8 & 2

Lachlan turned 8 yesterday...yes 8. I really can hardly believe that 8 years ago today I was holding my 1 day old first baby boy. I had no idea about being a mother-I only knew it was what I wanted so badly for so long. Now, he is not quite so cuddly and I have learned so much. Sometimes I think back to the special time when it was just him and wish I could go back and enjoy it some more. Now I have awesome conversations with him and am amazed at what a respectful, wonderful boy he is! 2 boys have been born since then one 2 years ago today...

I can hardly believe that McKenon is 2! 2 precious years ago my labor was just beginning and went very quickly! My beautiful boy was born here at home and it is such a special memory for me! He's also not quite so cuddly anymore but I can still rock him before bed and he lays his head on my shoulder and we sing. It's precious time that I know will pass quickly, which almost brings tears to my eyes. Soon he'll be 8, Cohen will be 11 and Lachlan will be 14!

So all in all I am so very thankful for my 3 boys. They have taught me to be a mommy and I wouldn't take one moment away that I've had staying home and raising them.

Happy Birthday boys!

I'm MOM

This is a Mack latest and greatest. He now calls me "MOM", only Mama when he is crying for me or hurt. MOM....okay is it just boys? Or maybe it's me? All my boys have never really called me "Mommy", it's "Mom". It seems only when they are really needing me am I "Mommy". So about a month ago I start hearing this "MOM" from the backseat. I think to myself, that cannot be my 23 month old calling me "Mom"...but alas it is! Now I often hear "Um, Mom"...unbelievable! He also calls Daddy "Drew" copying me, but I think "Drew" is endearing compared to "Mom"...I don't want "Mommy" to already be gone! Maybe it will come back? My sister's 2 daughters who are 11 & almost 15 still call her Mommy! NOT fair I say! I'm putting my foot down! "Boys, you have to call me Mommy for a few more years PLEASE!"

Beside the above it's been a wild month so far. Have I mentioned December is NOT my favorite month? 3 birthdays (including mine), countless Christmas things to do, baking that never ends (I'm a crazy baker and actually enjoy it), Christmas programs etc. So it's been a little crazy! I really want to enjoy it all but sometimes I get caught up in having everything perfect and don't enjoy it. We did get some snow the other day so that made up for all there is to do!

I do wish everyone a happy holiday and a HAPPY 2010!

Here's some pictures to make you smile :)

Bedroom/bathroom remodel

I am just really thrilled with how the bathroom/bedroom is turning out. When we bought the house there was a room off the master that was meant to be a bathroom but the previous owners did nothing with it. Drew and I really wanted to have a bathroom of our own but the roof and many other "things" for the house got in the way. Now we have it and we are absolutely delighted! Next Monday we should have a glass door on the shower so we can finally use it. We had new carpet installed on Sunday and now our bedroom is like a new room too...boy what a difference! We have a few little things left in the bathroom to do like the trim but everything else is up and working! Here are some pictures:

Before
Progress
We removed the door and extended the wall to have a more open bathroom
Looks a little different!
Shower finished just waiting on glass
up close of the tile
New carpet feels like a new bedroom
Vanity

Aside from the excitement of the bathroom, life is moving along very quickly as usual. Lachlan's has had too many 1/2 days to count, which drive me crazy, and the holiday season is drawing very near. I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving next week and although business is still dreary there is so much to be thankful for! The weather has been really cold this week so I wonder if we will have snow again this year? We are hoping to go skiing next week too!


Market Day at Lach's school. He made and sold candles this time...and sold out!

The boys playing in the box that held our new toilet :). Unfortunately, it didn't last long!

Mack has been chatting up a storm. My new favorite is "Yah"...love it! He is always so tickled by everything new. He's a load of fun. He wakes up so happy. He is very busy though and I've forgotten how annoying it is to have toys ALL over my kitchen when they should be in the playroom.

HALLOWEEN!

The boys had a ball this year dressing up, going to the schools fall festival and trick-or-treating. We had fun enjoying it all with them. I don't mean to brag but they are just super fun kids to do stuff with. Cohen was a little under the weather last week so we took it fairly easy. On Friday night we went to Lachlan's Fall Festival. He was so into it...going from game to game collecting all the candy he could. I didn't see him most of the time. I love that he is becoming so confident and sure of himself. Cohen still stayed close and Mack was all over the place. Our little school did a great job!

