What a Weekend!

Last weekend was quite eventful! We:

• Had a visit from the Binky Fairy AND the Thumb Fairy on Friday night.


• Went to the lake and even though the water was only 65 degrees, the kids swam and swam!


• I had a reunion with 7 women I have been friends with FOREVER!


• Had a big birthday party for Blake on Sunday afternoon.

OK, when I write it down like that, it doesn't look like much, but it was!

Avery and Blake are doing great without their thumbs and binkies. It has been harder on her than him... 5 years is a long time to suck your thumb! We are so proud of both of them :)

Funny moment to remember:

Blake had quite the uh, bowel movement on Sunday after his party. So amazing, that Daddy told him he must have lost 5lbs with that one, and proceeded to tell me that it was a "man-sized Poop". Awesome.

Fast forward to Monday as I am asking Avery how her visit to the pumpkin patch was that day. She said it was great and that she got a "man-sized pumpkin" because it must have weighed 5lbs! I almost died laughing at her reference. 10 minutes later, as I was carrying a sleeping Blake up the stairs to the Dance Studio, I remarked that Blake was quite heavy. Avery then said, "He can't be that heavy Mom. He lost 5lbs yesterday!" She cracks me up!

I will post some pictures from this weekend later today! Good times!

My Boy is 3!

in approximately 6.5 hours from now, Blake will be officially 3. I must admit, I am a little sad. He is growing up so fast, sometimes I just wish we could push a pause button and stay for a little while. Tonight my mom read me her notes from the night Blake was born. What better time to reflect on that night than each year on the anniversary of that very special day. Let's take stroll down memory lane...

We had been at dinner with friends that night. My lower back pain was pretty intense, but it had been for weeks. My cousin Lori had sweetly worked on my back before dinner and I was feeling much better. We were going to stop at my parents on the way home to sit in the hot tub, but we had stayed too late at Missy & Jason's. On the way home Jeff asked me if I wanted him to take the bumpy way home in hopes that I might go into labor. I asked him not to... the last thing I wanted was to have a baby that night - I was so tired!

We got home around 11:00, put Avery to bed and we each got in bed and started to read. After a few minutes I felt a strong snap and Jeff heard it. He looked at me and said, "Your water broke, didn't it?" No way, I thought. He laughed and said that he would get me a towel. Sure enough, when I stood up it started to leak out.

I called my parents to let them know and Jeff got back in bed and started reading his book again! That cracked me up! About 30 minutes later I called my Mom to tell her that the contractions were 4 minutes apart and she sent my Dad over to stay with Avery.

After my Dad arrived we headed to the hospital and my Mom and Tammie met us there. Once we arrived it is pretty blurry. I remember my mom asking me if I was in pain, right in the middle of a contraction. Tammie told her it was time for them to leave the room after that. :)

My labor progressed fairly quickly and by 4:10am I was ready to push. 15 minutes later at 4:25am on October 19th, 2008 Blake was born. He was very blue from having the cord wrapped around his neck. When he was only half way out Dr. Dahle was already suctioning him and trying to get him breathing. I just remember staring at him and willing him to cry. And then, that big lip stuck out and he started to wail. We all laughed, and on the other side of the wall my mom and Tammie cried for me. So glad that it was over.

Blake was no small baby. He was 9 days early and weighed 8lbs 7oz and was 20.5 inches long with a huge barrel chest. And a lip that stuck out a mile :)

Today, Blake is a wonderful boy. He is so empathetic. It destroys him if he gets in trouble and he cries so hard you end up loving on him while you put him in time out. He will tell on himself if he does something wrong, and most of the time, if his sister cries, he will cry out of sympathy for her. He is very liberal with his affection and will tell me numerous times each day that he loves me and daddy and sister. He adores the movie Cars and anything Lightening McQueen or "Light Buzzyear". I am so proud of the little boy he is becoming and I look forward to watching him grow. But some days I just want to hit pause and soak it up a little more.

Catching Up

Since it's only been 2 years since I last posted - I thought I would quickly jot down a few things I hope never to forget. (Because there is so much I have already forgotten!)

2 Nights ago - Me, in the kitchen cooking dinner. Kids, in the living room running and laughing and playing. All is good right? Not so much.

I walk out to find to 2 naked kiddos who have decided to see who can pee the best. Not kidding. Pee EVERYWHERE. 7 spots in all (that I found...) If they hadn't fessed up to all of them, I would have sworn 5 dogs were in my house marking their territory. Apparently Avery is envious of Blake's ability to stand up and pee.

New rule in our house. Underwear on at ALL times.

Blake - When he is done throwing a tantrum - he stops suddenly, looks at you and says, "It's OK. I'm happy now." And that's it.

He is totally fascinated with Nipples. He is always asking, "Do you have Nipples? I have Nipples!"

Such a happy, easy going child. He LOVES the movie CARS and anything Lightening McQueen. He knows the alphabet and can count to 20.

Avery - She was named Most Nurturing at her Preschool graduation this year. She is such a little mother. We have to remind her that she is NOT Blake's mother! Anytime she wants a gift, it is always a new baby.

Avery started Kindergarten this year and is doing so well. I am amazed at how her drawing has improved. She drew a horse yesterday and I would tell it was actually a horse! She is learning sight words (Go, The, etc..) and loves to read and help me cook. She is such a joy to have around.

