A Year Ago Today...

A year ago today I became a stay-at-home-mom.  It was something I had thought about.  Something I had talked about.  But never something I was brave enough to act on.  So with a stroke of luck from an ill-fitted job, the opportunity presented itself and I leapt.  The past year has been an absolute blessing.  I feel so fortunate to have been able to spend so much quality time with Noah and Julian, especially now that Noah is in Kindergarten.  I enjoy being able to drop Noah off, walk him to class and pick him up every day.  I'm glad that I will be able to volunteer at events his school hosts throughout the year without the guilt of missing work.  I'm thankful for my one-on-one time with Julian before the arrival of #3.  It's been fun working on the alphabet, colors and numbers with him and he has surprised me with how quickly he's learning.  I look forward to being with the new baby, and not fretting over possibly missing milestones such as the first babbles, rolling over, and first steps because I am at work while she is at daycare.


Though I know situations can change overnight, I will continue to be thankful for each day I get to spend at home raising my kids.  It will continue to be a comfort knowing I will be there for each of them as they need me.  I will cherish these memories always.

First Day of Kindergarten

It's finally upon us...Noah is a Kindergartner.  I can not believe how fast this day arrived.  It feels like just yesterday that he was a newborn and Leo and I were learning the ropes how to be parents.  If you would have tried to talk to me about it last week I would have teared up and probably started crying.  But I knew for Noah's sake that I needed to hold it together today.  I didn't want to upset him and cause a scene, making it hard for me to leave him, and hard for him to be left.  Thankfully as soon as Noah woke up this morning he was full of smiles and excitement to start school today.  Leo and I made sure to hype up the day (which wasn't that hard since we've both been excited too) by making a big deal about getting his supplies for class, a loaded pencil box for home, new clothes only for when school started, checking out the campus, and learning his teacher's name and room number.   

So after finding a parking spot - HARD, Leo said his goodbye and I rushed Noah over to his class.  We waited in line to get into the room so his teacher could introduce herself to each child and their family individually.  Nice touch.  He got his name tag, hung his backpack and lunch box and headed into the room to settle in.  I got to hang out with him a bit while his teacher continued to greet students. His class is awesome!  2 computers, a play kitchen area, a reading area, and lots of places to play with educational products.  I even saw the cubby with each kids pencil box.  The playground area is great too!  Sectioned off and gated in from the rest of the school, it has 2 play-structures, a grassy area, and games and tracks to ride or play on at recess.  As you can imagine, after visiting the campus twice Noah is most excited about recess.

Back to drop off...Noah immediately dug through the books looking for one in particular, The 3 Little Pigs.  Thankfully it was there!  After he looked through it he wandered over to the sign in sheet to write his name on the paper.  Finally he made his way to the play kitchen area where he proceeded to make 20 pancakes for all his new classmates.  At this point his teacher announced it was time for parents to take a last picture and head over to the assembly for Kinder parents.  I'm happy to say that Noah and I hugged, I told him to have a good day and that I would pick him up after school.  He was all smiles, and I was too.  Phew, glad that's behind me.   

Getting a hug from dad

Walking to class

See how excited he is!  Haha. 

Proud mommy!

I love my big boy Noah!

Looking for The 3 Little Pigs 

Found it!!

Making 20 pancakes

Baby Shower

Photo montage of the event...Enjoy.

Food table

Game area

Doug playing "Guess the Mess"

Grandma playing "Guess the Mess"

Guys bottle race...Tory won!

Dad & Mom

Tory & Vita

Sara, Grandma, Grandpa, Grandma & Chuck

Julie, Rob & Mom

Me, Lynh, Jan & Laurel

Me, Mom & Jamie

Me, Leo, Bill & Kersti

Travis & Leo

Will, Julian, Jamie, Noah & Me

9th Month

I am 36 weeks and 3 days....officially in the 9th month.  I figured there is no better day to take 9th month pictures than at the baby shower.  My mom and sister put on a casual, fun, co-ed shin-dig.  Lots of delish food, fun games, family and friends, and great gifts for the baby!  A big thanks to my mom and Jamie for hosting, and all those who were able to make it to the party.  Leo and I really felt the love!


