Christmas: Part II

The last two Christmas' we spent in California so this year we decided to have a white Christmas in Wisconsin.  It was also Maddox's first Christmas.  Makes me a little sad that we didn't spend our last Christmas in California but it's so nice to spend it with family.  Carson had been anticipating this trip since we booked it a few months ago and lo' and behold he was vomiting the day before we left.  Luckily he was better to fly the next day.  So off to Wisconsin we went...

     

We were gone for a little over 2 weeks.  I don't think I can do that much time away from home until the kids are a little older.  By the end of the trip everyone had fevers, was puking and/or wasn't sleeping.  I slept in 7 different beds and 5 different places while we were there, makes me tired just thinking about it.  

The first few days we stayed at my Dads.  While we were there Maddox took his first steps, Carson made his first gingerbread house and it snowed!  Carson could hardly wait for the snow and once it started falling he looked out the window and said "it looks like Christmas."  He also said "I want to throw snow in Uncle Jay's face." 

He played in the snow for an hour and was out to work shoveling the drive way, which he loved.   

Maddox on the other hand...well you can see how much he liked getting bundled up for the snow.

We also took Carson to see Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer.  It was adorable and just like the movie.  It would be fun to see it every year before Christmas.  My Grandma watched Maddox while we went to lunch and the play.  Maddox actually took his first steps at her house so Jared and I completely missed it!  

Four generations!  

Next we headed to my Moms house.  Carson had his first trip to the dentist and saw a Marquette basketball game.  I think he was a little scared at first to have his teeth cleaned.  He kept saying "My teeth are already clean."  But when his turn came he got into the hygienist's chair and did a great job.   

We also did a girls trip to Chicago and my friend Angie and her daughters drove from Indiana to meet us.  We did a little shopping on Michigan Ave, ate some amazing Chicago style pizza and went to the top of the John Hancock building.  The view was amazing.  I had a great time and it was so nice to get away, just the girls.  Although next time I said "no kids."  Sorry boys!  

  

Christmas: Part I

I am finally tackling a Christmas post.  I have put it off for a while but I need to get it done before March.  I will probably break it up into a couple of posts so I can try to cover most of it.

So here is Part I...

Our elf, Clyde, arrived at our house a few days after Thanksgiving.  He comes each year and keeps an eye on the boys for Santa.  He reports to Santa each night to tell him if the children have been naughty or nice.  It is a clever idea and the women who invented it are filthy rich.  If it helps my kids behave for a month then hey...it can't hurt.  

The problem was that Carson could have cared less if the elf saw him push his brother or not listen to his parents.  I would remind him that the elf was watching and would tell Santa if he wasn't being nice and to behave if he wanted presents.  To which he would reply "I don't care. "  So it didn't exactly work but we still had fun with it.  

The morning he arrived he made cinnamon rolls.  Most of the time he sat on a shelf or hung from the chandelier.  But he got into a little trouble too.  He ate Carson's Halloween candy and tried fishing for burger face.     

While we were in Wisconsin, at my Moms house we watched The Grinch and Carson really liked the movie.  His sassy-ness was a little out of control while we were in Wisconsin (it usually is, since he gets used to being the center of everyone's attention).  So when he was acting up we would do what every parent does during Christmas and remind him that Santa is coming in just a few days and to behave if he wanted any presents under the tree this year.  So after watching the Grinch his response to us was "I hate Christmas.  I don't want any presents."
It was really hard not to laugh because he was dead serious and would say it with his angry face.
Wonder what his face would have looked like Christmas morning if there really weren't any gifts for him?      

Carson got a kick out of the shindigs that the elf pulled but hopefully next year he'll get more into  the behavior part of it.

******

It was nearly impossible to get a picture of the boys for our Christmas card.  I would have liked a family picture but we really had no one to take it and I really don't want to remember myself with my hair how it is.  So the less pictures of me the better.

