Brotherly Love!

I had to post this cute picture more than anything it's got some sentiment! We've been having a bit of trouble getting our little Cuties to stay in there bed once we've turned out the lights and said "good night". For some reason they think it's party time and lets just say they make sure they have a good party! Well last night after several attempts and a finally their staying in there beds, I went and checked on them. I do this often before I go to bed and pull their covers up one more time and hug them and kiss them and even pick them up sometimes and hold them. Yes, I'm a crazy Mom that really does love her Children and hates to see them growing up so fast. I usually think their so dang "cute" and "angelic" looking that I can't resist and I usually have to tell them I'm sorry for being a mean Mom and getting after them throughout the day. Anyway back to last night. When I went in to check on them this is what I found. Isn't it cute....two brothers that just needed to be close. I think Aidan has been trying to tell us his converted crib isn't all that comfortable anymore and he needs a big boy bed...this may be why he's sleeping on Corbin's bed. Any how I thought it was cute and kind of precious! When we moved into this house Aidan was still a baby and we put them in seperate bedrooms to give them their own space. Not much later we moved them into a room to share. They both had been waking up all through the night and we thought they were having nightmares or something. After we moved them into one room they've done a whole lot better. But, they have also learned to make the most of it by having way to much fun at naptime and bedtime. Oh well, like my Mom says "they aren't going to be little forever and enjoy them while they are....stinkers or not...just love and enjoy them!" So that is what I try to always remember. I've also been trying to take on the atittude of "If it really doesn't Matter than don't let it Bother me enough to make me Mad". With that I've just tried to keep in perspective what really does matter....my Children, Our Family and all of Our Happiness. I have an article on this I'll try to post later, it talks more about this perpective.

Bowling for Family Night!

Monday we went bowling as a family for the first time! Nate had the day off of work so we took the Boys during the afternoon. As you can see Aidan is already pulling faces and all we've done is put on our shoes and picked out our balls. Let's just say we won't be taking little Aidy during "nap" time again...he was a bit of a bear to say the least. All he wanted was for it to be his turn to bowl the whole time and nobody else could have a turn without him starting to bawl and continue with a fit until it was his turn again. There was no talking to him, no reasoning with him and no explaining it to him, he was just mad when he had to wait until his turn came up again. When it was his turn he was having a great time and was even kind of happy until someone else got a turn. Corbin didn't let all the fits bother him, he was having a great time from the start and did awesome and stayed happy all the way thru. He even was a good listener most of the time!

C.J. and his Dad getting ready to take a turn. Corbin loved bowling and took to it right away. He was all about using different ways to throw that heavy ball down the lane and came up with some creative methods. He did great and scored a 65.

Here Corbin is trying out the practice ball they let us use for Aidan it's a size 4 or in other words really light and it has holes for all five fingers. Corbin was fun to watch, as he experimented with different ways to get that ball down the lane in hopes of knocking over more pins.

Aidan loved bowling too but we had a hard time telling if he really liked it or not since he wasn't being very happy the whole time we were there. He got excited when it was his turn again and had to carry his own ball and do it all himself. He really liked to watch his ball roll slowly down the lane and he didn't really care if he hit pins or not as long as he got his turn. Aidan did great too and rolled a 65 also. We realized he really did like bowling when on the way out to the car he cried and was wailing "ball.....bowling.....bowling...ball.....bowling...no nap...no, no...bowling....bowling." He also keep trying to turn around to go back into the building in hopes to go back and bowl again. Can we just say he was one "tired" little guy.

I helped Aidy bowl and it was so cute to see him hefting that little pink ball around and how proud he was when it was his turn. You could see he thought he was pretty hot stuff bowling like he was a big kid. I think next time we will just make sure we go after nap time or way before. I'm glad Corbin and Aidan took to it so well and we really did have a good time when all was said and done. The only thing that may really deter us was it cost us $20 bucks for the four of us and we only bowled one game on one lane. Doesn't that seem kind of steep or am I just being cheap? It seems like it cost a whole lot less the few times I went as a kid, but then again as Nate reminded me I was usually only paying for one person not four. Anyway we made some fun memories and hopefully we'll give it another try when the funds get saved up again. I do recommend it to anyone looking for some thing for the family to do to get out of the house for awhile and as you all know here in our town we're always looking for something new to do! It was good to get out and be active as a family....that has been a goal for us while we've been out here. So far we're doing good, but we want to do better.

Happy New Year...January 2009 in Full Swing!

