Life In My Ark

the "Christmas Calendar"

2011-11-22T22:07:00.004-06:00

is it really almost Christmas? i know we haven't even celebrated Thanksgiving yet, but i am suddenly really in the Christmas spirit! it may be because Noah is really into this year...pointing out all of the christmas lights that are already showing up in our neighborhood and telling me things that he wants santa to bring him. it's the first year he is really anticipating it and i'm excited with him. we've been listening to my favorite Christmas cd, 'A Rat Pack Christmas'...here's a favorite verse that i just sang along with

{bonus points to those of you that can sing along too!}

"Frosted window panes, candles gleaming inside, painted candy canes on the tree..
Santa's on his way; he's filled his sleigh with things,
things for you and for me.
It's that time of year, when the world falls in love.
Every song you hear seems to say,
'Merry Christmas, may your New Year dreams come true.'
And this song of mine,
in three quarter time,
Wishes you and yours, the same thing too."

tonight i worked on a really special Christmas tradition. i made The Christmas Calendar. this tradition was started by my mom when i was pretty young, maybe 2. she made a little crafty calendar with pockets for each day leading up to Christmas day, and inside each pocket she would put a little goody for me. this continued every year, without fail, and i have so many memories of me and my sisters waking up early to run to the calendar and see what surprise mom had in store for us that day. sometimes it was really small, like a 5 stick pack of gum or a dollar to buy a coke at school that day. other days, it was a really elaborate scavenger hunt with a cool gift waiting! i was always amazed that we never found the gifts she hid all over the house until the exact moment she wanted us to find them!

writing this is honestly making me so sentimental; add that to someone who has already been an emotional basket case this week, and you have me crying over a calendar. {i love you mommy!} it was just so special. and that really describes my mom. she did everything in her power to make every event in our lives memorable. i can remember she would lock herself in her room when were older to wrap each and every little gift, no matter how tiny {sometimes it would just be a note that said, "Let's go look at christmas lights tonight."} she would wrap it. we knew not to bother her while she made the calendar.

it was a scared part of my childhood, my adolescence, and now i plan to make it part of my children's lives too. i know jonah won't be into like noah yet, but i have big plans including some mini-scavenger hunts around our house! my mom made the actual calendar and tonight i worked on adding the tree, names, and numbering the days. i still have to add some grommets to the top and ribbon so i can hang it. and i can't forget the jingle bells for the tree. i'm pretty sure my mom hand sewed hers on, but i plan on using a glue gun! i'll show you the finished project next week. mom is coming over on saturday to help me finish it up and get all the little goodies ready!! and oh yes, this calendar will be traveling to Disney World with us the week before Christmas!! can't believe that trip is just right around the corner!

my mother in law and i were talking about the traditions she had when my hubby was little, they did the 12 days of Christmas books! i think we will try that one this year!

what kind of traditions do you and your family have? what is your favorite Christmas tradition? i'd love some more ideas!!

like father, like son

2011-11-22T09:15:00.003-06:00

these two are just alike.

they both love to be silly.

they both love to be affectionate.

and they love to mix those two seemingly innocent attributes into a crazy combination that results in licking someone's face.

as you can see, noah adores his daddy.

he totally hung the moon.

i think he's pretty great too :)

life lately

2011-11-21T21:11:00.007-06:00

so it's been awhile since i've had a moment to gather my thoughts and actually write! i'm still at home with the boys during the week {currently working a half day on thursdays and a half day every other friday} i love dental hygiene..i am really passionate about teeth.. i know that sounds weird to most people, but it's true! my goal is always to help my patients have a great experience and hopefully take great care of their teeth! i love my patients at Dr. J's office! it's also been a great learning experience going into different offices to fill in for another hygienist. i've become a regular fill in at Dr. H's office and i LOVE it there! although fill in work is not ideal, it gives me hours and a small boost when we need it. God is so good!! He is always looking out for us and i know that HIS plans will be fulfilled..whether that is me working full time or staying home..or continuing to do both..i don't know. God has really taught me patience this year..not only with the work situation, but with the boys! they have sure been a handful! noah is 3 years old now and jonah is 16 months! where did my babies go?!? they are so big now!!

i could probably go on for a full blog about the things God is teaching me, but i'll save that for another day. i will say this though, i have really been convicted about witnessing.. there have been so many chances for me to witness, but i hold back. so lately, if i feel the Holy Spirit urging me to talk to someone, or to share something, i'm doing it! it feels so great to know i allowed God to work through me, even if i stumbled over my words or didn't even know what to say. anyways, so Sunday at church, my pastor {who is also my father in law} started talking about how we need to go out and witness more and he has all these ideas he will be sharing with us for ways to better witness! isn't God so good!?!

now it's time for a recap of the last couple of months!! we've had a really busy fall and it has been so fun! October was filled with pumpkin patches, birthdays, and dressing up like superheroes! Noah has been obsessing over Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Ironman, not to mention some other unlikely superheroes like the WonderPets! :) {if you haven't watched WonderPets with your kids yet, you should! it's actually a really cute cartoon and it's on Netflix!} Noah turned 3 on October 21, 2011. we had his party the following weekend right before halloween and of course, it was a themed costume party! we did a superhero theme! the kids looked so cute! jamie and i went as lois lane and clark kent! :) jamie's costume was amazing!!! we had the kids both dressed as superman, but right before the party started noah had a major accident in his undies {we had neglected to put his pull-up on before the party and we were out at a park with no bathroom in sight!} so noah made a quick change into his spiderman costume and we had a great party!

we also attended our church's annual Hee-Haw and the kids had another costume party.. we did the same costumes for that party. we switched it up for Halloween though because noah wanted to be Ironman and all of jonah's costumes were dirty {he's REAL messy these days} so he wore noah's old dragon costume! super cute! after 3 days in a row of dressing up we were so glad it was all over!! noah really loved being in costume and i foresee many days of playing dress up in our future!

okay, on to November! the first weekend started the month off right! we took a girls trip to OKC...just my mom, my sisters, and myself! we stayed in a great hotel, ate at an amazing restaurant {The Melting Pot - serious YUMMO!}, and had some great entertainment in the form of The Girlie Show! i know the name sounds misleading, but it's actually a great craft/art fair. tons of local vendors and eateries, live bands as well as some rockin' girl dj's! the food was to die for...very fancy schmancy! friday night we got there early enough to be one of the first 100 in line, so we got some great goodie bags! then we enjoyed shopping and eating. saturday we toured some of brooke's favorite spots..like the new outlet mall, Cuppies and Joe {a cupcake and coffee shop! so cute!}, a few thrift shops, and a made to order tshirt press store. it was so nice to get together and share some great girly bond time! especially since my sister carah is PREGNANT!!! {i didn't notice until i posted these pics tonight that we all 3 stand in the same order EVERY time for every picture! how funny!!}

brooke, carah, and me just relaxing after a long day of shopping!

my sweet mommy and sisters in front of the sign for the Girlie Show

sisters! all dressed up and ready to SHOP!!

my sister carah had her first prenatal doctor's appointment on november 14th and she got a huge surprise/blessing during her ultrasound!!! :) we are all so excited!!! she is due June 11, 2012 with TWINS!!!

and one more picture for those of you who made it all the way to the end of this post! :) my sweet, sweet boys playing nicely together with play dough this afternoon. want to know what was really going on? they were majorly fighting over every single thing on that table! it's not enough that there were 3 different color of play dough to choose from, and like 30 little "cookie cutters", but jonah just wanted everything that noah had at the moment. poor noah, he tries so hard to be a good sharer, but it's just impossible when your little brother won't let you play with anything unless he can have it! ugh! boys! what's a mom to do?

my guys love riding on the lawnmower

2011-09-27T21:32:00.004-05:00

how sweet are these pictures? the boys absolutely love riding on the lawnmower at my dad's house..the boys call him "gramps" {side note: they love riding the lawnmower at anyone's house..i just happened to get pics of them with my dad's lawnmower on these occasions} tonight when we went over to my parent's house, they were of course riding around the yard with pears in hand {the boys think they are apples, but my parent's apple tree doesn't really produce much fruit..the pear tree; however, produces some really yummy pears!} they wanted their daddy to drive them around, so after a quick switcharoo they were back at it! i love how happy they are! i love my guys!

i wish you could scratch and sniff this post!

2011-08-08T12:38:00.003-05:00

i just mopped my floors with this stuff and my house smells AMAZING!!!

seriously..it's ridiculously good!

you know how when you're pregnant and you like to smell the laundry detergent..oh you didn't do that? i thought everyone did that..or maybe you just liked the smell of the Swiffer WetJet spray..i liked that too. well this is perfect because it makes your entire house smell like the detergent! :)

i also bought a few Febreeze Noticeables dual scent plugins...yes i bought the Gain scented one! it's awesome! i put one in my bedroom and the other in the living room..i would probably put one in every room, but jonah keeps trying to pull them out of the wall..ugh, baby proofing.

so just wanted to tell you that my house smells good today. and that's a really important thing in a house full of stinky boys.

Weight Loss Wednesday

2011-07-27T13:42:00.004-05:00

can i please get an amen that this summer has flown by! i just blinked and it's almost august! we've been swimming a lot, had a great party for Jonah's first birthday {more to come on that tomorrow hopefully}, had a few play dates here and there with some good friends, celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary {i'll post soon on that too}, and have been staying inside due to the unbearable 100+ temps everyday. we've even taken to just walking through walmart or target just to get out and escape the heat!

we kinda let the diet slide for the past couple of weeks, but have decided to really start hitting the gym hardcore again and stick to the diet!! we just switched gyms {the new one is closer and offers a lot more} and i'm gonna start doing Zumba in the mornings and then working out with jamie at night; we might even try out the beginner's spinning class on tuesday nights! {they also have better childcare hours so we can take the boys with us at night when we go together}

jamie is just about to hit the 40 lb lost mark!! i'm so proud of him! i'm still holding strong at -15 lbs..i've hit this plateau that i just can't seem to break..but i know it's gonna happen! i still want to lose around 40 or 50 lbs...i can already feel my body getting so much stronger! it's been so long since i've had any resemblence of "abs"...i'm nowhere close to a 6 pack, but i can feel the muscles underneath the fat and it's a great feeling!

the new gym also offers trainers at no additional cost, so i'll totally be taking them up on that and hopefully they can help whip my booty into shape :)

well, i hear jonah waking up from his nap, so i gotta run..good luck to all you other ladies out there participating in weight loss wednesday!

one

2011-07-08T10:17:00.002-05:00

my sweet baby jonah

turns ONE today!

big first birthday party planned for tomorrow afternoon!!

Happy First Birthday little cow :)

We've been gone...

2011-06-26T15:08:00.001-05:00

We played a little Galaga...

Ate at the local Pizza Hut...

Wore my hair in braids several times...

And even played with our cars at the Laundromat!! (while mommy and daddy did all the laundry!)

We were gone for a full week to church camp and man are we glad to be home!!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Weight Loss Wednesday

2011-06-08T12:07:00.003-05:00

lost this week -1 pound!

(this is actually from last week...i'm pretty sure that i'm down more than this, but i don't go off my home scale, only the gym and i have not weighed in this week due to some crazy heat exhaustion...have you ever experienced that?? it's the pits! i haven't been able to work out this week..but i've gained some strength back today and went walking around our neighborhood for about 20 minutes...i also have the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred dvd that i might try later today)

goal: -55 lbs by December vacation to Disney!!!

total lost: -11.75lbs

to go: -43.25 lbs!

JAMIE

goal: -100 lbs

total lost: -26 lbs

to go: 74 lbs!

can i just say how proud i am of jamie!! he is looking so good and keeping me so very accountable...even when i don't want to be held accountable :) i know he is feeling so much better about himself and everyone is noticing his weight loss!! keep it up honey!!!

{i heart my camera}

2011-06-06T16:59:00.003-05:00

because i only know how to use one setting {thanks Jenny} and it gives me gems like this one...

and this one!

**just had to mention a cute giveaway over at Lauren Grace Boutique...i would love to win that cute Hog's shirt!!**

Noah & Ninny Weekend {Part 2}

2011-06-06T04:53:00.000-05:00

sorry i've been MIA this weekend...we were going, going, going!! we had a great time and now it's monday and back to reality..which in the Brown home meant i spent all day cleaning this house cause it was a pigsty!

and now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

while Jenny was in last weekend, our main goal was to photograph her newest project...DIY Birthday Kits. You can visit her BLOG or check out her awesome ETSY site for more info. Basically, she created some awesome party ideas {most of these are for the boys right now, but she has several girl ideas in store also...she was trying to help me out since i've got the boys!} and all you have to do is purchase the kit, download it, and print everything out!! She included everything you can imagine for a great party: cupcake circles, invitations, banner, treat bag tags, hats...it goes on and on and several of the items {like the circles} can be used in many different ways!! She is so creative and has had such a great time coming up with these ideas and putting them to good use!! we literally staged 3 different birthday parties in my kitchen all day saturday! Cutting out everything takes a little time, but with help {and a few great crafty tools} it comes together in about an hour! We staged the ninja, royal knights, and pirates parties!!! Noah had a blast eating all the cupcakes and cake pops and he was our model for the day for all of the hats!! {he was bribed with chocolate each time!} Jenny and I had a great time and I know her stuff is gonna really take off!! so stop by her shop and check it out! i think you'll love it!!! now for the pics!!

after all of our party staging fun, we had a blast playing with the balloons outside and noah even attached a note to one and let it go!! :) it was so cute "I Noah, and Jonah." pretty sure that's all it said! LOL! he dictated the note to aunt ninny!

jonah enjoyed the balloons too!!

what a fun weekend!!!

Weight Loss Wednesday

2011-06-01T10:59:00.004-05:00

there will be no weight loss wednesday this week...

because i couldn't bear to get on the scale at the gym yesterday.

because i ate all weekend

{i'm blaming it on pms and the fact that we made cake pops!}

jamie didn't weigh this week either...

we had nachos with amazing guacamole! cake pops and cupcakes! i even drank 2 cream sodas, a coca cola, and 2 pibb extras! {over the course of 2 days! YIKES!}

i went a litle crazy with the sodas because i've been doing so good lately only having a coke zero every now and then...but jamie brought home the good stuff for the youth all nighter sunday night and i just couldn't help myself...there are exactly 2 pibbs and 8 cokes left in the fridge...HEY EMILY..want some free coca cola??!!

so..i'm a little ashamed..but our normal weight loss wednesday will pick up next week..unless my hormones force me to drive to walmart and load my cart up with every kind of chocolate i can find...no, i'm not gonna do that {i might just need some oreos..or a reese's...oh man} make the junk food cravings go away!!!

never a dull moment with this one...

