Contest!

This girl is so sweet and has been through so much but just keeps on giving! Check out her page and latest contest! http://www.ohsoposhphotography.com/blog/?p=5558

We Saw Santa!

Pretty sure the picture says it all! Jaxton was all excited to tell Santa that he wanted Lego Batman for Christmas and Bentley wanted absolutely nothing to do with him!

Day Zero update

I've put a small dent in my books and movies lists lately for my Day Zero Projet. I went on a reading spree after starting the first Sookie Stackhouse book and I read all 11 of them within 2 weeks. Then while I was in Clarion all day Tuesday I ended up going and getting a library card and learning how very small their library is. I finished "You've Been Warned" by James Patterson in a day also. Now I'm onto "The Help" which is pretty good so far!
9. Read 101 books (41/101)

On the movie list since I was put on bedrest I went over and got a bunch of movies from my sister and have been watching them on and off. Here is the current list I've gone through in the past month or so. This is a ton for me considering I never seem to watch many movies unless they're cartoons! There are more than listed but I can't think of them at the moment.
73. Watch 101 movies (25/101)

• Couples Retreat
• Fast Five
• The Lincoln Lawyer
• Step Up 3
• Crazy Stupid Love
• Water for Elephants
• Cars 2
• The Green Lantern
• Something Borrowed
• Bridesmaids

Other than those I am almost done with my Project 365! I realized that somehow I am off a few days but I know they are at least on the computer somewhere. I'm not going through every day just to fix it on Facebook though.

28. Find a baby boy name I like-complete! Too bad we aren't telling til he comes:D

64. Buy Jaxton and I vitamins-complete. I had been taking prenatal vitamins but since they weren't making me feel great I switched to gummy ones so Jax and I share them!

99.Spend a day doing nothing but hanging out with the boys-complete! I do this plenty now that I'm home all day every day! Most days I really do enjoy it but boy do these kids have attitudes!

I'm up to 31 out of 101 things completed so far with several still in progress! Not too bad for only being about a year in.

First Snow!!

Up until yesterday we've only had flurries once this year and so it was our first real snow. We got quite a bit too! Once it switched from rain to snow Jaxton asked constantly if he could go out and play in it. Finally after Bentley took a nap we let them go outside. I wasn't sure how Bentley would react since he doesn't like being bundled up and doesn't know what snow is but he enjoyed it a lot more than I expected (until daddy threw a snowball at him). Jax had a blast running around and throwing snowballs (when he didn't try to hard making them til there was no snow left). They had a blast and would've stayed out there all day if we would've let them!

Our first Christmas of 2011

Last weekend we had Christmas with my mom's side of the family. We had it early because my cousin is getting married on New Years Eve so it was easier to have it separated a little from that. The kids had a lot of fun playing with my cousins that they don't get to see too often and of course opening some presents all ready! Here are a few pics from the day. There's not a ton of anything but presents because Bentley was attached to me all day so I couldn't get any otherwise.

Uncle Keith bought him a Batman and he has been attached to it since

Smilin for gaga while opening presents

He looks so serious when all he'd done all day was ask to open presents

Yay for more Hawkeye clothes!

His little truck was all he cared about lol

Jax was out as soon as we were a block away. Don't worry we were home when I took the pic and about to get him out of his carseat that's why he wasn't strapped in!

Thankful

I had planned on doing this post on a computer so I could add more pictures to it but we had to cut Thanksgiving at my mom's short today since we had to take Jax out to ER. He just has an infection and we were home within a couple hours so he is fine! Anyways, I thought I would post some of the things I am most thankful for since I missed out on doing so throughout the month.

First off, I am very thankful for my husband. We may have our bad times but it's the good days that are more important. I don't know where I would be without him and I really do love him for better or worse just as I vowed over 4 years ago.

I am thankful to have a healthy, cute, 3 year old. Jaxton may be mouthy and have quite the attitude some days but there are so many moments where he is sweet, entertaining, and so smart that wash them all out. I love how he randomly comes to give me a kiss and tell me he loves me. It really melts my heart. Even though he grows more every day in so many ways he is still my big baby and I wouldn't trade him for anything.

