Happy Birthday Ryan

Our Ryan is 2 years old today! Happy Birthday my little man!!

You sure have grown up fast!!

A trip to the Mountains

I don't even know where or how to start to describe our weekend other than AMAZING!! Ben has working alot of long hours, I have been taking care of kids on my own for long hours and what do you get but two parents who needed a change of scenery!! Late last week we decided last minute we needed to get out of town and that we did. After lots of Internet searching for a place to stay we found Pine Haven Lodge which luckily was right outside of Rocky Mtn Nat. Park. We made the reservation, packed the bags and took off early Sat. morning. It was a easy drive and we were there before the kids even started to get antsy! The drive into the mountains was beautiful and Estes Park (http://www.estesparkresort.com/ ) is such a special place with lots of little shops and not alot of commercialism. Peace and tranquility was what I seem to experience right away. I had a sore neck and back on the way there but I guess I de-stressed once there as the pain seem to melt away. We stayed at Pine Haven Lodge ( http://www.estesparkcabins.com/PH-CabinsAndLodge.HTML ) which is a cute little place that now holds a special place in our hearts as it was our first real mountain experience as a family. Right down the road was Rocky Mtn Nat. Park which is a truly amazing place. The views and wildlife were just amazing. We could have stayed 3 or 4 days longer if we could as we only saw very little of all the wonderment. Keaton loved hiking and hiked almost 2 miles up to the falls. He is a trooper as Ben and I were pooped so I don't know how his little legs handled it! Ryan was in a back carrier and had the best spot of all of us. Keaton also caught 2 fish after lots of time spent fishing. He was SOOOOO proud!!! This trip was nice for the boys and daddy as they really bonded and did lots of daddy and son stuff. Mommy enjoyed herself too as I was just enjoying the scenery and enjoying watching all the men in my life be so happy being boys. I do hope that if any of you who are reading this from afar will seriously think about coming out and experiencing the beauty for your self.

Lots of Pictures from the trip in the photo album! Hope you check them out!

Keaton's a preschool graduate

Keaton graduated this past Tuesday from his 3/4 year old class at preschool and he had a little graduation ceremony which just melted my heart. His class sang songs and did hand motions to the songs. Keaton sang his little heart out! We are so proud of him. Soon after the singing they had a diploma ceremony and he got a diploma and hug from his much loved Mrs. Stratton. It was a very special day for Keaton and our family as he was so proud. We have been blessed to find such an amazing preschool for him to attend. He is now out on summer break and will return to Mrs. Strattons 4/5's class next fall. I am enrolling him in soccer and swimming lessons along with lots of play dates with friends to keep us busy. Our little boy is growing and becoming a big boy way to fast.

Just bouncing around

Last weekend we got the boys a bounce house for the backyard. We are looking into a playset but in the meantime we got a bounce house to occupy our time outside so mommy isnt having to lug everyone out of the house everyday to go to the park. We now have the option to go to the backyard and bouce till their heart are content. This also is a great way to ensure they sleep well at night. The boys love it and so does mommy and daddy!!

Slammed packed weekend! Yikes!

OK, I know we all have had weekends were we need a weekend to recover from the weekend well last weekend was one of those weekends and I still am recovering. Don't get me wrong it was a fun weekend but there was no relaxing about it and this weekend I AM RELAXING!!

Last Friday we took in a Skysox baseball game which for all you in NC it is the equivalent of the the Durham Bulls. We meet a school friend of Keaton's named Andon and his family. It was wonderful weather, grandma had Ryan and Keaton was thrilled to have us all to himself along with his buddy Andon by his side. The boy ate a whole thing of popcorn, hot dog, some soda and even a ice cream bar. He milked the experience for all it was worth. We stayed the whole game as the game was exciting and of course at the end were suppose to be fireworks!! Unfortunately we waited for the fireworks at the end which ended up not happening due to the wind being to high and the Fire Dept. cancelled the show. Good thing is that we got free tickets to another game since the Fireworks were a no go so I guess that means we'll have to go again!! Oh Darn!!

