The Little Guy

Poor Bryce wishes he were as Big as his brother. He had to watch from the window as Daddy and Blake shoveled snow yesterday. He loves to have his picture taken, everytime he sees the camera he stops and smiles. So, you know me, I am taking full advantage of his cooperation. This last picture is actually Blake around the same age at our old house also watching Daddy shovel snow. Must be a boy thing??

Snap Happy

Ok, I admit it . . . ever since the day Blake was born I have been a little snap happy with my camera. I LOVE catching tender moments and funny faces and sharing the moments I enjoy everyday with my kids with my friends and family. With that said, I am so excited for you to see these pictures. They were from our old house, Blake picked out his own outfit and as you can see he felt really cool that day :) I will add another post to share pics of Bryce, the little guy can't be left out!

Disney Here We Come!!

Well, Tim's company is flying him to Orlando for a conference and putting him up at the Buena Vista Palace hotel which is across the street from Disney World. So, we are using frequent flyer miles and all 4 of us are going! I am very excited, I have never been to Disney World and can't wait to take the kids. We have been through so much lately, it will be so nice to get away and enjoy some warm weather. It is a perfect opportunity to go when the hotel is already paid for and the flights are next to nothing after using the frequent flyer miles. The countdown begins :)

The Good and The Bad

So, we all have bad days, right? Today happened to be one for me. I woke up at 2am and couldn't fall back asleep, so that is what kick started my wonderful day. I got the kids to the babysitter and fell on the ice while holding Bryce (everyone is ok), I just seemed to be a little OFF all day long. Then came asthma trouble. After work I picked the kids up and they were so CRANKY!! I wanted to go home and cuddle and play, but they were more interested in crying and whining. Mainly because they don't sleep well away from home. However, now that they are in bed and I am reflecting on the events of our day, I can only focus on the wonderful things that happened.

Nothing beats the feeling of walking in the room and seeing your kids faces light up simply because they are HAPPY to see you. Their hugs, kisses, and smiling little faces just make all of the "bad" of the day melt away. Also, a friend at work found out after so many years of unsuccessfully trying to get pregnant that they are adopting twin baby girls any day now. Sometimes it is so easy to let the little things get you down, but when looking at the big picture it is insignificant. My "bad day" wasn't really that bad, but it is easy to stroll down that path once you start on it. Now my little boys are tucked in and we can start all over tomorrow!!

These are just a few pictures from this past weekend.

Oh Brother!

Blake and Bryce just love being brothers!! They have so much fun together and it is even more fun for Tim and I to watch them interact. They are 21 months a part and we hope they will be buddies for life. Everything Blake does he wants Bryce to do it with him. I have been taking Blake on an outing, just the two of us, at least once a week, we call it our "date" and he usually looks forward to it. Last week I was pulling out of the driveway to take him to the mall play area for our date and he said, "Mom, stop, what about Bryce?" I told him that Bryce was going to stay with Daddy and we were going on our date. He said, "but Bryce will miss me while I'm gone." I explained to him that Bryce and Daddy were having their own date and Bryce wouldn't feel left out, then he was okay with it. I thought that was so sweet, and I am looking forward to reminding him of this time when he is complaining in the future that he doesn't want his little brother to tag along! Here are a few pictures of these Brothers in action.

Eyes Wide Open :)

Good news, Tim and I finally took a good picture together and he wanted all of you to see proof that he can keep his eyes open :)

Blake and Bryce update: Oh they are so much fun, Bryce walks around with his hands behind his back like he is inspecting everything and he belly laughs at Blake. He is a Happy Baby and Loves being held by Mommy and Daddy, all while taking mental notes on what his big brother is up to. Blake is as crazy as ever, climbing and jumping off anything he can find, and he is coming up with the grandest stories. Just the other night he brought his two Pooh bears in and said " You are Nancy, (the boys' babysitter), take them all day. Thanks" and shut the door to my room. Oh my goodness, does he think we just dump him and Bryce off at Nancy's for the day?? He certainly can find my soft spot because I feel so guilty now!! I stayed home with him for so long and went back to work about 4 months ago; he says he loves it at Nancy's and has so much fun with all the other kids, but wow that really tugged at my heart. I made a date with him for tomorrow after work to go pick out his very own big boy potty (we lost the other one in the fire). We have been working hard at potty training without gaining any ground, so I am hoping this next move will give us a big push in the right direction. I'll keep you posted.

Friends, Family & a lot of Fun!

The title pretty much describes our weekend . . .

Friends: We had our good friends, Chad and Leah, over on Saturday afternoon and they asked for a "shout out" on my blog, so here it is :) We had a really nice visit with them; they live about an hour away, so we try to get together once a month, and no matter what we do it is always fun with the Dunnebacks. We only wish we could see them more often.

Family: Later on Saturday my parents came and stayed the night with us. They miss the boys like crazy and try to come as often as they can. It is great to see how much Blake and Bryce love them and vice versa.

