Fall Fun

Fall has always been one of my favorite times of year but recently I have enjoyed it more than usual. Colorado is just beautiful with all the leaves changing and the gorgeous Aspens with their yellow leaves glowing and blowing. All the leaves fell off our tree in the front yard and Keaton was so sad that all the leaves were gone. To tell you the truth so was I!! We had a few cold days but now the weather is absolutely beautiful in the 70's which has us all confused on what to wear anymore. We have been busy and enjoying ourselves this fall. Here is a little hightlights of what we've been up to.

We enjoyed a day at the Happy Applefarm as I mentioned before in a post and the boys had a great time. The boys picked 3 pumpkins, and we had to stop it there as we were running out of hands as we needed to have a hand to help Ryan every few minutes as he stumbled thru the pumpkin patch. The boys really love doing outing like this. Keaton has his first taste of Hot Apple Cider, which was pretty funny. Lets just say he is not a fan yet. Ben and myself BIG fans of Happy Apple Farm Hot Cider so we will continue to try next year to convert him. As long as we live here I hope to keep going back. The drive to and fro are amazing and it's such a fun place to enjoy fall!

Last week we had our first dusting of snow which was so exciting for the boys. Yes, it was a dusting but to them it was several inches!! Ha, Ha!!! Keaton wanted to go out right away so I held him off until at least 10am and bundled them both up and sent them on there way. They moved what little snow there was around and explored as I watched from the window. No way was I going out there, the wind was blowing and it was to darn cold for this mommy!! The boys lasted a whole 10 min. if that and were in and ready for the hot chocolate I had made for them. We sipped hot chocolate and snuggled for awhile till we decided to paint which they just love to do. I'm such a lucky mommy to stay home with my boys and watch them grow and have fun.

We enjoyed a Fall baking day with the cousins in which we made cookies and decorated them and Skyler help bake a cake for grandma's birthday that was that day. The kids had a ball decorating the cat, pumpkin, and ghost cut out cookies. What a fun time.

We missed Boo at the Zoo this year due to Ryan having a tummy bug. We planned to go Sun. night but Ryan came down with a yucky tummy trouble on Sat. night and unfortunately we are still fighting it today. One more day and he's seeing the doctor.

Last night we celebrated my nieces 10th birthday. Skyler turned 10 which just amazes me. Happy Birthday Skyler, we love you lots!!

Yesterday was a full year since Keaton has his health scare so I am thanking god that he has not had any problems since and has been very healthy!! Thanks be to god.

Keaton was delighted as yesterday his class made applesauce but what made me laugh was when I asked if he ate any he said, "I chose not to have any mom! , IT was fun to make but I'm not eating that!" That's my Keaton!!!

Tonight will be fun as we are planning on carving our pumpkin which is always so much fun. . I hope to have some pics to share soon.

Little baby news... I am almost half way thru this pregnancy which is just amazing. I should be able to find out soon what we are having which will be exciting. I am feeling great aside from getting exhausted by the end of the night , which to be honest I did on a normal night!


Well, that's all for now and will hopefully update soon on the fun we had on Halloween. Hope you all have a wonderful spooky night and send some pics of the kids in there costumes as we love to see all our friends!!!

Sleep Over

A cute moment between brothers last night that I had to share. Keaton and Ryan were playing in the living room when I stopped to listen and watch from the upstairs balcony. It was heart warming to say the least.

The boys had all their dinosaurs, stuffed animals and any other animal they could find all piled up. Keaton had Ryan get pillows and he got the blankets and they put a blanket over the animals and then each of them would lay down and say they were having a sleep over. They would get up adjust the blankets and animals and then adjust the blankets for 5 min. and lye back down again and say night, night to one another. It was so cute, and nice to see them enjoying something together.

Good times

Where do I start???? We have been busy around here and just doesnt seem to be alot of blogging time lately. Keaton started back to school in Sept. and we have been adjusting to his new school schedual. He is going three days a week in the afternoon. I have to say I prefer mornings but I loved his teacher last year and she was teaching the 4/5's class in the afternoon this year so I switched him to afternoons but to be honest I prefer mornings as it's really messed Ryan's napping schedual up and as you know NAPPING is important to mommies!!! Good things is Keaton is loving school and doing well. He is a smart little bugger and needs the stimulation and interaction. August and September have been beautiful weather here in Colorado and we have tried to spend as much time outside as we can before it gets cold.

