Precious little man...

There are no words...he is just precious

As I sit here typing, I hear the boys screeching at each other playing tug-o-war with some toy. I can tell already that sharing is going to be our biggest challenge with them. There are moments where they totally shock me and just handle it between themselves. However, there also have been times that I have had to pry them apart and off each other. They really do love each other so much though, there is no doubt about it. The other day they were both in the living room watching Sesame Street, Austin walked over to Kaden and threw his arms around him. They stood there for a good two minutes just hugging each other. Mike was watching them and he whispered for me to come and over and look. Then they gave each other a kiss and went along with their business. I really wish I could have gotten a video of it or taken a picture, but my camera was not close enough. It was the CUTEST thing I've ever seen them do. Having them so close in age has been tough but it has also been so awesome for them. They always have each other to play with and they just want to be together.

25 Random things about me...

1. I had two children in a year and a half. CRAZY LADY! One with an epidural, one WITHOUT!
2. I can't stand it when my kitchen is dirty. If I wake up to dishes in the sink, I am instantly in a bad mood.
3. I really love to cook, but I didn't discover this till I met Mike...
4. I totally believe that Mike and I were made for each other. I look at our boys and I can't help but believe that.
5. I love the beach, but CANNOT stand the feeling of sand in between my toes or having dirty feet.
6. I need coffee in the morning to function, also I just love it.
7. I have green eyes with brown spots in them. Kinda like a wild animal or something! ha ha! Kaden has the same eyes.
8. I love crafty, artistic projects but have absolutely no time to do them.
9. I love to take pictures of my boys
10. I secretly want a little girl, but I know that if I got pregnant again it would be a boy...So, were not going there. Not that boys aren't great...I just have enough of them already. ;)
11. I really love to read and I wish I could do it more.
12. I love to camp, only if there are bathrooms and showers if I am camping for longer than 4 days. :)
13. I could eat mexican food every day for every meal if I had to.
14. I have only one sibling, an older brother named Dustin
15. My Mom is one of nicest people you will ever meet
16. I have never been on an airplane
17. My parents were total hippies when they were younger
18. I am a licensed cosmotologist but I don't do hair
19. I hate to admit it, but I really love reality tv shows.
20. My husband loves NASCAR and this kinda drives me insane. I have tried my hardest to get into it, but I just can't do it.
21. The best sound in the world is to hear my boys laugh
22. I played softball for 7 years
23. High school was the hardest time for me. I had lots going on in my life and I still look back on that time and cringe a little bit.
24. I really love sour candy...especially sour apple
25. I work at Salon Lux, I have worked there for 4 years and some of my closest friends work there too!

Also, I changed the setting on my comments, so now you can leave a comment even you don't have a blog...So, now you have no excuse. Leave me a comment :)

Spring!

I can't wait for Spring...I changed my background so you can read it better! xoxo

BEST GRAMMY EVER...

My Mom had a stroke last year in May and since then she has taken drastic measures to get her body healthy. Words don't really do it justice, I am amazed at what she has accomplished. It still remains a mystery what actually caused the stroke. The neurologist has explored every common and no so common reason that she may have had the stroke. She now eats a Vegan Diet, actually mostly RAW foods at this time. She is happy and healthy and I couldn't be more proud and happy for her! If you know my Mama...tell me something that you love about her? post a comment below....

before and after pictures....

BEFORE

Taken over the summer 2008
**try not to be distracted by the extremely cute baby**

AFTER

**You may be wondering why every picture of Kaden is him eating or with something on his mouth? Well, it's because it's one of the ONLY times he stays still enough to take his picture**

Kaden has been extremely funny lately...Here are just a few of the many funny things that I can remember him saying! I need to write them down right away or else I forget them!

While eating his dinner over at my Dad's house he yells, "That's what I'm talking about!" Like that was some good cereal...

While roaring and gnashing his teeth he yells "I'm a STEGASAURUS!" He is not even 3

He says "No! I'm the Boss!" (Actually, not very funny) although I can tell he really thinks that he is sometimes.

My Mom told me the other day that she thinks Kaden is the smartest kid in the world. I think she is a little bias...Don't ya think?! Although I do think he is really smart! :)

We have still stayed pretty much stayed indoors for the last few days. It's cold and foggy out and it just is making us all feel really lazy. We ran out of coffee, so Mike got us Starbucks this morning...That is strong coffee!