Fun: It was a fun weekend at home - - Enjoying our company, Playing trucks, Ring Around the Rosy, Chase, Hide and Seek, reading books, dancing, and singing songs (favorites of the moment - ABC's, Farmer in the Dell, and Wheels on the Bus- Blake knows all the words!). All in all, a perfect weekend spent with some of the people I love most in this world.

**Disclaimer: My husband, Tim, didn't make it into the pictures posted because his eyes were half open in all the pictures taken this weekend. He is feeling neglected and I just want everyone to know that the boys and I love him very much despite the fact that he is photogenically challenged at times :)

Cute Boy Alert!!

I wanted to share some pictures of Blake and Bryce, so here are just a few snap shots from Christmas time. Blake is just growing up so fast. Last night we went to a restaurant for dinner with some friends and he saw a little girl from his day care, when she walked in, her name is Jenna, they were so excited to see each other. She was hugging and kissing them both and Blake started to act like he was Joe Cool :) He started strutting around with his hand on his hip and was having an adult converstation with her. Jenna said, "I knew you would be here" and Blake said "Yeah, well, where's Kaitlyn?" (another girl at Day Care). They sat with each other for a while before our food came and when it did come Blake asks Jenna, "Do you want some of my fries? You should try them, they are really good!" It was cute to see him behave like a little man. He will just be 3 in March and Jenna is 4, he works hard to play up to her level.

We don't generally take the kids to a restaurant on a busy Friday night, but it went acceptionally well, I was quite proud of them. Blake was entertained by having a friend there and Bryce sat in the highchair, did a little people watching, and sampled everything on the table. Seriously, he did!! He had some cheese stick, quesadilla, chicken nugget, french fry, and rice. That boy will eat ANYTHING, while Blake eats NOTHING! It continues to amaze me how different their personalities have become. It makes life that much more interesting, though.

Moving Forward

So, we met with the buyers of our house tonight and it went very well. They are most likely going to be putting some money into a few upgrades for the house, which is great because that means they are invested now. It is a huge relief to know that we can start moving forward. We have been in limbo not knowing whether they were going to buy it, but after meeting them and discussing the details I feel fairly confident with the situation. Although, as we have found out, ANYTHING is possible, you can never be too sure of what tomorrow will bring!

The couple buying our house is really young, this is their first house, and I can tell they are excited. It makes me happy to see that they will enjoy the house and our old neighborhood. I was slightly saddened they didn't mention anything about the devastation we have experienced and the trauma we have endured as a result of their inspection. I know it was accidental, but the fact remains that the inspector they brought into our home started the fire, maybe I am crazy, but I thought a simple "sorry for your loss" would have been appropriate. Oh well, it is a touchy subject and I understand it could have been awkward for them. We are all happy, healthy, and together as a family, what more could we want?!
It is kind of funny, every time I think I have dealt with all of my feelings surrounding the fire, something triggers a memory and it all comes flooding back. I can recall one morning, about 2 weeks after the fire, I was blowing drying my hair and as I looked in the mirror I said to myself "I'm not going to cry today". I know it could have been so much worse and I cannot bare to even let my mind go there, but it has still been painful, stressful, and frustrating all at once. Now, after I got that off my chest, I can move forward . . .

Tim traded in his sport trac yesterday for a bigger truck (to be able to pull our camper). We are very happy with the deal that was worked out and we are getting pumped up for our camping adventures this summer.
Blake and Bryce are both Mommy's boys right now and Tim is having a hard time with that, but I am LOVING it :) Speaking of the boys, it is bath time now, I'll catch you later!

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Today

Today I start my online journal for our family and friends to keep up to date on our life happenings, the kids new milestones and the adventures we experience. I can begin by saying Life is Great!! We are blessed in so many ways. Tim and I are so lucky to have each other and thank God every day for our two beautiful boys.

We have certainly been through a great deal these past few months with the house fire, but I can honestly say that we are pulling through with flying colors. We have a renewed perspective and it has only become clearer to us that material things are just that . . . material. We lost so much the morning of November 7th and it has affected us on many levels much deeper than we could have imagined; however, it has only strengthened us as a family. Everything happens for a reason and although it is difficult to always understand that, we have Faith that this was all in God's plan. Don't get me wrong, though, I will have many questions for Him when we meet :)

The house we are in is starting to feel more and more like home and that makes all the difference in the world. It appears as though everything is going to work out with the sale of our house and the purchase of the one we are in now, but keep your fingers crossed for us. I will keep you posted on any changes.

Aside from that, Blake and Bryce are doing just great! Blake will be 3 in just a few short months and we have been working on potty training. It could be going better, but I think we are making progess.
Bryce is a busy little guy, testing his limits and getting into EVERYTHING! He plays us as much as possible and has quickly figured out what tugs at our hearts in order to get what he wants. Yes, that spells trouble, so we have been keeping a close eye on that little one. We are loving every minute of the ups and downs of parenting and keep reminding ourselves to stop to take it all in once in a while.

Well, I am excited to be sharing this with all of you and think it is a perfect outlet for me as well. I will try to update you as frequently as possible and I would love to hear from you, so please leave your comments!