Our week...

I decided that Gabby needed a little haircut! I guess now that we cut Marty's hair...I'm in the haircutting mode:) Her hair was actually getting quite long and it was still her baby hair. I cut a couple of inches off the bottom. I still wanted it long enough to be able to put ponytails in.

Before...

About half way through the haircut...she didn't feel like doing it anymore!

After...

She needed a bath after her haircut and he needed one because he pooped his pants!

Yesterday, I went to the mall with the kids and my mom. I just needed to get out of the house and I hadn't been to the mall in awhile. Megan had had 3 times out at home prior to going to the mall. I don't know what was going on with her. We met my mom and shopped around for about an hour. Then we went into an accessories store and Megan saw a tiara that she wanted. I said no because we have lots of dress up things and really didn't need anymore. We left the store and Megan had a MAJOR meltdown! Seriously, the worst I've ever experienced with her. She has definitely been the most difficult for us in the temper tantrum department than our other kids...so far. She was screaming and kicking and I was trying to carry her out of the mall. She weighs over 40 lbs, so needless to say, my arms are a little sore today! She was screaming so loud and everyone was looking at me and her. Thank goodness my mom was with us and she took care of Gabs and Marty. Megs continued to scream the entire way home and I cranked the worship music and she screamed louder! Marty started crying because he was scared:( Anyways, we had a long talk about it after she calmed down and we took away her priviledges(computer/TV) and she doesn't get to go to town with Jeff on Saturday(which she loves to do).

She was very sorry about it after we talked about it. I was SO upset with her and explained how she hurt my feelings too. I'm trying to get her to talk about how she is feeling more and how to control her emotions. Not an easy task! I told her that I still love her no matter what. I started thinking about how God still loves us no matter how much we mess up or hurt him...it's giving me a whole new perspective.

Marty had his 1 year check up with his doctor this week. He's just a little guy! He weighed 19 lbs 9 oz. He is only in the 10th percentile for weight, but the 90th percentile for height. Long and lean, just like his daddy! The doctor wants to make sure he continues to gain weight so we have to go back in 2 months. He eats like a horse, so I'm not worried about him. He's just very active and moves all the time!

We bought new windows for our house a few weeks ago...just before time ran out for the house renovation tax credit! We had the windows delivered last week and Jeff was talking to one of the construction workers at his job site. The guy said that him and his co-worker would install the windows for us. Jeff was going to do it himself once the weather warmed up a bit. They are going to come install the windows on Tuesday! They are giving us a smoking deal and we are thankful for that. It saves Jeff a bunch of time...it probably would have taken him weeks to get the windows done.

Then we have to think about what color we want to paint the exterior of our house and trim, etc. And we might be getting our deck replaced this year too. Lots of fun things!

ONE

Today our sweet baby boy turns ONE!!! Seriously...how did that happen?!?!? On one hand I can't believe he is one and on the other hand, I can't imagine him not being part of our family! He has been and continues to be an incredible blessing to us. I am SO thankful God chose him for us!! I love being his mommy.

I can't believe he was still in my tummy one year ago....(me and all my extra 50 lbs!)

Just minutes old...

Now one year old...

Technically, he is not 1 until 7:30pm tonight!! I was a little teary eyed this morning just thinking about this past year. I just love my boy so much:) He is an absolute joy to us!! Oh...and so stinkin cute if you ask me...

Last Saturday he took one tiny little step!! Jeff and I were with him in the playroom and he stood in the middle of room(he does this all the time) without help and then he took just one little step. It was so cute! I was really glad Jeff and I were both there to see it!

We took the kids to the park on Valentine's day. It was raining a little bit, but the kids didn't seem to care!

Yesterday was a big day for Marty to. He got his first bottle of whole milk just before his second nap. He had no problem drinking from a bottle and he didn't seem to mind the taste! He only drank about 3 ounces and I'm not sure how much he should be drinking. I'm still nursing him first thing in the morning and just before bed, so I will slowly wean him.

Megs giving Marty his bottle, she is such a big helper...

And...he got his first haircut!!! I was still hesitant to cut his hair because it's still his cute soft baby hair, but Jeff thought it was time. Marty wasn't too cooperate, but we managed to get it done! He doesn't really like to sit still.

Before...
During...

After...(I think he looks like such a big boy now!)And also I want to wish my father-in-law a very happy birthday today!!! I think it is so neat that Marty and his Grandpa share the same birthday. We are going to Red Robin for dinner and then having some cake at our house afterwards. And then the "kids" birthday party for Marty on Saturday. Should be fun...and chaotic!!

Celebrating

This month so far has been crazy busy and it's not over yet...I think this week will be our busiest! But, filled with lots of fun things!

Jeff and I usually don't do much for Valentine's Day. Last night we did go on a double date with our good friends. We went for dinner at Kelsey's and then drove to Montana's and picked up a couple of deep-fried cheesecakes and then went to my parents place(they are in Mexico) and had the cheesecake and some of us enjoyed Jeff's homemade red wine! It was such a fun evening with great friends. And thanks mom and dad V for babysitting for us!! It was much appreciated!

