Today was another rough day, but parts of it were fun. Today we were supposed to get together with my yoga friends and babies and go to the park (the day was beautiful...like 80+ degrees!) but a few of the babies got sick and it was just me and Karla (and the babies) We went to the park and had a picnic. It was completely insane trying to watch Ian on the playground and Hazel at the same time. I felt bad for Karla. I was totally inflicting my chaosness on her! She was really understanding though...I have such understanding friends! After the stressful day, and the babies in bed (well, Ian at least) Jeff cooked us pancakes and we had an inside picnic and played scrabble! It was lots of fun and a great stress reliever! By the way, I OWNED! This picture Jeff took to show off Hazel's super cute outfit!

Today was another rough day! It was such a beautiful day outside that I thought we should get outside and do something. So all morning I prepared a picnic lunch for Ian and I. After Ian got done watching Sesame Street we headed to the park close to our house. We laid a blanket down and started eating lunch. Hazel got hungry just about the time we sat down so I fed her while Ian ate. It went downhill from there! Hazel wanted to feed the entire time, I was starving and Ian didn't want to eat, he just wanted to play! The adventure ended with him throwing wood chips and hitting Hazel in the head because he was mad. We promptly left and Ian went down for a nap. When Jeff got home we tried the park again with both of us and it was much more pleasant! Today is Ash Wednesday and I really wish we could have made it to the Ash Wednesday service, but sometimes a family trip to the park and an early bedtime is what needs to happen. This picture is of Ian and Jeff swinging on the swings. Ian really like it when Jeff swung with him!

Today was another rough day. Hazel has been pretty good, but Ian is just not behaving good at all. Today was Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, the last day before Lent when people traditionally veg-out in preparation for the holy season of Lent where fasting and sacrifice took place...or now when people stay up late, eat junk food, get drunk and receive mardi gras beads for some reason ;) Today we celebrated by eating steaks and braving the slicer again. Jeff wanted to make chips (because they were so good) and so HE braved the slicer, I did not! The chips weren't as good as they were last Thursday when the injuries happened, but they were still good! Great news is that there were no slicing of fingers or anything! YAY! Today's picture is of Jeff slicing a potato with THE slicer that did us both in!

Today has been a rough day. Ian is still on a bad behavior rampage, but we made it through the day. I pretty much demanded that we take a walk after Jeff got home because of how unruly Ian has been and how cooped up I have been feeling. We got to use the double stroller for the first time...its like a freaking semi! It is huge, but perfect for our family! Hazel got to lay in the back and Ian fit perfectly in the front and could see everything. Today's picture is of the two kiddos in the stroller.

Today was a really slow moving day. We got to church REALLY late, and stayed really late. We went to the grocery store to get food for the week, which took forever. We finally got home and ate lunch around 3:30-4:00PM (while Ian was napping) I was ok with a slowish day because I am still recovering from the horrible day we had yesterday! We thought we were having our neighborhood Bible study group over, but turns out its next week. Our brains were moving slow today too! This evening Jeff was laying on the floor with Hazel. I had just changed her diaper and she got upset and Jeff held her hand and she stopped. It was such a sweet moment. They were just laying on the floor talking to each other and Hazel was smiling at Jeff. Watching Jeff and Hazel interact like that was the best way to end the day!

