Valentine Birthday Boy

Many people think of this day only as Valentine's Day, but we have another reason to celebrate! Adam David was born on this day one year ago! We didn't exactly plan for him to be a Valentine's baby, but apparently that's when he wanted to arrive. This year has flown by, and we have loved having an extra little person to love each day! He has been the easiest baby ever...at least until the last 2 months or so. Somehow, he has forgotten how wonderful it is to sleep through the night! We're working on it. He is a happy little guy, and adores his big brother. His favorite things are bathtime, crawling up steps (preferably with Luke chasing him), reading books, and playing with Luke's toys. He says "uh oh" and signs "more". And he's imitated me saying "all done". I thought I was crazy at first, but Luke heard it too! He's taken a step here and there, but is not very interested in trying and prefers to crawl. He sure is loveable and gives lots of hugs! We just love this little guy!

a few days old

5 months old

6 months old

7 months old

9 months old

ONE YEAR!!! Happy Birthday, sweet boy!

Oh The Places Cars Will Go

One thing about motherhood...you never know what you will find. This find made me smile. Finding a toy car in a semi-clean toilet, not so much.

Bath Time

This is the new favorite pastime at our house. We recently started sharing bathtime...who knew it would be such a hit? As soon as they hear the water, they come running (or crawing super fast). They love playing in the water together and giggle lots. Luke hasn't admitted it at home, but his Sunday school teacher reported that he said Adam was his best friend. *melt* a mommy's heart!

New Car!

Adam's first ride. Happy baby!

Adam was just as excited to see Luke in the car!

Luke's first time in the car. Approximately 0.2 seconds after he got out of bed.
Because we were sick and didn't get to go to Omaha for Christmas with Chad's family, we got this Christmas present in January. It is a major.hit. Both boys are very into it. And, it's actually worked out well for me, too. If I need something put away in another room, I just ask Luke to "drive" it there, and suddenly picking up and putting away is fun!

Forget the To-Do List!

I have a to-do list that's a mile and a half long. For every item I check off, three more grow in its place. It's overwhelming. But, the weather gave us a wonderful near-70 degree day (in January!?!)...so what's a mommy to do? The list stayed at home, and we went to the park and enjoyed the sunshine. The infinite number of giggles and smiles were totally worth it. My goal is to do this more often this year. It's so easy for me to get wrapped up in the busyness of life...and that's not what is important. My children are growing fast and I am determined not to miss a thing!

Veggie Tales

Apparently this is the result of watching perhaps one too many Veggie Tales while sick on the couch for a week:

Bah Stomach-Bug

This last week we saw a little too much of this:

Both Chad and Luke came down with a nasty stomach virus last Monday. Nasty is not descriptive enough. I'd call it wicked, maybe just down right mean. It caused things to come out of both ends for not one, not two, but SIX days straight. And added cold-symptoms on top of that...runny nose, cough, and headache. Luke was inches away from having to go to the hospital for IVs because he was getting so dehydrated. Adam and I escaped the virus (thank the Lord!), but Adam fought a bad cold through it all. Basically, everyone was miserable, which meant we were all up at all hours both day and night. One night I think I got up around 9 times between both boys. Finally, (finally!) today everyone is basically back to normal, with the exception of lingering colds for Adam and Luke. It was one of the most trying times I have had so far as a mother. I will say, however, puke no longer has any gross-out affect on me. I'm over it. A big thank you goes out to my mom, who rearranged her work schedule to help me take the boys to the doctor, and who came over one day just to let me get out of the house for a little bit and run some errands. I think I might have lost my mind if it wasn't for that. Unfortunately our Christmas "break" resulted in being shut-in our home, which also meant we had to cancel plans to see several different friends we hadn't seen for 1-2 years. We were also planning to head to Omaha this past weekend to have our Christmas with Chad's family and that had to be scrapped as well. We were disappointed to say the least, but I am so grateful to see the light at the end of this nightmare. Now, back to work tomorrow. I'm gonna need to find some caffeine in the morning.

Merry Christmas!

Pay It Forward

The other evening, I had the pleasure of taking Luke to his first movie. Our local Fox theatre, (which is an awesome historic theater!) has special $5 movie nights - plus buy one get one free! Can't beat it! They were playing Cars 2, and of course, Luke is a huge Cars fan. Even so, I'm not sure who was more excited to go - him or me! He was so cute and sat in his seat like a big boy holding his McQueen and Mater cars throughout the movie. I was a little disappointed in the movie as it was a lot more shoot 'em up bang bang than I was expecting, but we still had a great time.

One of the most memorable things about the movie night, however, happened when we were getting our tickets. I got to the window to pay for our tickets and handed him my debit card. He apologized and said he could only take cash on movie nights. I did not know that! Frantically I started rummaging my wallet for cash but could only come up with $1. There was a man with his two teenage daughters standing in line behind us. Without hesitation, the man slapped his money on the counter and said "put them with us". I was incredibly touched. Apparently, so was the cashier. He handed them their tickets and change and the man looked at it and put his money back on the counter and said he didn't think he was charged enough. The cashier just gave a sweet smile and said, "Yes, it's right". He only charged them for 2 people!! I have to admit, I've been feeling a little Bah Humbug lately...just feeling overwhelmed with life. But this encouraged me so much and inspired me to pay it forward! I hope we all have an opportunity to do so this Christmas season.

Forgetful Mommy

The other day I had just left the house with the boys and realized I forget to tell Chad something, so I quickly called him. As soon as I got off the phone, a little voiced piped up from the back seat.

Luke: Who did you call, Mommy?

me: Daddy

Luke: Why did you call Daddy?

me: Oh, I just forgot something.

Luke: Oh. (pause) Did you forget a coupon?

The boy knows me well. A little too well, I'd say!