After everyone woke up from nap today we went on a walk to the duck pond. When we got there a butterfly family was following us. Then they all got lost and we had to find them. Sweet Pea searched and searched through the leaves and grass and finally found the brother butterfly. Then he found the mommy and daddy butterfly hiding in a pipe. Then the sister butterfly appeared as if from nowhere. Then the family decided they wanted pancakes from McDonalds, so they got on a BIG airplane and it took them there. Then Sweet Pea and I turned into butterflies and we flapped our wings all the way home.

{FYI — This is fictional, all from Sweet Pea’s imagination.}

It has been so long since I have written my brain is just spilling over with stuff to tell you. So much so that I am sure I will leave something out.

So I will start with Charles. He is awesome. In December he completed his first full semester in grad school. During that semester we had an infant, he had knee surgery, he was working full time, and going to school full time. We figured if our family could make it through that we could make it through anything. Not only did he make it through, he made it with a 3.7 GPA! I can’t imagine how he would do if we didn’t have to deal with so much on the side. The  spring semester started this week and he has jumped right in. He has already started reading and writing and it is only the first week.

He is also finished with physical therapy for his knee. The therapist was very impressed with his progress and his knee is very strong. He just has to keep doing knee exercises for the next few months before he can start doing sports and such. He is looking forward to joining a basketball league and I really want to start taking dance lessons with him.

Sweet Pea has hit the two and a half mark. The sentences he puts together always amaze me. He understands the concept of before and after, up and down, behind and forward, and under and over. He can count to 14. He also recognizes the numbers 2 and 5. If you ask him how old he is he will say 5, not 2. If you ask him his name he will say Mickey Mouse.

He loves our keys. He can pick out the key to our apartment, stick the key in the door, and unlock it. He can also pick out the keys to our cars. He loves to build with blocks and legos. His favorites are to build garages for his cars and barns for his animals. Oatmeal is still one of his favorite foods, although peanut butter runs a close second.

We started potty training this past Wednesday and he is doing amazing! He is accident free during the day and about half the time at night. I’m sure part of the reason for this is his love of chocolate kisses and marshmallows. He gets one of each whenever he goes. We also have this really awesome Lightning McQueen potty seat and….well that says it all. And we have been constantly watching this Elmo video (which I think Charles and I find more entertaining than Sweet Pea):

Little Peanut has hit the five month mark and she is so much fun! She is rolling over and sitting up. She grabs for toys when you hold them out to her. She babbles and talks. She makes the “d” sound and Charles is convinced she is saying “dada”.She is starting to recognize us. When we get home she gets really excited to see us. It’s awesome!

So far she has tried peas, carrots, and sweet potatoes. She loved all of them, but we have only done carrots once because they made her little tummy upset.

She is now sleeping back in our room. She was doing well sharing a room with Sweet Pea, but he was not. He has become quite the master manipulator at bed time. He figured out that he could start crying and we would whisk him out of the room so he wouldn’t wake Peanut. So basically he just started crying for no reason so he wouldn’t have to go to bed. No good.

So we are now back to our original sleeping arrangement. For the most part I am ok with that, but every now and then I feel a little claustrophobic. With someone in every room and Charles studying in the living room at night there is nowhere for me to go.

As for me, I am just grateful to be home with my kids. It is hard, but I can’t imagine anybody else raising them.

I have also realized in the past couple months that I have let myself get lost in my kids. So my goal this year is to become my own person again. Not really sure how to go about that, but I am going to figure it out.

Well that is us in a nutshell!

Sorry for the lack of posting. We had a fabulous trip to Disney over Christmas week. Unfortunately, I have had this major headache since we got home. But I figured I should post about Christmas before the year is over.

We spent our first night at Chef Mickey’s, a fun buffet style dinner where the characters come right to your table. Sweet Pea was enamored with the characters. Whenever he saw one he had this goofy grin on his face that you couldn’t wipe off. He just stared until it was time  for them to move on. Peanut was so exhausted from traveling that she slept through the whole thing.

Me, my brothers, my hubby, and my Papa got to do an Around the World segway tour at Epcot.

Lightning McQueen was everywhere and Sweet Pea was so excited. GG and Papa got him these ears and he has been wearing them ever since.

The kids riding around with GG.

Peanut snuggling with Uncle Ryan. She is wearing Sweet Pea’s hat because my mom and grandma were in charge of getting her ready that morning and they couldn’t find her pink one.

We had lunch in the country of Japan and Peanut liked gnawing on the edamame.

Turns out my dad is quite the baby whisperer. Every time Peanut was fussy he would grab her and she would conk out on his shoulder.

