Movie Night

So we planned to have our cousins Lindsey and Seth over Friday night for Movie Night. The boys were so excited! It was Aunt Lisa's birthday on Thursday...so we wanted to give Lisa and Uncle Steve a night out.

We started the evening with make your own pizza. The boys (and Lindsey) did a great job. We had fresh dough, sauce, two cheeses and pepperoni. Yum.

Afterward, we had ice cream sundaes. Again,yum. We tried to watch a movie..but didnt' have much success. There was too much playing and fun going on.

Lindsey was a huge help. She loved holding Mitchell and playing with him. She's such a sweet heart.

Sing to the Lord, I love you

Connor and Jackson made their second appearance this season on the church choir circuit. They did great...and looked so cute. Mommy was running both the video camera and the still camera....so that explains these poor pics.

Here the guys are getting in place...they don't look so happy, but believe me, they did a great job. The song was super cute. I was sooooo proud of my guys.

Here's Mrs. Betty getting them all ready. Great Job!

Cookie

Oh, what a week. It was quite busy...but great. On Monday Connor asked if we could make "bear cookies"...he found a cookie cutter in a drawer and was eager to make use of it.

So...on Tuesday we made the dough...chilled the dough...then baked the dough....

It smelled awesome. Then to top it all of, we iced the cookies and decorated them.

We all had a great time.

Jackson had a lot of sprinkles left over on this plate...Connor asked if he could have them...Craig and I said no, let Jackson eat them....but Jackson said I want Connor to have them. Too cute. He has such a giving heart.

Sawyer inhaled his cookie. I'm surprised he even tasted it!

Take a look at this dude...covered in flour. You should have seen the mess we made. UGH!

This guy did not get to eat a cookie, but he didn't seem to mind! This week he started eating some new stuff...he had graham crackers, pears, and noodles. The pears were a big hit.

Its a great day

This is often the first thing that Jackson says to me when he wakes up in the morning. It often comes out a little like a questions...until I assure him that yes...it is a great day. Today was about as good as it gets. It's Jackson's birthday!

When I woke him up this morning I told him it was his birthday. He immediately said...I'm four now...then his first question...are there party hats and balloons? But of course my dear boy....of course. But first, we had to head to church where Connor and Jackson sang in the choir. (More on that in another post)

Then we headed home to have a small family birthday party for the big 4 year old.
We kept it pretty simple...meatball sandwiches, special potatoes, and a green salad...

Of course, we had birthday cake. jackson was so excited to blow out the candles...he's been waiting for this birthday for a very long time.

There was no shortage of help when it came to blowing out the candles...

and licking the frosting off them.

These boys were excited about their cake!

Dig in!

So...my little Jackson is 4. I really cannot believe it. I remember the night he was born...it snowed and I held him as I stood at the window in the hospital. I remember it like it was yesterday.

My dear Jackson,

Where have the days gone? It seems like a moment ago that you were born. I can still remember waking up in the middle of the night...and knowing your arrival was coming. You wouldn't wait that night...and made your first appearance in the triage unit at the hospital. I loved you from the first moment. I can still remember holding your tiny little body. You were so long and lanky...not much has changed. You were such a good baby. Even when they pricked your foot for tests...you barely cried.

You've always been such an easy going guy. You're a lot like your Daddy. So pleasant, so kind, so thoughtful. You've been blessed with such an amazing heart. You never get too worked up about anything...unless its something you care deeply about.

It hard to believe that a year and a half ago we were concerned that you weren't talking. Boy, you've made up for that! You got some great help...and really took off. I think you were just on your own time line. But today...you are a chit chatter. It is such a joy to hear what you have to say. You are eager to give lots of love to us. By far, your favorite thing to talk about is trains. Thomas, Percy, James, Spencer. You name it...you could go on and on for hours. And the stories...wow. your imagination is amazing. I'm impressed by all that you put into your playtime these days. You've also gotten quite good at creating incredible tracks at the train table. You make bridges and overpasses, bumpy tracks and big curves. You get a little frustrated when it doesn't work out the way you want it to...but then you're right back at it.

You are just a little love. I can't get enough of you. I especially enjoy when you wipe off my kisses...only so you can get some more. And at bed time, when i check on you and your not asleep...you'll let me kiss you one more time...then one more time...and maybe one more time...before telling me its time for bed. Too cute.

jackson...I couldn't love you more. You are such a wonderful part of our family. You bring us such joy! Your smile is infectious...your giving spirit is a gift. These last four years have gone so quickly, but I've tried to savor each moment. It's been a thrill....yet I'm so looking forward to seeing the days to come. I know you will surpass all I've ever dreamed for you. Rock on my little Jack man. May God bless you every moment of every day. I love you abundantly.

Mommy

8 months plus

Take a look at this cutie patootie! I'm a little biased, I know...but....

Mitchell is now 8 months old. Time flies when you're having fun.

Here's a little update on our happy little guy....

At 8 months

• you are getting two more teeth...the new ones are on either side of your bottom middle teeth...that makes a totalof 8 teeth!
• you tried your first graham cracker...and loved it!
• you love your puffs and get excited when i open the cupboard door
• you enjoy sitting up...and love to play {put it you mouth} your brothers race cars
• you're getting a little snack before bed so you sleep a little longer...mommy really likes this!
• you smile all the time
• you only fuss when you're sleepy
• you take two pretty good naps...about 2 hours in the morning, and 2 in the afternoon
• you're very social and don't like to sleep when people are around
• you enjoy sitting in church with mommy and daddy and listening to the music
• you like to "steal" your brothers pacifiers
• your brothers dig you! Sawyer has started kissing and hugging you and giving you your toys...jackson c0ntinues to be your biggest fan...and connor calls you his cutie pie!
• you sleep with your legs scrunched up...and your butt in the air...so cute
• you love to talk...you babble away
• your face lights up when mommy or daddy walks in the room
• you are a true gift from God!

