Photo Update

Just a few recent photos of my growing boys. Dawson's 14 1/2 mos. old now. Still not walking but he can climb up onto the dining room table among other things. He's one intense little boy. He's usually growling or yelling when we're at home. He can say several words now: uh-oh, more, ball, pappy (paci), bye-bye and says, "woof woof!" whenever he sees a dog.

He and Quinn reading books to each other:

Bennett's as wild as ever but still sweet and sensitive. We spend a few hours at the library every week (one of my favorite places to take him) and he's still loving preschool. He's really into making up words for everything right now and is really good at pestering playing with his brother. His current favorite game is to lock himself and brother in the front hall closet. Today when I opened the door, Bennett had climbed up to the top of the vaccuum (don't ask me).

I found Bennett and Piper laying at the bottom of the basement stairs the other day yelling out shapes they were seeing in the "clouds". It was so cute.

Nana, Bennett, Caleb and Kietlyn working on their turkey craft on Turkey Day:

The finished project with all the thankful feathers (Bennett's first item of thanks was for Piper :)

We had a great Thanksgiving. An amazing brunch that morning at my mom and dad's (breakfast meals are always my favorite since bacon is usually involved. There was plenty. I was in hog heaven--pun intended.) And then we all had dinner together at the Colyer's. The dynamic duo (my two moms) cooked a drool-worthy meal and we've been eating leftovers since. We also got to go to Kansas City on Friday and Saturday to hang out with some extended Colyer fam. It was fun (my highlight was eating all of their leftovers) and all the women got some shopping in sans kids (thanks to my hubby's sacrifice). Bennett got to swim at our hotel and sleep in a bed with Poppy! It was a nice little getaway.

Not sure if the video uploader is working, but here's a funny one of the boys dancing. Dawson loves dancing to music. Wish there was more of him on here:

Grateful

The Top 10 Reasons I Love my Husband:

1. He's my best friend. I never get sick of being around him. Is there anyone else I could live with for 8 years without wanting to pull my hair out every once in a while?? I think not. (Really...he never makes me want to pull my hair out :)


2. He's funny. We laugh together constantly. He practices silly faces in the mirror--I used to think it was a little goofy but those face contortions are quite a handy tool to use on a grumpy 3 year old. (Although, they work just as well on his mom. Okay, okay, they work on me too.)


3. He cleans! (Ladies...you may not want to read this one, or you may end up in a jealous rage.) He does all of our laundry, most of the dishes and picks up around the house way more than I do. We'd live in a dump if it weren't for him.


4. The family that came with him. I love my in-laws as much as my own parents. Its so wonderful living close by because they're a huge help with the kiddos. I can't imagine raising kids without Nana and Poppy! It's so awesome to feel completely comfortable over there even when Jon's not with me.


5. He's such a great daddy. I love seeing him and Bennett wrestle together and now Dawson's getting in on the action. Its just hilarious. On Bennett's little Thanksgiving artwork at preschool he had to fill in the blank: "I'm thankful for..." and he said, "my Daddy".


6. We're a great team. I'm pretty sure the wife is supposed to be the "helpmate" but I feel like he's my "helpmate". I love how we tag-team putting the boys to bed at night. And whenever Dawson's screaming when I change his diaper (yes, he's 14 months and still fights with all his might when I change him), Jon runs in to help me hold him down so the poop doesn't go flying.


7. His character. I don't know any other man with so many talents (and good looks ;) but still is so humble. He's a servant through and through. He'll do anything for anybody. I love when we pass a stalled car, and he jumps out to help the stranger and how my sister can rely on him for anything while her husband's deployed.


8. He pushes me to be a better person. He loves me for who I am, tons of faults and all. He thinks I'm the most beautiful girl in the world and he helps me to love myself more. I'm braver, bolder and more confident by his side. I would crumble to pieces without him.


9. He's so wise with money. He works so hard for our family to earn his potential but he's not money hungry. He's quick to save and quick to give. He's taught me to be more frugal and content with what we have and I feel so confident with our future in his hands.


10. He's so stinkin handy! That man can do anything he puts his mind to and he never ceases to amaze me. Not to mention, when he sets his mind to something, he gets it done so quickly. There's no stopping him. He's built so many things for our house (uh, hello, our entire basement, including a two level fort for the kids I dreamed up in my head!) and he's saved us thousands of dollars on car repairs by just researching and figuring out how to do it himself. He is the ultimate DIY-er and should probably have his own HGTV show.


11. He's hot! Woops....that's 11. I won't get carried away...although I certainly could.

I love you, baby. Thank you for loving me and giving me so much to be thankful for. I look forward to the rest of our lives together...especially when we're 50 and can move to Aruba :)

Needs work....

So Bennett's very first school photos didn't quite showcase his adorable-ness. I had to take a picture of his proofs to post because they were just hilarious. (I know, I know, this is probably illegal but I've never been much of a rule follower)

Take 1, not too bad:

Take 2, funnier:

Take 3, constipated??:

Vacation Part II

Sorry for the lag in posts...

Most of you have probably seen these on facebook already, but just in case:

Thanks to my uncle, an employee of Disney, we got to do two days of Disney free and he also gave us 1/2 price tickets to Sea World. That was a huge blessing. to say the least!

Disney, Day 1: Magic Kingdom. Bennett was so tired that day, every picture we have of him, he's half asleep.

Exhibit A (you might need to click on these pictures to see the close-up to get the full effect):

Exhibit B:

Exhibit C:

Until finally in the afternoon he took a long nap on the People Mover in Tomorrowland:

Sword in the Stone:

Day 2, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.

On the Safari:

Bennett was tall enough to ride the Tower of Terror. I'm sure some moms are ready to call Child Protective Services on me for that one but I know how brave my son is and I knew he could handle it! He loved it, by the way, but when we asked him if he wanted to ride it again, he said, "No way!"

My cute little Paleontologists:

Sea World:

And our last day of vacation--back to Cocoa Beach. It was way too much fun to just go one day. The boys were even braver the second time around.

I highly recommend a Florida trip in October. The weather was perfect and I think the longest line we waited in at Disney was about 20 minutes. Most of them we just walked right on. It was a great introduction for Bennett! Hopefully my unce works there for a looong time :)

hello.....anybody there??

I'm sure that's what some of you are asking my blog these days.

My blog may be suffering but my marriage is not. Sometimes life comes to a halt and the priorities in life re-emerge as priorities.

I'll be back soon....