Looking back at a great year.

The holidays have come and gone. Usually I feel very sad when Christmas is gone, but not this year. I think this year was so rewarding and fulfilling that there was nothing to be sad about. Either that or I just have no time to feel sad. I have 2 little people that keep me very busy and I love every minute of it. I'm not going to make any losing weight/getting fit/quitting soda resolutions, but I am going to have a goal. I want to start writing letters to each child. I'm horrible at the baby books and not a crafty mom whatsoever. This will be something special that they can have later in life.

Now on to looking back at a great year..

January:
On New Year's Eve, we were in Maryland. We found a new home for our dog, Charlie. It was a very sad day for us, but symbolic all the same. We were starting a brand new year and Charlie was going to a family where he would be happy.

February:
Instead of doing anything for Valentine's Day, we decided to see "Gummy" in 4d ultrasound. Vickie & David came down and of course my mom went. It was an amazing experience.

March:
We took Caden on a Caden's weekend. It was Rob's last 4 day before "Gummy" was born. We went to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia then spent the night at the hotel in Myrtle Beach that has the indoor water park. We just wanted to do something special for him. We also found out that I would be getting induced at the beginning of April.

Rob was in a wedding in the middle of March. That was fun!

The rest of March, we got ready to have a new baby!

April:
On April 1st, it was our last night as a family of 3. A very emotional night for me after Caden went to sleep as can be expected. I find it amazing how small he was when I left to go to the hospital and how big he seemed when he came to visit his new baby.

April 2, we went in at 5am to be induced. Induction began at 9:30am & at 5:18pm, we were the insanely proud parents of Miss Adalyn Soleil. She was so beautiful!

April 4, Easter. I was discharged from the hospital, but Adalyn had to stay. We came home for an Easter egg hunt with Caden and went back to feed Adalyn every 3 hours.

April 5, our baby girl came home from the hospital! Caden was so excited!

April 14, Rob went up to VA.

May:
May was a very hectic month. Having a toddler & newborn at home is very overwhelming even when there are 2 parents. I'm ever grateful for my mom! Rob was still up in VA until the end of the month.

June:
Rob was still home and will be going on leave. We're just trying to get into a routine and planning our first road trip with 2 kiddos. We went to WV to visit with Mamaw Pat & Mamaw O. Then drove over to MD in..

July:
We spent the 4th in MD then came back home for our big boy's THIRD birthday party! We had his birthday party at Splash Island in Mt. Pleasant. It was so much fun!

Rob left for VA again. Booo!

August:
Life was a lot easier this time. We did some sleep training with Adalyn back in July so she was sleeping and more on a routine.

Caden started preschool on August 20th! I cried! He cried! After the first week, it was a lot better.

We were planning a trip up to VA at the end of August to visit with Rob. My mom was going to ride with the kids and me.

September:
We started this month off with my birthday and driving back to SC.

2 weeks later and Rob was home FOR GOOD!

October:
Caden went on a field trip to the pumpkin patch. Rob went with him, but took lots of cute pictures.

This was Adalyn's first Halloween. She was a ballerina. Caden aka Diego thoroughly enjoyed trick-or-treating.

November:
Hard to believe the year will be over soon & Adalyn's very first Thanksgiving & Christmas are right around the corner.

I surprised Rob with Dave Matthews Band tickets for his birthday. We had so much fun!

We took a very short trip to WV to spend Thanksgiving. It was such a great holiday!

December:
Laurie came to visit! Before we knew it, Christmas Eve was here.

Vickie, Laurie, the kids and I went to my mom's house so that Rob & David could put together Caden's big bed! Our big present to him was a twin size bed. His face was priceless when we came home and he saw it.. "A new bed. For me?!" I love that kid!

Christmas morning was the best ever!

Our company left so we took down decorations then headed up to MD where we spent our last days of 2010.

The main event of this year was our family becoming complete. We're so blessed to be the parents of two amazing children. There were obviously a lot of other events that I left out, but I'm getting tired and those are the ones that just stood out.

2011, let's make it a fantastic year!

Say "ahhhh!"

Caden had his dental appointment today. Today was better than the last time. Maybe his dentist appointments will be like his haircuts. Eventually there will be NO tears! He really did do much better. The dental assistant commented that he or someone likes to brush his teeth because they were so nice. I'm amazed by how many parents don't brush their children's teeth. Ick! I used a bit of bribery. I told him if he was good we would go to Chuck E. Cheese. It was a great Chuck E. Cheese day. Super cold & windy outside and not busy inside. We played games for a couple hours.

Miss Adalyn now has her 3rd tooth and I can see tooth #4 through the gums. Last night was rough for her, but it is understandable. Also, she's sleeping with a blanket for the first time. It's her pink blanket that she was using when she came home from the hospital.

Aunt Laurie is here for a visit until Friday then she'll be driving to MD to visit, then back here in a few days. Caden is thrilled to have her here (as are we). Adalyn went to her when she Laurie first arrived. That surprised me because Adalyn is usually unsure about going to people that she doesn't know very well.

Tomorrow is Caden's first day at the brand new preschool. Apparently, this has been 15 years coming. I'm very excited to see what it looks like inside! We were told that everything is new, even the kids' toys. Very cool! He has a field trip to see Christmas trees on Wednesday. Adalyn has OT on Wednesday at the same time as his field trip. I'm not sure if I will be going on his field trip or Rob. I'm leaning towards going since Rob went on his first trip to the pumpkin patch. Ahh, what's a mama to do? :)

'tis the season..

..for crank tanks!

