A Little Getaway

Last weekend we took a short road trip to Kansas City to be with Dave's extended family...kind of a late Christmas gathering of sorts. Will always does so well in the car, but Graham can be another story. Thankfully this was the best he's done yet. Our drive to Chicago over Thanksgiving was a tad hairy, but the 3-hour drive to KC was a breeze in comparison.

20 minutes into the drive and he already managed to get off both shoes and one sock. Let the never-ending game of peek-a-boo begin!

Grammy & cute cousin Ruby :)

A common scene...bully Graham wrestling Will to the ground.

yet another common scene. cars, cars, and more cars!

2 of my favorite boys...

...and the 3rd :)

we spotted this cardinal perched in a bush through a window.

Dave made plans to attend a conference in San Francisco for a good majority of this week, and needed to leave on Sunday, so he flew out of Kansas City on Sunday afternoon. With Dave's family being there with us, it worked out so well that I didn't have to travel back on my own with the boys. His mom drove with us, and we decided to spend a few days at Grammy & Grandpa's while Dave was out of town.

We all enjoyed the change of scenery. It also worked out well, because in the matter of 2 days we got dumped on with 8+" of snow and had temps below freezing, with 30 mph winds. Needless to say, we stayed put for those couple days.

This was Dave & Kristin's play kitchen when they were little...the boys had such a blast with it!

Trying to play with Koko through the window

Will & Grammy making my birthday cake :)

My birthday was on Tuesday, so Will helped Grammy bake me a cake, and we all went out for dinner that night. We ventured back home on Wednesday, and picked Dave up at the airport last night (Thurs).

While at Dave's parents' house, a friend of mine wanted to take me out for a birthday dinner on Monday night, so since I had "live-in" babysitters, I was able to leave the boys with them while she and I had fun. Most of the stores were closed due to the weather, but I was able to pick up a few maternity items...before long I will need to bust out that wardrobe :/ We went to Cheesecake Factory and had dinner, and of course, some yummy dessert as well.

The celebrations continued last night, when two other friends offered to take me out. We went to Cantina Laredo and just gabbed it up all night long. To top it off, Dave and I are planning to celebrate on Saturday night with a little date night as well...I like this birthday thing...perhaps I should have one more often!

Fun with Friends

The first time we ever took Will bowling was this past Thanksgiving Day in Chicago. It's a long-time family tradition for my family to hit the lanes after we stuff our faces with all the trimmings on turkey day. We burn off a few calories, only to go back for dessert afterwards! It's a fun tradition, and we had a great time introducing Will to the game.

Since he had so much fun, we wanted to take him again, so we invited a few friends to join us on New Years Day. The kids loved all of the activity, and Graham's favorite part was roaming from lane to lane making friends with everybody. It cracks me up...he'll literally just walk up to people and smile at them with the biggest smile you've ever seen, and wait for them to smile back. He's definitely a social bee.

Onto the Next...

...house project, that is. After living in this house for a year and a half, we're finally getting around to some home improvement projects. It's been kind of nice to take our time, and really consider how we want to use each space, and not just rush into getting it done for the sake of getting it done. The week before we officially moved in last summer, we painted the boys' rooms. Last February we gutted and renovated our "Smurf" blue bathroom (which, by the way, I don't think I ever posted pictures, so here ya go, almost a year later), which I was ecstatic about, because it's the lone bathroom with a tub; hence where we bathe the boys. Makes me wish it were OUR bathroom :)

This week we had our dining room and living room painted. We decided to paint them both the same color. Due to the lighting, it's probably kind of hard to tell from the pictures, but the color is a gray-ish taupe. Definitely a warmer gray, and I'm so happy with how it turned out. Isn't it funny, though, how one project leads to another? These two rooms are adjacent one another, with our entry and stairway in between them. Now that these two rooms have been completed, we are realizing how badly our entry and hallway need painting! So that's on our short-list as well.

this shot shows more of the true color

it's a tad washed out in this one

I'm looking for input on our next project in the living room, so that's where you come in. I want to paint the brick & hearth (I think that's what it's called...the brick on the floor beneath the fireplace), and am not entirely sure what direction I want to go. We're going to remove the brass cover and have the inside of the fireplace exposed, but I'm leaning towards painting the brick a shade of chocolate brown. I want a warm contrast between the ivory trim and wall color. The colors of the rug are tan/taupe and chocolate brown. I also considered a tan color for the brick; however, due to the hardwood floors being in that same family, I'm not sure I'd like that...I think I want more contrast against the floors. Sooooo, opinions, people...throw 'em at me! Once that is complete, we'll add some window panels and accessories on the fireplace, and I'll try to remember to take some more pics so you can see the finished product :)

While I was attending my CBS Bible study about a month ago, we had our master bath toilet overflow! It wasn't even running when I left the house, but when I walked into the kitchen

through the garage, my head was getting dripped on (not a fun discovery)! I looked up and saw all this water leaking from upstairs. I ran up, only to find our toilet bowl still overflowing, so I grabbed every towel in the house to soak up the water, turned off the water line, and called the plumber. Thankfully he was able to arrive soon after! The damage could have been much, much worse, so we're so glad I came home when I did! But because of that whole mess, we need to make some repairs to our kitchen ceiling and woodwork...add that to the (unexpected) project list.