This past Sat. we woke up early and set out to pick our pumpkins for the year at the Happy Apple Farm. The boys love running thru the patch looking for the perfect pumkin. It was a cool fall day so it was perfect for getting our pumkins and drinking hot apple cider. The boys had a ball and Ben and I enjoyed ourselve too. Pictures to come soon!

Little peanut is growing inside me and finally give me a break when it comes to the nausea. I feel pretty good now and was happy to see my little one growing on an ultrasound pic last Tues. I am at about 16weeks now and in a few weeks we may get to see the sex that is if little one cooperates. We are so excited that our little on is growing well and so far looks healthy.

Quick catch up

Time has been flying by and I have not updated in awhile. Alot going on around here as many of you now know we are expecting our third little one in April and and extremely excited about it. I was feeling pretty lousy for awhile but have started feeling much better this past week. The boys are doing well other than Ryan fighting another cold and Keaton a bad cough. I don't think we'll ever escape being sick around here now that school has started. The boys are growing by leaps and bounds. Ryan is really talking now and doing really well on potty training. Keaton is just a little man. He is learning to read which amazes me. He is recognizing sight words and is doing so well and so proud of himself. Keaton and Ryan are a good pair they love to play with one another but of course get on one an others nerves so it's never a dull moment around here to say the least. My darling husband is doing well other than working like a mad man and having little down time with work and home. So to revitalize he's getting a guy's weekend in Chicago with his buddies this weekend. I'm happy for him but I sure would love to jump in his suitcase and fly away with him!!! The boys and I will amuse ourselves and find some fun things to do while daddy's gone.

I want to apologize for not starting my Natal News update as I said I would. Time has flown by and it's just been hard to find time to sit and write much lately. I'll work on that this weekend hopefully.

Recovery

OK, this sickness nightmare started Tues. with Keaton and is still hanging pretty good with me even this morning!!!! Keaton woke up several times on Tues. night crying inconsolably with a sore throat. We were up every few hours consoling him and medicating the poor child. The next morning he still not feeling great but had at least stopped the crying and was drinking and eating a little. Of course later that night (Wed.)Ryan's nose started running and we went down the same road with little Ryan. YIKES!!!! I was praying and washing everything like crazy trying to keep from getting sick however all was for not as on Thurs. afternoon I started sneezing and it was down hill from there. Thurs. evening the sorest throat I can remember having and the next few days were a blur to be honest. I of course can not take anything good to help make myself feel better so I basically had to tough it out with Natural cough drops and Tylenol!! This morning is really the first morning I can say I feel somewhat human. None of us are near 100% but I think were are on our way, at least we better be.

Huna....

Well are you wondering what Huna is yet? It's our beloved daddy!! Ryan will not call Ben daddy, he calls him Huna which is Ryan's way of saying honey!!! He has really become attached to Ben recently and fallows him around the house and if he tries to leave he runs to the door crying " Come back HUNA (honey)!!! This past weekend Ben was in full daddy mode as I've been really sick since Thurs. afternoon. Ryan who is normally a mamas boy found that daddy is alot of fun which is nice as it's great to see him bond with daddy more so mommy can get a break.

Labor Day weekend

Ben and I can say that we didn't just sit around like lazy people this weekend that's for sure. We didn't go more than an hour out of town but it sure felt like it as we had a fun filled busy weekend. Ben started the weekend taking Keaton golfing for the first time on Friday afternoon. He had a great time and said "Mommy, golfing is a blast! I cant wait to go again!" We hung out with the neighbors that night and started the weekend off right.
Early Sat. morning we woke up and headed to the zoo with a few of my neighbors and their families. We had a great day at the zoo and the boys walked the entire zoo and ended the day without even one meltdown or tear. It was one of those days that you wish could happen every time you take the kids out.
Sunday morning we woke up bought our tickets back East for Thanksgiving and headed out for a Colorado Mountain adventure. We ended up in Cripple Creek, CO where we enjoyed lunch and a real 45 min. train ride thought the mountain side. Cripple Creek, CO is close to 10,000ft elevation so lets just say we were really in the mountains and it was breath taking. The boys had so much fun on the train. Ryan was so sweet. He was sitting in between Ben and I and he just would look at us with those sweet eyes and say " This is SO fun mommy/daddy!" He said this almost 50 times. He just loved riding the train.
Monday morning we loaded up the car again and went into the mountains again for a day at the lake. We fished, hiked, grilled and relaxed. Later that night we headed to my parents house for a cook out.
It was a fantastic weekend but I truly am worn out to be honest and glad to be at home today and let the kids just hang out.

