cavity free.

Tuesday morning I took the boys to their very first dentist appointment. I knew it was time we had their little mouths checked out. And I was a little bit nervous.  I was nervous how Holden would do with strangers prodding around in his mouth.  I didn't want a freak out moment.  For that reason, I did take them to a pediatric dentist office where they would be more prepared for a little freaking out.  I was also a little nervous about the report we would get back. I know we take care of their teeth and are consistent about brushing. We also don't do much added sugar around here and stick to more whole, natural foods, which I do think can play a big part in those little teeth. But Holden's almost 4, so I just didn't know what to expect as far as cavitites. But the good news is we had 2 sets of healthy teeth. The dentist also commented on their perfectly straight teeth and nice spacing. So we're hoping braces and orthodontics work is not in their future. :) But oh well, if it is.

Right when we got there, Holden noticed all of the toys in the waiting room and said, "This place is fun!"  I don't think he was expecting toys to be part of this dental experience.

As pretty typical around here, Pax was chilled out. He let them clean his teeth and snoop around in his mouth while he realaxed and watched Mickey Mouse Club on the TV.  Occassionally the hygentist's head would block his view and he would try to sit up to see over her. Made me laugh a little. Mickey Mouse was the priority. He could care less what they needed to accomplish.

Holden had his x-rays done. Apparently they wait until age 3 to do x-rays. A hygentist whisked him away to do this as soon as we walked back. I thought he would stick closely by me and be reluctant to do much of anything. Boy was I wrong! By the time I got this picture, they had almost finished all of his x-rays.

And then it was time for his cleaning. At this point, he did want me right beside him and he started out a little reluctant. But he did amazing. I was shocked. The dentist could feel a little "wiggly" bottom tooth. She told me to expect it to fall out around age 4 1/2 or 5. She said this was early, but not surprising since he began cutting his teeth earlier than most babies. I just looked back to this. He cut his 2 front and center, bottom teeth first. Naturally, one of those is the wiggly one. And I use that term loosely. We haven't noticed it being wiggly. But the dentist did.

I'm happy to have their first dentist appointments behind us. And I can only hope that their future visits go just as smoothly and we leave with this same positive report!  Cavity free! Yay!

beets.

Tuesday we received beets through our fruit and veggie co-op. During the boys afternoon naps, I found a recipe that I thought might appeal to them. I cooked the beets in the oven, let them cool, slipped off their peeling, and chopped them up into bite sized pieces. Then I combined them with chopped orange slices, apple slices, a drizzle of olive oil, a splash of lemon juice and a sprinkle of sea salt. The apples and oranges also turned magenta as I stirred them together. I just called the dish fruit salad hoping to sneak the beets past the boys. But Holden studies his plate. He doesn't just dive right in.  So he quickly informed me that he wasn't going to like this particular fruit salad. :) We stripped down the boys explaining that the beets might stain their clothes. And as we sat down to eat, I ate a beet first and then showed them my tongue. That was all it took. The dove right in and loved them. Actually they didn't love the taste, but they loved what the beets did to the insides of our mouths. And my veggie lover, Pax even shivered a little bit as he chewed. And they both requested a second helping of this healthy fruit salad. You just never know how dinner's gonna go down over here at this house. But Tuesday night was a success!

bits and pieces of our weekend.

A few pictures from our weekend...

Girl's Night Out with old college friends at The Melting Pot. Is it even possible that we graduated 10 years ago?! Crazy to think about.

Saturday was spent with Jeremy re-organizing and cleaning out the garage for the mini to fit...

I think I failed to mention that I'm now a mini-van mama. Don't hate. We love it. The boys love it. It's roomy, comfy and if you park next to me, it will be impossible for my children to ding your door. Biggest perk, right there!

While he worked on the garage, Holden and Pax had a ball playing outside in the front and testing out all their outdoor toys. Holden was never interested in pedalling the tricycle. Pax loves it and can even pedal up the incline. He's got some calf muscles that make me jealous!

Holden is still obsessed with cars and trucks. And his biggest obsession right now is construction vehicles.

Completely unplanned matchy-matchy with the grey and yellow on Sunday morning.

Attended a baby shower for this dear friend and got to meet all of the special friends and family members that have helped to make her who she is today. We can't wait to set our eyes on that little boy. He has 2 older buddies ready and waiting to play with him!

a sweet moment.

