This past week.

School has started and we are all adjusting to the new schedule. Thankfully, this year that schedule does not involve daycare but there will be times when Dave is out of town for work, hunting, fishing, etc. that I will have to get a babysitter for the boys in the morning. We already have one lined up for a couple days next week when deer season opens and I am hopeful that it will not be too hard to continue to find ones that are available. We have continued to have fun this past week with the boys. Dave takes them running every morning, makes them yummy breakfasts (that I get to enjoy when I get home) and for the most part has kept the house pretty clean for when I get home (I am sorry to say that there is nothing that puts me in a worse mood than when I leave a clean house and come home 3 hours later to a dirty one!). I try to plan some type of fun activity for them everyday and once we get better adjusted we will do play dates with friends and MOPS at our church. Colt is also going to take swimming lessons again this fall.

Colt had a dentist appointment on Wednesday. He crawled right up in the chair, put the Superman glasses, smiled at me when I took his pictures and then wanted to do nothing else the entire time but...

....look at himself in this mirror that the hygienist gave him. They were able to look at his teeth (while I was holding him) and he let them paint a little fluoride on but that was about it. I had Jax with me too, but thankfully Jax was very well behaved and just sat there chewing on a toothbrush the entire time. Not a perfect dentist visit but it could have been worse.

On Thursday I decided to let them paint with pudding. I knew this was going to be a very messy project (I have a hard time with messy) but I also thought it was something that both Colt and Jax could do so I just went for it. They had so much fun but made the biggest mess in the world. There was chocolate on my walls from Jax!

I think he ate more than he painted.

He loved body painting.

So then Colt wanted to body paint too.

They had so much fun! I gave them a bath and Colt called it "a chocolate bath". Since it was already 4:30 I put them in their pajamas and we played in Jax's room shooting hoops until Dave got home with Papa Murphy's.

Today after I got home we went to the park, it was about 70 degrees and sunny. Perfect weather to be outside and running around. They both had fun and were all smiles the entire time.

Jax's favorite part was digging his shoes into the ground and covering them (and he always loves the swing).

It has been a great week, sure there were times when Jax cried for no reason, Colt threw one (or 2 or 3) of his awesome 3-year old fits, Dave or I was up at night with a certain 3 year old who had to pee, poop, was scared or my favorite "but Mommy I just neeeeeed you". It's not anything that any other mom with young children doesn't already deal with. The great thing is those hard moments are quickly over shadowed by a great one and that's what makes it all worth it.

Back to work.....

...and look at these happy faces who greeted me when I got home at 9:45 today!

Another school year has started and this year was the first time since Colt was born that I didn't cry on the first day. This morning my alarm went off a little before 5, I was at school by 6:30 and home by the time the boys finished breakfast. I am going to like this schedule (though 4:45 is EARLY!) and I am loving this opportunity I have been given to spend most of the day with my boys. I think Dave is going to like it too, he took the boys running, made them a pancake breakfast and got to enjoy his coffee while they played this morning. Colt has his first dentist appointment tomorrow at 10, I am taking him and Jax by myself. It is going to be interesting, I just hope it doesn't turn into a nightmare!

Excited!

Jax is growing up much too fast but I am finding myself excited......

...excited to watch him take his first steps...

...excited to watch him wrestle with his daddy and brother...

...excited to watch him and Colt play together, talk to each other, share a room....

....excited that I get to spend the rest of my life watching this little boy grow!

Many faces of Colt

Deer season is just around the corner and it seems that every evening Dave is coming in the door with a new toy. Last night's "toy" was face-paint. Apparently, not only do all of Dave's clothes have to be camouflaged his entire face must be too. I said to him last night "So deer season is 19 days long, you go out twice a day (early morning and late afternoon), that means you have to re-apply that paint 38 times.....your probably going to need more than one box." His response was "It's only going to take me one day to get my deer"......whatever! The next thing I know Colt looks like this and I find these pictures on my camera today. Dave was telling him what to do and here are his faces......

Starting it off with his "happy face"

"Sad Face"

"Crying Face"

"Fighting Face"

"Bow-hunting pose"

Ending it with a smile.....this kid is funny!

Side note: that paint is not easy to get off even after a bath last night he still went to bed with paint on his face and of course he wanted Dave to reapply it at lunch again today!

Fun with the sister/auntie/daughter.

My mom, the little boys and I made a trip to Boise to see Marni this past

weekend. It was the perfect trip and we had so much fun. Marni just moved into a new apartment and it was perfect, her place was right next to the pool so we spent a lot of time swimming and it was also close to downtown so we did a lot of walking as well. We got there Friday afternoon (after a very long car ride with Jax screaming for 3 hours of the trip)  and went swimming right away, my mom made homemade pizza and we enjoyed that down by the pool. Later that night we walked downtown to this little candy store called Goodies. We all enjoyed some homemade ice cream and then worked off the calories by walking back to her place. 

