A Rare, Quiet, Moment of Reflection

5 more weeks (or less) until our little baby is here.

5 more weeks being a family of three.

5 more weeks of calm.

Who am I kidding? Calm? No such thing.

Landon has been somewhat difficult lately. Especially at meal time and bed time. He's always been a champion eater. But lately, I can't seem to get him to eat anything but cereal, lunch meats, or yogurt. Could be worse, I suppose. But the constant fight at meal time is killing me. He says he wants to eat what we are eating, then as soon as it's on the table, has a giant meltdown because he thinks its gross, or hurts his tummy, or makes him sick. He's grown to be the king of excuses lately. I don't like it much. He's also gotten into saying "I can't" which is beyond frustrating. I'm not sure where he learned it, or why he thinks he can say it all the time, but I try so hard to encourage him to try everything before I will help him. That only ends up making him more upset, and he doesn't try. So it turns into a fight. I should learn to be more patient. He is only three.

Besides all of the frustrating things he's been doing lately, he's had some very sweet moments. Sometimes I can't believe I am so lucky to have such an awesome little boy.

I had a moment at 4am a few days ago. At the time, it was extremely annoying. Soon after, I saw the beauty in it. At some point in the night, Landon got in bed with Nate and I. And my body pillow, which is an essential these days. And Nate ended up in the middle of the bed. Talk about crowded. I tried to wake up Nate to have him bring Landon back to his bed, but that was a failure. So, I grabbed my pillow and left the boys in my bed, and went to Landon's bed. He has a full size bed now, which is far too big for him, but very nice to have an extra bed for guests, or in this case, myself. The mattress was very cheap, and therefore, not very comfortable. But I've bought a foam topper for it and its at least liveable. Anyways, it turned out very nice to have a whole bed to me and my big belly. I had just started to fall into a deep sleep, when in comes Landon. "Hey mom. Why are you in my bed?" I check the clock, its 4:00am. So I scoot over (not easy) and let him in. He tosses and turns and sits up and lays down. My blood pressure rises. After repeatedly asking him to lay down, he finally fesses up. "I have to pee mom." Great. Go. So he takes himself to the bathroom, comes back, climbs in and settles down, and he's out in about 3 minutes flat. I, on the other hand, am now wide awake for the second time that night, and almost decide to just give up on sleep altogether. Then, Landon rolls over, snuggles up next to me, and sighs. He is completely content and relaxed and happy to be next to me. And I am happy to be next to him. I realize that there are only 5 more weeks of him having me completely to himself. 5 more weeks of being able to freely go sleep with my big boy and snuggle him, without a baby needing my attention. 5 more weeks to enjoy my only child before he becomes my oldest child. 

That turned into a really long story to get to the point, but I wanted to make sure to write it down. He is so important to me. And sometimes, it's easy to forget about these moments, and only focus on the bad days he's had lately. He is going to make an incredible big brother. And I hope he understands when I get busy sometimes. Nate and I absolutely adore our little big boy. He teaches us so much every day.

Our Uneventful Life in the Mountains

We have gotten all moved in and are slowly getting settled into our new place, and every day I am in awe of how beautiful the scenery is here! Just walking out to the parking lot of our apartment, you can see the very top of the ski lift to the mountain, and right now it is all green, with a nice blue sky back drop. And driving around town you just get the most beautiful views of mountain tops all around. We are so lucky to live here!

The view from our playground at our apartment.

Over Memorial Day weekend, Nate got his first holiday from work, and it was absolutely gorgeous, so we spent Sunday walking around our cute little downtown and exploring all of the shops along the way. Then we strolled down by the Yampa River and let the boys check out the water. Nate showed Landon how to throw rocks into the river, and now whenever someone says something about the river, he gets very excited to go throw rocks. Such a boy. We are in search of a little fishing pole for him so we can teach him how to fish some this summer, if he has the patience.

The boys checking out the river.

Nate has adjusted very well to his new job, and has taken the responsibility amazingly. He never ceases to amaze me at how well he really can adjust to new situations, even thought he is difficult in the beginning. I can't say enough how proud I am of him. He is managing the store and stepping into his responsibilities very well. He has four employees under him right now, and only one is younger than him, but all seem to really respect him and what he's bringing to the table for the business. Soon, I'll get started helping out at the business as well, but for now, I am really enjoying my time with Landon and exploring our new home. 

Our trip to the local donut shop. Soooo good!

I am currently 23 weeks pregnant, still due September 26. Getting more and more excited every day! We are planning out the baby's room and trying ever-so-hard to pick a name for our little guy! Nothing is standing out to us yet, but we still have time! Landon is actually getting very excited to be a big brother, and likes to pick out super hero names for his baby brother. 

And I'll leave this post today with pictures of our views to the east and to the west from downtown. Jealous?!

Steamboat Springs Bound!

With all of the hectic things going on in our lives right now, I finally had a quiet moment to sit and update this crazy thing. As of Friday, May 17, we will no longer be residents of Castle Rock, Colorado. We are moving up "to the mountains" as Landon likes to say, and becoming residents of Steamboat Springs. My dad is in the process of acquiring a business there, and has offered us both positions within his company. Nate will start work on May 20 as the Manager of the Valvoline Lube Center, which is half of the business. In a few weeks, once things have settled some and my dad has finished the purchase, I will become his executive assistant and handle all of his stuff from an administrative side. We are really looking forward to starting a life in the small town, and getting some experience in a field that we are both interested in. As most of you know, Nate is very much into cars and working on them, and he has been going to school for Marketing and Management, so this is right up his alley and hopefully will help lead him to more opportunities in the future with the experience that he will gain. 

Currently, I am almost 21 weeks pregnant. Sorry, no pictures. I already feel like a whale. And we just found out last week that we are going to be blessed with another baby boy! Landon is beyond thrilled to have a little brother, and we are just as excited as he is. Everything is going well with the pregnancy, and I feel great for the most part. Still getting migraines regularly, and I think I have developed an allergy to beef somehow. But, all things that can be easily managed.

Here are a few pictures from our life lately. We have spent so much time enjoying the beautiful weather (finally) and getting ready for this move. So I really have no clue what we have been up to these days!

We went to a Cinco de Mayo party at Nate's Parent's church, and Landon got his first whack at a pinata. When it finally busted, he had no idea what to do! We had to direct him to the candy and he scored a blow pop and a nice piece of bubble gum for his mommy, who had a wicked craving for some. :)

This lovely boy climbed into bed with me at almost exactly midnight on Mother's Day. It was the perfect way to start (and end) my days.

Next time, I'll be able to show you all around our new little apartment and our new little town of Steamboat Springs. And, as a side note, the skiing in that town is amazing, so if you're ever wanting to take a nice ski trip, gimme a call! Our door is always open! :)

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.