Happy Half Birthday

Happy Half Birthday

Asher & Nolan

Call me crazy, but six healthy months with two wonderful baby boys is more than a reason to celebrate in my book!  Coming from a place when I believed I would never know what it was like to experience motherhood or know the beautiful blessings of a baby to all of a baby...Truly a reason to celebrate!

On Saturday we had a "Half Birthday" for Asher and Nolan.  Nothing huge, just a reason to smile!

Nana was kind enough to use her skills to make Asher and Nolan two beautiful half cakes!  (THANK YOU NANA!)

A few decorations and presents...

 And Happy Birthday...

 A train from Nana and Papa

 Warm suits to take walks in from Grandma and Grandpa

Check out Asher's head bobbing to go with the song!

They're getting very good at the whole opening the presents thing! 

HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY MY PRECIOUS BOYS!



First Thanksgiving

This is my and Nathan's 5th Thanksgiving together...It's hard to believe it's been that many years.  However, this is Our First Thanksgiving as a family of four.  Once you have children you are blessed with the opportunity to experience old things for the first time all over again. 

This Thanksgiving Nathan's parents came for a visit.  They were able to stay with us for 6 days...A record for sure.  It was a good visit.  We weren't able to do a lot of anything, but they were able to spend lots of time with Asher and Nolan...which I know is more important than anything else we could have done. 

I made a special Thanksgiving treat for Asher and Nolan...Homemade Sweet Potatoes.  (Much better than the jar :D) 

Nana and Papa got Asher and Nolan these super cool (and entertaining) Thanksgiving presents! We had loads of laughs with these! 

After a wonderful dinner we went for a walk in the brisk fall air..FINALLY!  I took along my camera and "played photographer"  - Of course I say "played" because as you will see...I'm not anywhere close to being a photographer...but it was fun anyway!

I'd like to take this moment to reflect on all that I have to be thankful for....As we didn't take this opportunity on Thanksgiving with all of the hustle and bustle.  This year has been the single most challenging year of my life with all of the change and especially with the death of my dad...nonetheless I have so so much to be thankful for....

I am thankful for...God - who saved my soul and is taking me to Heaven one day, my hardworking and loving husband who makes it possible for me to stay home with Asher and Nolan and experience each wonderful moment with them, my amazing children, the gift of being a mommy (which is by far the BEST job I've ever had!), my mom, the memories and love of my dad, my "other" family (Nathan's family), a comfortable home to live and love in, good friends and the happiness that all of these things bring to my life!

FREE FROM SHUTTERFLY

I am so excited...Shutterfly is offering 50 Free Photo cards to bloggers.  I LOVE Shutterfly.  I use it for all of my photo needs and it's about to really pay off.  Shutterfly has great photo options.  We have previously ordered our Christmas cards from them and we were very satisified with the price and quality of their products. Check out their holiday cards at http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery.  I can't wait to choose our Christmas Cards for 2010. We've got lots of photos to choose from, since my husband was gracious enough to sit through all of my picture taking!  Plus shutterfly has great themes to choose from to meet your styling needs :)   I a have monthly albums for my boys and I use Shutterfly to to create these albums.  Another great thing that shutterfly offers is "Pre-Paid Prints"  You can pay for your photos in advance for .09 per photo ( a savings of six cents each!)  Click Here to learn more!

Fall is Here...And the Leaves Aren't The Only Things Changing...

 Fall has finally arrived.  It happened overnight.  It makes me think about our children and how, just like the leaves, they seem to change overnight.  This weekend we will be celebrating Asher and Nolan's HALF BIRTHDAY!  (I know...it sounds a little over the top, but I think that's a reason to celebrate - when this time last year I was praying that we would have two healthy babies...and not long before that wondering if we would ever know the blessings of having children...so...I say...That's a lot to celebrate!  God has certainly blessed us in ways I never even knew possible.

 After about six weeks of searching for the perfect high chair for our table, we ended up with our last choice!  We have a pub style table (aka a high one) and we wanted our precious little boys to be able to sit AT the table with us.  The first one we purchased allowed them to sit underneath the table :) - which wasn't quite what we were looking for.  I guess this isn't so bad.  We are finally eating dinner together as a family and Nathan and I actually get to eat...and not end up holding a baby while trying to quickly and creatively shovel food into our mouths.  Asher and Nolan really seem to enjoy this new process! 

 Have you heard?!  Asher has TWO teeth!  He doesn't eat his fingers as much anymore...but they're still a favorite snack :)

 He LOVES to stand!

 Nolan is a very clean eater.  It's pretty cute!

I don't know why, but I just love this picture.  I guess it's because (as I'm sure you could have predicted) in the absence of my Daddy, I continually realize more and more just how precious each little moment is.  I'm so thankful that I am FINALLY learning this.  It has taken me 27 years and a very tragic event to finally appreciate the little things....I don't need some "event" to make a special memory...just the people I love!  And boy do I love these people!!!!

Changes Changes Everywhere

Sometime...When I blinked my (newly rested) little eyes...Asher & Nolan grew up.  It's happening before my very eyes at rates faster than I approve of, but here it is.  Each day I look into those beautiful brown eyes and realize they are just a little more "grown" than they were the day before.  I'm thankful for my two healthy precious baby boys, but I do wish that they would stop growing.  Lots of changes have come our way.  I don't know that I have photos that capture each of them, but I'll try to remember to fill you in on all of the recent events.

The above picture was taken at the Railroad Museum.  I quickly learned that Asher LOVES trains.  He kicked his legs, flung his arms and squealed with delight every time the little model trains would go around the track.  It was so cute. (Why don't they make Thomas toys for children under 18 months?  That makes me a little sad.)

Asher is such a wonderfully happy little baby!  He's discovering that he can stand.  He (and Nolan) can grab onto my hands and pull themselves up to a standing position and stay there with little support for quite some time...but I don't trust that they won't topple over.  Here's one of my favorite pictures of Asher standing in front of his over sized and overstimulating toy. 

I LOVE these outfits!  My little babies are turning into little boys..sniff...sniff..

Nolan is the master roller.  Almost as soon as you place him on his back he decides he needs to roll over and see what's going on.  He's almost mastered rolling off of the changing table...I keep telling him he's not allowed to do that, but I don't think he understands what "not allowed" means just yet.  He's rolling everywhere.  When I walk out of the room to change Asher's diaper, I often come back to find Nolan completely on the other side of the room...and trying desperately to crawl somewhere.  He can get on his knees to get ready to crawl.  He can kick his feet hard enough that he moves...but he can't quite figure out what to do with his head and his hands.  He's going to be crawling before I know it, I'm just sure of it. 

This little man now has TWO teeth!  Yes, both of his bottom teeth have broken through the gums and are easily visible!  That's certainly the markings of a "big boy."  He's done such a good job with these teeth!

Everything is cuter in twos....I see it day after day.  One little thing suddenly becomes incredibly adorable when there are two babies doing it!  This photo is absolutely precious to me!  You know my babies have got to love books!

I know I have said a million times over and over, but I am so thankful to be able to be here with these boys and enjoy every moment with them!  They bring such an amazing joy to my life and I hope that I will always add something to theirs!