Saturday morning Marni and I went on a 10 mile run in the foothills of Boise, Marni is in incredibly good shape and it was good for me to try and keep up with her. The first 6.4 miles were uphill but it was still very fun and we got to talk a lot while still keeping a pretty good pace. We got home and walked down to Java for coffee and oatmeal (they have the best places to eat breakfast in Boise!) and then took the boys to a nearby park to play while my mom went on a bike ride. The rest of the day was spent at her place relaxing, talking, reading and swimming. We had chicken and steak with veggies skewers that night and then put the boys back in the stroller and walked to TCBY for some yummy yogurt (peanut butter for everyone but my mom....yummy!). 

Sunday morning we woke up, had breakfast and then did some shopping. My mom and Marni both treated me to a little something from Banana Republic. Marni was literally dragging me through the store and trying to convince me to try stuff on, I have NO style and it showed. Marni also bought Colt his birthday present from the GAP, he got some cute fall clothes including a Buzz Lightyear shirt which he was very excited about. After shopping we went back so the boys could nap and everyone but me ended up napping (I was reading a book I found at Marni's and couldn't put it down). After naps we went swimming again and then had bbq hamburgers and fruit for dinner by the pool. 

We woke up at 5:45 (that's 4:45 my time!) Monday morning so we could go on one last run before we had to leave and Marni had to go back to work.  It was such a fun trip and one that my mom and I try and do every year together. I could leave the boys at home with Dave but Marni loves seeing  and playing with them and I don't think I am ready to leave them for that long just yet. Both the boys were so easy (as easy as a 1 and 3 year old can be), they slept well, played well and were happy to be there. We were in a 2 bedroom apartment so we didn't have a lot of room and I really didn't bring any toys besides Colt's sword, a ball for Jax and some books for nap and bedtime ( I didn't want to pack any more than I had too) but it worked out fine. The ride home was MUCH better, Jax just cried a little at the very end. Thanks for the fun Marni!

Appreciating the smaller things.

Today has reminded me of all I have to be thankful for, nothing special was planned for today, nothing special happened today but it is days like today that remind me to enjoy every moment. It started with an early morning run (a run that when I woke up was dreading doing, it was early, my legs were tired and so was I) but I wiped the sleep from my eyes, stepped quietly over Colt (who had come in to our room in the middle of the night wanting to sleep with us, he ended up in his sleeping bag on the floor), dressed and stepped outside. The first mile my body was telling me to go back to bed, I had planned to run 5 miles this morning at an 8:15ish mile pace and at this point I was going to be happy just to finish the 5. Then something amazing happened, our good friends Darin and Becky live about 1/2 mile from our house and all of a sudden I hear a "Hi Carolyn" and I turn around and Darin is out on a run (he is training for the Walla Walla marathon) we run the next mile together and I find myself quickening my pace to keep up with him, we engage in some fun conversations about triathlons and running and then part ways at the 2 mile mark of my run (I look down at my garmin and I see my pace at 6:34 - did I mention Darin is one heck of a runner), at this point I am feeling awake, alive and happy to be running and so I go for it. I finish my 5.62 miles with an average pace of 7:34 per mile. I was one hot, sweaty, tired mess but it felt so good when I was done. 

I get home and quietly open the door to our house since most mornings when I return everyone is still in bed, and stepping into the entry way I see Colt, Dave and Jax sitting on the couch eating their bananas and milk (the boys not Dave). Dave tells me that when he woke up this morning he could hear laughing coming from Jax's room, he peeks into the room and sees Colt sitting in the crib with Jax and they are playing and laughing over and over. Dave watched for awhile and then went into the room and asked Colt what they were doing. Colt's repsonse was "when I woke up Jax was crying so I was playing with him so he wouldn't cry." I love these 2 little boys.

I made baked oatmeal with fresh peaches for breakfast and we sat at the table as a family of four enjoying our yummy breakfast and engaging in some fun conversations. After breakfast while I cleaned and did some laundry Colt and Jax played together in the family room. Jax adores Colt and Colt is a really good sharer and helper to Jax so it works out nicely and gives me some time to get stuff done. We had some errands to run and as I am leaving the house I make a quick phone call to my lender for my student loans. I applied for a forgiveness grant in June and I was still waiting to hear back about it, when the lady on the phone told me I had a zero dollar balance I was literally jumping around and screaming through the house. Colt followed doing the same and Jax just started laughing at us. Since I have taught math at a low income high school for the last 5 years I was eligible for up to $17,000 in loan forgiveness, I think I had close to $11,000 left on my student loan and it was all paid off as of this past month. This couldn't have come at a better time with me only working part-time next year.

