Thursday and Safari Animals

Today we didn't have MOPS so we hit the gym this morning. I love getting my workout done in the morning and having nap time to catch up on my quiet time or catch up with a friend. Most of the time I spend it working on my to do list, doing household chores or making cookies. Today it was cookies and catching up with my bff.

I had an epiphany the other day about Colton. When I spend time with Colton I usually put him on the floor on a blanket with his toys. He does great sitting up and playing but there is nothing around for him to pull up on. Like I mentioned in his nine month post he is not even close to crawling or pulling up.

I need to be more intentional about spending time with Colton working on his crawling and pulling up. He is doing so good and I know he will be on the move soon!

I made these adorable cookies for a friend of a friend last weekend! They were so cute and might be some of my favorites!

I'm going to do safari animals for Colton's first birthday and can't wait to make these again!

Nine Months

Colton - You are NINE months old!!!!!

What have you been up to this month???

You weigh around 17 lbs, size 3 diapers and size 3.5 shoe (Your nine month check isn't for another two weeks so we will update your stats then)

You wear 9 month and mostly 12 month clothes.

Just this week you got your first haircut. Basically it was just a little trim around the sides and the top. You did great and didn't cry at all. You look so handsome and sweet.

You are a GREAT eater! We recently started in on table food and you love everything! I am so excited! You have eaten peas, peaches, pears, tomatoes, carrots, bananas, cheerios and puffs.

You eat baby food oatmeal with fruit for breakfast, a veggie or fruit at lunch and a veggie for dinner. You take four 6-8oz bottles a day.

You usually take two good naps a day. Because we are on the go a lot you get a short nap on the go in the morning and a long good nap in the afternoon. You are ready to go to bed by 6:30. You sleep til 7:30-8am! You sleep through the night and do great! We are so thankful!

You have two teeth - on the bottom

You are so content and just love to watch everything going on around you. Today we were at a friends house for a play date and you loved just sitting and watching all the kids play. You have such a good temperament and are so easy going. I hope you are always that way.

You are not anywhere near crawling. When I put you on your belly you just flip over to your back quickly. You will crawl when you are good and ready. You love to stand up just not move yet.

You babble a lot and just this week started saying "dadadadada"!

Ryan just adores you and loves to make you laugh. He loves to bring me your wubby or through away a dirty diaper. He is such a great helper and big brother. Whenever you start fussy he will smile at you and try to make you laugh.

You do great in the nursery at church and the gym. The sweet ladies at church know just what to do to get you to nap. I am SO thankful for sweet childcare workers who enjoy both my boys. It's so wonderful to know I can leave you and you are happy.

Getting your pictures this month was a little more difficult. You found the paper on the back of the chair and wanted to play with it. You are growing so much every day. You have changed so much. I think you and Ryan are started to look more alike.

I can't believe we will be celebrating your first birthday in just a few months. You are so sweet and we love you SO much!!!!

Colton's First Haircut

Today I took Colton for his first haircut. Ryan didn't get a first haircut til he was two. Colton has a lot more hair than Ryan did at this age. Plus we have his nine month pictures this coming weekend.

He just needed a little trim around the ears and the front. I held him while they cut his hair and he did so great!

This morning the boys and I went to the gym. Ryan didn't have MDO today because of spring break. It was great to get my workout done and do some cleaning chores while the boys napped!

Happy Birthday Annabelle

Today our first "baby" turns seven years old! It's hard to believe that Annabelle has been in our lives for seven years now! She has been with us since the beginning.

Matt and I dated long distance for a year until I moved to State College, PA where he was in grad school. Shortly after moving to PA I saw an ad for these adorable mini dachshunds puppies. I told Matt, "let's just go look at them". Of course once we laid eyes on this sweet five week old chocolate puppy, we had to have her.

Annabelle is such a sweet and wonderful dog. She is so loving and just wants love and attention. Ryan and Colton love Annabelle and Gracie and of course they love them.

High Hopes

Ryan is a very picky eater! Meal time around our house can be a big struggle. Ryan doesn't like to try new things and has always had an issue with textures of foods. He is getting better and has some really good days!

I've started feeding Colton some table food. He's had bananas, peaches and pears. He loves them all. I have high hopes Colton is going to be a great eater! I am so excited that he loves everything so far.

Today was his first day to eat pears and he loved them! He would squeal for more! He couldn't get enough!

Happy Spring

Today is the first day of Spring! We are welcoming spring with open arms! It was definitely the warmest day of the year today! By this afternoon is was 89 degrees outside!

This morning we went to Bible study and then came home for lunch! Ryan was begging to go outside and play after lunch. I put Colton down for his nap and Ryan and I headed outside to swing and play. Ryan had a blast and we both enjoyed the sun.

This afternoon we headed back outside for a walk. It felt like summer it was so warm. I love spring and like these warm days but I hope we get back to some spring temps!

My Boys

Today on my agenda is changing out all our closets to get ready for spring and put away all our winter clothes. It's hard to believe Spring is literally right around the corner. I think tomorrow is the official first day of spring.

