Feeling Lucky

For some reason, I just felt overwhelmingly lucky and needed to write this down.

Nothing in particular even happened today to make me feel this way. But sitting here, paying bills of all things, in a rare moment of peace and quiet, I felt the urge to praise my husband. I just feel like I am so lucky to have him. He works so incredibly hard for our family, and I don't think I tell him enough how much he means to us. And I know he probably won't read this either. But it feels good to put it out there.

I had a frustrating morning. Went to the mall to buy myself some stuff for the first time in a long time. Just Landon and I, out for a bit. And I got to the check out, only to have my card declined. I was thouroughly confused, because I knew there was more than enough money in my account. So after calling the bank, I find out that my card has been cancelled because it is about to expire and they are sending a new one. How convenient. Thanks for the heads up. So, very depressed because I couldn't get my things, Landon and I left the mall and called Nate at work to voice my frustrations. And his first reaction was to tell  me where the cash was at home so I could go get enough to go back and buy what I wanted. Sure, very logical. But for some reason it really made me feel good. I still haven't gone back to get what I wanted. I think I'll wait a few days.

Lame story over.

I think it has just been a challenging week for us. Maybe even a challenging few weeks. And now that I have a moment to myself, all I can think about it how wonderful he is to me and to Landon, and to everyone else in our families too. He always helps out when he can. And he goes out of his way to make sure things are taken care of for people. He works full-time, goes to school full-time, and has had to take on an internship for school as well. And somehow he still manages to find time for us. Maybe I'll buy him something this weekend instead of myself. He deserves it.

Just remember. Even when things aren't going as planned, always take a moment to think about the things in life that turned out for the better. Some of those things weren't planned either.

Three Year Pictures

As previously mentioned, our little man is three now, and I'm having a hard time believing it. He is so grown up sometimes, I can't stand it. But other times, he reminds me of the little boy that he always has been, and manages to melt my heart still. Just today, we were watching Flipper during our quiet time (he gave up naps, so we have quiet time now. Yay.) and he got so sad for the dolphin and scared for him, he came to sit in my lap crying. He has such a gentle heart, when you get down to it. But, he is definitely his father's son, and energetic as ever, and sometimes manages to forget himself and his manners. But, hey, hes three, right?!

This was requested by Landon Himself. Had to have the guitar once he laid eyes on it.

These are just a few of my favorites. He has grown into such a handsome little boy. Sometimes I can't believe I am lucky enough to be his mom.

Our Family is Growing!

In case you didn't know already.

I always seem to be behind on this thing, but I'm trying to keep things somewhat current. So, our most recent exciting news is that we are expecting another little baby!

We found out late in January, and had to share the news with our families ASAP because we were just too excited! Currently, we are 12 weeks along, and due on September 26. We are so excited and can't wait to find out if we will be blessed with another little boy or our first little girl! Stay tuned for more... :)

My Boy is another year older...

... and I'm not sure how I feel about it.

Just kidding. I am so excited for all of the fun things we will do in this year of his life. It makes me sad how fast it all flies by. But he has made the last three years of our lives, and the first three of his, the best years I could possibly imagine. Sure, sometimes he frustrates me and doesn't listen, but more often than not, hes making me laugh and love life.

He is so incredibly smart, it blows my mind. Just this morning, we were sitting at the table and there was a book next to him. And he told me every letter in the title of the book, without mistake. He counts to 14 (most of the time) without problem. He can usually tell me his colors. And he is becoming a pro at playing old school Super Mario Bros. on the Wii. He shares his dad's love for video games, and is becoming a car lover too. A few days ago, walking down the street, another Jeep Commander drove past, and he pointed to it and said "its like mommy's car!" He loves all things super hero, especially the Avengers and Spider-Man. And, unfortunately, everything that he can get into his hands, can be turned into a gun. But that's just a boy thing, right?

 My Beautiful Baby Boy, then and now.
Time sure does fly!

