Happy New Year!

This year has been amazing! Gibson is one year older... a big boy at 2 years old! We also added to the family with our precious Chadder Bug who is now just over 5 months old. I cant believe how much we have been blessed with, but we are beyond thankful.

At this moment I sit in my living room... the only person awake in the house. Gibson and Chad were down for the count around 9:30 and Gerod has been in and out of consciousness since 10:00.

So here I am... on the computer... as usual. I am watching the only thing on tv at this very moment... New Years parties in New York and Las Vegas. We had an invite to a big New Years Eve bash at some friends house, but we were a little late in looking for a sitter so instead decided to spend New Years as a family.

Maybe next year I wont be the only one in the house awake to ring in the New Year.

Happy New Year everyone... May 2010 be as good as 2009!

Tis The Season

We went shopping today, and I hope I remember the madness next year and do all my shopping much earlier. There were WAY to many people out and about getting their last minute Christmas gifts, and we still had half our list of people to buy for. We only lack two more gifts now, and then I have to wrap everything before we visit the family for Christmas. Needless to say I hope I don't procrastinate this much next year!

I cant wait to see our family and friends over this next week! It should be a wonderful time!!

ClAsSiC!

After a little bit of editing I had to share this picture one more time!

Silly, Sleepy Chadder Bug!

Chad looked like he was ready to hit the slopes this morning after Daddy got him ready to leave the house. How cute is he in that hat and those glasses?Chad has gotten big enough to use the jumper now, and in the past few days has figured out how to jump. He gets so excited we sometimes think he could just jump out of the thing! This afternoon he bounced so much he fell asleep. We were watching him jump all over the place and as we watched he got slower and slower, and finally fell into a daze and then slumped over and started sleeping. Before we took him out to lay him down we got a couple snapshots!

Santa, cookies, and tears... Oh my!

On Saturday we took the boys to a local cookie shop to have milk and cookies with Santa. As you will soon see, Santa was not the hit of the party!

Chad was quite upset at first, but we got him to calm down in Santa's lap just long enough to get a pretty decent picture...

Gibson was a completely different story... poor kid was not liking Santa at all!!!

We thought he might show some interest in the reindeer bells Santa showed him, but that didn't work either.

The crying ceased once we introduced the milk and cookies though. This cookie shop was AMAZING. Big shortbread stocking cookies for all the kids with a small milk to wash it down with. They do cookies for all sorts of parties, including baby showers, birthdays, holiday get togethers and so much more. They also have some pretty good cookies you can buy individually.

Yummy!

Later on Saturday afternoon we tried another Santa at the mall. NOPE! That one didn't have the magic touch either. We thought this one would be different because Gibson seemed very excited to see him, but as soon as he got in his lap he threw a fit! Hopefully next year he will be a little more calm around the big red guy!

I kind of felt like we were torturing him... Chad was sleeping so we decided not to wake him up for the second set of pictures since the first ones were so traumatic.

Needless to say I think the boys will be happy to not have their pictures taken with Santa again anytime soon. :) However we may have to take pictures with our very own Santa... the boys great grandpa back in Texas who we call "Ho Ho"

Fun on the floor

Chad loves being on the floor in all the action. He just recently learned how to roll over from his back to his stomach (he is still working on stomach to back). He loves playing on his play mat the most because of all the bright lights, music, and hanging toys! Sometimes Chad has just a little TOO much fun... I have caught him

falling asleep on several occasions! Too precious! Love it!

Texas is going to the National Championship!

Gerod had so much fun dressing up the boys (and himself) in Texas gear for the Texas game. Surprisingly, being in Sooner country, we got lots of compliments on the boys outfits during our outing at the mall the day of the game. I have to agree that all three of my guys looked pretty cute!

Daddy and Chad ready for the game... "Hook Em Horns" Mommy and Gibson during the game

(notice my side pony tail... compliments of my new hairstylist Gibson)
Gibson's Colt McCoy jersey. How cute?!?

Gibson thought that the diaper on his head was pretty silly, yet stylish...

I couldn't get him to take it off for a while!

Chadder Bug

Hi Mom... Aren't I precious???

Gigi, Papaw and Uncle Steven come to visit...

We had a lot of fun over Thanksgiving with Gigi, Papaw and Uncle Steven. Great food, and great family! The family got here just a couple days before Thanksgiving and stayed through the weekend. We at lots of food, watched New Moon (the newest Twilight movie), shopped till we literally almost dropped, and all the guys even got to go to a Thunder game (Thanks to David for those tickets!!!)

I snapped a couple pictures of Papaw with his grandson's and this was the cutest one! How happy does Papaw look to be hanging out with his little guys? Gibson had so much fun with Papaw, and was SO SAD to see him, Gigi and Uncle Steven go. Here is Gibsonian being his happy self... as always!
Mommy and her Chadder Bug! I love my little men so much!

Chad's 4 month well care checkup!

