I HEART YOU

This year, I got into Valentine's Day a little more than usual. Well, more than I have in a few years. Except this time it was for my kids instead of for my man. Sorry honey! He knows I love him and I actually think the best present I could have gotten him was to not spend any money on a gift for him! :) We still managed to make it special without spending a ton of money on each other. I am so very thankful to have him as my Valentine! He is and always will be my one true love.
The kids and I started off LOVE week with a trip to a local bookstore to hear Valentine's stories with Max and Ruby and lunch with Lila's best bud, Mason.

We had a snow day from school on Tuesday and on Wednesday we visited with some of Lila's oldest friends and made some yummy cookies and Valentine's for the daddy's.
Here they are working hard on their cookies!




Thursday Lila had her party at school, as she worked very hard in making Valentine's for all her friends. I am kicking myself for not taking pictures, because I let her "sign" her name to each one. I must say, there were a few that I was quite impressed with, especially the one for her teacher. I went to take dinner out of the oven and came back and found she had already written on hers. It was perfect! It looked more like Lia, than Lila, but still, perfect to me!
Thursday night Michael and I had our date night. I told him not to plan anything for the evening because I had a surprise for him. Little did he know the "surprise" was using the gift card for a Viking Cooking class that HE had given me 2 years prior for Valentine's Day! :) I'm sneaky like that. It was actually perfect. We had a great time and an awesome meal....even though we didn't sit down to eat it until after 9. That is ok, we had a great night out together and actually learned a little about cooking!



Friday, after our church's Friday Fun Day, Lila had more of her friends come over to play. Can I just say this girl was SO excited to have her friends over!


We need to do it more often. If I can only keep my house clean we just may do it. Of course I did not get a picture of all the kids. I was too busy giving the kids heart shaped peanut butter sandwhiches, heart shaped jello, and kool-aid heart ice cubes! :) Yes, I got made fun of, but I don't care. I love doing stuff like that. Again, I just don't do it enough.
Here is a snapshot of their special LOVE drinks!

Saturday, I woke up to heart shaped pancakes and after Michael and the kids made a trip to the store to get me some medicine (stupid sinus infection), he came home with flowers and a heart cake for Valentine's. Lila had picked both of them out so it made it even more special. She didn't get to go with Michael to get my birthday cake and she has not let him forget it. She kept asking if she could go with him to get a cake for me. SO SWEET!


We had a great Sunday morning at church and visited with friends for lunch. Lila and Graham were hamming up all the attention.






We came home quickly to let the kids squeeze in a short nap before church. This is how G and his daddy spent the afternoon. Now that is LOVE!


We played the newlywed game in Sunday School, which Michael and I bombed. Not really, we just didn't get the tie breaker question....next time. We get made fun of for always winning, but that truly isn't the case. We've only one once, and I guess we were just a little mushy about it, so we get teased. I love it though!
We finally had a minute to let the kids open their Valentine gifts when we got home and to Skype Grandmother and PopPop so they could show off all their goodies!

I love the look of pure joy and excitement on Lila's face. She had the best time opening and was geniunely happy with each thing she pulled out.





Graham just wanted those cars. He was one happy camper, until his sister tried taking them away. Notice here he is yelling, "CARS!" Gotta love BOYS!


We carried our love week over as our best neighbors came over and the kids made more cookies! Yes, I am going to be 500 lbs by the end of this pregnancy. I am asking now for you not to make fun of me.
The kids and I talked a lot about Love this week and what it really means. We talked about God's love for us and how we should love others. I know some people just think of Valentine's Day as a made up commercialized holiday, but I truly enjoyed getting to share my love this year with those that mean the most to me!

Silly Girl!

Oh Lila! Sweet, funny, adorable Lila. Some days, I just don't know what to do with her. Most days she is cracking me up. Today is one of those days.
Here is a list of her funny's today:
1. While playing Candyland with her daddy, she gave him a "BOO YEAH!" when she drew a card that allowed her to pass him up.
2. On our way home tonight, she was singing a song that she was making up that goes something like this: " I love my brother. I love my brother. I love him so so much."
I told her I loved her and I asked her if she loved me. She said, "No, I love my daddy." I asked her who else she loved and I said something again about her loving me.
Again, she said, "I love my daddy first, and I love you....with your hair up!" HAHA! This makes me laugh because she is always telling me to put my hair back up.
3. Tonight at dinner, she was holding her fork in her mouth and shaking her head. Michael told her to stop. She said, "I know, it's annoying."
4. I knocked over a dining room chair on my way out the door. As she does with EVERY noise she hears, she asked me what it was. I told her it was the chair that was piled high with too many of her daddy's coats. She immediately ran into him and said, "Our house is gonna break daddy!" She kept saying it over and over. We couldn't quit laughing at this because we had literally just been talking about our housing situation and about all the things that need to be "fixed."
5. After going down her slide on her "back bottom" (backwards on her back) she said, "Did you see me? Let's do it again. That'll be a good idea!"

