and it begins!

Christmas break officially starts for the boys and me in about 15 minutes! We are going to pick Chad up for practice and then Aiden, Kian and I are spending the night at my parents. Chad will come tomorrow night after his basketball game. Our Christmas will be the morning of the 23rd at my parents. We will leave for Rochester, NY on the 24th and spend time up there until the 30th! I am so excited about this holiday season! I am determined have a wonderful time focusing on our families and on Jesus Christ and am determined to make lots of memories. Aiden especially is so excited and his new favorite thing is playing in the snow (which we now have about 5 inches of). However, he is getting gloves for Christmas, so he doesn't have any right now which limits his time outside.

We hope all of you (the 2 or 3 that read this blog :) ) have a wonderful merry Christmas!

morning madness

This morning we were all eating breakfast. Aiden finished and went to take a bath. Kian was still eating his scrambled eggs. As Aiden was in the bath and Kian was in his booster, I took advantage of the few minutes and starting unloading the dishwasher. Literally I had turned my back for maybe 30 seconds and turned back around to see DISASTER. Kian had taken his scrambled eggs and thrown them all across the room. Let me tell you this kid has an arm! There was scrambled eggs in the carpet! Of course I had to take pictures of it!

A close up of the damage!

I put the boys in the tub and started cleaning up, a couple of seconds later I heard lots of splashing (never a good sign). Kian had dumped buckets of water onto the floor. Yikes. At least I have a decent sense of humor. After cleaning the bathroom floor and washing the boys, I took to the kitchen and cleaned it up. I am finally done and am able to sit down for a couple of minutes. Kian is such a little stinker! Life is never dull with these two!

update

All is well here in Auburn! We have had a great Christmas season (so far). It has been very neat to see Aiden really get into the Christmas spirit. This is the first year he has really enjoyed it and has asked so many questions regarding Christmas. He seems to be growing up so darn fast and I just want it all to slow down! Yesterday after he woke up from his nap, he asked me if we could just sit on the couch and share a blanket. It was so sweet! It is hard to believe that he is almost 4 years old. He is still a daddy's boy though. He is in love with his daddy. I could not be happier with that! Chad is a fantastic father and truely loves being with his boys.

The boys love going to Chad's basketball games. It's a bit stressful though. Watching 2 very active boys and at the same time trying to watch a basketball game can be a little difficult. Chad's team is quite young and has been hammered by injuries. All is all they are doing great, but there have been lots of challenges!

This last week I had the volleyball team over and we decorated sugar cookies and then made plates of various cookies for shut-ins and other various people. We had a great time delivering cookies and it was a very humbling time for me. These elderly women were gems. Not only were they godly woman, they had a way about them that made me want to stay and talk to them, as if I'd known them for years. I wanted to hear their stories of their lives and listen to their advice. They encouraged ME, even though we were trying to encourage them. They were leaving such a godly heritage. I was once again aware what a great family I have. I am so thankful for the legacy my parents have left for me and my children. I always want my kids to know ALL their grandparents and see them often and see how they live.

It's been a little hard for me not seeing all of my family this year. I miss all of the laughs and special memories of us all being together. Part of me is afraid that the relationships won't grow and we'll become distant. But then I realize that God has placed us all at different places and as much as I would like us to all live nearby, that isn't going to happen (at least not right now). It takes effort to keep relationships going; however, its an effort I want to give! Now that we have moved, it's hard to continually keep in touch with people...even though I want to. Life just sorta happens.

I have been in a very contemplative mood recently. I feel as though I am constantly evaluating myself. I have learned quite a bit and am working through lots of stuff. I am so thankful for a God who hears me when I'm feeling irritated and irrational and is patiently molding me into a better wife, mother, and child of God. I am definitely a slow learner and that really frustrates me! I want to "get it" quickly.

I am still struggling a little with not having much of a network of friends here. At times it's hard being a stay at home mom and not having women to get together with or someone to watch the boys if I want a haircut or have an appointment. Still we have much to be thankful and that's what I must choose to focus on.

Our Christmas will be quite busy. Tuesday after Chad's game we are going to my parents for Christmas and then Christmas Eve are leaving for Rochester, NY to spend Christmas with his family. We'll come back the 30th and then he has a basketball tournament on the 2nd and then we'll celebrate Chad and Aiden's birthday on the 3rd! We hope you all have a very merry Christmas!