Turned upside down!!!

When things happen they seem to happen fast and the ones that take you for the biggest loop are those things in life you least expect. This past Friday was one moment that we least expected and has taken my family by surprise and it'll be awhile till we all get back to normal. What is it that has happened? Hope your sitting down.... my sister Tricia has broken her neck!! Yes, you have read that right!! On Friday evening she and my father and nephew were in a car accident. A 17 year old driver pulled out in front of them and change my sisters life for now and inadvertently our lives too. Thank god it wasn't worse as they were almost T-boned by a U-Haul truck but dad avoided that and ended up in a ditch. Thank god no one was killed and that my father and nephew were unharmed but Tricia was left with a broken neck. At first it looked like surgery but thank god after many CAT scans and tests they decided to wait on surgery and let it be for now and see how the fractured vertebrae heals. So that's where we are now. Tricia is in a crazy neck brace and in alot of pain but she seems to be making improvements so that is positive but the road ahead is long. My heart goes out to her as she will be down and out for some time to come. I can say if I were in her situation I would be losing it. I ask for your prayers for our family and most of all Tricia and Joe as they will need the love and prayers from many to help get thru this hard time.

Slish Splash!!

Keaton is taking really well to swimming. He has always loved water and being in the pool but he always had to have us pretty close. I am happy to say he has really gained confidence in the water thanks to swimming lessons. The picture on the left is of Keaton on the night where they were learning water safety using life vest.His confidence showed when this past weekend we went to my nephew Cadence's 5th birthday pool party. Keaton grabbed hold of some pool noodles and made his way all around the pool both shallow and deep. He tried to shoo us away but we weren't going for it, however he did find the vortex pool fascinating and had to be pulled out as mommy was getting nauseous going in circles for so long!! We are looking forward to the start of the next session of swimming lessons and I can only imagine what he'll want to do then.

Privacy

Ok, Keaton is getting older and yes, sometimes that's hard for me to accept but sometimes he's just to grown for his britches. Lately he has been asking for privacy, yes I know a 4year old needs his privacy!!! Chuckle, chuckle. To me hearing this means he is doing or going to do something that I'm not so happy about or it makes me wonder what he thinks he's going to do that requires me to leave him alone. Today I had to laugh as he asked for some privacy to go to the bathroom which I am fine to give him however when he was taking forever I checked on him and he was pulling up his pants and he shooed me away, when asked if he had washed his hands he informed me he needed his privacy again so he could get away with NOT washing his hand!! I had to inform him that privacy was not for getting out of an important thing like washing his hands, he than said "No privacy than just go away so I can do what I want." OHHHH my things are only going to get more interesting!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRANDON!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRANDON!!! TODAY IS MY LITTLE BROTHERS BIRTHDAY AND HE'S NOW THE BIG 32!!! I WILL SOMEDAY HAVE TO GET HIM BACK FOR WANTING A 80'S THEMED COSTUME PARTY ON A 90DEGREE DAY!!!

AUGHHHHH!

Let's just say that staying up late and my boys do not go hand in hand. Yikes what a morning we have had and thank god that as I write this I am the only one in the house that is awake!! Last night the neighbors all got together and decided to have some drinks and play yard games and so that equals a late night for all, fun last night, not so fun today!! Theirs lots of kids Keaton's and Ryan's age on our street so they play and run themselves into the ground all night well last night I called it an earlier night (9pm) to put Ryan to bed and Ben was to bring in Keaton to me in a short while however he was playing with his friend Rylee so good that Ben just let them play until after 10pm. In theory doesn't sound to bad except Keaton Woke up at the crack of dawn and by 10am was whining, and complain so much I wanted to put duck tape over his mouth!! "For the love of god child STOP THE WHINING!!" that is all I said to myself all morning long!! After lunch and a painful stop at Target all the boys in my life went down for a timeout nap and all is peaceful once again. Keaton hasn't napped in I don't know how long so I am truly enjoying this moment for all its peace!!! Needless to say I don't think a late night for the boy is in his future our ours as I almost lost my mind. Oh and as a side note to share of the painful morning we went to McDonald's to have lunch and let the boys play since it's so darn hot outside (96) and our beloved Ryan decided right before we were leaving that he would climb up into the play structure and not come down and while he was up there why not take a BIG POOP!!!!!AUGHHHHHHH!!! Then I went to the diaper bag and guess what NO DIAPERS OR PULL UPS!!! Cleaned him up and he had to be at one with nature for the drive home. I guess that sums up our fantastic morning. Oh what a fun Sat!!