2011-05-31T15:00:00.001-05:00

and if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

Noah & Ninny Weekend {Part 1}

2011-05-30T13:06:00.009-05:00

this weekend it was all about her...

it is so obvious that noah loves his aunt ninny,

because when she comes to visit, no one else exists.

Jenny came down on Thursday night. we had dinner together with the whole family, then we came back to our house and Jenny showed noah how to make balloon hats and swords! She brought him a few new cars...she even found the Tormentor {Mater's Tall Tales}! he was so excited!!

Jenny spent the night at our house...noah was a little confused. he thought he was going home with her, he didn't realize she was staying with us. he was so afraid she was going to leave him!

Friday we spent the day running errands and getting everything ready for our big plans on Saturday {stay tuned for Noah & Ninny Weekend Part 2}.

We ran into town to get supplies and worked on some projects at the house. We even attempted cake pops, but they were a dud {tasted great, looked awful!}, so Jenny made a new batch on Saturday morning! That evening, we all got together at my house for homemade lasagna. I made two kinds, one had all mushroom and spinach and the other had italian sausage and spinach. my in laws don't like mushrooms but i persuaded them to try it and guess what?! they LOVED it!!

after dinner we packed the kids up and headed for Chuck E. Cheese!! Noah had been talking about going there all day...seriously. about once every hour or so he would say, "we go to Chuck Cheese?" and i would have to tell him not yet!! the boys both had a great time...jonah is almost walking and can just barely reach a couple of the games. he spent time watching me play skeeball and riding around in his stroller. he also really enjoyed the slide this time! noah loves one little game in particular. it is basically just a phone with big buttons! he LOVES it!! we all won a bunch of tickets {430!!} so noah got to pick out a small skateboard, TinkerBell pencil, crazy straw, and a small blue frisbee for his brother!

noah did not want his picture taken at Chuck E. Cheese! he was too busy playing!!

up next: Noah & Ninny Weekend {Part 2} - our ginormous Saturday project!!

insta-friday {on saturday}

2011-05-28T11:52:00.008-05:00

okay. so i have a problem.

i feel like i'm always a day behind this week.

not sure why this is, but i totally forgot yesterday was Friday..oh well..

last Sunday, at church with my hubby :)

sweet baby fell asleep on me early this week. i love the rare moments when he is still and lets me hold him..he's always on the move now. almost walking!!

Thursday i let Andrea put some feathers in my hair!! i don't usually go for the super trendy stuff, but i thought this was a really subtle, fun thing to do! i have 2 in...one is light pink and the other is black and white!

Thursday night. jamie made the Tom's shoes i wanted "magically appear" in my closet! his note says, "Abra-Cadabra!" :) he is so thoughtful!!

my new Tom's. bottlecap green! i <3 them!

jonah's first picture with Chuck E. Cheese! :) 5/27/11

jenny {aunt ninny}, jonah, and jamie at Chuck E. Cheese...we all had a great time!!

testing, testing, 1 2 3

2011-05-25T17:09:00.001-05:00

Just testing out this new iPhone app.... What did I do before the iPhone?
Hope this works!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:My livingroom!

Weight Loss Wednesday

2011-05-25T16:05:00.002-05:00

lost this week -1.75!

goal: -55 lbs by December vacation to Disney!!!

total lost: -10.75lbs

to go: -44.25 lbs!

days until goal: 205

JAMIE

goal: -100 lbs

total lost: -20 lbs

to go: 80 lbs!

FINALLY made it to the 10 pound mark!

WOO HOO!! it seems like such a small achievement, but i'm takin it!

we got a new scale this week...so nice to finally have a scale that says the same thing the scale at the gym says {our old one always showed me about 5-6 lbs heavier! not encouraging!} it also tracks your weight loss and goals, as well as your BMI, water weight, and bone weight?! i have no idea how it figures out how much your bones weigh, but it's kinda cool!

brothers

2011-05-24T07:05:00.002-05:00

there is nothing sweeter than the love of a brother; he's a built in best friend!

insta-friday {on saturday}

2011-05-21T16:30:00.005-05:00

i found these cute boys at the park by our house... :)

we stopped at the gas station first to get something to drink and noah picked out a Gatorade. he's never had it before, i have no idea why he picked it out

he only drank about 1/4 of the whole bottle...it's still in the fridge

noah running away from me at the park...a common occurrence lately!

{we loved this bridge! so pretty!}

noah is totally type A. loves to organize like his mama!

friday night my sister and i surprised the guys with a trip to Sky Vue, our favorite little getaway place! it's such a nice little bed and breakfast!!

we cheated on our diet and had their amazing pizza friday night {and again for lunch on saturday!} and then saturday morning Janice made us an amazing breakfast!

oh my was it good!!

my hubby and i at Sky Vue. we have lost track on how many times we have stayed here.

we came here on our honeymoon and for a few anniversaries!

best friends...alyssa and noah after the movies today.

{noah wanted to hold her hand, she wasn't sure at first}

we watched Rio. they thought the birds were pretty and funny, we thought there was a little too much adult humor...good thing they don't understand any of it yet.

that was my awesome week! :) hope yours was grand!

a big moment

2011-05-18T20:29:00.003-05:00

this boy did something amazing...

after two pairs of "big boy" undies, one pull-up, peeing on the kitchen floor and then on the living room carpet...

he FINALLY peed in the potty tonight!! WOO HOO!!

he was so proud to get to pick out his first sucker!! {we rarely let him eat suckers - very special treat usually reserved for La Fiesta excursions. but while at Sam's the other day, i let him pick out whatever he wanted to be his "potty reward" and he picked out a massive bag of Dum Dum suckers!}

5/18/11 5:45 pm

Noah - 2 1/2 years old

noah and i made him a sticker sheet for the fridge. noah got to pick out things that he would like to get as his "potty rewards!" he got to put his first sticker tonight!! i'm so proud of my big boy!!

Weight Loss Wednesday

2011-05-18T06:30:00.005-05:00

lost this week -1.5!

goal: -55 lbs by December vacation to Disney!!!

lost: -9 lbs

to go: 46 lbs!

days until goal: 212

JAMIE

goal: -100 lbs

lost: -17 lbs

to go: 83 lbs!

my baby

2011-05-17T17:00:00.000-05:00

jonah norman. my second-born. little brother. you are such an individual!

at 10 months old you like to go, go, go and you LOVE food! you love applesauce, bananas, avocados, asparagus, rice, cheesy beans from La Fiesta. you don't like meat very much yet. sometimes you like pasta. it depends on your mood. you LOVE cinnamon toast Eggo's!

you are almost walking. we think it'll happen any day now. you love to hold onto the back of my pant legs and walk with me {well, usually you want to be picked up, but i use this as an opportunity to make you walk!}

you love to be held; on your own terms. you like to be held when someone is standing up, but if they sit down, watch out! your screams are piercing!

you growl at people. we think noah taught you this.

sometimes people don't really see the "real" you, because it takes you a while to warm up. you study faces for a long time before you will smile, unless it's someone you know well. you look really serious when you stare, like you are really trying to figure something out.

you weigh a little over 20 pounds and are about 30 inches tall...you are catching up to your big brother fast in height! you wear 12 month shirts and 6-9 month pants...even though you are so tall, you are pretty small around still, so the 12 month pants just fall right off! we're glad it's summer now, because the shorts look better than too-short jeans!

you have big feet, just like the rest of us. we don't put shoes on you yet, unless we are dressing up for church sometimes. you wear around a 4 1/2 or a 5 in shoes. to put this in perspective, your brother at 2 1/2 {who also has big feet} is in a size 9-10

you are completely uninterested in tv. you would rather be following otis around, playing with noah, or getting into the trash than watch a show.

you take 1-2 naps per day {usually around 10:00 and then after lunch sometime around 1 - the 2nd nap is usually pretty long, the 1st one varies} you sleep through the night most of the time. you still wake up every now and then...lately it's been every night. ugh!

there is so much about you that i don't know yet. you are so different from your brother, but in many ways i see that you guys are alike too. you are such a special little boy, jonah! i love my second-born and i thank God for letting me be your mommy!

my firstborn

2011-05-16T15:38:00.006-05:00

my baby is growing up! he's now 2 1/2...31 months on May 21st. he is such a rambunctious, fun little man! he keeps his daddy and me on our toes, and says some of the funniest stuff lately.

*he's really into talking in sentences and really loves to tell us, "i do it by myself!" he's constantly telling us, "i tall!" especially when he's standing in a chair, on a table, or on his stool.

*he really has become very independent and will look for things to help him accomplish whatever task he's trying to complete. a common phrase heard around here is, "my stool will help me." {as in: my stool will help me get in the bath, make cookies with aunt cc, climb into bed, etc..}

*he LOVES to sing and dance. he has a microphone and a guitar {te-tar as he calls it} and he will most usually be caught singing a Veggie Tales song. his favorites are: the bunny song, stand up {for what you believe in}, the song of the cebu, and LARRY BOY! he also loves to sing this little light of mine and Jesus loves me! we sing everyday in the car and every night before bed. most days, i turn the radio on in the house and we like to sing and dance around. he woke up the other day, and the first thing he said to me was, "mama, sing hot dog song." that's the mickey mouse clubhouse theme for those of you that don't speak noahese

*he sleeps in the guest bed, our old queen size bed, because he kept climbing out of his crib and didn't like sleeping in his toddler bed. most nights he sleepwalks to our room, carrying his "mo-mo" {blankie}, water cup, and an assortment of toys that he was sleeping with. if he forgets one thing in his bed, he puts up a finger and says, "i be right back" then he runs back to his room to get his lost items.

*mo-mo still goes everywhere with him. lately i've started leaving it behind, and if he doesn't grab it then he doesn't get it. i tell him, "you are big enough to remember what you want to take with you. if you forget it we will just have to get it once we get back home." no more special trips back to the house to get mo-mo. {i have a "blankie" of sorts that i use to keep the light out of my eyes when i sleep, and he has begun referring to it as "mama's mo-mo" :) too funny!}

*noah weighs about 32 pounds and is somewhere around 37 inches tall {i could be wrong on this one, we haven't measured in a while}. he loves to stand on my scale and see how much he weighs, then he tells me, "you're turn!" he is wearing anything from a 2t to a 4t...it just depends on the brand. we love the children's place pants because they have the adjustable waist...both my boys are tall and skinny, so it's a necessity! the 3t pants fit great if they are adjusted to almost the tightest setting.

*he is a little bit ocd. he gets really upset if something spills on him, or if he gets his hands dirty, esp sticky. he has methods for how he likes things done. for example: his mo-mo must be laying across the back of his chair during meals...he seriously will go look for it, and then show me where to put it! he is obsessive about really small things. he asks us constantly, "where is Jessie's/ Woody's hat?" he will look all over and then proudly exclaim, "i found Woody's hat!"

*he would wear his Buzz lightyear t-shirt and his Woody boots everyday if i would let him...and most days, i let him ;) {if it's clean!}

*he loves his family. i mean he really, really, really loves his grandparents and his aunts and uncles, and his bubba! he loves his mama and daddy too, but there is just something about the way he lights up when he sees his Nana, Daya, Gramps, PaPa, aunt ninny, aunt cc...i could go on and on...he is so blessed to be around so much family!!

*he LOVES to go to church. he knows that this is where he sees his friends and of course his PaPa, but we are really making it a point that he knows we go to church not to just see our friends, but we go to learn about Jesus. it makes my heart so happy when he reminds us to pray at dinner and then he wants to list everyone that he thinks needs prayer. he always finishes with a loud AMEN! :)

i love my firstborn so much. he was such an easy baby and has grown into such a joyful, beautiful toddler. God has truly blessed me with Noah.

bark for the arc

2011-05-14T14:46:00.006-05:00

trying to get a picture with 2 kids and a dog is quite difficult :)

this morning we attended "Bark for the Arc" a dog walk for a great organization here in Fort Smith that benefits disabled children.

first we walked all around Ben Geren park, 1.5 miles with 2 kids and our little shi tzu, Otis! noah and otis did great, but jonah wasn't really having a great time...he had a little accident about half way through the walk and we had to wait til we finished and got back to the car to change him. oh life with kids is never boring!! {ps. it was 54 degrees... we were freezing! my thinking was, oh it'll be fine once we start walking, we'll work up a sweat! nope. never warmed up. poor jonah was cold even in pants and a jacket}

our little group (minus jamie) at the finish line!

after the walk, there was a firetruck and police truck to visit! the boys loved this!! they even got to take a picture with 3 firemen!

they also provided lunch and a t-shirt for us {i'm not wearing the shirt because all they had left were smalls. the sweet lady said "i hope you can wear a small" and i just said, "nope, but my kids can grow into them!"} during lunch they did awards for the dogs, smallest dog, largest dog, most energetic dog, etc. i'm not sure when you were supposed to enter your dog for the contest because i didn't have the chance to enter otis for any of the categories...oh well, he's the BEST dog to us!! :) {he was my valentine's day gift for our first v-day as a married couple - he was born january 15, 2006}

my sweet oti' boy before on the way to the walk. he found a new favorite place in the car!

insta-friday

2011-05-13T17:02:00.002-05:00

jonah, lover of all foods...tuesday morning it was chocolate chip pancakes! (ps i'll be doing a post about his upcoming birthday plans soon!! it's food related - because at 10 months food is his absolute favorite thing!)

noah played so hard at the park wednesday afternoon with alyssa. he promptly crashed as soon as we got in the car :)

jonah decided to wake up particularly early this morning. he was so cute and in a great mood, just wanted to be awake at 5:30!

my latest hairstyle...rope braids! i've been trying it different ways..the first time i only did 2, both on the left side...didn't really turn out great. the second time i did 2 on the left side and 1 on the right side...didn't know what to do with the rest of the hair, so i put it all up in a low bun. i got 3 compliments at work that day! :)

the SHELLAC experience continues!

2011-05-11T22:04:00.000-05:00

i just had to mention that my amazing hubby is down 15 pounds!! he flexed for me last night and let me just say, wow! :) love you jame! keep it up!!!

{you can view the original post here}

here we are at day 5 of my Shellac manicure {picture was taken on tuesday}! it's holding up really nicely, only a couple of minor chips, both on my first fingers, and now a small chip on my right thumb. my nails were very brittle and thin to start with after removing the solar nails i had worn for quite some time. i think the next manicure will last even better now that they've had a little chance to grow out a bit.

have any of y'all had the chance to try the shellac experience yet?? let me know if you try it! i'd love to see pics of different colors!!! there are so many new colors i want to try...my salon only offers about 8 colors though. bummer! i may have to ask them to order some more!!

colors i want to try include: Gotcha, Iced Coral, Hot Pop Pink, and Rock Royalty... i also think it would be fun to try the Mother of Pearl..white nails seem to be in this season and you have to love the sparkles!!

Weight Loss Wednesday

2011-05-11T06:30:00.000-05:00

during our walk today, it was close to 90 degrees and it took us nearly an hour to make it around our neighborhood...noah and otis were not cooperating! i ended up carrying otis while pushing jonah in the stroller and then had to stop and go back for noah who decided to just sit in the middle of the street! what a crazy adventure!! thank God for air conditioning!!

lost this week -1.5!

goal: -55 lbs by December vacation to Disney!!!

lost: -7.5 lbs

to go: 47.5 lbs!

days until goal: 219

i feel like this week i have gained more muscle mass...i didn't lose as much as i wanted to. i've set a goal for myself to drink 6-8 glasses of water. i would like to be down 10 pounds by my next weigh in so i'm going to really step up my cardio workouts this week. i've been doing between 20 and 3o minutes on either the elliptical or the treadmill, usually going about 1.5 or 2 miles. i'd like to work up to 45 minutes on the elliptical and eventually be able to do a full hour. i have been doing really good in my class, i missed yesterday, but i plan to go thursday morning. i've also been moving steadily up on my weights. i'm still doing 2 sets of 10 reps on all the arm machines {we haven't moved to free weights yet, except in class} and i can do some of them at 50 or 62.5 lbs! it's a long way from where i started about a month ago. back then 12.5 lbs was about to kill me!

my body is feeling so energized and i can tell i'm really getting in shape! i want to see more weight come off, and it's so easy to get discouraged, but jamie is really helping me see that i am losing inches {i'll update that tomorrow after we measure} and i'm gaining muscle mass which in the long run will help me burn more fat. i know it's gonna be slow and steady and i have to remind myself that this is a lifestyle change.

brooke bought me the book i mentioned last week, Reshaping It All by Candace Cameron Bure, and so far i really like it. she struggled with bulimia, but God helped her turn it all around and showed her how to maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle with His help.

a good time

2011-05-10T21:53:00.002-05:00

last night my friend, Brooke, and i hosted a dinner party at my house. she and her hubby, Craig, were in for a few days to attend her sister's bachelorette party in Dallas and we had the opportunity to get together with them a couple of different times. he is an air force pilot and they are about to be stationed in las vegas, so any time they are in town we like to try and plan a little get together!! brooke is one of my closest and dearest friends and i love that no matter how long it's been since we've seen each other we can always pick right back up where we left off. this is true also for the other couples we invited last night. all four of us girls graduated high school together and have been friends since 10th or 11th grade.Tedd and Emily and Grant and Rachel are so much fun to be around and we always have a great time together! we were all discussing, over dinner, how special it is that all four of the guys are almost the same age (between 28-30) and all of us girls graduated high school together! there were several connections between each couple and i love it when we can all hang out together!

mason jars with colored flowers for the girls

we bought 3 types of burger buns: potato, wheat, and thin, whole wheat...haha! we overdid it a little!

sweet brooke made cute labels for all of the food

the condiment table

we started off the night with a yummy dinner!! jamie got to use his new grill and we had veggie burgers, regular burgers, and Nathan's hotdogs! i made a yummy, cold pasta salad, corn on the cob, as well as some delicious carrots and grapes. Emily made a tangy, virgin Sangria {she told me that sangria means blood in spanish!} which we served in the mason jars! Rachel rounded out the dinner with some amazing chocolate chip cookies!! she used her mom's recipe and they were a hit!

the boys always enjoy company!!

noah was so cute at bedtime..he had to tell everyone "bye guys!"

we all ate outside since the weather was perfect! it had been hot during the day, but as the evening went on it was so nice. we all took turns holding baby Ian, who was just an absolute doll! noah played in the yard while we ate; and jonah even crawled around on the patio with noah! his knees and hands were filthy once we came in! we stayed outside and talked for quite a while, then we headed into the living room to watch some crazy videos we had made during our senior year of high school. we were all thoroughly embarrassed to be watching these videos with our hubbies, but it was so much fun to just laugh and reminisce about those easy days! i also had all of my old scrapbooks out for the girls to go through. it's so neat to look back at all the fun things we did together in school.

after nearly passing out from laughing so hard at the videos, we played a round of charades. boys vs. girls. the theme: movies. basically this is how it went down. we {the girls} tried to pick some hard movies, like: Breakfast at Tiffany's, Chronicles of Narnia, and It. these were no challenge for the boys who guessed every single movie in record speed. they {the boys} were ruthless and picked some off the wall movies like: Bridge on the River Quai, Delta Force, and a show-stopping, 10 word movie Don't Be a Menace While Drinking Juice in the Hood! poor rachel picked this one and she literally went word by word until we figured it out! it took forever and of course none of us had ever even heard of this movie!! i drew Last of the Mohicans and was totally stumped, until finally i put my hand over my mouth and {illegally} made a indian dance noise. it was a fun game, but the guys have to go a little easier on us next time!

our group: the Lowe's, the Lodes' + baby Ian, the Pachlhofer's, and the Brown's

i am so blessed to have such sweet, Godly, sincere friendships! we are going to make it a point to get together much more frequently. i especially think having girl time is so important, and i miss these girls {as well as my other girlfriends that couldn't be there} and the bond we shared through high school. i think it is such a God thing that we are all still able to keep in touch and that all of our hubbies get along so well! Thank you God for this amazing group of friends!!

1 Samuel 20:42 {Jonathan said,"Go in peace! The two of us have vowed friendship in God's name, saying,}

'God will be the bond between me and you,

and between my children and your children forever!'"

christmas cookies in may?

2011-05-09T07:37:00.004-05:00

while jamie and craig {uncle teg} were gone to a MMA {mixed martial arts} tournament, carah and i decided to let the boys help us make sugar cookies. of course the only cookie cutters i have are a christmas set :) we had a blast! i'm sure noah ate more cookie dough than actual cookies. every time he would break a shape, he would eat the dough! then jonah got in on that action and the little sneaky boy would just every so slowly reach his hand into the pile of dough and grab a piece until his mouth was absolutely stuffed with it!

Noah really enjoyed decorating the shapes with blue and pink crystals and little green men shapes {left overs from his Toy Story birthday cupcakes!}

the cookies were so yummy!! {oh ya, we totally cheated on the diet this weekend!}

a weekend at ninny's

2011-05-09T07:07:00.005-05:00

we recently traveled over to Tulsa to visit my sister in law, Jenny.

We had a great time just hanging out with her.

We even ventured out to Incredible Pizza one day. that place is seriously incredible! noah thinks it's chuck e. cheese and there is no amount of persuasion to convince him it isn't.

when we first arrived at jenny's house, she ushered us outside to show us something in the backyard...

my kids love their aunt ninny (jenny)

when she's around, no one else exists

maybe it's because she built them an awesome clubhouse, complete with a pirate ship steering wheel and "hot dog" on top! {the crow's nest is coming soon}...or maybe it's just because she will always stop to play with them and will do anything and everything to make them feel special. she's such a cool aunt :)

mommy

2011-05-09T06:58:00.002-05:00

notes in my lunchbox. picnics and camping in the backyard. tents in the living room. really, really special birthday parties. she took the time to make me into the mom i am today. she took time to tell me about Jesus and how much He loves me. she is such a giver and a great role model. i find myself being more like her everyday. we cry at the same things (pretty much everything) and we both have an unstoppable joy in our hearts. she would say i giggle more though :) i love you mommy. i'm so glad we are best friends.

it has potential!

2011-05-07T16:30:00.003-05:00

it's true this chair has seen better days. it's dusty, dirty, and a little stained. but it has the potential to be something great!! {plus it was only $12.99 at Saver's!} it's gonna need some serious tlc! i was totally inspired by a new blog - Hyphen Interiors- i found the other day to try and paint a chair {upholstery is so expensive and her tutorial shows you exactly what to do} wish me luck!

insta-friday

2011-05-06T20:30:00.004-05:00

here's my week in instagram pics :) i double love this app on my iphone! it transforms all of my regular pics into works of art...okay, so not really, but it's really awesome!

i already posted this pic, but this was the night i got my mother's day gift in the mail!! i love this necklace from the vintage pearl and have worn it pretty much ever since i got it...i almost slept in it last night, but then i worried that it might get tangled in my hair...have you seen my hair lately? it's LONG! and jamie likes it, so it'll stay that way!

here's a good pic of the long hair...this was tonight, date night! we went to olive garden! yummy!! we have been doing so good dieting and we manage to still eat pretty good when we go to olive garden...i get the salad, no cheese, with the dressing on the side{and i'm not allowed to ask for more dressing}, jamie gets the soup and then we split an entree. tonight we had some kind of roasted beef with cheese tortellini in a marinara sauce. mmmmm! pretty sure i went over my calories on that meal, but we each only ate half and were so stuffed!! i did eat one small bite of a breadstick, but i'm staying away from those because a patient at work told me that one breadstick is 8 points on weight watchers...well i'm not doing weight watchers, but that sounds like a lot for one measly little breadstick..and i don't really like them, unless they are dipped in the dressing and we already went there {ps the drink is lime with water - yes i meant it that way}

okay so i enough of the necklace i know! but i really love it! it's so special and i want to wear it everyday! i thought it paired nicely with my black Grey's Anatomy scrubs today :)

me and my mom at work today. do you think i look like her? did y'all know i get to work with my mom? yuppers! every other friday from 1-5 at Dr. J's office! we have a blast and try not to gab too much when Dr. J is there ;)

as you can tell these flowers are not in a vase...nope. they are in a drink dispenser...why you might ask? well when i tried to put them in the only tall vase i have, they looked awful! they were all scrunched together and they just didn't look happy...the closest thing i had to a vase was this great drink dispenser from Kirkland's {i got it last year when we moved into the new house} while it's not the ideal vase, i thought it looked kinda cute and different! the arrangement is currently sitting on my island, making my kitchen feel very summery!

if you know me at all, then you know i'm a -tooth freak- {aka registered dental hygienist} and i love all things teeth. well, i always thought i had a pretty white smile, until i started working for Dr. J and one of the first things he said to me was, "have you ever thought about whitening?" well, he continued to press the matter and even bought me a box of Equate Advanced Whitestrips...which i used {he only gave me the tops he kept the bottoms for himself...he's kinda strange that way} all week and barely saw any difference. so tonight after dinner i made jamie drop me off at walmart so i could go buy some stronger whitestrips. here's the dilemma..i have really sensitive teeth, so i just have to go kinda slow..but i'll keep you updated on the progress :) {ps the Equate strips were very nice...no mess, held onto my teeth well, and did not taste bad - i just didn't see much results after using the entire kit}

this picture is EPIC! jamie called me today to say that craig was in town {go here to read all about craig and brooke! it's a great story!} he wanted to invite him over to play video games...he just needed a guy night..that was fine, because we had plans for our date night, but that's really just going out to eat with my sister and her hubby, then we usually just chill at the house or watch a movie...i said that would be great because i would be blogging and working on some house stuff {ie: shopping online for stuff for our bedroom} so when we got home tonight, craig was already waiting in our driveway with his backpack on containing his computer...these boys are total tech nerds!!! so i'm in the kitchen blogging and i can hear the guys playing call of duty in our bedroom...the xbox is set up in our room so it's not so loud {jamie only plays those games after the boys are asleep - i do not endorse call of duty or games like it...they are wayyy too violent and realistic} just thought the pic of the guys in bed together was pretty funny!

last, this is a cool picture frame i found today at Kirkland's for only $9.99-it had been $24! it's a family tree and says "the roots of a family tree begin with the love of two hearts"...i have post-its all over showing whose picture i want to go where...it will hang either in the boys hallway or possibly in the kitchen. i haven't decided yet.

happy friday

2011-05-06T07:00:00.003-05:00

just some cuteness to brighten your day! enjoy!

these were taken in early April 2011 at Creekmore Park

the SHELLAC experience

2011-05-05T22:02:00.005-05:00

update: i've had several of y'all ask where you can buy Shellac...i have mine done at QNails Spa. i don't think it is something you can apply yourself, it is quite a process. it costs about $20.

*****************************************************************************

{if you look really hard you can see i'm getting 28.6 mpg in my Hyundai Sonata! :) just thought i'd throw that in there! i love my little car!}

now on with the story!

so this is my 2nd time to try shellac...i usually have solar nails which are great because they last forever and are really thin acrylic so they look really natural, but i broke a nail today (i may have been biting my nails unconsciously) so i decided to just take them off and let my nails grow out for a while. shellac is great for this in between stage because it makes your natural nails a little stronger and hardly chips (for about 2 weeks!)

this time i tried a new color and i already like it better than the first time (first time i had a very pale pink, almost white...doesn't look great on a really pale hand.) this color is called Hollywood!! it has a little bit of a sparkle to it and looks more pink on than red. i can't wait to see how well it holds up!

it's here, it's here!

2011-05-05T22:00:00.004-05:00

this picture TOTALLY does not do this necklace justice, but i had to get a quick shot of it! I LOVE IT!! thank you Jamie! you are such a thoughtful hubby!! and thank you Vintage Pearl!! :) you just made my mother's day!

Weight Loss Wednesday

2011-05-04T14:47:00.002-05:00

this is my 2nd weight loss wednesday since starting my program and i'm happy to announce that i'm down 6 pounds!!

goal: -55 lbs by December vacation to Disney!!!

lost: -6 lbs

to go: 49 lbs!

i went to the Total Cardio Circuit class on Tuesday and did a lot better than i thought i would do! i made it through the entire hour class and felt great. i stretched longer afterwards and i'm not nearly as sore as last time!! i have the same class tomorrow at 8:15 am, but since i went to BSF this morning, i didn't get to workout today...i think jamie and i might go tonight if he feels up to it (he missed his workout last night so he's gotta make one up too!)

best news yet - this morning i went into my closet and just thought i would try on some jeans that haven't fit since i got pregnant with jonah (that was in November 2009) and guess what?!! THEY FIT!!! okay, so they're a little tight and i have a little bit of what they call a "muffin top" in them, but they went up, zipped and buttoned!! lol!!! i was so excited! i was down to just a couple pairs of jeans that fit and now my wardrobe has opened up again!! :) hooorayy!!

my friend Brooke told me about a book that she has been reading by Candace Cameron (Kirk Cameron's brother) she played DJ on Full House...she wrote a book about weight loss and her faith and Brooke said it really helped her. it's called, "Reshaping It All." It's about giving God the glory for your weight loss and knowing that if we ask anything from Him, and seek Him he will answer. I know i can't do anything on my own, but through Christ I can do ALL things! (phillippians 4:13)

inspiration!

