I {heart} My Boys!!

Just some of the reasons why I love them...

Ben:  loves to smile and his whole face lights up whenever he does.  If he is in his bouncer and I'm cooking or cleaning, my heart melts when I look over at him and catch him watching me.  He LOVES to snuggle with his momma!  He talks and 'squeaks' and blows bubbles.  His hair...  I love to run my fingers through it - it is very, very soft!

Owen:  So mischievous but oh, so cute!!  He has the most kissable cheeks.  When he smiles you can't help but smile back.  He loves to learn new things.  He enjoys coloring, drawing, painting, writing with chalk.  If he sees you writing, he insists on writing as well -and when he gets a writing utensil he will give it back to you and say 'quack quack' - code for 'please draw me a duck.'  (if I had a penny for every duck I have drawn I would be a very rich girl!  But, I can honestly say I think I can draw a duck in the most efficiently way possible now!  And just on Sunday a man sitting behind us during Sacrament commented on my duck and monkey drawings - haha!)  He he will sit and look at his books on his own, but really likes to sit in my lap and look at them together.  He shakes his head 'no' when he really means 'yes.'  He chews on Mr. Monkey's tail A LOT.  Wherever Owen is, Mr. Monkey (one or both) are sure to be nearby.

Ethan:  Incredibly thoughtful and caring, with a bit of humor (and sometimes a little bit of sass)!  He absolutely loves his little brothers and I love watching him play with them.  It is so sweet when Ben is crying  and Ethan picks him up, bounces him, and says, "shh... it's ok" and other sweet things to Ben - totally melts my heart!  Loves to read and make things - wonder where he got those hobbies from? ;)

Sean:  As with Ethan, he is incredibly thoughtful and caring - always putting the kids and myself before himself.  He really listens, even when I don't think he is.  When he gets home from work he immediately starts playing with the kids and then helps me put them to bed - most of the time he still has his coat on when the boys are in bed because he was too busy playing with them to take it off!  (it makes my heart so happy when I see Ethan and Owen run to greet Sean when he gets home!)  Is very supportive in all of my crazy crafty creations and dinner concoctions, even if they don't turn out quite how I planned...

I sure do love my boys and am one very blessed Momma!  <3 nbsp="">

Weekend in Virginia

My grandma hasn't been doing very well lately so Ethan, Ben and I flew down on to Virginia to see her on Thursday (Owen stayed with Sean to keep him company -and ended up getting sick on Friday so it was better that he stayed home).  After our flight kept getting delayed and after sitting in the airport for over three hours, we ended up switching to another flight and landed in Virginia at 5:30.  My mom had a fantastic steak dinner waiting for us when we got to their house!!

On Friday we drove to Alexandria to visit Grandma.  When we got there she was sleeping, but seemed very happy that we were there when she woke up.  She even sat up!  After awhile, her hospice nurse came in and even helped her into her wheelchair.  (According to my parents this is huge - for the past couple of weeks she has stayed in bed when they have visited her her and slept during most of their visits).  Grandma loved meeting Ben and seeing Ethan again.

After our visit with Grandma we drove back to Fair Lakes (with Ben crying the entire car ride) and had lunch at T.G.I. Fridays and did a little bit of shopping.  Dad, Paula, Meg, Bobby, and Hannah all came over and we hung out and ordered pizza and subs for dinner.  It was so much fun with everyone together - but not the same without Sean and little O!

Saturday morning I had a wonderful breakfast with Jill at IHOP.  It was so good to see her and catch up!  She is an awesome friend, indeed:)  After Ben had had enough of IHOP (2+ hours later...) we said our goodbyes and Ben and I headed back to Mom and Dave's, then went to Manassas to see my cousin, William's, new house.  Aunt Deb, Uncle Bud, and Page were there, too, so they were able to meet Ben.  Saturday ended with an awesome dinner at the Japanese Steakhouse-YUM!!  Dad and Paula came and joined us - it was so fun being together, laughing and having a great time! It was Dad's first time being to a Japanese restaurant so it was also entertaining watching him stare at the chef and all of his tricks.

