My Baby Boy

We had Noah's 1st birthday party today. We had Bryan, Lori and their kids, Jenn and her kids, mom and dad, and Chad over. It was a jungle theme and I made Noah a monkey cake. It took forever! It was worth it though. We told the boys to clean up the basement before the party and they all went downstairs. A few minutes later, Liam came back up and started playing. I asked hi why he wasn't downstairs and he said "mommy, it hurts my feelings really really bad." I asked him what hurt his feelings and he replied "cleaning". It took all I had not to burst out laughing. That a new one! Anyway, Noah loved his cake. He put his fingers in the icing at first but when I put a taste in his mouth, he dove in. He ate a whole piece. He also liked opening his presents. We got him a ball pit and he loves it. I can't believe my baby is one. He is getting so big. He doesn't say much yet but he babbles a lot. He does say mommy/mama, dada, ball, and bub for brother. He loves to make people laugh and will make faces and then giggle. He is so good natured and happy. He reminds me of Landon in that he's sensitive. All I have to do is say "no" to him and the bottom lip comes out and he cries. He can get his feelings hurt easily. We all absolutely adore him. Happy birthday to my sweet baby boy!

Sledding and Swimming

We took out trip to NC to go sledding this weekend. We didn't tell the boys where we were going. They were so excited when we pulled up to the sledding area. It was a really nice place to sled or the kids. It was free and for kids 12 and under only (although parents could sled with their kids). We saw a quite a few wipe outs. One guy got knocked right off his feet when a sled ran into him. Mom, dad and Chad came with us and also took turns sledding with the boys. Even Noah went down with me. When we were done sledding, we went into Elk Mound and had lunch. After that, we went to our hotel in Boone. We went in a couple of neat stores and then took the boys swimming in the indoor heated pool. They had a blast. Noah loved splashing in the water. After a late dinner from Hungry Howies ( :) !!!!!!!) we all crashed. We woke up to snow on the ground and some still falling. After a great continental breakfast, we headed home. It was a really nice get away!

Birthday Boy

Landon turned six yesterday. He was so excited. Mike surprised him by going to the school to have lunch with him. I had asked him what he wanted for his birthday dinner and he said he wanted to go to a place called Gespachos. I've nver heard of it and wasn't able to find it in the phone book. Apparently he and Connor had seen a commercial for it in tv. Connor said he thought it was off exit 7. Unfortunately, that wasn't much help, so Landon settled for stuffed crust pizza from Pizza Hut :) Mom and dad came over to eat with us and then we had cake and ice cream. I had found a really cute recipe for a dinosaur bone cake and it turned out really cute. We had gotten Landon a Leapster game system back in December and had saved it for his birthday. He loved it. Unfotunately Liam loves it too so there have been a few battles already over it. We actually got Liam one also and were planning on saving it for his birthday but I don't know if we'll be able to hold off that long. All in all, it was a nice relaxed night. Saturday, we are taking the boys to Beech mountain, NC to go sledding and will spend the night as part of Landon's birthday celebration. Then sunday we will have yet another birthday party for Noah. I can't believe he's almost 1!!!

Night of Love and Laughter

Mike and I celebrated Valentine's Day last night since he has to work a 24 today. We went to see a christian comedian at the Night of Love and Laughter at Celebration Church. The comedian was Thor Ramsey and he was really good! I laughed so hard I cried! He has a book out and I plan on getting it. The best part of the night though was that at the end of the show, they invited any couple that wanted to stay, to do so and they would have a mass renewing of marriage vows. So Mike and I, along with about 10 other couples, renewed out vows to each other. It was so sweet and romantic :) The most memorable Valentine's day I've ever had. The preacher said to think about what kind of legacy we wanted to leave behind as a couple. I really just want us to be a good role model for our children. Marriage isn't easy but I want our boys to see the love we have for each other through the good and bad times. We are in it for the long haul! I thought back to our wedding day and was reminded of all the feelings I had. I love Mike even more now than I did then. I want our marriage to be an example for our children. I want them to see that with God ans each other, we can get through anything! Here are a couple of pics from last night :)

Party Day

Today Connor and Landon had their class parties. The kindergarten also had a "Royal Ball". The boys were to dress up as princes or knights and the girls were to dress as princesses. They had a mini parade and then they played music (medieval type instrumental) and they had a "dance". It was so cute. Landon of course refused to dance but it was still neat. Liam made me a card during Landon's party. He drew me (doing a headstand), himself and Noah. It was absolutely beautiful :) Being at the school brought back memories. I remember how much fun party days were. Of of the great things about having kids is getting to relive those days!