2011-05-03T21:07:00.003-05:00

i really love this blog i just found last night...she's a sahm who has a dreamy home, and she did all the decorating - on a BUDGET! :) i'm really in love with the master bedroom, especially the upholstered headboard! and i want to know what kind of bed and where she got that bedskirt! it's perfectly polished and tailored..i love the crisp, clean look!

i would love to be bold and paint my room this color, but i just don't think i can go there yet..we have the same color throughout the house.

this chair is from IKEA, a steal at only $249!! the ottoman is an additional $99.99, and it has built in storage! i have a great ottoman that i found for only $60 at Furniture Factory Outlet, it is robin's egg blue with a light floral pattern...it's my color inspiration for the room and will go great with everything she has in the picture!

getting into a routine

2011-05-03T11:20:00.005-05:00

well, i've officially been a SAHM for a little over a month now, and we are loving every minute of it! we have gotten into a pretty nice routine around here and i just thought i would share it today... (this is our typical day monday thru friday)

6:30 am - i get up with jamie to fix his lunch and start cleaning up the kitchen, start some laundry, etc...

7:30 am (ish) - one, or both, of the boys wakes up and we start our day...diaper changes, put on some clothes, grab some chocolate milk for noah and warm formula for jonah, jonah usually eats breakfast early, but noah is rarely ever ready for breakfast this early

8:00 am - we try to be in the car headed to the gym before 8:15 (except Wednesdays..that's the off day!)

9:30 am - we leave the gym and head back home, noah eats breakfast and jonah usually falls asleep for his morning nap somewhere around 10:00, noah likes to watch a movie while I take my shower and get ready

11:30 am (ish) - jonah wakes up and we prepare lunch, boys play in the living room or kitchen while i cook and clean up the kitchen again! (this seems to be a never-ending process!)

12:30 am (ish) - try to get noah to take a nap...sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't...lately he doesn't want to go down until around 2 and that makes for a VERY LONG NIGHT! jonah also likes to take an afternoon nap, sometimes they nap at the same time, other times not...

afternoon - we play, color, paint, go outside for a walk, play in the backyard (when it isn't a giant puddle), go to the park, run errands, etc... the afternoons get really long sometimes and I'm still searching for creative things for us to do together...noah wants to watch movies alll day long and i'm just not up for that...i try to limit it to a movie or two in the am, but in the afternoon i like to shut off the tv and just have music playing

5:30 pm - jamie gets home, we have dinner, then he leaves for his workout

7:30 pm - bath and pj time, brush teeth, comb hair, and lotion 'em up! i just love the way they smell and feel after a bath!

8:30 pm - bedtime! jonah goes down pretty easy, he sleeps in the boys' room, in noah's old crib since it was lowered to the floor nearly and he continues to stand up in it! noah is a little more difficult. he sleeps in the guest room now because he kept climbing out of his crib, took him 2 years but he finally figured it out! so i usually lay down with him, we pray and sing several songs (he loves to sing along with everything! its so cute to hear him sing "This Little Light of Mine" or "Jesus Loves Me" or even a goofy, made up song "Whatcha Doing on the Moon"...i need to record him doing this song..the lyrics are funny. my mom and her sister made it up when they were younger and mom used to sing it to us to make us laugh. now i sing it to the boys and noah just loves it!

Whatcha Doin on the Moon?

(adult sings first line and child repeats)

Whatcha Doin on the Moon?

Nothing much, nothing much.

Just pickin' at my nose.

Have you seen a rose?

No, I haven't yet.

I bet, I bet, I bet, I bet

So I'll end this now.

Howdy, howdy, howdy, how.

Do do do, ahhhhh.

this last part is Noah's personal favorite! :) he has a really hard time saying 'howdy', but it's adorable!

my big boy! april '11

vintage pearl

2011-05-01T15:22:00.003-05:00

we drove to Tulsa on Friday night to see my sister in law, Jenny...Saturday morning we drove over to a cute little store to pick out my mother's day gift!!! i was so excited! i have followed Erin's blog about her little Etsy store for about 3 years now and was just thrilled to be in her new store front!

i picked out the eclectic necklace with 3 charms, one for jamie, jonah, and noah! cannot wait to get it!! :) Thanks hubby!!

terrific thursday!

2011-04-28T11:08:00.003-05:00

my day so far...

6:30 - wake up with jamie, make his lunch, start dinner in the crockpot, run a load of dishes, tidy kitchen

7:15 - get dressed to go work out, get the kids bag packed for a day with PaPa (jamie's dad) then Mrs. Julie (the babysitter) then Daya (my mom), drink my breakfast (strawberries and cream slimfast! YUMMY!)

7:30 - start to get the kids up, load up the car, change, dress, and get milk ready for both kids...jonah prefers warm formula in his sippy cup with the soft spout only, and noah wants cold "choc choc" (chocolate milk) preferably in his Toy Story cup

7:59 we're finally in the car and on the way to greenwood...

8:11 detour thru greenwood because of an ambulance, fire truck, police car and others in front of the Deal's home (she's in my workout class so i asked her what happened...she had no idea!)

8:15ish drop the boys off with PaPa...noah has to show me at least 3 things before i can get out the door

8:20 made it to the gym for the first circuit class! i'm pumped!!

9:20 OMG! hardest class EVER! my arms and legs feel like jello! Amanda's gonna get me in shape though!!

10:00 weigh (i hate my scale!), shower, dress for work, makeup, hair (still partially wet cause of this dang ol' humidity!)...lost one of my favorite earrings?! cannot find it, maybe it fell behind the bed last night?

11:00 writing this blog post because i feel like i've had a full day and it's only 11:00!!! still have to eat lunch, go to Sam's and make it to work by 1:00 :) i have a potential hygiene student shadowing me today so i have to be on my best clinical behavior ;)

off for more of my terrific thursday! have a blessed day!

storm

2011-04-28T07:00:00.006-05:00

these are just some pics we snapped the other day (4/26/11) of the crazy storms that were about to hit! i took the first few, but when the sirens started going off the boys and i got in my closet and jamie stayed outside to capture the rest! i've never seen an actual wall cloud before! it was crazy!!

(we are standing in our driveway looking across the street in these pictures)

wordless wednesday: a boy and his Jessie

2011-04-27T16:42:00.002-05:00

Weight Loss Wednesday

2011-04-27T16:22:00.005-05:00

I am so very inspired by my friend Brittney who has lost an amazing 44 lbs!!! She's done it the slow and steady way, over the last 6 months, which is how I am planning to shed the pounds also!

So my weight loss journey started...well to be honest it started after I had Noah...I did so great with the help of Let's Lose, lost about 30 lbs in 3 months, then I slacked off a bit and got pregnant with Jonah and gained it all back. every last stinkin pound! so this time around I am starting 10 lbs lighter than when I started Let's Lose and my goal is to lose 55 pounds by the time our Christmas trip to Disney World gets here!!

(above: This picture was taken in August 2009 after I had lost about 30 lbs! still wanted to lose another 30 after that but it didn't happen..i got pregnant again instead!)

(<--- This picture was taken in October at Noah's 2nd birthday party....so this is us pre working out/losing weight!)

Jamie and I started working out daily (or almost daily) at a little gym down in Greenwood and have been eating much healthier...lots of protein, no sugar (bye cherry coke! i sure have missed my afternoon Sonic Cherry Coke!!!), and low carbs (notice i didn't say no carbs! could never do that again! tried it in high school...not the diet for me)

stats so far: as of Monday, which is our weigh day, I have lost 3.5 lbs!!! I need to take my measurements so i can see how many inches i'm losing as well...I'm doing really good with the weights and can already feel a change in my weak, flabby arms! also, i've been going to the gym in the morning, they have a sitter for the kids, and i love the energy it gives me for the rest of the day...we had to miss today due to MOPS and Noah's first teeth cleaning appointment (that story will come later)

so wish jamie and i luck on this journey...he wants to lose about 100 lbs (he's already down about 8! i'm so proud of him!!)

Easter 2011

2011-04-26T07:20:00.014-05:00

the boy's easter basket goodies 2011

Easter came with lots and lots and lots of rain and storms this year! We had an amazing church service and the kids in the nursery even got to do a little easter egg hunt in the halls of the church.

After church we went to Jamie's Aunt Detra's house for lunch and an egg hunt. Noah was a little crabby, and both boys needed a nap desperately, but it still managed to be a great time! Noah hunted the eggs like a semi-pro this year...still not quite understanding that you have to get to the egg before the other kids! :) he would rather find just one with candy in it and eat all the candy, then go find another one!

Jamie and Jonah before lunch at the Pearcy's

Kylah and Noah hunting Easter eggs at the Pearcy's house

the boys wore matching linen khaki's and blue and white sweater tops from The Children's Place (this is probably my favorite store for the boys), jamie matched with khaki's and a blue button up shirt, and I wore my new favorite shirt from The Limited...a creamy, lacy shirt with ruffles down the front! I wish we had The Limited at our mall, but I would probably spend way too much there if we did!

my sweet little 9 1/2 month old! of course his eyes were closed! LOL!

my sister in law, Jessica (aka Jess-s or JJ) and me

After lunch and the egg hunt, we went over to my parent's house for a surprise birthday party for their friend JoJo, and we also wanted to meet Jose, the new guy that's going to help my dad with his newest Criket location (it's a cell phone store). We had a great little party and then everyone promptly fell asleep!!

Italian cream! yummy!!

Once we woke up, it was about 6:00 and I didn't feel like just going home and having to clean up the house, so we went back down to Greenwood and dyed eggs with the Brown's :) Noah had a great time, for a little while, but the skies started really looking creepy and there was a tornado watch the whole time! once it started raining it seemed like it would never stop...my in-law's house is by a creek and a cow pasture and the entire back pasture was flooded!! aparantly, their house usually floods, but this time it didn't! thank God! we contemplated just staying the night, since it had gotten so late, but we decided we should get the kids home, so we packed up around 10 when there was a break in the storm...

Noah watching the water change colors from the dye

Jonah enjoyed playing with this piano while we dyed Easter eggs!

my sis-in-law Jessica and I are the paparazzi at every event!

looking across the highway from the in-law's house..i think they called this a "shelf cloud"...right before it started raining

it stormed on and off again all day yesterday too! i'm really getting tired of the rain because i do not like to get out in it! we managed to make it to the gym and then straight back home before the storms hit yesterday. the rain has finally let up today, although i think it's supposed to storm again tonight..but the boy's and I have had an eventful day..we got out to go the gym and WalMart!

flash back: christmas 2010

2011-04-22T11:00:00.004-05:00

sooo here's the story - we haven't been able to figure out how to download our pictures for a while now and i've finally got a minute to actually sift through the thousands of pictures i have taken since last summer! here's a few gems from last christmas!

*noah writing his first letter to santa "dear santa, i want toy story and colors. and toy story. thank you."

*noah playing with daddy's iphone on Christmas day...our phones have always been his favorite toy!

*the boys first cheesy santa picture together! taken at the Winter Wonderland out at chaffee

*trying to take a family picture on Christmas Sunday! it would be a miracle of God if we all were looking at the camera at the same time!!

*Jonah's dedication on Christmas Sunday at Victory Temple! our entire family came...

Birthdays and Motivation!

2011-04-21T07:17:00.005-05:00

{this photo is from January or February...he has really grown since then!! He just started crawling with his knees this past weekend and we went for his 9 month checkup on Tuesday...he is 19 # 5 oz and 30 inches...that's 25% for weight and 95% for height! Tall and skinny boy!! we love this little guy so much!!}

April is turning out to be such a great month!!! Not only did we decide that I would stay home with the boys, but it was also my 25th birthday last Friday! I had to be at a continuing education class all day Friday for dental hygiene, so Jamie drove down to Little Rock Thursday night and we stayed with our friends Charlie and Emily. This was so much fun because we realized we hadn't seen them since I was pregnant with Jonah (that's been about a year now!) Charlie is in residency program to be an ER doctor at UAMS and Emily is a teacher, working for a military base in Little Rock right now. They are great friends and it was so nice to catch up with them.

The trip also gave Jamie and I lots of great time to talk and we decided that it is finally time to really get in shape and start eating healthier...I did really good with Let's Lose after I had Noah, but when I got pregnant with Jonah I gained it all back! Jamie completely lacked the motivation to lose weight and get in shape with me back then and it really made it hard for me to stay motivated. This time we are in it together!!!! We really want to get in shape and be good role models for the boys, so we joined a gym and have started eating much better...cutting out all sugars (bye bye cherry Coca Cola, I miss you!) and eating a high protein, low carb diet and drinking TONS of water!!! Jamie's goal is to lose 100 pounds and I want to lose about 55 pounds...we started working out on Monday and we will do our weigh in next Monday! I'm excited to see how much I've lost this week..my goal is to lose between 2 and 2.5 lbs each week.

i heart birds

2011-04-08T10:37:00.001-05:00

hey everybody!

check out The Vintage Pearl today for an awesome giveaway!!

i want to win the family tree necklace!! it's sooo cute!!

a rough patch

2011-04-08T08:43:00.002-05:00

okay so this is gonna be short and sweet...i'm looking for suggestions!

jonah is 9 months old today! hoorrayyy!! he's growing so fast and is such a joy...but not so much when he wakes up at 1:30 am and then 5:45 am! ahhhhh!! he goes to sleep fine between 7:30 and 9:00 (our schedule is always crazy so we don't have a great bedtime routine..this is probably a lot of our problem) but then he wakes up at least once every night.

what we've tried:

1. bottle - this works almost every time...he will drink one right at bedtime about 8-10 ounces, then when he wakes up he takes another 6-8 ounces!

2. let him cry...needless to say i can only handle this for so long before i go scoop him up

3. rocking him...he is a wiggle worm...he doesn't want to just sit and be rocked

4. go to bed with him in the guest room so we don't wake up jamie and noah (here's our other problem, noah won't stay in his crib or big boy bed, so he sleeps on his little couch next to our bed...another problem for another day)

the second wake up is the hardest...i just cannot be awake at 5:45 am! we like to sleep until around 7:30...

