Thankful

I know that Thanksgiving is over, but there are so many things that I am thankful for. Ever since Harry was born I have been trying to focus more on being thankful for the little things. I am constantly reminding myself when I start to get frustrated that I need to soak in these times when my boys are little and at home with me.

I am so glad that I decided to enjoy and be thankful for every moment I had with Harrison as a newborn, because he got so big so fast! I do miss my little baby, but I can honestly say that I have no regrets, because I was so focused in those moments that went by so fast.

I have also recently been making sure that I have enough time to spend alone with Calvin. He is so special to me. I love waking up in the mornings and snuggling on the couch, or building train tracks, or coloring, or even pretending to be transformers and acting crazy! I have been really good at stopping myself when I realize that I am spending too much time on the computer, and spending more time with my boys. Calvin is growing up fast too and I want him to remember that his mother spent more time with him than on the computer. (and my arm gets really sore when I am use it too long).

There are so many things that I am thankful for and it seems impossible to list everything because every minute I am reminded of something else that I am blessed with, but here are some things off the top of my head:

I am thankful for:

Nick, Calvin, and Harrison

a second vehicle

Internet, phone, skype

running water, hot water

full size washer and dryer

purple walls in my bedroom :)

food

toilet paper

music

church, scriptures, the Spirit in our home

loving parents and family

my wedding rings (sometimes Calvin wants to play with them and I tell him no and explain to him that Daddy gave them to me because he loved me and wanted to be with me forever)

clothes

friends

a hard working husband, a good job, and a pay check

money (as much as I hate it)

sleep (the little that I get)

self-control

patience (sometimes)

a sewing machine

The Savior and his Atonement

EVERYDAY that I wake up and get to be a mother, a wife, a friend, and a daughter

Well, this post has taken me days to write, because I give myself a limit on the computer and it's up again... but there are so many more things that I am thankful for and I am so blessed and I know that all that I have comes from the Lord and I thank Him daily.

my boys

Calvin quit taking naps a couple of weeks after we moved into the new house, but if he gets some good playtime outside this is what happens!

He was too tired to eat!

Harry LOVES to swing! There are several playgrounds within walking distance and I can usually put Harry in the swing and go play with Calvin.

Calvin loves his brother so much! He always wants to play with him and help him and feed him. He loves being a big brother!

Harry started sitting up a few weeks ago. He can sit without support for a few minutes. And he can pull himself back up sometimes when he falls back!

I LOVE PANCAKES! Calvin and I made some chocolate chip ones the other day for lunch.

Two of my favorite things: pancakes and Calvin!

Another long day outside!

Nick and Calvin were outside raking leaves and Harry was enjoying the view!

Love this fat baby!

How is it possible...

I saw a quote the other day, I don't know who said it, but I LOVE it:

"How is it possible that out of all the little boys in the whole world... we got the best ones?"

We truly are blessed and eternally grateful that Calvin and Harrison chose to come live with us and that Heavenly Father entrusted us with his sons. We love them more than they could ever know.

The boys room

It looks like a tight fit, but everything has it's place and there is still room for the boys to play.

We kept the navy blue curtains that Grandma had up and painted the walls orange. Calvin loves it and so do I!

Right now the all of their clothes fit in these two drawers and the baskets.

Calvin really wanted to have his room painted dark blue, so we let him have one wall. We took a swatch of the curtains and matched the blue exactly. We took the closet doors down to paint and decided that it looked bigger that way. And Calvin can get to his books easier now!

Here are those cute letter hooks that Calvin and Nick painted in the last post. Calvin loves to hang his jacket there! And I found this Orioles light switch plate at Goodwill for a quarter!

There is still more that I would like to do, but I'm really liking the progress!

More rooms to come soon!

ahead or behind

So, apparently feathers and sequins are in... why did it take us so long to get the memo? Brandon was pulling them off 3 years ago. Yes. He is that awesome.

Just like Dad

My favorite thing about owning our house is that we can paint! Calvin wanted to help Nick paint SOO bad, but Nick is such a perfectionist that he didn't even want me to help! So, I found these cheap letters at Michael's and thought it would be a fun project for Calvin. He was so happy finally get the chance to paint with his Dad!

They have little hook on the bottom, we stuck them down low so that Calvin can hang his jacket on the wall. He loves it!

The other night Calvin came out of his room and told me that he saw an ambulance. I looked out of his window and didn't see one. Then he told me that he heard one, but I said that I didn't hear one. THEN he said "I think I heard someone get dead." Oh dear. So, I laid him back in bed and explained to him that ambulances help people who cannot get to the hospital fast enough, or by themselves. I told him that if he needed to go to the hospital that I would drive him there. Then he started talking about driving an ambulance. I told him that when he grows up he can help people and drive an ambulance. He yelled at me, "No, I don't want to drive and ambulance!" So, I told him that he can be anything he wants to be, then he says, "I want to be like my Daddy." It was so sweet I cried. I love that boy.

Funny baby!

We found Calvin's box of old baby toys and thought we'd give Harry a peek... He went NUTS over this ring stacker! Love this boy!

4 months

Harry had his 4 month check up about 3 weeks ago. I was really looking forward to finding out how big he was...

17.2 pounds (87th percentile) and 25"long (54th percentile)

WOW! That's a big boy! The Dr was impressed. He said that I could start him on rice cereal, but that he "clearly doesn't need it." LOL

Love this Jelly Bean, all 17 pounds!

Found it!

I found the camera cord! Yay!! Ready for some picture overload...

Harry and his bunny! He loves this bunny! Bunny puts him to sleep every night!

Love those blue eyes...

Cutest thing ever!

Jayne came to visit!

We were all very happy!

Then Grandma came to visit and we went to the Natural History Museum. It was so fun to take Calvin there. He had a blast!

Love my boys!

Lost and update

So, it's happened... I lost the camera cord. I've been so good and for almost 3 years I haven't lost the cord to our camera. It was bound to happen sooner or later, right?! Well I'm sure it's in a box of junk somewhere in the attic. I'll have to look up there tomorrow. It's a bit of a hassle to get up there right now and I can't pull the ladder down without Nick's help :)

I'm so bummed that I can't post any pictures, because I have some super cute ones! Harry Brandon is growing up so fast! He is the happiest little baby I have ever seen! He only cries when he is hungry or tired. And when he is tired I just lay him down with his bunny and he plays for a little then finds his thumb and falls asleep. It's so cute! Calvin was not as easy... he would have never fallen asleep without me rocking him or feeding him a bottle. I love this baby!

Calvin loves the house. We painted the boys room orange and we all love the color, especially Cal! He also loves all the boys in the neighborhood. The ice cream truck is also a favorite of his, he comes everyday and we run out with his money. I love to see him happy, and he is so happy running around playing with all the boys! He is in heaven! He is also doing better with the potty. he backtracked a little with the packing and moving, but now that the move is over and things have finally calmed down, he is back on track. He is such a sweet big brother. He always wants to play and hug Harrison! Sometimes when Calvin is in his room he will hear Harry make a little sound and laugh from across the house!

The sleeping situation is also 1,000x better than I could have ever imagined! Harry sleeps ALL NIGHT! From 10:30 to 8:30! Ridiculous, I know! Calvin never wakes up on the rare occasions that Harry does wake up at 5:30. I just wish that I could sleep through the night! My allergies have been driving me crazy! It's also not easy to nurse a baby who sleeps 10 hours a night.

Nick and I are loving the house. All the painting is finished. The organizing is slow going, but we are getting there. Our bedroom is my favorite room in the house! I can't wait to show you! There are still more things that I want to do and buy and I get a little upset when I can't have nice things and I get really jealous when I see other people have those nice things, but I am counting my blessings and loving life... because, the most important things in life aren't things!

Pictures to come as soon as I locate the camera cord! p.s. I know the "Harry Brandon" might sound strange, but I have been calling him Brandon at home for the past 2 weeks... just testing it out.

New house post 1

Living room wall progression...

What do you think? I love the color! It's a yellow gold color... like the Redskins!

More posts to come!