Halloween started off with a visit to Terry and Donna's. Terry was dressed as a Knight and when we walked up to the front door he was still as could be. The boys later said "We thought he was a statue" :). Mack was absolutely freaked out about his mask but as soon as he took it off all was well. We did a little trick or treating around their neighborhood with some of the kids from Lachlan's school. After that we headed to Great Grandma's house and saw Grandma and Grandpa too (Drew's mom and stepdad). They loved seeing the boys. Then we went trick-or-treating in our old neighborhood and it was a hoot to see some neighbors we hadn't seen for a while. A lot of them couldn't believe the boys were so big and that we had another baby! Time flies!

Mack is 22 months now! He's getting so big and doing such fun things. He's a little ham and loves attention.

The bathroom remodel is almost done. The tile will be done this week and then I'll get some pictures posted.

I've been making lots of soups and new recipes lately. It's been fun to try some new things. The soups have been a big hit! Soup always tastes yummy in the cold weather. Our favorites have been Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup, Chunky potatoe swiss chowder and potatoe and leek.

Enjoy November! We have so much to be thankful for!

The cowboy, the surgeon and the lion

The lion is escaping!
Can you tell Terry's a big hit?
All these kids go to school with Lachlan

Suncadia

Thanks to Mom and Dad taking the kids for 2 nights we got away just the 2 of us. It's the first time in over two years since we went somewhere overnight by ourselves and we've never left Mack.

I dropped the kids off with Mom and Lachlan takes me aside and says "Two nights seems really long now Mommy". Lach tends to be the one who likes us around the most :). Mom said he got a little sad but did great. Mack and Cohen did too.

We had a really nice time. They upgraded us to a Penthouse one bedroom Lodge room for the same price. It was over 1,000 sq feet with a full kitchen and gorgeous view. We left on Wed afternoon, had dinner in Bellevue and then headed to the resort. What an awesome place! We biked around the resort where there are tons of paved trails and just lazed around. It was nice to have a chance to really talk and have fun!

It was good for us and good for the boys to have some time with Ma and Papa. Here are some pictures. Not too many because it is kind of boring to just take pictures of us :).

The view from our room

The Lodge

Fall stuff

We've been busy with the remodel of the bathroom (I'll post pictures soon). It should be done in 1-2 weeks and then we will move everything out of our bedroom for new carpet. It will be so nice to have our own bathroom. On a difficult day I think Drew will know where he can find me...with the door locked :). I'm super excited for the boys to have their own space too...sometimes "Mom, open up I gotta pee" gets old when I am trying to shower, do my hair etc.

5 little pumpkins


Lach had his first Reader's Theatre of the year. It was great. He did so well. He's really reading
well!



Cohen is doing great at preschool...he absolutely loves it. I get the question "Mom, do I have school today" everyday. Makes me happy that he has no problem being away from me.

McKenon will be 22 months this week...almost 2! He's super most of the time. Last night, when I put him to bed I was in the kitchen making my weekly grocery list when I heard a thump then a cry. I went in and he had climbed out of his bed! Lach and Cohen never did this so this is new for me. He was sobbing and I hugged him and told him he couldn't climb out of his bed anymore. I don't think he will until he learns he can put his feet on the bottom of the crib...or maybe he just won't try again. Have I ever mentioned he still tastes everything...he's by far my most oral child (see picture below). This last week it was MORTAR from the remodel! I didn't know that he could get to it in the garage...but yep he ate some. I was freaking out because obviously it's not good to eat. Cohen happened to be in the garage with him when it happened so he promptly told me but still I wasn't sure how much he got. He was fine though. Then it was sand from the boys' sandbox in their room...he came out with a blue face...at least I know that is nontoxic. I can't figure out why he eats everything he comes in contact with but I keep hoping he will outgrow it (SOON PLEASE)! Otherwise, he's doing great.
Morning smoothie!

So far we haven't got the H1N1 flu but it is sure going around the schools and Drew's work. Yuck...I for sure don't want this stuff and worry about Drew getting it with his heart condition. I won't fret til there's something to fret about though.
The boys flying kites in the fall wind!

So everything is good...we even got away just the 2 of us. See the next post!

I LOVE THIS LITTLE FACE....and yes that is dirt he's been eating!

Mack at almost 22 months

Fall evening

The other night it was COLD when the sun went down but we built a fire and had hot apple cider. A great time was had. The boys always love building a fire with Daddy. Drew also did some tractor work on the property and I got some pictures of the sunset.

Observations of Cohen

Cohen, Mack and I went out for our walk today. He was riding his bike when he saw the next door neighbor's hen and her chicks. She has about 10 chicks (how does she do it?) and we saw them maybe a week ago and they were a lot smaller. Cohen says "Mom the last time we saw them they were babies and now they are just kids...they grow up quick" ....priceless.

Kids say the darnest things

The boys crack me up. Right now it is Mack and his toddler talk. To be honest most of the time I find it very sweet, but sometimes VERY annoying! He is obsessed with the moon right now. He loves "Goodnight Moon" and "Guess How Much I Love You" and many other books with moons in them. This last month he has discovered the moon in the sky which is so cute, but also annoying. Annoying because when he says "moon" it comes out "moo". So we are going down the road and he sees the moon (the moons been full too so we've been able to see it all day) "Moo Moo" he says. And if he can't see it for a few minutes he freaks a little. Then comes "Moo Moo" again and alls well...until he can't see it again...over and over. You get the picture. Then today at lunch he's eating and says "Moo Moo"-I'm thinking is he saying "moon" or "more"? So I say "moon Mack". He says "no, Moo Moo" okay it's "more" but now he's heard "moon" and he won't stop with "moo moo" while he is eating more grapes! Also he is on a person kick. He wants "Da Da" when daddy is not here and now that my parents are in Maui he wants "Ma and Bapa" (Ma and Papa) and he is not happy to hear Daddy is at work and Ma and Papa are gone.

Cohen is on a egg salad sandwich kick. Can't get enough of them. So he's been getting a lot of protein lately. I just smile and make more eggs.

Lachlan lost another tooth...he was excited the tooth fairy visited even though he hid his tooth-I think it probably took the fairy an hour to find it :).

All in a days work. Can you tell I love being a Mommy?

Cohen's 5!

I'm saying it once again...I can't believe it! Cohen is 5! Wow....it really flies! He had a super birthday. He was so excited to have the family over, loved his cupcakes and his presents! He wore the crown he got at preschool most of the day. It was a special day for him! I think he knows he is loved. Cohen and his dog Jack Cohen and his herd of dinosaurs Presents! Cohen with GG, Grandma and Grandpa Cohen with his Ma and Papa

Hiking with my family on the perfect day=perfection

We had the most wonderful day hiking up to Winchester Mountain and Lookout. It was gorgeous and perfect weather. We pulled Lachlan out of school for the day (okay we are terrible parents) but we called it a "field trip" as he learned a lot about nature, mountains and got to see all the fall colors. I absolutely LOVE doing this stuff with my family and can't wait until Mack is big enough to go too. Today we left him with his Ma (my mom) though and I am really glad we did considering how steep it was at the top and how busy he is! Although I really missed him-especially not having his little smile in our pictures. The views were breathtaking. The trail started out of two lakes called Twin Lakes and they were so beautiful. They have camping right there so we think it would be fun to camp at the lakes one of these years and do some hiking all around the area. There are working mines and it would be really cool to check them out. I would love waking up in the morning to the views too. It looks like the fishing is great in the lakes as well. The boys gorged on wild blueberries (so did I) and the fall colors were so pretty. The lookout was 6521 elevation and the views were really unbelievable and the pictures don't even compare to seeing it in person!

Starting out at Twin Lakes
wild blueberries
Mt. Baker and mountains in every direction
The very tip of this mountain was our destination!


we should have brought sleeping bags!
The perfect lunch spot
Mt. Baker behind us
6521 elevation

Mt. Larrabee behind us
Twin Lakes from the top
hiking down