Ben's new ride

Well,we bit the bullet and are saying good bye to the tride and true Cavalier!! Yes, we are parting ways after almost a 11 year relationship but it's time. Ben's co-work has a son heading off to college and approached Ben about selling him our Cavalier for his son to take. Ben had been thinking about a new car but we have grown accustome to NO car payments, low tax and low insurance over the last 6 year so it was long consideration. Ben pondered and crunch numbers over the last few months and started looking at all the cars and found his ONE so he is now driving a Volvo S90 T6. Mind you it's used but it's new to Ben and he is excited as it's luxuary car compared to the Cavalier. I'm happy for my honey as he works so hard and is doing so well! He deserves a nice ride to work and a car that he can actually take co-workers out to lunch in. Yeah BEN!

The breakfast strike is OVER! (hopefully!)

Ryan has been on a breakfast strike for a month now. The kid wouldn't eat cereal, eggs, toast, even pancakes! All I could get the kid to eat some mornings was a frozen organic nutri-grain waffle and even than he'd only take a few bites. I am happy to report the strike hopefully is over!!! He has eaten cereal 3 mornings in a row and to top it all off he has added eating his veggies and mandarin oranges at dinner. It's been sometime since that happened also. I guess he knows what he likes however the boycotts are frustrating, as eating little fruit or veggies doesnt make me so happy but hopefully we are back on track. I have really tried hard to have the kids eat healthy but lately I just want the little guy to eat, so seeing him recently chow down half a can of mandarin oranges, 2 servings of green beans, 2 servings of rice and chicken made me see there is hope again.

Brothers

Just a little blurb to comment on my two little men in my life. I can say that I never have a dull moment with two little boys around the house. Some days it's amazing and some it absoulutley painful. I try and focus on the amazing days or I would probly lose my mind!! The boys are beginging to play more and more together. They love to chase one another and giggle and laugh hysterically while doing it, they also love building forts with cushions and blankets in the downstairs family room. They are starting to appreciate one another company alittle more each day. Keaton loves to go get Ryan from his bed each morning and after naps. He runs in like he hasnt seen him in years, it's so cute. It's nice to have a buddy around for each of them and it's nice that they both are learning to share, how to have some patience with someone else and how to negotiate to make things work out.

Now to how they fight like brothers!! Keaton at times likes his space and likes having things to himself and having that pesky brother coming around getting in his way, messing with his things sets off some battles. Now dont get me wrong, no fist are flying it's just the old fashion "MOM, get Ryan , MOOOOOOOM make him go away he's bugging me!" I have to give both of them credit as they both are pretty good natured boys and they tolerate each other pretty well. In the end someone is usually removed or the toy that is being fought over is removed and someones feelings are hurt but at least it's not a bloody nose or black eye... I've heard some not so nice stories about siblings fighting!!

Keaton is such a helper and loves his little brother, he helps him at all the big playgrounds that he's having trouble at, he protectes him when other kids are playing rough at the playlands and he alerts me if Ryan is having a problem or need if I'm not right there. Ryan too loves his big bro so much. He fallows him around imatating him all the time. Keaton does it, Ryan does it!! If Keaton's not around he'll walk around looking and yelling "WHERE'S BROTHER?" It warms my heart the relationship they are building now I am wondering what adding one more would bring to the picture.

The damn is opening!!