The weather this weekend was absolutely beautiful. Saturday I took Ryan to get his haircut. He was in desperate need. He did so well that afterwards we ran a few errands then went to lunch. It was so nice spending some one on one time with my first born. He is growing up way too fast and saying so many things these days! I really need to do a whole post of Ryanisms soon, ha! He told his teachers today at school "I'm funny". He loves to say that!

These two handsome boys before church on Sunday! It was great to get back to church since we we're gone the last two weeks because of illness.

Sunday was beautiful! The boys played outside and we took a family walk last night before dinner! I'm looking forward to some beautiful spring weather this week and more walks with the boys.

Colton swung on his swing outside last night and absolutely loved it. He was smiling and giggling so much. He is so sweet and just the best baby.

Top 10 Things Friday

I thought it would be fun to list my top TEN things today!

1. First I have to say how thrilled and excited we are for our friends Katie and Adam who are bringing their sweet baby Joseph home TODAY!!!! He has been in the nicu for almost 4 months. God is SO good and answering prayers. I know they are nervous about all his needs but they couldn't be happier to have him home.

2. I am loving my Bible study Wisdom for Mothers. It's been exactly what I need in this stage of motherhood. Such a blessing!

3. We have gone outside so much this week and I've loved it. Looks like next week will be just as nice.

4. Buying clothes for the boys just makes me happy.

5. I've become obsessed with buying clothes on Etsy! I just can't help myself!

6. I've lost 16 pounds since January 1!

7. Since losing a lot of weight and passing my pre-Ryan weight and almost to wedding weight, I am in desperate need of spring/summer clothes.

8. Matt is so happy and supportive of my weight loss but not so much on the buying more clothes, ha!

9. I think I can finally pack away Colton's bibs!!! That is big time!!! He hasn't spit up much at all since he got sick! Praise the Lord!

10. I bought a swing for outside for Colton last night and I can't wait to push him in it!

Looking forward to a fun weekend with my boys!

Wordless Wednesday

Too cute for words!!!

Play Time and Minnie Mouse Cookies

This morning we went to Bible Study! The boys had fun and our speaker was so good! It was about discipling your children and I definitely needed to hear the message today.

Ryan has been a challenge the last few days. He has been testing and pushing us to the limit. We have to stay strong and stick to the limits we have set. Oh the fun times with a two year old! Some days I think it will be a miracle if we make it to four!

The weather was gorgeous today and so warm. After naps we headed outside to take a walk with our neighbors. Josh and Jake are twins and are just a couple months older than Ryan. We love that they live down the street from us.

The twins ride their tricycles and Ryan pushes his mower. Many times they switch and Ryan will ride the bike and one of them will push the mower. They have a ball and we enjoy getting out and enjoying some fresh air.

I made these Minnie Mouse cookies for my friend Laura. Her little girl Linley is turning 2 this week! She is the cutest and sweetest thing! The cookies turned out great!

On the Mend

I'm sure all two of my readers are tired of hearing me complain about the sickness that has invaded our house over the last few weeks. I think it's safe to say that we are all on the mend!

(Ok and I totally don't have any pics of Ryan for this post. He was sick all weekend and at mdo today!)

Friday I started feeling bad. I had yucky drainage and sinus stuff. Saturday I still felt bad. I'm so thankful that Matt watched the boys so I could get some rest. It's been a long time since I took a nap while the boys napped. Sunday I felt better and today I feel back to normal.

Colton is finally on the mend. He was still throwing up over the weekend but hasn't thrown up since Saturday night, Praise the Lord. He still has a cough but he is keeping all his food down. I've been slowing adding back solids during the day. I'm glad the medicine has finally kicked in and I can tell he's feeling better. He was so smiley and happy today.

Ryan started having a cough and runny nose on Friday. Saturday he was really pitiful and really sick. He woke up with a 102 fever and I could tell he was just miserable. I knew he felt bad when he wouldn't eat his pancakes at breakfast. We laid around pretty much all day and didn't even leave the house. Sunday he started feeling better and his fever came down.

Last night I thought I would keep him home from school today but he didn't cough much over night and I could tell he felt much better when he got up this morning. I went ahead and took him to MDO. He loved seeing his friends and had a great day at school.

This week it's supposed to be in the 70's! Woohoo! So glad to have warmer weather and looking forward to taking the boys on walks and playing in the backyard.

Thank Goodness it's Friday

I absolutely love my boys and see them as God's biggest blessings in my life. They are the greatest things and I am beyond blessed to be their mom.

I'm not even going to lie, this has been a really hard week! Seriously it might have one of the toughest weeks since Colton was born. Colton is STILL throwing up. He doesn't throw up every feeding but at least once a day. He came close yesterday when he didn't get sick all day until his last bottle last night. It's AWFUL!

I'm tired of not knowing if he is going to keep anything down. Tired of getting thrown up on, doing laundry and a fussy baby. Colton does not want to play on the floor. He only wants me to hold him. I know he doesn't feel good and that just breaks my heart.

Last night Ryan started coughing. Ugh!!! Really?!? He woke up 4-5 times last night just crying and not himself at all. I went in to his room and he just wanted a tissue to wipe his nose. I think he just felt bad. When he woke up this morning though he seemed normal and happy to start the day. Weird. He is still coughing and sneezing a lot!

Every night this week I have been SO glad to see Matt walk through the door. I'm glad it's Friday and I have his help over the next two days.