It was incredibly hard walking into the airport Sunday morning, but we were greeted by a happy little boy and a happy daddy when we walked out of the airport in New York:)

Jill and Ben

At the Japanese Steakhouse!

Blizzard 2013 - "Nemo"

Last week the weathermen warned us that we would be getting a lot of snow Friday and Saturday - and as the week progressed, the amount of snow that they guessed we would be getting kept increasing.  Snowflakes started falling Friday morning and it continued to snow throughout the day and night.  We woke up Saturday morning to 2 FEET of snow!  Thankfully we had enough food to eat and we didn't lose power.  Ethan had a blast playing in all of the snow...  Owen was trying to figure it out :)    The newscasters are calling this blizzard, "Nemo" - not sure where they get their names for hurricanes and blizzards, but every time I think of the name Nemo, I think of the clown fish, not a snow storm.

Pictures coming soon!

Funny Things From Today...

• While at Target today I was looking for my favorite lotion and Owen kept saying, "Mommy, mommy, mommy" - I looked over and saw that he was pointing to the ladies on the hair coloring boxes while he was saying "mommy" ...  I'll take the compliment that he thought I was a model;)

• Owen was eating lunch and I was cleaning out the refrigerator and talking to Sean on the phone.  I heard Owen laughing so I turned to see what he thought was so funny... I found him throwing his rice all over and Josie eagerly eating the pieces that were falling on the floor.  It literally looked like it snowed rice all over the place!  I admit - it was funny - and even though I shouldn't have, I did laugh out loud!  (Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of it because Owen then stood up in his high chair and I didn't want him to fall out)

• I was nursing Ben on the couch and heard Owen laughing so I turned around to see what he was doing and saw him sitting on Josie like she was a horse (she was laying down).  Yup, Josie just laid there... she is so so good with the boys!  

Oh, what a day!!! (and what a silly little boy Owen is!!)  :D

Ben is Two Months Old!!

It is hard to believe that Ben is already two months old!  He is just as sweet as can be:)  Here are some things that he is up to these days:

•  loves to smile at you
• absolutely LOVES to be held
• hates being strapped in his car seat (and lets everyone know it!)
• outgrew newborn clothes at 7 weeks

And here is a picture of the sweet boy himself on his two month birthday:

Also, here is a list of his stats:

Birth weight:  7 pounds 1 oz.

Weight at discharge from hospital:  6 pounds 12 oz.

12/7/12:  6 pounds 8.5 oz.

12/18/12 (2 weeks old):  7 pounds 1 oz; 20.25 inches long; head circumference: 35 cm.

2/6/13 (2 months old):  9 pounds 11 oz (5-10%); 22.5 inches long (25/50%); head: 38 cm (10-25%)

Our Life in January 2013... In Pictures

All About the Little Things - Random Thoughts

A couple of weeks ago I realized that most of the things that I miss about Virginia are the little things (here are just some)...

• Dave watching the Redskins game in his notorious 'stance'
• Sitting at the kitchen table talking to my mom while she made dinner
• being able to take Owen for a walk around the neighborhood

I then started thinking about the little things that I know I will miss once the boys are older...

• Ben's newborn cry and when he smiles at me
• Owen running around in circles in our room before bed each night
• Ethan trying to sing along with the songs on the radio but not really knowing any of the words

The other day Sean and I were talking about careers and jobs and I had to stop and really think about what I would want to do if I had to go back to work (and had the opportunity to do whatever I wanted to).  And I can honestly say I couldn't really think of anything!  I LOVE  my job as a stay-at-home-mom.  I love being home when Ethan gets home from school and helping him with his homework and I love spending my days with Ben and Owen and not sending them off to daycare for someone else to raise them and teach them things.  I love teaching Owen new things and being the one that comforts Ben when he is sad.   Even when Owen and Ben are crying and Ethan is trying to talk over them - I smile to myself because I know that before I know it, they will be grown and the house will be too quiet and I will miss these crazy, chaotic, fun days:)