Happy Anniversary!!!

This year our anniversary lined up perfectly with our house hunting trip in San Antonio. We decided it would be easier to go without the kids so we after spending a few days with them in Colorado with our parents, we entrusted our beautiful children with their grandparents...and so our adventure started. The first days of a trip involved viewing many properties and trying to find the perfect one for our family....Then yesterday we made our way to Corpus Christi were we started our anniversary getaway.

April 29th, four years ago today, Tyler and I were married and sealed for time and all eternity in the Denver Temple. Four years have slipped away and are now just memories, fond memories...I love Tyler so much, he is my best friend and I tell him so almost everyday. I love that I never feel embarrased about anything. I can say what I think, act as I do, ask obvious questions and he loves me for who I am. I love that he thinks I am funny and I love that he makes me laugh. I love the perspective that he gives and I especially love how interacts with and fathers our children. He is amazing and I am lucky and blessed to have him! and just like we used to always say when we first married "being married rocks!".

We spent a wonderful day together. We got to wake up and with no rush to get up and moving spent the morning lounging around. When we finally got up and going we hit the road to see what Corpus Christi had in store for us...From the interstate we saw the USS Lexington Air Craft Carrier...."what's an air craft carrier"?(see what I mean...Tyler never makes me feel dumb!) So upon discovering that it was one of those big boats that planes can take off from and land on, we decided to check it out. The thing was massive and had some crazy history. I took lots of pics and we had a lot of fun exploring the many floors of the ship. When we were done with our tour we were starving and headed for some Mexican food in honor of our honeymoon spot. We found La Iguana Mexican restaurant and officially found the WORST mexican food in all the United States. It was so bad that it was comical and we left half our food untouched and went for Wendy's frosty's to "make right" our dinner. We finished the evening with a trip to the theatre...We saw State of Play and really liked it! It's been so fun to go where we want when we want. We love you kids, but we sure are loving all our one-on-one time with eachother!


Happy Anniversary to us!

Confession...

I LOVE my job!!! I could not have been given a better position....I could never have imagined it could be so good, I love being a MOM. I love when my little Isaac coos when I talk to him and the way he laughs when I play with him. I love holding him and stroking his sweet head as he eats. I love watching him learn and become more aware of his surroundings. I love seeing the love in his eyes when he looks at his brother. Can it get any better? Amazingly it can...I love hearing Ashton's sweet 22 month old voice look at me and say "i wuv you mommy". I love when he smiles at me and laughs at my silly jokes. I love that he loves to play with me and read books with me, imitate me and goof off and dance with me. I love how he asks me for hugs and kisses. I love how excited he gets for family night, prayers, cookies, and going bye-bye. I love to hear him call me from his crib at 6:30 a.m. saying "mommy, WAKE UP!!!". My kids are so fun, so smart, so loving. I am SOOO lucky to be a mom, to be THEIR mom! Life is good...

Stoic

Remember how our sweet kids got sick during our Chicago trip three weeks ago? Well, we've had a rough patch trying to overcome our colds...In fact I finally went in to the Dr. when mine turned into a sinus infection. And with all my griping and complaining of not feeling well I seemed to have overlooked my sweet Isaac's own infection. Let me tell you, I am not to blame here. Isaac is the sweetest, happiest, most patient little baby of all time...there was not much to notice. Last night as he was eating he looked up at me with his big blue eyes and he looked sad, like something was wrong. I wasn't sure what to make of it until today. As he rested his little head on my arm to feed he cried out in agony...I just thought he was hungry. When he was done, I playfully kissed his ears and again he cried out in pain. After consoling him I touched his ear again to confirm my suspicion and sure enough, another episode of painful tears. I had Tyler pull out his otoscope and sure enough he had an ear infection that had progressed so much that eardrum perforated to release the pressure from the infection. I immediately took him to the doctor and got a scrip for antibiotics (even though he's almost recovered all on his own).

What a strong little man. A painful ear infection and not even a whimper of fussiness until now. I am so grateful for his happy disposition. Just know Isaac, I will be there for you no matter how stoic you are!!!

