Disclaimer

I stole this format from Teresa's Blog!!!


Outside my window....Its cloudy and cold and I wish it was spring.
I am thinking… that Monkey Boy ( as we affectionately call the littlest male in the house) is growing fast. As evidenced by 3 things just yesterday. #1 size one diapers are getting tight, #2 He can now face out in the Baby Bjorn and he likes it much better, # 3 we already had to move the shoulder straps in his carseat up to the higher level.
I am thankful for … 1 awesome God, 1 amazing husband, and 2 healthy kids in that order.
I am reading … not much lately. But John brought me " A Walk with Jane Austin" by Lori Smith so I am going to start that tonight hopefully.
I am hoping … that I survive the winter without death by cabin fever and lack of sunshine.
On my mind … that we seriously need an Advent wreath. Placing 4 random candles on the table just doesn't have the same affect and qualifies as ghetto.
We’re learning … All things Cinderella, Heidi, and princess related.
Noticing that … I am longing for spring.
Pondering these words … "The days are long but the years are short"
From the kitchen … I need to find some good cookie recipes to try out for my upcoming 2 cookie swaps.
Around the house … As Always there is home improvement going on. Mike continues work on Israel's room even though in reality we hope to we able to sell this house in the next year or 2 and buy something with more space- LOTS more space!
One of my favorite things … my laptop... I'll admit it. I need a bit of the Internet to get me through the day as much as I need sugar.
A picture I am sharing …

Keira playing in the fort I made her last week. When our new sink and toilet for the bathroom upstairs arrived in the mail it brought with it 4 HUGE boxes that were perfect for fort making.

Just a few more..

I love all the expressions!

Smiles smiles and more smiles!

I love these pics!

Home improvement updates

Mikes has starting the framing in for the built in beds and dressers. My dad donated to two old dressers ( see third pic) to be the built in drawers so that saved us from searching Craigslist for them. We will paint them and change the knobs probably.

Our toilet and sink arrived via UPS. Here they are set up in the teeny tiny bathroom to be. Still waiting on the plumber to run the pipes to the second floor and then Mike can get to work putting the toilet and sink in. Mike's parents have some leftover flooring from their kitchen redo a few months ago so we are going to use that for the floor.

Keira wanted some too....

Wine?

Mike is not a fan of wine. I didn't want to drink by myself so he offered to drink some with me. After a few sips and lots of funny faces he gave up and went to something more his taste.....

yes that is Mike pouring egg nog into his wine glass!

More birthday love

After the Mall we came home and Mike made a great dinner of marinated steak tips, cous cous, asparagus, wine and veggies and dip- and pumpkin pie for dessert. It was fabulous! And his last surprise was a gift certificate for a store at the mall so I can get some new clothes!! Thanks babe!!!

Mocha highlights

Mike planned an awesome birthday surprise that he managed to keep secret for weeks. I was super impressed. Not only that he kept it a secret ( which I think has only happened 1 other time) but at the length he went to make it a fun and special day. He surprised me by booking a babysitter ( thanks a bunch Natalie and Anthony!!!! ) for Keira so he and I could go out to lunch ( we brought the milk man with us) then he was nice enough to walk around the mall for 2 hours with Israel in the Baby Bjorn so I could get my hair highlighted. I had been wanting to get my hair done for a long time and since Israel was born and I am feeling ultra frumpy I wanted to do it even more. But the logistics of booking an appointment when Mike could come to watch Israel and Keira kept me from planning it. Anyways I think the highlights came out great and its nice to feel a little glamorous again. Now if I could just lose another few pounds so that my wedding rings fit again... :o)

6 week weigh in

10lbs 5 oz!

Crazy kids

We are abundantly blessed!

Keira meets Israel

So, our good friend Cesar helped us edit something out of the video we took 2 hours after his birth. It is priceless. This is the first time Keira meets Israel who, at the time, was 2 hours old and didn't have a name.

Dear Israel,

Can I make one request? Pretty please? I have done so much for you. 39 weeks and 4 days of being sick, 48 lbs of you, placenta, water and body fat, stretch marks ( your sister was kind enough to spare me those) and many other things I won't go into. I let you nurse every 20 min just to keep you happy. Heck daddy and I have even swayed in our plan of never letting our babies sleep in our bed. It never fails by 4- 5 am you are sick of the crib and somehow you have made it habit to sleep snuggled up next to daddy for the reminder of the night. I even let you take naps on my chest.
After a couple of interesting weeks we have decided that you are a bit shall we say sensitive but we love you anyways. We have dubbed you "high maintenance baby" but you really aren't too bad. Just from 3pm-7pm you are truly high maintenance. Since I cut dairy out of my diet you seem to be less fussy overall and more content. I think you will mellow out a bunch as you get older too.
Anyways back to my request. Can you please learn to relax in your car seat? I honestly can't take the screaming for the entire trip. You cried so much today that your voice is hoarse. I always make sure to feed you before we go. I put your soft and snuggly blanket in with you. I warm up the car for you. Nothing calms you down in the car. We have to go places and you have to be buckled up. So please, pretty please learn to chill in the car. This week we are going to be going to Grandpa's house for Thanksgiving and if I have to listen to you cry the whole way there and back I might need to go on medication.
Love,
Mom

Israel's new hang out spot

Big big thanks for Julie for letting me borrow her Moby wrap. Israel is a big big fan of it. He will sleep in it, nurse in it and hang out in it as much as I will let him.

Israel's room and 1/2 bath progress

See where I am standing? That is going to be our new teeny tiny half bath on the second floor. Its gonna be 3 feet X 6 feet. Yup tiny. Its going to have an entrance from the hallway though so even though it looks like its going to be a bathroom in Israel's room its not. We have a plumber going (hopefully soon) to run the pipes from the basement to the second floor.

Mike with lots of help from Anthony has made significant progress on Israel's room. Its totally demo'ed and Mike has started framing it. All new electrical and insulation too. Its going to be similar to Keira's room with another built in bed under the eves and 2 or 3 built in dressers.