"I'm a Tiger!"

Field Day Fun

Last Friday was Noah’s field day at his school, and I’m not sure who had more fun – Noah or Amelia!  His school rented four HUGE bonces slides and houses, had a snow cone station, and served hot dogs.  I barely even saw Noah, because he and his friends were sprinting from one bounce slide to the next.  Amelia insists on dressing in one of her princess dresses at all times, including slippers, tiara and a wand and she had that same outfit on when we went to Noah’s school.  All the little girls in Noah’s class were enthralled with her and asked if they could play with her.  Amelia was a little shy at first . . . but it didn’t take long for her to warm up and, next thing I knew, they were all holding hands and running around.  They were literally fighting over who got to hold her hand or pick her up and hold her.  I think she was held by ten different little girls; after about an hour of this she was done and just wanted her “Bubba.”

Last weekend Noah and Mike went to the Boy Scout “Bridging” (he moved up from Wolf to a Bear) campout and had a blast.  Mike said Noah didn’t stop running from 3pm until 10pm.  It sounded like they had a great time.  His den performed a skit, and they had S’mores by the campfire after dinner.

I cannot believe how much Max is changing!  He loves to interact with us, and he giggled for the first time a few nights ago . . . I thought my heart was going to melt!  I wish I could freeze time and have him this little forever!

A place for the kids to display their art.

The reading corner is finished and it's a big hit!

Big News!

We have now joined the ranks of homeowners!  After renting for what feels like forever, we finally found a house we love.  Having never before been through the whole process of buying a home, I had no idea how much there was to it.  We have now lived in our new home for exactly one week, and it’s been amazing.  Not to say we haven’t had issues, but that’s to be expected; overall, it’s everything we dreamed of.  

One of the biggest selling points was the pool . . . I didn’t think the kids and I could make it through another summer in the Texas heat without one.  I am happy to say that we have either gotten in the spa or pool every single day!  Another thing we really love about the layout is that it has an upstairs family room that is just for the kids.  They have all their books, toys, art supplies, video games, and movies in one location.  One of my first projects will be to create a reading corner with a tent that hangs from the ceiling with mats and pillows underneath.

Upstairs family room

Mike and I are really expanding our ability to be “handy”.  We knew the kitchen faucet and sink had a leak and would need to be replaced right away, so we bought a new sink and faucet this weekend and removed the old one and installed the new one ourselves (well, we had a little help from our friends Dean and Melinda, thankfully).  It’s such a great feeling to own something and be able to change things without getting permission from a landlord or having to hide the fact that we have a cat.

The best part is that the house is literally a two-minute walk from Noah’s school, and he has six of his friends that live on our cul-de-sac!  He’s been walking to and from school every day with his friends, which has been great for me (I used to have to wake Max or Amelia if they were napping to go pick him up).  This weekend we’re having a block party so we can get to know all our neighbors better.

Two Months

I cannot believe my little man is already two months old!  Maxwell is seriously a dream baby; he never cries except to let me know he’s hungry.  I feel so lucky that he’s so easy!  Since he’s the third child, if I had a fussy baby, I’m not sure what I would do.

 

He had his two-month check-up this morning, and he weighs 12 lbs. 9 oz. and is in the 66^th percentile.  He is 23.5 inches long and is in the 60^th percentile.  He has an umbilical hernia that his pediatrician said should go away in the first year (if not, he’ll have to have surgery to correct it).  He also has a case of thrush as well as his first runny nose, but none of these things seem to be bothering him.

He’s still sleeping A LOT but when he is awake, it’s all smiles!  He loves to stand on his legs, and he pumps his arms with excitement.  He is starting to coo and squeal a lot more.  He gets really worked up pumping his arms and then this little noise will come out, and you can tell he’s proud of himself.  He’s started sleeping through the night, which has been so wonderful for me! 

Both Noah and Amelia are very wonderful with him.  I was worried how Amelia would react with him receiving so much attention, but she really doesn’t get upset over it.   She mostly wants to help and loves to give him “tickies.”  She calls him “Sweetie Pie, Sweetie Pie, Sweetie Pie.”  Yesterday when I let her hold him, she said to me, “Mommy, I need to feed him . . . hand me the boppy.”

Amelia was reading Noah a bedtime story.

Badges & Bunnies

Noah recently earned his Wolf badge in Boy Scouts, and we are very proud of him for his hard work!  I am hoping he and Mike will be able to go on the upcoming Bridging campout where he’ll get to walk over a bridge signifying his transition from a Bear to a Wolf.

 

 

We had a very enjoyable Easter weekend!  Mike had that Friday off and it was nice to just relax around the house.  On Easter day, Mike took Noah and Amelia to the town of Grapevine and rode the vintage railroad there to meet the Easter Bunny. We did a similar train ride at Christmas when the kids met Santa and they loved it both times! Amelia was far more excited about meeting the bunny than Noah, but I think he enjoyed the train ride more.  

Mike's Grandma Sandy made these adorable place mats and napkins for Christmas and we decided to make them our Easter breakfast tradition.

After being completely overloaded on sugar, Amelia was ready for an early bedtime.  We didn’t hear her making any noise upstairs, so Mike was shocked when he went upstairs to find her with both fists full of Noah’s candy! He had left his full ziplock bag in his room, and Amelia had gotten into it and eaten at least three fourths of it. When Mike asked her what she was doing, she put her hands up and out to the side, put on her cutest face and said she just wanted a couple.

I had to get pretty creative with hiding Noah's eggs this year!

Reunion

 

We hadn’t seen my dad since last February -- right before he and my brother, Jared, left for Afghanistan.  It was wonderful to see my dad again, and they were happy to get to meet Maxwell.  It took Amelia about five minutes to warm up to my dad, but after that she was his little shadow!  I tried to sit down next to them once and Amelia said to me, “This is my papa, don’t talk to him!”

 

 

We didn’t venture far from our house much, but we were still able to pack a lot of fun in the four days they were here.  My mom and Noah painted a tea set she had bought him for Christmas.  Noah, Amelia, Mom and Dad all had a tea party that included root beer and vanilla wafers.  Tea parties are something my mom started with her grandchildren a while ago, and they all seem to love it!  Noah (on spring break) and my dad got some time together playing football, basketball, karate, guitar and even some video games.  The highlight of the visit for me was getting to dance the “Pretzel” with my dad, something we hadn’t done since my wedding.  I am so happy to have him home, and it was wonderful visit with them both!