Here we are New Year's Eve at Holiday Inn! My cute little Angels were worn out from swimming and running around the Hotel, while there Dad was down stairs working. So we had a sleep over (Sleeping bags and all) at the Hotel waiting for and dreaming about the New Year's Fairy! Yes, we were all visited by the New Year's Fairy and we all got a few fun and yummy treats! It was a fun night, we ordered our favorite Chinese Noodles and brought some of our own munchies and just had a good time playing at Holiday Inn. Nate and I stayed awake long enough to watch the ball drop at Time Square and kissed at Midnight to welcome the New Year! Then we snuggled up for a nice, cozy night in an awesome, comfy King bed. We all slept in a bit longer than normal and it was nice to let someone else make the beds the next Morning!

We've had several storms over the Holidays and the Boys have had a blast playing in all the snow. Here they are building a snow hill to hide behind when they have a snowball fight....Corbin's idea. He saw it on a t.v show and so he had to make a hill of his own. He was way excited to show his Dad when he got home from work in hopes that he would want to have a snowball fight with him. Sadly....the hill didn't get much bigger then this due to the lack of insufficient snow, but Aidan was a good little helper. As Corbin brought armfuls of snow to the hill, Aidan circled around and patted it in place. They worked great together as a team and spent a good, long time working on their hill.

Here is New Year's Day worn-out Aidan....He put himself down for a nap even with his bed unmade, just to tired to care. With all his New Year's partying and determination to potty train, he was just one worn-out cookie! His bed is unmade due to the sheets being washed after a potty training accident and we just didn't quiet get the sheets back on his bed before he crashed.

Another worn-out Potty Trained Aidan! Yea! It's been a little bit of a rough road with the whole Potty Training, but Aidan has been determined to do it even when Mom wanted to take a break for a while and try again after a few week/months. When I felt like he wasn't quiet ready he assured me he was by sticking with it and taking himself to the bathroom and calling for Mom for help...with mess or no mess. I had planned on trying the whole potty training thing when we got home from Christmas, just to see if he was ready since he'd shown a lot of interest in trying. But Aidan started himself while at Grandma's house over Christmas. So we bought the pull-ups and continued right when we got home. Though the road has been bumpy and sketchy....we've had several days of all day dry underwear and pull-ups so I think we're finally in the clear and on the smooth track! I've been very proud of Aidan and for not giving up even when he and I have been very frustrated over accidents and the usually potty training problems! He defiantly decides what he's going to do and when and doesn't let anything stand in his way! Way to go, Aidan! He's been so proud of himself and still claps for himself every time he goes on the potty....he's especially excited to get to wear big boy underwear and pull-ups and not have to wear baby diapers anymore. He hated having his diaper changed and now loves the new found freedom of putting on his underwear by himself. One other cute thing is, after he's done on the potty he has a hard time getting down without falling off, so it makes him nervous. So he holds on tight around my neck and jumps into my arms and then gives me a big hug and smile as if to say "thanks Mom, for helping me and sticking with me". I love it and of course I can't help but give him a big hug and kiss and tell him "I love him" and "great job" one more time.

What a cute little reindeer! Nate got these as a white elephant gift and Aidan loves to wear them! Don't you just want to hug him and kiss those cute little, chubby cheeks? I do!

Corbin met me at the shower door the other morning wearing this and letting me know he was a Knight and he was going to protect me. He then proceeded to tell me all about his costume and what each piece was and how it helped him when he was fighting wars and protecting the good people. What an imagination...I hope he keeps it forever! He can be my Knight in Shining Armor(or plastic tote, jacket cape and plastic sword) anytime he wants!

