Poor Lonely Blog

My friend Tara put it so well. Here my poor lonely blog sits with no updates in 6 months. What is wrong with me?! Oh wait, I have two littles at my heels all day and on the rare occasion that I do sit down at the computer for a good length of time - Facebook sucks up all my time. Dang Facebook. I really do want to document my life right now. And more importantly, I want to capture every moment of cuteness from my little ones. I so desperately do not want to forget this time in my life. The hilarious things Wesley says. The (loud) little noises and words and sounds that Reeve makes to so desperately communicate with us. I want to capture it....remember it. Let's see....since my last update Reeve turned 1 and Wesley turned 3. They are the cutest boys in the whole world and love each other dearly. Wesley is so sweet and kind to his little brother. He gives him hugs often and when they are riding in the double stroller together he will lean his little head on Reeve's shoulder and say, "Mommy, I love my brudder". Melts my heart every time. Wesley continues to talk up a storm! Some of his current favorite phrases are:
"Mommy, I have a good idea!" (I can almost see the light bulb going off in his head and the look of glee on his face makes me smile)
"That will be fun!" (what he says after describing something he wants to do and uses the phrase to convince us that we will all have fun doing it too)
"Reeeeeve!" (said in a very serious drawn out tone to his brother when he sees him doing something wrong. He is my little policeman.)
"My Daddy (or insert anyone really if they are not there...Nana, Papa, Grammy) said I could do that"
Some of the cute things he says that we do not want to correct him on are:
"Hangabur" (hamburger)
"Yem" (them, as in, "Mommy, the boys gave me a sticker. Yem are nice.)
Wesley talks in the cutest little high pitched voice and when he gets going, it's hard to get a word in edge-wise. He asked me tonight as I was tucking him in bed, "Mommy, can we talk?". After I said yes he let it fly. Went on all about our upcoming trip and what he was going to do, etc. He wrapped it up after a few minutes and let out a big sigh. He had said his peace and was ready for bed! :) Some of his favorite things right now are sports (he talks a lot about baseball, soccer, football and how he is going to play all those things when he gets bigger), race cars, Calliou and Word World (the PBS shows), Dinosaurs, singing, hoping on one foot (he just learned how do this a few months ago), his Papa, Nana, Grammy & Grampy, books, practicing writing, any kind of story telling.

As for Reeve, well he is just a love bug! Some of my favorite names for my little 17 month old are: Reevie, Reever, Reever-Deever, Bugga, Bugga-Bugga, Punky, Little Mister. He brings us such joy! He is still such a happy-go-lucky baby! He smiles CONSTANTLY! And I'm not even lying. You go to get him in the morning - smiling at you from the crib. You look at him in the car - huge smile spreads across his face. I can stop whatever I'm doing...whenever and just look at him and say, "Reeeeeve" and he give me a great big smile. It is so much fun and definitely a good pick me up on hard days. The best part about his smile is the little dimple that pops up on his right cheek. His laugh is infectious. I love to really get him going when I tickle him. He is also really LOUD! He lets out the loudest noises I've ever heard! It's rather embarrassing in public, but I just have to look at him and smile because he is so passionate! He will point at things - out in public, in a book, something he sees while driving in the car and let out the cutest LOUD "DAAAAHHH!" which I thing means "LOOOOOOK!". He has learned several words including: hi, hello (hewhoa), mama, dadee, nana (banana and his Nana), mimi (Grammy), choo-choo, ball (Baaw), big ball (ig baaw), NO (he got this one really quick from his brother), up, all-done (di-do), night-night (nigh-nigh). And his way of kissing is going up to you, leaning over you and saying, "mmmmm-aaaa" with his cute little mouth closed. Reeve LOVES his big brother and wants to copy everything he does and says. He also knows how to push is big brothers buttons....funny how that happens at such an early age. Lord help me!

Okay, enough of the novel. I'm back to blogging today...we'll see what tomorrow holds. :) Goodnight.

Reeve

Our happy-go-lucky little guy. Can't believe he is going to be one in a few weeks. Man this year has flown by.

H-A-P-P-Y B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y ! ! !

