Proof That My Boys Are Silly

First of all they photograph about as well as I do....

Second: When Steven was asked what this Popsicle tasted like, his reply was "It tastes like a rocket ship!" (Duh!)

Third: Ben has moved to a big boy bed! One morning I heard his little cries of awakening while I was in my bathroom. I took my sweet time heading to his room. When I arrived he was nowhere to be seen so I thought maybe Tyler had slipped past me and brought him downstairs. So I took down the baby gate we have at his door, turned off his humidifier and was about to head downstairs when I heard a cry again. Flabbergasted I looked around for the missing child, only to find him comfortably nuzzled underneath his bed. He gave me a grin and waited patiently as I pulled him out from under his bed (but I must admit that I ran and got Tyler before rescuing him- I only wished I had grabbed a camera too so I could have permanently documented it!)

Lastly: Ben & Steven were taking a bath last night when Steven suddenly shouted, "Ben! Don't drink the water!!" I (Queen of Silly Questions) asked "Why not?" Steven replied, "Because I just peed in it...." Way to look out for his younger brother eh!? Only younger brother got his revenge not too long later by pooping in the tub. Lovely.

Reoccurring Problems

Awhile back we had been told that Steven might have asthma but they said they couldn't officially diagnosis it until he was older. Well, now they are officially diagnosing it, my Steven has asthma. Hence all the crazy coughing for the last couple of weeks (and last few years). Thankfully, we are back on Tyler's excellent insurance so we can afford to put him back on Singulair. We were also able to get our own "smoke machine" as Steven so affectionately calls it- no more borrowing it from the Dr's office. I hope this gets him back to perfect health because I SO would love to sleep through the night again and I would SO love for him to sleep through the night as well- he's pretty cranky when he's lacking in sleep.


Another reoccurring problem in my life- my teeth. Last week I went to the dentist and found out that I have 5 cavities and 1 way messed up tooth. The messed up tooth had the option of a $2000 crown & root canal or I could get it pulled for free thanks to my amazing sister-in-laws who work for an oral surgeon. I went for the free option. After all the tooth above this rotten tooth had already been pulled so it wasn't like it was really doing anything anyways. 


So as of Monday I am another molar down- thankfully the whole pulling ordeal was rather pain free. And now I just have to get 5 cavities filled. Super exciting. 

Mary

I don't usually blog about family drama since that makes our private issues very public but for some reason I just keep feeling like I need to do this. It seems that we are losing Mary and I'm not sure when/if we'll see her again so I wanted to write her a goodbye note. I want to have date stamped proof that we love her because I worry about the things her parents will tell her about us. I worry that she'll think we didn't love her. I worry that she will grow up hating us. I worry too much...

Dear Mary,

Since your parents are not allowing me to see you or speak to you one last time, I want to write you a goodbye note. I know they would never show it to you so I won't send it to you. I write it here in hopes that someday I can show it to you. That someday (soon?) our paths will cross again and in a positive way...

I want you to know that we love you. Your grandparents fought hard to gain visitation rights when your parents did not want you to see them anymore. They won but now your parents are once again taking those rights away and refusing to allow us to see you. Your grandparents love you but they know your parents will never give up. I think not fighting back this time is one of the hardest things we've had to do as a family. 

We don't want to abandon you and I hope that you don't feel abandoned. You are family. You are my niece. You are beautiful and you are special. My boys adore you, Steven follows you around like an annoying little brother. He wants to do everything you do. And I have so many sweet memories of you. I remember teaching you to use "nice hands" when you were little. I remember our trip to Colorado, me a newly wed, and you like our little daughter. We loved traveling with you, tantrums and all. I remember going to see the snow with you and a hike we recently took. You're such a trooper. I remember a million Sunday dinners and you and your choosy seating (usually by Mike & Mecca) and you and your picky appetite (and peculiar appetite-- frozen peas & frozen chicken nuggets!). I remember your instance on a "ride around the block" with Mike. I remember the contraband bubble gum I got you for your birthday and how one pack of gum made you unbelievably happy. I remember your sweet hugs and your sweet smile.

