. He informed me that Hobby Lobby is my favorite store, but that Red Robin in his. I guess he really was hungry for a hamburger! While at Hobby Lobby we saw some massive Thomas train sets for sale. He asked me to buy him one. I explained that I did not have any money set aside to purchase a Thomas the trains set. We have TONS of trains at home and that one says it is for nine year olds! He then said he would ask his Daddy to buy it, because Daddy has money in his pocket. I told him that yes, Daddy may have money in his pocket, but most probably that money is intended for something else, like groceries, etc. So then Noah quickly remembered his piggy bank. He told me we needed to go home and get the money out of his piggy bank to buy it. I tried to explain that after putting money in a bank it is a good idea to leave it there and save. He said “what’s that mean, Mama?” so I explained that saving means you end up with lots of money and then you can choose what to use that money for. He very sternly and honestly said “Well Mama, I do not want lots of money. I want lots of toys.” At least he is honest:)

Festivals…

2010-05-21T15:27:00.001-05:00

This Spring we have enjoyed going to a couple of festivals here in Central Texas! We drove to Somerville and went camping at the State Park and attended the Cotton Gin Festival. That is an annual trip we do with both our sets of parents. I have tons of photos I have been editing from that trip, but my favorite was this… Our two boys in their blue bell shirts watching the parade awaiting the excitement of the tractor pull! Oh Southern fun, I LOVE it so much:) The boys had a blast! Hopefully I can get all the other pictures posted soon:)

We also went to the Dewberry Festival with my parents. That was on April 24th. The boys had a blast. Noah climbed up this huge inflatable and went down the slide…about twenty times. The boys road about twenty times on these little trucks on a track and then fed the ducks on the pond. It was so fun!

Before we left we took some more pictures of the kiddos…

Taking all these pictures of the kids reminded me of last year, at the same park, taking pictures of the boys. Wow have they grown and changed…

It is amazing the difference a year makes!!!

Carnival Ecstasy, Thursday, April 29, 2010

2010-05-21T12:20:00.001-05:00

COZUMEL, MEXICO!

Our ship met up again with the Triumph as we docked in Cozumel. It was a pretty hazy day, which really made for good weather for our trip to the beach. It sprinkled a bit, but was not overly hot.

Our excursion took us on a short fifteen minute bus ride to a beach resort area called Playa Mia. It was fantastic! Sodas and drinks were included, along with a buffet lunch that was cooked with treated water, there were hammocks, a swimming pool, inflatable iceberg to climb out in the water, snorkeling, paddle boats, kayaks, and LOTS of lawn chairs. It was fantastic!

When we got back to the pier we looked around some of the shops and had our picture taken with this painted dude…. kinda creepy!

We had a really fun day in Cozumel!!!When we returned to the boat we were surprised to find out we had left behind three people the day before in Progresso and two people that day! Carnival is not kidding when they say you need to be on time for the boat to pull back out into the ocean.

That night we enjoyed a comedy show and more karaoke. It was a lot of fun!!! They even had a scavenger hunt we participated in and our team tied for first place! We had a blast!!!

On Friday morning we woke up and it was time to get ready to go. I was sad to leave but I was also SO happy to head home to our sweet little boys! I was able to talk to them on the phone every day. The ship had internet service and we had changed our phone to an international plan for that week…but it did not make it any easier. I missed them like crazy. The boys were so excited for us to get home, it was such a good feeling!!!

Carnival Ecstasy, Wednesday, April 28, 2010

2010-05-21T09:24:00.001-05:00

PROGRESO, MEXICO & UXMAL MAYAN RUINS!

Josh and I woke up EXTRA early this morning. We were SO excited to see land and thought it would be neat to watch the ship pull into the port for debarkation. We were surprised to be the first ones out on the deck that morning. Slowly other people joined us, but probably in total only 15 people. It was beautiful to watch the sunrise and see the land in front of us. There were lights on buoys in the water to guide us in. Reminded me of a landing strip at an airport.

When we pulled into dock we were surprised to see another Carnival Cruise ship, the Triumph out of New Orleans, LA.

OUR SHIP….

The dancers that welcomed us to shore…

The SUPER duper crazy view on the way down the pier from our cruise ship. I read it is the longest pier, it ran five miles long…from the ship into the town of Progreso. I was so scared, there was no guard rail, just a tiny line of brick height things along the side of where our bus was going 40 mph as hugging the side of the road. Josh took the picture. I was seriously staring at my feet. Out of sight, out of mind, right?!?

