And she's off!!!!

After several weeks of practice, Caroline finally got the confidence she needed to take off crawling! I had waited and watched her anxiously for weeks even getting down and crawling on the floor beside her in hopes she would be a visual learner. As it always works, when we let our children do something on their own terms, they succeed! She finally took off and within 3-4 days, she was crawling around to every room in the house. She is so proud of herself..always smiling while crawling. I will walk into a different room to do something and within seconds, here comes my sweet baby girl panting towards mama! She wears herself out-her poor knees-she doesn't care if the floor is carpeted or not. She always has red knees now, but it's still the cutest thing I've ever seen! We are proud of you baby girl-we knew you could do it!

Drew plays soccer!

There's been so much to blog about lately which is exactly the reason I haven't. Life has been BUSY! Drew started playing soccer a couple weeks back so practice on tuesday evenings and games every sat morning have contributed to our busy schedule. I'm not complaining at all..I have waited 3 1/2 years to be a soccer mom! It is absolutely one of the cutest things I've ever seen watching these little people kick and sometimes pick up a soccer ball down the field, not caring at all which way they go or which goal they score in. To my surprise, however, for a bunch of 3 year olds, they actually don't look too bad out there! I definitely saw some improvement from the 1st to 2nd game. More importantly, my little man is having a ball, making new friends, and learning what it's like to be on a team. Here are pics of Drew's first ever sports game!

Holding on...

It could have just been P.M.S. but I shed a few tears the other day when I was forced to pull all of Drew's "too little" underwear out of his drawer. I had started noticing that not only were they starting to look small, but that they were leaving little marks on him. :( Call me crazy, I don't care, but I won't dare get rid of them. Oh, the precious memories I have of him in all those cute little undies. (he started wearing underwear at 22 months) Watching your children grow up is so bittersweet..so sad and joyful all at the same time. I get so emotional thinking about the days I can never get back. The newborn stage with Caroline back in the summer right before Drew turned 3 floods my mind with so many wonderful memories. What a wonderful, blessed time in our lives as we watched our family grow and gained a precious little girl. Drew loved his little sister from the moment he sat eyes on her. A summer we will never forget!
Back to the undies...Drew says "mommy, are you going to give my underwear to a little boy that doesn't have any underwear"? I reply, "No babe, we won't be passing these along..only your clothes" Drew- "but how come mama..little boys like spiderman"? How was I to explain that those little underoos weren't going anywhere for a while because "mommy" wants them?!?!? Posted are some pics of these precious little undies that I have grown attached to. :) He even had a little pair of tighty whities, size 2 toddler!

Finally- something that works!

Like so many other moms, I am fed up with my postbaby(x2) body. All I want is to look and feel good in my clothes again!!!! I could use a little more energy too, and I know losing a few lbs gets you some energy back. I'm only 31 but I feel so much older these days. My knees are weak, I can't run or even walk very fast without becoming winded, and I hate to bend down and pick things up because my back is always hurting. I have tried for 3 years to "eat right" and exercise only to lose 5 lbs or so and gain it back 2-3 weeks later once I have fallen off my diet. I know myself and know by now it's going to take something a little more drastic, something to hold me accountable, to get me in shape. I don't want to spend another summer uncomfortable in my swimsuit. I have two kids to worry about now, not whether or not the people at the pool think I should be in my swimsuit. :)

A couple weeks ago, I decided to take the Nutrisystem challenge! I ordered it and in the days waiting on it to ship, I got myself psyched up for it and ate all the pizza and cookies I wanted. The money invested in it was my motivation at first. But it no longer is about the money. 13 days and 9 lbs later, I am amazed at what I am seeing. I feel great and know I will feel even better with each additional lb gone and day behind me. This program works! Hopefully they find my blog and ask me to be a spokesperson because that is what I sound like already.:) I don't plan on attaching any before/after pics of myself but here are some pics of my kids having a ball with all my Nutrisystem food the day it came in. Drew sat up shop and said "Mommy, come to my store and pick out some really yummy food"! I replied, "I sure will"!

