2013 Recap and Reflections

Look!  I'm dustin' off the bloggity blog to wrap up 2013.

By the way, I think I've {finally} come to a good understanding with this place, my little corner of the internet.  Simply put:  I don't have time.  Life may not always feel like this, but for now it is just busy (aside from having three small children, I am working FOUR jobs), and I'm tired of feeling guilty.  Pictures hang over my head, activities occur, and I think, "Man, I should blog that!"

But something happened when I started Instagramming.  Those quick pictures I snap throughout the day, adding my thoughts or whereabouts, those became my blog.  

Kinda without me noticing it.

But when I flip back through my IG account, I relive our year.  

And so, I'm going to let go.  Let go of the blog.  I'm not going to delete it (never!) but I'm not going to  have it hanging over my head and making me feel guilty.  I LOVE when people email that this blog has been a source of inspiration or support and I will forever be grateful for that.  

This year has stretched me so much and for the first time in a while, I really feel like I know who I am.  Our family is complete, we both have jobs we love, and our feet feel steadier than they've been in a long time.  Naturally we have ups and downs, but we've weathered so much and I think we feel stronger than ever.  I've been stretched and broken and rebuilt and I'm so grateful for all those events, those things that have made me who I am today.

And our future... We are so excited for the future.  Of course we have goals and plans, but we are also wise enough to know that HE has bigger goals and better plans, so we just prayerfully trust in Him.

So with that, onto our recap...  But otherwise, find me on Instagram.  :)  

There is great peace in having your heart complete.  Griffin filled in any gaps or longing and we love our tank so much.

These two are pretty much inseparable and it's one of my regular prayers that they always stay just that. 

Sometimes I still pinch myself that they are all ours.  For better or worse, our babies they'll be.  :) 

Christmas Eve '13

What's a year without endless trips and excursions with friends?  We are blessed with this family and their friendship.

Happy birthday, Griffin 

Valentine's Day 2013 

Our little cheerleader-cartwheeler-dancer 

And our wild, crazy, lovable boys.

I hope you have had a wonderful year and welcome 2014 with arms wide open!

Hey there!

I guess it's become routine that I blog every, what, 2 months?  

Sorry Mom.

I always say I'll try harder and truthfully, I MISS blogging.  I LOVE having this as a family record.  It makes me sad that it has kind of... crumbled.

I'm just busy.  I'm going in a million directions and I'm juggling more balls than I really should be.  In addition to a 6 year old, 2 year old, and 8 month old, I'm working.  We still have the store, I tutor, I transcribe minutes for a company that handles City Council meetings, and I teach.  In September I got hired at Maddie's school (and my alma mater!) to be the reading specialist.  I absolutely LOVE it and daily feel so blessed (it's part-time) but gosh.  

I have no time.

Look.  I was going to blog updates and I can hear Griffin in his crib, waking up.  Instead, pictures only!  :)

The Ultimate Catch-Up

Since I *do* use this blog as a scrapbook, and love to look back on past posts, I thought I'd do a summary of the kiddos.  

Maddie

Maddie turned six in July and just started the first grade.  

Her best friend is Emma and seriously, they could play together for 200 days straight and she'd still cry when they had to part.  

Maddie can be THE SWEETEST thing but she's got a sassy streak in her that becomes a tad more prominent when she's hungry or tired.  Speaking of tired, she's an amazing sleeper and sleeps from about 7pm until we wake her in the morning for school (6:40ish).  She eats an apple in bed every night (random) and must have her blankie and 12,000 books in order to fall asleep.

Her true love though?  Cartwheels.  She cartwheels anywhere and everywhere and she's AMAZiNG at them.  She can do one-handed ones and is working on a back handspring.  She goes to gymnastics once a week and cheer practice once a week, too.