Sat. Ben got up at the crack of dawn and went went golfing with my brother which meant me at home once again with my little men which I will give them credit they were really good boys that morning thank goodness as another day without daddy could have put mommy over the edge!! Once Ben got home I actually went shopping and did lunch with my mother for the afternoon. I bought some much needed summer clothes. I have to mention that I tried on a swimsuit and boy do I still have some work to do before I wear one!!! Once I got home from shopping it was off to my brothers for ping pong nite. I can now play ping pong folks, I'm not good but I am improving! We do this once a month at my brothers and it's alot of fun! Grill out, eat lots of food, drink and TRY to win at ping pong. Not so good at the winning part.

I already shared about Sunday so you know there was no down time either so this weekend aside from my darling husband playing in a golf tournament I hope to actually get some things around the house done and maybe even relax!!

Mother's Day only gets sweeter!

It's amazing how each year Mother's Day becomes more special and I think that has something to do with all the men in my life. This year was no exception as I woke up to a special breakfast made by daddy and Keaton which also included a handmade card by Keaty and daddy. It was to cute I have to say!! We spent the day at the zoo along with my mother, sister and brother and family. We took in all the sites and even got a chance to see the really cool new wild life exhibit that has just opened recently. It was a beautiful day and alot of fun and was ended by a yummy sushi dinner at my favorite sushi spot. If you can believe it Ryan likes Sushi and Keaton loves the soup so everyone enjoyed themselves and it was a delightful day from start to finish. I am truly one lucky lady is all I have to say.

Shush

This morning I walked in to get Ryan and I was Shushed! The little guy slept with his big dinosaur last night and when I walked in to get him out of bed he put his little finger up to his mouth and shushed me immediately. He then said "Dinosaur seping(sleeping) mama, Shush!!" He had his dinosaur on his pillow all wrapped in his blanket and it was sleeping according to Ryan. He than said "Dinosaur up!" and he picked up the dinosaur and was ready to get out of bed I guess. I than was allowed to speak!! Such a cute little guy I have on my hands.

Double edged sword!

Quick funny from this morning. Keaton is learning to spell words however when you hear this you wonder how great is it? He Spelled the word FAT and was sounding it out to show Ben, he than said "What does that mean again?" Ben said "You know what fat means!" Keaton's reply not exactly what Ben was expecting!! "Oh, I know daddy, Fat like what you are right?" To that Ben was a bit insulted that his son just called him fat and quickly corrected him on when and how to use the word. I think it's better in our kitchen saying it to daddy than in the isle at Target announcing to the world that the lady in front of us is huge and has the BIGGEST bottom he's ever seen!!! Yes, the later has happened and I was mortified. Not so sure I want him to now feel oh so confident using the word FAT!!!

CAT,SAT,BAT,THE .........

Ben and I had a holy crap moment the other night as we finished up dinner. It was a good holly crap moment but one that made us realize that our little Keaton is growing up and I may not be able to get away with spelling things I don't want him to hear!! CAT,SAT,BAT,THE,HAT and a few others were words that our little Keaton can now spell. He loves his magna doodle and we often play school time (which is my teaching time with him however he thinks it's fun so I go with it) He has been writing all his letters upper and lower case continually for the last few weeks. He just is fascinated that he can write the letter, and now he is beside himself that he can put those letters together to make words. We were finishing dinner and of course Keaton has excused himself early and was playing with his doodle when he yelled,"Look mom and dad, I spelled CAT!" It is amazing that he has just put this all together so quickly, the mind of a child is an amazing thing. He then proceeded to write more words and I have to say I am amazed by him and so excited he loves learning so much. I only hope it continues.

Summer Cut

Both boys went for a haircut last weekend and I cant believe how grown up they look now, they both look so handsome. Ryan really looks different, the cut aged him as he always has had his shiny, soft baby long hair on top but no longer. Daddy did away with baby hair and hello to big boy hair!! I guess he is ushering in summer by getting both boys a nice short cut plus I think he is trying to avoid having to pay for another 2 cuts in a few weeks. We cant seem to keep up with how fast their hair grows and both of them have pretty think hair so we have to keep up with it or poor Keaton ends up looking like he has a mop on his head.

