Suuuuuuper Dog!

It's just Jack...

Enjoying the beautiful warm weather we had yesterday!  Our little fluff was beyond excited to play and chase the ball in the warm weather!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...

Since we've been playing around with our new camera, Jordan has been really good at trying to learn how to use it.  I have just been turning it on and shooting pictures!  Last weekend Jordan took these cute little pictures of the boys all dressed up to go to a birthday party!  Don't you love the baby handprints on the dishwasher?!

Doesn't JM look like Jordan has forced him to do something awful?!

Silly boys!

 

I don't think he ever got a smile out of Matthew!

So this weekend Jordan decided to try again!  He got some pretty cute smiley shots of the boys messing around!

 

Lovin' it!

We've had a long and full week!  My mom has been visiting, Matthew has the stomach bug, and JM might have a small touch of it too.  I took mom back to the airport this morning so we're all tired!  More pics to come of our beyond-beautiful 75 degree sunny Saturday!  What a wonderful break from winter!  God knows what we need!!

Verse O' the Day:

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

2 Corinthians 9:7

Potty Training for Dummies, Like Me

I have dreaded potty training ever since I slowly started introducing the concept of the potty this summer.  JM had fought me and we have been round and round about it since this summer.

-My mom friends told me not to push it.

I tried and tried to make John Michael understand that if you're dry when you wake up in the morning, or from nap that it means you need to go on the potty!  Please?  Please? I wasn't all that concerned with him being 100% potty trained because to me, it just doesn't matter that my two year old isn't going in the potty.  We have all the time in the world to work on it.

-My mom friends told me not to push it.

I didn't read any books or magazines or anything like that.  I talked to other moms and got some pointers and then one day out of the blue before New Year's Eve, we put him on the potty after naptime and he went.  Just like that!

-I had pushed him on and off for a few months, trying to get him to understand and just at least TRY to go in the potty.

From that moment on we put him in the big boy underwear that I had bought "just in case" and he has only had 2 or 3 accidents.

-Why had I not listened when everyone told me not to push it, it will click when it's time, and he'll go when he's ready?!!

I'm so proud of him for being such a big boy!  He has made potty training so easy and not at all what I expected.  As long I remembered to take him, he would go.  We generally would go every hour and now he generally tells us when he has to go, but I'm always making sure we go a lot.  We are currently working on poop but I know he'll get the concept eventually.

-I'm glad I finally backed off and listened to my friends!

Oh yeah, and one more thing:  We finally figured out John Michael's love language: chocolate.  So yes, we trained with Mini M&Ms and he loves picking one out and he tells me the color!  He's getting to be such a big boy and we're so proud of him!  I'm hoping Matthew might be an early potty trainer since he accompanies us on each potty visit and he just loves sitting on the little potty so much!  You never know!

There have been so many mommy mistakes made by me over the last 2 1/2 years, so Mommy lesson learned: Don't push them, they'll do things when they're ready!

Snow, Snow, Snow

Last week we prepared for our big snow, and it wasn't so big, but it was a good amount!  I felt really bad because I didn't take the boys out to play in our last snow, so I had to come through on this one.  It took forever to get all of us ready to go out and play, but we did it and everyone was fully layered and hopefully warm!

Technically, this was Matthew's first time out in the snow!  Last year we had a few good snow storms, but this was his first time to go out in it and play.  I'm thinking he wasn't all that impressed!

He didn't dislike it, but I think he was tired and then cold and he was done after a few minutes!

John Michael, on the other hand....

loves the snow!  He could have stayed out forever!

Both boys played and Matthew kept falling over and trying to walk through it.

 

Can you tell I'm loving my new camera?!!  These are the first pictures I've posted since we started using it.  All I know how to do it take the cap off, turn it on, and hit the button.  I'm hoping to learn how to use it, but it's really intimidating!  There are so many buttons!

Precious!

And of course, we can't forget our snow-loving little fluff!  Jack loves snow and he loves the run in it and bark and try and eat it!  He also had a great time outside with the boys.

Happy Snow Day face!

Not so happy snow day face!

Later that day, Jordan came a little early so he and John Michael headed outside and got a few extra minutes of fahter/son playtime in while I fixed dinner.  Can you spot Jack in the picture?  He blends in!

And on a fun sidenote: I have really started feeling the baby move a lot this week.  It's always so nice and reassuring to feel fun flutters and movements throughout the day.   I can just almost feel him/her from the outside!  Maybe another 2 weeks or so until we can really feel some movement from the outside!  We will go for our 20 week ultrasound on Valentine's Day but we won't be finding out what we're having!  Surprises make life fun!

A Trip to the Firestation!

Last week our playgroup met up at our local firestation!  It is really nice and new so I was excited to go check it out.  John Michael was pretty excited too!  He really loves fire trucks and we read Curious George and the Fire Fighters almost everyday! 

They have a really cool restored fire truck in the lobby.  All the kids enjoyed looking at it and touching it!

 

Both boys were in their fire truck shirts for the occasion!

John Michael liked the big rocking chairs in the lounge!

