Anniversary Weekend!

Last month Jeremy and I celebrated 12 years of marriage. 12 years! It feels like it has just completely flown by. Two weeks after our anniversary we were able to spend a weekend in San Antonio by ourselves. It had been two years since we had an overnight date. Normally we have at least a weekend each year, but last year it didn't happen. So it felt like we were long overdue. Originally we planned San Antonio and this particular weekend so we could run the Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon together. And ugh. I'll insert my sob story here. I have consistently been running since January. I was really ready for a half in April. But at the time, the boys were doing Saturday morning sports and it was too much trouble trying to fit in a race day. So Jeremy and I made a goal to do this race around our anniversary so we could just make a fun trip out of it. So I decreased my mileage through the summer and then started increasing again around September. I lost my normal weekday running partner once school started back up so I was not as dedicated as I should have been. But I was getting enough running in to increase my mileage each weekend. And overall I felt fine. I felt amazing back in the spring. I was running more at the time. This time I just felt fine. Then the weekend after Thanksgiving, 1 week before the half, I had a problem. I ran 9 miles on Saturday morning, I was on my feet the rest of that day and then again on Sunday...that was Abe's birthday party weekend and there was lots keeping me busy. By Sunday afternoon my foot was hurting badly along the outside. That had happened once before and it was gone within 4 days, so I thought I would be fine in a few days with some rest. Now, three weeks later, I'm no longer limping and it is finally feeling better. It's still not completely normal, but I believe it's healing. I'm thinking it was/is a stress fracture. But I'm really not sure and probably won't delve into it if it's not necessary. So we didn't do the half. I couldn't even walk normal, much less run 13 miles. Jeremy hadn't really trained much so he was probably relieved that he was off the hook. We took all of our running gear that weekend in case a miracle happened and I finally felt ok to run on it. But the logical side of me decided I wouldn't further injure my body for a half marathon that I could do at a later date when I was 100%. But I was pretty bummed. A half was one of my 2014 resolutions! (Yes, I make those!). I'm pretty sure I never posted it because I don't know how much I believed I could ever do it. And then this happened. Boo. But I hope to do one in the future....

So back to our weekend. It was wonderful. We made the very best of our weekend alone. We stayed right on the Riverwalk. We ate lots of Tex-Mex and had delicious margaritas. We rode the water taxis around the area, mainly because of my foot. The weather was incredible. We did some shopping. We watched a movie in our hotel room. We slept a glorious number of hours each night. And we just had a great time being responsible for no one other than ourselves. It was a much needed weekend in a city that we love to visit. We did miss the race that I had been anticipating for many months. But I have no complaints about our trip. It was just what we needed.

 dinner outside, right on the river

 it is so beautiful all lit up at night!

 Holden is obsessed with Nutcrackers, so I had to snap this picture for him. It was right outside our hotel.

 More time on the Riverwalk. In the picture above you can barely see a guy vomiting in the river. (Not that any of you really wanted me to bring that to your attention.) Oh young boys....having too much fun.

 

 

 15 years later, I still have a crush on this guy.

 

 Mi Tierra is known for it's massive baked goods to choose from. But I think it is the largest restaurant I have ever been in. It is massive. And they never close. Not ever. Not at night. Not on Christmas Day. Never. And the decor in the picture above is not specifically for Christmas. It is like this all year long! It's loud. And I'm not talking about the noise level...just look at it. Loud!

This was the best picture I could get of the baked goods. And that was only about 1/3 of it.

Key lime pie to go please. This creepy picture was taken for my friend that shares my love for all things key lime.

Like I said, it was a great great weekend with my guy. Just a few days to rest and recharge. Now I want to go back. :)

He's not that big!

From the time Holden became a big brother, at a whopping 16 months old, I considered him my big boy. And I know I set my expectations too high for his young age. Silly me. He was a baby! I've talked to countless friends about this. We do this to our first born. We often have these unrealistic expectations for them. Then the second child comes around and we've loosened up a little. And by the third, well they can get away with a whole lot because we think well, he IS only two! So back to Holden, I wish I could start all over with that kid. Erase all those expectations that were so above his head. But I often still think of him as my big boy. And the fact that his 6 year old legs are outgrowing his size 8 jeans don't help the fact that he looks older than he is...to me and to everyone else that notices him. But lately there have been these moments that remind me of the little boy that he still is. The innocence, that thankfully, is still very much intact. These little moments have been precious ones for me and good reminders of how little my "big boy" really is.

~This week, just he and I were driving in the car and he said "Mommy, look at all those birdies!" Birdies. Not birds. But birdies. It was pretty cute.
~This past Wednesday night at church, the boys had fake money to spend. It was shop night. He had asked me earlier in the day if he could buy some silly spray at shop night. I told him of course he could! So he came home with a can of silly spray (that was gone in 60 seconds and cost him 10 fake dollars) and this "adorable little puppy" (that only cost him 1 fake dollar). The value of those things sounded so odd to me, but whatever. My point is he chose a stuffed animal. I think some other children in his class were getting stuffed animals too. But my gadget/toy loving boy chose a stuffed animal. A puppy that I catch him snuggling daily. So it makes me think, he's still so little.

~On one of Holden and I's errands this week, we went into Cracker Barrel to check out the store. I love that little store and have to at least make one stop every year during this season. I had mentioned to Holden that Cracker Barrel always has lots of sock monkeys. So on this day, he carried his sock monkey into the store and toted it around like it was his baby as we shopped. And honestly, that little sock monkey is his baby.
~Anytime I turn on Daniel Tiger for Abe to watch, Holden comes flying into the room to watch also. He says it is a baby show, but he secretly loves it and has his eyes glued to the show the entire time.

~And last weekend as we drove through our church's live display of the life of Jesus...he sat with his friends on the hayride like a brave, big boy. We had told the boys, that the men playing Jesus towards the end would get beaten and die on the cross just like Jesus did. We explained that what we would watch was pretend and that no one was hurt, They were acting. As soon as we stepped off the hayride, he was headed for the car. He wanted to get away from his friends and to be in the safety of his family where he could freely ask questions and discuss what he just witnessed. He asked a lot of questions. And I could tell he was unsettled for the remainder of the night. And then around 10pm once he had been asleep for a couple of hours, he came flying down the stairs, still half asleep, due to a nightmare. He slept between us that night. The life of Jesus had shaken him up a bit. He's still a little boy. I need these reminders often that my big boy is not really that big at all.

Mommy's Freckles Winner!

Pax chose the giveaway winner this morning. I very professionally (haha) wrote each entry on a piece of paper, tore the paper apart and crumpled them up. I'm sure all the other real bloggers with 1000+ entries use this same format. ;) Bsjones7 was our winner! So I'll be getting the book in the mail to this sweet family soon. Thanks for participating. Check out the book here if you want to order and go help support their next adoption! Happy weekend!

Christmas Giveaway (a transracial adoption book)

source

I wasn't planning to do any type of giveaway this year, but this one completely landed in my lap. I know that blog reading, like family blogs such as this one, is almost a thing of the past. But I'm going to attempt to do this giveaway anyways. So a few weeks ago I ordered a transracial adoption book written by a blogger friend, Adrianne. She blogs over at Finding a Family and she has written and illustrated an adorable, sweet little book, called Mommy's Freckles. You can order the book for yourself, here. Proceeds from the book go to help fund their second adoption. I'm a sucker for an adoption fundraiser. I ordered the book myself, and miraculously had two copies in my mailbox when the package arrived. I checked with Adrianne and she knew nothing about it. So I decided the most sensible thing to do, was to do a giveaway and spread the word on this new book that is available and so perfect for families like my own. So if you are a transracial adoptive family, or if you know a family like mine, I encourage you to just enter a comment for this giveaway. It would make a great Christmas gift to a family that has adopted or is in the process of adopting. I will randomly pick a winner on Friday morning and get it in the mail by this weekend, just in time for Christmas.

Abe's Puppy Party and birthday!

If there is one thing that Abe is over the top excited, obsessed about it is dogs, which he very cutely calls all dogs "puppies". He has loved dogs since before he could walk or talk. He would spot them from a mile away when we were at the park before he was even one. I could tell by the way he held his hand out, that he had spotted a dog. He has loved our old dog from the get go even though she has wanted very little to do with kids. (We had to put her down last week. Interestingly enough, Abe hasn't really seemed to notice her missing yet.) All of that to say, a puppy themed party was a no brainer for me this year. The boy loves dogs! We had a small party the Sunday night after the Thanksgiving holiday and we enjoyed celebrating our littlest boy. A few pictures from our fun.

 

 cutie birthday boy!

 with nana

 I was pretty proud of the puppy cake. I found a simple "how to" on Pinterest, but I was completely shocked when in the end in actually looked like a dog!

 Daddy and mommy with the birthday boy!

 opening gifts

 watching as everyone sang to him

 and attempting to blow out his candle. He wanted nothing to do with the cake or icing.

It was the perfect celebration for our sweet, puppy loving boy!

Abe's birthday actually fell on a Mother's Day Out day this year. At first I felt a little guilty sending him to MDO on his big day, but his teachers assured me he would have loads of fun and by the time he left he would understand it was his birthday. :) So he spent a good chunk of his day with his friends and teachers. Then later that evening, we order pizza (which is a big favorite of his...a favorite for our entire family, really). And I mixed together a fruit salad since that's about the only kind of sweet that he really enjoys. He opened his presents from our family (a book, a pound puppy, a little people car and a toy cell phone) and we got to spend the evening celebrating the gift that he truly is to us.

 

 

 

 

What a blessing!

Abe is 2!

On December 2nd our baby boy turned 2 years old! We celebrated with a small party a few days early and celebrated as a family of five on the evening of his actual birthday. Those pictures will come in a different post. But this is just to document our boy in this stage of life. Oh this stage of age 2...it can be tricky one. Learning that you can't get everything you want in life. :)

Abe is a bright spot to my morning when he wakes up. Even if he wakes up at ungodly hours when I prefer to be sleeping. For some crazy reason, I enjoy rocking him at 4:30am and singing him our little song...You Are My Sunshine. I mean, sure I'd rather him (and me!) to be sleeping through the night consistently. But I didn't do much rocking with the other two boys and I've loved it with this guy. And for the most part, he is sleeping well. He wears a sleep diaper layered with a regular diaper at night and he still soaks through....I think that is the culprit in waking him up. At least, that is what I've been blaming it on. Yesterday morning Abe slept until 9am (after our diaper change and 4:30am rocking session of about 3 minutes). As I was cleaning up the kitchen, waiting for him to wake, I caught myself saying "ut-moh" in my head. That is his word for oatmeal and it's usually one of the first things he is asking for when he wakes. I was just ready for him to wake and join our fun. He wakes ready to eat. And his typical breakfast of choice is old fashioned oatmeal that I mix with frozen fruit to cool it off. He would eat this for 3 meals a day if I allowed it. Some other favorite foods are applesauce, yogurt, bananas, cheese, beans, broccoli, green beans, crackers, grapes, chips, granola, hummus with veggies, ham and chicken. The boy still has no interest in bread, or breadlike foods such as cake, waffles, etc. It's nuts. But it makes for a healthier diet in many ways, so I'm not complaining. Sometimes he is not very adventurous in trying new foods. I'm working on that with him.