Happy Birthday to my wonderful beautiful wife! Talk about disappointing, while she is celebrating her special day I'm out-of-town for business. Thank you Nana and Papa for driving up in my absence (and baking an awesome cake).

Let me brag on my beautiful Tracy. For seven years she has perfectly loved and taken care of me: From simple things like cleaning, shopping, and social events. And the more personal tasks like listening, understanding, and praying. In addition, for the last two years she has played the role of Super Mom: changing diapers, feeding, early morning wake-ups, chef, etc. Thank you for your sacrifice and joy honey. You're the best!

I love Tracy's passion for life. She lives in the moment and savors what the "here-and-now" provides. I love that she finds reasons to celebrate so many of life's occasions. Without her, we would be a VERY boring household indeed. I love that our kids look a lot like her, because they are so cute!

Thank you for sharing your life with me, it gets better every year. I love you!

We Love Aunt Jen - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!

In the words of Stevie Wonder: "Isn't she lovely...isn't she W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L, isn't she precious, less than one minute old." Okay, she's a little older than that but we love her just the same! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNIFER JOY ROBBINS!!!!! You are the coolest aunt, sister and sister-in-law the world has ever seen! Show those German's how birthdays are done right - Partei heute Abend wie haben Sie vorher nie gefeiert! =)

Oh and for all six of my faithful readers...let me just say that my personal retreat was F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S! I highly recommend it to all you moms of tots out there! Have the hubs whisk the kiddies out of the house overnight - or at the very least - an afternoon. I must say - I did miss them though! The old saying, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" is so true! Towards the end of my retreat I found myself looking out the window waiting for them to pull in the driveway. And when my 2 year old burst in the house yelling, "Mommy!" I melted! What a precious gift my boys are!

Blessed Silence

Here I sit...all alone in my house...just me, myself and I and a warm cup of tea (I know it's 98 degrees outside but I don't care!). And it's 10:30 p.m. Why do you ask - am I all alone in my house at 10:30 p.m.? What have I done with my husband and my babies? Well folks, Steve took the boys and left me. Don't worry - it's a good thing! It's a beautiful thing actually! I'm on a much needed personal/spiritual retreat! My incredibly loving, selfless, WONDERFUL husband agreed to give me the gift of peace and quiet for a full 24+ hours. No 5 month old, no 2 year old, no getting up at 6:00 a.m. to nurse, no Blue's Clues, no Sesame Street, no ESPN, no whining, no phone calls, no television, no dirty diapers! I would say no computer but obviously that would be lying! I'm just updating the blog though - that's it! The theme for my retreat is: What could I say or do but offer this heart , oh God, completely to you? NOTHING ELSE MATTERS! I realized about a month ago that I was really weary - life was beating me down and I felt like I was suffocating under the weight of it. That's when I knew it was time. Time to get away with the Lord for a one-on-one smack down! Time for uninterrupted worship and time in the word. Time to turn the stereo up ever so loudly (sorry neighbors) and dance around like a fool while singing at the top of my lungs! Oh, it's been wonderful! I can't remember the last time I was able to do this. Was it before I was married? Well, even then I had roommates. Honestly, I can't remember. All I know is that I think this needs to be a yearly event from now on - maybe even bi-yearly! Thank you Mike and Jeanne for taking your son and grandkids in for the night! I am forever grateful!

Oh, and I highly recommend the new Hillsong United CD! Powerful!

Sorry it's been awhile

That's a bright flash Mom!


Where oh where to begin? I kind of fell off the blog band wagon there for awhile. I can only upload pictures on our big, slow desktop computer upstairs, but we got a new/used/hand-me-down laptop from Tracy's parents (thanks guys) so I've been checking email, ect. on that downstairs. Mind you...it's about 10 degrees cooler downstairs. Thus, no blogging. Anyway, we're back! And the summer is almost over! What? Where did the time go? It's been a fun, full summer for us. We did the water park thing in the beginning and then when it got really hot - in the triple digits people - we tried to find indoor activities to occupy our time. The mall, McDonald's, the Children's Museum, the mall, the library, a church in Irving that has an amazing indoor play area for kids, the mall. We managed to survive. At the end of August we went to Bandera for some time with Tracy's parents and a Robbins Family Reunion. We had a great time seeing everyone again and showing off Reeve. Wesley loved all the attention! Here are a few pictures:

In our matching green reunion shirts...poor Reeve didn't get one.

