New Year!

2010 is upon us and time to wrap up 2009. It was a great year for a lot of reasons and I am sad to see it leave but as always I will look to the future (Jeremiah 29:11) and am excited to see what 2010 will bring. Before I close off the last post of 2009 I wanted to recap some of the highlights of the past year.

• January
• Colt had the flu and threw up for 10 days in a row!
• Katie and Travis got married
• Colt was the ring bearer and did a fabulous job walking down the aisle with Camryn.
• February
• Trip to Hawaii
• Dave qualified for a trip through work so we took 6 days off of work and headed to Hawaii for some fun family time. Colt was awesome and it was nice and relaxing, we didn't get to do alot since I was 5 months pregnant at the time.
• March
• Not much happened though I do remember just feeling like I was getting fatter each day:)
• April
• Colt moved to a big boy bed and we finally got the nursery prepared for the new baby.
• Colt's first trip to the Portland zoo. He loved it and we can't wait to take him back.
• May
• Jax David arrived 3 weeks early much to our surprise and my delight! We were thrilled when we found out he was a boy though it took us over 12 hours to finally come up with a name it does fit him perfectly.
• June
• Colt turned 2!
• Trip to Lynden for Chris Price's 30th birthday party and to spend time with our close friends.
• July
• Enjoyed some time getting used to our new family of 4. We stayed close to home and did a lot of playdates with friends.
• August
• Trip to Lake Chelan with all our college friends and there families
• Family trip to the Couerd'lane Resort (another trip Dave qualified for through work)
• September
• Marni and I ran in a half-marathon in Richland.
• October
• Went to Boise for Halloween. Both boys were Harley Dudes.
• November
• Dave spent time in Boise elk hunting and South Dakota deer hunting. He was very successful.
• Marni and I ran another half-marathon together in Boise. She waited for me at the top of each hill and we crossed the finish line together.
• Back to work for me. It was hard to leave my kiddos after being home with them for the past 5.5 months. Luckily they have adjusted well and really enjoy there babysitter.
• December
• Spent Christmas with Dave's family in Kennewick. We had a great time and Colt loved the holidays.

Good-bye 2009!!

Jax : 7 months

Jax is growing up and getting too big for my liking! Sitting up all on his own for extended periods of time, rolling all over the place, talking up a storm (okay maybe talking is the wrong word), eating all different kinds of fruit and veggies, smiling constantly, crying rarely and my favorite part....snuggling with mommy whenever I want a snuggle. He is a huge bright spot in our lives and a fabulous addition to our family of 4 (which Dave always reminds me has a nice ring to it...my response: "family of 5 sounds just as nice"). I am cherishing every moment of him at each stage right now and really trying to just enjoy him and slow down. Now that I am back to work the word "busy" takes on a whole new meaning and when I start coaching track in March the word "crazy" will take on a new meaning as well. I must constantly remind myself to enjoy each and every day and be thankful for everything I have because overall we are so lucky. I still wish the baby stage would last longer though!!

What has become of my life?

 

Yes those are deer antlers cooking on MY stove in one of MY pots and smelling up MY house!!

Boys + Toys = Mess

We got home last night and the boys have been having fun today playing with there toys. We have had a very lazy day today, which has been very nice! We did not get much sleep the last couple days as neither of the kids slept well while we were out of town so it was nice to just relax today and rest. The boys (and yes that includes Dave) have had a lot of fun playing with there new toys. Dave and Colt have also been having fun shooting each other with there new nerf guns. Those things are all over my house!!

 

Colt playing with all his new tools that he got for Christmas.

Jax loves this little piano that he got from Memah and Poppi, he has had so much fun hitting the keys and playing with it.

Such a happy baby!

Christmas Day

Christmas morning came early and fast because the kids were up periodically throughout the night. Jax woke up first and Colt soon after. We had a quiet morning with just Dave's mom and dad, drinking coffee and opening our gifts as a family of 4 while we waited for everyone to wake-up/arrive. Everyone was up and ready for breakfast by around 9:00 and we had the traditional bread dough pudding and coffee.