Today was a pretty awful day for me to be honest! Jeff went with his dad to go watch Motocross races at Cowboy Stadium. I am really glad he got to go because he doesn't do very much at all with out the kids or me. So it was good for him to get out of the house for a while. On the other hand, that meant I was stuck at home with the kids on a cold, rainy Saturday. Ian went COMPLETELY BONKERS! He acted so badly I was in tears and had to call Jeff before they even made it to the stadium!! He was hitting me, throwing things, not listening, and getting into stuff on purpose. I know this sounds like a normal 2 year old, but he moved WAY beyond a terrible two phase today. Today he got spanked...and it takes A LOT for me to warrant spanking. He was just as bad after his nap. The only thing that kept me from COMPLETELY losing it was my friend Mary-Margaret came over to see Hazel and hang out for a bit. She entertained Ian (as well as anyone could) and painted my nails! (minus my thumb of course) We watched Little Mermaid (and Ian throwing nail polish around the room) and tried to have fun. I was embarrassed by the way Ian acted today, and am worried he is going to act like this on a regular basis. So I'm off to do some parenting research because my children will NOT act like that! I put him to bed as soon as I could and Hazel and I had some RELAXING Mommy and Hazel time. That was when I took this picture. Miss Hazel is two months old today! (kinda wish it was a better day) This is the second in a series of pictures I am taking every month for the first year. I think I am going to put them all together and frame it as one picture after she turns one! Anyways, Jeff got home after 11 (GRRR!) and brought me Panda Express and a Coke Icee (yes, I'm nursing and had a coke Icee...the day was THAT bad!)

Today is Friday...my favorite day! Today was an unusual day because of the finger slicing the day before. If you missed that post, it is worth actually reading the post which you can find HERE! Anyways, I woke up and my thumb had bled through two band-aids and a napkin wrapped around it. I unwrapped it and luckily it had finally stopped bleeding (after 6+ hours!!) but REALLY hurt. Jeff and I thought it best to get it looked at just in case. So Hazel and I headed to the doctor around 11. Jeff's sister came over to watch Ian (because there was NO WAY I was going to be able to take both kids with me!) Here is how the conversation went:

Me: (explains what happens)
Doctor: (Examines thumb) Well, you didn't leave me anything to sew back on, did ya?!
Me: Nope, I sliced it good. I can't really feel my thumb up there.
Doctor: Yeah, the reason you can't feel it is because you have damaged the nerves.
Me: What?! So what can we do?
Doctor: There's nothing we can really do. Don't do that again, ok?

FUN trip to the doctor, but I'm glad I went because it was actually worse than what we thought. He told me what to do to prevent infection and to get it to heal the best. After we got back it was nap time for the kiddos and I had to get ready for tonight's Valentine's Redo dinner. This picture was taken during this time. Hazel is supposed to be asleep, but I thought the picture was cute with her smiling. This is another addition to my version of baby sleeping scenes. (minus the fact that she's awake) Tonight was the Valentine's Redo Dinner to support the youth going on mission trip at the church. It was a lot of fun, but really tiring. I wanted my picture for today to be one from the dinner, but I was so busy that I didn't have much time to take pictures.

Today was a really weird day...like one of the weirdest days ever. Hazel and I slept in until 10:30!! That means that Hazel slept for close to 10 hours! YES! I woke up in a little bit of a panic because I was afraid Ian was awake crying and had been for a while, but I heard nothing. He was still asleep! So Hazel and I started the day. I ate breakfast, Hazel and I played and talked on the bed, I watched Glee on the computer while she took a short nap. Ian was STILL sleeping!! He finally woke up at 2:30PM!! He must have been REALLY tired! I cannot believe he slept in that late! I was getting nervous, but he woke up and was just fine! After Jeff got home was when the real adventure started! We started to cook dinner: Jeff was going to cook steaks and I wanted to experiment with homemade potato chips. I found our Pro-Chopper and the slicing attachment. I was slicing red potatoes when it happened. This was the first time we had used our slicer so it is REALLY sharp! My thumb got too close to the blade and I sliced my thumb...and I mean REALLY sliced it. I sliced it potato chip style. Jeff was able to take the chunk of skin off the slicer. It was like a mini potato chip...made out of skin!! That put a pause on dinner. It bled...a lot...for a LONG time! It looked pretty bad and was still bleeding a lot. So Jeff called his dad (the expert in finger slicing) to come over and make sure we didn't need to take a trip to the ER. Both of Jeff's parents came over to see. While they were there, we decided to make the rest of the potato into chips. I wanted to slice the rest of the sweet potato to get over my fear, but it was making everyone nervous so Jeff took over. Next thing I know, Jeff had gone and sliced his middle finger with the slicer!! NO JOKE!! Since he was slicing the sweet potato, he was moving a lot slower so he was able to stop before the slicer took the skin all the way off. So his finger started bleeding and we had to bandage him up! Jeff said that he was glad his parents were there because no one would believe this story! (and we were running out of band-aids!!!) So Jeff's dad took a picture of us with our sliced fingers. Tonight proved we really are meant for each other!!