April updates

Letters and words....that is all the rage around our house when it comes to Keaton these days. The month of April has been an amazing month for the boys developmentally. I just am amazed each day by them. Keaton has learned how to write all his letters from A to Z in capitals and now he has mastered most of the lower case letters. Now that he knows how to write the letters he wants to spell words so he loves to sit with his Doodle and write letters and words. He is fascinated by spelling and it's so fun to watch this all happen and work out in his amazing mind. He graduates from his preschool class on May 20th so pics will come soon after. May will be a busy month as preschool as lots of end of the year events planned so we are really looking forward to all the fun. Hard to believe his first year of preschool is over.

Ryan too is growing leaps and bounds this month also. He is really trying to master talking and is adding new words or should I say sentences to is vocabulary each day. He is into puzzles, cars, trains and of course dinosaurs. He loves drawing and coloring on anything he can so I have to keep an eye on him just in case he finds a lone crayon as the wall can be his canvas without a thought!!! He is a fast runner and loves being outside and digging in the sand. Ryan is my doll baby as I just cant believe he is growing so fast these days. My baby is almost two !!!! Time is just going by to fast lately.

Spring has finally arrived at least I think so in Colorado. It's hard to tell around here as the weather has been very hard to figure out. One day it's 75 degrees and the next its 34 degrees. Thank goodness things have taken a turn for the better and we have been steady in the 60's and 70's for the last 2 weeks. Thank god as I am sooooooo done with winter and soooooo ready for summer. My grass is finally turning green (at least I think so), my trees(the few I have) are getting leaves and I am getting ready to plant flowers this weekend. I am sure my planting will bring on a Spring snow event!!! We are in the process of getting estimates on our second story deck so hopefully this summer we will get our deck built! I hope all friends and family will visit soon!!!

Ben is working alot as my dads company is merging with a Denver based company and my dear husband has taken on a new role which I guess it's called a promotion. With this comes more working hours and lots more responsibilities however he is gaining so much experience his head could spin off at any moment but he loves it. I love it as the pay raise makes him not so grumpy about money and finances!!!

As for me I am still a work in progress. I am continuing to work out 4 to 5 days a week and feel pretty good about my progress. I fit into a size 8 again for the first time since Keaton was born. I have lost a few inches around the waist but the most important things is I feel really good. I will never be bone skinny as that's not my body type or shape but I just want to be toned , feel good about myself and have energy to keep up with my kids and that is the most rewarding things of all!!!

Overall April has been a great month with once again lots of changes!

Another milestone

Keaton has been potty trained for over a year and a half but we have had no luck getting him to not wet the bed at night. The kid sleeps like a rock and just has no idea that he even has to go. We have been putting him in pull-ups for a while now and have been waiting for the day when this would also be over. For many weeks we tried to go with only underwear as Keaton hates the pull ups but when we try to go with out them I seem to be doing alot of extra laundry and making the bed way to much. I had to put my foot down and say enough. "Until you start waking up to go potty at night the pull ups stay!" Probably not what I'm suppose to do but d@@@@ I am tired of changing sheets EVERYDAY!! Well, I think we have finally reached the milestone we were hoping for, Only 2 weeks out and for about a week now he has started to get up at night and go potty by himself!!!!! Yippee!!! I started to notice that Keaton's bathroom light was on in the morning and we had a few visits in the middle of the night where I would wake up and I would see his little shadow standing next to Ben or I but he would then just scamper back to bed when I asked what was wrong. I asked him about it and he said he was going potty but wanted to check on us. I just hope he keeps it up as I am so proud of him. The pediatrician had said that it was difficult for heavy sleepers to know when they had to go while sleeping so just be patient and it would happen and of course it did and as with everything it was on his time table. I guess I should just accept I have little control of such things in life. Personally I'm just happy I'm not washing another load of pee pee sheets!!!!

