Random Things

Since I've been MIA for the past couple of weeks, I thought I should provide an update on what's been going on in our family. A couple of weeks ago, Sean's pre-school class had a field trip to the pet store. They are learning about animals this month. He enjoyed the fish the most. I couldn't get him to touch the snake though. It was a nice field trip, just a little crowded. They gave the kids a goodie bag at the end with some sample dog/cat food and a animal calendar. I did bring my camera, but left it in the car! I seem to do that alot!

Is Ryan too young to have a girlfriend? He and his friend Mary Ashlynn were hanging on each other the other day and it was too cute! I guess I can always use these pictures to embarrass him when he is older. Ryan is showing interest in crawling, so I expect that will be very soon. He also pulled himself up onto a toy last week for the first time. Oh, and we are finally getting our first teeth on the bottom.

Last Sunday, we attended a birthday party for our best friend Grace at My Gym. It was really fun. They play games with the kids and let them run around and play music. Sean was happy when they played Imagination Movers music. It's one of his favorite shows!

Enough about the kids - I often neglect to update what's going on with the adults too - Derek and I! Derek has been very busy lately with work and school. He started his second MBA class. When he started this adventure a month ago, he said that he would just try to get a passing grade. No need to get an "A"; however, he got an "A+" in his first class! In his current class, he has a perfect score so far. I'm so proud of him for persevering through this journey! He is also going to teach another class at the university in a couple of weeks.

As for me, not much new really. I've had a few chances lately for some "girl" time to hang out with my friends and that has been nice. I had a jewelry party a couple of weeks ago and it was really fun. I will also be getting some nice jewelry!

Well, that's about it for now! Hope all is well with everyone!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Okay, so I'm a week late in saying Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone. Better late than never I guess! I took these pictures of the boys last week on St. Patrick's Day wearing their Irish gear to celebrate their heritage (Daddy is part Irish). We spent the day playing outside because the weather was beautiful and warm. Too bad, today it's supposed to snow!

I had every intention of posting this on the actual holiday, but we've just been really busy and also passing around a cold. Aren't they cute?

Cutie!

Ryan is growing so fast - he is such a joy and a cutie! He's almost 8 months old! He hasn't started crawling yet and I can't decide if that's a good or bad thing. He still has no teeth either, but seems to eat just fine without them! Sean was a late teether also and didn't get his first tooth until he was almost 10 months old. Guess it runs in the family. Sleeping is better, but still needs to improve. I feel like I've tried everything, but am open to suggestions! He loves to jump and bounce. If you stand him up in your lap or on the floor, he just starts jumping. The Jumperoo toy is perfect for him because he can just jump and jump to music. What's funny is that even though he naturally starts jumping when you stand him up, it took him a while to get the hang of the Jumperoo and understand that you're supposed to jump in it!!! The picture of him sleeping in the shopping cart is so precious. A couple of weeks ago, we went to lunch and Target after church and he was really tired because he missed his morning nap while at church. I saw him starting to fall asleep sitting up in the cart so I held him in the store and he fell asleep. Well, when it was time to check out, I was by myself and had to lift something from under the cart so I had no choice but to lay him in the front of the cart. He actually continued to sleep which was surprising. Here are some recent pictures to enjoy.

Guy's Night Out

Sorry that I've been delayed in posting over the last couple of weeks! Things have been busy and we've been battling sickness, but I'm back now!

A couple of weeks ago on a Friday night I went to a jewelry party with my friend. I took Ryan with me, well, because I have to take him everywhere because he is attached to me! Very frustrating at times, but that's a subject for another blog entry. Derek decided that he would take Sean out for his first "guy's night out". We told Sean about it early in the week and that is all he talked about for the whole week. Each night, he would ask me "Is it guys night tonight?". He was also sure to tell me that I could not go because I was girl and that Ryan could not go because he can't walk yet. On that night, he waited patiently at the door for daddy to come home and as soon as Derek walked in, Sean was ready to leave. Sean really enjoyed this special night with his daddy. They went to his favorite place for dinner, Chick-Fil A and then went to Target to look at action figures. Derek let him pick out a toy and a book. When I got home he was in bed already, but the next morning he was so excited to tell me about his special night with daddy. Derek and I want to try and have these "date nights" every few months with each of the boys so they can spend time alone with just mommy or daddy or even both us.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentines Day! We had a pretty low key Valentine's day and just hung around the house. We woke up to a frosty morning, but it cleared up by about 1:00 this afternoon after the sun came out for a couple of hours. I made heart shaped french toast and it was yummy! We got Sean some cute Valentine's gifts: a stuffed animal (he loves them although mommy and daddy aren't crazy about having so many!), some heart stickers, candy (of course!), a Disney Cars cup (to replace a broken one) and some coloring/activity books. We had the surprise waiting for him on the table when he woke up this morning and he was so excited! Oh, we also got the boys a Valentine's placement shaped like a cupcake. For each holiday, I've been trying to pick up a placement for the boys and so far we have Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and now Valentine's Day. I can usually find them on sale for like a $1 so it's not too costly and it's just something fun and different for the boys. I'm making an effort to try and do something small for them on each holiday. Sean enjoyed having a Valentine's party at church and at school. I'm finding Valentine's all over the house! We hope that each of you had a wonderful Valentine's Day! We love you!

Ryan's New Form of Communication

As Ryan gets older, he has discovered a new way to communicate - scream! He uses his entire body to scream; clenched fists and all. Although it's actually pretty annoying, it makes me laugh sometimes and I've included a video so you can see what I mean. The boys had just finished taking a bath...

Wonderful Weather

The weather this past week in Colorado Springs was absolutely beautiful with most days in the mid to high 50's. As I've mentioned before, being a Phoenix girl most of my life, I used to think 50 degrees was very cold and never would have dreamed of going outside to enjoy temps that cold! However, things change. Now that I live in Colorado, 50 degrees is pretty nice and as long as the sun is out and it's not too breezy we try to get outside. This past week, we went for walks and played outside most everyday. The one thing about Colorado weather is that it changes quickly. It's gotten cold today and it is supposed to snow tonight into tomorrow. :-( I managed to get some pictures of the boys playing outside. We put up a baby swing for Ryan on our swing set and he just giggles and smiles when you put him in it. I've also included a picture of Pikes Peak mountain from the view in our backyard. It's not the best pic because it was a little cloudy that day, but still beautiful. I hope to take some better pictures this spring.