So sweet...

My little boy that is!  Crawford has such a sweet and loving heart that I am so proud of.  He loves his family and his sister so much.  Yesterday his Papa asked if Crawford would want to go to Dick's to get some new baseball stuff, and Crawford said yes, but I want my sister to go too.  He loves her so much and just wants our whole family to be together all the time.  His love language at such a young age is definitely "time".  This is mine also, so I need to remember this on days when things seem so crazy.  I need to remember to stop what I'm doing and spend more time with him, it will all still be there when we're done.
Tonight while watching Toy Story 3, Crawford asked Nathan how long you stay in college and Nathan told him typically four years (which is funny coming from Nathan!).  Crawford then got upset and started crying.  He said he didn't want to go to college and be away from his family.  I told him he can stay with us as long as he would like, knowing that one day he will be super excited to go to college.  I told him that he can go to UT and live with us.  This still concerned him that he would be in college and away from us, so I told him he can drive his truck to school and come home after school, like he does now.  I will be waiting at home for him, with a hot meal and ready spend time with him :)
I wanted to write this down because I know, like many other things, I will forget.  I will probably need to read this again, after I drop him off at college.
I love you CJM!!

Easter and April

This year we did Easter just a little bit different...we spent it in Burnet at Nano and Papa's.  We also did it on Saturday, which was nice because Sunday wasn't as rushed.  Most of our family came down from my mom and dad's sides.  Crawford loves getting to hang out with his cousins, so add in Easter egg hunting and it's wonderful.

Gwen had fun too, mainly trying to fit the whole egg in her mouth.

We got a pretty good family picture also.  We will be having more done soon, which will be for Gwen's first birthday (crazy!).

Since we did Easter with the family on Saturday, we went to church Sunday morning and then tried to get pictures in the bluebonnets.  We will just say that was not our most successful endeavor.  This is the best picture we got of the kids, and didn't get one of them together. :(

We unfortunately sat Crawford in a bed of ants (don't worry, he was only bit once), so he of course would not sit back down.  Now when he sees blue bonnets he says, "Those flower have ants!".  I think we might have scarred him for life. 

This was the truck that the Easter bunny brought Crawford.  He had been asking for it for a while, so this fake smile here doesn't do it justice.  

Then it was date night out on the town for Nathan's birthday.  Nathan and I had a blast just getting to hang out together and go dancing just a little bit! Grandma took care of Gwen for us and Crawford spent the night at Nano/Papa's house.  They went to the Blue Bonnet parade, which was right up his alley.

The next day we picked up Crawford from Nano and Papa then we went to our friends' daughter's first birthday party.  This was Gwen's first time at the park and she loved it.  I see a bunch of that in our future this summer. Crawford is the best big brother and was so helpful.

Here are a few other random things...

Gwen loves to wrestle with her daddy and brother!

Crawford got a treat of frozen yogurt after his allergy shots...chocolate without soy!!

My cutie at his school parade for "Week of the Young Child"

Spring Break 2013

I was soooooo ready for spring break! Sleeping in, not having to be anywhere, and spending time with my kiddos is exactly what I needed.  Somehow though, it wasn't quite as relaxing as I had hoped for.  Monday started out great, with a relaxing morning and going to Michael's to do some painting with Crawford.  We did a project we found on Pinterest, which turned out better than I had expected.

My little helper

Finished project

He loved every second of it, but probably would have preferred getting just a little bit messier with the paint. We hung the pictures up in our kitchen because they go with the new rug my mom got me for my birthday.  Funny how your priorities change when you're 32!!!

After we finished painting I started on some homemade tortillas, also from Pinterest.  Crawford loves tortillas and is never ever able to have them because they have soy, so I found a receipe with four ingredients that he can have.  Nathan and Crawford said they were good, so I think it was a success.  Nathan might have said they were good not to hurt my feelings, but I'm pretty sure Crawford wouldn't have asked for more if they weren't good.  Yay for soy free tortillas, and they weren't difficult!

