~This and That~

Well I fell off the blog wagon again, but that is ok.  Life is busy, but good, so good, and right now we are in a happy, happy place.  

In two days we will be heading south to Florida for some fun in the sun, and to Disney World!  Rudy and I talk nonstop about how we can't wait to see the sheer excitement on Rowen's face when he meets all of his current favorite people, including 'Mickneeey' and 'Buzzzz'.  When we aren't busy with the magic we will be spending our time here....can't wait!

Rowen is pretty obsessed with anything and everything Rudy does right now. This includes cutting the grass. Today I came home, and while Finny was sleeping my two big guys were busy cutting the front lawn...

I can't forget about our sweet sweet Finny.  On Wednesday he will be six months old...whoa, that went a bit too fast! While he is almost always covering himself (and me) in some form of spit up, he is the sweetest little blob of a baby, drool and all.  He is always lighting up with big gummy grins and has entered the phase where you put him down and he no longer stays put! 

Check out those cheeks!

Yesterday we quietly celebrated Mother's Day, and it was wonderful.  We spent most of the day prepping for our trip, cuddling on the couch, and enjoying time as a family.  We capped it off with a nice dinner out for Mexican, momma's favorite!  We tried to get a picture or two of me and the boys and this is the best we got...

We have a busy few days coming up and then we are off!  Hopefully I will stay on top of blogging our trip! 

Running, Running, and Running...

Instead of blogging I run. A lot. More than I have in my entire life.  And while some say it takes 21 days to form a habit, it has taken me since January to form this habit and actually enjoy it.  Four months later I enjoy running, and each day, each time I step on the treadmill, I get a little bit better at it. 

If you had asked me five months ago if I thought I would be where I am today, I couldn't of dreamed it.  In January Rudy and I committed ourselves to Weight Watchers.  And while this commitment has made us loose significant amounts of weight, it also made us examine what we were eating, how much we were eating, and made us realize all of the poor choices we were making.  We ate like crap, we didn't exercise, and our waistlines showed it.  

WW was the starting point, but I like to think it was just the springboard for our life change.  We have changed.  We make working out a priority, we meal plan every week, and try hard to stick to the plan.  We hardly eat out (we do allow ourselves some leeway with this, but still try to make smarter choices), we eat fresh, and we are focused on teaching our boys that this is the lifestyle we should be living.
This is the lifestyle we want them to always know. 

Do I miss eating ice cream to my little heart's content? Some days, but not every day.  Especially on days when I try on shorts in a size I have never seen.  On those days, the 107 bowls of ice cream I haven't eaten are not greatly missed.

This has required sacrifice, and sweat, and focus each and everyday, but Rudy and I have done it together.  We have pushed each other, and encouraged each other, and made this change for our family's future.  Going back is not an option for us.  

This time two years ago, I was a full sixty pounds heavier than I am today.  I hated it, but made excuses for myself.  I just had a baby, baby weight is hard to loose, maybe I'm just meant to be a little bit heavier.  All while I was filling myself with junk and crying because I had to buy clothes three sizes bigger than I had ever been before.  Oh and sitting on the couch, that surely helped things.

When I was pregnant with Finn I made a decision not to gain all that weight again.  I ate a little bit better (not as well as I do now) and walked four miles at least five times a week, and only gained 13 pounds during my entire pregnancy.  When I gave birth to Finn a little over five months ago, I was a full 36 pounds heavier than I am today.  Yes I lost some of that from birth and from the stress of a newborn, but then it stopped falling off and I had to do something about it, which is what got me to where I am today.  

Rudy and I did it together.  And we are still doing it.  We hold each other accountable, and work as a team to stay on track. We have a few more pounds to reach our goal, but at this point that isn't as important to us.  We feel better.  We look better. We are living better. And those are the things that are important now.

And there is no going back. 

~Finnegan-5 Months Old~

Dear Finnegan,

Today you are five months old! I dropped the ball on an update last month, but I don't think the fact that you don't have a four month update with ruin your future, so I am fine with that.  We were busy learning more and more about your little personality, and before I knew it time had gotten away from me. 

This past month you have flourished. You have transitioned out of being a newborn and are simply a baby.  Each day you grow into your chunky little cheeks, and your 'new' hair is growing in nicely.  Your dad commented that right now it looks like a well cut crew cut. Your eyes are still blue, and I'm holding out hope that they are staying that color for good!