Potty Training

Ashton has always been very aware of the world around him. As he has become more talkative and independent I thought it would be a good idea to get him his own potty. So off to Target we went and he picked the one he liked best. I didn't take it out of the box until after he was asleep. The following morning as Tyler and I were cleaning up after breakfast Ashton was standing over his potty in the living room saying "that reeks" as he slammed down the potty lid. It's not the first time he's used the phrase in bathroom context (I wonder where he gets that from?) so we lifted the potty lid and sure enough he had delivered it's first package, all on his own!!! We congratulated him and then he sat down to pee pee and did so a few times. And just to show that it's not a fluke he has used the potty 5 times since all on his own. He doesn't always want to use it but he is definitely showing that he is ready. Even though I bought the potty, this all feels so unexpected and I feel so unprepared.

As I was reading some potty training material I realized that we are only here for 2 weeks before our 10 day trip to Colorado where he will be staying with Papa and Nana for a week without us and then we will only be in St. Louis for another 2 weeks before we move to San Antonio. So....I need some advice from all you experienced moms. Do we attempt to potty train with all the disruptions in schedule over the next month or do we wait until we are settled in Texas. Please, advice is welcomed!!!

Horray for Sun

After many days of clouds, cold and rain the sun decided to come out today! As soon as the boys were up, fed and dressed we headed out to one of our favorite places, the zoo. Of all the animals there, here are the pics of my favorites...

5 Months and growing strong

Isaac is 5 months old all ready! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. Well, here is a pic of the little guy and here are some reasons why I love him so much:



He plays with my hair while he eats...something Ashton used to do.

His patience. He rarely cries, even if he is hungry or poopy.

His love for Ashton. You can tell he loves his brother and thinks anything he says or does is worth laughing about.

He's a pro sitter, which I suppose makes up for his ceased rolling. He loves to sit and be involved with whatever it is that we are doing.

He's great at having alone time. He can entertain himself with toys but his favorite are his hands...In fact, after what I thought was too long of a nap, Tyler went to check on him and found him lying in bed entranced by his extended fingers.

He's always good for a smile. He loves people and is sure to let you know he's into you with a gorgeous grin!

He's a great napper (which offsets his poor sleeping at night)

He loves playing pat-a-cake and al-pompito

He can put up with this!!!!

Abraham Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon

For the past 2 months I have been training for a half marathon with 6 friends. We had a training schedule, a blog to chart progress etc. and overall some great company.

Today, we ran it!!! I'll admit, it was lots harder than I thought it would be, but I did meet my personal goal to run it in under 9 min/miles (I was at 8:59 min/miles) and I PR'd! My time was 1:57:37.

Thanks Mindy for pushing me!

Here's our troop: me, Mindy, Amy, Emily, Angela, Chelsey

and of course, the pyramid!!! We missed you Chantal!!!

and we can't forget the support team!

Because the race was in Springfield IL we all drove up the day before. When we arrived Friday Tyler and I took the kids to experience the Abe Lincoln Museum...and WOW!!! It was beautiful! The exhibits were very aesthetic and the message was powerful. I loved getting to read about our great President, his failures, successes, trials, and triumphs. My favorite exhibit took us through the events of his presidency. The little tour was so vivid it almost felt as though you were there, in the heat of the civil war. By the end I was in tears... Our country suffered so many casualties in the fight to end slavery and even claimed Lincoln's life...but the fight was not in vain. Slaves were emancipated! I am grateful to live in this present, a time when our country treats all mankind as equals...sure life and government isn't perfect but have moved forward. I feel like a better person having learned more about President Lincoln and the great man he was.

I've got some cute pictures of the kids at Mrs. Lincoln's attic so check back!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

Tyler turned 28 today!!! And it wasn't the typical way to spend a birthday. We were in Springfield IL for my half marathon in which Tyler spent the morning watching the kids and cheering me on!



This is him with Isaac, post-race, waiting for me to recover. SOOOO HANDSOME!!!! I have to admit it wasn't much of a birthday...it was preceded with yet another sleepless night in a hotel with our 2 light sleeper kids (after Ashton hurled all over his bed and floor). Then he hauled the two boys around town walking miles to get to different locations of the course to cheer me on (with a flat tire on our new BOB stroller). Then we drove home to St. Louis, had a "nap", dinner, and then it was off to Priesthood meeting for General Conference. What a day! He handled it all with a smile and good attitude and that is just one of the things that I love about him. I'm so lucky to have a patient, loving, supportive husband. I sure hope he knows how much I love and appreciate him!

Our Passport photo shoot