Katie, Travis and Jax relaxing together Christmas morning. Katie and Jax are both matching in there onesie pajamas.

Afer breakfast we all went into the family room to open presents. Half the room was filled with presents because of all the people in Dave's family. The kids were so excited to open presents.

Aunt Katie held Jax all morning and he eventually just napped on her chest for 2.5 hours. Jax slept through his first Christmas which probably was not such a bad deal considering that Dave and I did not get him one gift. He really already has everything he needs and the very sensible side of me said that anything we buy him would just add to the pile of toys the boys already have. We did the same thing for Colt's 1st Christmas so I don't feel too guilty. His grandparents got him some cute toys and pajamas anyway so he did get some gifts this year.

Colt and Camryn opening there first present from Memah and Poppi. They both got a playdoh set.

Colt showing us his new bible.

Dave's parents got him a tool bench to go with the tool set that Dave and I had gotten him.

He fell in love with it and wanted to play with it right away. Dave took it to the other room and set it up for him while everyone else was still opening gifts. Both Colt and Camryn enjoyed playing with it, Colt kept telling me he was building a doghouse.

Hammering away.

Colt also got lots of books and coloring stuff, a Ford truck with 4-wheeler and camo tent from Cabelas, pajamas, sleeping bag, motorcycle and lots of other little things from his Memah and Poppi. Dave and I got him a tool set, wallet and handcuffs and Jax got him a Veggie Tale dvd. He had a fabulous Christmas and loved every moment of opening the presents and playing with all his new toys.

Daddy and Colt playing after all the presents were opened.
Colt got so many toys from Mike and Julie, I don't even know where we are going to put all of them but he is one lucky little boy. Dave and I both got a lot of nice presents as well. Dave got a bunch of hunting stuff (boring:))along with a 5-pin sight for his bow and a portable archery target from me. This was the year of workout stuff for me which I loved. I got a couple workout outfits, i-phone armband so I can go running, nike running headband, gloves, under armour socks, as well as a sonicare toothbrush (which I was soooo excited about), new bath towels, calendar with stickers (which fulfilled my obsession with organization), cake plate and best of all a food chopper. After presents, the boys played games, Colt went down for a nap and I went on a great run in my new workout gear. We had prime rib, crab legs, salad, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and rolls for dinner that night. It was such a wonderful Christmas and so much fun to watch Colt get so excited to open all his presents. We are so blessed to get to celebrate Christmas with our families each year and to really celebrate the birth of Jesus and to reflect on the gifts he has given us. Even though this post is all about presents the day did not revolve around that. Dave and I have both made sure to tell Colt the story of Jesus' birth many times during the month of December and when we talk about Christmas to him we always refer to it as a celebration of Him.

Christmas Eve

We got to Kennewick around 4:30 on Christmas Eve and after hanging out at Dave's parents for a bit we all went to the Christmas Eve service at the church. The service was awesome and both kids did great and we were able to enjoy the entire thing. Colt was so good and Dave's mom had made sure to bring him a little bag with stuff to play with quietly during the service. It was nice having Dave's sisters there to help out. Katie held Jax the entire time and Randee helped entertain Colt as well.

After the service we went over to Kenzie and Andy's house for Christmas Eve. It is tradition in Dave's family to do appetizers for Christmas Eve so we had a bunch of yummy snacks and then opened presents. All of the kids draw names and we open up that gift for Christmas Eve.

 

Colt and Camryn loving on each other. They were both watching George and trying to wait patiently while we all finished eating so they could open presents.

Dave's mom bought everyone a nerf gun so for about 20 minutes everyone ran around the room shooting at each other over and over again. Colt loved it!

 

Taylor did not draw Dave this year but he still went ahead and got him this book. I have not seen Dave laugh that hard in a really long time. Its kind of inappropriate so I will not go into the details but the memory will be there for a long time.

Colt opening up his present from Andy, Kenzie and Camryn.

 

Colt got a new pair of cowboy boots and a camo hat from Kenzie, Andy and Camryn for Christmas. When I asked him recently what his favorite color was he responded with "camouflage" so anytime he gets something camo colored he gets very excited!

