Giggles from their Bathtub.

The last night at our old house, I was going about our normal bedtime routine when I realized "This is their last time to take a bath in this bathtub."  I know, it really isn't that big of a deal, it's only a bathtub in a bathroom - but with young kids, a bathtub is a place where a lot of giggles have come from.   

Their last night in their first bathtub.... 

Garrett still hasn't grasped the concept of no splashing in the bathtub....

Run Aaron, Run!!!

About a month ago, Aaron, his brother Michael, my mom, and I were talking and somehow we got on the topic of running. Aaron said he could run 4 miles right now without a problem. My mom and Michael laughed and told him there was absolutely no way considering he hasn't been running at all lately....(it has been several....several....several....weeks....months...?? You get my point!)

I laughed, but then I agreed with Aaron.

#1 - You know some people enjoy running and some people can be in great shape, but just don't like to actually run. Well Aaron has always been one to like running.

#2 - If you tell Aaron he can't do something - he gets mad and it only encourages him. He hates to lose. We actually have trouble playing board games together. :)

I agreed that Aaron probably could run 4 miles, he may need to be hospitalized afterwards, but he could do it.

Fast forward to last Saturday. We were eating lunch with my parents, the 4 miles were brought up, I still agreed with Aaron, but then I was observing how much lasagna he was eating. I said "You know Aaron, I am kind of unsure if you could run 4 miles." [silence....I am sure Aaron had some bad things he wanted to say to me at this point....]

Well......that was all it took. Aaron took a few more [big] bites because he needed to "carb" up before his run, jumped into his truck to measure the distance, came back t0 the house to get dressed, and off he ran.......

And ran and ran.....

Jackson cried every time Aaron ran by because he wanted to run with Daddy.

"I WANT TO RUN WITH DADDY!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Since Bam Bam already had on her work out gear, she had the honors of running with Jackson since he tried to chase Aaron after every lap.

When Aaron completed his 4 miles, Jackson ran down to meet him at the stop sign. Mom and I laughed that Aaron was probably telling him in his strong dad voice - "Son, never let anyone tell you that you can't do something!" Sure enough when they were finished talking Aaron said to us, "I told Jackson to never let anyone tell you that you can't do something....."

Then he laid on the floor while he called his brother Michael......

Our home is now a house.

This was mine and Aaron's first house.

It was the house that we brought all of our wedding presents to as newlyweds.

We were the first owners of this house, so we worked hard to do some things to make it what we wanted it to be.

We thought our house was big. Four bedrooms....what in the world could we ever do with 4 bedrooms!? Little did we know...

It was just Aaron and I with our dog, Barney. We loved that dog. It was in this house that Barney spent his last few days while I cried and cried and cried....

It was only a few months before this, that we were told we would have trouble becoming pregnant. I wasn't sure if there would ever be a baby in our future.

It was in this house that at 5am in the morning, we saw the two pink lines on the pregnancy test - I was finally pregnant!

And it was in this house that we brought our first child home to....

It was in this house that we were up all hours of the night. We really didn't know what the heck we were doing. We were learning as we went.

Nine months later, it was in this house that I walked out of the bathroom and said "I'm pregnant." Jackson giggled and Aaron had a blank face.

It was in this house that I moved from the couch to the bed....couch to bed....while in labor.....trying to wait as long as possible before heading to the hospital to welcome our 2nd child.

And it was in the house that our family of 4 became complete.

This is where our children rolled over for the first time, crawled for the first time, and took their first steps across our living room floor. This is where they took their first bite of food and blew out the candle on their first birthday cake.

This is our home. This is our home that many memories were made in. However, we have spent the whole month of January making our home back to a house.

We sold our house.

Our children will probably not remember this house, but Aaron and I always will. This is where we began.

Aaron and I are beyond thrilled, but how can it not be bittersweet?

The boys sang a song on the fireplace one last time,

Jackson played in his empty room one last time,

Garrett played hide and seek one last time,

We turned off the lights for the last time, locked the doors for the last time, shut the garage for the last time, and backed down the driveway for the last time....I looked at our house with a little lump in my throat.

It's hard to believe that is not our home anymore. However....I have never loved that house. I only loved the home we made it into and the memories we created while there. More memories will be created in our new home....

Dora Cupcakes.

I had a cupcake order last weekend for a little girl's 3rd birthday. The theme was Dora. Her mom sent me a sample of the paper plates -

The main colors she was using for the party were purple, green, red, and orange - so I made these cupcakes -

A, B, C, D, E, F, G.......

We have known for a while now that Garrett's favorite part of the alphabet was E-F-G! That's what he calls all letters - "E-F-G! E-F-G!" However, the other day we were all in the car and Garrett just started singing his whole ABCs. Aaron and I looked at each other like "Did you know he could do that?"

One thing I have learned that is different about the 2nd child, is that with your first child you know EXACTLY when they are supposed to know or do everything. If they are not balancing on one foot for 6 seconds by the age of ____, call the doctor. If they are not saying more than 52 words by the age of ____, call the doctor. Okay, clearly I made those examples up, but you get my point. With your first child you know "THE TIMELINE." With your 2nd child, you're a little more laid back. You're not as obsessed with "THE TIMELINE" and you can just look at your child and say "ohhhhh.....he's fine! Right on track!"

So....it's moments like this with Garrett that I realize "Oh!!!! Oops!! You probably should know your ABCs by now! ......or wait, does this make you advanced? Or should you have known your ABCs 6 months ago?" Heck.....poor baby, maybe he did know his ABCs 6 months ago and I just didn't know that he did!?!?!

Here is a video of Garrett singing his ABCs. It's not the best video of the actual ABCs because he is trying to see himself in the camera, but I thought that part was funny and worth sharing. In the background is Jackson and I laughing. Sorry if it makes you dizzy!

Fun Find Friday.

The boys are not crazy about eating vegetables....shocking, huh?!

However, the boys can chow down on corn on the cob with the help of these little people -

Aren't they the cutest little things?!

Barbecue Folk Corn Holders

Brotherly Love

Things have been a little busy at our house lately. Aaron and I both have a lot our plate right now and our days are more hectic than they normally are. However, through all the hustle and bustle, what I love most is hearing these two guys having fun together. I love listening to their conversations when they don't know I am listening.

I always heard from other parents who have kids so close in age, that Jackson and Garrett would be best friends one day. I love how true that statement is becoming.

This morning I was doing some things in Jackson's room and I had to stop to get my camera....

This reminds me -

If any of you have two boys, I LOVE this kids book! Something about it makes me get a little teary eyed when it talks about the future....

The First Rule of Little Brothers

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Don't worry....I won't mention your age............ ;)