The past 5 years have been a whirl wind. We bought the gym in January 2007 and sold it in September 2011. The day we closed escrow, the world literally became a new color for me. I don't think I fully realized the amount of stress I was under. My health had been suffering, and we were far too busy. It was a LONG year of escrow and God has his own timing for everything. It certainly wasn't my timing! I am so grateful to Him for providing for us during all those months of uncertainty. Jeff and I are in a wonderful place in our marriage and I completely owe that to the past year of waiting.

Now that we no longer have the gym to run, I LOVE that I get to go home at night and cook dinner for my family and just enjoy them. I look forward to the time when Jeff will be home in the evenings with us as well. His absence is fully noted every night.

I hope to continue to document our little moments now that life has slowed down for us. I want to always remember how wonderful life is. My children are such a blessing and I want to make this a keepsake for them.

Here goes....

It's official - He's crawling

Blake finally figured it out! He is mobile now, God help us all! And, just in time for our camping trip! Yay!!! A baby, crawling all over the beach.... in the sand.... near water. Yup, it's gonna be a relaxing weekend.... :o)

Spoiled Girl

Avery had quite the day yesterday! Some friends of ours are moving to Nashville and have been in total purge mode. We have been the lucky recipients of their purging! We now have a trampoline in the back yard and Avery LOVES to jump! The picture is blurry, but really, how can you get a good one if she is bouncing all over the place!

Before Daddy set up the new trampoline, he took her for a ride on the new bike we got - again courtesy of the Swope family! She enjoyed it so much that when I heard screaming a little while later I assumed she had fallen off. No, she was mad that they had to stop riding and come in!

It is so great to have things for her to do outside. Our back yard is beautiful, but not very kid friendly, so outdoor activities are hard to come by... Now she has a pool (thank you grammie!) a swing (that is really meant for Blake) and a trampoline! Fun, Fun!

Blake is still trying very hard to crawl. He just can't quite figure out how to get past the rocking motion. He has given up on babyfood. He will just shake his head at you if you try to offer him anything that comes on a spoon. If it's on a fork, it's OK. If he can pick it up and feed himself, even better!

We have decided that Dada is his first word. He says it when he looks at Jeff, and didn't say it much when Jeff was gone. So, it's Daddy 2, Mommy 0 when it comes to first words. Maybe we will have to have more children afterall, just so one of them can say Momma first!

Summer Fun

We have been spending quite a bit of time at the pool lately. Avery had swimming lessons a few weeks ago, and has been enjoying the water much more! She stays in a "floatie" (aka; an innertube) but will swim all over the pool chasing her beloved rubber duckie family that her swim teacher gave her as a reward for blowing bubbles in the water. Avery has informed me that she will swim with her floatie until she is 4. When you are 4, you are old enough to swim without one. Ahhh the logic of a 3 year old - 4 seems so far away! She tried to swim without it on Monday, and sunk straight to the bottom. She didn't think that was very fun!

Blake LOVES the pool. He tries to swim, always wants to be horizontal in the water, and has no problem going under. He gets bored in his floatie and wants to be on his own so badly! He is a little dangerous!

This picture is today, right after both kids woke up from their naps. It is so hot, we have been letting them sleep in very little clothing!

Busy, Busy!

Things have been pretty nuts lately. It seems we are catching ourselves coming and going, and I fall into bed exhausted each night. More than once, I have fallen asleep with a book in my hand and my light on, never even realizing when Jeff comes to bed and takes my book away and turns off my light! This week was a challenge as I was parenting solo. Jeff was in Wisconsin for his annual fishing trip with the guys, so it was just me and the kiddos, hangin out! I must say, I have so much respect for single parents. It is a TON of work to do it all - get up, get the kids out the door and off to school, work all day, go to after school activities (this week was swimming lessons!), come home, do dinner, baths and bed. And I thought I was tired before!!!!! I have decided that I am taking a vacation to see my sister, and I will leave the kids behind with Jeff! I need a break! (of course I will only be gone 3 days, and it won't be until after Blake's first birthday... but still!)

The kids have been great. Blake got his first tooth (bottom left) at 7 months and his second one came in just a few weeks later. He had been biting everything, but took a break for a week or so, and now he is back at it. Don't hold him wearing a tank-top, or he will bite your shoulder! I don't think it will be long before the top 2 are in as well. He doesn't care for baby food anymore. He would prefer anything that he can feed himself, and if it must come from a spoon, then it needs to be something that has texture and needs to be chewed. He can tell you no. It is so cute! When he no longer wants the thing he is being fed, he will shake his head side to side and grin at you. When he smiles, he smiles with his whole face. I LOVE IT! I expect that he will be crawling at any moment. He gets up on all 4's and rocks back and forth. He is so close!

Avery is in a very fun phase. For the most part, she really wants to please you. When you praise her for good behavior, she will run up and hug you so tight. But, every few days, she has a horrible day!!! But I love the days when she just wants to please and is happy all day long! She has her first "best friend" at school, Ava. Fortunately, Ava's parents went to school at OU, and her dad was on the gymnastics team. So we are thrilled! Actually, Steve and Whitney are great people and we are very happy that the girls have found one another. It is fun to watch them together and see how kind they are to eachother. They always hug hello and goodbye, and I always get a hug and a kiss from Ava when I pick Avery up from school. Whitney and I were brave enough to take the girls out to dinner one night after gymnastics class, and, as you can see by the blurriness of the picture, there was not a lot of sitting still! But, it was fun!

For the most part, we have just been busy with the usual stuff. Here are a few pictures from our weekends: