The great vacation.

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the planet.  I haven't moved...we already did that.  Life happened.  And sometimes life doesn't slow down enough to write blog posts.  Among the significant things that happened in the last 4 weeks...

finished the Whole30

Kev completed his first year in his PhD (only 5 more years to go)

we went on a fantastic vacation to visit family.

I realized that for at least the next 5 (maybe more), our vacations will most likely be dominated by trips home to see family.  Because lets face, if we pay money and take time off, we want to see people we love.  We're blessed to have families who know us well and still love us.  First we traveled to Oklahoma to see Kev's family.  I know this is a lot of pictures and probably no one wants to see all these except our family, but here goes...

The first couple of days in OK we got to go to our good friend Stuart's graduation from law school.  What a major accomplishment!  We were so thankful to get to celebrate with our friends!  You guys are our inspiration.  Seriously.

We spent LOTS of time playing in Grandpa and Grandma's backyard.  Miss E was a major fan of their swimming pool and sandbox.  A very dirty combination.

Little man chilling with Gigi.

The newest addition.  Such a cutie pie!

One of the highlights to the week was our trip downtown.  We didn't even intend to go to the splash pad, but the kids LOVED it.  Why is spontaneous fun always the best?

E loved the splash pad and ran around like a lunatic trying to drink the water.  Silly girl.

Have I mentioned she is obsessed with WATER?  Like crazy obsessed.  When she sees water, she wants to step in it, sit in it, drink it, pour it, all while saying "water."  Maybe this is a toddler thing but it's slightly hilarious...except she was saying this as she was running along the open edges of the canal.  I was slightly fearful she might just leap in (and subsequently sink like a log), but thankfully that didn't happen.

Mason chilling in the stroller while the older kids played.  Thank you Lord for a chill baby.

Boat ride down the canal.

Waiting for the boat.

Dinner at Coaches.  Love this pic.

 A trip to OK is not complete without a little walk down memory lane...the college years.

 OU's campus never gets old.

 Continuing the water obsession.

 We ended the trip with a little double date to Iron Starr and Sara Sara's cupcakes.

We had a wonderful time seeing family, so many good friends (many who we obviously forgot to take pictures with) and coworkers, yummy Mexican food (Indiana doesn't have ANYTHING on Ted's), and left with a newly acquired love (and tshirts) for the Thunder.  Then we drove to Texas...

Two in one

Birthday parties that is.  Elliott has not really had many birthday parties to go to, but we just happened to have TWO scheduled in ONE day.  What's better than one cupcakes?  TWO cupcakes.  Elliott was a big fan.

 First we had the Minnie Mouse party with Miss Eliza.

 Chowing down on some yummy cupcakes.

 Super cute Minnie Mouse cupcakes.

 Mason got to go to the party too.  He looks like such a chunk in this picture.

 Fun time in the tent.  Such a fun birthday gift!

 Then party number two for Miss Olivia.

The princess party!

We all had such a fun day, but two parties made for a tired little girl and an especially tired mommy. :)

For my mother

Who carried me for 9 long months.

Who was there for the birth of both of my children.

Who kissed my booboos when I fell and wiped away my tears.

Who showed me how to bath a baby and how to get them to asleep.

Who has always been my biggest fan.

Who has always prayed for me (and now my family).

Who sacrificed everything to be the best mom possible.

Who never fails to tell me "I love you."

Who always cares about my "health problems" and tells me to take Vitamin C.

Who is the best Mimi/Momo EVER!!

Who always listens.

Who rejoices with me when I rejoice.

Who laughs with me and cries with me.

Who points me back to Christ.

Who was patient and loving through my know-it-all teen years.

Who almost always answers when I call.

Who loves me endlessly.

 We love you SO much Mom!!

Happy Birthday.

Random thoughts

"I should bring a can of coconut milk to the office in case I want coffee midday."  Words I never expected to hear from my husband's lips.  Coconut milk has really made our coffee so yummy...and we certainly love our coffee.  It has definitely made the Whole30 much more tolerable.

Day 21 on the Whole30.  Two thirds of the way done.  Yippee!  One of the fun things about being on this for 30 days is it has forced me to look for new recipes and cook unlike I ever have before.  One recipe that we are in LOVE with is these Banana muffins.  Seriously.  They are amazing!  The down side is they can be a little pricey (especially the first time you make them) with the cost of the cashews and almond flour, but they are totally worth it in my opinion.  We love them for breakfast (with a boiled egg), and they really keep us from getting hungry for a long time.  Added plus, the Bean (Elliott) loves them as well.

I feel like I have done a really good job on the food front lately (cooking nutritious meals, keeping our fridge stocked), but have been sadly failing on the cleaning front.  I so often feel like I'm fighting a losing battle.  It seems impossible to keep the floors mopped, bathroom cleaned, house dusted, clutter organized when I feel like I spend all my time just picking up the clutter.

Elliott has still been fighting baths and the past several weeks, has really not wanted to go to the church nursery.  She has always loved the nursery so it makes me so sad that she doesn't like it as well.  We decided to give her a bath BEFORE church today.  This may not have been our best decision.

We are STILL wearing fleece jackets here in Indiana.  Don't get me wrong, I certainly don't want 100 plus degrees yet like in San Angelo, but it would be nice to be able to shed the jackets.  Maybe May is our lucky month.

We're gearing up for a trip home next month to see both of our families.  I am SOOOOO excited, but also slightly nervous about flying with both kids as well as being out of our routine for a while.  I'm sure it will be fine, but a girls gotta worry, right?

4 months

The little man is 4 months old today.  4 months old.  He's getting so big so fast.  What has he been up to?  Well I'm glad you asked.

• He is wearing 3-6 month clothes although I'm still cramming him in several 3 month sleepers.  Why?  Because we're stuck in the eternal cold weather.  I keep thinking SURELY it's going to get warmer here soon, so I hate to buy more sleepers but I might have to break down.
• He is wearing size 3 diapers.  Minimal blowouts.  Thank you Lord.
• He eats every 3-3.5 hours and drinks 5 ounces from a bottle (so I'm told).
• He typically goes to bed around 7:30 or 8 (depending when his last nap was), but I'm still waking him at 10 for a "dream feeding," mainly because I don't want to pump and it is really more convenient than feeding him earlier.  He is usually sleeping anywhere from 6:30 to 7:30.

•  He still takes a nap after every feeding...on his tummy in his crib...and he usually sleeps anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours.
• He doesn't nap as well as E did, but he doesn't get as fussy as she did when she was tired.  He can stay awake for 1.5-2 hours sometimes and not act fussy at all.

• He is not a huge fan of tummy time (I'm convinced no baby is), but he does it begrudgingly.  
• He still L-O-V-E-S his bouncer.  He loves the toys on it and he loves making it bounce.  He is constantly kicking one leg so it's bouncing up and down.  So different than Elliott.
• He also likes laying in his activity gym and sitting in the Bumbo (as of recently).

• He has started enjoying toys as well and will hold them and follow them with his eyes.
• His MOST favorite thing these days IS...his hands.  He sucks on them constantly.
• He has turned into a major SPITTER.  It's shocking how much fluid can come from his small body.  It's not pleasant...and it doesn't smell pleasant.  I got to work last week and realized I had dried spit-up all over my jacket.  The true sign of a mom.  Note to self...look at yourself before you walk out the door. 

• He is SUCH a little smiler.  I can't get enough.  He has the best smile, including a dimple on his right cheek.  I've always been a sucker for dimples.
• He still has such a sweet, easy-going disposition.  Don't get me wrong...he does cry.  Especially when he's tired or hungry.  But even his cry is kind of sweet and pathetic.  
• He's still a big fan of his big sister.  He loves watching her, although she hardly even realizes it.  I did find her trying to put his diaper on him (over his clothes) the other day.  Such a funny girl.

Our little man adds so much joy to our lives!

Sleep

When we had Elliott, of course I was anticipating the sleep deprivation that followed a new baby, but I was shocked how exhausting it was to wake up in the middle of the night.  And compared to some babies, she was super easy because at the most she woke up twice a night (for like 2 weeks), but she typically just woke up once.  Not to mention she was sleeping through the night at 8 weeks.  I know...how can I complain?
With Mason, I knew what to expect.  I think I was able to feed him, change his diapers, and reswaddle him without ever opening my eyes.  The night times were not stressful because I had been there before.  What I was NOT expecting was for my 16 month old to start waking up nightly (which I talked about here).  She has been waking up consistently since he was born.  He's almost four months old, people...that is entirely TOO long.  We would have a couple of stretches where she wouldn't wake up, but for the most part, she would wake up once and sometimes twice a night.  I started resigning myself to the fact that I might never sleep again...slight exaggeration but sleep deprivation definitely makes me exaggerate and feel emotional.  As of about two weeks ago, she started sleeping again.  The waking up just stopped.  It started without warning and ended without warning.  At the same time, Mason started sleeping through the night.  I'm so thankful that the stars have aligned (at least for now), and they both are sleeping through the night.  Their naps are at completely different times so I guess that will be our next challenge.  I hate to get too used to sleeping through the night, because I'm sure one of them will soon decide sleeping is overrated.  Sigh.  Guess I better enjoy it while I can.  For all you new moms out there, I promise you WILL sleep again.  There is light at the end of the tunnel.

We are on DAY 14 of the Whole30.  Almost halfway done.  Yippee!  My thoughts so far:

• Coconut milk in my coffee is WAY better than black coffee.  Definitely the highlight to my week.
• Committing to this has taken way more TIME than I ever would have anticipated.  Finding new recipes, chopping LOTS of veggies and fruit at the beginning of every week, cooking multiple meals a day.  Not a commitment to be taken lightly.
• We have eaten TONS of eggs.  Every morning.  I love me some eggs, but it would be nice to have something different every once in a while.
• Gone is the day of fast meals.  No pre-made meals from the grocery store, no ordering out pizza when I don't feel like cooking.  I have to cook every night.  I'm still adjusting to this.
• Fruit smoothies in the evening are an amazing tasty treat.  Who needs ice cream?
• Elliott has actually done really well with all the fruits and veggies.  We still give her cheese, yogurt, chicken nuggets, PB and honey, but she has definitely tried way more fruits and veggies than she ever has and I think it's just because we're eating so many.
• This week, we ordered eggs, meat, and sausage from a co-op so they're organic, grass-fed.  I'm excited to see if I can tell a difference.

A few pictures...

Here are a few iPhone pics from of late. Not the best quality, but still cute. It's hard to use a camera when your phone is always available.

Playing on the mattress...that's in our dining room. Cool or weird? It finally made it's way back down to the basement.

My sweet smiling little boy. Love his face!

Sleeping babes...but never at the perfect time. Elliott fell asleep on the way to Target (gotta love mini naps in the morning that throw off the afternoon naps), and Mason fell asleep in his bouncer...on the kitchen table.

Outdoors is definitely more fun if you're wearing your cool winter hat (at least that's what Elliott thinks).

Elliott loves to kiss her little brother,

and give him "pat pats" on the head.

Gosh I love these kids! They keep me on my toes and make me very tired by the end of the day, but they are so much fun!