Dar, Dar MaMa

One word to describe Ryan is AMAZING right now. He is growing, changing and learning new things each day. He and Keaton are so alike yet sooooooo different. Ryan is so laid back and observant. The reason I'm writing is to share that Ryan has such a kind sole in his own way and here's a perfect example. I am feeling lets just say "VERY UNDER the WEATHER!!" My throat hurts, I'm sneeze and I just feel pretty lousy to be honest. Ryan keeps coming up patting me on the shoulder and while I was sitting on the couch he grabbed some blankets and used one to cover me all up and the other to prop my head on!!! He then said "Dar MaMa, Dar, Dar" (there mama, there, there) in his sweet voice and then snuggled himself right on me and put a blanket on himself. We laid there for over 45min. together and watched Mrs. Spider's Sunny Patch in which he giggled alot and I just soaked up the moment as it was a sweet moment. Often now a days he isn't one to sit more than a second so I cherish the times when they come.

Yikes, where did I go wrong this morning?

Well sometimes you just have those mornings where you wonder where and why it all is going wrong. This morning was one of them and I truly am exhausted from it! It was all going smoothly until Keaton attempted to shove a wooden train whistle down his throat while getting in the car to go to preschool. He was blowing that D*** thing all morning and driving me crazy and I told him to put it down and get into the car. Well, he went to get into the car but didn't leave the whistle and needless to say from what I could piece together he went to get into the car with the whistle still in his mouth and hit the seat with the whistle which proceed to go to the back of his throat and this did not feel good as he screamed bloody murder after. The kid is killing me with injuries this week! Yikes. We preceded to preschool after getting him calmed down and making sure he was OK. I then went on a much needed walk with my sister n law Jen and Ryan which was actually really nice, however after the walk Ryan decided it was his time to cause some mayhem. Ryan decided he didn't want to get into the car seat and screamed bloody murder all the way to get Keaton, when I tried to get him out once there he was then mad that I took him out. I couldn't win!!!! He thru his first real tantrum right there in front of the preschool entrance. Lots of moms going by feeling my pain but glad it wasn't them. Of course I was mortified by this melt down but we preceded on to get Keaton. Once back in the car he was fine!!! What the hell !!!! I still don't know what that was all about. Oh and I forgot to share that Keaton's art project that I picked up had green paint on it and Ryan happened to find the one little part that wasn't dry and got it on his fingers and painted the front of my New Shirt!!Ugh!
I had a all ready scheduled play date with Andon and his mom Stephanie so we marched on to the park and had Chic- fil -A picnic and let them run themselves ragged which worked well as Ryan is down and out and Keaton is on his way with mommy right behind him. I am not a napper but I may be today. Hopefully tomorrow morning we'll be back to normal!

Ouch!!!

Well we had a very big OUCH moment Friday night from my little guy Keaton and boy do I mean OUCH!!!! We went out to dinner Friday with my brother and his family at a really cool restaurant called Giuseppe's. This place had great food, and great atmosphere. It's built into the old train station and right next to the railroad tracks. It has old world charm mixed with high class dining but thankfully very family friendly! Trains go by as you eat and to our surprise you could barely hear them inside which amazed me really as we were so darn close the place should have been shaking. The boys loved the place and so did Ben and I. The dinner came to a close and on the way out Keaton had to use the potty. Ben had taken Ryan out already so this was my duty. Well, we are in the stage where he wants to go only in the BOYS bathroom not the GIRLS!! As to not fight the fight and ruin the nice evening I was willing to go get Ben and let him do bathroom duty. Well Keaton somehow in the 2 point 5 seconds that I had turned around and thought he was behind me go his fingers caught in the hinge part of the bathroom door. Needless to say one of the most painful moments in his little life. His finger didn't look pretty when removed and boy did he cry out in pain. Poor little guy is a trooper I tell you that. The end of his pointer finger is pretty nasty and he will most likely lose his nail but all in all he is back to normal. The funniest thing is that after he calmed down a bit he said " Mom, is that why you said not to put my fingers in that part of the door?" Hmmmmmm, I guess they do listen but he had to learn the hard way what I actually meant.

Babies, Babies Everywhere!!

Just a quick note to share that babies are being born one after another over this week. Deb and Wvlad had a boy on the 3rd (Thurs.), Katie and Ron (Ben's sister) had a baby boy on the 5th (Sat.) and Mo and Dave met their little girl (Morgan Rose) today the 7th (Mon.). Needless to say that's alot of babies being born!!!!