For his birthday, we had breakfast with Bubbe and Tay Tay, where he got his tummy full and got lots of presents from his aunties and uncle. Then we ran a few errands and headed up to the mountains for the weekend to spend some time with my dad, who has recently moved up to Steamboat Springs part-time for a new job. It was absolutely gorgeous, but sooo cold! Landon got a cool cowboy hat and new gun from Gran and Pop, which he wore around town a bit. We did some sight seeing, but mostly just enjoyed our time together. He was such a good boy all weekend, and seriously had the best manners I've ever seen.

Cowboy hat, Captain America Hoodie, and Spider-Man boots.
And he just loved the snow. I don't think he ever realized that it was barely 10 degrees!

Birthday dinner with Pop having yummy pizza

To my baby boy on his third birthday,
Thank you for being such a joy to have. You make my life so much better every day. Thank you for always being a shining light in our lives. Please always be just as curious, energetic, smart, and thirsty for knowledge as you are now. And never lose that sense of humor. We love you with all our hearts.

Our Christmas!

I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but on December 1, my car was broken into outside of our apartment and my purse was stolen. Unfortunately, my camera was inside my purse. So any pictures I get these days are coming from my phone. I'm starting with this explanation because I was a total slacker and didn't take very many Christmas pictures this year.

Our Christmas was just as great as it always is, despite the fact that none of our family that lives far away was able to make it here to celebrate with us. But, such is life. We did early Christmas with Taylor because he was leaving us to spend the holiday with his sisters in San Diego (jealous!). He hit the jackpot and got Landon a super hero book, a Mario and Donkey Kong and Toad figurine set, and some glowing stars and planets for his room. Landon was in love with all of it, and they're still his favorite presents.

Then, for Christmas Eve, Nate had to work until about 6pm, so Landon and I spent the day wrapping presents and hanging out, then headed over to my parent's house later in the evening for some yummy shrimp and crab bisque, and some Christmas Vacation. On the Sunday before Christmas, Nate bought himself a new TV, so we came home to watch our TV later, and to read "The Night Before Christmas" which is my favorite Christmas Eve tradition. I've read that to my family probably since I was old enough to read it myself, so I was very excited to read the same gorgeous copy of the book my mom has to Landon this year.

Landon on Christmas Eve by our tree.

Christmas morning was surprisingly lazy for us. Landon got in bed with us at some point in the night, and chose that day to sleep in. So at about 8am, I looked at the clock and swore that it said 9:00! So, in a panic, I woke the boys up saying we had to get busy! Once we were all out of bed, I realized that I read the clock wrong, and had to deal with grumpy Nate because he wanted to sleep more. But still, we all got up and opened our presents at our house. Landon was a lucky boy, as usual. He got lots of toys, and some clothes, and even Hungry Hungry Hippos, which is his favorite thing to play when people come to our house.

After our Christmas at our house, we got dressed and headed over to Nate's parents house for more Christmas and delicious breakfast. Nate was so excited to have his mom's scones for Christmas morning, and I must say, I ate more than my fair share. We all got spoiled with our presents there, and Landon had even more fun because his friend Lilly was there to play with him. We spent the morning there hanging out and playing with all of our cool toys, and Nate even got in a little nap before it was time to go.

Landon with some of his favorite presents. An Iron Man X-Box game, a Hulk toy, Captain America Shield, and a Hulk Car.

After that, we headed to my parent's house for the afternoon, where we did even more Christmas and got even more spoiled! Landon got lots of cool stuff, but his favorite was his Leap Pad from my parents. And I must say, I love the thing too. He has a blast and it keeps him occupied and learning. We had a delicious dinner there again, and watched a movie or two, before heading home to unload all of our goodies in the freezing cold!

So, overall, we had an amazing Christmas this year. And we hope you all did too. :)

Estes Park Getaway

This last week, Nate and I took a little getaway to Estes Park, Colorado. We bought a little Groupon Getaway and decided to see somewhere that we hadn't been before. I had driven through once with my family years ago just sightseeing, but I had never stayed, and Nate had never been there at all. It was so worth it!

