Valentine's Day

Happy love day! The girls woke up to find giant Hershey's Kisses waiting for them and a whole bunch of extra hugs and kisses from their mama. Sam, too. Minus the chocolate. Although I am pretty sure I saw Madeline sharing a bite...

Tom was still away in Hawaii for this Hallmark holiday, but he managed to send me flowers with a super sweet note. I am not a flowers person, especially not on a holiday like Valentines Day, but I secretly loved it. Too bad we have since discovered I am pretty allergic to stargazer lilies;)

Kisses and muffins for breakfast

My sweet Valentine from Ella. She's going to make me breakfast on Saturday. She could barely sleep the night before because she kept saying "I am so excited to give you the Valentine I made for you!" How lucky am I?

 This face. So obsessed with him!

Some pics from our very unprofessional photo shoot. 

 Peek-A-Boo

Three out of four of my Valentine's:)

How Did I Ever?

Honestly, how did I ever survive deployments? I questioned that after this week without Tom. The first few days are always the hardest. By Saturday when he returned we had settled into a routine. But I missed Tom like crazy! Crazy. Crazy. Or maybe that is what I became without him around. I missed his company. He's always busy with school anyway, or holed up in the office writing, but at least I know he's home to lock the doors at night and to climb into bed with me to make me feel safe.

There is something about just having that feeling of comfort and company and safety that makes my day complete.  When he got home he said "so you're saying you missed me and that you actually see that I do DO stuff around the house?" No, buddy. Don't go getting all full of yourself. Lord knows I can handle taking the trash out;)

But I did miss him. A whole lot.

Although the gifts of Hawaiian chocolate and jewelry were so unexpected and awesome that I could be willing to sacrifice seeing him for another week if I keep getting spoiled like that.

Sick week.

 The only way to get any cooking done. Love that Ergo.

 And he loves brown rice and pork chops!

 That's right...we did store bought Valentine's Cards! No guilt. No stress. 

 We did, however, make the bus drivers some snacks and give them a little gift card for coffee:) Don't worry, Ella's teachers got goodies as well!

Ella is obsessed with reading lately. We read a new book every night. My mom loves to have these little video clips sent to her so she can see and hear her. However, in this one you can totally hear how noisy our house is and how sick poor Ella was.

 "I can't see you."

And boom goes the baby. 

Oh, did I mention we got another wild, slushy snow "storm"? They called it that, but it wasn't too too crazy. Here's the start of it that I sent to Tom in Hawaii. The flakes were huge and it sounded pretty hitting the ground.

We Need...

a bigger bed.

Between sick kids and Madeline's itchy allergy flare-ups at night, this is my life. These two little love bugs sprawled out in our bed. I think I have mastered sleeping with one leg hanging off the bed and my head resting on a pillow placed on my nightstand.

It's how moms operate. We just make do.

Because look at how adorably sweet they are.

Daddy's in Hawaii...

And we are all sick. Fun times! Tom left this week for Hawaii. The morning he left, I had been up all night with a stomach bug. I don't think it was the flu per say, but I felt like I had been hit by a vehicle of some sort. But when moms are sick, head in the toilet, it doesn't matter to her three children. They are still as demanding as ever. From the second they woke up, it was no rest for the weary. Did I mention all three of them were sick as well? Coughing, runny noses, just general yuckiness. Even though I did the least amount I could to keep them happy, I kept cursing Tom for being away for "work". I knew if he was home, I could have rested a bit in peace. Instead I drove all of us to the closest convenient store for Gatorade and little goodies to keep them occupied for at least an hour so I could try to close my eyes and make the room stop spinning.

It never happened. But luckily, it was a quick bug and by evening I was up and cleaning the house. Which by the way, looked like someone let a tornado loose inside.

The night before Daddy left... Sam snuggled on him. And Ella enjoyed the fancy schmancy cupcakes he brought home. Then the next morning when Madeline woke up to hear "no, daddy left. He's in Hawaii"...big tears. Kinda hilarious. 

They worked on some Valentine's Day art to keep busy...

And Ella entertained them with a disappearing act.

Welcome our niece, Juliette Rose

We are over the moon excited for Tom's sister to have her first baby. Miss Juliette arrived on February 6th and she is simply beautiful. Her tiny features are just perfect and her mama and daddy are adjusting to parenthood with total ease. I am impressed!

She joins this wildly awesome family full of little cousins who adore her already and an auntie who absolutely can't wait to meet her! Now if only this busy mama could escape for a weekend in FL without my kids or husband noticing...

Juliette is on the left and Madeline on the right. I know it's not all about us with this post, but don't these two resemble each other?? 

My precious niece. Gorgeous like her mama!

 Tom and I were asked to be her godparents. This is the package that arrived for us. So creative! I wouldn't expect less from Monica though! Tom thoroughly enjoyed his scotch in his Uncle Tom glass, and my bracelet is my favorite new accessory (my first Alex and Ani!)

More Snow? No way.

Yes way. Another winter storm!
This was the beginning of it when I HAD to drive in it to a very important Dr appointment...but I promise I was stopped to take this picture. ( I am sure my mom was wondering!)

It was just so beautiful. Even though I said a few Hail Mary's to get me home, I couldn't help but think just how amazing the seasons are in this city. So far I have experienced the prettiest summer, the most colorful fall, and hands down the most bitter cold of winters. I went to change this picture into black and white and realized I didn't even need to.

Welcome February!

We started off the month with a Saturday morning trip to Home Depot. As soon as I found out the girls...ahem...I...could build a Tony Stewart race car, I was in! Grampy Larry LOVES him and Nascar so I knew he would get a kick out of seeing his granddaughters build the cars. These Home Depot workshops crack me up. The kids take the credit, but really, minus maybe hammering a nail every now and then or gluing a piece of wood down, the moms are truly doing all the work. But the end result is what matters: the pin on their apron. And man are they always beaming with pride when they get it.