After our errands we met Dave at Quiznos to celebrate, both the kids were happy and well behaved and when Colt said " I have an idea, lets go to BRIGHTS" that was all the convincing I needed. We headed over to our favorite little candy store, Colt picked out 4 small pieces of candy and shared each piece with his brother giving him really small bites that he can chew easily. Next door to Brights is the cutest toy store called Inland Octopus, it reminds me of what toy stores used to look like before we had all the big supermarket type places take over. We had fun walking around and looking at all the cute toys, Dave told Colt he could pick out one toy and here is what he picked:

Dragon Fighter!!

Jax wanted in on the action too.
After all the fun both the boys are not napping, Colt has been running around in his dragon fighter gear all afternoon and they will probably be extra cranky tonight. It doesn't matter though, for today I was reminded just how sweet life is. Its all about the small things that make me happy. A husband I adore more than anything, 2 boys who fill my life with such joy and a God who loves us all.

Relaxation Mode

We have been in full relaxation mode this past week since we got back from vacation. I have tried to limit our activities and besides a few fun play-dates and a BBQ with friends we have been just trying to relax and play at home. My parents had the boys over to stay the night last Thursday so Dave and I took full advantage of the time alone. We met at the Y after Dave got off work and swam for an hour, then went to dinner and to my favorite candy store Brights and then back home to watch a movie. We woke up early the next morning and headed back to the Y for another workout this time doing some cardio and some much needed weight training. We got a coffee after that and then Dave had to go into work and my mom came and dropped the boys off.  It was nice to get to spend some time just the two of us and since our 7 year anniversary was yesterday we called that night our anniversary celebration.

  I go back to work in less than 3 weeks and have slowly started getting ready for that. Since I am only going to be at work 3 hours a day (teaching 2 classes), I am not dreading the start of school as much as I have in the past. This year the boys will not have to be in daycare and will be with Dave from the time they wake up until 9:30 when I return home and then with me the remainder of the day. I really hope this works out for all of us and the transition goes smoothly. I am also going to be teaching an online class which is about 2-3 hours of work a day. I am hoping between teaching at school, teaching online and taking care of the boys that I will be able to get all of us in a good routine that works well for everyone.

Colt has been a blast to hang out with this summer, I am so glad I am a teacher because I am always going to get the summers with my kids and it is so enjoyable. He had his 3 year check-up and he is just under the 90% in weight and just over the 90% in height. My big boy is always on the go from the moment he comes in my room in the morning to say "Good morning mommy can I have chocolate milk and a banana" he is off and running. We play outside, ride bikes, play catch, pick raspberries, pretend to fight countless lions and dragons, read books, color, do puzzles, play games (Memory, Operation and I Spy are his favorites right now), play a lot with his GI Joes and much more. My favorite is after Jax goes to bed Colt will sometimes ask for an "ice tream tone" and we go outside on our back patio and eat our ice cream and play "I Spy". He sits in one of our big chairs and happily licks away at his cone, trying to keep it from running everywhere (he is pretty neat for being a 3 year old boy) and tries to find the objects that "I Spy". He is great with Jax, hardly gets jealous, always makes sure Jax has a toy and loves to share his toys and snacks. I could not have asked for a better boy and even though he has his naughty moments and throws a tantrum every once in awhile the good days far outweigh the bad.

Jax is growing, growing and growing. I am certain he eats more food that Colt does right now and is not picky either. Whatever I am eating he wants it no matter what it is, if its not given to him he lets us know just how unhappy he is about it. He is starting to say more words and is signing a lot as well. The most common words he uses are " Mama, Dada, thank you, banana (nana), up (when he wants to be picked up) and uh-oh" He knows what a kitty and a cow say and he also knows the signs for " dog, please, more, thank-you (he signs this and says it) and eat". He is closer to walking and I think once he starts walking he will thin out a bit (that's what happened when Colt started walking anyway). In the past week he has been standing all by himself for longer periods of time, he walks all around the furniture and will move from different pieces throughout the room, he will also walk around just holding on to the tip of my finger but if I let go he refuses to even try and take a step. If I try and coax him to walk from standing he will sit automatically sit down without even trying, it will happen soon enough! He is my cuddle boy and loves to cuddle before naps or bedtime, he is always coming over to me and laying his head on my stomach. I can't get enough of his hugs and kisses!

Dave is looking forward to fall weather, it means fishing season is coming up and hunting season is not far after that. He already has some pretty fun trips planned this fall and I know he is looking forward to getting out of the house and enjoying some man time

I am looking forward to the cooler weather and the holiday seasons coming up but am trying to enjoy these last 3 weeks before work starts again. I have 2 half marathons planned this fall that I have started training for and am looking forward to those. My little sister is going to come and run the Walla Walla half with me on 10/10/10 and then I think I am going to run the Indian Summer Half-Marathon that Marni and I did last year in Richland. It is 2 weeks before the Walla Walla race and I am thinking about using it as my last big training run.

Lastly, some random pictures of the boys: