On the Move!

Well, its official. We are Colorado bound in a week. Its been a beautiful ride here in Indy. I can now say I have lived in the Midwest and could not have nicer things to say about it. A different change of scenery, living where there are seasons and SNOW! The boys have loved it here and this has become my favorite home. My favorite home that I thought would be an easy sell, has not yet sold, which I should not panic because it has only been listed a month, but still. You can't beat the lot in a culdesac right off a gorgeous nature trail along the river. Our backyard is a retreat, overlooking a pond with gorgeous trees behind, it has definitely been my favorite part of this place we soon will say goodbye to. The best part of living here is that we got to share it with dear friends, the Odegaards who recently just moved to Michigan. Our time together was so sweet and I am so thankful our kids got to grow together. I am confident one day we will reunite again and pick up right where we left off. I am also thankful for my other 2 gal pals Cori and Stacey that have been my truth while here. Women who have invested in my life and shown genuine care and love. This has not been easy for us while here. We have had a hard time connecting with other families and making friends, so saying goodbye won't really be too hard.

We are headed to Loveland, about an hour north of Denver.We will be closer to family (brother in law) which is super important for this move. It has been very hard on us having our boys away from their grandparents, who will move there to be with us sometime in the near future. I hope this is a place we can call home for a long time. NO MORE MOVING! We feel God has called Kerry to minister in this place and call this new church our family. We are excited to start this next chapter and build new memories.

2 years old!

We just celebrated Kieran's 2nd birthday this past weekend. What? I can still remember the day he arrived. I was 6cm at my doctor's appointment on June 18th, 2010. I was shocked. 6cm? I felt nothing. I told the doctor I needed to head to the hospital stat! She called over and they wanted me to come in at 4pm. It was 1030am. I headed home in disbelief, a little frightened that I was so far along and hadn't felt a cramp. I began  walking and walking for the next few hours until finally the tiniest of cramps began to start. I called the doctor again and asked if I could come to the hospital as I did not want to lose my opportunity for an epidural! We headed over about 230pm and I sat at 8cm for awhile. Kerry and I watched a movie to pass the time and I was chatting on facebook with friends as I labored, or not really. This pregnancy was crazy to me! When the nurse asked my pain level before the epi, I had to fib. I really didn't have any and I possibly could have birthed him without any drugs, but in all honesty did not want to experience that. I got my drugs and they broke my water and an hour later he was ready to go. Its so crazy to think I labored for 4.5 hours with both boys and delivered both in 20 minutes. I felt pain with Caleb and none with Kieran. I was so lucky to have such a great experience and thankful to have such healthy boys.

Turning 2 also meant that the Binky Fairy would be stopping by. Now, this I was frightened about. Kieran had developed an attachment to the binky far more than Caleb had so I was hoping this would not be a nightmare. I talked to him the week prior to let him know she was coming and he probably didn't understand, but at least I was warning him. She came and left behind a Cars quad which he was delighted to see in the morning, however once he heard the power button he ran away scared. Here we are a few weeks later and he has yet to jump on and ride, so Caleb has been taking advantage. Oh well. The beauty and blessing of the Binky Fairy, is that Kieran handled it extremely well! We were shocked! He dropped it cold turkey with a few whines and cries, but that was it. Amen.

He is my little man, yet still feels like my little baby in a way. Kieran is very much a momma's boy. He is talking up a storm and plays so nicely with his brother. Despite the 33 month age difference, they can be the best of buds and the worst of enemies. Normal for siblings. He copies everything Caleb does which is not always a good thing. He loves to swing like a monkey on anything he can find and he recently took to the splash pad. He loves to be a swimming baby in the pool, yet lay down a relax and sunbathe on a big chair with momma. He can be a complete nightmare, yet an adorable love in my life. He is a hitter and a biter, his young defenses are up which I have to curb somehow. He is my work in progress. No matter how much grief he causes me, I love him to pieces and so very thankful he is healthy. I could not ask for anything more.

23 months!

 Today my baby is 23 months. Today I am reminded how thankful and grateful I am to have healthy kids. My heart aches when I hear stories of friends, acquaintances or strangers who face unimaginable health issues with their children. I could not imagine the constant heartache, worry and test of faith to name a few. Specifically, a boy near Caleb's age, son of a sales rep I used to support whose son suffers from a brain tumor called Hypothalamus Hamartoma where he has endured 5 major brain surgeries, 2 open and 2 endoscopic. Another family I have been following is through a friend I knew back in college, a complete stranger but I was compelled to pray for them. I was so heartbroken over their story and the unknown future of their newborn baby, yet their     steadfast faith spoke to me so richly. How would I handle the situation they are facing? Day after day they struggle with a new issue and hopelessness, yet they cry out to the Lord so faithfully and their baby boy is now 2 months old! Today I am thankful and grateful for my healthy boys who can run, play and eat. Things we often take for granted.

Kieran still loves to tell his knock knock jokes. He makes himself laugh, which makes us laugh too! He loves to look for ducks in the backyard, they have become our friends and we give them bread almost everyday. He is nearing the terrible 2 stage early, throwing fits and constant car seat wars. Its awesome. He has peed in the potty 3x this past month, so anxious to be like Caleb.

Caleb is finishing up his first year of pre-school. He has one more year prior to starting kinder, which will be good for him because apparently he is not the best listener at school. He has made some great friends there and told us he plans to marry Ellie. He loves his Go Go collection and has shared them so nicely with his friends. He has named each and every one and has given away some favorites which shows his loving heart for his friends. He and Kieran love to play with them in the tub and of course fight over them as well!

22 months!

 Here are my boys at 22 months! Kieran is definitely my little peanut still, able to sport 12 month old pants with his short little legs! He is talking up a storm and he peed in the potty for the first time this past week! Woohoo! He is so anxious to try it, so when he asks, I have to let him go for it! He loves to wave bye bye to everything when we leave. "Bye bye park." "Bye bye duckies." We just got back from visiting my family out in California for my niece's 2nd birthday party! I was glad we could take part this year and celebrate with her! Caleb found a new vegetable he likes and it happens to be green as well! Celery! He chomped the entire veggie tray practically at the party! I was shocked! Aunt Lindsay also made his favorite food, artichokes. They were long stemmed....never seen those before, but just as yummy! Caleb also had his first taste of crab and he nearly devoured all of my food before I could try it! Piggy! We visited the Zoo, Fairy Tale Town, Train Museum and had lots of playtime with Grampy Bob! Caleb enjoyed his visit very much, but was excited to get back home to Daddy! He finishes up his first year of pre-school this month! One more to go before Kindergarten! I can hardly believe it!

Family Vacation 2012

We usually head out to AZ every Spring Break in hope of catching some Spring Training and warm weather. This time, I wanted to kill two birds and venture out to California as well and take the boys to Legoland, SeaWorld and the Zoo while Kieran is still free! Yes, free! Any parent knows the joy of free travel prior to turning 2. Some benefits still resume until 3, just not flying. I also hadn't seen my BFF for awhile and wanted to visit with her as well, so we did just that. We flew out to AZ for a few days, then flew to San Diego for a 3 day weekend and finished our trip back in AZ before flying back home. Are you tired yet? I am just remembering it all.

Caleb loves visiting his Nana & Papa. He could hardly wait. Mommy and Daddy could hardly wait to get off the plane with Kieran! That boy does not do well in confined spaces....brutal. We had a relaxing few days with the family, enjoying some missed food like In n Out and real Mexican before heading off to a whirlwind weekend in San Diego. We first headed to the Zoo straight from the airport. We picked up our Go cards which got us admission to all the parks. We met up with my BFF Julie and her girls at the zoo for a bit, ran into an old friend while visiting the Panda's and headed out to check in at our hotel and grab dinner. Upon arrival at the hotel they were out of cribs. What? Okay, I am going to be calm, maybe the boys in a big bed together may work out. Fingers crossed, what else could I do but hope and pray. We grabbed some dinner by the beach and let the boys play for a bit. This was the only window of time we had to visit the sandy shore unfortunately. At bedtime, my nightmare came true. Kieran would not lay down for bed. Caleb was exhausted and was ready to sleep, but his little brother refused in the open bed. I prayed for peace and patience and a crib to magically appear at my door. No luck. I called the front desk almost 2 hours later begging for a crib. I was desperate. I was ready to buy one at this point. My prayer was answered not 5 minutes later, but Caleb decided it would be fun to jump on the bed in the meantime. Both crashed for the night and I did too, thankful that my weekend was not going to be hell at bedtime. Yes, hell.