Our first view of the main temple at the Mayan ruins in Uxmal.

I LOVED the architecture of this doorway.

From the top of one of the temples…

It was one of my favorite days of the whole trip! I loved getting off the boat for the day and I LOVED going to the Mayan ruins. The history was amazing, we got to mail our sweet boys I missed so badly a post card and like the last Mayan ruins I went to in Chichen Itza, this time I DID NOT have any trouble problems!!! :)

Carnival Ecstasy, Tuesday, April 27, 2010

2010-05-19T23:06:00.001-05:00

FUN DAY AT SEA!!!

This is what we woke up to. AMAZING. Seriously amazing. We could not see anything. Well, we could see something. Water. Lots and lots of water. I was amazed at the fact we could see the curvature of the Earth! I had NO idea we would be able to see that. But NO land. NO boats. NO oil rigs. Nada. So cool. So scary too. Josh was seriously digging the solitude. I handled it fine during the day. It was nighttime when Josh wanted to stand next to the railing and I could not see beyond it, just black…I did not like that so much!

Check out my date for the week? :) Looking down the side of the ship into the water. I LOVED the blue color of the water. Isn’t that a gorgeous shade of blue?

The jogging track on the top of the ship looking back towards the waterslide and off the back of the boat.

Oh … this. It was kinda gross. We took a picture of the happenings, but not the specifics! It was a “Men’s Hairy Chest Contest.” I HAD to go. I guess curiosity of what type of person would enter themselves into this just got the best of me. What amazed me…two of the dudes were completely hairless! Strange. It ended up being kind of fun. Thankfully, we were not standing too close:)

Looking off the back of the boat. It was one of my favorite things to do. SO beautiful.

Such a fun day! We even took a two hour nap, watched a movie, and went to Karaoke. We did NOT participate, but thoroughly enjoyed watching others! We sat with people we met at lunchtime, which was fun too!

The Tuesday night animal:)

Carnival Ecstasy, Monday, April 26, 2010

2010-05-19T22:46:00.001-05:00

EMBARKATION DAY! Galveston, Texas

Me…being totally dorky and beyond excited about getting on the cruise ship! After waiting in line for almost three and a half hours everyone was a tad bit giddy about checking things out!!!

Right after getting on the ship we decided to grab a bite to eat. The buffet and salad bar on the Lido deck were open, so we went and had a quick lunch. Then it was time to check out our room and explore the whole ship! We were SO excited!!!!

Here I am…thinking “okay, at least I have a lifejacket in the room in case the Ecstasy is the next Titanic.” I am serious. I really was thinking that…which is why I look a little bit too excited to be holding that lifejacket!

The ship had so much to offer! From putt putt golf, to ping pong tables, a pool, hot tubs, water slides, casino, comedy clubs, restaurants, piano bars, movies in your room, and even a library!

As we were pulling out of the ship channel we saw ALL of these John Deere tractors! We knew Noah and Andy would get a huge kick out of it!

Our boat finally pulled out to shore around 4:30…while we were in our safety briefing! I was a tad disappointed to miss it. I thought there would be fanfare and waving and streamers and hoopla. I guess I have seen too many movies. We went to a “Bye Bye Land” party, then we continued to scope things out! We seemed to be the only ones exploring every nook and cranny of that boat…everyone else was already into their swimsuits and sitting by the pools!

About an hour after heading out an announcement was made that one of our fellow passengers had a medical emergency and we were heading back to Galveston. Once we got fairly close back to port a coast guard boat met us and they lowered the passenger down the side of the ship into their boat. It was unbelievable to see. I felt so bad for him and so badly for his family. The staff was so good keeping us updated and saying they were praying for him, it was very nice how they handled it all.

That night we ate dinner for the first time at the Wind Star Dining Room…where we met their amazing dietary hostess, Moneka. She was AWESOME. Seriously. I gained weight…meaning if a Celiac girl can go on vacation and gain weight, not get into gluten and gain weight, some one did their job a little bit too right, oh..and I also probably should have had a bit more self control. But that is for another post, another day:) Not only was the food good, but the company was even better! Josh and I had more fun getting to sit and talk to each other, eat a meal and not feed anyone else. It was a nice break, but kind of strange too!

