A big update post...

Before I get into telling you all how our holiday went I owe you some pictures from the last couple of posts.

This is on our way up to Iowa. Sorry about the bright sun in the background. I would love to have time to edit my photos or even take good ones for that matter.

Wyatt trying to be cool :)!

He looks so grown up and handsome here.

They were really excited to be in a, uh hum, hotel (that's all I have to say about that) they could hardly sleep.

Here is Wyatt and Lewis at dinner. Again, sorry for not including Big Lew, Lyndsey, and little Landyn in these photos. I can't believe I didn't get any of them!

These are some pictures of around Nae Nae's house a couple of weeks ago.

Waylon being so cool. Nevermind how completely filthy he is!

Wyatt is pretty cool himself.

I mentioned that Waylon has his 2 front teeth just in time for Christmas so I had to prove it.

Again, never mind his snotty nose and food all over his face! We were in the bath tub, promise!

Here is a great little pic his brother took of him...

Awh!

Onto the Thanksgiving updates....

We got up, got the boys dressed to their best and got into the car. Made a quick stop for Cappuccino and on our way we were to KS. It was just how it was suppose to be. The highway was quiet, the kids were in GOOD moods, and the sun was shining brightly.

So cute!

Handsome boys!

We made it to KS and immediately Wyatt took off to play with his cousins, Zach and Betsy. This year Wyatt was big and tough enough to play with Zach. They wrestled like crazy and had the best time with each other. They are just like their daddies were from what I hear. Mark (Zach’s dad) was older than Dale and was the initiator of many things especially being mean and rough, but they loved to be around each other. I can see the same relationship forming between Wyatt and Zach.

Wrestling

Some more....

And yet more!

Betsy loves Wyatt and Waylon. She is tiny and has a broken arm, but she carried 22.5lb Waylon around quite a bit. She is so sweet. I’m so glad she is around amongst all of these boys! We were all playing the WII and she kept running her fingers through my hair. I forget what it’s like to have little girls around and the things they like, do, and say!

The great grandkids

Slipped in a little family pic.

Grandma Maxine, Aunt Kerri (Dale's sister), Linda (Dale's mom), Steph (Dale's cousin) and miss Betsy (Dale's 2nd cousin)

Waylon messing with things he shouldn't be.

Great Grandma Maxine and the great grandkids. Connor was sick this year so he couldn't attend.

Getting ready to go.

And they're out!

It was a great visit. We didn’t have to rush off and we got our bellies FULL!!! Everything was so good as it always is.

We headed home to put up the Christmas tree and pack up for a slumber party at my parent's house. You have to forgive me because as the weekend went on I took less and less pictures. We slept in comfy new beds with comfy new blankets! The boys slept great. We got up the next morning and started on our 2nd round of the holiday. It was chaotic at times, but good, good memories and good, good laughs! Might just be a new tradition.

Silly Waylon!

Nae Nae and PaPa got all the boys new jammies for their house. Pretty cute and comfy!

I didn't get new jammies : (! But, I am pretty partial to these as Dale could attest to, but only because they are so comfortable. Someone caught us searching for the goods!

We had some time to hang out on the deck and play due to the gorgeous (new word for Wyatt) weather that day while the turkey baked.

PaPa got a little wild with the tricycle - Waylon wanted a turn.

Waylon's 1st and 2nd and 3rd and 4th and 5th powdered donut. What the heck, it is a holiday! He was falling to the ground at one point and all he cared about was not losing any out of his mouth. He shoved his fist right in as he was going down. Funny little man!

Nae Nae drawing for the boys so they can erase it as fast as can be.

We headed home Friday night to meet a friend from college and her son Ty, who were headed home to TX. We get to see each other about once a year, but it is as if we talk all the time, we pick up right where we left off. This year was especially memorable, not because Ty has this crazy personality that he finally showed while he was here or that she is pregnant with a sweet little girl, or that she brought puppy chow again this year for me to feast on. Those all made the visit special, but our power went out and was out all night long. We lit a bunch of candles, Dale went to get some pizza, we talked, laughed, got caught up, and wrangled kids. We got the kids to bed, well, 2 of the kids. Wyatt fell asleep in the living room while Dale, Sarah and I talked until the power came back on just in time for us big people to hit the sack. It was a great time. Hopefully they will be up again once that baby girl gets here.

All the decorations are up, the boys were in Christmas jammies so I thought I would practice for some Christmas card pics. HA, HA, HA!!! Wyatt got his shirt that goes with his jammies drenched while he was "brushing his teeth" so I threw this one on and went with it anyway. It was just practice!

Best face.........Worst face!

This is what Waylon is constantly doing now that the tree is up!

