Day to Day

Art Camp, Gymnastics Class, Trips to the Pet Store on Rainy Days

Play Time, Play Doh Fun, Learning How to Forward Roll

These boys certainly keep me busy but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Rainy Day Fun

What’s one way to keep from going stir crazy during a week of torrential rain? Cut up scraps of paper and let your toddler toss them all over the playroom… This actually wasn't what I had in mind for these paper scraps, but after seeing my bowl Carter wanted to play “paper toss.” Since we had been cooped up all day I knew he needed a way to release some energy and even though the control freak in me was not excited, I gave him the bowl and let him go wild! The result was tons of tiny paper scattered all over the room but one very happy little boy. I’d say the mess was totally worth it!!

It may have been a pain to clean up, but these special moments with my biggest don’t happen

as often anymore. I treasure the time when we can play together just the two of us!

Nolan- Two Months Old

Well, we knew we had a little chubster on our hands, but Nolan is growing off the charts! At his two month well visit he weighed 15lbs 10oz and was 25 1/2 in long! I can’t even tell you the percentiles because the boy is well over the curve! It’s funny how tiny he seems compared to Carter but how massive he is compared to babies his age. Clearly all the worries and concerns I had with breast feeding Carter don’t even phase me now. Five pounds in two months? We’re obviously doing something right!

We are still dealing with reflux issues so the doctor upped his dose of Zantac at this appointment. The poor baby sleeps in a swing at night so he isn’t as uncomfortable and that seems to help a lot. He is still eating every 3hrs during the day ad 4-5hrs at night. I don’t have any expectations that he’ll sleep through the night before his big brother did, but maybe one day Nolan will surprise me! He is such a sweet baby and I can’t get enough of those silly grins and coos- no matter the hour of day. He is such a talker and we love having conversations on his changing table. I don’t think that will ever get old!

He had a feeling the shots were going to hurt :(

Ouch!!! Poor chubby baby legs!

Carter and Nolan at Eight Weeks Old

It’s funny to look back at Carter’s two month blog post because I can pretty much say all the exact same things about Nolan. It is amazing how similar they are both in appearance and personality! I love these sweet boys and am so thankful to be their mama. Even though the weeks are flying by, I can’t wait to continue watching them both grow and develop.

My how you’ve grown!

Little Picassos

Carter doesn’t have a huge attention span for creating art so when I found a 45 minute Little Picassos class through our local park I knew I wanted to give it a try. It seemed like the perfect amount of time to encourage my little man to create something fun! He really enjoyed our first class and our teacher Miss Chris kept things moving at the perfect pace so he never got bored. C practiced cutting, gluing, stamping, painting, and even had a chance to run around with his buddy Miles at the end! The park does these little classes in four week sessions and I have a feeling we’ll continue to sign up throughout the spring months!

Carter’s First Project!

My Little Gymnast

One of the activities I had been dying for Carter to try this winter was gymnastics. A few friends recommended we try a class called Kinder Gym through our local dance studio. Now that he’s not in school anymore, I wanted to incorporate a variety of new experiences into his day so C wouldn’t be bored staying at home. I think one of the biggest problems with preschool is that it was such a long day for my little man and he got home sick. Add on top of that a lingering case of separation anxiety and the whole thing just didn’t work out. The great thing about gymnastics is it gives Carter an activity he can do independently, but it’s not such a long time away that he realizes he misses me. It was so neat to watch him listen carefully to the teacher and follow her instructions. You could certainly tell he was the new kid in class since he was the only one who didn’t know how to forward roll, but he had a blast and that’s what matters most!

Parents aren’t allowed in the studio so excuse the glary cell phone photos!

More January Fun

I know I promised I wouldn’t document Nolan’s life solely using the iPhone but………seems like that is the only thing I have on hand most days! I think it’s good that he is a boy because I have a feeling he won’t care when he grows up but I might have to apologize to his future wife that all his baby pictures came from my cell! Anyway, here are a few pics to show what we’ve been up to since Christmas.

Come back next week to see a few of the ways I am keeping

Carter busy now that he’s not in school anymore!

Never Wake a Sleeping Baby

A wee bit of heaven drifted down from above.