Anywho, here they are.  My 9th month photos. 

Top 5 reasons I am ready for Fall

Don't get me wrong, I like the summer and the heat.  Who doesn't love Summer vacations and tans?  But Fall is my all-time most favorite season.  I can only imagine how awesome it would be to live somewhere that actually had seasons and you could see them coming (i.e. color changing leaves, golden hued skies, crisp air).  There is just something about the food, the cozy comfort and the holidays that make me love Fall.


So here they are in no particular order...


1.  Picking out and sewing Halloween costumes.  You may think I'm crazy but I love to sew a costume!  And I'm already deep in discussion with the boys over what they want to be this year.  


2.  The heartier, more flavorful food - soup, stew, roasted everything, baked goods galore, everything pumpkin, and yummy Starbucks coffee flavors.


3.  Comfortable, cozy clothing - I feel like there are more options in the Fall vs shorts and tank tops.  Especially boots!!  I'm a flip flop girl at heart but dang I love me some nice new boots!  And I'm not talking UGGS, but those are great too.  Cashmere sweaters and scarves get to come out of the closet.  Shearling and fur (fake or not) are totally acceptable in the Fall.  The rich colors of Fall clothing and accessories are much more my speed too.


4.  A roaring fireplace.  Ours will be used to it's utmost capacity.  We will sit in front of it drinking tea and hot chocolate at night while watching TV.  Can't wait!  


5.  Last but not least...and this is a new one...my baby girl is due!!!  I can't wait to meet her and do hope she comes a little early, but I am totally fine with a September arrival.  Then I will have 2 Fall babies (Noah is Spring)!


So hurry up Fall!  It's time of you to make your appearance, your #1 fan is waiting.  And stay as long as you like because I'm never in any rush for the Winter to come.  


PS - here is a no. 6 I just thought of...I am chomping at the bit to start wearing all my new Fall hued nail polishes.  I'm so over all these brights and neon's.  Blah.    

8 months...getting close!

I'm so ready for this baby to be born.  It is finally hitting me that I am exhausted and done being pregnant.  I have some energy during the daytime hours, but once I am home and ready to wind down I barely have any strength left to enforce bedtime rules or play referee.  With a month to go I really hope this little girl decides to make her appearance early.  That would make me happy!  I know all the guys in my house would be happy too as the boys are very eager to meet their sister and Leo his daughter.  So possibly one more set of monthly belly shots to come, but fingers and toes crossed that the next round of pictures are of a precious little newborn princess.  

Little Fish

I am so proud of Noah.  He has been taking swimming lessons off and on since he was 3 months old.  This summer has by far been the most beneficial to his swimming repertoire.  Along with being older, he fully understood what the instructor was asking of him and had the enthusiasm to actually learn how to do it.  After spending 10 days in Maui, and swimming 8 out of 10 of those days, he came back to his lessons with a little more confidence.  So much in fact that he decided he could swim on his own.  

Jen = uber-proud mommy!!

Aloha

There are so many pictures from our recent trip to Maui...I couldn't possibly post them all on here.  I will however share a great pic of the boys with some tropical friends they met.

I wish we were still there.  So many great memories that I hope to always remember...and being a bit older this trip I hope Noah will remember too.  Playing in the ocean, sand and pools.  Snorkeling and boogie boarding.  Getting to proudly watch my guys surf.  Seeing how confident Noah and Julian became in the water with each passing day.  Eating delicious fresh fish.  I already miss my mango smoothie every day.  I liked smelling of suntan lotion on a daily basis and waltzing my pregnant belly around the resort in a bikini with nary a sideways glance (in fact I got several compliments a day on how well I'm wearing my pregnancy).  


There truly is an amazing island spirit in Hawaii and I hope it stays with me and my family for months to come (along with our truly bodacious tans)!