We had a great Valentines Day...The boys gift to Mike and I was sleeping in till almost 8 on Saturday morning!!! That was the greatest gift they could have given us. This is truly a gift because IT NEVER HAPPENS! Mike had Saturday and Sunday off this weekend, so that has been really nice. We didn't do much during the day yesterday. We needed diaper wipes and a few other things so I decided to take Kaden to Walmart with me. I had to tell him before we even got there that he had to ride in the cart or else I was in for a possible tantrum when I told him that he couldn't walk in the store. I actually had to bribe him and tell him he could have a sucker...I know, Mom of the Year! It was a dum dum sucker, you know those little things. That made him happy while we got the things we needed. I was reminded why I try and stay away from that store especially ON Valentines Day...I caught Kaden sneaking a package of Oreo cookies into the cart. I guess I had the basket too close to the items on the shelf. Not a good idea...When we got to the register, there was a valentine card that he snuck in there too. Mike chose our dinner that night and was pretty much in charge of making it, although I did help him a little. We bbq'd Filet Mignon and boiled little lobster tails. Then we cut up and roasted some sweet potatoes and some asparagus. Needless to say, dinner was amazing. He did great. He even thought to buy the boys one of their favorite things to eat for dinner, pork apple sausage. They ate that along with the rest of their dinner and then dug into the cake that Kaden and I made. Overall we had a great day together. The boys ate way too much sugar!
Austin got a black eye on Wednesday,you can see it in the picture above...Kaden was pushing him around on his tricycle and he hit something and went flying off. The handle bar got him in the eye. Poor baby! He was running around within minutes, so he didn't let it get him down. I wasn't home when it happened but I did get a text message with a picture of his swollen bloody eye! Every time I would talk about his eye, he would make this face...He squints his eyes and makes this funny little face. Now he does it to make us laugh. He is so funny.

We have been telling him to "shhhh" because Kaden is taking a nap, so when he walked pasted Kaden's room just now he looked up at Mike and said "SHHHHH" and put his little finger up to his lips. Love him!

I will leave you with a few pictures from the week.

Oh and also...

Someone on SLO county Mommies posted a link to this....
I have to say that since reading over this blog, it has really made me appreciate my family and love them so much more! It made me realize that tomorrow is not promised to us and to seize every opportunity to show the ones you love how much you love them! Everyday... I am so amazed with the way this man is raising his daughter and what a great job he is doing honoring his wife...It will make you laugh and cry. So make sure you have tissues ready. At first I sat and cried, but before I knew it, I had been reading it for an hour. I thought about it all day yesterday. I do have to warn you that if you are in any way offended by bad language, don't read it...But if that doesn't bother you, then check it out. It will change the way you think about things. Just had to share.

Make a Smilebox greeting

Day 6 of sickness lockdown

We have been in the house for almost 6 days. I think the boys might be getting cabin fever...We did make it out to Costco yesterday for a couple hours, but that has been the extent of our outside activities since we have been sick. I gotta say that boys have done amazing and have been pretty good. Since it was raining yesterday, we enjoyed being snuggled inside our house watching movies and being lazy. The rain just makes you feel like that sometimes...Mike had the day off and we intended to use the rainy day to get some cleaning done. Not much cleaning got done, although Mike did about 5 loads of laundry. I love him...

Kaden will be 3 in April and I have heard so many people talk about that age being tougher than 2. Were starting to get a glimpse of what the 3's might be like. I know that he has been sick and hasn't been sleeping great, so I'm sure that is one of the reasons why he is having a difficult time. One minute he is fine and happy and next he is having a full on melt down, kicking and screaming fit. When Kaden was younger he was so sweet and happy, not that he isn't now, but everyone used to say that they never heard him cry or saw him upset. He has thrown a few public tantrums in the last few weeks and I must say it was quite embarrassing. It can be hard to rationalize with a 2 almost 3 year old and I don't just want to give him his way. We are learning the best techniques and ways to handle the melt downs. So far if we are out in public, he gets one warning and if the behavior keeps up, it's out to the car and home for us. This has happened a couple times and I have had to carry him to the car kicking and screaming. Luckily everytime it has happened I have had someone to help me with Austin. Sometimes it can be pretty hairy when we are out alone. I just pray for good behavoir and we talk about it a lot. Re-enforcing good behavoir and having rewards seems to be working pretty good. However, sometimes the meltdown can not be avoided. I encourage Kaden to use his words and tell me how he is feeling. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't...Everyday is a new challenge and adventure. We are handling it all pretty well and learning how to be better parents to our boys. On a positive note, he did take an 2 1/2 hour nap yesterday, which was amazing because he literally hasn't taken a nap in weeks... If you are a parent you know how precious nap time can be. This little boy is so precious to us and we are learning what makes him who he is. He is so funny, silly, and loving most of the time...Kaden on the night he was the sickest...
(he fell asleep on the floor..HE NEVER DOES THIS)

Austin is doing really great. His ear infection seems to be gone and he now back in full force toddler mode. He climbs our couches , destroys laundry piles, climbs up on our dining room table...He is 100% boy and we love him to death. He is really starting to talk tons and we are sometimes shocked at what we hear come out of his mouth. The other night Kaden was having a rough time. He was crying about something and was just being kinda crazy, so Mike was telling Kaden "stop it..." before we knew it, Austin ran up to Kaden and clearly said "stop it stop it stop it!" When Kaden heard it, he burst into giggles. It was pretty cute. I was in the kitchen and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. These boys love each other so much. Kaden was going to the store with me the other night to get diapers, it was time for Austin to go to bed, so he was staying home. As i was getting Kaden's shoes on to leave he was asking me if brother was coming with us. He really doesn't like to go anywhere without him. I really love that!

Hopefully the boys will be fully better in the next few days. Kaden still has a cough and at times seems to not feel good. That is why I still feel like we need to be indoors and out of the cold. They really need to get out and run though and hopefully we can do that soon.

KISSES...