Bathtime fun

My kids are really starting to have fun with each other. Caroline is only 8 months old, but I can tell how much she enjoys her big brother's company and vice versa. He is starting to notice her growing and her developing personality. He will say things like "baby sister's not wittle anymore" or "baby sister can move now mama" or baby sister is big like me" or "her love me mama" or "her laughs at me all the time". As I have said before, one of the greatest things to me about having 2 children is watching them together. Some times are sweet and some are just so funny! Here's a glimpse at some of their good times in the bath together! Yes, they are both smashed in a ducky tub made for babies-it used to be Drew's and he's determined it still is! :)

Gone fishin'

The sun was shining all weekend and the temperatures were in the 50's! It was so nice to have a break from the wet, cold weather. It has been such a loooong winter and I, personally, am 100% over it! While I love staying home with my children rain, shine, snow, whatever mother nature sends our way, what I really love is being able to be outdoors with them. We took full advantage of the beautiful day on Sunday. We packed a picnic lunch and took a family fishing trip. Drew was excited to catch a "weally, weally BIG fish", Chad was happy to be in the great outdoors again, and Caroline and I..well..we were both just tickled we got to go along! We didn't catch any fish so I have no pics to show but we had a great time!

The Joyful 3's

Little Mr. Drew never ceases to amaze us. We laugh so hard at almost everything that come out of his mouth. I have recently had to start writing down all of the things my little character says and does so that I will never forget any of it. Although the 3 year old brings on a whole new set of challenges, I love this age so much!

We were waiting on "Mom-Mom" (my mom) to get to our house last week. A few minutes before, Drew disappears into the bathroom. Chad found him first and let me know that I needed to come. Chad- "Drew, what are you doing"? Drew- "I gotta shave my face for Mom-Mom" Mommy- "You have to shave your face for Mom-Mom?" Drew- "Yeah, her don't like it when I have hair on my face."

We will never understand the stream of thoughts that lead to our children's silly, random actions but there are so many times where I'd give anything to get into the mind of my 3 year old. God love this child! One thing's for sure-he will be ready to shave when that dreadful time comes. Take a close look at the pics and you will agree!

It's a great day at the Circus!

Chad & I took Drew to the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus a couple weeks ago. It was quite different than the circus from my childhood that took place under a big tent in Kennett, MO. We had a great time! When we asked Drew what his favorite thing from the circus was he said "the elephants and the tigers and the zebras and the clowns". For several days following the circus, he played dress-up as a clown using Daddy's shoes as his big clown shoes. He is such a silly little boy! It really was terrific and we can't wait to go again next year!

A New Year..(and a month already gone)

I will blame the holidays for why I haven't blogged in a couple months. What busy months October, November, & December always are. I love to blog so I decided I must make it a priority. We had a great Thanksgiving and an even better Christmas. We got our first real snow last week and enjoyed being snowed in for a couple of days. What a perfect excuse to sit around in your pajamas by a fire doing nothing but eating, playing and cuddling with your children, and watching movies for 3 straight days! Drew built his first snowman and Caroline saw her very first snow. I am pretty sure she would've appreciated a pair of sunglasses-it was so bright and pretty!

Caroline began sitting up the day after Christmas which also happened to be her 6 month birthday. We were so excited! It's amazing how they just pick a day to all of a sudden do the thing we've been waiting for them to do. Since then, she has begun practicing her crawling and will be taking off any day now! She started solids back in November and started out slow but, oh my, how she loves it and scarfs it down now. Most days, I can't feed her fast enough. She loves almost everything I've tried so far except for peas and she especially loves sweet potatoes and fruit.

Drew continues to love preschool and all his "fwenz". I am extremely pleased with his preschool. The director pours her heart into this preschool and it is evident. The teachers are the most kind, caring people I have ever been around. The place is neat and sparkling clean all the time. Most importantly, Drew is thriving and I have to give SMA some of the credit!

My children are the center of my life. I find myself smiling a whole lot these days. I continue to thank the Lord daily for blessing me with Drew and Caroline. I am truly amazed by them..their little grins and giggles, their little finger and toes, their beautiful blue eyes. I wonder is it normal that almost on a daily basis I think about how miraculous it is that I, with the help of Chad of course, created these little beings that bring us so much joy?!?! I love every little inch of both of them! They are so innocent, so dependent, and make my heart melt over and over.