Ryan has been chattering for a while now but some we still didn't understand but he sure has turned the corner. He went from simple words and very simple sentences to fully communicating now. It all started with a dinosaur fossil which keeps breaking and he found that he gets much farther getting his dinosaur fixed when he uses he's words that I understand. "Momma, bones are broken! " "Dinosaur bone piece gone,momma!" "Dinosaur please momma, PLEASE get it!" Those are a few sentences that I hear constantly lately !! The cute one tonight was when I gave him some chocolate pudding for dessert. Yummy mommy, it's good!" and another to share is when I stole a small bite of fish off his plate at dinner and he looked at me and pointed to my plate and said "That's your yum, yum mom! That's mine!" Needless to say the damn is opening up more and more. He's been doing pretty well but he's really communicating now and I am understanding his needs even more which is SO wonderful. Ryan is a joy and so much fun! He's so playful and curious and my favorite right now is watching him dance! The boys got moves!!

New pics in the photo collection

Not alot of time to write about our fantastic trip over the Fourth but I posted the photo's and will post about the trip later today hopefully.

One whole year!

It's been a year already and I cant believe it!!! Yes folks it's been a year since we pack up and left our beloved Raleigh, NC and headed out here to the West and made our home in Colorado Springs. Time has been flying by is all I can say. The boys are growing and changing daily into amazing little men, Ben is doing well at work and I am finally adjusting to everything . We finally are adjusted somewhat to the climate. We survived a LONG winter, accepted that Spring starts in June and dark clouds mean nothing most of the time and that we live in a very arid, dry climate and things just don't grow like we were use to!!! We have also come to accept and love that there is NO humidity, no bugs for the most part (NO MOSQUITO'S) I can leave the doors open and the most I get is random fly. We have clear blue sky's and sun almost everyday, it's rare to even see a cloud in the sky until mid afternoon and that cloud is welcome to give your eyes and sun scorched skin a break. The mountains are gorgeous and over so many fun things to do. Overall the move has been great for our family in many ways so we have to be thankful for everything and enjoy life as much as possible as that's what life is I've found.... A Journey that is full of the unknown and that unknown is where you find what you least expected but hold most dear.

The sick bug has bitten not one but TWO!

The nasty sick bug has bitten not one but both of my sweet boys and boy does it have them down and out! Keaton started it out on Thursday and Ryan decided to join in on the fun on Friday. VERY high fevers, body aches, extremely sore throats and the worst cough I've ever heard come from their little bodies. They have been in amazing spirits considering they are feeling so darn lousy. I am going to try and get them in this morning to the Doctors just to have them checked out as the fevers are so high 102 to 103 degrees and I want to make sure they don't have Strep. My poor little bugs!!! I just pray mommy and daddy don't get bitten by this as we are leaving really early for our 4th trip to my parents Lake house on Wed. and the last thing we want is to be sick. Time will tell I guess!!

Adjustment

Well, I often do posts on the boys but here is a post on mommy. For you close friends this isn't a surprise but I 've had a hard time adjusting after the big move. The kids adjusted wonderfully, Ben is to busy to really think about it much and then there's ME! Raleigh was a great place to live and I happened to have great friends, live in a great neighborhood and it was just an ideal situation that we left which made it twice as hard for me to settle in here. I AM HAPPY TO SAY, summer has done wonders to my mindset and I am finally enjoying Colorado and all it has to offer. With nice weather finally here the neighbors are out and we are forming friendships and getting to do things again like doing dinner with friends, playing cards, hanging out outside until midnight having drinks and enjoying the evening ,heading out to explore the mountains, teaching the boys to fish,hiking, visiting friends in Denver to swim and play and most of all making new memories for our family. I was to focused on what I left and not on what I have right here in front of me to build upon and enjoy!! I am more active then I've been in sometime and the boys are enjoying time exploring the wonderful outdoors we have right outside our door! Most of all we are all enjoying having some time with family which is the biggest plus of all. We are even driving to see my relatives that I havent seen in 4 years over the fourth which I would've never done while in NC so right there I should see a plus!!

I guess we all need sometime to adjust and my time just took a little longer than I thought it would. I am glad I've come around to see all the wonderful opportunities and adventures we have at our finger tips. We are giving our children a gift of family, adventure and and the ability to adjust and accept change! We don't know if well stay here forever but while we are here were are going to enjoy and see all we can and try and appreciate the beauty and opportunities we have for our taking.