I've been getting requests for some belly photos lately. I wasn't a big fan of documenting my growing belly with my previous 2 pregnancies, so I beg the question, "Why start now?"; but for those family and friends who I can't see in person, if you really must see photos, I snapped a couple to prove that we really are taking the plunge for the 3rd time. I'm sure I will appreciate these photos someday ;-) I took these today...I believe I'm 15 weeks now...I've done a poor job keeping track this time around!

if you don't think i look too pregnant in this shot, well...

...you can certainly tell from this angle!

Changing gears, I know I requested that you all share pictures from your Christmas; however, I was a slacker this year, and didn't do such a great job taking photos myself. I'll post a few, but quite honestly, I was enjoying just sitting on my keister watching the boys have fun. We had a wonderful, lazy Christmas. We stayed with Dave's parents for a few nights, along with his newly-married sister and her hubby. We pretty much lived in our pajamas, and I think I maybe did my hair and put on makeup once. This also might have something to do with the lack of pictures ;-)

I'm often guilty of taking SO many pictures, that I end up missing out on the moment. I wanted to truly cherish them all this year, and not be stuck behind a camera lens (although, that's typically one of my favorite positions) :)

Our dear friend, Barb came to celebrate with us on Christmas day, too...the boys love her! You can also see the two newlyweds snuggled on the couch in the background ;-)

This Hot Wheels race track was a highlight...both Will and Graham love this thing!

Will is into ANYTHING having to do with cars and trucks these days...here's Dave helping him set up his repair shop.

This little bundle of energy does not stop smiling...this looks like a, "I just woke up, and am ready to cause some trouble" smile!

This is Will's "CHEESE" smile...I can't get him to smile naturally for pictures!

A Squeaky Christmas Treat

I saw this little project on a morning show several weeks ago, and thought it would be fun to do with Will. He loves helping with just about anything in the kitchen, so I figured this would be right up his alley.

For those of you who may be interested in giving it a try, it's super easy...here's the "recipe."

Ingredients:

- Semi-sweet chocolate, melted

- Hersey Kisses (I used Hugs with the milk chocolate & white chocolate)

- Maraschino Cherries (get the ones with stems...I accidentally purchased ones without stems, so our poor little mice are without tails)

- Sliced almonds

Directions:

Melt the chocolate, dip the cherries into the chocolate and immediately place the Hersey Kiss against it to make the head/body, and then add the sliced almonds to make the ears. Then use a toothpick to dip into the melted chocolate, and make the eyes and nose of the mouse.

Winter Snow Song - Audrey Assad with Chris Tomlin

The music & lyrics are so beautiful...love this song.

1 Week and Counting

We are thoroughly enjoying the sights and sounds of Christmas around here. Will has been anticipating this for months, and has been convinced since August that he's been seeing Christmas lights while driving at night. Thankfully the time is finally here, and we don't have to keep explaining to him that Christmas is still several months away!! I love seeing the anticipation on kids faces, though...makes me wish I was a kid all over again.

On a couple occasions we have gone through McDonald's drive-through, picked up dinner and ate it in the car while driving around looking at lights...Will thinks that's pretty much the coolest thing ever (especially when Daddy takes him, because he'll even get them a chocolate milkshake to share). Christmas songs are pretty much playing around-the-clock at our house on Pandora, and even though I'm way behind on my shopping, I think I have my to-do list sorted out...somewhat :/

I finally got my Christmas cards off in the mail, and even though you won't be able to see the full effect of the metallic paper I printed them on, I included the file so you could have a sneak peek at the card :)

Thinking back to this time last year when we were still in the hospital with Will after his scary seizure ordeal, we are so incredibly grateful that we are not spending our week before Christmas in the ICU! We praise God for 2 healthy, growing boys, and although our life seems somewhat chaotic at times, we are falling more and more in love with Will and Graham every day. We feel so blessed that the Lord chose us to be their parents, and pray for another healthy year for all of us! The older we get, the more we realize what a gift health is, and not to take it for granted.

On that note, we are praising God for another blessing...we're expecting baby #3 next summer. I'm almost 12 weeks along, and glad to be entering the 2nd trimester. I haven't been too terribly sick, but moreso with this pregnancy than the previous 2. I'm ready for my energy levels to pick up again as well, but other than that, I can't complain. Sometimes I still have to pinch myself that we're going down this road for a 3rd time, but I have to keep reminding myself that Graham will be close to 2 at that point (21 months, to be exact), and that stage should be slightly easier than where we're at currently. Right?! (gulp).

Merry Christmas, everyone! Enjoy your time with family and friends, travel safe, and share pictures when you have them :)

Summer Days at the Lake

Anyone else already singing the Winter blues? Don't get me wrong...I love this time of year with all its gatherings with family and friends, and I even enjoy the occasional snow, but I'll never be a fan of the bitter cold. I get cabin fever way too quickly during these winter months, and dream of Summer days spent on the water.

Looking back through some of our pics, I realized I never posted some of my favorites from our time spent at Dave's parents cabin. We love the days at the lake, and always make great memories there. The first photo is of one of the boys' favorite activities while there...going for a drive around the lake in the golf cart.

Hurry back, summer...hurry back!

Will loves helping Grammy by watering her flowers. When I took him out do so on this particular day, he wanted to pick Grammy a flower, so I had to capture it :)

Brother love ;-)

I love this shot...it looks like he's driving a hard bargain with me from across the table.

He's also very serious about his corn-on-the-cob.