Happy Birthday My Caden boy!!

Caden was SO excited for his birthday this year. Apparently turning 4 is kind of a big deal! All he kept talking about was getting a big Optimus Prime transformer! Thankfully he did get that - and tons of other things as well. The next morning when he woke up he told Jay and I that Santa didn't need to come because he already got all the toys he wanted! Sweet!! I had to remind him that there were still more things on his list so it was OK for Santa to come. How sad that I have to convince my kid to let Santa bring him toys!

His poor cake. He wanted a Bumble Bee cake, but they only had an Optimus Prime pan. So I had to get creative. I wasn't too impressed with how it turned out, but he loved it.. The whole time I was decorating it, he was sitting next to me telling me I was doing a great job! Thanks bud!!

He was so excited for us to sing to him. A big change from when he was younger. He would cry when we sung to him. Now he eats all that attention up!!

Thanks to all the family that came and helped celebrate his big day with us! It is much appreciated!! And Happy Birthday bud! Hope being 4 is all it's cracked up to be!! I love you!!

Happy Turkey Day

So I'm WAY late on posting pretty much anything. I've been a total slacker lately, so please excuse the tardiness. We had such a great Thanksgiving. Well, we actually had two Thanksgivings (one of the perks of having both families so close!) We had a fun lunch Thanksgiving with Jay's family. Then it was off to my parents for dinner. The boys loved it because their cousins came to visit from Cali, and they LOVE their cousins. My mom (being the teacher that she is) had some super fun Indian vests and hats for the kids to make. They loved it, to say the least.

I couldn't get all of them together, so first I got Keeg - pj's and all!! HA!!

Then the other kids posing so nicely!! So adorable!!


I just had to get a picture of the kids sitting together eating their Thanksgiving feast! They were hilarious! We definitely should have put that table outside though. There was more food on the ground than anything! But they had fun for sure!!

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving spending lots of time with family and enjoying LOTS of yummy food.. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Congrats Jordan & Natalie

My baby bro Jordan got married this weekend to the wonderful Natalie Hardesty. They are SO adorable and I'm so happy for them. Caden's photo skills at work. Aren't they so cute??!!

Grammy getting in some dancing with Keeg.

My sis and I!! Awe!

Our fam all together!

Congrats Jordan and Nat! We love you guys and had a blast celebrating your special day!

I'm a big boy now!!

We decided it was time to try Keegan in a big boy bed. He's always done great in his crib, but it was time for the next step. Saying he was excited is a complete understatement. I never say a kid so excited about a new bed. He was cheering and saying "big boy bed" over and over again. We did a test run last weekend and he did great! So, we took out the crib and made his room a big boy room. He loves it and does such a great job! It's so cute seeing him in the morning cheering for himself and saying "big boy!" He's growing up way too fast for me!!

Bruders

Lately I've noticed how close my two boys have gotten.. They are hilarious together. Keegan idolizes his brother and Caden plays the "big brother" role all too well. They love to laugh and play and are ALWAYS together. Caden is very good about making sure his brother is OK and not sad. It's sweet to hear him say, "It's OK Bubby!" Keegan does anything and everything Caden does. He is his little shadow and wants to be just like him. I love it when he calls for his "Bruder!" As long as I can remember I've always wanted my kids to be friends, just like my siblings are. I'm so lucky to have that.. Hopefully it sticks with them. I know they will make some great memories together! This picture cracks me up! It definitely shows how Keegan idolizes his brother. Always looking to see what he's doing and trying to mimic it!

Smiles for all.. They are constantly laughing together. It's definitely music to my ears!!

Popcorn is a HUGE favorite in our house! The boys LOVE it!

Both my boys are Mama's boys! Keegan worse than Caden, but still attached to Mommy.. I always have to remind them that I have one leg or arm for each! It's a good thing there are only two of them! They both love books so we take advantage any chance we get! I love reading time with Mommy!

How sweet it is....

Our house has been, shall we say, out of whack lately. A few weeks ago Jay broke his collar bone and it definitely threw a wrench in our daily routine. He's been hanging out at home for the last three weeks and I think both of us are ready for him to go back to work. He's getting stir crazy and I'm ready to get back into our routine. Not that I don't LOVE having him at home all day!! But it's not like he can do chores and things around the house while he's home. His shoulder/arm hurts like crazy and moving around just makes it worse. It doesn't help that the boys still try and rough house with him too.. He's slowly starting to heal and feel like moving around isn't going to kill him. So, last night after dinner we decided to take the boys on a walk around the block. I can't even begin to explain how AMAZING a walk around the block with my family was! Caden rode his bike and Keegan just ran (literally) right behind Caden. Jay and I were actually able to hold hands and just stroll behind the boys! It's been a long time since we've been able to do that. One of us is usually holding onto a kid or two. Even though our walk only lasted one block, it was pure bliss. I felt like I was miles away from the crazy world we live in and able to recharge my ever depleting batteries..

California - here we come...

We were able to go visit Josh and Holly over Labor Day and enjoy spending time together and attend Kate's baby blessing.. We had a blast!! I was VERY surprised that Keegan remembered their house (from March when he fell) and he wouldn't even go inside when we got there. He just stood on the front porch saying NO over and over again! Poor kid! I guess he's never going to forget that day! Thankfully our trip came and went with no ER trips! Yeah!! We had a blast visiting and the kids had so much fun together. I forgot how well Caden, Lily and Breya got along and Keegan made himself right at home with them.
Baby Kate in her beautiful blessing dress! Josh did such a great job on the blessing. It would have been even better if I could have stayed to hear it. As soon as my dad got up to stand in the circle Keegan started screaming Big Al over and over again. I finally had to take him out in the hall (laughing the whole way). At least no one there will ever forget my dad's name!

We were able to go to the Build A Bear @ Down Town Disney. The boys had a blast there and LOVED picking out clothes for their dogs. Of course Caden had to pick Buzz Lightyear and Keegan went for Mickey Mouse.

I just LOVE this picture. We were swimming at Josh and Holly's house and Keegan was very upset because I took him out of the pool. His lips were turning purple from being cold and I thought a nice warm towel would help! However he did not like the idea that everyone else was swimming and going down the water slide. Sorry bud!

Caden loved the beach (thank goodness) and still talks about the waves to this day. We had so much fun jumping over them and running away from the "big ones" as Caden puts it. Here Lily and Caden and I getting ready to run!

Couldn't help but capture a moment at the beach with my boys!! I just love those kiddos..