Here's a look at a typical evening at our house....Mommy surrounded by some of her favorite things....

...boys and laundry!

And from the sneak peak category....Aunt Kelly helped us take a few pictures this afternoon. You may see this one in the future...

(shocking that everyone is looking at the camera..except I do have a bit of a strong hold on Sawyer!)

Fingers

Just wanted to quickly update Mitchell. He started to pick up his puffs today.

he was super excited when I got out the container. Daddy told me he was getting pretty good at getting them in his mouth...and sure enough....

there it goes! That's my boy! He's also getting another tooth...so he's been a bit fussy at night. That makes four on top and three on the bottom.

When I got the camera out, Sawyer was in the kitchen and immediately started saying "CHEESE!"...so I had to take a picture. So cute.

Run to me

I have always...for as long as I can remember...wanted to run in a 5K. It just seemed like something fun to do. Plus, I wanted to be able to wear one of those cool t-shirts with the 5k logo on it and know that I was there. BUT....
I am not an athlete. I never have been...didn't know if I ever could be. I'd watch my sister-in-law run near our home and think...wow, if only I could do that. I've watched Craig's cousin run in races and make it look easy. I've seen my nieces run without breaking a sweat. Not me. It's just not in my DNA.
Well, for some reason...and with the help of my friends...I'm trying to change that. So today, I ran (about 99%..i walked just a tad) of a 5k. I was so nervous I had a hard time sleeping last night..and an even harder time eating.
The course was super easy...read, flat....but it didn't matter. I was a huge ball of nerves and excitement. I picked up my best friend Chris at her parent's house at 8am...and we headed to the race.

We met up with Steph (she is an athlete and didn't really have to train for a 5k. ha!)
Here we all are before the race. Steph's sister-in-law Sara (another real athlete who almost placed in her age group), Steph, me, Chris, and Mel. (nice hood!) It was rather chilly. The coldest day of the year so far.

Along the way, we were cheered on my these cuties. Chris and her boys...robert, joe and mitch...Love the signs they made! (my boys had swim lessons and church choir and couldn't make it, but Connor made me a cool sign too.)

he says i'm the one in the blue...i guess that's good because i'm in the middle of the pack!

here we are after the race. Steph did awesome...I think she finished around 25 minutes...Chris was next around 32 minutes...Mel hit at 35 and i was around 38 (i think the results online are wrong, but it was close to 38 minutes.)

Chris really inspired me. She is a runner! She really worked hard and finished awesome. Excuse my super cheesy look...I'm just glad that its over, I'm pleased with my time....but I'm ready to do it again...and do better. Yeah!

Going nuts....

...with packing peanuts!

I ordered a little train for the boys...it came in the mail the other day. It came in a HUGE box...filled with packing peanuts. I was letting the boys dig into the box to find what I had ordered...but instead of being excited about what I'd ordered, they were excited about the packing peanuts that were inside. At first they spilled a few on the floor...before long the entire box was on the floor. Packing peanuts were everywhere....

I did what every good mom should do.....


I let them play!!

They rolled in them....

made snow angels in them...

threw them in the air...

and picked them out of their mouths!

We must have played with them for an hour. It was a blast. (Daddy was at work...so he missed it all!) Then, we worked together to pick every bit of it up. The boys were great helpers. Connor even asked to vaccuum. He did an awesome job...even told me that it could be one of his chores from now on.

By the way...did you know that packing peanuts can break into a thousand and one pieces....and they stick to EVERYTHING!!! Oh well, it was worth it!

You should be in pictures....

Last week, Sawyer and I headed to Jeremy Hess photograpy for a photo shoot. Our dentist asked if Sawyer could be included in her ad campaign. Of course, we think Sawyer is about as cute as they come...so we said SURE!

The photo shoot was awesome. Jeremy is great. He has three kids...two boys and a girl. I told Craig that if we got married today...I'd choose Jeremy to do the pictures. As much as I love the pictures he shoots...he was even cooler. It was so nice to meet a great human being who is awesome at what he does.

Jeremy sent me a link to the proofs...take a look. I think they're too cute. The ad is done, but I haven't seen it yet. I'm sure it'll be awesome.

http://www.jeremyhessphotography.com/proofs/09M2Dec/

On a side note, I'm gearing up for a big day. On Saturday I'll join with three of my best friends to run my first ever 5K. I've always wanted to do one...so with the prompting of Mel, Steph and Chrissy....here I go. I've been training for a few weeks now, but with sick kids, work, and family stuff it's been rough. I'm scared to death and super excited. I'm praying that it'll be a positive experience and I'll be a good role model for my boys. (The boys won't be able to be there though as they have swim lessons and church choir).

I know that this is just a run...and the victory is already won. I'm blessed beyond belief and being able to run...walk...or crawl 3.2 miles is a something that shouldn't be taken for granted.
I'm reminded of the scripture verse that I call me life verse. Phillipians 4:13 - "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." I'll be drawing on that strength.