Each night when we returned to our room…we had chocolates and a towel animal on our bed! We looked forward to checking out the newest animal every night!

Our sweet, adorable cabin steward met us this night and said “Hello Amy and Josh!” We both kind of startled…thinking, “he knows OUR names?” Well, EVERYONE on the boat knows your name. The staff is amazing and made us feel so at home!

Noah and Andy cuddling in bed:)

2010-05-13T20:13:00.001-05:00

The Little Red Caboose

2010-05-13T19:24:00.001-05:00

Noah’s favorite book is The Little Red Caboose. He wants to read it every night before bed.

Today I saw him pick the book up and then he said to Andy “come here buddy, I’ll read you a book.” I quickly grabbed my camera and followed them…. :) Make sure you turn your volume ALL the way up!

I love these boys!!!

Mexican Salad

2010-05-12T09:32:00.001-05:00

Whenever we go to a potluck I seem to bring fruit or some sort of salad. EVERY time I make this salad we come home with an empty bowl, it is always a huge hit!

MEXICAN SALAD

1 head iceberg lettuce
1 head leaf lettuce
3/4 c. red onion, minced
1 (4 oz.) can Ortega Chilies, diced
1 (3 1/2 to 5 oz.) can pitted black olives, sliced
6-8 radishes, chopped fine
Avocado slices (optional)
1 med. can "Mexican Style" stewed tomatoes, drained
1/2 lb. Cheddar cheese, grated
Med. bottle of Ranch dressing
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/8 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. cumin powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 lb. corn chips, broken

Chop lettuces into bite-size pieces. Add onion, chilies, olives, radishes, avocado, tomatoes and cheese.

In a separate bowl, mix Ranch dressing, chili powder, coriander, cumin powder, garlic powder, and paprika. Stir well and mix into the salad. Just before serving top with corn chips.

Coming home from a potluck with requests for a recipe and an empty bowl works for me!

Two singing boys…

2010-05-09T15:45:00.001-05:00

Andy singing “Rock a baby, in the tree top….”

Noah singing another one of his versions of “Hush Little Baby.”

Noah singing “Rock a bye Baby”…I cannot help but laugh each time as he says “when the dow breaks:)”

Noah singing “You are my Sunshine!”

Why I love being a Mama….

2010-05-08T14:49:00.001-05:00

Above are the two reasons I love being a Mama. Their Mama. I cannot imagine any day without those two boys! I look forward to the ordinary. Noah waking up every morning and asking me “Mama, you sleep good?” and Andy yelling “MAMA!” and then always asking for his “nun-nun” as he is getting out of bed. I love that they eat breakfast right as they get up, then want their milk. I love that they love to push cars, and play trains, and both of them cannot see me laying on the floor on my tummy without coming and sitting on my back. I love that when I say “Let’s Go!” Andy is the first to the shoe basket and starts passing out everyone’s shoes. I love the ordinary everyday things like how we work all getting to the car with no one ending up out in the street. I love the excitement on their faces when they hear the front door open and “DA!” is home. I love that they practically trip over their feet scrambling to get scooped up and loved on when we walk in the door after having been gone, even if being gone meant going out to get the mail. I love that every single night ends with Noah wanting to “cuddle just a little longer.” I love being a Mama. But more than anything, I love being Noah and Andy’s Mama.

Happy Mother’s Day to my Mama, Josh’s Mom, my Grandma and Josh’s Granny. We love you all! Happy Mother’s Day to all my sweet friends that are Mommy’s too:)

Andy Says...

2010-05-07T22:16:00.003-05:00

Andy has become quite the little chatterbox, since this last post!

He now says...

backpack

hmmmm...tasty!

I did it!

Pee Pee

lallow (means car, which I think started with him trying to say Lightning McQueen)

Nun-nun (his little lovie, which is a monkey and since he could not say it, he said nun-nun and it stuck!)

Daddy (sometimes he still says Da or Dada)

Allie

Amen

Watch

Apato (potato)

Yes

dog

milk

walk

I cannot believe this sweet little guy will be nineteen months old tomorrow!!!! Where has the time gone!?!

Hush Little Baby…

2010-05-07T21:14:00.001-05:00

“Hush little baby, don’t say a word,

Mama’s gonna buy you a Flyin’ bird.

