So far behind!

Ok, I will be the first to admit that I am a horrible blogger! I get busy with kids, work, and all other things, and forget to update. I am going to just do a brief summary of where everybody is currently at, and then, I will go back and highlight some high points over the past few months.

John: John is as sweet as ever, and a wonderful big brother. He started potty training back in October, and caught on very quickly. I know he is my child as he demosntrates a need for perfectionism already. There was at least one day, where he just stayed on the potty so he knew he would be successful! He loved "camping" at all of the Tech games, and loved going to the games. He also has become more interested in the activities at church. We recently turned in our Rice bowls, which we collected money to feed people in Asia. Everytime he saw change, and every family member, was hit up to donate to his rice bowl. He loved this, and it was heart warming to hear him describe what he was doing!

Katherine: Sweet Katherine is 10 months today, and definitely a fireball! She is such a cuddler, loves food, but will definitely let you know when she is mad! She is starting to pull up to things, but has still yet to master crawling. She has the sweetest smiles and just melts my heart. Her favorite activity is to crawl under and through things. She will crawl up to something and see if she can fit her head under it. If it is possible, she is on a mission to go through. If not, she gets frustrated, and searches for the next mission. She still only has 2 teeth, but I believe the top 2 or quickly approaching!

It is amazing how fast they change, and I could not have asked God for more loving kids. I pray for his guidance as we continue to raise these kiddos, that we may raise them to be devoted followers, willing to do his work in all they do!

John and Katherine's First Baseball Game

We got to go to an Astros game while we were in Houston. Before the game, we got to tour the stadium, and then got to sit behind home plate to watch the Astros' batting practice. The above picture is John about 4 hours into the whole experience (and 2 hours past bedtime!) The best part of the night was when Hayward, an outfielder for the Braves, hit a homerun into the bullpen. We were sitting on the first row behind the bullpen, and one of the relief pitchers tossed the ball up to John! He was so excited!

At batting practice.

John in his new hat!

Our trip to Houston!

I am a little behind, but we have been very busy the last few weeks. Here is a bit of what has been going on.

Right before our vacation to Houston, my brother, Ryon, had to have his appendix out. He was taking care of my cousin's dogs in Midland, so we went to Midland for the weekend. After all that excitement, we got all packed up to go spend time with family!

Our trip to Houston took about 10 hours, with Katherine sleeping most of the way, and john sleeping about 6 hours of it. We got to see Ross and Trish and the newly engaged Matthew and Jena. We also got to visit with other wonderful friends and family!

John and Katherine both enjoyed swimming and got some wonderful gifts from Matthew and Jena!

A few funny stories.

So, just a brief update of all that has been going on.

Chris got a concussion at work a few weeks ago. He is doing much better, and will hopefully get to go back to full duty llater this week. He was off for a few weeks and we ended up going to see a neurologist in Fort Worth right before 4th of July. It is so frustrating that no onearound here will take Workman's comp.

John is getting ready to start swim lessons tomorrow. He likes the water, but I feel sure this will be an interesting experience. He is constantly making us laugh with his little stories and phrases.

Last week, while at Mom and Dad's the following conversation took place
John:Mommy, I need to go potty.
Me: Ok, let's go sit on the big potty.
John: (Straddling the toilet, trying to look through his legs) Did I do it?
Me : No baby, not yet.
John: (pointing to the newspaped on the floor) Well, hand me the news then!

Also, the other night, when we were trying to get John to eat dinner, he informed us that he could not eat his dinner because he was grumpy at it!

This week has also been a crazy week for me, as I was trying to see all of my pts on different days since we had been out of town. On Thursday, I went out and had a flat tire. After struggling with it for a while, we decided I would just take the truck. Apparently, according to John, only Daddy and boys can drive trucks, not mommy! On Friday, I got the tire fixed and thought we were on our way to smooth driving. Fast forward to Saturday. While driving back from Levelland, I had another flat tire! Thank you to the wonderful strangers that stopped and changed my tire for me! What a blessing. All tires are fixed again and we are doing 02
well.

Katherine is such a sweet cuddly baby. She was 4 months old yesterday, and is trying so hard to roll. She hasn't quite gotten there, but don't dare leave her in the swing, bounce or carseat, as she will definitely try to flip herself out! She talks and laughs at all of us, but her brother is definitely her favorite!

Hope all is well with everyone!

New Pics and a few funny stories

We had some pictures done by a wonderful local photographer. John was in a pretty silly mood, and at times, less than cooperative. I am thrilled with the pictures we got, and will share a few when i can figure out how!

Now for a few funny thngs John has told us lately.

I was awoken at 5:45 this morning by John. The conversation went as follows:
John: Mama! I peed in my football bed!
Me: (Sleepily)" You what?" as I look up to see that my child is no loger wearing his diaper.
We walk to his bedroom where I see his completely dry diaper thrown on the floor next to his not so dry bed!
Me: "John, why did you take your diaper off?"
John: "Mommy, I just needed to sleep in my bottom!"

Next time he "sleeps in his bottom" he better be potty trained!

John has a best friend, Jackson. They fight at times, but will stick up for each other and NEVER want to be separated! When I got john to daycare this morning, he saw that Jackson was wearing a shirt that John also owns. John walked right up to Jackson and proclaimed "Jackson! You are my twinkie!" Not even sure where he picked that one up!

Things I would like to try

I have lofty goals, things I would love to do, but always struggle to find the time.

1. Make a quilt
2. Finish a wedding scrapbook
3. Finish a scrapbook for John
4. Finish a scrapbook for Katherine.
5. Learn to sew.
6. Run a 10k.
7. Run a half marathon.
8. Get a bike and start riding.
9. Finish painting my house.
10. Exercise at least 5 days a week.
11. Find fun, creative learning experiences for John.
12. Read all the books on my to read list.
13. Organize and declutter my house.
14. Keep a good routine for cleaning my house.
15. Read my Bible more.
16. Cook more, eat out less.
17. Date nights with my husband at least once a month.

I know there is tons more, and I will try to update my list as I actually accomplish some things!

Ramblings and such

Well, I am starting my last week of my maternity leave. It is definitely bittersweet. I am actually looking forward to getting back to work, but I haven't been away from Katherine for more than an hour and a half since she was born. That combined with the fact that we don't have daycare for her until June 1st has me a little anxious. It will be interesting to see how we juggle everything for a few weeks.

I have decided that I need a new challenge. I need something to motivate me and help me to get into the best shape of my life. I never want for my body to be a limitation of what I can do with my kids. I want them to see their mom as a happy, healthy individual, willing to help them accomplish anything they want. I know that I need to get back to working out, and I want some fun new goals. I think my first goal will be to run a 10k in the fall. Now I just have to choose one to train for and actually stick to it. Anybody up to taking this challenge with me?