Today has been busy from the start. At 9:30 we had Chad's 4 month well care visit, better late than never...right? Chad weighed in at a whopping 17lbs and 7oz (90th percentile) and 26.6in (70th percentile)... I am not sure why he is so large?!? lol. The doctor looked at Gerod and said... "So who is the father?"... he is quite the comedian. Just for fun, our doctor got out Gibson's stats from his 4 month appt... Gibson was 14lbs 3oz (30th percentile), and 24in (50th percentile). Chad also got 2 more shots and an oral vaccine, and Gibson got his second Flu shot.

After the doctors visit we rushed home just in time for Gibson's speech therapy. He is doing really well and loves his therapist. We are excited to be progressing, even if its just a little bit at a time.

Now both of my little men are napping! I cant believe they are both getting so big! I swear, since Chad was born time sped up just a little bit more. Before we know it they are going to be all grown up. Until then I will continue to cherish these days that I get to spend with them.

Blessed

Tomorrow is Chadder Bug's 4 month well care visit. He will again have to endure another round of shots, and all the other fun poking and prodding by the doc. After we get back from the doctor Gibson has another speech therapy session. He is really taking a liking to the lady doing the sessions with him. Last week he even climbed into her lap during the story she read to him. He is such a loving little guy.

I think tonight about how lucky I am to be able to put my babies in their beds tonight, and how lucky I am to spend the day with them each day, waking up to their adorable smiling faces. Sometimes we take for granted what we have. Sometimes we don't realize how quickly it could all be taken away from us. We never know what God's plans are for us... and so I go to bed tonight saying a thankful prayer for another day with my little men.

I promise to take in every smile, every laugh, every smell, even every cry, and thank God for the babies I have been blessed with.

Welcome Christmas.... Come this way!

I love Christmas time! What a wonderful time of year when

we can celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ!!

I love being able to spend time with family and friends, I love the cold crisp weather, I love the beautiful messages at church, I love all the music and laughter, I love hot apple cider *specifically Starbucks Caramel Apple Spice ;)*, I love the decorations...

I know my tree isn't the most magnificent one in the world... but once we get a bigger living room, a bigger tree will most definitely be bought. My theme is red, white and silver. :) With a new tree maybe a new theme?!? The stockings are hung... I plan on getting our names embroidered on them before next year.

More decorations...

I love Christmas and I am so excited that it is only 24 days away. I have MOST of the presents bought... although they aren't wrapped yet, that is my next project on a long "to do" list!

I hope everyone else is having a good start to their Christmas season! It is my favorite holiday and I plan on celebrating from now till the 25th!! :)

So much to be thankful for...

I am so thankful for so many things...
My little boys are absolutely amazing! They are so precious and sweet and loving. I am grateful at each and every day that I get to spend with them. It is a wonderful blessing that I am allowed to stay home with them and watch them grow and thrive.
My husband is wonderful! He is such a kind hearted man, and a awesome father to our little men. He is a man of character, and great faith. He has a big heart, and tries to pour love out on our family as much as possible.
My family is always there for us. We are lucky to have such big loving families that love us and our children so much.
My friends keep me going each and every single day. They keep me sane, and keep me smiling. I am so lucky to have each and every one of them in my life. :)
I am lucky enough to have food on our table every night, a roof over our head, a good car to get us around, clothes on our backs, and so many more things.
I am thankful this season for so much! God us blessed us in so many ways, and we are forever grateful!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and was able to give thanks for all that they have!

4 months!!

I cant believe that my little Chadder Bug is already 4 months old! He is getting so big each and every day! The time seems to be flying by so much faster than it did when we only had Gibson. Maybe with two kids there is just so much more to do that you don't really realize how quickly the time is actually passing you by. Here is little man by his bear like usual. They are officially the same size, and Chad will soon be overtaking him I am sure.

We don't go in for our 4 month appt till Dec 8th... but so far here is what we know,

Chad is:

• Grabbing at toys above him
• Loving tummy time
• Rolling onto both sides, but still not rolling all the way over yet
• Eating 6 ounces at almost every feeding; every three hours
• Sleeping through the night!!! (YEAH!)
• Watching his big brothers every movement... he already loves Gibson so much!

He weighs around 15lbs, give or take. Since we haven't been to the doc yet its really hard to tell on our old baby scale that Gerod's mom gave us. Either way he is one sturdy little boy, and he continues to grow each and every day!

I will update again after our doctors appt on the 8th.

*Look at these handsome little boys*

I love this picture that I snapped the other day in Texas. Gibson is on the far left, then my nephew Jaxon and of course little Chadder bug. How cute are these little fellas? I love them so much!

OMG!!!

Let me first just say that I would have never thought that going to the bathroom would be such a HUGE deal to me... but needless to say it is an absolute, cant deny it, amazingly HUGE deal!
We haven't been pushing the potty training for Gibson thus far, but in the past week, just before bath time each night, we place Gibson on the potty and up until tonight he just looked at us and smiled like, "What am I supposed to do on this thing?"... However, tonight he went POTTY, on the POTTY! I was completely SHOCKED! I am hoping that he will continue, and this wasn't just a fluke of sorts, but I am also not going to be surprised if it doesn't happen all the time. We will continue to work on it, and not push him, and hopefully before too long we can kick our pricey diapers to the curb, and buy some little boy undies! Cant wait for that day... lol!
Oh the joys of being a MOM! I love every little bit!

