February Instagram Pics!

 Ethan' big muscles.

Sick Baby Boy...

Little man has a little virus.  Fever and cranky - pretty much nothing making him happy.  He isn't eating - but is drinking his bottle, thankfully.  Admittedly, I let him watch some TV (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) and it calmed him right now, so I'm thankful for that.  Not much worse than having a sick baby... Glad it doesn't last long.

 

Bubba's Stuff

These two... How cute are they?

Jackson's a YELLOW belt!

Our boy keeps surprising us.  He has done very well in karate and is still actually really enjoying it.  Last week, he tested for his yellow belt and passed... Also, he AND Cole were invited into the leadership program!  As a bonus, since they are in leadership now, they got their sparring gear, which includes a new weapon to train with each session.  The first weapon is a sword, so the boys were pretty stoked.
Jackson was beyond thrilled to be in leadership - which opens doors for him if he chooses to continue pursuing karate.... and it means he has a "gold" stripe on his belt... (cuz Jenny and I have learned that THAT is super important! HA!).   Jackson has grown so much since he started doing karate, and I'm so thankful we opted to sign him up for this!!

At least one of them loves me....

Valentine's Day!

Valentines Day was very special!  I woke to heart shaped eggs, a sweet note and coffee already prepared!  I felt like the day was already pretty perfect right there... Then, later in the day, I was delivered Shari's Berries... um, yes please!!  YUM!  I baked a cake and tried to get creative (lets face it - that's hard for me!). That morning, Ethan and I started a new tradition... we went to Starbucks and got special V-Day cake pops, toasted them to each other and then we took off on our delivery to take his special girl (Lily Kate) her special valentine (flower, candy and a special pup just for LK).  He was really pumped up about giving it to her - She's definitely his girl... Then, when Jackson got home from school, we delivered HIS special valentine to HIS special girl (Anna Kate).  She was much more excited about the flower than she was about the candy.  :)  That evening, my parents came by and gave the boys Valentines Day gifts! It's really fun to watch my boys understand "giving" and "love" and "respecting girls."  I hope to continue to help them comprehend this but so far, I think their daddy is doing the best job just leading by example!  I am a very blessed woman!

Goofballs.

Paschall Love!

These little buds are each 6 weeks apart! Sweet friends.

Christian and Mr. Aaron's Beard.

 

It's like a magnet for a baby... grab on and pull!

And this award goes to...

ETHAN! 

Earlier this month, the boys' school had an award ceremony... Ethan won an award for "Perfect Attendance" and in his class, his teacher gave every child an award that she created... And his was "Always waiting patiently for a turn."  He loved getting recognized like this.  I am so proud of this boy - and everything about him.

Three Times the FUN!

This blankie.

 

It's unbelievable.  This blanket cannot be replaced.  It's this one.  Only this one.  And nothing else.  The thumb and blanket go hand-in-hand too.  He can be screaming his head off, freaking out, out of control... and keep going and going but he will not calm down and suck his thumb without this blanket.  In fact, if he just sets his eyes to the blanket, he calms down and sucks his thumb.  Having had 2 paci babies before him, I'm not quite sure how to deal with this!!  It's a TRIP to just wash this darn thing! Sometimes it gets quite stinky.  :)

January Instagram Pics!

Daddy's Toy or Christian's Toy?

 

No peace for mommy...Even in the bathroom.

Goodbye Daddy.... For awhile.

This picture was taken the night before Ryan left for an 11 day trip in January to Hong Kong and China.  It was the longest Ryan and I have ever been apart - since we very first start dating.  It was certainly the longest the boys had been away from him.  It was a really really long time - I opted not to go into detail how very poor the timing was and how many things went terribly wrong while he was gone, but we all survived in made it through!  January was a rough month.  Glad it's over, and next year, I may have to join him in Asia cuz I don't know if I can go that long without him again!!!

South Beach, Day 20.

yep, you read right.  I've been lazy at trying to get this baby weight off until the last month.  I opted to start doing south beach again since it's too cold to go running outside... so i figured i'd do this instead.  It's been a wild ride.   South beach diet consists of meat, eggs, cheese and veggies and that's pretty much it.  As of today, I'm down 8 pounds in those 20 days.  I did this for about a week and half in Nov and if you count that, I'm down 11.5 pounds since I put on several pounds over the holidays.  So it's working... slowly, but working.  I haven't worked out a lick while on South Beach cuz my energy level isn't too high, but at least I'm past the part where I'm hungry or cranky... it's just low energy now.  But that's ok.  I have 5-7 pounds to go and then I'll just start calorie counting and working out.  I'm pretty close to my pre baby weight now, so I'm thankful for that... but geez, it's hard!  I don't know if it's the 3rd kid thing, the fact that I gained 45 pounds when pregnant, or if it's just that I'm 34 years old and these things just don't come as easily as they used to... but oh well... I'll celebrate the little successes, and keep eating my omelets.  :)