Playdate after at the neighborhood park. Sam didn't drink the coffee. I promise. Come summer, that cup holder will have a beer. And he won't be drinking that either. 

The kids were so muddy from the park that they immediately got baths when they walked in the door. Sam crawled around in mud. It's what boys do. His outfit after could top my favorites list. That's a screenprint of overalls on a gray sweatshirt one-piece. There's a back, too. All he needs is a tractor. 

Sam had his 9 month appointment. He's on the small side. 0% for weight. And 21% for height. He was almost 16lbs. Dr isn't concerned and neither am I. Both girls were really tiny, too until a year and then the whole milk kicked in and they grew like crazy. That pic on the left was taken at the commissary after his appointment. Poor boy couldn't hang and passed out on the top of the cart. Easiest grocery store trip to date.

He recently started taking steps, too. It's quite hilarious.

January Catchup!

January has come and gone. I would love to stay on track with this blog, but such is life. This blog post alone probably took me ten nights to finish;)

No, really. It did.

Ok now it's taken me a month, but I will date everything accordingly.

Lots of lunch dates with friends and playdates at the park to keep busy.

 I lost track what number this particular winter storm was. Maybe 15? ;) However, with those temps, we stayed inside and played Chess, drank hot cocoa, and watched lots of movies. That bottom right picture is of Sam's window...on the second floor. 

 Since Madeline is home with me every day and not in preschool like most 3 year olds, I try to work with her daily doing crafts, letters, numbers, stories, ect. The lightbulb has recently gone off for her and she has a real love for learning. She actually will complain when we don't do schoolwork. While we keep busy, Sam does as well. Eating playdoh. (note his teal teeth.)

Slo-Mo video of the girls at a bounce house birthday party for our sweet friend Claire!

Her party was so much fun! And I think I ate three cupcakes. 

Even moms have fun sledding! Love that Madeline took this video and her cute chubby fingers block it. Ha!

Tom plays in an ice hockey league here and we were invited to watch one of his games. Brings back awesome memories of watching him play in HS and college. 

My sweaty stud muffin hubby:)

Our friend Renee threw an amazing surprise party for her hubby Dylan's 30th birthday. It was a beer tasting theme and we enjoyed every bit of it. 

Love their silly love for each other.

 Whatever keeps him busy and smiling.

And one last video. Because his giggle makes my heart melt.

Learning how to give a high five!

And that pretty much sums up the last week in January for us:) 

Three Years

Three years have gone by since we said goodbye to our little Riley Roo.

Three years since I woke up to find you had left this Earth to jump from cloud to cloud in doggie heaven (according to Ella), no longer in pain. Three years? It doesn't seem possible. However, it's still hurts to think about for me. I especially felt the sting hit me this anniversary as we ironically found out this week that Madeline is allergic to dogs. I somehow try to see your passing when she was only six months old as a bit of a blessing in disguise now. Maybe you knew...

I am pretty certain if you were around now you would be driven insane by all of these kids running around. (I know I am!) You were a totally chill pup and loved sitting on my lap and snuggling, but I rarely get to sit down nowadays;)  I miss the days of you curling up in my little nook and falling asleep snoring away. It's also super cold where we live this year, and I am 100% certain you would HATE life with all of this snow. You never did like sweaters or jackets.

When we found out Madeline was allergic to dogs and I broke the news to the kids that we would never own another dog, they both cried. They want another you. They would love another Riley. But I am ok with not owning another dog. Your goodbye was entirely too painful for my heart, and honestly, I don't think any dog could fill that void I still have. In my last post, I talked about the gap. That gap is still there. Tom still thinks I am crazy for missing you. And we still have your little picture up on our shelf.

Still. Still. Still. I don't think it will ever change really. You were a big part of our family. My first "baby". But I now know you came into our lives for a reason and you left our world to keep Madeline a bit more comfortable;)  And for that, my heart is grateful.

You truly despised any clothing. ha!

 Sweet little face.

8 Months Old!

I am very late on this post, but Sam turned 8 months old on December 23. I didn't technically take his 8 month photos until 8 months, 3 weeks. I think it will be fine though because I am fairly certain my parents never took monthly photos of me and well, look...I'm not in therapy over it or anything.  Sam really does enjoy the photo shoots though. Eating the tie sticker afterwards is his favorite part. Or maybe it's constantly pulling the camera strap.

In his 8th month I feel like he changed so much. Practically overnight. He went from slow crawling in the 7th month to super fast crawler/furniture cruiser/standing on his own/taking a step/climbing stairs/eating normal "people" food by the end of the 8th month. I just want time to slow down. I want to enjoy him more at these fast stages of his life. I need to video him more often to keep these memories for all of us.

Sam's current loves are:
The wolf blanket I bought Tom for Christmas
Emptying the dishwasher
Clearing out cabinets
Any pull toy that I can attach to his car seat
Clapping his hands
Yelling for MAMAMAMAMAMA and DADADADADADADA in his crib when he doesn't feel like sleeping
Any and all foods including black beans, avocado, mango, carrots, waffles, yogurt and apples

Sam currently despises:
When Madeline picks him up and drags him across the house to keep him away from her toys
Sleeping through the night
Taking all of his naps in his crib
When you do not share your food with him
The baby gate blocking the stairs

He's still a really awesome baby. And I love him more every single day.

 Madeline asked for me to take her picture, too. 42 months old;)

 Standing Sam. So tiny. So cute!