Then there's Bentley. I am very thankful to have not just one, but two healthy boys. He is my rambunctious, adorable, mama's boys. He definitely looks for trouble anywhere he goes but then he comes to snuggle and you can't be mad at him anymore! Even though he is my little instigator it keeps me on my toes and I can't wait to see him continue to grow.

I am also more than thankful to still have another baby boy on the way. I know to never take the kicks forgranted and even when they keep me awake I love them. I can't wait to meet him and see what his personality will be like but hopefully that'll still be a couple months away.

Along with the topic of this baby I am thankful to have such great nurses and doctors that put up with me. I know first-hand how horrible doctors can be and I've never been to a better office. They deal with me without sounding annoyed no matter how often I call.

The rest of my family has done so much for us lately also that I have to be thankful for. I am glad we are back home to be closer to them again and let the boys all spend time together. I really didn't realize how much I appreciated them til they weren't around anymore.

I also am thankful to be talking with my friend Rachel again. It is amazing having someone I can talk to about anything and not worry about being judged. I wish we lived closer so we could hang out more but at least we have ways of keeping in touch!

It may sound cheesy but I'm also thankful for my BG girls. I've been lucky enough to get to meet a few I've been closest to and I talk to them more than my friends here. They have helped me through so much and made raising these boys so much easier by answering any questions I have that I don't know what I'd do without them!

Other than people, I'm thankful for all the little things in life I take forgranted all the time. A roof over my head, plenty of food on the table, the chance to have books to read, and to be able to run around with my boys.

I may not have everything I'd like but I have more than I need. For the most part I really do love my life even when there are low points. Everyone has them though and there are always people worse off than I am.

Last but not least, I am thankful for everyone who cares about me enough to be reading this:) I have great friends and family that I know really care even if we don't get to talk that much!

Family Pics

A good friend of mine from high school was nice enough to take some pictures of us as a family since I still didn't have any good ones as us as a family of four and wanted some before another baby comes along! The boys were beyond uncooperative but as usual smiled on their own. With the help of photoshop I was able to get one of everyone at least looking though! Thanks to Val (for taking the picture) and Cheryle (and her awesome photoshop skills) for helping me get this picture!!

little stinker wouldn't smile unless he was off doing his own thing

He just wanted to play in the grass

Slacking!

I've been horrible at keeping this updated again! Luckily by the end of November I should have a laptop again so I can be online regularly and update more. Not a whole lot has been going on anyway. Jaxton loves preschool, even though he doesn't like being woke up in the mornings. Bentley is still my little trouble-maker and I don't see that changing anytime soon! Baby is growing good and we are all doing pretty decent!

I'll share a few of my newest favorite pictures of the boys. I am soo happy that I finally got a cute one of them both together and just want to post it everywhere lol. They can be so sweet when they want to be (and when my mom is making them smile so I can take the pics lol)

Let's see I also went with Jaxton's preschool class to the fire station a couple weeks ago and that was interesting! Of course Jax had attitude with me so it wasn't as enjoyable as it could have been but we lived. Here is his entire class

I also took the 3 year olds school pictures again this year. The kids did really good for them all except my little stinker! Luckily I know this so I don't have to buy a big package of his pictures and can only get a couple for the memory mate and his scrapbook!

Otherwise I don't think we've done a whole lot. We've had some fun with pumpkin crafts and still I still haven't taken them to the pumpkin patch so that'll happen today or tomorrow and hopefully they have a few left! We got their costumes for Halloween all ready to go and tonight is trunk or treat night at the church so I'll be taking them along with my sister and Kayden to enjoy the first of our trick or treating adventures for the year!

Weekend with Tim and Jo

(Uncle) Tim and (Aunt) Josie came and stayed with us for the weekend and the boys loved it. Josie had a lot more energy than me to run around and wear them out so it was even better! Here's a few pics

Fighting with Uncle Tim



Wearing Aunt Josie's hat



Playing outside being crazy

He convince Aunt Josie to play lightsabers!

And the boys playing together

Big Project Zero Update!

I have really been slacking on updating this but have been doing pretty good at crossing things off the list! I just looked at the dates and realized I am a few days shy of having two years to finish them still so I feel like having 28 things crossed off already is awesome! Now I just hope to keep up the pace and maybe I'll even finish early:) Here's what I've been busy with lately:

5.Catch up Jaxton's baby book
15. Catch up Bentley's baby book
Since we announced that 95. Have at least one more kid is in progress I decided I better get moving on the baby books I do have before I add more kids to the mix! I finally went through and printed all of the pictures I needed for both boys' books and got them all put together. It feels great actually having them caught up for once and their scrapbooks are within a month of being caught up also so I'm doing pretty good for now!

