2.19.14

Before I became a mom, one of my favorite things to do was sleep and take naps.  Okay- now that I am a mom it is still one of my favorite things to do.   Except my sleeping is much more limited than it used to be.  I can only take naps on Wednesdays (early out day) and on weekends.. And only when my house is already clean.  I have a little OCD about sleeping when my house is a mess, I'll do it sometimes but it's so much harder to get a good sleep.

Ryan was born 3 weeks after school ended.  And all three of those weeks before he came, I slept until at least 11:00am every day and sometimes (most times) even til noon.  Now I have two little monkies climbing into my bed every morning between 7-8am waking me up.  & Don't get me wrong, I love those little monkies that are climbing into my bed.

The day of February 19- I came home from work sleepy.  I laid on the couch and was being lazy.  When Jake woke up from his nap, he's a late napper- usually wakes up around 4ish, Tim started getting both of them dressed. Hmm.. Tim getting them dressed cute could only mean one thing, he had intentions of doing something.  He started packing up his camera bag, and for the first time  he didn't ask me to go with him to take pictures of the boys.  He told Ryan and Jake to give me a kiss and hop in the car, and they did.  I was a teeny tiny bit sad not to watch them get their pictures taken, Okay, not sad at all.  I was actually doing a little happy dance.  For the first time in a very long time, I could take a long late nap!  Just like old times.  Right when the left I crawled into my bed and slept for like 3 hours.

I woke up just in time for the kids to come home and make them something for dinner, give them baths and put them in bed.  That night Tim started working on their pictures and little by little he sends me them.

With my husband being as talented as he is and my kids being so darn cute- I couldn't believe how perfect their pictures came out!  Okay- they are always amazing.  He took them downtown for a couple of hours.  Sometimes we are in a rush and I only get a few pictures.

These pictures showcase their personalities perfectly.  Ryan is just the sweetest little guy, he is filled with smiles and giggles and he loves everyone.  Jake is a lot more reserved and only loves momma  and daddy (when momma isn't around!)  Jake is starting to warm up to more people.  He doesn't smile very often and definitely not on demand.  He is his own person and does his own thing.

My boys couldn't be any more different.  They are mine and they are perfect.

You are the love of my life

and you are the reason I'm alive

and baby baby baby

and when I think of how you saved me 

I go crazy

I've never known love like this

and it fills me with a new tenderness

and I know I know I know

You're in my heart, you're in my soul

You're all I can't resist

And I need to tell you

the first time I held you

I knew you are the love of my life

I seriously, can not get enough of these two.  Well, unless it's 8:00 at night ;)  Most nights I am so ready for bed time, some nights I need in a little extra cuddles.  I am so, so, so lucky.  

This is a total picture overload- But I don't really care.  My blog books are one of my most treasured possessions I have.  I can't wait to share them with my boys some day.  How awesome to have a sweet little book to document your entire life from the day your momma found out she was pregnant with you.  A couple of years ago, my mom emailed me this little little card where she kept track of how much I weighed and how tall I was at each of my doctor's appointments & how old I was when I said new words.  I love looking at it and comparing it with my kids.

Baby books only have slots to fill in certain information that  they ask you and usually only go up to a year or two.  So far I have over 2 years of Jake's life documented and a I started this when Ryan was 2.5 years old.  It can be a little creepy with internet lurkers.  But I don't go around promoting my blog when it comes to my kids.  I like to know who reads it, and thankfully, you can always tell who reads it.  Family and close friends, just the way I like it.

At Jake's two year well check the doctor asked me how much he weighed when he was born and I didn't know!  Eeek- bad momma.  Well, I pulled up this handy dandy little blog and found out.  7lbs2oz-- which I won't ever forget again!  Sorry Jakey!  I love you <3

Looking  at these pictures reminds me that I need to print some of them out.  I finally found a picture wall that I liked- Thanks Loni!- after searching for one for years.  So I am being a total copy cat and making mine look similar to hers.  I love big prints and canvases of my babies hanging up on my walls for everyone to see.  It's in our dining room and Jake faces the wall when he eats dinner.  He loves seeing himself and Ryan all over the wall.  He still points to his pictures, it never gets old.

I am done rambling about nothing- Love you Ryan & Jakey!!  & you too daddy- thanks for picture of my babies.

The Week of Rodeo Break

Who doesn't love a little vacation from work?  You gotta love Tucson for celebrating Rodeo instead of Presidents Day, so we get off two days instead of just one.

My friend, Patty, had some extra tickets to the Rodeo so we met her there.  The kids liked it- for the most part.  Sometimes, I think the Rodeo is a little much.  Those poor little animals!