We stayed at a little lodge just outside of town, right on the river. And even though it was an average of 20 degrees the whole time we were there, we were nice and cozy! The first night, we enjoyed our freedom by staying in our room, ordering pizza, and watching Monday Night Football. How exciting are we?! Tuesday morning, they actually had to move us to a new room because a pipe burst in the building and flooded a few rooms, so they moved us to spare us from the noise. So, after we moved rooms, we decided to drive through the Rocky Mountain National Forest. It was gorgeous! Even though theres a big fire burning in the park right now, they still let us in to the other parts. And some of the park was closed because of the snow, so we were pretty limited in what we could see. But, because of that, they didn't charge us entry into the park, which is normally $20 a car! So we lucked out in a way. After we went through there, we just decided to drive. We ended up in some small mountain towns and seeing some beautiful views. We saw lots of frozen lakes, and even some people skating on them. And we saw plenty of elk and a few deer too. We got an afternoon nap in that day, and then went out for a nice dinner together. And after dinner, we lit a fire in our room and watched a movie. It was seriously the most relaxing vacation we've had ever, and we did nothing! By Wednesday, we were ready to come home to see our boy though. He said he missed us, until we got there to see him, then he didn't want us to take him home. Typical, after he got to spend all that time with his Tay Tay! I'm glad he had so much fun though, it's always nice to leave him in good hands. 

Our first elk encounter, right on the side of the road!

This was our Tuesday adventure. Deer in the national park, a beautiful church we found in the middle of nowhere, and a completely frozen lake!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I didn't take any pictures on Thanksgiving this year, but I sure do have a lot to be thankful for.

We spent the holiday with my parents and sister at my mom's house this year. Nate's family went out of town to visit with his sister, so we missed them this year. We hung around and had a lazy day watching football and looking through sales papers until dinner was ready. And, even though its the same every year, dinner was absolutely delicious. My parents always do a little something for everyone with our holiday dinners, so we are sure to get loaded up on plenty of starches and deliciousness. We had fried turkey, like we do every year, as well as a roast and gravy, with mashed potatoes (my favorite) and rice (my sister's request), sweet potatoes with marshmallows, corn, and rolls. Basically, we all fill our plates and then pour gravy on top of it all! And every year it gets better than the year before.

This year, I want to write a little bit about all of the things in my life that I have to be thankful for.

First and foremost, my husband and my son. Without the two of them, I don't know what I would be doing with my life these days. Even though we have our differences at times, and they can both be exceptionally difficult, I love them both more than ever. My beautiful baby boy, who isn't such a baby anymore, is such a sweet little boy and so smart! I am just so lucky that he is a happy, healthy little boy and the light of my life. And my husband, who works so hard for us, to make sure we have all the things we need, and want. And puts up with me when I'm crazy at times. I would not be who I am today without him. He really is my best friend, and I am so thankful to have him.

I am also thankful for my family. My parents, who are always there to help whenever we may need, even when its last minute. My sister, who has grown into a wonderful young woman, and is one of my best friends, always there for me at the drop of a hat. My brother, who has volunteered to serve our country, and has grown so much in doing so, and who is always there with advice and a good laugh when I need it. Nate's parents, who support us and are so helpful and always there for us. Nate's brother, who is my son's favorite person in the whole world, is such a nice guy and always has my back when his brother is being sassy, and is so great with my son. And all three of Nate's sisters, who I feel I have grown closer to this last year, and who are all such strong and inspiring women, and always have great advice to share.

I also want to say thanks to all of our friends who have been there for us from the start. Our journey has not been an easy one so far, and we truly have some of the greatest friends in the world who have stood by us through it all and loved us from the beginning. I am thankful for our extended families, especially those who made the journey to be here for our wedding this year, and those who couldn't make it as well. We have such a great support system all over, and that is something to be thankful for every day.

And now I'm done with my mushy thanks. I felt that this year has been such a big year for so many people in our lives, and they all deserve to be thanked and appreciated, not only at this time of year, but all year long. I truly have some of the strongest people in my life, who are such great examples to me and my family.

Thank You All!