Fleeting Moments

Tony, the kids, and I had a busy weekend, but it was capped off by a very relaxing Sunday.

We spent today reading books, playing dinosaurs, going for a walk, watching Disney songs on the iPad, and snuggling on the couch. Jack laid his little head against me while we watched clips from movies, and I prayed time would stop for just a moment.

I even climbed into Harper's crib with her as she was waking up from her nap. I know that we look silly, but I also know that these days are fleeting, and I will blink and soon they will be too big to want to snuggle with their mom. I will take every moment I can get.

I am forever grateful for these two little faces that smile at me everyday. I read somewhere that every child wonders of their parents "do your eyes light up when you see me?" I try my very best to make sure the answer is always a resounding "yes, yes, they do". These days it doesn't much to make my eyes light up when it comes to Jack and Harper. Tony and I love them so much.

Here are just a few little things they've done this weekend that's had us in stitches:

-The kids had macaroni and cheese for lunch and Tony told Jack that he didn't need anymore; he'd had enough. Tony said "Jack, you've eaten so much mac and cheese that it's coming out of your ears!" Jack immediately grabbed his ears and his eyes got wide. Too funny.

-I went in to the kids' room after I had put them down for a nap and knew someone had a dirty diaper. I asked who it was and Harper raised her hand (ha ha), so I took her to the living room and changed her diaper. When I brought her back in and put her in her bed, Jack looked at me and said "I pooped!"  Turns out, he was right. Tony says it's a ploy they use to delay nap time- it works.

-Harper has started saying "no" when she doesn't want something, but instead of saying "no" like an adult, she says "nooo" with a little furrowed brow. She has also started wagging her finger and saying "noo noo" when anyone does something that they shouldn't. She is a sweet little thing.

We also had dinner with some college friends, Jen and Casey, this weekend. The kids' had their first hamburger and french fries meal and they seemed to really like it. While we ate dinner, the kids were so well behaved, but after dinner they were wound up and Jack squealed so loud that he had the whole restaurant giving us attention; he was such a happy little guy and Harper grinned and batted her eyelashes and giggled all through dinner as well. 

We couldn't have asked for better behaved kids this weekend and I am so proud to say that Jack and Harper did great at my mom's birthday lunch too. We had Olive Garden and the kids chowed down on some breadsticks and Harper even ate a good amount of the broccoli that came with their pasta. It was nice to have two meals out without having forks on the floor, or picky eating, or meltdowns. We were very thankful.

Our big "to-do" this weekend was a surprise party for my mom. My dad outdid himself and put on a great party; he'd been planning it since May. My mom said that she had her suspicions, but I think that she was still surprised. It was so nice to celebrate my mother and her 60th birthday. Thank you to everyone who came out- it was a great party for a great lady.

A Day in the Life...

These two little ones have been blowing and going all week, playing, taking walks, digging in the backyard, and helping me "cook".

I know that all of these blog posts seem to be lamenting how quickly time goes by and providing evidence of how big this kids are getting, but the days fly by and one day I look up and these two bright little faces are staring back at me and they're not babies anymore- not at all.

Now they're walking around in Mommy's shoes

Playing "mommy" to their dolls

And driving their cars around the house

The kids are also still very much into their books

And now they're interested in watching Sesame Street (Jack even lays on the floor to watch TV- like father like son).

These two little ones have also started talking up a storm- Harper is on a roll and it's so fun to hear her trying on new words every day. In fact, the highlight of this week, so far, has been Harper saying her own name for the very first time. We were looking at pictures of the kids and when Harper would see Jack, she would say "Ack", but when she saw herself, she had a hard time expressing who she saw. I asked Jack who was in the picture and he said "Harp-ur", then I asked Harper to say "Harper" and she replied "Hop-A"and was delighted with herself.

Since then, she's tried on some new words, notably "leash", "potato", and- her favorite- "Abby" which comes out "Abb-A".

I can't describe the joy I felt when I heard Harper say her name. I kept thinking this little girl who depended on a machine to breath for her, who was labeled "failure to thrive", who spent so much time pointing in lieu of speaking, was now saying her own name- it brought tears to my eyes.