Since we had such a long day at the Rodeo we decided to stop by McDonalds and have ice cream for dinner.  When "Jon & Kate" used to come on TLC- they used to have ice cream for dinner just one night during the summer.  I always thought it was pretty cool.  So what if it's only February, it's Arizona and it was definitely warm enough to have ice cream for dinner.

I love this picture.  Ryan was so happy to show me that he cleaned his room all by himself, without me even asking.  He dragged me into  his room and I just laughed when I saw that his floor was definitely clean but everything was piled onto his bed.  It's hard to see his smile- but he was one proud little boy.

For the actual part of break over Rodeo Week- I took the boys to Yuma.  My friend, Kristina, was having a baby shower during the weekend and I wanted to go.  Plus, I had only seen my nephew, Asher for about an hour or two back in November.  Tim & I took the boys out for pizza before we left.  Tim couldn't make it because he had to work.  The drive up there was pretty nice, the boys slept the whole way.  I couldn't get a picture of Jakey because he still sits backwards.

The kids always love going to Grandma & Papa's house!  They run around like wild boys.  The next day, both of my parents had to work so we went to visit Auntie Bec, Asher and Rian.  It was pretty much the first time I actually got to spend time with Asher.  I snuggled him the whole time I was there.  He is just so sweet and perfect.  He gave my big time baby fever.  Before I started the car when we left, I called Tim to tell him we needed another baby.

Just look at that face.

We left to meet Grandma for lunch.  Chile Pepper!  Yum.

On Saturday, Aiden came over to play.  I had a baby shower to go to.  I hadn't seen my friend Kristina in a few years and I forget how much I miss them!  She has two little girls, 6 and 3, and she's pregnant with her third daughter.  

We were pretty busy on Sunday making sure that we could squeeze in everybody before we left town.  First we went to see Auntie Bec!  Jakey just loved Asher.. he kept pointing and saying "baby" over and over.

Then we stopped by to see Great Grandma & Great Papa.  My grandma had just gotten out of the hospital so we wanted to see her and give her hugs and kisses.

& after we met up at Jack in the Box with my parents for lunch, we stopped by to see another one of my high school friends, MariAnn.  She has an almost 7 month old little lady named Palmer.  Look at how rolly she is!

After our 4 days gone, we were happy to come back home to daddy.  We missed him!

The beginning of February

Well- It's already February.  I like February for 3 specific reasons.

1.  I met Tim on February 7th, 2007- and we always celebrate that as our "dating" anniversary.  I shouldn't say we "celebrate" it, because we don't really.  I just like it every year when that day comes around.  It has already been 7 years!  5.5 years of marriage and two sweet little guys.

2.  Something we do celebrate is the anniversary of our first date.  Yes, I remember everything.  After we met, we hung out once, and we basically spent a lot of time texting and talking on the phone.  We worked like 50 yards from each other so when we were both working at the same time- we would stop by and see each other.

But we decided to go on our first date to TGI Fridays- because at the time it was my favorite place to eat.  I loved their french dip sandwich.  However, they didn't have it anymore when we went together!  Bummer.

We called up Grandma on Feb. 13 and asked her if she could watch the boys.    She came over with Ryan and Jake's Valentine gifts!  She got them matching robot shirts!  Ryan's says "Big Dude" and Jake's says "Baby Dude."  She wanted to get him little dude but I guess the word "little" was too long to fit on their hats.  How cute are they?!

I decided to go to Joe's Crab Shack because I don't like sea food and Tim does.  I can't completely deprive him of it just because I don't eat it.  So I ordered some chicken fingers and fries- the same exact meal I ate on our first date!  Yuuum.  Haha.  I am definitely not an elegant eater.

After we ate dinner we went to the mall and went shopping.  Old Navy was having a huge baby sale so I got the boys way too many clothes, and then Tim and I each got a few shirts each.  Shopping alone is pretty priceless.  I don't mind grocery shopping with the kids or going somewhere with a cart.  But shopping with a big bulky double stroller is just too much.  Or even worse, letting Ryan walk around!   It was so peaceful to shop with just Tim!

After we went shopping we went to see a movie.  I can't even which movie we saw.. I'm writing this post more than 2 months after the day.  Oopsie!

3.  And Lastly, I love Valentine's Day!  Working with 26 second graders on Valentine's day is always super fun.  The kids are just so sweet, innocent, and so excited all day.  & After I get to celebrate it with my second graders, I come home and celebrate with Ryan and Jakey.  I just got them few snacks and some new cars.  I bet if I walked around the house and found every car we owned, we have more than 100.

& one last picture of Jakey, because sometimes he reminds me of a sweet little baby <3