Wesley's new bike


Papa T we love you!

A family swim in the river

Wesley's BFF's

Here are Wesley's four BFF's at a cookout at their house on the Fourth of July. How cute are they?!? We love our cousins! A day does not go by that Wesely does not mention their names. I love Moriah's pensive look as she rests her hand on her fist. So funny!

Happy Birthday America

We celebrated the 4th with a cookout at Bill and Rebecca's and then Steve, Reeve and I hit the NRH fireworks show with David & Thomas Bohannan and the Hernandez Family! So fun! We thought Wesley would be a little young to enjoy them, so we sent him home with Grammy and Grampy. NRH put on a good little show! Of course, we have been spoiled forever by the Boston Pops Fireworks...not much can compare. We watched them on TV when we got home and they are even amazing on television! The way they time every one of them to the music...simply amazing! Can't wait to take Wesley to see fireworks next year. I love the 4th! Happy Birthday America!


Steve, Jake & David with Kailey & Thomas

Steve and Dave-O

Ooooh!

Ahhhh!

What happens when Steve gets a hold of the baby

My Dad likes to punk out my hair when we hang out. Here we are just chillin' on July 4th. Hope everyone had a fun one!

McDonald's Mania

Me and the Birthday Boy

Amber, Me & Anne

Annie, Amber & Diane

Carri & sweet little Ainsley Belle

Beautiful blue eyed Alli!

April & Alli go for a slide

Wesley checks out the loot in the goodie bags

Baseball cupcakes that took awhile to make - thanks Nana!

The party table before the toddlers hit it hard...wish I had an "after" picture! I felt really bad for the sweet lady that had to clean it when we left!

Reeve was really bored at the party

April, Sam, Jeannie, Kamryn & Bryce hang out

Kellie & Susan

Sweet Carter smiles for the camera

All Partied Out

What a week! Parties galore for little man Wes. He had a little church friends party at McDonald's on his actual birthday and then a small family celebration at Steve's parents house that night. Then all the family...including Grammy, Grampy, Nana, Papa, Aunt Rebecca, Uncle Billy and kids went to a nearby water park on Saturday to celebrate some more. Needless to say, it was a fun week for Wesley and exhausting week for Mom! No, the truth is, I'm such a sucker for parties...I had just as much fun as Wesley did! Here are a few pictures from Thursday night. I'll post more from McD's and the water park later.


The Brothers - notice the new matching shirts!

Presents!

Concentrating

Wow! My very own laptop!

Happy Birthday Sweet Wesley

Look who is 2 today!
Wesley - We love you more than you will ever know! You keep us laughing all the time and bring such joy to our lives. You are the best big brother. I wish I could bottle up all the adorable things you do and say and re-live them when you older and into other things. Like the way you talk in a "sing-songy" voice when you say "MaaaaaMa" or "DaaaaaDa". Or how you try so hard to be understood even though we don't always know what you're saying...you are determined! I love how you repeat every one's name about a million times when you are talking to them..."Mimi, Mimi, Mimi, Mimi....Aaash (Shoes)". I love how you sympathize with people when they are hurt or crying. You fake cry right along with your brother to let me know you feel his pain. And that face you make when you say "Uh-oh" and "oh" is the most precious thing ever. I just want to squeeze you all the time because you are so stinkin' cute. Some new words that you have learned lately are: "up", "pees" (please), "bee" (anything on the ground...a dead bug, a piece of hair, a crumb). "ash" (trash...where the "bees" go), "knee" (the latest body part that we've discovered), "hep pees" (help please), "boos coos" (Blue's Clues - your new favorite video), "Joe" (the guy on Boos Coos), "cheese" (your favorite food), "leedleedlee" (video/dvd). While this is really gross, I can't help but mention how you have a really sensitive gag reflex and often hurl whatever it was that made you gag (plus the rest of your breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner). Ugh! This has really tried your Mama's patience, but you can't help it baby. You always know to go in the bowl that we hold up to your face. And then after it's all said and done you reenact the whole thing by grabbing the bowl and pretending to hurl. I try my hardest not to laugh. I could go on and on...you are learning new things every day and growing up so fast. Don't grow up too fast Mister!! No matter how big you get - you'll always be my baby. Happy Birthday Sweet Boy.
Love,
Mom

Happy Birthday Hubs!