This girl is also a monkey! When I was sitting at the table with Lila and Graham doing what I thought was a craft, I look up to see them both sitting on the table. I asked them what they were doing and she said, "We're being monkey's. We are being TWO monkey's!" Yes...yes there were.
Here she is still being a monkey!


That girl. So many times I loose my patience with her and it times like these that I have to remember in order to hang on to my sanity!

It's A......

we don't know yet! The results are in an envelope in my car, but we don't plan to open it. We just wanted to have a "gender" picture for this baby since both Lila and Graham have one.
You will see above the 3D picture of the baby. Notice how skinny it's little face is. They told me this is typical at this age and the next time we go back, the face should be more filled out. It still amazes me everytime I see one of these. The baby has it's little fist up around the mouth here.
We had a big ultrasound and everything went well. This one is a wiggle worm. Kathy, our technician just had to stop and laugh because she could not capture hardly anything. One second the baby's bum was down on my right side and two seconds later it was up on my left side. We weren't able to capture any really good profile pictures, so I was sad about that, but we did see those precious little feet moving around everywhere.



We do have to go back and see a specialist. She just couldn't get good pictures of the heart and with Lila's background they just want to double check everything. I have a peace about it, but it is still a little worrisome. At least we will get to see our little one again and hopefully get some really good pictures.
Although at first we both thought girl, I am going out on a limb and guessing we are having a boy. I don't really know why, but Michael and I are both kind of feeling boy. Several people have guessed boy, including JC, who is known to be a pretty accurate baby guesser! :) After he told me, I thought to myself: I feel like I just found out what we are having!
I won't lie and say that there aren't times I haven't still thought girl. A few things that make me think this is how active the baby is. In my experience, Lila was super active and Graham wasn't. I am also carrying kind of the same as I did with Lila when I go back and look at pictures. I do know this, I look way worse than I did 3 years ago! I think it has a little something with being really tired! :) Who knows?!?! This is one thing we don't get to choose and I love that. It is all up to GOD and that is so awesome. Lila says she wants a baby sister, but she sure does love her baby brother so she will be fine either way. Graham is the one I am a little worried about. He is so spoiled I am worried about how he will do.
The baby weighed 12 oz and has been measuring a week ahead since about 16 weeks. That makes me a little nervous about having another big baby. I also gained 9 pounds in 3 weeks!! YIKES! Can I blame it on my birthday week? I really have been eating way too much, including lots o' sweets!
I am so excited about adding number 3 to our little family! Family of Five already...WOW! I am not going to lie and say I don't have my days that I am not worried about how we are going to handle it all. Some days I feel as though I am not doing a good job with the two I have, so I start freaking out. If a day goes by that I feel like I did not play with them or teach them something or read to them then I have failed and unfortunately I have had a lot of days like that lately. This parenting thing sure is hard!
We will survive!!!

My little man!!

I woke up this morning looking at my little guy and realized that he is the exact age that Lila was when he was born. I just can't believe it. Lila seemed like such a big girl at the time, and Graham still seems like such my little baby! Maybe it is because he isn't walking. Yes, he is almost 16 months old and isn't walking yet. Hey, don't judge me! It is not that he can't, he just won't. As I have mentioned before, this boy is both lazy and stubborn and only does things in his own time. He has been pulling up on things and walking around them for months. He even stands up in the middle of the room by himself. He just really likes to be held, and yes, I do it! And boy, can this little guy crawl. As did his sister, he crawls with some major force. When he sees something he wants, he goes as fast as he can to it. Poor thing has bruises all over his shins and callused knees.
Graham is almost 16 months old and each day develops more and more personality.
Here are Some things he LOVES:
-Trains, trucks, cars. He says his version of vroom vroom. He makes anything into a car, including a piece of bread or puzzle piece. He zooms it back and forth. Boys will be boys!
-Balls and balloons: He crawls after them as fast as he can and when he throws them he puts both hands all the way behind his head onto his neck and then throws it.
-Going down the slide. We moved his birthday gift to the bonus room and this provides lots of entertainment for him and his sister. He likes to go down on his belly the best. When we went to our church's playdate to Jumpzone I made the mistake of taking him down one of the slides soon after we arrived. The boy wore me out! He would try to climb up as far as he could and then stand there and pitch a fit until I finally would give in and take him down. Needless to say, I was dripping in sweat when we left. (On a side note: Lila found a little blonde hair, blue eyed boy friend who taught her how to go down the slide backwards, forwards, and every which way. Although it is against the rules, she was having the time of her life! Unfortunately, she seems to be a little too easily influenced sometimes! She was fearless though and also had a great time. I just knew that they would take they longest nap ever after playing so hard....nope!)
-G also likes to sing and dance. His favorites songs are itsy bitsy spider and the wheels on the bus. He likes the "Shhh Shh Shh" part. He shakes his little shoulders back and forth when he dances and while he is excited about waiting on something...usually it is food.
-Speaking of, that is something else he loves...FOOD! Anything that is on our plates, he wants. He eat likes a champ and is constantly signing more and making that grunting noise he does that gets him what he wants. He is never going to learn to talk, but he does say several more words now. His favorite is...MILK! He is also so sweet that when he sees Lila's cup, he will hand it to her. He also calls both my mom and dad, Pop, for PopPop. He still calls me daddy for the most part, but says my name when he really wants something.
Putting things in and taking them back out is a hobby of his right now. If he can't do it, then he will hand it to us to help him. If we are working puzzles, he takes the pieces and hands them to us as if to help. He loves to stand on his step stool and brush his "tee" (teeth). Who knew that a stepstool could provide so much entertainment.



Another source of entertainment is our new piece of workout equipment. I am certain someone is going to get hurt soon.



-Climbing stairs and boy is he fast. He hasn't quite figure out how to get down though. He has just recently figured out how to get off the step stool and how to slide off the side of the bed.
At his 15 month check up he weighed 24 pounds and was 33 1/2 inches long...tall boy!
He also has 3, yes 3 molars already!! He is cutting his other one too. He barely has his top 4 and bottom 4 teeth, so I was surprised when I see this big white thing in the back of his mouth. The other two followed quickly.
Graham cut out his morning nap a long time ago...WAY sooner than I wanted, but it does make it easier some days to get things done or to go places. However, he doesn't make up for his missed nap in the afternoon. I don't know what it is about my children not being good nappers, but that ONE hour a day is just not enough time to get anything done.
-He loves to use a marker and write on the art easel or use chalk on the chalkboard.

Some of my favorite things that Graham does:
Whenever we are talking about getting ready for bed, he starts smacking his lips as if to give kisses.
When we say, "Let's Pray" he clasps his hands together in preparation...so sweet.
He loves Chloe and always goes over to pat on her and lay his head on her.
He still gives the best hugs...they just don't last too long! :)
He grins at me through his paci and has this look he gives when he gets what he wants...after pitching a royal fit of course! BOY, can this boy throw one!

Oh, my sweet sweet Graham boy! We love you buddy.

Happy Birthday to ME!!

Yes, I am 32! Wow..that sounds like I am IN my 30's. A little scary to think about.
I had a great week! My wonderful husband came home and stayed with the kids for 3 different nights while I went out for the evening. Monday night was bible study,(but I still totally count that as a night out), Tuesday night, (my acual birthday) was family night out, Wednesday I went to dinner and a movie with some girlfriends. Dinner was kind of a disaster because they chose to give us the trainer, but the movie was hilarious! I went back out to dinner on Friday night to celebrate another friends birthday. And then Saturday was date night with Michael! We went to Virago's and to a movie. Not too exciting, I know, but it was nice to just be together! I did spend a lot of my week, including my birthday at the Dr's. office with sick kids, but at least I got a break from dinner and baths! :)Oh, the things that make us happy these days.
Here are some pictures from my big week!








And here I am at 18 weeks, 2 days. I actually got asked tonight by someone if I was having twins. I think her exact words were, "Are they sure it is just one, because you are a lot bigger than I am." This was coming from someone who is also 18 weeks and is pregnant with her 3rd child too. Her 2nd child is only 8 months, so they are going to be close together. I at least made it to 27ish weeks with Graham before I started getting the twins questions.

Mina's Birthday

UPDATE:
Lila has now assigned a friend to Graham. Her name is Heidi and she is two. She also has green hair like Mina. Also, it looks like Mina's birthday party is everyday. We sing Happy Birthday to her and Lila makes her a cake out of whatever she can find. Usually it is a coaster or her little people camper. Hey Mina, that camper was MY birthday cake! :)
Apparently today is Mina's birthday. At first Lila told me she was 3 and then just said, "No, she's just two. I'm silly!" Lila told me that after her nap we were going to Mina's birthday party. When I asked her what kind of party Mina was having she said, "A Princess Party, like me."
Oh great...I guess we have a princess party in our future! :)

G's 15 minutes!

So, Big G had his first chance at fifteen minutes of fame this morning and he gave us this:


Yep, this was his facial expression for the whole Kindermusik performance. I would post video of him, but its not much to look at. What you will see is a silly mommy doing silly things just to get a grin out of her adorable little boy. I could make excuses and say he was tired or that we have missed several classes so he wasn't use to it, but honestly my children just have this thing about checking out everything around them. Both of my kids came out of the womb...no, they were IN the womb with this look on their face:

I truly believe he was having a good time, he just had to take it all in first. This was proven by him showing his temper when we had to give back the bells and when Michael took the ball from him. This was pretty much Lila's look on her face too as she was taking it all end. She would get excited when we would come by in our circle and give us a wave and then it was back to the eyebrow furrow. She did get to go out and do one number with daddy and brother.

I am still very proud of my little man! However, I think we will try gymnastics next!