I tried 3-4 different times to take some pictures of them most of the pictures Maddox was crying or not looking.  My blood pressure was probably through the roof just trying to get one...just one picture of the boys together smiling.  Seems easy but its not.

I thought some thing in front of the tree would be nice but all they kept doing was waving this damn stick around.   

So I took them outside...and we got this...

cute pictures, but nobody is looking at the camera. 

All Maddox wanted to do was stand at my legs.  

So to the park we went and I strapped Maddox in the swing so that he could not move and we finally got a picture...not the picture I was hoping for (Maddox's face is blurry...ugh) but it captures both of them perfectly.

  

Happy First Birthday Maddox!

 A year ago today Jared and I left for the hospital to meet our second son.  My Mom snapped this picture (somehow I smiled during contractions) and just two hours after this picture was taken we held our baby.

And today our little baby turns one!

His first year seems to have flown by.  I feel incredibly lucky to be his Mommy.  He is a perfect combination of feisty and sweet.  He is strong willed and puts up a fight until he gets his way but yet he can be very sensitive and snugly.  He has been obsessed with Carson since he was born and has done a great job keeping up with him too.  He likes dogs and makes a cute little "motor" sound when he pushes cars around.  He could eat a whole container of raspberries in one sitting.  He also crawled like a baby ape-the most adorably funny thing I've seen.  He is a Mamas boy and would love me to carry him around all day.  He will also be our wrestler and that is what him and Dad do best.  I love him so much and I can't believe that his first year is already over. 

Today we went to the park and had lunch with friends at Chipotle.  My kids love Chipotle and scarfed their quesadilla, rice and beans down (cupcakes too, of course).  Jared picked up Zpizza on his way home (another favorite).  I made Maddox his own little "smash" cake.  He was very funny and didn't know what to do with it at first.  He kept saying "na"  and grunting because I'm pretty sure he thought we were going to tell him "no."  Once he had the courage to taste what we had laid in front of him he dug right in.

 
Happy Birthday sweet baby!  We love you to the moon and back.

On Wisconsin!

Jared was able to skip out of work a few hours early to come home to watch his Badgers play in their 3rd consecutive Rose Bowl.  So far it's not looking too good.  I was hoping they could pull off a win this year. 

 

But we are all dressed for the occasion, queso and chips are on the coffee table and chili will be on the stove momentarily. 

 



 

Tackle!

 

Wishing you a happy and healthy 2013!

 



  

screaming for santa

I seriously love the pictures you see of a small child on Santa's lap screaming their head off because they are scared shitless.

Is that wrong?

We went to the mall and saw Santa this week.  Carson was so excited.  He was not shy and walked right up to Santa and told him he wanted a fire station for Christmas (I was surprised he didn't ask for the police car from Costco that he has been talking about for the last month). 

  He also got a candy cane and after he had eaten half he asked me to throw it away because "it's too spicy for me." ha ha!  He obviously doesn't like peppermint. 

Maddox clearly hated Santa.  He had tears (a lot of them actually) rolling down his face.  He was only on Santa's lap for about .2 seconds.  He will be my sensitive one.  I call him sensitive Sam sometimes. 

Carson screaming on Santa's lap two years ago.

Seriously, so cute!

   

Thankful

I am jumping on the band wagon and doing a thankful list.  I have seen it all over facebook and my sister-in-law, Caroline did one yesterday.  Not that I wasn't a thankful person before but being diagnosed with something that could have killed me was the scariest moment of my life.  It puts everything into perspective and really has made me a much more grateful person.     