Tuesday we headed out to Lakeline Mall to meet the Goudeau girls for lunch and a train ride.  We let the kiddos ride on it by themselves, which makes me ask, how in the world are our oldest babies old enough to go without us?!  April and I pushed the littlest babies in the strollers and walked with the train, which was fine with me.  Crawford seemed to love his new found freedom.

The next day Nathan left for the valley and Gwen had her 9 month check-up.  She is doing very well for her condition, and the dr we saw that day said she doesn't look like a "heart" baby, which always makes me feel good. The drs office that day was just a blast since I waited in the TINY room for over an hour with two kids who did not want to be there. To say I was ready to leave would have been an understatement.  But Gwen enjoyed the paper on the table as usual!

The only problem is that if we could get this girl to eat some solids, that would be great! The dr said it's ok to go ahead and try some solid/finger foods so that's what we're doing.  We have just skipped right over the "baby" food stuff.  That afternoon we went over to Oma and Granddaddy's house with Teetee to hang out for a little while.  Crawford had an absolute BLAST with Granddaddy.  Granddaddy knows the way to every little boy's heart and that is to go find some rocks and throw them in the river.  They were gone forever and when Crawford came back he had two giant sticks and a huge grin on his face.  I love that he gets to make memories like that with Grandaddy.  While the boys were girl, us girls went on a walk and just got to talk, which is what we all do best!!  Between Mary, Oma, and myself, there are no lack of things to say.  Crawford and Grandaddy then played a little baseball in the backyard and while we were hanging out, the girl on the golf cart with the drinks and snacks came by.  Granddaddy waved her down and Crawford got a bag of Skittles.  I wish I would have had my camera with me to capture the look on his face when he found out that someone drives around on a golf cart handing out candy!!!  This is him enjoying his Skittles and water after a busy afternoon.

Happy boy!

The picture doesn't do it justice, but I promise he was thrilled.  While Crawford was eating, Gwen had her first experience with grass!!  This is one thing I love about have kids, is getting to watch them experience things for the first time. She loved it and Teetee got some great pictures for the princess enjoying being outside.

YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE, MY ONLY SUNSHINE!!

That night we went to dinner, which of course is always fun with two kiddos!  I realized during this time as well that Nathan being gone, it makes everything so much more difficult.  My sister came over to stay with us and help, and I appreciate it more than she will ever know. I hope she'll come back some day! ;) I miss my partner so much though when he's gone.  We work together so well, and make such a great team, which is a great thing since this raising kids stuff is hard.  We knew it would be difficult when he started traveling so much, but it's also just not as much fun without him around.  Nathan has such a way with our kids that makes me smile, and they love him so much!  I'm pretty sure they both think he hung the moon and stars.  We are so blessed!  (Sorry this wasn't supposed to be mushy!)

32...how is that possible?!?

I seriously CANNOT believe that I am 32!! Where has the time gone? It was such a great birthday that started Thursday when I received the most beautiful flowers ever at work.
                                     

I told Nathan a while ago not to buy me flowers anymore because I knew how expensive they are and since it comes from the same account, I figured the money could be spent somewhere else. I was so surprised when I saw them, and thankful he didn't listen to me this time!

Then Friday night we went to dinner, while Crawford spent the night at Nano/Papa's house.

Crawford and I waiting for Nano to pick him up

Grandma watched Gwen for us, so we had both kiddos covered. We haven't gone to dinner, by ourselves, since October, so I was super excited!! Before we went to dinner, we stopped by a friend's surprise birthday party, which was a blast. We haven't been able to go out with friends in so long, so it was nice!! Afterwards we went to Jack Allen's kitchen for a steak. I would like to go downtown on my birthday, but it's always during SXSW, which I try to avoid at all costs. The steak and dessert was amazing, but the company was even better!! I love hanging out with my husband more than anyone else, which is a pretty good thing, since he's stuck with me! (Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of us)
Saturday, Nathan let me sleep in (which is one of the best gifts) and I woke up to streamers, balloons and presents!

