Mother's Day 2014

Happy Mother's Day! Today really has been a typical Sunday minus the fact that we didn't get to church this morning. L has a mystery rash and J has still be coughing so we have been trying to keep him away from other kids/germs...I will completely loose it if he gets worse again and who knows what's up with L. I've become one of those Moms that sprays their kid with sanitizer the second they even look at another human being under the age of 10. On a happy note- J has improved in the last couple of days so there is a light at the end of the tunnel (2 months now...we've been dealing with this for 2 MONTHS). 

We decided some fresh air would be good so we took a trip to Dow Gardens this afternoon- 

This guy. I love him. That dimple kills me and I'm so glad he's finally getting better. It's no fun to watch your kid cough all day long. And the lack of sleep isn't fun either. :( Today was the first day he has been able to go outside and run without stopping to cough. YAY!!

This this girl and those blue eyes. What a personality...she will be Queen of the Universe someday. She is so smart and so sassy. Watch out world! 

Layla did NOT want to get her picture taken with Jack which was the only thing I wanted for Mother's day. :( Little stinker is getting harder and harder to photograph. She's too smart for her own good and bribing is starting to not work. I got evil eyes during every attempt. And these aren't even the worst of them! 

  But she did cooperate for a picture with Mommy. Well we THINK she did...she could be giving evil eyes behind the shades. 

Maybe next year we'll get a cute picture of the kids together. For now I'll just enjoy the sun shine and warmer weather! 

A general update and Mommy's birthday

Story of my life- I'm running behind. So for Mother's Day I thought I'd just take a chance to get caught up on some stuff. Mainly on our personal blog and our pictures. So here's a quick catch up-

Mommy has been super busy with photography and her blog. I had a local orthodontist office contact me about pictures several months ago and I almost didn't accept the job because it was a bit out of my comfort zone. I decided to take the job because my contact was wonderful and really liked my style...I had complete creative control. 

Holy Cow. I'm so glad I took this. It gave me a huge confidence boost and will open doors for me to grow my business. I'm so proud of myself and am so thankful for the opportunity falling in my lap. And for Bryan and the kids helping me out with this! Layla helped us open the canvases when they arrive...they were MUCH bigger than her! 

And here was the finished product. I'll go visit the office in a few weeks and take pictures of them hanging. 

Then my birthday happened right in the middle of all this. It wasn't a big deal...but it IS my last birthday in my 20s! I've had a busy decade...graduated from college, got married and had 2 great jobs/careers. Then the girl came and I became a stay at home mom, opened 2 businesses and completed our family with the little guy. It's been a crazy, busy and WILD ride but here we are and I'm not sure I'd want things any other way. 

Layla picked out my birthday presents again- I got new headphones, an armband for running and an airplane. Guess which one was from Layla. 

I got to take Layla to tennis by myself which was WONDERFUL because I got to watch her WHOLE practice. It was amazing. She loves it and does really well. So thankful we found something she actually enjoys! 

While we were gone Daddy decorated the dining room with the decorations L picked out. Angry Birds...

Layla served the cake. She was so proud of herself. Can't believe how big she's getting...she is such a HUGE help. 

Jack wasn't feeling well (still) but he did enjoy some cake. I was glad to see a few smiles out of this poor sick guy. 

Then we went outside (still in our winter coats!!) and played with "my" airplane. I can't wait to see what I get next year! Haha

Our Easter

Easter just didn't feel like Easter this year. It's cold, we were sick and couldn't go to church and the weekend was just WAY too short. But we got to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa Rosco so that made up for it! 

They got into town on Thursday and Friday we ran errands, worked on the house and went shopping. Saturday morning we had a SUPER yummy breakfast at Cafe Zinc and then this happened- 

Freaking PINK EYE! It appeared faster than Ls (she had it 4 weeks ago) and started in both eyes. I knew we were in for a long 5 days of eye drops. You always underestimate the strength of your children until you are trying to get antibiotics in their eye. 

Since we were stuck at home we decided Saturday afternoon would be a great time to dye eggs.  

The kids had a blast, Layla was really into it this year and didn't need much help. So much fun!

We had to skip church on Sunday because of our diseases. But the Easter bunny still came to see us!

Here they are walking down the hallway ready to see their surprises! 

Out of all the goodies, Jack's favorite thing was a cup. 

The Easter bunny left lots of eggs outside too! We decided to wait until it was a little warmer to go out there and get them. This was a mistake because the squirrels decided to get into some of the eggs and eat M&Ms. Awesome! 

Don't they look like they belong in The Hangover?

Much better LOL

Jack did a great job hunting eggs! He would pick up his bucket and everything. Such a big boy!

And this is how L used her basket. LOL. I love her. 

Next it was time to get a cute sibling "Happy Easter" shot. This was a good one...

Then we asked L to give J a kiss. 

He accidentally bumped her and then this happened...

We call this the "Charlie Brown" cry. WAAAAAAAAA

I found these on my camera. Grandpa did a good job!

At least we did get one good Easter shot, sick and all. :) Can't wait to see what next year brings (hopefully healthy kids!!). 

Our February

Our February was filled with snow, cold and sickness. We are all SO over winter. We have been spending way too much time inside this month...please come soon spring! 

We tried to celebrate Valentines day but Mommy ended up sick the entire week with a mystery illness. After lots of blood work, an X-ray and an ultrasound I have been diagnosed, yet again, with IDK disease. For those of you that are not my Grandpa that is a highly official diagnosis of "I don't know" disease. It sucks. 

So here's what we've been up to- 

Jack learned how to hike a ball. I can't help but look at this pic and see Theodore from Alvin and the Chipmunks. 

Layla has been working on writing her name. I don't know how people homeschool. This has been the result of lots of fighting and "I don't want to's" in this house. She will do it perfectly fine for her teachers. Stinker. She had to write her name on 19 Valentines. She absolutely insists that her names starts with an "A" and that she has to write it in a "circle". She's kind of good at drawing the individual letters.

Here she is pouting because I'm making her do something

She cracked a smile as she finished the last one. I asked her if she felt good after doing all that hard work and she said "No. You can do them next  year". Future US President right here.

Of course we had our Valentine's Day session

One major development last month was joint bath time. Thank GOD! Layla has finally realized it is fun to have a bath buddy. It saves us time and gives us LOTS of giggles. They were in rare form for the camera here- 

Jack turned 15 months in February. I can't believe it. He is walking ALL over the place and communicating so much more (even within the last few days). His vocab includes: daddy, mama, sissy, layla, goggies (dogs), moooooore, buh bye, up, yeah, no, all done and help. He also has started pointing to things he sees or wants. Jack has always been a screamer but he's really starting to scream when he doesn't like something or is upset. It is ear piercing and I hope this stage goes quickly. 

Jack is in size 24 months/2T and in a size 4 diaper. He eats like a champ and finally got all 4 molars! He goes for his well visit next month so I'll have his weight and height then...but we already know he's ginormous. He's sleeping much better but still insists on being rocked to sleep. We just try to enjoy it and appreciate the snuggles. He's doing better for naps and will sleep anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours (YEEEEESSSSSS) and does pretty well at night too. He goes down around 7:30 but always wakes up at 10pm for a quick snuggle. Then tends to sleep until 6:30-8am. LOL...hoping to get this worked out SOON. 

Mr. Jack found the key to Mommy's heart this month- making us laugh. This boy and his "silly face". Oh my! 

We are hoping for warmer weather in March. It is a SUPER busy month filled with preschool stuff, photo sessions and hopefully a few family visitors from IL! :)