Abe's vocabulary has boomed in the past several months and he has many new words. Some new ones are Holden, Pax, bubbas, eat, bite, nigh-nigh, muntee (monkey), puppy, paci, soos (shoes), wok (walk), o-tay (okay)...that's one of my favorites and I request him to say it several times a day. :) He is now to the point that he will repeat everything we say. So his vocabulary is continually growing. He does really well following directions when he wants to. In the picture below I caught him in my room and he had helped himself to our tablet. He loves anything media. I hate that but he does. He's always stealing our cell phones and calling and texting people. He steals the remotes for the TV and turns the TV to caption and makes other crazy changes for us. He will drag a bulky, heavy chair across the kitchen floor, climb on the chair and get whatever looks enticing. He's busy. And he keeps me busy. :)

Abe loves books and loves for me read to him. For some reason he really enjoys me reading the big boy's Early Reader books. And as I read each page he yells the last word as I read it. It seems like he has begun memorizing some of the books. It's funny.

Some favorite toys are cars and trucks. We caught him months ago making car noises as he rolled them. It's crazy to me how quickly little boys pick up on those things and start mimicking the noises of vehicles. He also loves to play with our Mister Potato Head. We've had that toy for 6 years and he is the first one to really be interested in it. And of course anything with buttons that makes loud obnoxious noises.

Lately Abe has been doing some new things and I'm not sure where he learned them. First, he knows the song Deep and Wide and sings it for us often. I'm pretty sure he learned this one at Mother's Day Out. And the other thing is counting into his teens. If I ask him to count, he acts silly and shy and will not do it! But I've caught him a handful of times counting to 17 or so. It is usually in amoment when he is off playing alone. He has the sweetest little voice.

At Abe's 2 year appointment he weighed 29lbs and 2oz (65%). And he was 35 1/2 inches tall (85%). His size right now is very close to where Pax was at age 2.

He loves to play outside. He loves to slide, swing and cautiously jump on the trampoline. He loves to ride in his little outdoor car. Abe loves bath time. Especially splashing half of the water out of the tub. Abe is our snuggle bug. He loves to be held and cuddled.

Abe loves his big brothers. And they also think he is pretty great. Both Holden and Pax really enjoy him and are so sweet to him. Abe used to always ask me for hummus. He went through a stage where we wanted hummus five times a day.  So Holden somehow started this "game". Abe will say "hummus?" And Holden gets in his face with a very serious look and says "No hummus!" And then Abe dies laughing. And then they do it again about 20 more times. This scenario happens about 5 times a day. It is hilarious to me.

Abe Malachi is a sweet answer to our prayers for another child. We are so thankful that he is ours. Here are a few more pictures that my dad took several weeks ago of our little two year old.

Thanksgiving 2014

We've had a good 4 days with Jeremy off of work. We always split our holidays in order to get good solid time with one side of the family. This year we spent Thanksgiving with some of Jeremy's family. Thursday morning we headed a couple of hours north to spend some time with Jeremy's mom and her husband. We had a really good time visiting them. It was helpful for our boys that the weather was nice and we were able to spend alot of time outdoors in their spacious back yard. I found myself really enjoying playing Holden in badminton on Thursday and then again on Friday. I think we may need a badminton set for our house now! What also made it such a great trip is that her husband is just fabulous with little kids and spent hours talking to them and playing with them. I've just never picked up on this quality until now...maybe it's the age of the boys now. I'm not sure. But it was sweet to sit back and see. A few pictures from our Thanksgiving this year.

 We didn't do a Thankful Tree this year. So on Wednesday the boys made these Thankful Turkeys, which I thought turned out pretty cute.

Thursday at Jeremy's mom's home. It didn't take Pax long to bust out a game that we had brought along for the trip.

 

 My boys. :)

Look at that amazing backyard. Sometimes I think our boys could use a little extra space to run. The vacant view from their back porch steps made me a little envious.

On Friday we headed to the park for a bit to let the boys burn off some energy.

 

We got back Friday night. Just in time to start preparing for a certain someone's 2nd birthday party. I can't believe he will be 2 in just 2 days!