Then we got to the best part:  The heated indoor garage that housed all the fire trucks, vehicles, and ambulances!

John Michael was in heaven looking at all the fire trucks!!

The best part was when they let them each get in there and "drive" the fire truck....

his smile says it all!  He loved, loved it so much!  He is still talking about the fire trucks and "amalances" that he saw!

Right after this the fire alarm went off so we had to get out of there pronto!  The other group that was with us didn't get to finish their tour.  I know their kids were sad about that!  We had a great time and I was glad to go do something different.  Next, all of us headed to Chick-Fil-A.  We took up almost the whole restaurant!  Both boys ate well and played their hearts out.

Matthew, my daredevil child, had to be retrieved not once, but twice from the very top where he had climbed to.  He also made it to the top of the enclosed slide and went down head first on his own!  I don't know what I'm going to do with him!

 

Also, last week I decided with all this cold weather that I wanted to make a really hearty meal to warm us up.  I made Pioneer Woman's meatballs and homemade mashed potatoes.  I've never been any good at making mashed potatoes...ever!  These came out so great and just perfect.  It was a really good meal!  The meatballs were wonderful too!  Yummy Pioneer Woman!!

Our Snow Day...In!

Although we didn't end up getting tons of snow, the roads were pretty icy yesterday morning, so we enjoyed having Jordan home for a few extra hours before he headed to work.  It definitely helped break up our day since I knew we weren't going anywhere all day due to the snow!

I knew we had to come up with some fun things to do, so I got out the cheap tablecloth, art easel, and paints and we had an art morning.  JM is NOT fond of anything related to art...ever.  But, Matthew is a true art lover!

We painted with regular paints and little markers...

And I even forced JM to come do a little bit of painting as well.

We got out our new Crayola light pen that turns the color of what you're coloring.  It's pretty cool!

Mainly, Matthew just tried to eat it.  He did really well and I may keep one of his masterpieces and frame it, it's so cute!

After art time we played and played and played in Matthew's room.  The boys played on the slide and we put in our Veggie Tales Toddler Tunes CD.  Jack enjoyed looking out the window at the pretty snow!

They wanted up into the crib and JM gave Matthew a few impromptu big brother hugs.  It was very, very sweet!  He's starting to do more and more of that lately!

Since I'm trying to get both boys to sleep at the same time in the afternoon (for my own sanity and pregnant tiredness!) I didn't put Matthew down for his morning nap.  He fell asleep during lunch!  He was so pitiful!

The weird thing was, he kept eating even though he was asleep.  Weird!

We played even more after lunch and both boys were sooo worn out that they took fantastic naps!  I settled in to watch TV, eat some lunch, and then I rested my head for a little bit before it was time to get up and start dinner.  I am definitely starting to feel better and I fixed dinner last night and the night before!  Shocking!

While I finished dinner, the boys watched Cars so sweetly.  And yes, that is a trampoline AND a drumset in our den.  Hey, I'm just trying to survive a cold winter in the house!

Some Snow & A Check-Up

No rain, snow, fog or sleet could keep me from my 16 week OB check-up this morning!  We only had a slight dusting this morning, so this girl from Alabama decided that I could probably drive to my appointment.  Before we left, it started snowing pretty heavily and I got scared! 

I do not drive if anything white or icy is falling from the sky...that's my rule!  But, I was so excited to go hear the baby's heartbeat that I decided to go against my own rule and risk it!  I left Matthew at his friend's down the road and John Michael went with me.  He acted just great and was so sweet the whole time.  He even pottied twice at the doctor's office!

So I braved it and drove super slow and got us there safely!  I'm pretty proud of myself.  And yes, I know this snow is nothing compared to what our family has in Alabama right now, but it's at least a little bit!

So, onto the drama at the OB office.  Just like my last appointment, they could not find a heartbeat.  I had a mini freak out heart attack while I waited for the ultrasound machine and the doctor.  He immediately got a fantastic image of our little one kicking around, sucking its thumb and moving everywhere.  I breathed a huge sign of relief and said so many prayers of thanksgiving.  The heartbeat was 156 and just from a quick look, everything looked as it should!  I was measuring right under 15 weeks, so that's right on!  I was glad for a healthy check-up and a safe trip driving in the snow!

A Whole Lotta Nothing!

I have no blogged or done much of anything here lately.  I have been completely and utterly exhausted. Exhausted!  I keep hoping that wonderful second semester rush will hit me and I'll start to feel better.  Maybe in another week or two.  Until then, there will be laundry not done, toys on the floor, a really messy kitchen, and a mama who heads for bed around 8:30 every night!  Soooo tired but as with any pregnancy issue, it's soo worth it for that sweet little one! 

Luckily, I have a wonderful husband who picks up so much slack for me and helps me out even after he's had a long, hard day at work himself.  What a blessing he is to me!  He never says no and always asks what he can do for me.  I love him dearly!

Since I've just been trying to survive each day with a 2 and a 1 year old I haven't been taking many pictures at all lately!  I need to do a better job of that!