Well, this is a day late, but I wanted to give a shout out to the hubs for his birthday!!!! Way to make it to 32 babe! I love you like crazy and am so thankful for the 6 (almost 7) years God has given us together! So in honor of you, sweetie, I'm going to list 32 things (just a few of the millions of things) I love about you:

1. You are honest to the core
2. You are the hardest worker I know
3. You live every aspect of your life with integrity
4. You are considerate of others
5. You think the best of people
6. You are slow to anger...never a harsh word
7. You are a servant
8. You are slow to speak because you don't just want to talk to hear yourself...your words are thought-out and profound.
9. You make the best stove-top popcorn...lots of butter and salt (YUM)
10. You are adorable when you get all silly
11. You can make me laugh like no one else
12. You are soooooooo patient with me
13. You are a terrific provider
14. You are super organized and help me in that area BIG TIME
15. You love to grill...so cute
16. You love food...gotta love a man who loves to eat
17. You are one of the biggest ice cream fans that I know...so cute
18. You are the biggest Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics fan that I know
19. And to add to the one above...you have deep sentimentality towards where you came from and stay true to that
20. You like to eat healthy and stay fit...gotta love that in a man
21. You are consistent
22. You love your family
23. You honor your parents
24. You love me and your boys and would lay down your life for us
25. You are the best Dad in the whole world
26. I love watching you and Wesley play and laugh together...he thinks the world of you
27. You would rather let me go shopping and get something for myself than get something for you...so selfless and sweet
28. You are super easy-going
29. I can tell you anything and know that I will not be judged or looked down upon because you are TRUSTWORTHY
30. You love the Lord with all your heart
31. You are a wonderful spiritual leader in our home
32. You are a MAN OF GOD and the BEST MAN FOR ME!!!!!!!!!

Melt my Heart!

This is the first smile my Mom was able to catch on camera!

Notice the dimple on my right cheek! I get that from Mom.

I'm really playing it up for the camera here. Hooray!

Hot Fun in the Summer Sun

It's summer and it's stinkin hot. Thankfully, we've found a cool spot to park ourselves - it's called NRH2O and IT'S A GOD SEND! Imagine the biggest playground ever and then picture it surrounded by water. Add a lazy river, lots of shade and constant entertainment for a two year old and, well, you know where I will be this summer. Folks, it's wonderful. I was a little scared at first to take both boys by myself. A toddler who constantly wanders away from me and a newborn who can't sit-up much less get in the sun/water was not something I was too excited about. Needless to say, I was a little freaked out my first day. I fed Reeve right before we left and got Wesley all swim diapered and sunscreened up. I loaded up the double stroller (which I loooove by the way) with all our gear and took off. I decided to get there as soon as it opened so I could have my pick of parking and shade spots. We plopped ourselves down right near the ankle deep kiddie area (so I could keep an eye on Wesley) and checked on Reeve - sound asleep. So far, so good. Wesley played happily in the water (being careful not to get his head wet or ANY water on his face...so funny that boy) and I just sat there. Yes, I actually got to sit!!!!! Rarely does this happen at home people. Occassionally Wesley would want me to join him in the water, but he was kept busy watching everyone around him. My dream newborn slept the entire time! I think it was the combination of the heat and the soothing water sounds that keeped him sacked out. So, all-in-all, it was a very pleasant experience and we have been back many times. And I haven't even mentioned the best part! Several friends from church also have a season pass, so we all meet there and have fun together! Whoo-hoo!


This place rocks!

Wesley splashing Tex (my friend Amber's son). Tex and Wesley were born only 2 days apart!

Tex splashing Wesley

The kiddie area (ankle deep water)