Today was such a beautiful day that we spent most of it outside! After Ian watched Sesame Street we headed to the park to have a picnic and play on the playground. We had lots of fun! We met a little boy named Raylynn and his mom, Candy. He was about 14mo old and so cute! The mom was really cool and nice too. They come to the park a lot and Ian seemed to have a great time with him so I hope we meet up again! After we got back and Ian took his nap, Jeff took him outside to play in the backyard. He, again, had a great time and so did Jeff. I wanted to get a picture of Ian at the playground, but I was too busy. This picture is of Ian playing in the back yard later in the afternoon. (Yes, I know, crack kills!) He loves collecting rocks and I think that is what he is doing here. Tonight was also the first night I went to youth without Miss Hazel (and Jeff's first turn flying solo with both kids) Jeff said Hazel did good and I had fun with the youth!

Today is Valentine's Day. I have never been a fan of Valentine's Day so today was not too exciting on that end. The babies took a nap at the same time so I got a little bit of a break, which was nice. I had to wake both of them up so we could go to our 8 week postpartum appointment with Ann and Michele! I was excited and sad at the same time. I was excited to see how big Hazel is and how small I am! Hazel now weighs 11 pounds 15 ounces! She's such a little chunker and I love it! I am down quite a bit of weight too! I am now only 13 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight! I just wish my jeans would fit...darn hips! Everything looks good and both of us are healthy. yay! We had so much fun with them just talking and loving on both Ian and Hazel. It made me really sad when we had to leave, knowing it is our last appointment. I promised to go eat lunch with them sometime, and not be a stranger. They both said they hope we decide to have more babies so they can see us for more prenatals...how funny! I love them both and am so blessed and thankful for all they have done to help bring Hazel into the world peacefully and healthy! This picture is of Hazel and I snuggling at the end of the day. She was having trouble falling asleep so I laid in bed with her. I love moments like these!

Today was a relatively easy day for a Monday. I was expecting it to be a rough day because of the busy weekend, but it wasn't. Ian was pretty tired all day, but he took a good nap. We made a bean and sausage soup for dinner and Ian helped us cook. He had a great time and was pretty proud of himself. By the time dinner was done he was very grumpy and didn't want to eat, but at least he got to cook! This picture was taken right after I changed Hazel's diaper and was taking care of it (yup, the joys of cloth!) and she was getting hysterical. Jeff laid down next to her to calm her down while I was taking care of the diaper. As you can see in the picture, it worked. She loves her daddy! If all else fails, give Hazel to Daddy and she will calm down within minutes! She has already got him wrapped around her little finger...aww!

Today was a fun day! We decided to take the trip down to Waco to visit my parents and show off Hazel to all the people at Dad's church. We left early this morning, but shortly had to turn around because we forgot Ian's shoes! Oops! We got to church right as Dad was starting his sermon, but Hazel wanted nothing to do with it. We showed Hazel off after church, ate spaghetti for lunch and hung out at the house. Ian kept Gigi and Grandpa very busy! In the afternoon it started snowing!! It started out VERY slight, but really started coming down. So Dad, Victoria, Ian and I went out and played in it. It wasn't cold enough to stick, but everyone had lots of fun! This is a picture of Ian happily playing in the snow...he had a blast! We had to leave early because the weather was getting bad, and we didn't want to get stuck driving in it back home. We stopped by the grocery store for dinner when we got back and it had REALLY started snowing! It was beautiful! By the time we got home the back yard was covered! The weather man said ti wouldn't last because it was supposed to get warmer...too bad! Jeff was hoping for a day off!

Today my mom and sister decided to come and visit! We always LOVE when they come up. I really miss my family and wish they lived closer, but they make a great effort to visit as much as they can. As it normally is, today was filled with playing with every one of Ian's toys and eating! Ian had a great time playing with Victoria and mom...blocks were the favorite today. We ate lunch at Panda Express. Eating out anywhere with both Ian and Hazel is an adventure, usually fun, but ALWAYS an adventure! Hazel slept what felt like ALL DAY while Ian's nap got skipped! This picture Ian is reading "The Help" while Victoria chose a simpler book (cardboard in fact) called "Who?" Haha! We start them EARLY with the chapter books! He wasn't even too bummed there wasn't any pictures! My boy is so smart!

Today is my favorite day....FRIDAY! We were pretty lazy during the day today, but when Jeff got home we went to the store to get some things I forgot yesterday when I went with the kids. Jeff grilled steaks and zucchini which is like my favorite meal! After Ian was down for the night (which wasn't hard because he had a hard time taking a nap today) I went on a crazy Pinterest recipe binge! I made some peanut butter granola with chocolate chips and started making some apple butter (it has to cook in the crock pot for like 16 hours!) It was fun to get my creative juices flowing again because I haven't had time before this! Now to the picture! This picture is of Jeff changing Hazel's diaper. He is such a wonderful father and husband. When he gets home from work, he really tries to help me out and give me a break some time during the night. He does a great job and it is so neat to watch him love on his babies! I can really tell he loves his family and I am very blessed to have him!

I was still on the excitement of yesterday's craziness so I decided to keep it going. I actually went to the grocery store with both babies today! This is the first outing with both where I actually got us all out of the car. It was a successful trip and I was so proud of myself! I was feeling like Supermom until I was in the produce section and looked up to see a mom shopping with 4 kids!! She had a baby in the carrier, a young toddler and older toddler and a little boy who was probably around 7!! Just God trying to keep me humble I guess! I decided to try a BBQ chicken in the crock pot. I literally just put two large chicken breasts, BBQ sauce and a little water in the crock pot. It was ridiculously easy and its BBQ so it HAS to be good! It was amazingly yummy and we will definitely do it again. This picture is Ian going to town on his dinner. It was so messy we decided it was a "no shirt" meal! I love this picture, but I hopes he soon realize that messy eating isn't always going to be cute! He loved it all though...well except the steamed broccoli. He chocked on a piece and didn't really want to try again. (That was ok with me)

I think this picture pretty much describes today! It was crazy, but fun! I left my boots out and Ian decided he would try them on! He needed help getting them on. When he tried walking in them, I almost peed my pant laughing so hard! (no, not really, but it was very funny!) Today consisted of running around taking care of the kids. Then during nap time I was running around trying to get everything ready to preach for the youth at church tonight! When Jeff got home, Hazel and I left to run around crazy-like at church with the youth! I had so much fun preaching and talking with the youth and adults! Tonight was one of those nights that God reminded me that working with youth is what he wants me doing!

Today Jeff went back to work because the kids were feeling much better. Hazel was still a little stuffy, but I'm not as worried. The stuff at the birth center really seemed to help! I finally got Jeff to put together the bouncer that we use for Ian. It was so cool to see "little sister" in Ian's old bouncer! She loves it as much as Ian did! (Which makes us wonder why we hadn't gotten it out before this) The bouncer gives me a little break during the day and makes her happy. I actually got to play the Wii a little! This picture is of Jeff bouncing Hazel while playing a computer game. She doesn't like it when we stop bouncing it!