Mary you are a part of my life and I hope that this isn't the end forever. I hope you remember the love that my family has for you. I hope you can see past the things your parents tell you and hope that your new mom will take care of you. She has fought so hard to get us away from you but she can't keep you out of our thoughts and prayers. And she can never stop us from loving you.

Until we meet again.

Lots of love,

Aunt Jenny

Our 6th Anniversary

I never do seem to remember to take a camera when we go on our anniversary dates so I have no pictures of them but they are always a lovely getaway from life. 


This year we went to The Melting Pot- an anniversary favorite. It is super expensive so I was debating going but a sweet gift from Tyler's grandparents paid for all but our tip. I am so grateful for that! The four course meal there is delicious and we love the private booths- makes for a peaceful dinner. I found this picture of our favorite course of the night...




After the melting pot we went and saw "Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game of Shadows." Tyler loves the first movie and we were both equally pleased with the second one. Lots of exciting action and silly humor.





After that we thought about doing something else since our "roommate" Pattie was watching the boys and we didn't need to worry about picking them up but we both realized we were pooped and just wanted to go home and sleep. Totally lame sauce, I know. But all in all it was the perfect anniversary. I can't believe I've been with this man for 6 years and I am excited that we have an eternity left with each other...

Pattie & Leia

Pattie & baby Leia (aka LaLa) are in town to nanny and once again we were lucky enough to have them stay with us (we even had her hubby Brian staying with us during Christmas week which made Tyler super happy). 

It's been great having Pattie around since Tyler has been busy plumbing. She has definitely become like a second husband to me. She helps me yell at the kids, compliments my cooking & clean house, asks me about my day, etc.- it's fabulous! We've also been able to have a couple girl's nights out. The latest one was at Cheesecake Factory where she told the hostess that it was our first date. Oh, Pattie. How I am gonna miss your witty sense of humor!

Anyways today was Leia's FIRST birthday so we had to celebrate!

 Tyler, ruining such a cute picture of perfectly posed Pattie (& Leia crushing on Tyler)

I think Pattie might be a bit more excited about the party than Leia...

At our parties pants are optional

At least one child is excited about eating a cupcake ;)

 Ben wants to help open the gift (can you tell Tyler wrapped it?)

We love Leia! Such a cute addition to our home- we'll miss her too!

Potty Time!?

My little, drooly Ben has been acting very interested in the potty lately. The other day he indicated that he needed to go potty so I took him into the bathroom but nothing happened. However, when I went to get him a new diaper I came back to some lovely pee spots on the carpet. Apparently, he really did need to go potty, I just think the bigness of it had scared him off.

So out has come the little potty which he loves to sit on (fully dressed) and make peeing sounds. I'm sure we are still ions away from being potty trained but it's pretty adorable so here's a cute video I shot of it.... (of course I had to prompt him because heaven forbid he perform willingly on camera ;) )

New Year Celebrations

This New Year's Eve we spent half of our evening with friends and the other half with family. 

The first half we spent at the Eric & Lexi's home. Pattie & Brian are good friends with them and since it was Brian's last night staying with us we decided to crash their party so that Tyler could a little bit more quality time with his buddy. They played a fun icebreaker game where you had to guess what character you were with yes or no questions. I was Tweety Bird & Tyler was Freddy Krueger. The boys had fun playing with their daughter's toys and the other kids that were there. Ben especially liked their daughter's pink shopping cart and he also enjoyed trying to squeeze through their doggy door.

At around 10pm we left to Tyler's house where there was said to be a plethora of firecrackers & sparklers. We were also thinking that his family would be there because they usually are. Sadly, though, most of his family wasn't there. But Tara's kids were there which made Steven happy & Tyler's mom & Keshia & Scott were there so we had some grown up company too.

Since it was just us we decided to light the firecrackers before midnight. Steven loved the firecrackers & sparklers but Ben was terrified of them, He spent that part of the night huddled in my arms. When all the noise makers were spent we headed home & were all in bed by 11:30. Totally lame I know but it worked well since we have 9am church this year :)

Love this picture of the boys reaction to the first firecracker 

Poor, pathetic Ben in tears because of the scary firecrackers