She's also (warning: I'm going to brag) very, very smart.  Reading really "clicked" this summer and she can now happily read Grayson his bedtime stories.  I watch her solve math problems and I'm blown away by how quickly she picks things up.  She is a VERY good student and we are so proud that our hearts sometimes want to burst.

She loves her Daisy troop, cheerleading, anything American Girl, sour candy, going to church, playing in her room, and shopping for clothes.  She's basically a really fun, really rad girl!

Grayson

Grayson turned two in May and spends his day hanging with his mama and brother.  

Grayson's best friend is his Sissy, who he pretty much adores.  He also loves Landon (Emma's brother, so fabulous) and watching them begin to play together in the boy language of Super Heroes is kinda awesome.

Grayson is a snuggler, a sweetie, and a puppy that doesn't always know his own strength.  Ha!  He is the first to give hugs and kisses and the first to say, "Love you."  

He's into Batman, both the old school cartoons and the new toys, his green blankie (that he calls "Beezie"), snacks (aka: "snack-uh-snacks"), his aunties, Chipotle, watching movies, and Skittles.  He gets super excited for "art projects" and would happily paint everyday.  He's finally tall enough for his basketball hoop so the family room floor is usually littered with a thousand balls.

Gray is definitely a typical tantruming two year old and sometimes I want to pull my hair out (just being honest).  His language is extensive, though sometimes it takes a couple go-rounds to actually understand his long sentences!

He's our sweet little man, a guy with a thousand nicknames (GG, Gray Baby, G-man, on and on), and I'm savoring this last year of having him home 24-7 (even those tantrums; I'm counting it all as joy!).

Griffin

Our Griffy is 6.5 months old and is pretty much a rockstar baby.

Seriously, he's one of those kids that makes you question your decision to not have any more.  Ha!  I mean, I realize he'll eventually be a tantruming toddler too (see above) but for now, he's just my baby.  

*PS: READ... LAST baby, mkay?  :)

Back to Griffin.  He's huge.  Everyone comments on that.  He's in all 12 month clothing and can wear the same size diaper as Grayson (super handy for me, haha).

He nurses exclusively (holla!) and would like to eat more solids.  Mama just gets a little tired.  :)  But, I'm trying.  I let him eat bits off my plate sometimes, which delights him to no end.  

Griffin put himself on pretty amazing schedule (morning nap, afternoon nap, 7pm bedtime) and I appreciate him parenting himself.  Haha.  Kidding.  But really, he's so amazing.  He and Gray nap at the same time in the afternoon and I spend the first 20 minutes or so running around and basically clicking my heels.  :)

 He loves sitting and playing with big brother's toys, nursing, giving wet, slobbery kisses, jumping in his Jumperoo, and smiling.  He smiles all the time.  :)  He's chatty, likes to nurse once during the night, and has yet to fully transition to his own room (sleeps in a pack and play at night, in our room).

Whew!  So there you have it.  We're super, insanely blessed.  

But that's not to say that Mike and I don't sometimes look at each other and say, "Oh my gosh.  There's so many of them."  :)

Middle of Summer

No captions.  Imagine, middle of summer fun and you've got it.  :)

The point is that I'm playing catch up.

Fair Fun

Our annual trip to the Fair was super fun, as always!

Vacation!

We went on vacation last month!  

We had so much fun.

Here are the pictures (haha, I've gotta move fast; I've got two boys napping and that can change in the blink of an eye!):

Happy 6 months Finny!  He celebrated by trying a Mum-Mum.  Not a super fan.

Playing in the hotel.   A kids suite was the best decision I've ever made. 

Maddie protects the baby's ears.  Haha

View from my parents' hotel room/suite/mansion.

Sleepy little guys

Originally, Mike wasn't going to be able to come because of work, but he surprised us the last day!

One of the worst tantrums ever.  You know it's bad when the amusement park staff ask you if there's anything they can do.  Ha!  God gave me THE most patient man ever to parent with.  He knew I was a little lacking in the whole patience department and blessed me with Mike.