I'm a BIG kid now!!

So we decided to start feeding Chad solids... our doctor recommends starting at 4 months, and he will be 4 months old next Tuesday but we don't see the doctor for his 4 month check up until the beginning of December due to his patient size and how busy this season is. Since Chad is already eating 6 ounces every three hours on a regular basis we thought we might see how well he did with solid food. So I was off to the store for Rice Cereal... YUM-Oh, right?

Chad did SO well... he ate about half of what I fixed him! We hope that he continues to do well on the rice cereal, but I don't think we will start on Veggies until after we have seen the doctor and can tell him how he is doing on the Rice Cereal. YUMMY!
Clean up on aisle 12?!?

Had to include a picture of my little man Gibson-ian!

And yet another picture of little Chadder... he is getting SO big!

Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity DOG!

So we finally got some pictures of Chad in his Halloween costume... In case you cant tell, he is a little Hot Dog. I couldn't get pictures of him when he wore it out because with the two kids it was hard to get many pictures at all, let alone pictures of Chad.

I just wanted to share the adorable shots that Gerod got of Chad cheesin' for the camera in his "Oh so adorable" costume! :)

I love my little Chadder Bug!

Harvest Party

Our Sunday school class had a Harvest Celebration back on the 1st of the month out in the country at one of the couples parents farm. We all had such a great time, and the weather was perfect.

Gibson got to see some cows up close and in person! They said this particular calf was very gentle and was fine to pet... but Gibson was just a little too unsure of him so he just laughed and pointed. Gibson had a blast riding around on the little motorcycle push toy they had outside. He is such a little daredevil.

Blowing bubbles is one of Gibson's favorite things... He had so much fun blowing bubbles on his own. Luckily he didn't get the soap all over him!
Chad had a blast just hanging out. He loves being outside more than anything else. It got a little chilly outside once the sun went down, but we were able to bundle up and enjoy the cool air.

The best part of the evening was Gibson being able to ride on the horse! It was the first time he ever was even close to a horse, let alone allowed to ride on one. He thought it was too much fun, we will definitely have to do that again sometime soon.

We had so much fun with all of our friends and their children that evening. It was great to get outside and enjoy the weather. One thing I didn't get a picture of was Gibson on the tractor/hay ride, Gerod said they had a blast together on it. Hopefully the weather will continue to be just as nice and we can get outside a few more times before fall really sets in.

Fireproof your marriage with the Love Dare

Gerod and I started reading the Love Dare book, which you might have heard about if you have seen the film, "Fireproof". The film stars Kirk Cameron, and deals with the struggles of a marriage on the verge of divorce. I forget Kirk's name in the movie, but he gets a book from his father called the Love Dare, which is a 40 day dare to fall deeper into love with the person he married. In the beginning he struggles with the dares but does them anyway. As the days go by he finds that he truly wants to do everything in his power to save his marriage. It is an amazing truth that not many people think about... that marriage is a difficult thing, and it does take work. I recommend that every married couple, or even newly engaged couple watches this film, and reads the book.

Gerod and I are on Day 6 and have truly enjoyed everything up to this point. So far the dares are fairly easy, but I know they will get harder as time goes on. The best thing is that we are getting back to the kind of marriage we had when we are newlyweds! We had gotten into such a routine of life, that we weren't doing those sweet, spontaneous, romantic gestures for one another anymore... we weren't talking to each other more than just to ask how the day was... we weren't learning new things about one another. Now we are really finding out that marriage can be new and exciting even nearly 5 years in! I only hope that we can continue to grow and learn so that we can show our children how amazing a marriage can be. As good as things are now, I know with the help of this book things will only get better.

Whether you are struggling to stay together, or still madly in love, or even just in between, I suggest you take the time out to watch Fireproof with your spouse, and begin reading the Love Dare. It's an amazing journey into making your marriage better no matter where you are at right now. I DARE YOU to start this journey to make your marriage better!

Good luck, and embrace the changes you will see during this process.

HaPpY HaLlOwEeN!

Gibson had a great time this Halloween, dressing up as a dinosaur and heading off to gather candy from all the neighbors was such an awesome experience for him. I always thought when I was younger that Halloween was a blast, we got to change ourselves into these mythical creatures or movie stars and get candy from tons of houses. We got to stay up late with our friends on a school night, then go home and sort through all of our candy. It was so much fun as a child looking forward to this fun-filled evening. However, I think watching your own child have the experience is so much more fulfilling.

Gibson didn't really get the concept at first, but he got the hang of trick or treating pretty quickly. It was so much fun to show him off to all of our neighbors. I cant wait till next year when he can help me choose what he will dress up as for Halloween.

Ready to go trick-or-treating
My little dinosaur

...and they're off...

Taking off on his own

Going through the loot

No surprise that he chose the sucker

Chad just hanging out with Daddy

Worn out from all the festivities

Hope everyone had a very Happy Halloween... Now onto Thanksgiving. I cant believe it's already November!