This is my most favorite time of the year! It's so darn hard to stay stress-free and happy when you're out in public. Everyone and their mama is out shopping and just CRANKY! Crankiness can be quite contagious so I mentally remind myself to just smile. I probably look like a lunatic walking around smiling, but at least I'm a happy looney, right?

I do 95% of my shopping online. I don't like crowds especially with 2 kiddos under 3 1/2. My keyboard's germs are my own, too. Caden brings home enough germs. We need no more! Anyway, back to all my online Christmas shopping. Buying online means that I get a lot of packages, obviously. My mail lady has been worked by me a lot this year. I'm going to get her a small "I appreciate you" gift this year. Yes, it's her job and she gets paid for it, but it's nice to know that you are appreciated. I'm a mom and it's my job to wipe butts and green boogers, but a big hug & kiss surely goes a long way.

Speaking of packages, UPS just stopped by.. later for now!

Time sure flies when you're having fun.

My baby girl is 8 months old & my big boy will be 3 1/2 in January. Life is so fun! I think this Christmas is going to be a blast. Caden loves the Christmas tree especially that it's a standing triangle. All of our Christmas ornaments except a few random fillers are all sentimental. They're very special to me & some of my favorite possessions. Caden asked about the ornaments as I was decorating. I've never enjoyed decorating the tree more! He seems to share my love of Christmas.

We're planning to take the kids to Riverbanks Zoo Christmas lights once Aunt Laurie gets in town. Caden loves lights, the zoo & his Aunt Laurie so it'll be a good time for him. Adalyn will probably stare at the lights with her mouth open and drooling.

Rob and I had our first parent/teacher meeting. I'm one proud mama! Caden's teachers said that he is doing great, he's smart, speaks very well and quiet. Quiet? Caden? That was a shocker! He's definitely a smart little cookie, but a loud smart little cookie. I always joke that he has two volumes. Loud & asleep. haha. He missed a bit of preschool last week because he had pink eye. Boooo! He went to the doctor and weighed 30.9 lbs (fully clothed). Woohoo for breaking the 30 pound mark.

Adalyn is currently one month ahead of her OT goals. Again, I'm one proud mama! She's rocking & back forth. Carisa would like to see her start crawling within the next month and I feel confident that she will be. I let her try some pancakes without syrup last night and she really enjoyed them. I'm looking forward to introducing her to new foods.

That's all for now. Nap time will be ending soon!

<3

Bigger than a lime

The last time that I posted a blog I was pregnant with a baby the size of a lime. She's a bit bigger than a bag of limes now! Adalyn (it was a GIRL!) is now 7 months old. She's now weighing in at 18 lbs. 13oz. & 28". We're quite certain she was switched at birth. Nah. She's her big brother's baby twin at this age.

Speaking of her big brother, what a great big brother he is! He loves her. My heart has never melted more than when I see the two of them playing and interacting together. Ahhh! Caden started preschool on August 20th. The first week was very rough. That's hard to believe now. We walk into the door and he's all "Mom? Mom, who?" Preschool has helped him tremendously! He is more social and even eats better. Adalyn and I are able to spend some one on one, which is very nice.

Our little family is complete and just loving life!

Lime

The baby is a size of just that, a lime, and 2" long from crown to rump. The legs aren't measured until further along. I find pregnancy so amazing! At only two inches long our baby's intestines are developed and has reflexes. Also, at this point, the baby looks undeniably human. Just amazing!

Our big baby is 100% sponge! Rob and I were talking about an acorn tree while he was playing. We didn't realize he was paying any attention to us when he picked up an acorn and started calling it a corn (like the video). He amazes me. I can't believe how much he learns everyday. I love being able to tell him to repeat something and he does without having to work for days on end. All the colors are still blue if you ask him, but he'll point to different colors if you ask where red/orange, etc is. I'm assuming he isn't colorblind, just loves blue. Ha! His new phase is "No, go away." It doesn't bother me because our space is respected, why shouldn't his be, too? If he doesn't want to cuddle, then that should be respected. His favorite things on earth are still cars.

There isn't much to update about the Ma and Da. We're just enjoying life!

An emotional weekend

This past weekend was the last weekend with Lindsay for a while. She stayed at our house for the past couple weeks. It was very nice to have her here, but I feel like it has made it harder to have her gone. When she worked, she was really busy and we only saw her a couple times a week. I liked having her around! I know that she is going to have so much fun and she'll be happy with Matt. It doesn't make missing her any easier though. I can't just pick up the phone to call her or text her like we usually do daily. I wanted to tell her something today and realized that I couldn't. Today is much easier than Sunday, so I know that I'll keep getting more used to it.

Mom and I went to visit with my cousin, Jeremy. I was nervous about going since I've never stepped foot in a jail before that day. I never imagined I'd visit someone that I loved. The visit was so much better than I expected. Jeremy looked great! He seemed positive and as content as possible. The hardest part was when the staff member came to get him. He stood up and walked away immediately. It was through glass so no contact visit. Jeremy mentioned that if he would have gotten away with the drugs then he would have probably taken a lot of the pills. I feel in my heart that if he would have gotten away then we might be visiting him somewhere else. Everything happens for a reason.

Caden met my Uncle Bill for the first time this weekend. It's been years since I've seen him. It was so nice to visit with him. Caden won another person over right away. I feel so very blessed right now. I have my first prenatal appointment on the 19th at 9am. When we were in NC, Mamaw Carol (Lindsay's dad's mom who welcomed me into her life as she did Lindsay) let Caden pick out a few Beanie Babies to take home with us. Caden chose a couple dogs, a bird, a monkey and then brought me a pink bunny! It made me smile because I'm due on Easter and I call the baby a bunny. Maybe the color is a sign...

Hope you're all doing well!