I had a sweet moment today in the car with my boys. As I was buckling them into their seats, Holden requested we play the CD Warren got me. It's really Lauren, but I like that when he says it, it sounds more like a boy named Warren. You might remember that my friend came bearing gifts on my birthday. And you might remember me raving about this song almost a year ago. Go now and listen to it if you haven't or need a refresher. Well, the CD she gifted me was Blessings. So earlier this week I moved this CD out to our car. And today Holden requested it for our drive to school. We were listening to the CD from the beginning when he sweetly requested that we listen to "our song". :) So I quickly jumped forward to #5. I could listen to this song over and over and over again. And honestly, I'm listening to it as I type this now. So we were all singing along. Holden knows most all of the words now and Pax knows about half. And as I peeked at my boys through the rearview mirror and watched their lips form words and thoughts that they really can't comprehend. . .but words that feel like they were written for me. . .for us. . .for our family. It got to me. And then as I was digesting these thoughts with a tight throat, I heard that same sweet voice ask me why I had stopped singing. I could hardly even speak to answer him, much less sing. So for the umpteenth time I had to attempt explaining happy tears to a 2 and {almost} 4 year old.

I consider it one of the miracles in my life, that I was able to struggle and pray for something and have God tell me no. That he had another plan for me that was so good. It's a miracle in my book because it completely altered my faith, for the better. I know it wasn't the first time God told me no on something. But maybe the first time he told me no to a pure request. I was asking for something that wasn't wrong or selfish and that ultimately, I figured he would deliver. . .eventually. But he said no over and over again. And for the past {almost} 4 years I've been able to live with so much clarity on his answer. And a heart so full of thankfulness that he told me no. I know most people won't ever truly understand that about me ~ that God completely changed my heart and desires with his great plan. But he did. And that's probably just another miracle to add to my list.

Revive Carnival

Our church does this really cool carnival in the spring. And I just stole this from our church website to sum it up for you:
The REVIVE Carnival is the event that funds an entire year of the REVIVE Program. If you’re new or not familiar with REVIVE, it’s a program where loving volunteers from NorthWood Church and our community provide a time of respite for families of children with special needs.

The carnival began Thursday evening and went all weekend. We finally had our opportunity to go on Saturday evening. We went last year and it was fun. But this year, with Pax being so much more independent, it was even better. This year we bought the boys wrist bands, which meant unlimited rides. So they enjoyed everything they were tall enough to ride. There was much-o hyperactivity going on. ;) They had a ball! A few pictures from our evening:
They loved the elephants!

I was so proud of Holden for going down the slide by himself. He's in the middle lane. He wanted to do it over and over. He absolutely loved it!Little buddies. :)And as our little carnival finale, Jeremy took them both on the ferris wheel. When Holden got off, he told me that he never wanted to do it again. It was too loud. Pax, on the otherhand, loved it. It was a fun little evening for my boys.

So proud.

Last Wednesday night I got to have a date with my littlest guy! He has made me so proud in the last 2 weeks. He is completely potty trained! One morning he told me would try on the potty and he went! Those first few days there were a couple of times that he told me he didn't want undies and wanted his diaper. But I stuck to my guns. There were a few accidents the first couple of days. But we started on a Tuesday morning, and to my complete shock, Thursday at school he had no accidents. I was so proud when I peeked in his classroom that afternoon and found him wearing the same clothes I had put on him that morning. I just assumed he would have an accident or 2. Pax did so much better with potty training than we ever imagined. I tell you, we underestimate that boy alot. I think this is because he is currently the baby of the family. And I am completely guilty of treating him like my little baby. :) So once he had filled his sticker chart we headed for the mall for a special trip to Build-A-Bear and icecream.