Have to share that Katie and Ron were expecting a girl and had a VERY big suprise when little Madeline came out a Connor!!! I have heard of this happening but never knew anyone that it has actually happened to but now I do!!! Our nephew Connor Adams Gambill was born on Sat. by C-section and is said to be a BIG, healthy boy. Havent heard much more but will share when I get more info.

Our first trip ALONE

I have to share that Ben and I spent four days together without the kids!! Yes, you read it right we were without our children. For the first time since Keaton was born we went on a trip with just the two of us and boy was it long overdue!!! We went to a wedding of a childhood friend of Ben's named Brad in Washington D.C. We took off on Thurs. and came home Sunday. We took full advantage of our freedom and hung out the very first night at a place called Kate's Irish Pub which was a place we would hang out at while we were dating many years ago. The next morning we slept in late and headed into Washington to see the Cherry Blossoms which were in bloom. It was a beautiful sight as the Cherry trees were in bloom along with tulips, daffodils and all the other gorgeous trees and flowers. We spent the day walking and taking in the monuments and all the bustle and bustle of D.C. I cant wait for the boys to get a little older so we can take them with us for our next trip to see the sights. The wedding was on Sat. and was a beautiful event. The best part of the long weekend was that Ben and I got to be alone and connect again. We truly had a wonderful time together.

By the way the boys had a great time at grandma and grandpas and were glad to see us upon our return. We missed them too but the time away always makes the heart grow fonder!!

Old fashion hard work!!

Well, after 2 children and neglecting my body for the last few years for the most part I have taken some action to get healthy and in some sort of shape seriously!! After Keaton the body seemed to bounce back pretty quick but after Ryan it just seemed harder to get active and stay active and my body seemed to show that every time I looked in the mirror. I am sharing because If I share what I am doing then I know others will support me, and be looking for some results and that folks is what I need. I am not a dieter so it's old fashion hard work that I am doing ........ That means good old fashion Exercise , that makes me sweat, feel out of breath, and feel pain after but in the end it feels darn good!!! I began my journey about 5 weeks ago and to be honest I am seeing results. My 10's are loose and for the first time in a while I need a belt. I am working off that baby belly which has hung on way to long.
The biggest thing of all of this is that I have taken time for myself . When Ryan naps, I get Keaton doing an activity and I move my butt to a circuit training video, yoga and cardio sculpting. I love yoga so it usually is my last workout as I love the stretch and peace I feel while doing it. Over all I want to be healthy and feel good about my body again. I hope I can make this a life style to keep moving and staying healthy. I will keep you posted on my results.

Computers A OK!!

Well, Ben got around to checking out the computer and it's good as new. Not sure what was wrong as we have yet to get around to that but he said it's good as new so were are back!!!

Happy Easter!!!

It's been awhile since I've last posted as my home computer needs some daddy attention (IE... I think we have a virus-so I wont turn it on till Ben looks at it and he seems not to think this is a priority). I grabbed his laptop and thought I would check my e-mail and do a quick update so people don't think I have given up totally on my blog.

Happy Easter to all. We had a really nice Easter this year. Very different as we have always been with Ben's family on Easter and this year we were home. We had yummy sticky buns that were not part of my diet and exercise I have worked hard on the last month but boy were they yummy. The Easter bunny visited and the boys did a Easter egg hunt and found their baskets. Both boys were SO much fun. Ryan really got into it this year and loved finding the eggs, especially if they had candy or something fun inside!!!! We headed over to my brothers for Easter lunch and had a massive egg hunt with all the kids. We had dyed 4 dozen eggs and they went crazy finding them. We had 3 egg hunts as they had so much fun. I really seem to enjoy holidays more and more as both boys are getting older. They just get it now and are SO excited and seeing the faces of pure joy on their sweet faces so priceless.

I have adorable pics of Easter to come so check back. Not sure when or how to upload as the computer situation leaves me in a spot but I think with a little prodding Ben might help me out.