We got up Saturday when our alarm went off; I mean when Ty got up and in the bath tub, love that little guy! We took a few quick early morning jammie pics and they were off for a 10 hour drive home. Dale fixed some pancakes and then took Wyatt to set up the Christmas decorations outside while Waylon took an early morning nap and I got ready to go meet some of my really good friends for lunch.

We try to get together as much as possible for many reasons:
1. To keep our sanity
2. Share stories about our kiddos
3. Share stories about our husbands, jobs, parents, etc.
4. Exchange tips on becoming debt free and what it’s like living debt free, thanks Amanda!
5. Catch up on all the gossip (we are from Lawson)
6. Talk about all things baby. Can’t wait to meet you, Lincoln!
7. And to laugh so hard that we cry or can’t breathe!

I love these girls like sisters, HA! Really, I do love them. They are the ones I lean on, the ones that I share the most with, the ones that I can make fun of myself in front of, the ones that understand and if they don’t understand, they will tell me. We are very blessed to have each other and I hope nothing ever takes our relationships away. They are a great support system!

**Not actual pictures from our lunch! Missed you Ang!

So, to sum it all up, I had a terrific holiday! It lived up to all the feelings of excitement and build up the few weeks before the day actually arrived! I love the holidays!

Hmmm, what else …. Oh, WAYLON IS WALKING! I haven’t been too crazy on pushing him to learn this skill very early. Mainly because he is growing up way too fast and I feel like his infancy was a flash. Since he is a year old now we have been working on this little by little for a couple of weeks and he hasn’t had a lot of tolerance for it. I was getting 4 to 5 steps out of him and then he was done. Then on Thanksgiving he decided that he was ready to get serious about this walking thing. I caught him out of the corner of my eye letting go of the table and walking to the couch and he expanded his limits each time.

He is now going crazy. He walked all the way across the living room last night and was so proud of himself. He got so excited near the end he was almost running. He learned how to stand from sitting on the ground also. So, it is a big game to him to stand up and try to take a step, but fall right away. He will do that all the way until he gets to his brother and pounces on him laughing all the way. Gosh he is getting so big. He is even losing his baby looks and getting a neck. Seeing these kids discover the things they are capable of and being proud of themselves is one of the best things to watch! It gets chaotic and hard from time to time, but it is little moments like this that make being a parent one of the best jobs in the world.

Speaking of laughing all the way, our Santa visit is just around the corner. My work is having Santa visit so the boys will be going there to see the big guy instead of the mall. I will share pictures once I have them.

I hope everyone had just as great of a holiday as I did!

WHEW!

Parenting Struggles

Something has been weighing heavy on my mind lately. A friend came to me recently to share how she was feeling about her teenage son’s relationship with his girlfriend. Identity of the individuals is under wraps because I didn’t ask to share the story. She thinks that her son is now sleeping with his girlfriend. They are both seniors in high school. He also might be buying her a promise ring for Christmas. Her story hits home with me because if I fast forward a few years, I might be standing in the exact same position. What a different perspective you have from a parent’s point of view.

It is easy for me to sit there and say, you have to talk with him in a respectful manner. Don’t yell at him, don’t lecture him, you are lucky you are just now running into the sex issue with your son. For a lot of teenagers it comes sooner than their senior year. But, deep down inside I know that I will probably be feeling the exact same way the day I have a feeling Wyatt or Waylon might be getting a little too serious about a girl. Disappointed, sad, broken hearted are just a couple of things I might be feeling like my friend.

I look back to when I was that age and as much as I wish I would have waited for me and Dale to get married now, that wasn’t reality. We thought we had it all together, knew everything, knew exactly what we were doing, thought no one outside of my immediate friends especially my parents were none the wiser. As a parent I can see now that I was so wrong, way too young, and way too irresponsible. What if something would have happened, what if I got pregnant? I could have kissed my softball playing, cross country and track running to pay for school self goodbye. And where would I be today? God only knows.

That is what my friend is dealing with. She did get pregnant and life was hard for them. She is wishing her son doesn’t have to feel the pain she felt. I can only imagine I will feel the same way. He is on the verge of picking a school and having an athletic scholarship. She wants to avoid heartbreak and broken dreams for him. As every parent I know does. If only we could make life smooth sailing and successful for our babies with little to no pain. But where would they be, how would they end up? We have to let them hurt and have their own life experiences as much as we don’t want to go through that because honestly it probably hurts us way more than they think it is hurting them.

So, what do you do? You try your hardest to have a good relationship with your kids, give them the right tools, do what you can to instill integrity, responsibility, and a love for Christ that runs deep into their soul and pray like you-know-what that that’s what does the trick. I can honestly say I am proud of who I am and I wouldn’t be this way without some of the hardships I faced. Do I wish I would have done a couple of things differently? Absolutely, but they made me stronger and who I am today and that is all I can ask for in my boys. I pray as we hit the teenage years that our relationship is strong, that they are good kids, and that we are close and we have a great support system around us for when we do stumble. And I pray the same for my friends out there that will have similar struggles. No one said this parenting thing was easy, but no one can really help you understand just how difficult it can be. Not because you fight or things don’t always go right, but by how much your heart can ache just by wanting them to be happy, SAFE, and see them fulfill their dreams and by not being able to protect and squash ANYTHING that might stand in their way. Best wishes to those mommy’s and daddy’s out there.

And Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Almost Turkey Time!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. As I have mentioned, I love the holidays. I am so looking forward to spending time with my family. We have decided that we will do Dale's side on Thursday and my parents will do theirs on Friday. That is such a relief. No rushing around from place to place and I will get to eat as much as I can/want at either place, not having to worry about being too full for the next dinner. WOO HOO! Unfortunately, me and shorty (Waylon) aren't feeling too well. I am thinking it is allergy stuff again because nothing is indicating infection. (I'm saving you from horrible detail - you know what infection looks like) I feel so tired though and so annoyed by this runny nose, so I'm sure Waylon is feeling the same way only he has teething to throw in the mix.

He has 2 top teeth now and it looks like he is going to follow the Sharp's side with a gap between the front two top ones. He has a 3rd top one really close and still working on that nasty looking 4th bottom one. They are sore to the touch, so add runny nose, a cough, and being tired on top of that, he is really not that happy of a camper right now. He is still sleeping like a trooper though!

His new thing he loves to do is throw things in the trash. That is irritating to me! "Has anyone seen the binki".... "check the trash", "has anyone seen that piece to this toy?" .... "check the trash", "has anyone seen my cell phone, nose sucker, keys?" ... "check the trash!" Actually it hasn't been that bad mainly because he can't get everything in there with having to open the lid, hold it up and get his items in there takes a lot of work and concentration. That and he is starting to respond a lot better to no. THANK GOODNESS!

So, sorry about the diversion, I am hoping that this cold/allergy thing passes fairly quickly and we can all enjoy our time together! Plus I get an extra bonus on Saturday, lunch with my high school friends! Love them! We are due for some much needed girl catch up time! Pictures to come soon!

Home sweet home

We made our trip to Iowa to celebrate a friend of ours little boy's 3rd birthday. Wyatt couldn't stop asking all day on Saturday if we were ready to go. Finally we got the car packed and we were off. We had some minor difficulty that goes along with every get away it seems, but nothing that would ruin our time. We made it up to eat some dinner and have a little time with the kids. Wyatt and Lew Lew (little Lewis) played exceptionally well together, which is a 1st. When we made a trip to Canton, OK last summer, that was not the case. As they are growing up, they seem to like each other a bit better. Or maybe they both take after their daddies and think they have to bicker about everything. Dale and big Lew always find something to bicker about when we get together and the same holds true for their boys. Wyatt was so good Saturday night and most of the time Sunday until we ran out of quarters for the games at the birthday party. That pretty much ruined his mood.

Waylon wasn't in the best of moods himself. He is usually such a laid back kind of guy, but he was a little more high maintenance this weekend. His hives cleared up, but the dr wanted to see him anyway, so we went Friday afternoon. I am pretty sure that is where Waylon picked up a little cold, at least I am hoping that is the extent of it. He started coughing pretty good on our way home yesterday. That is so frustrating that he was perfectly healthy, but the dr wanted to risk bringing him into an infected dr's office anyway. I think I will push back a little the next time if there is a similar situation. Sometimes a consult over the phone will do the trick, not a $20 co-pay and exposure to whatever is in that office!

Anyway - pictures soon to follow. I forgot my camera today and I just realized that I don't think I got any pictures of little Landyn! How could I!

Waylon's got hives

So, you know a couple of posts ago I mentioned that we were headed to Iowa to visit some friends and I said, "Be thinking about us and praying that no one turns up sick"? Well, I guess someone is praying, but we had a close call. I got Waylon out of bed Thursday morning for Lisa's (the babysitter) and he had huge, HUGE whelps on his legs. One on his thigh, I swear, was the size of a softball. Yes, he's got BIG thighs! There was also whelps on his calves on both legs, on his arms, and a small one on his left (face) cheek. This completely freaked me out. They looked awful. He wasn't running a fever, he didn't eat anything out of the ordinary. The only thing I could think of was fabric softener. This kid has NEVER had any type of skin issues or showed any kind of an allergy to anything unlike his big bro. But, the only thing that was different lately was the fabric softener. I washed some blankets and threw some of his jammies in there because they were left over and I needed to get them washed. I guess that is what did it. So weird! These hives jumped throughout the day all over his body. Once they cleared, thanks to some Benedryl, they came back on his knees and elbows. Those cleared on their own, but then he got a spot on his left cheek (face) again, which cleared and then he had a spot on his right (face) cheek when he got home. I gave him another dose of Benedryl before bath time and they were on both of his butt cheeks when I took his diaper off for bath time. His clothes obviously don't touch his cute little booty when his diaper is on, so that one threw me off. I hope that is all it is from! I tell ya, these kids really keep you on your toes.