Nathan got me an amazing bracelet that I had showed him a long time ago. He is the best listener when it comes to gifts! It was made by one of Nathan's oldest friends, Brett Tatum, and if you ever need custom silver work, go to Tres Rios Silver (click their name for website).

After the gifts, we went to Burnet, to pick up Crawford and celebrate with my parents. When we got there, there were more streamers, signs (Dad's famous signs), and cake!!

We hung out there for a while and then went to one of my favorite places to eat, Opie's BBQ.  It's some great Texas BBQ on Hwy 71 in Spicewood.  If you're ever out that way, you have to try it.

My mom knows me so well too and got me Ariel plates and napkins.  The only thing that would have made it better was Mary being there with us. It was such a great birthday that I got to spend with the ones I love most!! I am ready for an amazing year !!

RSV...no thank you!

Back in August when we first found out about Gwen's heart, We were told about a shot called synagis which would protect Her from RSV. It is a very expensive shot so it's not approved or given lightly. I worked pretty hard for her to get the series of shots, with insurance approval and all that fun stuff.  It was also difficult because we were changing insurances right at the time we were trying to get her approved.  Needless to say, we got it done and she finished her "round" of shots in February.  The series consisted of one shot, once a month for 5 months.  When she was done, she got her very first certificate!  Mommy was proud and Gwen just wanted to chew the paper :)

We will Be doing this again starting in September or October but for now we are done!

Valentine's Party & Soy

This sounds horrible, but I don't remember if Crawford had a Valentine's day party last year or not. It could have been that I had just quit a job I loved, started working again full-time & was very sad about it, or the fact that I was sick 24/7 from my pregnancy. Either way, I don't remember which is part of why I'm doing this blog again...so I have it when my memory fails me. Well Crawford is having a party this year at his "new school", which is what he still calls, even though he's been there since August. I'm not sure when the "new" will wear off. Since Crawford is having a party I am making him some soy free cupcakes. This really just means I will be making everything from scratch. That also means it usually tastes better! We have had to change so many things since finding out Crawford is allergic to soy. This has been a good thing for our family however. It also makes me feel so much better knowing that Crawford feels better. He doesn't complain like he used to of his stomach hurting. He has also learned to ask if things have soy and then and he knows that if he does eat something with soy it will make his tummy hurt. His Valentine's Day party was really the first time I felt like a mom of a kid with an allergy. I had to make him special snacks as well as special cupcakes for the party so he wouldn't feel left out. He doesn't seem to notice or if he does he doesn't care that he can't have all the other foods. I think feeling better is good enough for him!
The first picture is the homemade frosting I made. It's my Mamaw Dollie's recipe And it's a family favorite!
The last picture is Crawford opening his valentines with friends. I didn't get to go to the party because I was sick so that is the only picture Nathan sent me!

Saturday with family

This has Pretty much become our routine since kids. We love having Nano, Papa, & Teetee over as much as possible. Crawford especially loves having everyone come over and see him and has come to expect it. We have also found that Gwen does better when she's on her own turf. Crawford loves wrestling with Papa and has discovered wedgies. He even asks for them now! A little crazy if you ask me! Gwen is also wanting in the mix of everything. She follows her brother around in her walker while he is riding his bike. We are so blessed to have so much family close to us!
Crawford and Nathan are going to the monster truck rally tonight with his friend Vincent, and Vincent's dad. I'm not sure who was more excited, Nathan or Crawford. Nathan bought Crawford some headphones to wear so hopefully it won't be too loud for him! My little boy is growing up and wants to hang out with friends now! Us girls stayed home tonight and had a blast And I feel this will be the norm for us in the coming years. :) The last picture is Gwen playing hide and seek with grandma and I tonight! She loves this new game.