Matthew fell asleep during lunch the other day!  He was out!  He's in that inbetween napping stage after they hit 1 and they still sort of need a morning nap, but some days they don't.  I don't like that stage.

We've also been reading and reading and reading our beloved "Pete the Cat" book that Uncle Judd got the boys for Christmas.  If you're not familiar with Pete the Cat you should check it out on YouTube!  We watch it every single night and the boys love it!  Matthew constantly goes to the laptop and says "Peeeete!"  We have the book and two Pete dolls!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUubMSfIs-U

Unfortunately, he has also ripped two pages now so we may have to get another book.

We've been so bored we've been playing in laundry baskets...

 but hey, it kept them entertained for quite some time!

Jordan took John Michael to a park one Saturday while I stayed home to let Matthew take a nap.  I got some things done around the house and they had a great time!  The weather was so pretty that day!

I made corn chowder (or chow-dah! as I kept calling it) and made Mom's cornbread to go along with it.  I ate about 4 bites and Jordan ate the rest of it.  Dinnertime is not my best time of day.

This precious little one has been getting into lots, and lots, and lots of mischief lately.  He's got a very distinct personality that is very different from John Michael, so I'm learning to be the mom of a baby who is very destructive and into lots of things.  He's so cute and sweet though, how can I resist?!

John Michael keeps trying to wear my sunglasses (or gasses as he calls them) and then he puts them on Matthew when he's done!

Here's my sweet 2 1/2 year old going to be a haircut with Daddy on Saturday!  He was so good the whole time they were there!  He ate his snack while Jordan got his hair cut and then sat so patiently for his haircut!  Time is moving too quickly!

2010, Our Year In Review

Just for fun, this is a little run-down of what all we did in 2010.  It seemed like a crazy time starting out the year with an almost newborn!  Time flies and it's time to start another year!

January

We started out our new year with lots of snow!  Matthew was still so little and John Michael seemed like a baby still, too.  It was a hard, cold winter in the house with a 20 month old and a little tiny baby!

               

February

February greeted us with even more snow! We took advantage of it and sledded in our driveway!  Matthew was still a little baby but started to be so much more alert and do more things.  John Michael was still working through a few jealousy issues but overall still learning how to be a big brother and language, etc.

      

March

In March Matthew bloomed into our happy, constantly-smiling boy!  We started having some nice, warm days so we were finally able to get outside more and more.  That makes a stay-at-home mama happy!

                        

April

In April we celebrated Easter and really took advantage of the nice, warm days!

May

In May we celebrated John Michael's second birthday with a barnyard themed bash!  It was fun and oh so cute!  Matthew got his big-boy car seat just like brother and the boys really started interacting a lot more together.  It is so sweet to see them starting to really take an interest in each other!

            

June

In June it started to get hot, hot, hot!  We spent more and more time outside with our water hose and I started learning how to juggle two babies at our neighborhood pool.  I'm still learning!  Next summer should be interesting.

                   

July

We headed back home for July 4th and Jordan flew in to meet us.  It was one of the worst trips ever.  Both boys were very, very sick with very high fevers and no one slept.  At least it was enjoyable being with our families for the 4th.  I keep thinking how this coming 4th of July we'll hopefully have a new little one in our arms!  We swam at GaGa & Bop's house and I took advantage of the pool during the boys' naptime!

August

In August Uncle Judd showed up for a surprise visit!  We visited the Animal Safari and Jordan and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary on the 5th!  We spent a lot of time downtown at our Farmer's Market on Saturdays and we usually always played out back or went for a walk after dinner!  I love summer!  John Michael started Mother's Day Out at the end of August.

        

September

September started football season for us and both boys love football!  Matthew started being mroe mobile and creeping and hanging onto furniture.  Our garden was still yielding veggies and both boys love to help Jordan bring in the harvest.  We also visited the Animal Safari one more time and JM got to pet his favorite lemur again.  He loves that lemur!

                    

       

October

A lot happened in October!  Matthew got his first few front teeth, starting eating table food, and was nearly walking!  We celebrated Halloween at church and enjoyed Alabama's wonderful football season!  John Michael is really starting to love going to Mother's Day Out and I can tell he's really taking to it!

November

November seemed like a busy month!  I was so tired and nausous and we found out in early November that we were expecting baby #3!!  We drove home to Alabama to celebrate Thanksgiving and Matthew's first birthday!  Matthew started officially walking and getting into everything all the time!  John Michael's vocabulary seemed to really start taking off as he learned more and more new things at school!

December

In December we told all of our friends about our exciting baby news!  I slowly decorating the house for Christmas and just felt really tired a lot in December.  John Michael enjoyed his first Christmas parade and Matthew slept through it!  John Michael really started opening up more and talking up a storm ALL the time!  His vocabulary and talking took off like lightning at the end of the month and he hasn't stopped since.  He also started potty training; which is going quite well!  He's getting to be a really big boy!  We enjoyed our warm, snuggly Christmas Day in PJs for most of the day!

We had a wonderful 2010 and we cannot wait to see what's in store for 2011.  We are anxiously waiting for the newest little one and we know this year is going to be exciting, tired, and great!