Meggie loves to color and she's getting so good with coloring in the lines...
So today is a very special day for my parents, even though they are not home for us to celebrate with them! But, 40 years ago today they got married!!! Wow...what a great example we have in our parents' marriages. We love you so much:)

The girls wanted to try on my wedding dress a few weeks ago...it's just a little big for them!Last weekend, Jeff and I decided we would feed the kids dinner and put them to bed and then we would make dinner for just the two of us! We don't do this very often because we are usually hungry when the kids are. But, we thought we would have a "date" at home! It was so fun and really enjoyable to have an uninterrupted dinner. Jeff grilled some chicken on the BBQ and I made a yummy salad with organic greens, sauteed mushrooms, mandarin oranges, mozza cheese and candied pecans. Jeff also made cheese garlic buns to go with the salad. Oh my...it was SO good!! So, for Valentines day today, we are going to do the same thing for dinner and then maybe watch a movie.This week holds another very special day for 2 people...it's Marty and Jeff's dad's birthday on Wednesday. Yes, they have the same birthday, just 59 years apart!! We are going to celebrate by going to Red Robin for dinner and having some birthday cake at our house after that. Still can not believe my baby will be ONE!!

Meg took this pic of Marty and he looks a little stunned...Then on Saturday, we are having a "kids" birthday party for Marty! Just having some of his little friends over for a little get together. It's going to be crazy with about 15 kids and 14 adults!! I'm doing a turtle themed party for him. I even made a turtle pinata with the girls...they loved it!

Last Friday, Megan started swimming lessons again. I had both girls signed up for classes one right after the other, but then they canceled Gabby's class:( She was fine with it and I think I will just take Gabby in the water some times while Megan is in her class. I hope to sign Gabby up for lessons in the Spring. She got pretty excited watching Megan in the water and seeing the slide!!
One of the Christian high schools in town is putting on a play of Cinderella this week. My girls love Cinderella and I'm going to take them to see it probably on Thursday or Friday night. The show starts at 7pm and they usually go to bed at 7pm, but we'll keep them up a little late that night. I know they are going to love it:)

We've been really bad about taking pictures lately and we need to take more! I'm sure this week, we will make up for it. The zoom on our camera is broken and I don't really want to send it away and we are kind of thinking of getting a new camera soon anyways.I don't know if I mentioned this before, but Jeff is now making his own wine and beer! It's a new hobby for him. He did his first batch of wine about a month ago and it turned out pretty good and about a week ago he did some beer and I think he is going to start another batch of wine this week. It's lots of work because he has to sterilize everything really well. This all gets done in our laundry room!!

Anyways, that's all for today!!

Starting school

On Monday morning, my dad came over at 9am to watch the kids while I went to the school to register Meggie for Kindergarten!!! I can not believe she will be 5 years old this year and starting school in September. I know everyone says how quickly time goes...but I still can remember giving birth to her and it doesn't feel like that long ago:( Meggie is back in ballet again and is loving it...here are a few cute pictures I took of her yesterday. I bought this purple ballet outfit from Value Village($3) a little while back and she wanted to wear it to class and she was so excited!! (try to ignore the horribly dirty mirror and reflection in the background:(

Oh, and before we left for ballet the girls insisted on having their nails painted. Gabby wanted pink nail polish and Meggie wanted purple to match her ballet clothes!

Marty is standing on his own more and more now and I think walking will be coming very soon. I'm in no hurry for him to start walking, he's my baby and I want things to take longer with him. I'm just trying to enjoy every moment with these precious kids, because these years go by so fast!

Jeff took all 3 kids to the park yesterday, so that I could make dinner without the kids! What a great hubby and daddy he is:) He put Marty on his shoulders and he loved watching his sisters play at the park. Before they went to the park, Jeff was on the driveway watching the girls ride their bikes...and Marty watching them from the window...

The kids still love to play in the bouncy house! It was such a great investment...they love it and it gets all their energy out. Usually in the mornings, we have breakfast and then get dressed and then all 3 of them play in the playroom for about 1/2 hour while I get ready. Then about 9am, I feed Marty and put him down for a nap! We have a pretty good routine going on right now. Happy kids = happy mommy:)

Here's a cute video of Meggie "helping" Marty walk...he thinks it's pretty funny!

My parents are leaving for Mexico on Sunday for 2 weeks!! I'm only slightly jealous:( And Jeff's parents booked a trip to Hawaii in March. It seems like everyone around us is going on vacation somewhere nice and warm!! I don't know if I mentioned this before, but we are planning a trip to Las Vegas at the end of August for our 10 year anniversary!! We are planning on going with 2 other couples...our very good friends! I'm really looking forward to a little trip, just adults:) No working around naps or bedtimes. How fun!