So in no particular order...here is my thankful list:

1. My health

2. Jared

3. Carson and Maddox

4. Chemotherapy (even though it sucks, it saved my life)

5. My Family

6. My Friends

7. The beach (seriously how will I ever move out of SoCal?)

8. My iPad

9. Chocolate

10. Birth control (this was one of Jared's but I am thankful for it too-I can't imagine a third most days)

11. That my hair is finally starting to grow back

12. Target (stole this from Caroline...what would I do w/o Target?!)

13. Our Marines

14. Nail polish

15. My family's health

16. Stroller Strides

17.Wine

18. The 4Runner (it's not luxury vehicle but I love my car)

19. The nightly back scratch I get from Jared (might I add, without ever having to ask) 

20. Book Club

21. Photographs

22. Our house

23. Starbucks

24. Peonies

25. That I get to stay home with the boys

26. Candles

27. Dr. Coluzzi and my chemo nurses  

28. Sweat pants 

     



Team Daren

So last week we headed to Austin, TX for a Team Daren event.  Since my brother-in-law, Miles, was going to be gone for a training exercise (ironically in California) I decided to fly out a few days ahead of Jared with the boys.  I was so excited to spend time with Caroline and Finley, make a trip to Hobby Lobby and check out some of Austin.   As I mentioned in my last post we had a nasty and highly contagious stomach bug.  It hit in full force 4 days before we were scheduled to fly out.  All of us were better within 48 hours, with the exception of Carson who finally stopped vomiting after day 8! 

 

It was my first time flying with both boys by myself and it was Maddox's first flight.  Luckily no one vomited on the plane.  So lesson learned-buy the flight insurance!  Won't make that mistake again. 

 

 

They stole my cinnamon raisin bagel!  Stinkers.

 

Bothering Carson.  He was trying to watch Mickey on the iPad.

 

Even though a childless trip to Hobby Lobby would have been nice, the reason why we were in Austin was to run the Warrior Dash in honor of Daren.  Thankfully, no one was vomiting during the race, everyone who ran felt great.  Finley and Carson didn't vomit until after the race on our way to the hotel, in their car seats (which was super fun to clean the next day).  As we pulled over into some random gas station in downtown Austin, pulled Carson out of his car seat, striped him down and wiped out his seat the best I could he looked up at me and asked "Mama are you mad at me?"  Shattered my heart into a million pieces.  Of course I was not mad.  All Caroline and I could do was laugh because otherwise I would have cried.   Poor Caroline's car smelt something fierce.   

 

Seriously awful but lets talk about the race.

 

Last year we did the Solider Marathon at Fort Benning.  I was unable to participate since I was 32 weeks pregnant with Maddox.  So I was happy to run along with everyone this year.  The race was a 5k with about 10 obstacles.  I won't lie, it was harder than I thought and my shins were all bruised from the obstacles.    

I was in the back the whole time and the last one through on most of the obstacles.  Everyone ran together and cheered me on.  A friend told Jared during the race " Your wife is bad ass.  She just finished chemo and her hair is starting to grow back and she looks great."  I have lost all my baby weight but I really have not had a chance to gain all my strength and endurance back post baby and chemo.  A piece of cake for Jared however.   

Even though it was hard and I was tired towards the end of the race my mind was on Daren.  I may be a "bad ass"  but he is the true hero.  I was honored to run in his memory. 

 

 

Before the race. 

 

 

 

Here we go!

 

Into some freezing cold muddy water.  Jared warmed it up for himself-sick!

Over the fire.  (notice my super manly husband jumping like a fairy over the fire)

 

And into the mud.

 

Helping me out.

 

 

Miles and Jared chased Carson around like this. 

Carson told them "Don't touch me.  Go clean up."

 

Our friend Dan came down from Dallas.  It was great to see him and meet his girlfriend.  She took most of the pictures.  Thanks Lorika!

 

Team Daren post Warrior Dash.

 

Cleaning the mud off.

 

Wearing Mommy's medal. 

 

 

Sweet Finn taking a siesta.

 

Mister Maddox acting like a ham.  He is eating a pretzel rod so he is HAPPY!

 

 

Warriors!

 

 

Besides the Warrior Dash event the only other thing we did was grub on some Texas barbecue at the Salt Lick.  Maddox mowed down!  He loved it. 

 

 

Holy smokes Batman babes, you are all adorable!