HELP! how do i get him on a better schedule!?!

taycee, "yeah, baby" and CEBU!

2011-04-06T16:13:00.003-05:00

well needless to say, i've got some catching up to do!

what a whirl wind the last few months have been! let's recap, shall we?!

July 8 - Jonah was born!!

July 9 - April 6 - Jonah ate, Jonah slept (kinda), Noah went to daycare, Jonah went to Mrs. Julie's, I worked all the time, Jonah ate more, Noah ate broccoli all the time, I became the President Elect for the hygiene association, Jonah crawls weird, Noah says "Yeah, baby" to the waitress at WaffleHouse, Jonah eats more than Noah, Noah calls me "Tay-cee" all the time, there were some holidays thrown in every now and then, oh yea, I got laid off from work, I started staying at home with the boys, Noah kissed all his friends on his last day at daycare, Jonah still doesn't sleep through the night, Noah has become obsessed with singing VeggieTales - "The Song of the Cebu," Jonah still doesn't crawl "right" but now he cruises around everywhere! oh! and Jamie learned to bake bread and wants to open a bakery! (and he started his own blog...i should warn you that it doesn't make any sense..and it's not supposed to!)

whew..i think that's everything! elaborations are coming! :)

family of four!

2010-10-04T21:06:00.002-05:00

we had family pictures taken this summer...these are just a few of the best ones! :) thanks Savannah Rust for doing such a great job and dealing with my crazy kiddos!! :)

we are alive and life is good!

2010-10-04T20:58:00.003-05:00

just a quick note to say that we are all doing well! life is extremely busy these days...noah is about to turn 2 (we'll be having a toy story birthday party on the 30th), jonah is almost 3 months and growing like a weed! a very cute little weed! we just brought our puppy otis home after a year of living with jamie's parents and sister (thanks aunt jj for taking such good care of our baby boy!) jamie has been working hard putting up the rest of the fence and is about to start building our patio furniture! i'm not sure what to think of this, so for now i'm being supportive! i'm praying that it turns out well and doesn't take more than a few weeks to complete! :) we'll see... i'm working 3 full days and seeing patients on my own occasionally 2 days a week now, just became a mary kay beauty consultant (visit www.marykay.com/kacee_brown to order or just browse the awesome products!!) and a few weekends ago i was elected to be "president elect" (basically vice president) of the arkansas state dental hygiene association!! i am so honored that the association thought i was ready for this! i have always wanted to be in leadership but i never dreamed i would be there this soon in my career (i've only been practicing hygiene for about 2 1/2 years!) obviously this is a huge deal to me and i'm so excited!!! i really need to start thinking about themes for my presidency next year! :) that's so cool!!

jonah's first time at church

2010-07-21T14:46:00.005-05:00

this past sunday we took jonah to church for the first time! we got a picture right before we went in, just like we did the first time we took noah to church! gary introduced jonah and the congregation just clapped and clapped :) pretty sure they think he's a keeper!

our church is so special to us - jamie's grandpa, milton (who noah is named after), was the founding pastor and now jamie's dad, gary, is our pastor. my parents and sisters actually attended church there for a little while, back when i was in highschool, but i only visited with them once...isn't it crazy how i could have met jamie way back then, but never did?!...that could be an entirely other post! i started going to Victory Temple when jamie and i were dating and it is the church we were married in nearly 5 years ago - July 23, 2005 (yep, our anniversary is this FRIDAY!!!!!). i love having a close church family - somewhere where everyone truly feels welcome and accepted. the church LOVES noah and jonah so much...they are so blessed to have such a large "extended" family :)

jonah's announcement

2010-07-15T02:51:00.000-05:00

He's Here!!

2010-07-11T18:43:00.005-05:00

Jonah Norman Brown arrived at 8:28 am July 8, 2010

8 pounds 11 ounces and 20 inches of pure sweetness!

we had an interesting (the electricity went out in the entire town for 10 hours! no air conditioning or lights at the hospital except for fans and some backup lights!!), yet short time in the hospital (we got to come home on friday morning! a full day early!!) and have been enjoying our little man, and his big bubba, this weekend!

blah blog

2010-07-06T22:36:00.002-05:00

i need a blog update...anyone care to make me a custom background?? i'm having fun making headers with picnik, but i can't find any backgrounds that match the "feeling" of my blog...

comparisons

2010-07-04T23:26:00.001-05:00

i'm addicted to the collage feature on www.picnik.com! too much fun!!

sweet friends

2010-07-04T04:48:00.012-05:00

although friday started off disappointing, it was quickly remedied by getting to spend time with one of my best friends and her hubby, brooke and craig pachlhofer.

let me just tell you about these guys...

brooke and i became fast friends our junior year of high school during our spanish 2 class...brookie cookie and kacee cassandra! people used to ask us if we were sisters!! we are very much alike in some ways, and very different in others, our birthdays are exactly a week apart, and she will always be one of my dearest friends...

kacee and brooke at the mr./mrs. ghs pageant - April 2004

craig and jamie were friends all through high school as well...then craig went off and joined the air force and became a pilot. jamie didn't get to see him too often, but they always remained friends.craig and jamie (center) at a high school banquet - 1999 or 2000

in 2005 while jamie and i were dating/planning our wedding, we introduced craig to brooke. the first meeting wasn't great because it involved our cat dying that night..long story for another day. but when they met again at our wedding {devious jamie and i had arranged for them to be paired up in the wedding ceremony} it was a different story....

craig and brooke rehearsing for our wedding (see me watching from the doorway?)

brooke at our wedding - july 23, 2005

craig called jamie on our honeymoon to ask for brooke's phone number...and 5 years later the rest is history! they got married in october 2006 - jamie and i were both in their wedding.

brooke and her bridesmaids-october 18, 2006 (i am on the far left)

craig and his groomsmen

we have remained close friends, even though craig's job forces them to travel to far off military bases, they are the kind of friends that we can see once or twice a year and pick up exactly where we left off...we dream of living side by side with a white picket fence between our yards and our kids growing up together...

the guys and the gals at the Lodes' wedding - May 2007

July 2007 - visiting the pachlhofer home in mississippi

December 2009 - girls night out!

April 2010 - shower hosted by brooke for baby jonah!

so anyways we went out to Cheddar's for dinner {i had something so yummy - baked spaghetti! "spasagna" YUMMO!!} and then to the movies for The Last Airbender (we had no idea that it was a children's movie! haha! of course jamie loved it! craig, brooke, and i nearly fell asleep several times!)

craig and brooke will be back in town next weekend visiting family and i'm so excited because they will get to meet jonah!!! when i had noah back in 2008, brooke came home to visit, and got to spend some time with noah...she even came over early one morning to cook me breakfast and clean my house! you don't find friends like her everyday! makes me tear up just thinking about it...

craig will be deploying overseas later this month and will be gone for 6 months! we are gonna miss him so much!! hopefully brooke will get to come home a lot and spend lots of time with me and the boys! :) please remember these dear friends in your prayers!

38 weeks 5 days

2010-07-03T08:52:00.003-05:00

**my creative mama took some preggo pics for us yesterday afternoon**

jamie and i went for my last official appointment yesterday before our scheduled c-section next week...it went something like this:

{in the car}
jamie: kacee, i don't want to make you mad, but i really don't think we are gonna have the baby today
kacee: i don't want to talk to you

{in the ultrasound room}
kacee: ms. rachel, please find a reason to keep me today! please, please, please!!! i'm begging you!!
ms. rachel: don't freak out kacee, the baby looks awesome and is weighing in at almost exactly 8 pounds **and shows to be 39 weeks 6 days**...fluids look great....do you want another picture?
kacee: no, all you can see is a squished cheek

{in the dr's office}
dr. cayer: well, we're not having this kid today. i've got 3 in delivery and i'm in a bad mood...chair almost falls out from underneath him...
jamie: and someone is trying to sabotage you!
kacee: please, i'm nearly 39 weeks!! i'm MISERABLE! we drive an hour and a half..what if my water breaks on 4th of july??!! will you be here this weekend? i'm soooo ready!!!! will you at least check me to see if i'm dilated?
dr. cayer: no! then i might accidentally put you into labor!

{in the parking lot and in the car}
i burst into tears as soon as my feet hit the parking lot...i was just really hoping to meet jonah today - poor jamie couldn't do a thing to console me, but i finally calmed down around the time we reached poteau and realized that i should be extremely thankful that this pregnancy has been so healthy that they can't find a single reason to take the baby 2 days early! i haven't had a single issue with my blood pressure (last time i was on bed rest for 3 weeks because they thought i had preeclampsia...i didn't, i just had pregnancy induced high blood pressure)...at 39 weeks noah's fluids were low (this baby, no matter how squished is still swimming around in plenty of amniotic fluid)...i was able to work all the way through this pregnancy which was such a blessing and a distraction from the total misery at some points...jonah is going to be a beautiful, big boy! i can't wait to meet him and see our family of 3 become a family of 4!

sleep deprieved

2010-07-01T04:36:00.005-05:00

**can't remember if i posted a picture of jonah's diaper bag yet or not! so here it is! Thanks Keep it Gypsy!!**

it's 4:40 am... not a time i like to see...i can hear jamie snoring..yes, jamie, you do snore! i'm wide awake (sorta) playing on the computer because this crazy, active baby in my belly will not let me sleep!!! i swear heartburn will be the death of me yet! and i just ran out of Titralac! what's a girl to do??

this past week has been pretty interesting...we went to the dr's last friday for my 37 week check up and my belly measured 41...i knew i felt huge this time but i wasn't prepared for that!! so the midwife ordered an ultrasound to get a glimpse of how big this kid may be...sweet nurse Ruby did my ultrasound...she was the nurse in the room when i was born! how cool is that?! we chatted about my pregnancies and caught up on old times! haha! she is in home videos from my birth and my sister's birth! (the same dr delivered all three of us, but Ruby was only there for the first 2) anyways, when she started trying to measure jonah, she couldn't see all of his head...he is LOW! she got good measurements of his tummy and femur and it was estimated that he was about 8 1/2 pounds and his "gestastional age" was 38 weeks 6 days! woah!!! it should have been 37 weeks 4 days! so needless to say, i'm cooked! this baby is ready! "any day now" the midwife said.

well that was almost a week ago, and i'm still pregnant! i've been so paranoid that my water would break at some inopportune moment..like while i'm putting sealants on some kids teeth, or at the grocery store waddling along the aisles...but alas, it has not happened. i'm having some contractions, but nothing regular...mostly i'm just feeling a lot of cramping and pressure very low. and jonah never stops moving! i'm sure he is very uncomfortable and would just like to come out and see his mommy, daddy, and brother!!

we went walking around our neighborhood tonight after dinner...still no major contractions! just terrible heartburn that won't let up and so much pressure there is no way i can lay down without being uncomfortable.

we go back to the dr on friday morning...scheduled for another ultrasound at 9 am and then a meeting with dr. cayer at 9:30. i'm praying they keep me! it makes me so nervous to be this far along, knowing that i am planning to have a cesarian, and at any moment i could go into labor and be an hour and a half away from the hospital.

sorry for all the venting! i'm just so ready to meet jonah!!

in other news:

tomorrow is my last day of work!!! our office is closed next week for 4th of July vacation, so officially i only have one more day! that is if i'm able to stay awake after this crazy, no sleep night!

noah is on a Cars marathon/kick thing right now. he loves all things Lightning McQueen - and jamie and i have subsequently memorized the entire movie. noah has a stuffed lightning and we say "what does lightning say?" and noah will say "achowww" (kachow is the sound he makes in the movie) so cute!

noah is really starting to talk a LOT lately! he says some form of "bubble" when he is in the bath playing with the bubbles, "more" almost in question form, like can i have more...especially if we're eating ice cream!, "hop up" because we are always telling him to hop up in the car, hop up on the couch, etc...he still talks in "Noahese" and motions with his hands quite a bit. we all get a kick out of his ramblings. and the kid loves to sing! he knows all the motions to this song called "Rock A Bye Your Teddy Bear" and he "sings" it to his build a bear and does the motions! he also breaks out into song and dance at random times...my sil jenny got a great video of him singing and dancing while they were at the Oklahoma Aquarium this past weekend.

okay i think that about does it for the update..it's now 5:05 am! ahh! i really need some sleep!! good night i hope!

Father's Day!

2010-06-20T23:38:00.002-05:00

jamie -
you were so nervous in this first picture! we had been through so much and we were so excited, scared, and anxious to meet our little boy! can you believe we are about to do that all over again in just a couple of weeks??!!

you are such an amazing daddy to noah! i love seeing you with him...ever since the first moment you saw him in the delivery room. he brings so much softness and emotion to such a big, strong man...it makes me so proud to be your wife.

noah loves you so much! he can't wait for you to get home at night and gets so mad if you leave the house without him! he is your little buddy!! he wants to do everything like daddy!!

Happy Father's Day honey! we love you much!!!

pajama day should be every day!

2010-06-11T17:57:00.003-05:00

so today i decided we would do very little, stay in our pajamas, play, make cookies, eat cookies...just be generally lazy! this same day, jamie decided to completely uproot (literally) our entire front landscaping and start from scratch!! well, now it's 6 o'clock...noah is still napping, i'm still in my pj's, and jamie is still working in the front yard!

in other news today...i'm 35 1/2 weeks prego! this little guy is not slowing down at all, i swear he never stops rolling! i've been having major braxton hicks contractions since tuesday...i'm so ready for july 8th to be here!! i'm very very very uncomfortable, sweating when others are freezing, peeing all the time, and can't sleep unless i have at least 2o pillows strategically placed all around me! last night jamie made me a cozy little spot on the couch and he slept on the other couch so i wouldn't be scared all alone in the living room (i know i'm such a baby, but the house is still weird and new to me)...well at about 2:30 am i woke up and went to my bed where i could sprawl out...poor jamie stayed on the couch all night!

noah is being such a cutie these days! he is really into trucks and cars and played with his Chuck the Truck toys for about 30 minutes on the windowsill this morning! so cute! he had them all lined up :) he also loves to read! my mom came over this morning to play with noah - they made a tent in his closet and read a ton of books in it! we put the tent up again this afternoon when my sister brooke came over and noah just screamed when he saw it! he got so excited and kept running in and out!! when i came in to check on them, they had both closet doors shut and were both under the tent playing!

brooke is going to camp war eagle to be a camp counselor all summer! she won't get to see us again until jonah is born. we will miss her and i know she will miss home, but she's gonna have a great time!!

happy friday night!!

jonah norman...

2010-06-06T08:00:00.001-05:00

...will be arriving July 8th, 2010 {via c-section}. only 1 month and 2 days! wow!! we can't wait!!

"uh oh"

2010-05-27T09:11:00.002-05:00

this morning noah and i went to the donut shop...

me: noah, try a donut hole

noah: {pulls the biggest donut hole out of the bag and drops it on the floor} uh oh, uh oh, uh oh!

he just learned how to say that last night at dinner..compliments of aunt cc and uncle craig! :) it doesn't come out quite right yet, but you get the idea...especially when he continues saying it like someone pushed the repeat button..what a cutie pie!

32 and 33 weeks

2010-05-24T15:40:00.005-05:00

jonah - 33 weeks/ noah - 19 months

noah loves jonah...at least i think he does...

when we ask him where his bubba is, sometimes he points to his belly, sometimes he points to his arm, and occasionally he gets it right and goes straight for my belly! he loves to give jonah sugars and it's just too sweet!!

33 weeks - the lighting wasn't great, but i kinda like the way this picture turned out!

33 weeks - noah was ready to leave for church!

i'm just in love with this picture of noah - it really captures his attitude at the moment...jamie and i have been really frustrated with him lately, because it seems like he is doing everything he can to get in trouble, but at the same moment, he is just so cute we let him get away with way too much! that sweet little smirk just melts your heart and even though he shouldn't be touching the blinds (they are off limits!) i can't help but smile and run to grab my camera...i have been praying for patience a LOT lately. i get so overwhelmed when he is acting up, especially when we are out in public (such as at Target this past weekend...oh my...glad that day is over!) i know most of it is my hormones right now and just the fact that i pregnant and uncomfortable, but i also know that God is good and He is helping me to be the best mom i can be by working on not getting angry at Noah for being a little boy!

why did i leave my camera at home???

2010-05-17T13:57:00.007-05:00

we had a great time last night at our church fellowship...every now and then, our church hosts a whole church fellowship - just a casual night with music, videos, yummy food and deserts, and games for the kiddos.

we ate some yummy hamburgers and hotdogs...noah mostly ate the cheetos!
we listened to both the youth praise team and the main worship team.
we watched hilarious old commercials...have you ever heard of the "frito bandito"?? soo funny!!

but the best part of the night was when we went outside...

jamie just had to put noah in the bounce-around...and of course he wanted to get in as well...there were two little girls in there also, and they couldn't resist climbing all over jamie! i think both the boys had a blast!!! noah got in and played at least 5 different times!!

my silly boy!

after the bounce-around, the just had to try the slip - n - slide! jamie literally ran through it with noah in his arms! noah LOVED it! they must have gone at least 3 or 4 times!! they were soaking wet and we hadn't even thought to bring towels or changes of clothes! and i forgot my camera! so these pictures are just from my phone!! (which i just learned how to email to myself today! why didn't i learn this sooner??!!) i think if you click on the picture it will make it bigger...not positive on that...

overall it was a great night! i'm officially 32 weeks now - i have pictures on my good camera that i will load later... my tummy and back are really starting to hurt. lots and lots of braxton hicks lately. much more than with noah..and jonah is definitely moving more than noah did at this point. i have been really productive today though, and got the rest of the bedding material ordered for jonah's bedding, and even picked out and ordered his diaper bag from Keep it Gypsy! i'm so excited about this! it's gonna be very different from noah's diaper bag, but i think i will love it!!! it's a mix of blue and brown, with some great textured material..even a little giraffe print thrown in!
7 weeks left! it seems like just yesterday we were coming home with noah! haha!! time really does fly by!

i heart mother's day

2010-05-15T14:54:00.009-05:00

hubby woke me up for pancakes! he even set the table!

took some 31 week prego pics!

hubby surprised me with a hydrangea plant AND a japanese maple!

the first bloom! so pretty!!!

noah 18 months and jonah 31 weeks!!

THANK YOU JAMIE AND NOAH FOR A WONDERFUL MOTHER'S DAY!!!
I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!!!

home

2010-05-12T13:21:00.002-05:00

we are finally moved in and feeling like a normal family again! our home is even better than i ever imagined! i love how roomy it is, and all the little touches we added (ie the cubby wall) are really paying off! no pictures of the house today because i am writing this at work (on my lunch break!)...i'll *try* to post some later tonight.

i cannot wait to get started on jonah's nursery! we have been procrastinating this so much, but now it just has to get done! i am 31 weeks and 3 days prego, so we only have less than 8 full weeks before he arrives!

jonah is a fiesty little fella! he moves ALL THE TIME! i've been having a little back pain lately from the way he is positioned but my "human pillow" makes everything better when i go to sleep at night! his heartbeat is strong and fast and i'm measuring right on track at every appointment. we go back on may 21st for the 32 week apt!! i'm getting so anxious to meet him!! i'm hoping that he has green eyes and curly hair! :)

noah is feeling much better...he's had a rough month with sinus problems and is currently on his 3rd antibiotic :( this does not make mommy happy at all! but we are praying for healing and expecting him to be completely healed of this sinus infection!! {jamie has also been battling sinus problems this month - his dr. thinks he developed allergies!}

noah is doing great at school - he had school pictures made last week and we get to see them on thursday! :) how cute is that! he brought home his first "artwork" yesterday! 2 coloring pages and a coloring book all about "community helpers" - 1 was a picture of a trashman and the other a postman :) so cute!! he has definitely entered the terrible twos! he has started screaming when he doesn't get his way..this high pitched, short shriek! makes me want to pull my hair out!! he has to have his "momo" - his blankie - with him at all times...this includes bathtime! we literally have to bring it into the bathroom where he can see it or he cries all through the bath! ahhh! this kid is strange, but then again, so is his daddy ;)

oooohh i almost forgot mother's day!! the weekend was great! friday night i went to an auction with teresa! so much fun!! we found some really cool "junk"! LOL!! noah made me a plaster handprint (with aunt ninny's help)...so adorable!! on saturday, jamie surprised me with a hydrangea plant and a japanese maple for the yard! {they are both still sitting on the patio because we don't know where to plant them yet!} and we spent saturday night with teresa for mother's day. then on sunday, jamie got up early, made pancakes and cut up fresh fruit and had the table all set! he even cleaned up his mess!! :) you know that made my day! i LOVE pancakes!!! we had a great day at church and then spent the evening with my family {we celebrated my sister's graduation, mother's day, and my cousin's 13th birthday all in one!}

i'm sure i could think of more to update ya'll on but i've gotta head back to work! happy wednesday!

7 days

2010-04-24T17:01:00.003-05:00

only 7 days left

until i go from this...

to this....

we are moving in next saturday!!!!! WOOO HOOOO!!!!

what a week for a birthday!

2010-04-16T11:02:00.005-05:00

noah ~ 17 1/2 months

we've had some interesting developments this past week... i turned 24 yesterday! we have a couple of small things planned for this weekend, but since i'm not feeling great we're trying to keep it low key. jamie got me a delicious ice cream cake last night from marble slab! totally surprised me! :) he really can be sweet when he tries! tonight we are having dinner with my sister and brother in law, and sunday we plan to have lunch with my family. 24 really doesn't feel very spectacular! haha! i think being pregnant with my 2nd child is what really makes me feel older!

now for the crazy events of this week!

first, i've been sick with horrid allergies. if you've watched the news at all the last month or so, you should know that arkansas and oklahoma have been hit with "pollen storms" and it has been horrible! every morning my car is covered with a fresh layer of greenish-yellow pollen and it has been so irritating to my poor nose. well, this last allergy attack turned into some kind of infection wednesday night. i began running a temp of about 101-102 degrees and felt like crap! i was honestly afraid to drive home from church because i literally could not keep my eyes open! my throat and head were aching, along with my shoulders and back from coughing so hard. being sick on top of being pregnant is never fun. drainage from allergy/infection makes my tummy upset. so needless to say, i missed work yesterday, and have been lazing around the house all day today.

secondly, we have been living with my parents since october when we decided to sell our house. we found out we were pregnant in november, our house sold in december, and we began building a new home in january. we are scheduled to move in the first week of may. that is only about 2-3 weeks away! exciting right!?! well, it would be, except that tuesday afternoon the septic system at my parent's house backed up into the house. the entire house wasn't affected though - only the 2 bedrooms that jamie, noah and i are occupying and the bathroom we use everyday were destroyed! the bathroom is completely gutted at this point, carpet is ripped up in both rooms, and all of our stuff is shoved to the far sides of the room. we don't really know how much damage was done to our stuff. i think most everything was okay. THANK YOU GOD! so tuesday night we moved in with jamie's parents! we are so grateful for both of our parents! they have all four helped us so much during this crazy transition time!! please pray with us that our house is completed on time and that my poor mama doesn't go crazy with her house being torn up! oh you should also pray for the sanity of gary and teresa! i know they love us to death, but it is definitely an adjustment to throw two adults and a toddler into a typically calm home! :)

thirdly, finally a praise! our house is looking awesome! cabinets went in this week, along with the sidewalk, driveway, and back patio. we are so thrilled with all that has been done! it's like a dream come true! i can't wait to move in!! :)

rock and brick are done...sidewalk and driveway too!

view of the patio from master bedroom

one of my favorite pieces! entry way locker system! this is going to be great for the boys!

haircuts and school

2010-03-30T21:34:00.003-05:00

sunday night we decided that we just had to get noah's haircut...yes he is 17 months old and i really wasn't ready to cut his hair yet, but it was just getting out of hand! he woke up from his nap sunday with crazy fly aways in the back...people at church were starting to talk! :) lol! so we went to sports clips...jamie has gone here for a few years, and they always do a great job. we had to wait quite a while, so noah was a little cranky when he finally got in the chair, but his stylist was really great! he sat in the booster chair just like a big boy!

he did so well!! in the last picture he was calling jamie's mom, nana...but she was at home sleeping, so she didn't get to answer! he LOVES to have a phone! we were so proud of him and his stylist even gave him a sucker...he got to try a couple of licks and then it went in the trashcan! too dangerous for my little wild man!! when we were done it was time for church, so he got to go show off his new do!

monday morning we had a test run for school...i had to do a school visit (13 second grade classes!!! wow! 280 students!)...so noah went to Grace Place for a few hours. he wasn't too sure about it at first, but his teacher said he did great! she even texted me later that i have a sweet boy :) i picked him up around 11:30 and he fell straight asleep in the car! he hadn't had lunch yet, so i woke him up to see if he would eat, but while i was fixing his lunch i heard him snoring!!! poor baby! he was worn out! :)
today was his first full day...7:55-5:30! long day for a big boy! he had a great time, lots of playing outside with all his new friends!! his daily report said his behavior was excellent!!! :) that makes mommy very very happy!! he didn't want to go at first this morning, but he threw a fit when i made him leave tonight! he wanted to stay and play in the wagon! he really can get an attitude quick these days!
after we got home, we drove over to the new house...brick is still going up, slowly but surely...the color is beautiful!! i love it!! tile is finished!! wow! :) it looks awesome!! we should see trim and doors this week and then paint! that will really make a difference!! only another month and we should be closing! i cannot wait! we are so ready to get back into our own routine at our house! and of course i can't wait to get the nursery set up for Jonah!! :) posts on that to come later!

25 weeks!

2010-03-28T15:01:00.004-05:00

not much new this week. we've settled on Jonah for the baby's first name, but we still don't have a middle name yet...why is that so hard for us?

i'm feeling this little guy moving A LOT!! he is such a little wiggle worm!

only 14 more weeks til we get to meet Jonah :)

spring break is almost over

2010-03-27T07:26:00.004-05:00

just a quick post to let you know....

#1. i can see Jonah kicking my belly as i lay here in bed typing..fiesty little boy!! i'm 24 weeks and 5 days! crazy how quickly this pregnancy has flown by! (update: now he is doing flips! my entire tummy is bouncing! so fun!!)

#2. i got up at 5:30 AM to make my hubby coffee and pancakes this morning...long story, but in short...i will not be outdone by the wives of the men he works with!! so this is our new morning routine :) LOL! i swear i'm gonna try and make this a daily thing...like at least half the week....or definitely two days...maybe..

#3. my little man Noah starts "school" on Tuesday at Grace Place :) just 3 days a week while i'm at work...we're hoping that being around some other kids will be helpful since the poor thing thinks the world revolves around him...and it kinda does, especially at Nana and Papa's house :)
and on this same note...

#4. i have to go back to work on Tuesday :( spring break has come to an end...

#5. there is brick on our house! wooo hoo! i'll get some pictures tonight for you. just so you know it's real :)

23 weeks!!

2010-03-15T14:53:00.002-05:00

23 weeks this week and i feel great!! getting large, but the weather is warming up, our house is coming together quickly, and i just feel wonderful! if only my boys felt good then all would be perfect!! i go for my next appointment next week and it's Spring Break!! so i'm off all week!! hooorayy!! home with noah all week!! we're gonna have fun playing at the park, taking walks, and sleeping in! :)

ps. my birthday is in 1 month!! 24 here i come!!

i love this face

2010-03-09T20:58:00.003-06:00

'what mom? i didn't eat the WHOLE ice cream cone...'

2010-03-03T21:20:00.002-06:00

my friend linda, over at My Trendy Tykes is having an awesome giveaway! i soo need to win this! check it out! :)

how in the world is it march already?

2010-03-01T18:58:00.005-06:00

lots going on in our ark...

baby #2 is a BOY! woah! that was sure a shocker!! but we are very excited...and i'm sure if noah understood he would be excited to have a bubba! we're not sure about names yet..we're trying out Jonah Norman...kinda like it, but not committing to it just yet.

