{Silly Brothers and Ben Photoshoot}

We had a warm day this past weekend, and since Daddy was gone studying, the boys and I spent time outside digging for worms. We found three and named them all! The boys were so happy outside and wanted to take some pictures. Their little personalities came out so well in these...

And I got a few good ones of Benny Boy. He is such a hot mess these days, so I love having some pictures to hold on to the sweet moments. I forget how curly his hair gets with the humidity!

Later this day, a cold front blew in and it has been in the 30s and 40s since then. I can't wait to get back to some warmer temps so we can enjoy outside a bit more. The boys do so well when we are outside.

{Luke is FIVE!}

On Tuesday, Luke turned FIVE years old! Sometimes I can't believe how fast the last five years have gone. I love this little guy so much!

On Tuesday, we surprised Luke with singing Happy Birthday and letting him blow out a candle on his cinnamon roll. He was too cute in the morning. I was getting him dressed and he would say things like, "Mommy, I don't think my shoes are going to fit anymore since I am now five and big." And, "My pajamas are just too small now." He also kept looking at himself in the mirror and using his hand to see how tall he was. He thought he miraculously grew over night. It was the cutest!

We then headed off to school where he brought dinosaur cookies for his class. He was celebrated there and had a wonderful day! Ben and I picked him up and headed home. The rest of the day was spent with family coming by and wishing him happy birthday and him opening gifts. We ended the day with pizza at Collina's. I was still sick from a cold earlier in the week, but all in all, it was still a great celebration.

His birthday party is this Saturday and he cannot wait! We don't go for his five year check up till mid March, but will be updating on his stats and milestones after that.

Love this boy so much!

{30 Weeks}

I am already 30 weeks as of last Friday! I am 3/4 done with this pregnancy --- probably less than nine weeks to go actually. I get asked a lot about how I feel. And my response? I feel...pregnant. Up until about 28 weeks, I was doing pretty good. But lately I am feeling the third trimester big time.

I am loving the joys of pregnancy -- the anticipation of a new little one joining our family, the kicks and rolls inside, the hiccups, the boys getting excited and asking cute questions. But I am also starting to feel the pains of pregnancy -- being really uncomfortable at times, the weight/heaviness of the big tummy, the reflux, the trouble sleeping, the constant needing to go to the bathroom. So as much as I love the amazing things of pregnancy, I am starting to really be ready for this little one to arrive in about nine weeks! Even though I am well aware that this time is actually much easier than when the little one arrives. Remember...my children don't sleep the first year!

30 Week Picture

I actually think I look okay in this picture. But let me tell you...by about 8:00 at night, I feel like I look like this plus about 30 additional pounds and a little like a large cow. And I think I sound like one too. I am grunting and panting and huffing. I am a straight up mess after about 3:00 in the afternoon. Ha! So lets just say, I take my bump pictures in the morning!

We were at a birthday party yesterday and my friend's son (who is bilingual) took note of my growing belly (as all 5 year olds tend to do these days). His mom asked, "What do you think?" as she points to my stomach. His eyes widened and he says, "Muuuuuuuyyyyyyy grande!". Yes, very big. That I am.

I could not stop laughing!

{Ben: First Swim Lesson}

Ben started swim lessons this past Monday! I started him a lot later than Luke, but I think it is pretty good timing for him. I don't think we will be at the pool too much this summer unfortunately since we will have a newborn, but I definitely want Ben to start learning so if we do, it is a safer situation.

 

Of course my little ham was giving me funny faces when it was time to take pictures before hand. He picked one of Luke's old Thomas the Train swimsuits to wear (yay for hand-me-downs that finally fit between the boys!). He was definitely not nervous about his first lesson. He started asking to have lessons about a month or two ago, so the timing was perfect.

Luke still had his lesson with a different teacher at the same time, so they were both ready to go! They were being silly and causing a ruckus in the 10 minutes leading up to their lessons. Why can't they just sit still and wait patiently?!?!?!

Ben's lessons were with two little girls. One was Payton -- dear friends of ours -- and the other was another little girl that we had never met before. So Ben was the only boy and it didn't seem to bother him a bit!

So we all made introductions and then said a quick goodbye after snapping a couple of pictures. And the kids did great! Not one tear or look back!!

Just one more thing to make me realize my baby boy is actually a little kid! I am so proud of him and can't wait to see how he does over the next few months!