18 month checkup

Kian had his 18 month checkup today (yes he is 19 months though). The kid's head is huge! He is 93% in head circumference! He is 33 in. tall which is 60% and 25 and 1/2 lbs which is 39%. He hates the doctor. I mean HATES the doctor. He basically screams from the time the nurse comes in at the beginning until after the nurse gives him his shots at the end. He just doesn't like new people very much. I think it freaks him out. The doctor said this is normal for his age, but this "stage" has been going on for about a year! Kian also has meluscum (Aiden had it too). It is a viral infection that manifests itself on the skin. It can last for years and is very hard to get rid of. Aiden went through a long process to get rid of his and he still has some. Kian also has eczema and might have croup. All in all he is quite healthy. I think both of my boys just have sensitive skin.

Needless to say, with Kian crying a lot and Aiden not obeying well, it was a long appt! I am glad we are finished with it, but am very thankful for healthy kids!

oh man, I'm in trouble.

Kian is now 19 months old. Crazy how time flies. He is quickly flying into terrible two! We are realizing the child has quite a temper. He is my little mischevious little booger! Yesterday Chad was sleeping on the couch and I was on the other couch. Chad had set down his soda can on the floor. Well, Kian picked it up and poured it all over Chad. Obviously, Chad woke up with quite a start and flung the blanket and jumped up. Soda was everywhere, on the computer, blanket, couch, carpet, Chad...everywhere!! We have about a 8-10 in. stain in the carpet. I have tried to scrub it with Resolve, but it is still bad. Any ideas of how to get it out? It was really very funny, but I would prefer no lasting damage!

Today I went to Walmart to print out Christmas cards. Both of the boys were struggling a little bit so I gave Kian my tinted lip gloss to hold on to, not thinking he would be able to unscrew it. I was wrong! I turned around after hearing Aiden say, "mom, Kian is red!" Kian had unscrewed it and literally painted his face with it. If I wasn't using the camera for the Christmas cards, I would of taken a picture. People in Walmart just stopped and stared. I told them, "it's lipstick." Then they proceeded to laugh. Yup, that's my Kian! This is a whole new ballgame for us! Aiden never did any of this! At least I will have lots of stories and memories!

I love Christmas!

When decorating for Christmas, my sister gave me the idea of hanging ornaments from the boys room to get them excited about it too. I love it! This is Kian's room.

This is Aid's room.

Dining room table centerpiece. That's our new clock and light fixture too.

Our tree!

Seriously, it's my favorite holiday! Each year I can't wait to put up the Christmas decorations and listen to Christmas music. I love trying to find gifts my family would love and it's such a great time to focus on what Christ did for us. It's just....ahhh...delightful. Not to skip Thanksgiving... that's important too!

We had a great Thanksgiving! Chad's mom was visiting from NY and we spent the day at my Aunt Anne's. There were probably around 25 of us gathering around the food! It was quite relaxing and just nice to catch up with everyone. Chad and I have so much to be thankful for! Even though every year we have so much to be thankful for, this year seems even more so. At a time where the country is in a recession, our family was been blessed! We were able to purchase our first house, pay off Chad's braces, Chad took a new position at a new school, we have been very healthy, and so on. God has been so gracious to us!

The day after Thanksgiving, I decided to venture out on Black Friday to shop. I had a blast! Some places like Target I literally walked in, saw the lines, and walked out. However, the mall traffic wasn't too terrible and neither were the lines. I got some fantastic deals and am pretty much done with my shopping! The best thing about the whole thing was that I was able to do it by myself! I am usually with the boys when I am shopping and hence can't focus or spend time doing what I want. It was actually a relaxing day for me!

The boys are doing great! Aiden continues to grow like a weed. He has been wearing his size 4 levis for about 4 months now and they are almost too short for him now. Hard to imagine he's now almost in size 5! He just is getting huge! I can't believe that he will be 4 in January! I think he is quite ready to go to preschool. I know he will love it! Kian still won't say mommy. He says momma (but doesn't call me that). Any time I ask him to say mommy, he says daddy. Oh well, someday I will probably wish that he didn't know how to say mommy! He loves to get into everything (including the christmas tree) and is getting very good at playing by himself. Aiden did not accomplish this feat until about 6 months ago! Kian is still my lash out/temper child. Oh boy, he has a doosey! However, he also is such a cuddler and a joy. He is definitely all boy! Everyday they bring so much life to our family.