Aunt Randee made both Colt and Jax superman capes with the letter C or J on the back.  Colt LOVED it!

Miss Camryn.

We got her the boots for Christmas and Randee made her the scarf and hat.

 It is also tradition to always get pajamas for Christmas Eve. Randee and Katie have been asking for footsie pajamas like Colt and Camryn for a couple years now and this year Julie found them. Both of them were so excited!!:)

Colt got superman pajamas which he was thrilled about. Jax was sleeping the entire evening so I have no pictures of him but he also got a pair of cowboy boots and dog pajamas. Travis had Dave and got him a pair of army pants and Julie had me and got me a really cute sweatshirt and scarf. After presents everyone stayed and played games except Julie and I. We drove back to Dave's parents house and I put the kids to bed and finally went to bed myself around midnight. Dave did not get home until after 1:30. It was such a fun evening and I wish it never had to end!!

Blessed...

...to be the mama of these very sweet, fun loving little boys!

Jax : 6 month doctor check-up

We love the Colts!!!

Jax had his 6 month check-up today (even though he is much closer to 7 months). He now weighs 17.5 pounds (50%) and is 28 inches long (90%). He has stayed on the same growth curve pretty much since he was born. Everything looked good and he had to have 2 shots and did pretty well with the actual shots (no crying!!). However, he has had a rough day already and I think they are affecting him. He is usually so easy to soothe and rarely cries but he has wanted to be held non-stop all evening, poor guy.

Christmas Cookies.

Colt and I made Christmas cookies this morning. He had a haircut this morning with Vicki so we went and grabbed some breakfast and coffee (juice) at Starbucks, got Colt's haircut and then came home to bake and decorate sugar cookies. Colt loved it. I had made cream cheese frosting for the cookies and let him lick the beaters.

While we were waiting for the cookies to bake Colt said he wanted a snack so I gave him an orange. He loves those things and he loves to peel them all by himself! Notice his green turtle slippers, he wears them all over the house and puts them on all by himself. When did he get so big??

Jax was here too, hanging out under his playmat while we baked.

I set Colt's table up in the kitchen and gave him his own stuff to decorate his cookies with.

It went something like this: dip knife in frosting, spread on cookie a bit, then eat frosting off of his knife. Pretty sure he ate more frosting than actually went on his cookie. When he was done frosting he sprinkled it with green sprinkles.

So proud of his cookie design!

What a fun day, its so nice to have 2 weeks off from work right now and get to do some fun activities with him. He has also been a great help at putting the tape and bows on the presents that I wrap. He loves to be my helper.

Mires Family Photos

Over Thanksgiving when all of us were together my mom had Heather Pearce from Pearce Photography come out to my parents house and take pictures of the entire family. It has been YEARS since we have had a picture taken with everyone and it was alot of fun. Heather was fabulous and did the entire shoot in an hour and she got some great shots. Not easy to do with 4 kids 2 and under!

Big Family Photo!!

 

Papa, Di Di and there grandkids!

 

Cousins.

 

The Pemberton's

 

Dad, Mom and there girls.

 

 SISTERS!!

That is probably obvious though.

Jax and Di Di.

Dave throwing Colt in the air.

This face reminds me pictures of Dave when he was little.

Christmas with Papa and Di Di

We celebrated Christmas with my parents this morning. They are leaving tomorrow for Boise to meet up with my sister and then flying to Playa del Carmen in Mexico for a week. Marni is always bummed the years that we spend Christmas with Dave's family because it is just her and my parents and very quiet and so this year she convinced my parents they should spend Christmas in Mexico. My parents came over and we had breakfast, played with the kids and opened presents. Colt got some new clothes, turtle slippers(which he has been wearing everywhere except outside), floor puzzle (we have probably already put it together 15 times), books and a blue sleeping bag from Aunt Marni. Jax got a new carseat, 3 pairs of pajamas, a book and a dark green sleeping bag from Aunt Marni. Colt wanted to open all the gifts himself and he had the best time doing it!

Opening up my new pair of running shoes from my dad. Love them!!!