If that flyin’ bird don’t fly,

Mama’s gonna buy you a Lightning McQueen.

If that Lightning McQueen don’t go,

Mama’s gonna buy you a Chick Hicks.

If that Chick Hicks isn’t green,

Mama’s gonna buy you a Cow.

If that Cow doesn't make noise,

Mama’s gonna buy you a remote control car.

If that remote control car doesn’t turn,

Mama’s gonna buy you a hmmmm…how does this song go again?”

*Noah’s rendition of ‘Hush, Little Baby’ while driving home from having dinner with Josh:)

Potty news…

2010-04-15T19:08:00.001-05:00

Previously I posted my potty questions about Noah. Months ago I should have posted an update. He is doing SOOOO great. I am so proud of him for finally getting it. Once he believed that Pampers only made diapers for him for sleeping times, there was no looking back!

And that leads us to the past few days. Andy is SO very curious and watches everything we all do. He just turned 18 months and is still very much a baby, but at times such a big boy. It blows me away. Two days ago I caught Andy jiggling the child lock on the bathroom door saying “peepee!” I was shocked. I actually do not call it going ‘peepee,’ but figured that is what he wanted since he was at the bathroom. I got him in there and put him on the potty. He had actually just gone in his diaper. I was amazed that he put together the fact that he had just gone with the thought of using the potty.

Yesterday Andy did it again, shook the knob and yelled “peepee!” I ran to him, got him on the potty and he PEED! I could not believe it! He is such a little dude! He was SO proud of himself and I was SO proud of him too! I think that he must have gone to the bathroom two days ago and I just did not make it to him in time, which is why he had just gone!

He even gave me underwear of Noah’s yesterday and told me he wanted the on! So, he had on a diaper, a onesie over that and then Lightning McQueen (or ‘leelow’ to Andy) underwear on over that! It was hilarious and so cute!

Last night after we said our prayers at dinnertime in this sweet little voice, Andy said “amen!” It was so heartwarming to hear such a little one say that!

Andy loves Woody from Toy Story. Which really cracks me up, since Woody ANDY written on his foot! Andy calls him “ooooh ah” which is Andy trying to say “Yee-haw”…which is what Woody says when you pull the string on his back:) Noah is such a sweet big brother. Woody was one of the things Noah asked for for Christmas and he has given it over to Andy, even saying now that it is Andy’s!

Having these boys so close together can be so crazy, but such a blessing too! I love seeing Andy learn such big boy things from his brother and I love seeing Noah’s tender and giving heart with sharing one of his most exciting possessions, just because his little brother loves it too! It melts my heart!

Clothes, just like pots and pans, I sometimes wish they were disposable…

2010-04-14T11:03:00.003-05:00

Oh how they stress me out! Last year I was about the same size I am now, but thought for sure I would lose weight, so I only purchased one pair of capri pants and two shirts for the spring. For the summer time, I got two more shirts and two pairs of shorts. I made do with that. In the winter my folks bought me some clothes, but now that it is warm I had nothing to wear! Josh and I are going on a cruise VERY soon and I HAD to have some cute things to wear, plus for every day! Andy and I went shopping yesterday and I got many cute things, including a new swimsuit. I came home and was SO aggravated. I have a closet full of beautiful clothes. Not one thing in that closet fits me. I have an armoire full of beautiful clothes, in which nothing fits. Then I have piles of clean clothes that do fit and all these new things that fit and NOWHERE to put them. Something is wrong with this picture! So…I am boxing up EACH and every thing that does not fit. I am sure Josh will not want it in the garage, but it does not help my self esteem to stare at size 6 and 8 clothes and see my nice things in a pile. I started pulling everything in our closet out yesterday (then of course I did not get to finish because of two little boys!) but I am determined to change this system. It is not working for me!

Since we moved I have a lot less help than I used to. Josh works longer hours and my parents are not just a couple of miles away. At our old home when the kids outgrew clothes I had them packed up and put away quickly, making room for the new things. Andy’s closet and drawers still have 6-9 and 9-12 month clothes in them. He is wearing 18 months. Noah’s still has 2t pants and 3t shirts, he is now in 3t pants and 4t shirts. I have got to fix this problem too! Hopefully I can get this sorted out asap. I am drowning in clothes that do not fit us!

