A Truck Race!

We have had so much fun these past few weeks.... here is what we have been up to!  First, Maddox has "Show and Tell" every Friday at school. On this particular Friday, he had pajama day as well.  He had to bring something for the letter "Q" (which was tricky to think of)..... so mommy said he could take a quarter (if he promised he didn't put it in his mouth!)..... I turned around and saw him balancing it on his nose as we were getting ready to leave from school Friday afternoon!  Thankfully it didn't end up in his mouth!

Linds and I completed our last long (10 mile) run before our half marathon.  Thankfully, we have had great weather and great times on our runs lately.  We have one more practice run before race day.... it will be here before we know it!

Two Saturdays ago (after the 10 mile run mentioned above), we took the boys bowling.  Zander has been asking to go for weeks and it just seemed like the perfect day to go.  The weather was still pretty cold outside and we are hopeful that spring temperatures will get us outside more in the future.  So we went for an indoor activity.  These types of days just make me smile...... to see the excitement the kids have when the pins get knocked over and to see how their daddy helps coach them to bowl on their own (giving them advice about where they should drop the ball, etc).  I love days like this!

I was able to chaperone a field trip with Z's class a couple weeks ago as well.  He really wanted me to go with him and I'm not able to make his field trip later this year due to a work meeting so I was so excited to have my travel buddy on the bus as we made our way to see the Cat in the Hat play! 

 Maddox loves bath time and I love messing with his hair! His favorite is the Mohawk!

 We celebrated Daddy's birthday with the Bakewell Bunch at a sit down Japanese restaurant.  Grammy brought cupcakes and everyone had a great time celebrating our favorite guy!

Zander had fairy tale character dress up day last Friday.  He went as Flynn Rider who heroically saves Rapunzel from the tower (we might have merged "Tangled" in there a bit so he could match his buddy, Mia, who was Rapunzel with her long hair)!  They are just too cute! :)

I got to take Zack out to dinner for his birthday.... a date just the two of us! :)  We were still at home in bed by 9:00!  We are such night owls! ;)

On Saturday, we gave our birthday boy a whole day to himself!  He rarely ever gets any "down time" between work and family responsibilities.... so I thought he would love a day where he could make his own schedule and even relax a bit!  I went with my parents to the Martinsville truck race and introduced our boys to racing fun!  We had the best weather, the best food and the best day!  We will definitely be back in the future! It was so fun watching the boys pick their favorite drivers and follow the trucks around the track.

When we got home from the truck race, Zack had a beautiful bouquet of flowers waiting for me and a really sweet card.  It really was a great end to a great day!  Unfortunately, by bedtime, I was running a 100.5 fever and kept a fever until Monday night (it even got up to 102.9 with pain meds).  I went to the doctor on Monday morning for them to confirm I had strep throat.  My throat has never hurt so bad in my life!! I had to take two days off of work..... could barely talk and was not able to have solid foods for a couple days.  I am happy to report that thanks to a shot and doctor prescribed medications, I am on the mend!  Ironically, Zack got one day off of dad duty in exchange for three days on full time parent duty..... because mama was off duty (not by choice but by circumstance).  I am hoping to take it easy the rest of the week and be ready to tackle a half marathon in about a week and a half!  Prayers appreciated that everyone else in our family stays healthy!

My Two Front Teeth

We had so much fun last weekend visiting our family! We made a day trip on Saturday and coordinated the weekends so we could see our favorite nephew along with Aunt A and Uncle Jay!  First, we went to Grannie's and played inside.  Then, we grabbed lunch at ChickFila....a family favorite!  While Henry was napping, we painted with Grannie and then went to see Granny V, Paw Paw and Uncle Grant.  The boys were easily entertained by the Houstons in their fun game room!  After nap time, we went back to Grannie's so we could eat dinner and see GranDan.  It was a full day but it was also so perfect!

I got to see my favorite niece on Monday! Grammy picked up all three grandkids since the parents had work commitments.  I came home in time to feed the kids a "healthy" dinner of chicken nuggets, fruit and seasoned corn.  Fortunately, the kids ate their dinner and then it was time to get Zander to his first baseball practice of the season!  We are already getting prepared for weeks full of two or three day baseball commitments and are looking forward to spring-like temperatures as we watch our favorite ball player on the field!

 The boys got hair cuts this week!  We are definitely getting ready for spring!  You will notice in the first picture, Maddox's two front teeth are starting to turn a gray color.  As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, he fell at church, scraping his nose and bumping his teeth.  Well.... those teeth have started to show the effects of that fall!  I took him to the dentist on Tuesday for an x-ray.  Fortunately, the permanent teeth are still in tact.  At this time he will hold on to his two front teeth whatever color they are!  It makes for a good story for sure!!  He is definitely my "rough and tumble" boy!

 Everything is made better with ice cream! ;)

My parents celebrated their 38th wedding anniversary yesterday!  I am so blessed to have them in my life and so thankful for the marriage they have modeled for my sister and me.  Having now made it to a decade of marriage, I am celebrating with them each year of their relationship.  I know it is hard work and am so thankful that their love has stood firm no matter what the challenges may be. Happy anniversary to my favorite couple!

In Like a Lion......

Or maybe some other storybook characters!  We have had dress up days at both schools within the last few weeks so we are getting creative with costumes and enjoying all the fun of being "in character" for the day.  We have also continued to have a pretty brisk pace as we check off another month of 2019!  I can't believe it is March already and with the weather we are having right now, it is definitely coming in like a lion!  Zander is fascinated with this phrase right now and March 1st's weather was a clear example of this saying.... cold and wet!  We are bouncing between 60 degree days and then 40 degree days.  The rain has been pretty constant lately, causing us to ensure we have outside activities planned if we see a glimmer of the sun!  Here is what we have been up to!  I chaperoned a field trip with the K-2 students at our church last Sunday with Zander.  We ate yummy pizza and then went to a trampoline park which also featured a rock climbing wall.  We enjoyed jumping around and even made it to the top of the wall together!!  It was a first for both of us!!  We were supposed to do a service activity as well but the person had to cancel at the last minute due to sickness.  It was still a fun day with Zander and some of his church friends!

On book character day at our school, I was Fern from Charlotte's Web.  The office staff came together to each have a part within this beloved book.  Mom came early to french braid my hair, proving yet again that you are never too old to need your mama!  Zander was the Big Bad Wolf and his friend, Mia, was Little Red Riding Hood.  They even made the front page of the newspaper!

Maddox came to Zander's swim lesson on Thursday and we were all smiles knowing we had one more day of school/work for the week!  He did a great job watching his brother and cheering him on.  As predicted, my little daredevil would walk as close to the pool as possible..... just to give his mama a slight heart attack thinking that I would be jumping in with my clothes on to rescue my little swimmer!

We got new stools and I absolutely love them!!  They work better for the boys and are pretty sturdy for our crew!  I love the look as well!

 On Saturday, it was sunny!! After Linds and I busted out a 10 mile run, we headed to the science center.  We also fit in bike rides in the afternoon.  Thanks to daddy for taking the boys out to breakfast and grocery shopping while I went for my weekly run!  We skipped nap time (living life on the edge I guess!) to enjoy as much sunshine as possible!! We ended a perfect Saturday by celebrating the newest doctor in our family with dinner at Olive Garden!  We are so proud of Uncle Boomer (a.k.a. Dr. Kennedy) and can't wait to see him at his graduation in May!

Sometimes, you just have to stop on a bike ride to make a wish!! I love that this boy enjoys the little things! :)

 Uncle Zack entertaining the kids while we wait for dinner!

Today is Maddox's book character day to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday!! He is the cutest Cat in the Hat!  He absolutely loved getting to dress up this morning since he watched us dress up last week!  Its crazy to think that four years ago (tomorrow) I found out we were going to be a family of four!! I cannot believe how fast time is going by!  I want to soak up moments like I have included in this blog post!! They are only little once!

February Fun!

Even though February is the shortest month of the year, we have been having a lot of fun!  First, here are some of the boys' Valentine Day celebrations.... Zander celebrated his 100th day of school on Valentine's Day so he combined counting fun with this day of love.  I think he has his first little Valentine too..... check out the post it note he wrote all by himself for Mia!

One of my friends sent me this picture of Maddox on Valentine's Day.... as you can tell, he is all smiles! :)

 Zander is taking swim lessons every Tuesday and Thursday in February.  At first he was nervous but he has come so far!  He is jumping in at the deep end and swimming to the ladder all by himself.  He is also using a kick board or noodle to paddle/kick the length of the pool and back! He will put his head under and come up for breaths every few kicks or strokes!  We are hopeful that these lessons will give him the courage to try swimming more confidently over the summer.

It has been cold and rainy the entire month of February!  We have managed to go outside a few afternoons when the weather cooperates!  We love playing at our neighborhood playground or riding bikes!

Zack and I fit in our monthly date night!  It was very glamorous!  We ended it with a trip to Big Lots to buy new pillows for our beds!  This is real life! :)

 But first, I had this delicious margarita with dinner! ;)

Grammy came over throughout the month of February and added sweet notes for each of us.... showing us how much we are loved..... the first door is Maddox's, then Zander's and finally the parents! :) The boys and the adults loved this sweet surprise!

Linds and I ran 10 miles on a treadmill last weekend..... remember I said its been really wet!  So we opted for a sunnier mid-week run before Zander's swim lessons on Thursday!  We had our best time to date with an overall pace of 8:44 for the 8 miler we fit in!  I made it to swim lessons with 5 minutes to spare as well!  Thanks to Grammy for watching the boys and feeding them dinner.... I felt like super mom to fit it all in! Saturday morning I will get to sleep in too! Win Win!

 We've had spirit week all week at school.  We rocked pajamas, neon, dressed to impress, team jerseys and crazy hair!  The boys liked the crazy hair the best! I personally like the Mohawk and might have to do this look more often for the boys!

 Maybe not all fun in February, Maddox took a tumble at church last Sunday.  He busted his lip and gave himself some carpet burn on his nose.  He has been a trooper and it is healing nicely!  You can see a cute photo bomber in the back of the photo!;)

To My Little Valentines,

I cannot believe you both are five and three years old!! Where has the time gone?!  I will have to admit that our life is a little crazy right now.  We are so busy doing fun things, challenging things and just life things.  You boys continue to be full of energy and full of smiles.  You both love to talk the whole way to school and on the way home.  You will constantly call "mama" "mama" from the backseat and I help you take turns sharing what is on your mind.  You are starting to play so well together.  I will look over while I'm cooking dinner and you are shooting the basketballs into our indoor basketball goal.  You will race cars down the track.  You will run laps around our downstairs after one of you says "ready, set, go".  I pray that the friendship you are developing now will last the rest of your lives.  It is so sweet to watch the encouragement you give each other and how quickly you bounce back to loving each other after a disagreement.  In all honesty, you still "get on each other's nerves" and have to be separated at times for a moment to cool down.  The moments before bed when we read books together (sometimes having Zander read to Maddox his take home readers) are some of my favorites!  You love cuddle time before bed.  You will tell me about your days and, of course, we say our prayers and sing songs.  Maddox's favorite songs are "Wheels on the Bus", the ABC song and "Jesus Loves the Little Children".  Zander's favorite songs now are "I Love You, Lord" (mommy's favorite) or songs that Zander makes up on his own.  Zander is reading books, counting past 100 and noticing patterns in numbers.  He is really starting to understand the concept of time (when he is waiting for something to arrive from Amazon or a certain holiday on the calendar- patiently waiting day by day or waiting for a certain time limit to lapse as a timer has been set-usually to finish his dinner).  Maddox is doing a great job with knowing his colors and starting to recognize letters and numbers.  He loves holding books when we are reading, pointing to words and turning pages.  He has a counting book (called "Night Light") where he will count each of the objects and then point to the corresponding number (1-10)..... it is so cute!  He still has the sweetest speech impediment that makes me smile and sometimes makes it hard for me to understand what he saying!  Today he was saying "Valentine's Day" and I thought for sure he was telling me something about his "balance bike"!  He gets really excited when we are finally speaking the same language! ;) Both boys give the best hugs and love with everything they have.  They are so tenderhearted that there are often tears when something or someone upsets them.  They are so resilient and handle our busy schedule so well.  They quickly get in the car as we head to our next destination!  They love the science center, the beach, the mountains, the park, riding bikes, and really anything that involves the outdoors!  I can't wait to see what fun activities we will get to enjoy together as you continue to get older and add to your individual interests.  You two boys are some of the best parts of my day.  The moments where we can just be together and not worry about any to-do list or expectation.  Thank you for loving me with your whole hearts and for allowing me to love on you as your mommy!  I love you so much!  Happy Valentine's Day to my favorite little boys!! :) 

Student of the Month

We had a lot of fun last weekend spending time with friends and family.  Zack and I got to entertain most of the kids with a game of Guess Who? and Candyland at Aunt Lindsey and Uncle Boomer's house!  We went over to Grammy and Grandpa's to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday so I got extra cuddles from my boys and my favorite niece!

Last Monday, I went to donate blood through the American Red Cross.  I took my oldest sidekick with me.  The weeks are so busy (especially now that Zander is taking swim lessons two nights a week) so we had to start working on homework while I was giving blood.... multitasking at its finest! ;)

Our big boy has been working really hard at school.  I am starting to see glimpses of some maturity as he heads toward the age of SIX!  He got recognized this past week for Bowtie Behavior, and he was in the newspaper as the Student of the Month to represent kindergarten at our school!  I just love his responses.....he wants to be a meteorologist when he grows up because he likes to look at the weather.  He loves the mountains and the beach but prefers it hot!  He also would give $100 to the school if he won the lottery and loves his Spiderman book he got for Christmas.  He has been working so hard to follow the rules at school and try to do what mommy asks him to do after school while I am still getting my job responsibilities completed.  I am so proud of him!

On Thursday night, Maddox and I went to my school's multicultural night while Zack and Zander headed to swim lessons.  Having to chase around a busy three year old was a challenge.  This is the only picture I could snap from the event!

This past weekend, we welcomed back the winter temperatures (all of last week was fairly mild).  Zack took the boys to the park on Saturday while I ran with my sister.  On Sunday I wanted to join in the fun so we gathered up all the boys and headed outdoors to hike and play.  The boys' rosy cheeks were evidence of a good time exploring nature! I love my four boys (the oldest one is not pictured) so much!