Cute Comments

I just wanted to record a few of the things Liam has said lately. The other night I was serving up dinner and Liam came running in. He said, "wow, mommy, dinner sure smells yummy!" It was just so sweet and sincere. Then yesterday, we were riding in the van and Liam was signing along with the radio. The song had a line that says "I wanna be a daddy who's in the mix" and after singing that line, Liam stopped and exclaimed " mommy! They just said daddy's name!" It was so cute. Landon can make me laugh also. Back when the inauguration was on, there was a part where Obama said something about doing your duty. Landon started snickering and said "he said doody!" He thought it was the funniest thing! Kids are always good for a laugh!

So Tired

It's been a long day. Mike had to pick Noah up from the preschool early Tuesday because he threw up and had diarrhea. Poor little guy looked pitiful. I hoped the bug would stop there but Landon woke us up this am because he had thrown up. Thankfully Mike doesn't work until tonight so he was able to be home with him. I took Liam and Noah to school since today was their Valentine exchange. I felt like a pack mule between the diaper bag, my purse, camera, work stuff, valentines, and teacher's gifts. The first little girl to show up for class said she felt a little sick and her dad informed me that she had thrown up that morning but they thought it was from all the cookies she had eaten the night before. He hadn't been gone 10 minutes and she threw up all over herself. I gagged as I cleaned her up. We were making cookies with the kids today so at least it happened before we started that. The kids were hyped up as they usually are on party days. They were loud and wild and I had a headache by lunch. We finally headed outside for the last 40 minutes of the day and 10minutes in, one of the little girls had an accident in her pants. She came running over and proceeded to strip on the playground. I scooped her up and headed back in to get her cleaned up. By the time we were done, the kids were already coming back in. So much for some fresh air! I couldn't wait to get home. The one highlight was when the director walked into our room and had flowers from Mike :) It was such a great surprise! Now we are hoe and I'm exhausted. Hopefully, there won't be any more throwing up and Connor and Landon will get to go to their parties tomorrow.

Brotherly Love

It's funny hoe the boys can fight and bicker but then they can't stand to be apart. They love to tell on each other. The other morning, Landon came in the bedroom and told us that Connor was taking a bunch of books from home to school. We told him we'd take care of it. Not two minutes later, Connor came running in and said "Landon's trying to take books to school". Mike told him that no, Landon wasn't and neither was he and that he needed to get the books out of his own bag. Then as they were waiting on the porch for the bus, Landon opens the door and yells "mommy, Connor call me stupid!" and Connor immediately replied with "but he called me a poophead!" We've also heard "Connor punched me!" and then "well, Landon kicked me!" Ahh, brotherly love! Liam and Landon tend to argue the most. They pick at each other. We try to remind them that their brothers will be their friends for life and that they need to be kind and treat each other with respect. They love being together though. Landon will get upset and cry if Connor goes somewhere without him and Connor and be so protective of Landon at times. I am just so glad they haver each other. I feel like their siblings are the greatest gift we could ever give them.

Checking In

I've been slacking on my posting. We did end up getting some snow last week although not as much as we hoped. We ended up with about and inch and a half. At least it was enough for the boys to play. They made snow angels and did some sledding. It was super cold though. Lows around 0 and colder with wind chill. Yesterday on the other hand it was near 70 and is supposed to be the same today and tomorrow. If we're not going to get more snow, then I'm ready for spring. The boys missed 3 1/2 days of school last week. They enjoyed the time off but they won't when they have to make it up in May.
We had a busy weekend. Friday night Mike and I went on a date :) It was the first time we've gone out to eat alone since Noah was born. The YMCA was offering a Parent's Night Out. It was only $20 for all four boys and they fed them Subway for dinner. Pretty good deal. Saturday, Connor and Landon had basketball. I've never cared for basketball but I LOVE watching them play. They always do a devotional during half time. The one they did this Sat was wonderful. Very inspirational and moving. Here's the link:
http://www.rhchurch.org/pages/cardboard-testimonies/

I cried both times I watched it. Our friends Bryan and Lori came over Sat afternoon. We had a great time just hanging out and enjoying the weather. Sunday afternoon, we had small group. We all had a great time and laughed a lot! Connor spent the afternoon at his friend Liam's house. They road bikes and played outside for hours. All in all, a very nice weekend!

Let it snow...PLEASE!

Well, we got a little snow yesterday. It was coming down pretty hard for about 3 hours. The problem was that since it was so warm Sunday (54 degrees) that it took a while for anything to stick. The boys were so anxious to go sledding but you could still see the grass through the snow. The did let school out early because of the roads and canceled school for today. They could have gone since the roads were clear and we haven't gotten any more snow yet. I just hate that since the county doesn't have any built in snow days, they will have to make up all these days at the end of the year. Unfortunately, the didn't cancel the preschool so I still had to work. Luckily Mike was off today and could stay with the boys. Mom took Connor to the candle store to help her pack orders. The other three went to Lowes with Mike to get materials to finish their closet. We are supposed to get 1-3 inches of snow tonight. I really hope we do for the kids' sakes. We haven't had any really good snows yet. Tonight will be a calm night by the fire. We're looking forward to it.