My Baby is turning 3!!!

I can't believe that my baby is turning 3 tomorrow!!! I seems like just yesterday that we were at the hospital awaiting the arrival of Dawson. I remember how uncomfortable I was that last few weeks - I even thought his elbow broke a few of my ribs towards the end! He was a big boy - weighing in at 8 lbs 9 oz (did I mention that he was a week early???). And he outweighed Masen by a whole pound! He was due on Christmas day, but my doctor was kind enough to induce me a week early (I don't think she wanted to be working on Christmas).

For those of you who have kids, you know the anticipation that occurs during the last few days. The wonder of what, or who, this baby will look like and will I be able to do the whole sleep deprivation thing again...well - we did it just fine and looking back I can say that I don't really remember the whole sleep deprivation thing. So for those of you who are currently expecting - it flies by, so don't worry!

I'm so proud of Dawson (and Masen, of course)! I feel blessed to be their mother and to have the best man ever to be the father of my children. Crap, there I go getting sappy :(. I'm sure I'll shed a few tears tomorrow and evenmore as the years go on. Enjoy the pics below and HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAWS!!!


Here I am in the delivery room, just before getting induced. I sure look happy then, but that was b/c I hadn't had any contractions yet!




Proud parents!!! And yes, I'd like to say that I've lost the double chin since then :).

Check-out those chubby cheeks! We thought he looked like a little chipmunk.

Can't believe how big he is now (he is only 2 lbs shy of outweighing his brother - who is 3 years older than him). I think Dawson gets the award for the child whos looks have changed the most since birth!

Feeling old!!!

I don't know why, but today I'm really feeling old! I'm not asking for a pitty-party, but sometimes when I get to thinking about "old times," I just feel that life has gone so fast for me and sometimes I wish I could turn back time. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change my life for the world, but sometimes, just sometimes, I wonder how I got to where I am today - SO FAST!!! Does anyone else feel this way, or is it just me? A lot of people tell me that I'm crazy for saying that I would go back to my high school, or college, years in a flash if I could...I guess I am just fortunate to have had many wonderful experiences during those eras of my life. I'm looking forward to the future too - who knows what my life will be like 10 years from now. I do know that I'm going to try harder to make an effort to enjoying "every second" that I can from now on. And I'm going to try harder to capture those wonderful memories and times in my life so that I can continue to reminisce about all of the amazing things that I have shared with those I love! Thanks to all of you for being a part of my life experiences. It's been a fun ride!!

Christmas Fever!!!

I don't know about everyone else, but I really have Christmas fever!!! I finished my shopping BEFORE Thanksgiving this year (I actually started shopping this summer). Am I on the ball, or what ?!? I love Christmas time! I especially love buying gifts for people, which is why I probably like this holiday the best :). Even though I was early on finishing my shopping, we were procrastinators when it came to getting the tree up this year. BUT - we finally got this done over the weekend. Of course, I had visioned this fun-filled "family" experience of decorating the tree...listening to our favorite Christmas songs while reminiscing about the special ornaments we have. Well, as you can see from the pics I took - it didn't really go as I had imagined. Dawson was very grumpy that day (I have no idea why) and we couldn't seem to make him happy :(. Both boys must have been blinded my the 3 strands of lights on the tree (one of which doesn't even work anymore) - hence the sunglasses. Anyways, we got the job done and I guess that's what matters!
We finished the night off by going to see Christmas lights...another disappointment. We drove all the way to Prairie Village to see "Candy Cane Lane," which was one of the most spectacular displays when I was growing up. It was nothing like it used to be - only a cult-a-sac of homes with lights (I remember being able to get out of your cars to see santa's workshop and other displays in the windows). We did find a neighborhood in Olathe that had a great display. The boys didn't really mind that it turned out to be a bust - as we were driving home and getting ready to get on the highway, Masen looked into the city and said "Wow Mommy! The whole city has lights!" Of course, he wasn't actually seeing Christmas lights, but street lamps and other lights on buildings...I guess that maybe we didn't even need to go see the actual Christmas lights to entertain him :).
We enjoyed spending the day together as a family and I only hope that the traditions that we are starting as a family continue as the boys grow-up. We are looking forward to making Christmas cookies this weekend with our Aunts, Grandma's and cousins! And then the festivities continue with our celebrations on Christmas Eve and Christmas day.
Of course, we most look forward to celebrating the birth of Christ! Dawson is excited to share a birthday so close to Jesus' birthday :). Happy Holidays to everyone!!!

More pics of Thanksgiving...

We always do an annual birthday party for the kids at Thanksgiving too- all 6 of the cousin's birthdays are between the months of November- February, so this is the easiest way to celebrate all together. The kids decorated cupcakes this year and played some games too! Here are some pics of the birthday party night....

Dawson and Taylor decorating their cupcakes

I think Daws had a little too much sugar....

Dawson can't wait to eat his :)

Aunt Kristal and Uncle Zach help the kids decorate the cup cakes

Thanksgiving 2008

We made the trip to Grandma and PaPa's house for Thanksgiving - as we usually do every year. We always have a great time! It's so peaceful and relaxing - well, as peaceful as you can get when you have 4 kids under the age of 6 in the house :). Josh and his brother, Zach, enjoyed hunting. The kids enjoyed swimming in the hot tub, playing in the corn field, feeding Jake (the dog, bones - multiple times/day), and I enjoyed reading an ENTIRE book! Somedays we even managed to get out of our PJ's and into our sweats :). It's so fun to be able to get everyone together - but we missed Josh's oldest sister, Tiffany, and her family this year. I've included some pics of our trip. The first is of the boys at our bonfire. We've made it a tradition to roast hot dogs and marshmallows! It was pretty cold this year - but notice that they don't even have coats on in some of the pictures - it was 60 degrees one day, and then 35 the next. I guess that's Kansas for ya! We are so blessed to have our families and enjoy every moment we get to spend together!

Dawson and his cousin, Owen. They are only 3 weeks apart in age!