New York

We got in to NY the weekend before Christmas and since my dad was off from work, we headed to my parents first. We had a couple days where it was just us and we had a blast. 

This little peanut was quite attached to his Mommy while we were away. I'm not sure if it's the pregnancy, a stage he is going through or just being in a new place but he didn't want me to go too far. 

Of course, we got some card games in. I don't know why we do it to ourselves but even if when the competitive side comes out, we still have fun. This was the closest game we've ever seen!

 The little boy my mom watches during the week was there one of the days we were and oh my goodness did the boys have a blast together! My mom had a ton of activities planned and they wore each other out. 

Seth got to experience snow for the first time! 

We made cookies.....

And did a little craft.....

Getting some practice for what life will look like in a few months : ) 

And then Super Why came on and the world stopped....

They were both standing so close, we got the pillows out for them to sit on. Well, seconds later Graysen got up and moved his pillow right under the television, came back to get Seth's pillow and then that's where they sat. We were laughing too hard to get a picture of it! 

Home for the Holidays

I know I haven't been the best at blogging lately. My monthly quotas haven't even hit 10 in quite some time. Although my Dad gave me a hard time over Christmas break, I had a pretty good excuse this time since we went up to NY for the Holidays! I told him an in-person visit trumps a blog post any day. 

Our travels went pretty smoothly both ways this time. A few "bumps" that in the moment made me say that "I'm never doing this again", but they didn't last long looking back and all in all was a MUCH MUCH better trip than our impromptu hurricane trip (which we truly will never do again). 

We had a blast with both sides of our families. We got to see everyone minus two brothers (one for each of us). It was so much fun to see Seth interact with his cousins. While at home, most of his playmates are younger than him (other than while at church), but I think he really enjoyed getting to play with some older kids and they did a great job playing with him too! It worked out quite well since he is an intense boy who loves to love, so the older kids could handle him better than the little ones : ) 

I'll be honest with you, the idea of going through pictures (most of which I stole from my mom because getting my camera out was usually the last thing on my mind) is exhausting, but I promise to get some up in the next couple posts. 

We got home Friday morning before New Years. That day was filled with naps, grocery shopping and unpacking. Jeremy and I rang in the New Year by getting an awful head cold that we are both still fighting a bit, but all in all we have settled back in to our daily routine. Seth has done better than I expected with it just being me here. I thought he would miss all his playmates. Jeremy is back at school and thinks the break did the kids some good - good behaviors all around : ) College will start back up next week and dare I say baby preparations are right around the corner?! Eek!

Baby Boy Thomas!

Yup, you read that right! Baby boy #2 is on his way : ) We had our ultrasound on Tuesday and just like Seth, he let us know what we were getting right off the bat. He let me know quite a few times during the ultrasound that I had been calling him the wrong gender this whole time. Poor bubby hahaha

His heartbeat was 139 which is just about where it's been the whole time. Everything was where/what size it should be, which is the most important part and he is just shy of 1 pound! 

Jeremy and I love knowing. It makes it feel a bit more real if that makes sense. Now, we just have to decide on a name. We've had our girl name picked out since we were pregnant with Seth but boys are hard! Since originally writing this on Tuesday we think we have decided on one, but we want to be sure : )

I thought we got a CD of pictures with Seth but this time we just got a bunch of pictures, so I tried to take a couple pictures of them to share!

Come on April! : )
(although I guess the Doctors are saying May 2nd,
which I somehow missed haha)

CHRISTmas

If you ask anyone around, they'll tell you I'm the biggest Christmas geek. I start shopping in February and would have my house decorated all year long if my husband allowed it. 

But there's a part of me that puts Christmas into the same category as Valentine's Day. It's 100% commercialized and the true meaning has gotten lost (although I don't think there's any true meaning to Valentine's Day). 

I didn't even know what a Hatchimal was until a friend of mine started looking for one for her daughter. I quickly learned that this silly little toy was the most wanted thing on the planet. So much so, that people had bought them all up and were selling them for 4 times PLUS the amount they are truly worth. I'm sorry, but how SAD is that!? I'm all for making a buck where I can, but that is nothing short of taking advantage of desperate people trying to make their kids happy. 

I know, I'm going to be that mom that ruins the magic of Christmas and takes all the fun out of it. But our children will not believe that Santa Claus is this holly jolly man who flies around the universe in one night, delivering all their hopes and dreams on Christmas morning. 

Although there are many reasons why, there is ultimately one that sums it all up. What happens the day that our children find out the heartbreaking truth that Santa Claus isn't real? They will most likely question everything we have ever taught them. How much we love them? That Jesus loves them? I'd rather they never doubt those truths (or any other truths we teach them) if I can help it. And dare I say there will be no Elf on the Shelf or Santa Cam that tells my kids they need to behave for the month of December so that they will be rewarded on Christmas morning? No, they will learn that we behave every day of the year, because it's the right thing to do.
Yes, because "I said so". 

Along with every other "controversial issue" I've posted on, there is no judgement on those of you that wants to add the extra fun and magic this holiday season with whichever character you do. We should all know by now that not everyone agrees. But just because we don't doesn't mean we can't get along and accept each other! To each their own. But for me and my family, we will be focused on what the holiday season truly is all about and what it represents. 

And I can't wait to get that all started in just 4 short days! : ) 

Teach 'em while they're young!

Seth has always loved the trash can. Ever since I praised him one day for throwing something he found on the floor away, it's now a daily battle to not put toys and miscellaneous items in the trash. We seriously need to invest in one that doesn't have a "swinging" top on it. But, because of this, he's also been obsessed with Dada taking the trash out and has now become quite the big boy helper. All I have to do is ask him if he will help Dada take the trash outside and he comes running.....9 times out of 10, doing it all by himself! 

As the semester comes to an end, 

I have to dedicate a post to my husband. 

For the past 4+ months he has been leaving at 630am and getting home at 4pm. That is, on a normal day. Then he has class two nights a week in which case he leaves at 630am and doesn't get home until after 9pm. Not to mention the work he does at home, both for teaching and college. 

When he does get home on a normal day, Seth demands his attention. If Jeremy tries to sit down, Seth says 'please' to come back and play with him. And Dada gets back up, every time. 

On top of all that, I can't tell you the last time I did dishes. He claims he "enjoys" it - like that's even a thing!? And when I can't walk anymore and need him to rub my back out, he does so, without any grumbles.

I know it's not always easy for him. He gets tired and stressed out but hardly ever shows it. We still have a long way to go before we can cross those extra long days off our schedule, but he's doing it for a reason - and that reason is our family. 

 I can't thank him enough, or be more proud of him for how hard he works for our family. He goes above and beyond to be the best father and husband. Enabling me to be a stay-at-home Mommy is the best gift he could ever give me. 

Seth and I love you! <3 

It's beginning to look....

Time for my annual "it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" post : )

I've had our decorations up for over a month now, but we waited to do the tree until after Thanksgiving. We didn't go overboard, mostly because we aren't here for Christmas, partly because we don't have a ton of decorations or places to decorate.

 

I picked up a few things at Hobby Lobby that were 50% off this year and I think it looks pretty perfect - including our 4th stocking holder, all ready for next year : ) Seth loves the tree but has listened well to not touching it. I keep wanting to make him a little felt one he can play with, but I'm not sure we'll have time this year!

One week from Friday we hit the road!