He picked out a cute little koala bear. Ironic because I've called him that often. "My little koala bear" - because of the way he latches onto my waist by wrapping his legs tightly around. He has always loved to be carried or held, but is becoming less koala-like now that he's well into his 2s. As he slipped the shirt on the bear, it seemed to be a tight fit getting it over it's head. And Pax said in his cute little voice, "He has a big head, yike me!" Ha! We say this alot when we struggle to put on his shirts.Brushing the hair.And a fake "cheese" for my picture.Our next stop was a little fro-yo!So this little bear was named Basketball by his silly, little owner. So original, huh? So we looked at ALL the bear clothes. He saw the baseball uniform and went for it. This boys LOVES baseball. When we go in the backyard, all he wants to do is have me pitch him balls so he can practice swinging at them with his little bat. And he's actually really good at hitting them. He might become our little baseball star. He also loves golf. I think because it's a similar concept. Well, not completely. But you're swinging at balls and that's what he likes to do. Anyways, so he was sold on the baseball uniform UNTIL he saw the basketball uniform that had a basketball attached. That was the key. It had an actual ball attached to it. A ball he could play with. :) So there was no turning back. The bear was going to be a basketball player. And I didn't push the Texas uniform AT ALL. I even showed him the Mavericks uniform thinking he would rather have the blue. (He really likes blue these days.) But he wanted Texas. And when it was time to register his bear in the computer he came up with a few names that I nixed such as: PooPooTeeTee, Build-A-Bear and Computer (since that's what we were working on at that particular time). So I settled for his more reasonable suggestion: Basketball. He's a funny boy. I love him so much! And I'm so proud of his most recent accomplishment.

Easter Weekend

I realized Easter weekend that I haven't put much thought into this particular holiday for my boys. Yes, we have spent time talking about Jesus' death and ressurection. And Holden can tell you all about Palm Sunday, Hosanna and that Jesus is alive. But I didn't plan out learninging activities for the boys and really haven't put a whole lot of thought into how to explain our celebration of this day. Jeremy and I really have put alot of thought into our Christmas holiday, and so I'm not sure how that same thought didn't go into Easter. But honestly, it didn't. I won't make the same mistake next year. And I will be alot more prepared.

One thing we did do on Saturday morning was Ressurection Rolls. I had seen them on a friend's blog last year. I knew that on Sunday, it would be too hard to do that activitiy and get us all to church by 9am. So we opted to do it the day before and put a little extra time into it.

After breakfast we went to the boys school for an Easter egg hunt with 14,000 eggs! That's the number I heard. They also had tons of bounce houses, a small petting zoo and face painting. It was a fun time for the boys and they played their little hearts out.I loved watching Pax sprint though at least 100 eggs before he found his favorite hunting spot. Made me laugh. That boy was on a mission for a particular place, I guess.Sunday, my sister and her family joined us at our house for lunch and then an egg hunt (in the rain). Here are a few pictures from our day. And I'm bummed to say that we didn't get a single family picture.Some goodies in their Easter baskets: new flip flops for our swim time this summer, Super Hero undies, a small construction vehicle and 1 egg of candy.At least we got one picture of the boys before heading out to church.The cousins before heading out into the rain to hunt Easter eggs.Digging into the goods.

Despite my lack of planning, it was a wonderful weekend.

Some recent pictures...

I'm a little behind in things I should probably be posting, so instead I'll leave you with a few pictures of our recent happenings.Pax's birthmom, M, came to Texas for her spring break. So we headed over to her grandparents and spent a late Saturday afternoon/evening with her and her extended family. As usual, it was a great visit with these people that feel alot like family to us!After a great week of behavior, Jeremy came home one Friday with Cars 2 rented from Redbox. The boys enjoyed this little popcorn and movie night as a special treat. Holden mostly enjoyed the movie. Pax may have enjoyed 4+ bowls of popcorn. I think he chowed down the entire time. He loves it!After Jeremy worked on a few busted sprinkler heads, the boys enjoyed the moments when he tested the new ones out. :)Pax got to help mow the lawn for the first time. I thought he would hate the noise and not want to get too close. But once daddy said it was his turn, he jumped right in and loved being a helper. I think Jeremy is counting down the next 10 years when he can pass that job off to his boys. Hopefully they'll still love to be his helper. :)The boys enjoyed their first popsicles of the season. Mmmmmm. They loved every melting bite.

As you can see we've been spending MUCHO time outside with this wonderful spring weather. It has also just been a great time for our family of 4. The pictures captured here are the smiles I get to see every day. It's not always easy, but for the most part, it is alot of fun. It really has been a special and fun time in this stage of their lives. So I'm soaking it up. The cuddles and kisses they still offer me. Their dependence on me for many things. Their funny sense of humor. Their eagerness to learn and explore. The ever growing friendship between my little boys. All of it! There are lots of blessings in this little household and I'm just trying to appreciate each day.