Here is Sweet Pea in our hotel room sporting a night gown that my aunt made for him. He started out in a crib by the bed, but ended up sleeping in the awesome king sized bed in our room. Both kids were so off in their sleeping while we were gone. I think they just knew they were not home. The good thing is when we got home they were both so relieved to be in their own beds they napped like champs.

One afternoon me, my brothers, my dad, and my papa went parasailing. So much fun! I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance. It’s an incredible feeling to be up so high.

This is a picture of my little brother on the Expedition Everest ride in Animal Kingdom. Charles and I were sitting right behind him and Charles was able to snap this picture right before we fell backwards.

Disney does a wonderful job decorating for the holidays. Here we are posing in front of one of the many Christmas trees. Four generations:

My family:

Charles took Sweet Pea to a light parade on Main Street in Magic Kingdom one evening. Here is main street before the parade:

Baby whisperer:

My mom did a fabulous job decorating our hotel room to make in feel more like Christmas. This was the first Christmas we have spent away from home and we wanted it to feel just right.

My mom made all the stockings…they all have little Mickey’s on them.

Christmas morning:

Peanut just chillin in her stroller waiting for the bus:

Sweet Pea playing with Uncle Josh on the bus. I think Sweet Pea had more fun on the public transportation than anything else. He was constantly asking to ride the monorail, the boats, and the bus. He still wakes up in the morning and asks if we get to go to the bus station.

Here Sweet Pea is examining the map of Magic Kingdom. He is quite the travel guide.

Tired Sweet Pea wanted a ride:

Playing in the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playhouse:

And the absolute favorite….meeting Lightning McQueen!!!

These are just a few of the 1700 pictures my hubby snapped while we were there . So I might be posting more later…..and of course there are the pictures my mom took….and my papa…

On Sunday we make our annual trek to Disney World. We normally go in November when the crowds aren’t as big, so going at Christmas will be a whole new adventure.

Today we are looking back at the trip that started it all: my parents honeymoon. Back in July 1981 after they committed their lives to each other, they hopped on a plane, entered the magical world, and never looked back.

They spent three whole days exploring the world of the Magic Kindgom, as it was the only park open. Epcot was in the process of being built.

Here they are at the Pirates of the Carribean:

My dad, twenty-one at the time,  at the Polynesion Village, where they stayed:

My mom at nineteen:

Sharing a meal at Cinderella’s castle:

My dad:

My mom and pluto:

{See more fun flashbacks here!}

On Sunday we are leaving to go to Disney World for Christmas! We are so excited and really looking forward to the trip. Last week I was browsing stores on etsy and found these cute hats!!! I thought they would be the perfect way to keep the kids warm while at Disney!!! Josie, the store owner and maker of the hats, was amazing! She made them in one day so the kids could have them for our trip. Sweet Pea already  loves his and has been wearing it since we got it in the mail today.

She is having a buy 2 get 1 free special so we got this one for free!

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Journey back with me to 1985. My first Christmas. It isn’t something that I remember, but now that I have kids and get to experience all these “firsts” I finally understand how special it really is. Seeing little eyes get excited about Christmas lights or keeping little hands from yanking on the Christmas tree really is something to cherish. Getting to be a witness to a child learning about Jesus and how he was born is wonderful. These little discoveries only happen one time and I was blessed to have parents who cared about them. I also pray I can be that parent to my two children.

Now for the cuteness. Me and my older brother digging under the Christmas tree:

Our family picture in front of the tree. Don’t you love my pacifier?

Three generations (how awesome is it that now we have five?!):

Little family of four (little did they know 8 years from then they would add another baby…and what a great kid he is!):

Older brother tearing into the presents (with a little help from dad):

First visit to see Santa, but really he was Fr. Bill from church.

See more flashbacks here!

Life has been crazy busy.Charles is in his last few days of class and has finals next week. He also has a job contract that is due next week. Needless to say I have been here with the kids and going crazy and not having time to get on the computer. I was trying to figure out something quick to post so here it is. I realized I had over 200 pictures stored on my blackberry. So I loaded them all onto the computer yesterday. These are pictures of things I thought were cute, but didn’t have my camera. Isn’t it nice to have phones that take such great pictures?!

In this picture, Peanut was rubbing her eyes. But she was so tired that she fell asleep with her hand still on her face!

On our drive home from Thanksgiving we stopped for lunch. Sweet Pea wanted to hold Peanut during our little break:

I went shopping with a friend and Sweet Pea and her son wanted to ride together in the grocery cart:

Daddy and Sweet Pea watching TV:

More blackberry pictures to  come!

On a side note, here is something I never thought I would say: “No Sweet Pea, you can not brush your teeth one more time!!”

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