20 weeks! we found out it's a boy!

our builders have made A LOT of progress on the house! we are about 6 weeks from move in!!! wow! did that go fast or what?!? so right now our house has doors, windows, a fireplace, and plumbing! tomorrow they start running the electricity and heating..then monday they should be able to start putting up the sheetrock!! hooray!!

jamie and noah in front of our HUGE 8 foot front door!!

we had an awesome weekend..jamie was being spontaneous and took noah and i on a little getaway to Sky Vue Lodge..one of our favorite places! noah picked two movies to watch...Riki Tiki Tavi and Robin Hood (the old, cartoon one with Roger Miller as the minstrel)...we were the only guests at the B&B, so we got to pick our breakfast options!! we had sausage gravy and biscuits, grapefruit halves, scrambled eggs and homemade bread with apple butter!! YUMMMO!!

after we drove home, we had to go to best buy to make a return...and we were there for nearly 3 years! noah threw a huge fit in the front of the store! he was just done with being in the cart! poor baby!

i also had wanted to look for a new camera..just another point and shoot to replace my nearly 3 year old point and shoot that was dying on me. jamie laughingly said, "ok. find a camera for $100 or less and we'll get it." thinking i could find a good deal, i went on the hunt...much to my dismay, i found that the CHEAPEST camera was $103!!! LOL! and it was barely a step up from my poor old camera...jamie came over to the photo department to see what i had found and we both started looking at some nicer cameras....this is what we came home with!!! happy early birthday kacee!!
this is the Canon EOS 50 D - digital slr camera! my hubby spoils me so much!! he was feeling very spontaneous this weekend!! LOL! i love it, love it, love it!!! i'm still learning all the ins and outs of it..which may take me years! hahahaha!!! jamie made me promise to really learn it, oh and not let noah touch it! HAHA!

watching the bachelor season finale right now...pleading to Jake through the tv, "DONT CHOOSE VIENNA!!!" i think Tenley is so much better!! we'll see soon!!

2010-02-22T21:15:00.002-06:00

drum roll please....

it's

a

BOY!! :)

name yet to be decided...

PROGRESS!!

2010-02-14T15:18:00.003-06:00

we have a slab!!! i can see the house coming together!

o - m - gee!! (that's how my sissy would say it!)

i'm soo excited! framing will start next week, depending on weather of course...

we had a "wetting" of snow today...there was no dusting, cause none of it stuck, but it made everything wet! and cold...

i'm soo done with snow! it's gotta stop soon!

in other news...i'm 19 weeks prego! feeling lots of movement and looking very prego!! i'll post pics later...i'm too lazy to get off the couch right now...i'm in the middle of a very wonderful Grey's Anatomy marathon!

Our Big Weekend!

2010-02-08T11:18:00.006-06:00

17 1/2 weeks prego! already feeling huge!!

jamie and i like to affectionately think of ourselves as old people...by this i mean, we like to stay at home and watch movies and go to sleep early. we are blessed to have so many family members who love to keep noah for us, but it seems like since he was born we rarely go out on dates. even when we have a babysitter for noah, we always wind up coming home early to crash. we're just not night owls.

well this weekend was different!!

Friday we had our last Fireproof class, which was an outing to Fuji - a new japanese sushi and hibachi grill in Fort Smith!! all the couples from the class came and boy did we have fun!! our waiter's name was Bubba!! i think this was a joke, but i called him that all night!! at one point he threw a wad of rice at me!! i didn't realize i was supposed to catch it in my mouth and it hit my shoulder and stuck to my shirt! we all had a great time with our friends and even after dinner was long over we stood outside the party room just chatting!! it's so nice to spend time with good friends!

Spider Roll sushi!! my favorite (don't worry, it's cooked!!)

Bubba!

after dinner, jamie treated me to Marble Slab! yummo!! it usually makes my tummy hurt because it is so rich, but since i've been pregnant this time, by tummy doesn't get upset as often! what a blessing!! i had yummy coffee ice cream with heath bar bits mixed in and jamie had apple pie a la mode!

Saturday, we had a girls night out, with a bunch of girls from church. we had about 11 gals in our party! so much fun!! we started out trying to eat at Olive Garden, one of my favorite spots! we arrived at about 4:50 - yes i know that's very early, but here's why: there was an HOUR AND A HALF wait!!!!! OMG!! well our movie was supposed to start at 7:10, so we couldn't wait that long..we wound up at Logan's Roadhouse where i devoured at least 3 rolls and half a bucket of peanuts! it still took us until 7:00 to leave the restaurant so we were a little bit late for the movie. we had to sit in the very front row and lean our heads back to see the screen! haha!! but we didn't care!!

we watched Dear John, the new Nicholas Sparks movie...i haven't read the novel yet, but i think i should! of course i'm hormonal, but this movie was just plain sad! i started crying about 3 minutes into it and didn't stop til after it was over!! LOL!! my eyes were so red when we left the theater!! most of the other girls didn't even think it was that good, but i just love a good crier!

Sunday continued the fun weekend...church in the morning (i had Wee Worship, which is the 2 and 3 year old class...my only little girl yesterday told me that she used to live on the moon :)...) after church we attended jamie's cousin Whitney's 24th birthday party in Greenwood. i grew up with Whitney and her family and it is so cool to be "related" to them now through jamie's family! noah had a great time eating pizza and getting lots of attention!! he even got to play on the arcade games with jamie! wish i would have gotten out my camera!!!

all dressed up and ready for church

noah walking into church on his own! :)

after we all took a long nap, we packed back up to go to the George's house for the Superbowl...jamie and i are not football fans, but we enjoy the food and fellowship..and all the kids love being together! noah's friend kate was there, she is about 4 months older than him and she is a ham!! she loves to dance and walk around pulling her shirt up to show off her belly! so of course, noah has to copy!! he showed off some pretty great dance moves this morning that he learned from kate last night!! :) they play together really well and it's so cute to watch them! alyssa, another slightly older friend (she is almost 3), was also there! she is the one who gave noah his nickname "nonah" :) and she always says, "Nonah's dripping!!" (meaning that he is drooling!) she is such a cutie pie!

today we are all stuck at home as another snow storm hit last night! we are not used to getting so much snow here in arkansas! we have NO groceries at the house right now, so we are gonna have to venture out because tomorrow is supposed to get worse! noah, jamie, my mom, and i have all had a cold all weekend so we're just kinda pitiful today!! just laying around doing a whole lot of nothing!! haha!! school was closed for almost everyone and even jamie can't work right now! this also means that there will be no progress on the house in the immediate future :( if you want to see the progress so far, you can visit my facebook and look at all the pictures i've loaded!! so far we have concrete blocks and filler in..just waiting on the plumbing so they can pour the slab!! can't do that when there's snow!!

WHAT!?

2010-02-01T21:59:00.002-06:00

okay seriously?

i'm not normally one to get crazy about a show, but the Bachelor has me crazy right now!

WHY

DID

KEEP

VIENNA????

i'm baffled.

didn't you think Corrie was sweet after her little confession tonight??!! and i thought, maybe, BIG maybe, this guy was a nice guy after all and would be different from all the other tv guys...

NOPE!

whatever, i'm still pulling for tenley and ali!

good night

where to start??

2010-01-11T22:01:00.005-06:00

ok, ok. i know there are only like 2 of you that read this (mom and teresa!)...and you know me personally...so you already know all of this...but hey, i like putting my thoughts down on "paper" just like the rest of you ;)

lets start with christmas...

we had grand plans to have christmas at home with noah this year, then go to both families during the day...well at 11 o'clock christmas eve, our plans were changed when we discovered we were stuck at my in laws!! the driveway was covered in ice and there was no hope for us! my in laws are amazing people..they let jamie, noah, and i take their bedroom, while my poor sister in law had to sleep on the couch...thank you for your sacrifice jessica! :)

christmas morning was so much more fun than last year. noah really got into opening presents...tearing off small pieces of wrapping paper and setting it aside before learning to really dig into the gift :) he was so cute!! the best surprise was finding his Jeep...Aunt Ninny (Jenny) had hid it under the Mickey Mouse playhouse and when he found it he could barely contain himself! he literally shook! it was too funny!! of course he can't make it go by himself yet, but he loves it! we all had a good time watching him go from one toy to the next...and halfway through the morning we looked around the living room and all just began laughing at how many toys were covering the living room!! Noah is such a blessed little boy!

after digging through the ice for about an hour, we were finally able to make it out of greenwood and down to poteau for christmas with my family. noah was so pooped out by that point that he just let everyone else open his presents...he promptly fell asleep at 6:30 and slept through the night, into the morning...until 10 am!!! hahaha!! what a nice "christmas present" for mommy and daddy the next day! we got to sleep in!! :)

ok, now for a noah update!

noah is 14 1/2 months...he is fighting a yucky cough and runny nose right now so we had to go to the doctor today. he weighed 26 lbs (thats +3 lbs in 2 1/2 months) and was around 32 inches (+2 inches!)...he had not gained any weight at his last apt, but none of his clothes fit well right now so i was sure he had grown quite a bit!

doctor put him on albuterol breathing treatments 2x per day, motrin for his fever, and zyrtec to dry up the runny nose...his right ear was quite red, and the doctor was afraid it may turn into an ear infection (YIKES!! we haven't dealt with that yet!!) so she also prescribed an antibiotic (to take if his fever spikes or if he develops other symptoms)...we are strongly praying against an ear infection, and praying that his little body heals quickly.

he threw up for the first time (real, i'm a big kid, throw up!) on friday, due to the yucky drainage...it was way more than this mom was prepared to deal with...esp. with my slight morning sickness and tendency to throw up if i even hear someone puking...i gained my composure though, stuck a kleenex full of vick's up my nose and tackled the yucky, smelly mess!! so i can officially say i have passed a mom milestone and lived to tell about it ;)

what's going on with noah right now:

*he is wearing 18-24 month clothes now...some of his 12 month stuff still fits, but the pants look like capris now! poor kid..he is tall and skinny! hard combo to find clothes that fit!

*he LOVES the Wiggles! and we love them too! jamie and i can sing almost all the songs...that is so sad, so very sad..but its what you do for the ones you love!

*he is "talking" allllll the time...."uuuhhh, ahhh, bahh, nah, vah, fah"...the only real words we've heard so far are still mama and dada...but he mostly says "mom mom" it's so cute the way he says it

*he is a loverboy!! he likes to pat me on the arm or the back and every now and then he will lean in for a hug! you have to catch it quick though or it's gone! and boy is he a flirt!! he will stare a pretty girl down, then play shy when she looks his way! it is hilarious!!

*he has a thing for eyelashes...he likes to try and tug on mine...and today at the doctors he tried to grab hers!! i couldn't help but laugh!

*he likes to sit in his car...he still can't make it go forwards, only backwards. but he just gathers some toys (esp Scout the dog..his fave!) and just sits in it!

* he likes to make faces and stick his tongue out (he doesn't actually stick it out of his mouth, he just pushes it on his bottom teeth so it flares out) he thinks this is funny, and it always makes him laugh!

*he laughs alot! mostly at himself!

*he LOVES to dance!! to anything! a commercial, the music on the Wiggles, the sound of the dryer...it does not matter what it is, if it has a rhythm, he will dance to it!!

*he has developed quite the attitude lately...he will throw a full out fit, falling down on the ground and crying! jamie says the terrible twos came early :( i hope not!! he usually will get out of the mood pretty quickly which is good, and is easily distracted!

*he has become a finicky eater...sometimes! somedays he will eat anything and everything i give him...other days, he will only eat 2, not 3!, 2 kernels of corn and a couple of chips, and some yogurt. i try to offer him all kinds of foods...he loves all fruit! oranges and apples are his favorites right now..but he also loves peaches and pineapples, and bananas most of the time...blueberries are a great treat!! and he is finally learning to chew them and not swallow them whole!! we had problems with that this summer!! whole blueberries do not digest pretty! yuck!

* i constantly find myself saying he is such a strange kid! but he really is just a unique little one! he is so much fun, but such a handful at the same time!! i know he is gonna be a great big brother!! i point to my belly and say, noah, who's in mommy's tummy? i'm thinkin it may be a little while before he understands, but repetition is a good way to learn!

in pregnancy news:

i'm feeling great! 14 weeks today, officially 1 week into the 2nd trimester! starting to get a little more energy now, and still not much morning sickness!! it hits at weird times, esp late at night, but it almost always passes quickly and i haven't thrown up once from it! it was so bad with noah that i lost around 10 pounds!

this baby is already very active! i have been feeling tiny flutters for about 2 weeks now, and the last 2 days i've really started feeling movement! i love it!!

i've heard so many women say that you get bigger faster with your second child, and i'm saying amen to that! none of my jeans will button comfortably, so i'm wearing my first pair of maternity jeans that i bought when i was like 5 months prego with noah! they feel so much better!!

i'm craving SUBWAY!! all the time!! i can't go very long without it! hahaha!! i love the banana peppers and the cucumbers!! and the roasted chicken! mmmm!! making me hungry as i type it!! anyone up for bringing me subway to work tomorrow!!??!!! also, i really, really want a nectarine!! so badly!! please God, grow some nectarines with my name on them!! really hard and crunchy, not too juicy! and sour!!! yummo!! oh man, i could eat about 10 right now!! i woke up the other night wanting marshmallow creme! i've never even eaten that stuff!! hahaha!! so instead, mom and i made rice krispie treats!! those were so good...i say were, because they are all gone!! LOL! i ate at least 4 as soon as they were out of the pot! they are soo good warm and creamy! i do not like them cold!

my next dr. visit is on january 22nd. just a normal checkup. but next month, we will be able to tell if it's a boy or a girl!!! i'm voting girl of course and i already have her name...Audrey Claire Brown...boy names are so much harder for me!! i like southern names, and old fashioned names, and i do not want our kids name to start with the same letter (so no N names)...i'm totally up for suggestions!!

farewell, until next time!

what a month!

2009-12-11T14:26:00.003-06:00

we have been so blessed this month! Thanksgiving weekend our house sold! it only took about 6 weeks, which is a huge blessing, and it was our first offer! so now we are busy looking at plans and discussing layouts to BUILD A HOME! :)

we have decided that we love the new Ridgewood at Rye Hill subdivision and we can't wait to close on our house so we can start the building process...it should only take around 4 months, which will give us plenty of time to move and settle in before the new baby comes in July! :)

speaking of the baby, i go for my first prenatal visit and ultrasound on the 18th! we are really excited to see this little one! i haven't been sick at all yet, except for a horrible sinus infection that i've had since black friday...being pregnant, i can't take an antibiotic to kick this thing, and poor little noah has gotten a touch of it too :( it's not been a lot of fun for us the last couple of weeks.

during all this excitement and sickness, i was given an awesome christmas present from my boss, dr. willis. he took our entire office to New York City for 4 days (December 3-6th) for our christmas party!! we stayed at the Sheraton Towers, got to be on the Early Show, went shopping on 5th Avenue and Canal Street (Chinatown)...and ate, and ate, and ate!!! we even got to watch Wicked and the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular!!! i loved every minute of it (except for blowing my nose every 5 minutes!) on our 3rd night there, New York City got their first snow of the season! and it was AMAZING!!! we went to Rockefeller Center and saw the ginormous christmas tree...there is nothing to compare!

the entire trip was so much fun, but completely wore me out! lots of walking and cold weather made my cold a lot worse, so i'm home today with noah just resting and trying to feel better...say a little prayer for me if you think of it for this bug to go far far away!!

hopefully soon i will be able to post pictures of my trip and maybe next week i can even scan in a "rough draft" of our house plans!! :)

Happy Thanksgiving..and other news!