So I have a question for you.... what do you do with the clothes that do not fit and you hope to wear again? Or the out of season clothes that are taking up space in your small closets? I am in need of a solution!

Bluebonnets

2010-04-12T12:08:00.001-05:00

“Look Mama, a flower for you!”

Words cannot describe what a fantastic time we had running through the fields of blue bonnets. I have never in my life seen so many, especially not that tall and beautiful. We were driven out in the middle of a farm by one of my Dad’s friends on his old homestead. It was such a neat experience and I was so thankful to be invited back next year! Noah LOVED running through the flowers. He would fall down and disappear into them. And many times come up holding one for his Mama. :) Andy was a little more leery of them. I think the fact that they were almost as tall as Andy was the reason why he was not running through them and after Noah!

After going to the bluebonnets and then out to lunch, we went and toured the Blue Bell Factory! Noah loved it so much. We joked afterward that he stared so intensely at everything that he could have drawn a schematic of the factory by the time we left!

Andy surprised me by saying “Walk, Walk, Walk” while I was carrying him at Blue Bell. I sat him down and he took off running! I could tell he loved that I knew what he said to me! It was too cute!

Go here for more pictures on my Dad’s blog!

Egg Dying and yogurt!

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As you can see, Noah LOVED dying the eggs! He thought it was hilarious! We wrote his name in crayon on some, made polka dots on some and he worked VERY hard to make a black one!

He is so funny. He had so much fun over the weekend and is really getting to be such a big boy. He did not even want a nap today. Should be interesting come this evening, since he usually wants a three hour nap!

Noah was wanting a snack, so I got him a yogurt. Which also reminds me of an old post I did about Noah and yogurt! He looked at the container and said “Mama, I do not think I like that kind.” I asked why not, he replied “I like the berry kind, I like the peach kind, but I do not like the leaf kind.” I thought, huh?!? I looked at the yogurt, and it was a mixed berry flavor. Off the end of the strawberry in the picture is a leaf…. He was so serious and really did not want to taste it! I finally convinced him that it did not have leaves in it, just in the picture. He tasted it and decided that it did not taste like leaves after all!

Annual Easter Egg Hunt!!!!

2010-04-06T14:35:00.001-05:00

Every Easter my aunt and uncle have our WHOLE family over for a huge meal and Easter Egg Hunt! It is one of my favorite times of the year. The kids all have so much fun and I LOVE watching them!!!! The kids played in the yard, chased each other around, the younger ones hunted eggs and the older ones played a scavenger hunt to find their eggs. It was a blast!!!!

We played and played and played. And played some more!

Then it was time to hunt eggs galore!

After hunting it was time to eat! Andy munched down on some jelly beans…

…and Noah skillfully unwrapped chocolates….

…and then for my favorite moment of the day…

Noah went to find Andy and said “Let’s have a picnic of treats!”

Family Photos

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The Easter Bunny found us!

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We spent our weekend at my Grandma’s house and thankfully the Easter Bunny managed to find us there! Our boys were so excited about ALL their goodies!

My Grandma, watching the boys play!

All of the fun things Mr. EB left!

“Oooooooh!!!!”

Dad and Andy playing!

We had so much fun playing with all their new toys and munching on all their candy! Mr EB filled Andy’s eggs full of bunny shaped marshmallows and Jelly Belly jellybeans. Noah’s were full of some chocolates and jellybeans. They were so happy to get to taste their candy before breakfast!!

Easter Bunny!

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Hoppy Easter!

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We hope that you had a fantastic and Happy Easter!!!!

C25K Week 2 Day 1

2010-04-03T17:34:00.000-05:00

This morning I did day one of week two at a local middle school track. At first I was pretty excited. The 90 second runs were okay. By the last set I was wiped. I literally said to Josh that I thought the actual 5k would be impossible. He gave me a good pep talk and said “nothing is impossible if you think you can do it. It is definitely impossible if you say you cannot do it!” So……I am pepped up and I CAN DO THIS. Really. I can. Oh no, here I go again needing to convince myself! At least I moved on to week two, that is something, right?!?

C25K Week 1 Day 3

2010-04-02T07:49:00.001-05:00

Last night I finished day three of week one. Surprisingly it was okay! At the end of each of the thirty second running intervals I thought I could keep going! My legs are not even sore today. I am so surprised! Bring it on week two!!!!