I let Kieran nap Saturday before we headed off to Sea World. This poor kid was so tired, we just kept going and going, barely got any naps, would always fall asleep in car at end of day. The boys rode their first ride, Elmo's flying fish. They both loved it! We saw a Shamu show and enjoyed all of the different animals to see. Caleb loved to collect those souvenir pennies at every park. We had no problem with a .51 cent souvenir. Buy as many as you like! After Sea World we headed out to Julie's for dinner as I needed to see her as much as possible while in town! Miss that girl to pieces. Sunday was our grand finale at Legoland. This was every one's favorite. Caleb rode his first roller coasters and had a blast, but the poor guy was spent by 2pm. I didn't want to leave quite yet, plus Kieran fell asleep in his stroller for once so I wanted him to sleep. That didn't last long and so we went back to hotel to rest up before meeting some old college friends for dinner. Both boys crashed on way home....exhausting weekend! We headed back to AZ to finish our trip at Nana & Papa's.

We had a great trip. I wish we could have stayed longer to stretch out the rush from park to park each day, but time is money! Saying goodbye to family is always rough too, just yanks our hearts to get back closer to them sometime in the future.

21 months!

Kieran is our firecracker for sure. He loves to throw food and fits and we sometimes wonder how this cute little fellow can be so crazy! He is so talkative and silly. He learned a knock knock joke this month and we try our hardest not to laugh, but how can you not? "Knock, Knock." Who's there? "Poo Poo Head!" We have tried to encourage new jokes and he is starting to move away from the original, but still. You have to laugh at that! He also likes to tell me, "No Mommy. I don't want to." Lovely. Just what I want to hear. He loves to feed the ducks out back, or eat the bread himself that he is supposed to give the ducks, but its our favorite thing to do on a lovely day! "Ducks. Breads?" he says to me when he hears the quacking.We have been playing in the sandbox a lot lately with the gorgeous Spring weather, so its been nice to sit back and read my book and catch some rays.

Caleb is still very much into his GoGo's and Lego's. He has a creative imagination and can entertain himself for hours with these toys. The boys have been playing together so well, though when it comes to sharing Lego's and GoGo's, it can be a tough road.

I am so very thankful for my healthy and happy boys. Thankful that I get to stay at home with them and watch them grow and love them more each and every day. My hope as they grow is for them to see their Mom as a woman of God, someone who loves their Savior in the good times and bad, always singing praises and giving thanks. Helping others and being kind. Giving and not always taking.

20 months!

Both the boys stuffing their faces at 20 months! Kieran is much more of a food thrower than Caleb was and it is quite exhausting and frustrating! Its good I have Seaby dog as a vacuum cleaner to come by and do a sweep! This past month has been great to watch the boys play together so well and have fun! Kieran's vocabulary is getting better and better and sentences are starting to be formulated. I love to hear him sing along with the Veggie Tales, a favorite for both is "Stand Up" and when we have our dance parties in the living room, it has to go on repeat several times! When Kieran wants more, he says "Tales" in the cutest way, you just cannot resist! They love to watch movies and have popcorn together, jump on the bed and take tubbies together. Kieran wants to use the potty like his brother, he just doesn't get how it works just yet, but he may be an early trainer I hope! His favorite books are Duck & Goose find a pumpkin and If you give a Cat a cupcake. "Duck & Goose" & "Cake" as he requests.

Thanks to Daddy, Caleb has a new passion for Go Go Crazy Bone toys. They are little packs of 3 figurines, different faces, colors and poses, really the craziest little toys to be obsessed about, but he LOVES them. I mean, LOVES them. He can play with his collection for hours, just entertaining himself. He loves to watch other kid's videos online and make his own. We have started a rewards chart where he can earn a reward at the end of the week if he has earned enough magnets for certain behaviors like getting dressed, sharing, respect, etc. He usually picks GoGo's for his reward and his collection has gone up to 30 so far!

I love to see them grow and become even better pals. Caleb always tells Kieran how much he loves him which is so sweet to hear, he is just a great big brother!