Family Pictures & 2/3 birthday!

We had our family pictures done a couple weeks ago, and let's just say that wasn't an easy task. Our kids are usually really happy and Colten listens well when we go out. I thought they'd sit on our laps and smile, and that they'd laugh sitting next to each other while I stood behind the photographer making faces and silly sounds. Not so much. These babies cried and cried. Colten kept escaping in the mall & running to a John Deere tractor. Clara was miserable. She was cutting her first tooth and had a blowout that I was unaware of. It was also a full moon the next day and Colten started throwing up 36 hours later. Enough said. Our kids were "those" kids screaming bloody murder.. and I was that overwhelmed mom with sweaty, stinky pits.

These are the 3 we chose, and for such a terrible night we are happy with how they turned out. Although, we won't be going back to the mall to have them done again anytime soon :)

I could eat her!!!! <3

Clara pulled herself to a stand all on her own on St. Patrick's Day, which is also the day she turned 8 months old! Can't believe she is 2/3 a year old already! She only weighs 16 pounds (after losing a pound from having the stomach bug) & wears mostly 6 month clothes. Itty bitty sweet girl!

 We pulled out Colten's walker from the attic & she loves it!

 Clara has been scooting and rolling for a quite some time now, but she finally got the real crawl down last week! She has been SO happy since she can move. I have seen such a change in her... I love it.

 She loves to self feed & will eat anything if she can feed herself.

First little tooth came through 2 weeks ago! The 2nd is on its way. Clara is loud & fun-loving.. she makes the silliest facial expressions & loves to throw her head back and be up side down. 

That's my boy <3

Pudding Painting

We've had some sick kids in the house, so yesterday was a pretty long day. Colt has an ear infection and has been on the neb to get rid of this cough he's had for weeks, and Clara just has a cold so she's having a really hard time sleeping. Yesterday was full of tantrums and tears.. mixed with a few sweet moments. We didn't leave the house at all yesterday because the kids were so grumpy.. that is a rare occurrence . So when Andrew got home we had a delicious dinner, played with toys and books, and then painted with pudding!

Colt helped me make the pudding early in the day while Clara beara was taking a mini nap :)

When it came time to dive in, Clara was double fisting the pudding into her mouth, but Colten only wanted to put one finger in at a time & kept wiping it off on his belly.

 She was so focused on getting that pudding!

Time for her bath :)

Colten liked using the spoon much better to eat his "treat".

Frightening picture right there!

It was a great family evening to say the least. I'm trying to get out of my "everything has to be perfectly clean & tidy" mode and do more hands on activities with the kiddos. They seem to have a great time when we do them! & a mess you can eat.. who wouldn't have fun??

Black bean brownie {crumbles}

So, dinner actually turned out quite well tonight. Roasted spaghetti squash, cranberry ginger pork roast, and brown rice. Delicious! However, dessert wasn't quite the success. I've had black bean brownies once before & remember liking them, so we gave them a try. Well, we don't quite know how they taste in a square brownie form because Andrew dropped the pan of hot brownies upside down on the oven door & into the oven when he was taking them out. Sigh. The crumbles were pretty gross, unless you got a chunk with crushed oreo or pecans :P Andrew says we really are good cooks.. it just doesn't look like it on my blog, hahaha.

Anyway, happy Sunday!!

Everything is better...

... when daddy is home!!

Isn't that the truth?! Man, life seems to just fly by so easily when Andrew is home. Last night and this morning Andrew was supposed to be at a BSA campout, but it was freezing outside so it was postponed!! (Can you tell how excited I was about this?!) Having him home is so... amazing. I actually got to cook dinner without tending to the kids the whole time. I had help cleaning up & he baked us a treat afterward. Then we bathed the kids together & one of them didn't have to freeze while I dried the other off by myself. Then we each put a baby to bed and watched a movie together!!

This morning I fed Clara when she woke up & Andrew got up with the kids for a bit. Oh, sweet glorious sleep :) After I got up, we ate breakfast together, then I took a shower without any worries of children crying since Clara was napping and Andrew was playing outside with Colten. Colten then got special one on one time with Andrew & I, and it was so, so fun. Having Andrew home in the morning happens about once every three months (other than Sundays which are busy getting ready), so today was a very special treat.
Love my babies' daddy <3

                                     

By the way, this homemade spaghetti sauce and meatballs looks and tasted like cat vomit. Anyone have delicious, not overly time consuming recipes they'd like to share?

Zimmy Update

When we moved into our new house, we went on an internet strike, so I haven't blogged in months! We finally got internet 2 weeks ago, so now it's time to start blogging again.

Colten is such a fun little boy. He says  "Ready.. set.. goooo", "Aw man", "one two threee", a lot. He runs around all day carrying empty Bob the Builder, Handy Manny, and Elmo DVD cases. He loves books & reads by himself when I'm busy, but he loves to sit on my lap and read with me too. He loves nursery! We sing songs all week that they sing during their singing time. He tortures Rue all day long, but she takes it like a champ. He loves to help me "feed" Clara & he's very helpful giving her toys and kisses when she is sad. 

Clara is finally back to her happy self!! We had a really tough 6-8 weeks. My milk supply was low, her diapers weren't wet enough, and she was grumpy. I got my supply up, but she was still so grouchy. She didn't like baby food until almost 2 weeks ago, and that has been life changing! I still nurse her every two house & now she has solids 3 times a day as well. She is also sleeping through the night now!!!! Andrew sleep trained her over the last week & it has been amazing. She has been napping well, eating well, and sleeping through the night. GLORIOUS. My happy girl is back & is loving trying to crawl & playing with toys all day long.

                                      

Andrew is busy busy with work and his church callings. We don't get to see each other much, but when we do it's party time!! Last night we went out on a mini date with no kids for the first time in months! We went to see our friend Paul Webster's short film and then to sweet frog :) Love my honey & am excited to see him A LOT next week! He's the best.

I have had a rough couple of weeks being stuck inside with the freezing cold weather & not having Andrew home too much. Thankfully, this week has been much better. I have this strong desire to be healthier, so I've been trying to run with the double jogging stroller when it's nice out. We're also trying to cut most processed foods out of our diets & eat mostly vegetables, fruit, whole grain, and meat. I haven't made bread or tortillas yet, but that is in the plan :) It's an exciting change that will be difficult but worth it! Trust me, we'll still splurge and have ice cream and oreos sometimes... just not quite so often.