A handful of happiness, a heart full of love.

The mystery of life, so sacred and sweet.

The giver of joy so deep and complete.

Precious and priceless, so lovable, too

The world's sweetest miracle baby is you.

Blessings come in many shapes,
In sizes large and small,
But a brand new little baby
is the sweetest of them all.

Why didn't someone tell me how fast a baby grows,
That every little baby stage soon comes, but sooner goes.

So I'll enjoy the fleeting time before you learn to walk.
And treasure every tiny noise before you learn to talk.

In a world that's all brand-new,
Babies have so much to do!

Laughing, making funny faces,
Finding out those ticklish places . . .

Cuddling up and wiggling toes,
Looking cute in tiny clothes . . .

Tasting, touching, reaching high,
Crawling under, scooting by . . .

Learning words and having fun . . .
Making memories one by one.

Sleep, my child, and peace attend thee,
All through the night Guardian angels God will send thee,
All through the night soft the drowsy hours are creeping,
Hill and dale in slumber sleeping I my loved ones' watch am keeping,
All through the night

The Park in January

Preschool Christmas Party

On Carter’s last day of school, the whole family got to join him for a Christmas lunch. We decided not to send him back in January {for various reasons} so we made sure to say goodbye to all his little friends at the end of the party. The teachers had worked hard preparing some adorable crafts for us to take home and I have them displayed all around the house! It was bittersweet knowing that C wouldn’t be returning and as much as I thought we had made the right decision in sending him, it definitely wasn’t the right time for C to be in school. It was too long of a day for him and he was miserable. Even though it was only twice a week, he dreaded going and I couldn’t justify sending him knowing he was so upset about it. We will try again at a new school in the fall when he is three and a half, but for now my little man will stay home with me again full time. These are terrible cell phone pics, but you know I had to document the event anyway!

The Nativity handprint placemat!

Reindeer Food that we will spread next year!

It was impossible to get a group photo. This was the best I could manage :/

Baby Brigade Secret Santa

Can you believe the Baby Brigade now has 13 mommies and 22 kids? By this spring we will have 25 children. So what do you do when almost everyone RSVPs that they can make it to the holiday party? Rent a clubhouse!! On January 3rd the Baby Brigade had its third annual Secret Santa Exchange and the turnout was great. Our friend Beth rented her neighborhood clubhouse, there was a bouncy house, we ordered in pizza, and all the mommies brought in treats for us to eat! The kids were absolutely wild and even though it was a bit overwhelming with SO many in one space it worked out so much better than trying to cram into someone’s house. With a group so huge, it’s inevitable that someone won’t be able to make it but I’m glad that almost the entire group was in attendance and able to celebrate! I am also amazed that we got everyone {semi} cooperating for an updated group picture! It only took a little photoshopping on my end to ensure all the kids were included in the shot since we had a few runaways in between but with only two actual pictures to work with I’d say we did pretty good!

Top: Me, Nolan, Allison, Isabella, Carter, Krissy, Nicholas,

Halie, Kayden, Evan, Anita, Miles, Kerri

Front: Shari, Parker, Noah, Spencer, Beth, Kinley, Trenton,

Nancy, Adam, Dylan, Macey, Laurie, Aubrey, Camp, Katie, Bennett

Still hard to believe that we started with only five of us. Whoever would have guessed our group would have grown to be so huge in just three years! As always, I am so thankful for these ladies, all the kiddos, and the fact that my boys get to grow up in the greatest playgroup around ;) We even popped a bottle of champagne that morning and toasted to many more celebrations in the years to come!

Christmas 2012

As is tradition, we pretty much spent all of Christmas day opening presents! My family takes our time, with only one person opening a gift at a time so usually hours go by before we finish! This year we took a brunch and dinner break before we were through and the little boys didn’t even get to their stockings until two days later!! One of my most favorite presents was a manger my father hand crafted for my new nativity set (see below). My boys also surprised me with some gorgeous earrings. Even though I was sick, it was an amazing day with Santa Hattie & Poppy spoiling all the kids, big and small!

A precious reminder of the reason we celebrate Christmas.