You love to smile, coo, and laugh, you are a genuinely happy baby, and we are so grateful for this!  Right now your smiles take up your whole face and if you are really excited you let out a little gurgling giggle.  When we come into get you in the mornings or after naps, you almost always greet us with a big gummy grin!

You are continuing to reach milestones, and we have reached the day where I can no longer put you down and return to you in the same place.  You roll, twist, and turn every which way to get at what you want.  And if we walk away from you, you are sure to get vocal and let us know, 'Hey guys I'm over here, you forgot about me.' 

This past weekend we started playing with baby food, and so far you have tried a few fruits and vegetables, and seem to be loving the new experience.  However, you are still a MESS, I thought this would pass after a few weeks when you were born, but we still go through numerous bibs a day, and I have a feeling this quantity is going to increase with baby food! You still eat four bottles a day, 8oz each, and at your bedtime bottle you get a sprinkle of cereal.  You sleep through the night, and rotate between side sleeping and belly sleeping with your butt in the air. Right now you are the first to wake up on the weekends (you only beat Rowen by a little time) but it is a little extra snuggle time we get with just you, and I love it! 

You love your big brother, and if he enters the room, you won't take your eyes off of him.  If you think you are being included in what he is doing you can't contain your excitement.  I know there will come a day very soon when you will be following him all over the house. You also are starting to get really excited about Jack and Lola, and they are loving that you are starting to taste like the good stuff :).  Each day your personality grows, and we love seeing your little face light up when you discover something new! 

We love you our dear sweet wonderful cheeky Finny...happy five months!!

Little Boy TWO

A few obligatory brick wall pictures of the birthday boy...enjoy!

Dear Rowen, Happy Second Birthday!

Dear Rowen,

Today is your day, today you are TWO! It has been the fastest but most rewarding two years of our life.  Your dad and I often remark how we wish we could freeze time right now because we love your wonderful personality at this age!  You are feisty, caring, happy, funny, and you and your brother are the light of our lives!

This year has brought many changes both in you and for you, so here is a little bit of what you were like in your second year:

1. You started walking shortly after your first birthday, and you haven't stopped moving since then.  You are happiest when you are outside running and exploring.

2.  Every night you sleep with little dog, big dog, and eeyore.  Recently Buzz Lightyear has joined the bed crew, and I love peeking in at night to see who got voted off of the island.

3. You have been sleeping in a bed instead of a crib for the past ten months. On week nights you are put to bed around 630, and most nights we hear you playing with your pals for about an hour.

4.  Your favorite book right now is Goodnight Construction Site.  You LOVE making the noises of all of the machines, and saying 'night, night' to each of them.

5.  Your speech has taken off this year, and each week you are picking up new words.  I almost died from the cuteness the other day when you walked into school and said 'Mornin' to the front desk ladies.

6.  Right now you insist on wearing a coat and hat everywhere we go, and let us know of your discontent when we try to make you do otherwise.  It will be interesting to see if you will insist on this trend once spring finally arrives.

7.  You saw snow! And loved it, we couldn't keep you out of it!

8. Your favorite foods right now are bananas, waffles, green beans, mac and cheese, yogurt, cereal, chicken, refried beans, and in the summer you loved watermelon.  You are a little vacuum and will pretty much eat anything we put in front of you.  The only thing I can think of that you aren't particularly keen on is sour cream.

9. You adjusted amazingly well to the arrival of your little brother, and as time goes on your interest in him grows.  We are hopeful that this time next year the two of you will be the best of friends!

10.  We took you to the beach and you hated it. We will try again this year.

11. You got your first set of stitches and a little Harry Potter scar on your forehead as a result.

12.  You love school, and get excited to go everyday. You are always giving out hugs to your teachers.  Your job when walking in/out of school is to carry Finn's bottle bag, and you take this task every seriously.  You also have taken to inspecting your daily report sheet as if you could read it.

13.  We introduced you to a few Disney movies this year, and right now Toy Story is your favorite.  We would of pegged you for a Woody kind of guy, but you are obsessed with Buzz, or buuuzzzz as you like to say.  You and daddy work daily on saying 'To infinity and beyond!"

14.  You love all things that move, trucks, trains, and planes.  Every time you see a plane overhead you wave furiously at it, and choo choo's make you giddy!