Today was an unusual day. Jeff and I decided it was a good idea for him to stay home from work and help me take care of the sick kids. We have been trying to keep Ian and Hazel away from each other so that Hazel doesn't get sick. Last night she was so sniffly and gunky I was very scared she was getting sick so I am glad Jeff stayed home. Hazel and I went to the birth center to pick up an herbal tincture that is supposed to help with cold and congestion (and that's safe for the wee ones). That kept us out of the house for a while too. Ian seemed to be feeling better because he was playing and bugging Jeff all day. The day ended with grilled chicken, steamed asparagus and mashed potatoes! This picture is of Ian in the bath tub right before bed. I'm pretty sure it's his favorite time of day/night! Bath time is Jeff's job and they both seem to enjoy the playtime (and hopefully Ian actually gets bathed in the process!)

Today (Sunday) was full of sickness, smiles and the Super Bowl! Ian came down with a cold yesterday so Hazel and I went to church by ourselves. I wanted to keep her out of the house as long as possible because I really don't want her to get sick! At church I was showing one of the youth her outfit (that she had bought for Hazel) and Hazel looked up at her and smiled! It was her first intentional smile! It was so cute! Later this evening we watched the Super Bowl...not that I really cared whether the Giants or Patriots won (because I don't like either team!) but it was a fun game to watch. The day ended with this picture...me trying to capture another smile from Hazel. This picture isn't that great, I really wanted to get a picture of her in her outfit, but that just didn't happen. Hazel went to bed with the sniffles...and I was freaking out about her getting sick!

Today was marked by us, yet again, getting ready to go to the Stock Show, but plans falling through! Ian woke up with a runny nose, sneezing and coughing. It just went downhill from there. He started feeling really bad in the early afternoon so we bailed on our plans to go to the stock show and headed to Albertson's so I could make my homemade chicken noodle soup! He loves it and it has healing powers! So today turned into a lazy day with lots of napping for Ian. This picture is me proudly fitting into my pre-pregnancy jeans! I am almost 7 weeks postpartum and my hips refuse to shrink back to size, but I'm getting there!

Today is Friday (did I mention that I love Fridays!) Today was a fun day and I wish I had a better picture to represent the day. Ian, Hazel and I went up to Jeff's work today and ate lunch with him! Our friends Gasten and Brady came and ate too. It was a lot of fun! After Jeff got home (and Ian woke up from his insanely long nap) we headed to Jeff's parent's house for Anna's birthday party. There were tons of people there! Ian had a blast, but I think it was a little overwhelming for Hazel (teenage girls are loud!) When we finally got home (way past bedtime!) we did our nightly routine. Which is where this picture comes in. Every night we (usually Jeff) reads a story from the Beginner's Bible to Ian and then we say a prayer from the prayer book that my mom got us. This is a picture of Jeff reading Ian a Bible story. It is our favorite time and Ian loves to pray! (and I LOVE that he loves to pray!)

Today was marked by being outside for a lot of the day. After breakfast we went outside and threw the ball to Titan....a lot! Hazel took a morning nap so I was able to play with Ian and Titan. This is a picture of Ian peeking through one of the holes in the fence. It was too cute I had to get a picture! We then had to make a trip to the post office. It was a successful trip it just took 20 minutes to load up, less than a minute to drop the bills off and then 20 minutes to unload! After nap time we went outside for a bit. After Jeff got home we headed to his dad's shop so he could work on the computer. Ian had a great time learning how to swing a golf club from Grandpa and, of course, throwing golf balls around the store. We went to Panda Express after that and ate as a family. It was crazy, but we had a lot of fun!

This is a picture of Jeff feeding Hazel her first bottle! I have actually been able to pump some so I thought it would be ok to see if she would take a bottle. Plus Jeff gets a chance to feed her also. She was a pretty hungry little girl today eating almost every hour. Today was a crazy easy day for me! Ian slept in until 12:30! This meant that he had no nap and we had more time to play! Today was first Wednesday worship at church. Hazel seemed to enjoy the music (just like Ian does) but during the prayer time she got hungry and fussy, but we still had a great time! This first bottle was tried pretty late at night. She drank only about one ounce and then wanted nothing to do with the bottle. Its ok, we tried!