Here is our new addition to our home...our new couch! I know, I know it's not as exciting as saying we're getting a new baby....and I wish we had that kind of news, but we don't, yet. We're working on that and any help would be more than appreciated....especially if it's inspired! Thanks to our Parents we had a good little stash of Christmas Money and a hint or two that we might need some new furniture...a.k.a I think they especially meant our old ripped up, sunken cushion, now slip covered, old couch needed to be replaced. We'd been searching for a new couch for a while, but just couldn't quiet justify getting one yet, so we just kept looking from time to time in hopes of saving up for one. So Thank You, both Mom's and Dad's for helping us get a very needed new couch! As you can see Corbin has made himself right at home on it. We love it, especially 'cause it's comfy and we can all snuggle up on it together. I have often found myself being used as the pillow for both Corbin and Aidan at the same time while we are all sitting on it watching a movie. Can't say that I mind to much since I get to spend that time curled up hugging two of my favorite little cuties!The day we were getting our new couch delivered I was trying to clear out our living room and of course trying to vacuum the floor really good before the couch got there. Well let's just say our old vacuum was dying slowly and pretty much was giving it up that day! I went over the floor like 6 times trying to get it to pick up stuff and make it look like I'd even tried. Every time we vacuum we have to clean every nook and cranny out trying to get some good suction and the dumb machine stops like every 5 mins. because it over heats, this makes for a long day of vacuuming. So Nate finally declared I probably needed a new vacuum. So I put in some of my Christmas money and Nate picked up the rest in hopes of getting me to by a good machine since I was kind of being cheap about it. Let's just say you can spend a butt load of money on a vacuum and it doesn't really do anything more than the little cheap ones, it just looks more like a robot with a bunch of extra attatchments you know you'll never use, than a vacuum. We decided on this one which had all the things we wanted, a good brand and was still a good price and didn't break us. And it really does suck..in the right way! It was amazing to see all the stuff the old vacuum left behind and good to see that it was finally off the floor. We hope it lasts a long time! And yes, for some reason we're drawn to things that are green...don't ask us why...we really don't know why. Corbin told me this Morning that the new vacuum was pretty beautiful and nice and shinny and he liked that it was green. Then he gave me a hug and said I was pretty beautiful too and asked if I liked my new vacuum. How funny! What a Charmer he is, and I love him for it...he made my day. Never mind I had just woke up and was still in my pj's with my hair a mess.

We hope this new year has found you well, happy and excited about the next year! We are! As I look back on the last year, I have many, many fond, happy memories of my Family and how much we've grown over the year. I look forward to what this new year bring and all it's changes! Of course, Nate and I have made many resolutions and most of them the same as always. So we'll see if next year you see us skinny and loaded with money....probably not, but we can at least try and hope can't we? I just hope we are happy and all is well and we are better people and have hopefully learned some new wonderful things! Happy New Year everyone and all it brings!

Merry Christmas 2008!

Corbin and Aidan infront of our Christmas Tree, all ready for Christmas in their Snowman pj's.
They had a great time decorating the tree and especially hanging the candy canes and making the gingerbread cookies and hanging them on the tree. Aidan was pretty possisive of his ornaments and would walk around the tree at least once a day touching and accounting for all the ornaments he put on the tree. He also got pretty good at snatching the candy canes, I found several around the house in odd places half eaten. Here we are at Grandpa and Grandma's on Christmas Eve. We had a small program were we sang Christmas Hymns and acted out the Manger Scene. Corbin had just done this in his Sunbeam class the week before and he had been Joseph both times they went through it. So can you guess who he wanted to be this time? Yep, the cutest Joseph I've ever seen! He took great care of Baby Jesus and even had to put him in the Manger himself. Apparently when he was playing Joseph in his Primary class, Mary wouldn't let him have a chance to hold Baby Jesus. So he told his Teacher on her and said "I'm Joseph the Dad, I should get to hold Baby Jesus if I want to, I'll take good care of him." Now if that isn't sweet! I was proud of Corbin this year he really remembered that Christmas was really about celebrating Jesus Christ and his Birth. When you asked him about it he always told you that Christmas was about Jesus being born. I'm glad he's starting to know that and hopefully it will stick with him and all of us always. Aidan was our defiant Sheep that wouldn't stay put. Grandpa was the Sheperd/Inn Keeper. Nate was camera man/Sheperd/Wisemen. Grandma was the Sheep herder since our Sheep keep taking off into the other room and pouting since he wasn't interested in participating. She also did a great job of helping us all with costumes. I was Mary and it was a fun night full of great memories!
Christmas Morning! Corbin got lots of Star Wars toys, his favorite! Aidan really got into the ripping open the presents and was happy to help everyone that would let him as well as he did great opening his own.
More Christmas Morning fun!
Still having a blast on Christmas Morning.

More Christmas!

Finally all the Cousins arrived and we enjoyed more presents on Christmas!

More pictures of Family....Cousins, Aunt's and Uncles. Christmas Morning we enjoyed spending time with my(Jo's) Family. Later in the day we went to Nate's Parents and spent the rest of the day having Christmas with them. Sorry I have no pictures from that on our Camera since we forgot it at my Parents. But Thanks to my Sister-in-law Jerilynn I do have some pictures on an email, so we do have pictures just not accessible for me to upload them to my blog, yet. (Thanks again, Jer.)

We had a wonderful Christmas spent with our families and we are so blessed to have the opportunity to still live close enough to get together often. We hope all had a very Merry Christmas filled with love and the Spirit of Christ and spent with loved ones!