15. You are obsessed with books! You would probably choose to read books over almost anything else.  Sometimes you sit on the floor and read the books to yourself, and I swear you are saying your favorite parts out loud!

16.  Jack and Lola are your best friends, and like any friendship you have good days and you have bad days.  Some of the time you want them to leave you alone and five minutes later you will be on the floor wrestling with them.  They love you because of all of the sweet treats you taste like!

17. Coloring, building blocks, playing with trucks or trains, and riding your push toys are some of your favorite indoor activities, and on most weekends you will spend hours quietly doing all of these activities.

18.  You are a sweet heart, always willing to give a hug and a kiss to anyone who requests one.  I hope you grow out of this by the time you hit high school or you may give your dad and I premature grey hairs!

This year has been amazing, and each day seems to get better than the last. We love watching you grow and learn and develop a big little personality.  We love you more than words can describe.

Happy Second Birthday Rowen!

Love,

Da, Mom, Finn, Jack & Lola

~Finnegan James- Three Months Old~

Dear Finnegan,

Despite you being almost 3.5 months old, I decided I needed to sit down and document our third month together.  Each day you continue to bless us with more and more of your sweet squinty little grins, and we simply can't get enough of them!

You have for the most part mastered sleeping through the night, although I suspect we will be giving up the swaddle here in the next few weeks as you are on course to roll yourself from back to belly any day.  When you do manage to get your hands out of the swaddle it does wake you up, and I may  of called you a wee mental terrorist on one or many occasions when you give me your sweet smiles and girgles at 2 in the morning.  Go back to sleep Mr. Finny!

You continue to be a great eater and enjoy four 8oz bottles a day.  This month brought a huge change to your life when you started going to daycare.  Thankfully you are in the same class your brother once was and the misses are all already smitten with you! You seemed to adjust extremely well to stating this new phase of your life. Each morning I wake you up at 430  for your first bottle, and by 520 we are on the road for the day.  We usually give you your last bottle around 5pm and you go down for the night around 6.  

You still LOVE to talk, you babble and coo from sun up to sun down.  Sometimes I think you are trying to tell me how to solve our country's current financial crisis the way you sigh and seem exasperated that I simply don't understand what you are saying.  All of your babbling makes us wonder if you will be an early talker, but I guess we will just have to wait and see. 

It is truly amazing how the heart grows to make room for more love, and it seems as if you have lived in our hearts and our lives forever.  I know in a few short months it will be hard to recall the days before you were born.  Each month continues to get better and better with you, and we love you sweet Finny with all of our hearts! 

Squirt Toys and Big Boy Smiles

A little over two weeks ago, maternity leave ended, and I went back to work.  Our 'new normal' routine hasn't been entirely figured out just yet, and will hopefully get a little easier this week since Rudy returned to his job, but for now the days are long.  I wouldn't describe them as hard days, but they are long, and between dinners, bottles, baths, and trying to keep our house from looking like a tornado flew threw it, we haven't entirely figured out when we are supposed to breath.  I know once the dust settles things will seem easy again, we will have our routine, and all of the upheaval of the last few weeks will be the norm.  But for now, its tiring.

More often than not in the last week I have been wishing time away.  When we get home I'm wishing it was bedtime for the boys, and bedtime for me.  When  I wake up, I wish the day was already done. 0At the beginning of the week I'm wishing it was Friday. And on Sunday I start wishing the whole week away again to get to Friday.  

But while I'm busy wishing time away, my boys are growing, they are changing, and in the busy hubble bubble of the day, I'm missing their time.  Last night I sat down on the floor with my camera while giving Rowen a bath.  I couldn't recall the last time I took pictures of him while he was playing in the tub, and felt that I needed these pictures of this moment.

And as I was snapping away, peaking here and there through my camera roll while Row was busy directing his orchestra of squirt toys, I realized just how much he is changing.  His smiles, his eyes, the shape of his face, its all changing.  This sweet little baby that made me a mother is quickly becoming a big boy, and if I don't stop and enjoy little moments like this, I might miss the joy and excitement of my almost two year old sweetheart.   

When Rudy and I are old and these little boys that are cluttering my house with dump trucks and trains are gone and grown, I don't want my memories to be filled by how long the days were, but instead filled by images of laughter, love, and sweet little boys with squirt toys in the tub.