Mothers Day

I have been thinking about where I am today, May 13, 2012, Mother's Day and where I was 1 year ago- and I see so much growth, so much change. Not only in my boys- Michael is now 3 1/2, potty trained, big independent boy and James is 1 and curious and crawling, cruising, all over the place, getting into everything and SO full of life- but also in myself- I was at one point, so cautious and nervous of what kind of mom I would be, would I be too nice, too strict? Would I allow just one more show before bedtime or would I insist on just 1 more book instead? Its amazing when you seem to know what kind of mom you are going to be, then there, in the moment, sweet blue eyes staring at you, how can you say no? Michael asks to cuddle now... really? Who can say no to that- he is 3 and I know these cuddling days do not last forever. James actually lets me rock him, Michael never did! I cherish every bedtime with James because I KNOW they do not last forever- we give meds, because that is our life these days and then rock.........................................................................................................................................................
For our family and friends who do not know, we recently found out James has an Auto-Immune Deficiency Disorder, AKA, Immature Immune System- This is the reason our little man is ALWAYS sick! It seems the common cold for James can turn into full our ear and lung infection and if we are not careful, pnemonia and God knows what else, I don't like to go that far- Little man has had tubes and adenoid surgery over the past few months- it has been rough, but luckily we have one happy and responsive little boy!

Back to what I was saying, Mothers Day- WOW! What a special and wonderful day! I love my husband and boys so much- I can't get over how wonderful and blessed I am to have them! I woke up to Geoff attempting to make me breakfast in bed...James needed a breathing treatment due to bronchilitis and a nap, so once we got that covered, I got back in bed so he and Michael could give me breakfast in bed and it was UH-Mazing! Belgian Waffles, whipped cream and fresh strawberries, along with yummy coffee- I was in heaven! Then I was given sweet cards and  handmade bookmark with Michael's sweet picture from school and the most blessed gift ever! A glass locket with the boys names inside- I love, love, love the locket and it is SO special to me!






Even though we seem to be touch and go with James health, we are so fortunate our little man is SO happy and a constant reminder of what happiness is:
Happiness to James is:
Seeing mommy and daddy after a long night of sleep
Seeing Michael come down the stairs and how excited he is to see him
Seeing a cup full of milk because you are one thirsty little man
Abby( J's little lady)- even when I say her name the boy gets sooo excited!
Food- obviously the boy loves his food
People- anyone who sees James in the nursery tells me how happy he is and asks if he is always this happy- which, almost always, he is, unless he is sick:)
The best time is after school when we go get Michael from School, James is SO excited to get Michael- everyday it melts my heart how much my boys love each other!

Geoff and I are so blessed to have the most loving boys and amazing family! There is nothing in the world I could want more than I have now:)

Happy Mother's Day!

Kate

Crawfish Boil 2012

Crazy to think this was the 18th Annual Hatch Crawfish Boil, and my how times have changed! I think at one point I counted 21 kids under the age of 15. Half the yard was covered with EZ Ups and the other contained a large Bounce House- Michael had a BLAST and James was along for the ride- poor guy was trying to keep up with his big brother- I am sure next year will be more fun for James when he can run along with the big kids:)
We started off the day with Michael's 8:00 am soccer game, followed by a good nap for little man before people started to show up for the Boil. It went on from about 1- 10:00 with a steady flow of people, the last to leave around 2:00? or so I was told, I went to sleep much earlier than that:)
I love Crawfish Boil! It is a time for friends to get together and relax and let their kids, if they have any, play and have an great time! We saw friends we haven't seen in awhile and found our about new blessings that are coming soon:)

Mr. James enjoying the cups

Little Jackson Benitoa

Sweet Sydney Pope

The future Crawfish Boil Leaders

The girls!

Love this!

Sweet Michael-Man

I think my favorite part of the day was when the kids asked for popsicles, which I completely forgot I had, and they all piled on the Corn Hole game to eat their Pop Ice- I am SO glad I had my camera handy for this- so cute!

Happy Birthday James!

How is my Baby Boy 1? I mean really, where did the time go? It seems like yesterday we were going to the hospital to have him and now he is a big monster baby who is crawling and cruising all over the place, demanding everyones attention at all times!



We decided to have a very small party, complete opposite from Michael's 1st Birthday Party! I love to do a theme for birthdays so we did The Hungry Caterpillar and made all of the decorations and invitations. There is something to say about small parties- although I love seeing all of our friends and celebrating our pumpkins life, it was so nice to have a small, intimate party. We were able to gather in the same room, hear what everyone was saying and not be completely exhausted from having to entertain and regulate 25+ kids. James had 3 little friends and Michael had 3 as well, so he felt like it was his day too, which it kind of was- we were also celebrating the day Michael became a Big Brother, which is a very big day as well:)

Nana was able to make it in for the celebration and we love when she is in town. The boys definitely missed Pops, but understand how busy he is and how much he has been traveling:) Luckily we will all be together in less than 2 months at the beach!!!

Easter

There is nothing better than holidays with kids. After Michael's first Christmas that he actually had some idea of what was going on, I can't imagine having a Christmas morning or any holiday without kids- it wouldn't be fun! There is nothing better than watching the magic in their eyes and the expressions on their face:)

This year Michael was much more aware of Christmas and Santa and Fiddlesticks, his Elf. That left lots of excitement for the newest member of magical characters to his childhood memories, the Easter Bunny. We talked about his arrival for days and when the blessed morning finally arrived, the boy forgot all about it. He woke up like every other morning, came downstairs, asked for his chocolate milk, Carnation Breakfast, and a show, Little Einsteins. I did as he asked, Michael is NOT a morning person. About 15 minutes later, I went in the playroom and asked him if anyone special came to visit last night...the boy sat and stared at his tv until the little lightbulb went off- THE EASTER BUNNY! Michael promptly flew from the couch and ran into the Breakfast Room where he found all of the goodies that magical bunny left for him:)

He could hardly contain himself and wanted James to share in his excitement, however, James decided to sleep in until 7:30, which never happens, so Michael went ahead and played with his new goodies in the playroom and helped me make breakfast until the rest of the house woke up:)

We had a little Family Brunch at the house and let the cousins play- it is always so great to get together with family. Michael loves his cousins and we were all worn out by the time the day came to an end.

The Easter bunny was great to our boys this year....I warned Michael to keep up his good behavior because he never knew when Fiddlesticks would be checking in on him:)

Day Before Easter...

Michael and Lindsey decorated Easter cupcakes and dyed Easter eggs- they had so much fun and it is so amazing to see how much they have grown in a year!!!

Go Fire Ants!

Michael is on his 1st soccer team... the Fire Ants! I love it! The coaches are a godsend and I have realized there is no way I could ever Coach 8 three year old children! We are having a great time watching the herding of the cats:)




Now, James can hardly wait for his first game:)