I had a huge day of meetings at work, which I was late to because of this whole episode, I couldn't get a hold of the doctor and I was worried about him all day! I was struggling with the fact that I couldn't be there with him to make him feel better and to figure this thing out. I had to be at work for meeting after meeting and didn't have 2 seconds to check my phone for any updates from Lisa. (or get any water, or pee, but that's another story) I will post about this some other time, but sometimes I really struggle with being a working mom especially on days like this. It is like ripping my heart out when I have to choose work or my own child. I know it isn't that severe of a case, I mean, he didn't have some high temperature or vomiting or anything like that, but still! Don't get me wrong, I am COMPLETELY thankful that I have a great job when so many others don't and COMPLETELY thankful for the arrangements in my life right now. More on this topic later.

Gooble, Gobble

I LOVE the holidays and I LOVE even more the anticipation of the holidays! I love the traditions, I love watching the movie Planes, Trains, and Automobiles and I love being with our families and cramming as much family time into 1 day as I can.

On Thanksgiving we get up early and drive to Gardner, KS for Dale's side of the family. Some might think this doesn't sound so thrilling, but I like it. The highway is usually bare and the sun is almost always shining brightly. We get up and get the boys all dressed up and looking their best and into the car. It is an hour with the family where everyone is in a really good mood when they aren't sleeping. This one hour is something I would like to bottle up and keep with me forever! Dale always drives so I have nothing to do but relax and enjoy the ride.

A few years ago as we were driving I noticed that pretty much every other vehicle on the road was a semi. I got to thinking about those people and their families. As much as I love the holidays because it means great times and memories with my family, I can't help but think about these people that have to work through the holidays and can't be with their family. I don't know their situation, I don't know if they had their holiday dinner the previous night or are headed there after the load, but they are on the road when millions of people are with their families. I started silently praying for them as we would see them. I think that is part of the reason why I like the drive. I spend so much time driving and not caring a lick about the people around me, it feels good that I can actually get out of my own head and my own world and do something for someone else even if they don't realize it. It also makes me enjoy and appreciate every second of the next 12 CRAZY hours!

SO looking forward to the holidays!!!

Haircuts and other stuff

Wyatt got his hair cut on Sunday. My camera was out in the car so I didn't get any good before pictures of how long his hair was. Waylon got his cut last night. He is just a year old, but has had about 4 or 5 hair cuts already, 2 professionally. This kid can grow some hair! Here is his before picture, which wasn't meant to be a before picture, but was really the deciding factor that I needed to get his hair cut. He has looked like Rod Stewart all week and I couldn't stand the poof anymore! Thanks, Wyatt for taking the picture so I could see how poofy it really was!

And here he is after. It is amazing how much bigger a hair cut can make him look! he looks like such a big boy! He did a great job sitting still while daddy buzzed it.

This picture started out really cute and sweet, but by the time it actually took they ended up like this. You know how Waylon is a huge fan of cuddliness!!! Pretty sure he would say "GET OFF OF ME" if he could say those words!

Playing in a no no spot. It really doesn't help that I take their picture in the middle of doing something they shouldn't be, I know!

But they are just so dang cute! Wyatt would use Waylon's hammer on the table and Waylon would use his hand and do everything Wyatt just did. It was pretty sweet. And yes, those jammies are too small for Wyatt but he insists on wearing his dinosaur jammies like Waylon's.

Can't forget this guy! He has been doing pretty good lately.

Here are some pictures from the other night. He was being silly!

He is starting to use this little cubby hole more and more.

Dale has cleared a spot in the woods where him and Wyatt go and burn boxes and leaves and stuff. Wyatt loves to go "burn wood". He thinks he is a big help. Usually he is! A couple of weekends ago when it was extremely nice out, we all went down together.

He is so stinkin handsome!

Me and my sweet, sweet boys!

There he is with his hat on backwards helping daddy out.

Throwing a stick on the fire.

So proud of himself!

I am pretty sure this was the same day or the night before when we went out to get something to eat. This is what Waylon insists on doing now in his car seat. If he can pull the shoes and socks off, he will! He will be getting a new car seat soon, hopefully this weekend.

There is my big guy again! I was thinking the other day that he is already 31/2. Time is going by WAY too quickly!

Geez, I thought I was done, but have to add these as well. Waylon got a Handy Manny ball pit for his birthday which came with a blow up tool belt and 3 blow up tools. They are too cute.

Here is our little carpenter:

Love that chubby little guy!

He has got the cutest little butt!