{Valentine's Day 2015}

I feel that holidays just get better and better as the boys get older. And Valentine's this year did not disappoint!

First, on Thursday before Valentine's Day, Ben had his class party. Neither boy has school on Thursday, so we made a special trip up there and Luke got to come and sit in as well. Ben LOVED having Luke in his class and sat on his little mat and smiled and waved at him! It melted my heart.

Then each child got to pass out their valentines to the rest of the class. If a parent came to the party, they were asked to help them. Since Luke was with us, he got to help Ben. They both loved it!

After passing out valentines, it was time to eat and drink! Of course Ben loved this part. Luke sat with me and got some goodies of his own.

The boys' valentines were rocket-themed this year. Luke had his class party on Friday morning and it was just for kids, so I don't have any pictures. But I did snap a quick picture of the valentines he passed out to his friends (Ben's was the same one --- I just wrote his name for him). It is a little rocket kaleidoscope and the boys were pleased as punch about them. I on the other hand, got a terrible backache (gotta love pregnancy) sitting over the table for an hour putting these puppies together.

Saturday morning, the boys got up and we had some yummy donuts for breakfast and they got their valentine's buckets from Mommy and Daddy. They got a bath submarine, some Star Wars loot, a Nerf gun and a noise machine. I should have put some more thought into the noise machine. It makes all sorts of sounds -- a scream, glass breaking, a horn, etc. But it also has some lovely body noises as well. And since Ben is REALLY into potty words (that totally deserves its own post), this has definitely not helped the situation AT ALL.

Even though this picture is blurry, I just love Luke's excitement in it. He got up almost an hour before Ben and was so eager for him to get up so they could get their surprises.

After breakfast and goodies, we got ready to head to the Rice/UT baseball game. But not before all the men (and dog) had to dress up like a Ninja Turtle. Ha! I loved it. I was getting ready in the bathroom and came out to this. This pretty much sums up my life and living with my boys. And I couldn't love it anymore than I do!

We then headed to the baseball game and had Luke's good friend and his dad meet us there. The boys don't look thrilled in this picture (I think they were just not thrilled with having to pose for a picture all the time!), but they had a ball!

After about two innings in seats, they needed to get their wiggles out. Luckily in the outfield there is a hilly, grassy area for kids to just run and play. It was picture-perfect weather, so the boys ran their little hearts out.

On our way to get snow cones we ran into the Rice owl mascot. Luke was the only one interested in taking a picture with him...

The boys favorite part of the day was probably the snow cones. They sure did make a mess but they made those things look very tasty!

Ben found this little statue on the way out and fell in love with it....

And here is my most favorite picture of the day. I just love their natural smiles and happiness in this picture! So many pictures I have to request them to smile and sit still. But this one was just two brothers loving each other and having a great day.

We left a bit before the game was over. I think we were all tired. The boys did well, but they are a handful to keep up with. Ben has been a bit of a challenge lately too (again, a whole other post), so it was time to leave and get some rest.

So after a few hours at home, we headed to some dear friend's house for pizza! I didn't get any pictures of the night except this one of their daughter dressing up Ben in a tiara. I love it! And I think he really loved it!

We finally got home about 9:30 that night and we were all exhausted. I love fun holidays but man oh man I am ready for them to be over once the day is done. These boys absolutely wear me out! But all in all we had a fun few days celebrating. And I can't help to think what next year will be like once we have three in the mix! Lord help us!

{January/February Picture Overload!}

I have gotten way behind in my posts, so here is one super huge post with mostly pictures. My apologies for the photo dump with very little description!

 

 Bath time with bubbles!

Bowling with friends on a cold day...

Another cold day at the park

Ben started soccer and is doing great!!!

Sillies on the bed with my two boys!

Thank goodness for youtube on late dinners with friends

My boys watching football one Sunday night!

Stuck inside so we play golf...

 

The boys imitating my 'big belly'

Daddy reading to the boys to bed

A rainy, cold Thursday at Target (where they got their Ninja Turtle shoes they are obsessed with!)

A cookie playdate with friends!

The best way to ride a tricycle!

A fun trip with friends to the zoo!

The Superbowl Party!

Love Ben holding her hand :)

 The whole group at the Super Bowl Party -- they were thrilled with taking a picture.

Kissing Daddy goodnight

Behaving at the mall

Buddies at soccer

It has been a busy month and a half and just getting busier! We have our wedding anniversary coming up, Luke's birthday and lots more!