We rounded out this week with some yummy spaghetti- so Harper thought- and a new one-word phrase that Jack is making the most of. I got him some spaghetti and he tried it and made a face. He ate his veggies, but wouldn't go back to the spaghetti- I tried again by offering him a fork full to which he replied "Nope!" I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing and tried one more time to which he, again, replied "Nope!" So, Jack got to have some garlic noodles (minus the tomato sauce which he, apparently, did not like). Here are the pictures of the aftermath:

One last picture from this week features Harper's favorite girl, "Abb-A" who found herself in the bathroom while the kids were taking a bath (something that has never happened before) and I got to snap this shot.

Abby seems to be pleading "please don't put me in the tub next!"

Our week has been busy, and we are very much looking forward to a relaxing weekend; we'll see what adventures are in store for us!

Picture Post

Please forgive the picture post; Tony and I both competed in a Crossfit competition this weekend at our gym, Black Iron Crossfit, and we are wiped out. We did three workouts on Saturday in about 3 hours and we are still recovering. Tony did great and "didn't die" (which was his goal); my teammate and I exceeded my expectations and came in first place- we won the whole thing! I was pretty proud of myself and my partner, Joe. In celebration of our competition, Tony and I slept for 9 hours last night and I am looking forward to getting a solid 7 hours tonight.

Enjoy the pictures from the weekend!

Playing Together

Jack saying "calf" and pointing to his new discovery

Headband Harper

Playing with Abby

Harper playing trucks

Giving Abby a back scratch

Abby and her boys

Daddy and his kids

Sweet Harper Girl

Breakfast at the table

Dinner with friends

The girls hanging out

Harper trying out her old swing

Watching Daddy cook 

Making a tower

Knocking down the tower

Cookie break

Sibling love 

The best part about going to Costco

We're Back!

After a week long hiatus, the blog is back! Tony and I had a hectic, and short, work week last week before jet setting to California to help some friends celebrate their wedding day.

We made a long weekend of it and got into Reno late on Thursday night, rented a car, and then proceeded to take the scariest route of all around winding mountain roads filled with switchbacks, narrow passages, no lights, and very steep drop offs (some with no guardrail) to arrive in beautiful Lake Tahoe about midnight. We quickly went to bed to rest up for our adventure.

We spent most of the weekend doing "wedding things" like Happy Hours, dinners, rehearsals and such, but we did get to see Lake Tahoe, complete with beach made from the roughest sand/rock mixture I've ever walked barefoot on, and we even waded into the frigid water to dunk our toes.

Tony and I also adventured to the top of the ski resort, Heavenly, to take in the views on the mountain. We rode the gondola up and then switched to an open chair lift to hike around the top of the mountain. We got to see the slopes (Tony still can't believe people pay to go careening down a hill covered in rocks and trees with sticks strapped to their feet), and even had a close encounter with some wildlife- a very friendly little chipmunk.

The wedding was a beautiful end to a fun weekend. Tony was a groomsman and he did a great job navigating his bridesmaid down the treacherous cobble stone walkway on the way up the aisle. The wedding and reception were both outside, the weather was gorgeous, and they had a smores bar. What a great way to say "farewell" to Lake Tahoe.

We got home last night, and Tony and I were both ready to see the kids and Abby and sleep in our own bed. My parents were nice enough to keep the kids for us while we were gone, and the kids had a great time with them. In fact, they were still asking for Nana and Pop when I got home from work.

Here are some pictures of the things that the kids did while we were gone. In addition to spending time "cooking"at the library, playing in the backyard, and reading books, Nana and Pop also took the kids to get ice cream one afternoon, and Pop has been giving Jack some golf lessons.

I think that Nana and Pop were probably ready for some rest and relaxation when they left our house last night, and I know the kids slept good- they were tuckered out. Thank you, Nana and Pop, for taking such wonderful care of the kids!

Tony and I did manage to do a little shopping while we were in Lake Tahoe and we found two stuffed bears that we really liked. The sales woman told us that these particular bears were the subject of a book about two bears from Lake Tahoe trying to find a new home. You know I jumped on the purchase the moment I heard there was a book involved. Here's a shot of Harper showing off her new bear...and Jack's bear too.

It's good to be back home, but now we have to hit the ground running, catch up on things at the office/school, spend extra time loving on the kiddos, and hang on until Friday. Here's hoping we all have a great week!