2009-11-26T13:47:00.003-06:00

it's hard to even express all the things i am thankful for this year. God has blessed my little family so abundantly, and i just feel so unworthy.

i have two amazing families that just love me, jamie, and noah so much. i couldn't make it on a daily basis without help from them. from my parents opening their home to us while we are selling our home, to jamie's parents just being there to watch noah WHENEVER i call! i am so blessed!

i am so thankful for jamie. he is such a rock for me. last night while noah and i were in poteau with the girls, jamie had to stay home all alone...and at 2 in the morning when noah and i couldn't sleep he answered the phone before the it even fully rang once and talked me home, then put our precious baby to bed and cuddled with me til i fell asleep. i just love that man.

words can't express how thankful i am for noah. this little boy just makes life worth living! he is so much fun all the time!!! into everything and going full speed ahead at every moment. life is so exciting and interesting for him!! i'm so thankful to have healthy babies! what a blessing! which leads me to my big news....

I'm Pregnant!!

i'm due july 11, 2010 with baby #2!! (we're hoping it's a girl...a little Audrey Claire)

life couldn't be better! thank you God for all your blessings this year!

from baby to toddler!

2009-10-26T14:42:00.003-05:00

Here's a few images from Noah's first birthday party. we had it this past saturday, October 24, 2009. it was a costume party!! :) the first picture is of my family...my sissy brooke was a pirate, there's me!, my mom was a graduate, dad was mr. incredible, and my sissy carah was a barista! aka a starbucks girl!

Oh yea, i was dorothy from the wizard of oz! pretty cute, huh!

caramel apples for thank you gifts!

noah and jeremiah = best friends!

my little dragon boy! :) he had a great day!

my favorite picture

2009-09-14T21:06:00.004-05:00

i love everything about this picture...the way you can see the storm in the distance, and the awesome color of the water...and of course my boys :) i love how noah looks so small next to his mommy and daddy...he is getting to be such a big boy! it's hard to believe he will be a year old in just a month and a half!

just had to share this great picture with ya'll

have a great night!

i forgot to tell you!

2009-08-25T08:00:00.003-05:00

i lost 25.5 pounds and

30 inches!!!!

wowzas!!!

we're having a GREAT time!

2009-08-25T07:38:00.006-05:00

we left thursday night for our vacation! we've been all over the OuterBanks...we have seen two lighthouses, the house that was used in Nights in Rodanthe, and some crazy waves caused by Hurricane Bill!! it's been a great vacation so far.

we are in Washington D.C. since yesterday. we drove alllllllll day yesterday...literally! we left OBX at 8:30 and finally arrived at our condo at 3:30 (we were supposed to get there by 12 or 1) then we drove all around downtown dc seeing the sights (and trying to find a parking spot!) we finally made it to dinner at the ESPN Zone restaurant, which was pretty good. it was jessica's request since it was her 25th birthday!! :) we all had a great time walking around downtown and just looking at all of the monuments.

here are some pictures from our trip so far!

the family in front of the White House!

aww! i really do love him!!

jamie picked a flower for me :)

this is the view from our beach house!! so beautiful!!

noah has done sooo great throughout the trip! he is such a big boy!!

the beautiful ocean view!!

"Serendipity" from Nights in Rodanthe!

a great family shot in front of the Bodie Lighthouse!

Five Generations!

2009-08-20T14:25:00.005-05:00

At my parent's 25th wedding anniversary party, we got the chance to take a 5 generation picture!! Thats my Granny Cagle, my Papa Ron Cagle, my daddy Keith Cagle, me, and noah :) what's really cool is that papa, dad, and noah are all first born sons :) and i am also a firstborn! we thought that was pretty neat! Noah has such a great heritage, both on my side as well as Jamie's side. he is so blessed to have two sets of grandparents, great grandparents, and even a great-great grandmother still living!!

was that really just one year ago??!!

2009-08-19T21:37:00.001-05:00

noah is 10 months tomorrow! he is getting to be such a big kid!! he is still up playing in the living room...just talking away!! he yells and grunts and makes he funniest noises!

we are leaving for vacation tomorrow...Outerbanks, NC and Washington D.C.

noah is currently trying to unpack our suitcases :)

i loved being pregnant. i loved the way my body looked (for the most part) and i just loved being able to feel noah kick and move and knowing that i was growing a precious little boy :)

it's so hard to believe that he will be a year old soon!

well it's time to get him to bed..so nighty night

2009-08-18T12:37:00.002-05:00

from My Trendy Tykes...just type in your name followed by each word into google search...it's so random!!

1. {kacee needs} to survive her cancer...i pray against that right now!

2. {kacee looks like} a lot more fun to be with! definitely!!! :)

3. {kacee wants} you to join her mob...STUPID! i hate all those requests on facebook!

4. {kacee does} it with a unique twist... i'm pretty unique i guess!

5. {kacee hates} stupid roommates...i only had nice roommates! :)

6. {kacee asks} about you all the time. true. i do. ;)

7. {kacee likes} things that smell like cabbage...no i do not!

8. {kacee wears} "budding chiffon" in purple heart, $32, Nordstrom...never been to nordstrom

9. {kacee eats} airplane. i don't think the metal would taste very good.

10. {kacee was arrested for} driving while intoxicated. NEVER!

11. {kacee loves} alex/anthony/ryan...nope...i love JAMIE! :)

God made us SISTERS...

2009-08-14T22:59:00.002-05:00

...then time made us friends!

just gotta toot my own horn!

2009-08-11T21:11:00.004-05:00

okay, so i've been with Let's Lose since the end of May.

we've had our ups and downs...many, many downs...and then several surprising ups...but today was great! i have finally surpassed my 20 lb 'mini goal' and hit 23 stinkin pounds today!!

my consultant, alicia was really proud of me and she even emailed my picture :)

why yes, thank you for noticing! i am wearing a smaller scrub top!! i got to move down a size because we had an extra at work and it just happened to fit this morning!!

what a great day it was!!

Goal Recap:

Longterm goals = -65 lbs/healthy bmi/i want to fit into the jeans i wore before i got married

So far = -23 lbs/bmi has gone down about 5 or 6 points/ i can wear jeans from 2 summers ago!! (about 1 1/2 dress sizes so far!)/ -24.25 inches!!!

now what do i do?

2009-08-10T16:11:00.003-05:00

UPS just delivered the cutest, white, a line dress (see picture) to my doorstep. i ordered it from Gap a week or so ago to wear on the beach for those quintessential white top/khaki pants pictures :)

i jump on any opportunity to make my husband take pictures with me!!

so i laid noah down for a nap then ravenously tore into the little gray bag...there were a couple of other items, a cute gray top, an adorable blue flowery print dress, and a hoodie for cool nights on the beach...but what i wanted was the white dress. i ripped open the package and ran back to the bedroom to try it on.

i shook out the wrinkles and unzipped the side zipper...stepped into it and pulled it up.

then i slowly zipped the zipper back up.....

WAIT! HOLD ON!

it won't stay on!! it's TOO BIG! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

okay, i thought, it came with optional spaghetti straps...so i quickly find the straps and attached them...but all they do is hold up the big dress....

we are leaving for the beach in less than 10 days...

yes i wanted to lose weight, but i really wanted to wear this dress! :(

now what?

facelifts and tummy tucks

2009-08-09T22:13:00.004-05:00

i've been "trying on" new looks for my blog today..but i think i'm in need of some real help! it still just doesn't 'feel' right!

so let me know what you think so far...and feel free to leave me any comments/suggestions on what would make it better! anyone know any good, free header designers?? i'd love to add pictures to my header!

in other news...i'm still dieting with Let's Lose! at my last weigh in i was up to 21 lbs/ 24.25 inches lost!! i am still daily amazed at how much i have really lost, especially when i try on pants that haven't fit in 2 years and they are too big!!! Heck Yes!!

...keeping it in perspective, i still need to lose about 40ish more lbs. but hey! i have lost 21 lbs!! that is FABULOUS!

of course, having a baby completely changes your body. duh!

i just didn't realize how much it would change it.

my thighs will never be the same. thunder thighs does not begin to cover it. my tummy sags in ways i never knew it could {cesarian scars are just not pretty! i'm gonna ask my ob to do a tummy tuck after the next baby!} my boobs...oh heck, i'm just gonna say it. a few months ago jamie called them "swahili woman boobs." don't pretend you don't know what i'm talking about! but ladies, there is life after breastfeeding! they will shrink back down to normal proportions! stretch marks, varicose veins...these are the reasons i will not be wearing a bikini to the beach this year!

it is perfectly respectable to wear a swim skirt to the beach!

come on ya'll show me some love!! ;)

11 days left til our vacation to the Outerbanks, N.C. and Washington D.C.!! i can't wait!!

hi. my name's kacee. and i'm an addict.

2009-08-09T13:49:00.005-05:00

...of Lost and Twilight that is...

i started reading Twilight about 2 weekends ago and i'm LOVING it! i just wish there were more hours in the day so i could actually finish a chapter!! haha!! right now i'm carrying it around in my purse waiting for a delay at a stop light, or a chance to sit in a parking lot and read a few pages...maybe i need to be like Linda of My Trendy Tykes and start hiding in the bathroom so i can read a few pages!! (if you've never checked out her blog, you so should! she's hilarious!! and so down to earth!!)

then last night, for lack of anything good to watch, jamie and i found Lost season 1 on netflix instant play! do you have netflix? if not you should!! it's the best thing ever!! you can instantly download tons of tv shows and movies straight through your xbox 360, or you can buy a little tiny black box called Roku ( i think ) and watch it anytime!! so handy!

my lastest find was the first season of Beverly Hills 90210...hahaha!! that's some funny stuff!!

well, we are on episode 5 i think..so i better go!! it's getting good!!

let me hear a "whoop whooop"!!

2009-07-30T21:32:00.004-05:00

i fell off the wagon for a couple of weeks

but now i'm back!

i weighed in today...and i finally reached my 20 pound goal!!!

woo hoo!!

gotta give a shout out to Let's Lose for helping me get this far!! i couldn't have done it alone!!

i still need to lose about 45 pounds to be where i want to be. my goal is to get there by christmas!

lots to look forward to in the coming months:

august 21st-29th family vacation to the outerbanks, nc and washington dc!!

october 21st noah's 1st birthday!!!!! tear tear...my baby's growin up!

december 3rd-6th new york with my dental office!!!!

december 31st weight loss goal of 65 pounds lost! :)

in other news, i'm taking noah for his 9 month shots and check up tomorrow! can't wait to see what he weighs and how long he is! he's so big!! crawling all over the place and into EVERYTHING!! he is also using anything he can get his hands on to walk around the living room/kitchen (ie chairs, his tonka truck, the stepstool, the cat)...this kid loves to be moving!!

we had a rough week about 2 weeks ago where he was having trouble sleeping, i blame it all on jamie of course, because he let noah sleep in our bed!! big no no! but after a couple of nights of getting back into the routine of bedtime in his crib he did fine and now goes down around 8:30 in his crib every night!

he is cutting another tooth also! this one makes 7 now! it's the lower left lateral incisor for those of you who care! haha!! just a few more months and he will get to go to dr. willis' office for his first check up!!! "first dental exam by the first year"

in other, other news...jamie and i celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary on july 23rd!! can't believe it was 4 years ago that i married that crazy man! hahaha! we went to Hot Springs for the weekend..it was uneventful...we watched at least 4 movies..2 at the theatre...we are so boring!

oh and in other, other, other news...i started reading Twilight!!! sooooo good!!!!!

well alas i must retire...have to go talk to some children tomorrow morning about brushing their teethies!! :)

gotta get back on track!

2009-07-10T09:35:00.005-05:00

all right, let's face it...dieting is HARD work!

the first few weeks i was so motivated, so determined, so STRICT!

then last week i dove off the deep end and got myself in some trouble...wah wah wah!!

for the record, i'm blaming it all on PMS!

now it's week 9 and i'm still having a little trouble getting back on track...but yesterday i got a comment from a sweet little lady, Heather. her encouragement led me to take a look at her site and i noticed she was joining this thing called "body after baby"...of course that spoke to me!! so today i've been looking into it...you can find out all about it over at Samantha's site.

now for the hard part! for the first leg of this challenge i have to send in...gulp...pictures of myself for her to post on her site! yikes!! i admit i'm having a hard time finding a picture of myself where i haven't strategically cropped out my lower half or turned in such a way as to hide my mommy tummy...hahaha!

i had no problem taking full length pictures of my ever expanding tummy while i was prego with noah, but now it's all i can do to hide it from the camera!

so the challenge starts monday, you can look for all of the participants pictures to be posted then, along with our weight loss goals, starting weight, etc.

i will not tell you my weight..it's never gonna happen...forget about it!

in cuter news, noah learned how to drink out of a straw on 4th of july! it's adorable! here's one of my favorite pictures from the 4th and a couple of family pics we managed to get!!

corruption!

2009-07-04T09:19:00.003-05:00

oreos... ice cream... guacamole...pizza...

oh this is bad...

really, really, really bad

i woke up on thursday HUNGRY!

hungry for junkfood!!

i've been doing so good with my diet, but i just couldn't stop myself!

so this weekend has been an all out binge!

(just don't tell Alicia at Let's Lose!)

i promise i'm stopping

seriously.

i'm throwing the oreos away. in the trash...

well, maybe i'll save a few... i'm sure noah would like them.

the weight loss saga continues!!

2009-06-30T09:21:00.003-05:00

***UPDATE******

I lost 15.6 pounds!!!!!! WAHHOOOO!!!! :)

________________________________________________

i'm going to weigh in today!!! last week i was up to 13.4 pounds lost...so i'm hoping to be over the 14 mark...15 would just totally make my day.

i think i'll work out again this morning...

and maybe right before i weigh in.

transitions are not my best subject.

i think i pulled a muscle. has anyone heard of pulling your diaphragm? jamie thinks thats what i did because it hurts A LOT when i breathe in. i don't think i've taken a full breath in like 3 days.

any suggestions to help this??

and yet another bad transition...

have

baby

proof!!

noah is into EVERYTHING!! my sister in law said it best on sunday night, "you couldn't wait for him to crawl could you!" i didn't know what i was in for!

i think he just crawled into our cats "room".... eeewww! gotta go rescue the baby!!!