12. Reconnect with an old friend.
This has to be one of the ones I am happy to have accomplished. Rachel and I went years with not talking or barely talking here and there but lately we talk quite a bit. It is so nice to have her back and have someone I can tell anything to! I missed her and on the couple of occasions we have had the chance to hang out for a bit it's almost like we were never apart (except for the fact we talk about what happened while we were lol)

24. Go a full day without using my phone.
Before we moved back from Florida I actually went a while without my phone. Since it was through an employee account and I was no longer with Sprint it was shut off and I didn't get another one until I was back in Iowa. It was tough but at the same time it was somewhat nice to be disconnected for a few days. We still had Toad's phone in case of emergency though so we weren't without.

45. Do a random good deed for someone I don't know.
I always like to help people out when I can but usually it's more for people I know. A couple of weeks ago someone on BG needed a phone and couldn't afford one. I happened to have an old one from the carrier she used sitting around. Since I knew I'd never use it again anyway, instead of giving it to the kids I decided to go ahead and send it to her at no cost to her. Normally I would have tried to make a couple of dollars off of it since I'm broke but since I've had people help me out at times also I didn't charge and also paid the shipping. It's nice to be able to help out others sometimes! I know it doesn't sound like much but to her it was very helpful.

55. Go to a casino.
On the way back from getting some stuff from Florida, Toad and I decided to take a break from the long drive and stop at a casino along the way. I had never been to one before so that is why it was on my list. We of course didn't have much money to spend but it was fun to check out the place and have a little break. I have horrible luck so I wasn't surprised to lose my money right away. He lasted a little longer and could have come out ahead but had to keep going and ended up losing also. It was fun while it lasted at least!

77. Read all of the Harry Potter books.

I had read the first four of them in middle school so I started from the beginning again and read all seven this time. Sadly it didn't take me too long to do so because I have been on a reading kick lately. It was interesting to compare the books I hadn't read to the movies though! There are so many differences between them that it's fun to go back and watch the movies again and point them all out.

Other than the above I've mostly just added a few more books to the list and spent a lot of time with the boys!

Finally went for a Walk

It got cold out for a good week or so but this week it is super nice out again! Yesterday I decided to take advantage of it and take the boys for a walk. We walked over to my moms and then went over to the park to feed the animals and play for a little bit before we had to be back for supper. I'm horrible at going for walks lately when it's nice out so I was pretty proud of myself lol

He cracks me up when he tries putting on his own sunglasses

Of course he has to walk ahead the whole time!

He does take breaks occasionally though. I love how thrilled Bentley looks here

For once Bentley kept looking and smiling but Jax wouldn't look at me!

Feeding the animals:)

Jaxton's Bday Pics

I did better with his than Bentley's! Within a month of his birthday this time:) Since he's never had any done with balloons I figured I should do some so it was fair and he loved it. It worked out good besides the little wind I didn't even realize was there until we got outside with the balloons and then he kept playing with them so we lost them to the trees twice! Luckily there were plenty of long broken branches for the crazy wind we had a few days back so we were able to reach them.

It took some convincing but this was one of the few with his cheesy smile!

Looking all grown up

 I love this one

Running away from me of course

Typical Jaxton face here...huh?

He was so excited about something!

Trying to be all cute

This one is my favorite I think:)

Haircut and Hawkeyes!

Today was a busy day for us. Started out bright and early with getting Bentley's first haircut taken. He wasn't sure what was going on at first but when they wet his hair down he wasn't too pleased. Once we got going he was fine as long as he was cuddling with mommy.

Don't mind my half a face here. My mom was trying to figure out my camera. Before the haircut.

Not sure what he thinks of the whole ordeal. Good thing there were other people to watch.

He was not going to let go of mommy.



All done!

 After the haircut of course was game time! Even though we didn't win it was still a good game to watch...stressed me out with all of the overtimes but it was still good!

Pregame:) Bentley didn't care lol



Touchdown Iowa!!



Watchin the game together

Iowa scores again!

My little poser