Sean

Sean is growing up so fast and he says some of the smartest things! I just can't believe his thought process and how fast he changed from my "baby" to a "big boy who can walk" as he calls himself. (That is opposed to a baby like Ryan who can't walk yet!) Don't be fooled, he does still have his baby moments and we remember that he is only 3 and a half years old.

Back in December, I entered Sean in a coloring contest and just the other day we received a coupon for a free kid's meal at Chick-Fil A and an honorable mention certificate. We were all really excited. Pretty good for a 3 year old boy! He was very happy to get the coupon for the kid's meal because Chick-Fil A is his favorite place to eat.

On occasion, he also gets to take a bath in mommy and daddy's big bathtub and he would stay in there for hours playing if we let him. He likes to take his Star Wars action figures in the tub and sets them up strategically.

Just when we thought it was spring and the weather would start to get warm, we were hit with a big storm today with a prediction of anywhere from 6-24 inches. Big spread, huh? That's how the predictions work here in Colorado Springs. We could get half an inch or a foot of snow, you just never know. It also depends on the part of town that you live in. We tend to get less snow than where Derek works. Most of the schools shut down and many employers sent people home early. We were so happy when daddy came home at 3:00. Who knows, it could be 70 degrees here in a couple of days! Here's what it looked like early into the storm:

Onto Ryan... he has been sick with a cough and I took him to the doctor on Wednesday and they said that he has RSV. Thankfully, it's not a really severe case and has not moved into his chest which can be very dangerous for little babies. He has been miserable this week and we've been stuck at home. He (and I) have gotten very little sleep and I'm feeling sick too. Poor Sean has had to deal with us and has been stuck in the house on his spring break from pre-school. I think he's starting to go stir crazy. Everyone knows that Ryan is not good sleeper, especially at night. Well, since he's been sick it has gotten worse and I've allowed bad habits like tending to him every time he cries and feeding him in the middle of the night. It's only been a couple of days and he already thinks its the norm now and so once he's completely better I have to try and help him to sleep on his own and stop waking through the night. I just feel at a loss, because he is so stubborn about sleeping at night! Please pray for me and Derek regarding this, we need it!

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...