Christmas Pictures

We took the boys to get their Christmas pictures done a few days ago. I'm so happy with how they turned out! Lochy was a little shy at first but the lady was great and he warmed up very quickly. Only a few more weeks til Christmas and Liam's 4th birthday!!!

Here's some of the shots:

Diaper Free!!!

Well, we are 10 days now diaper free! Lochy was super eager to go on the potty full time and my little man is doing a fantastic job. The first 2 days he had a bit of a hard time getting his poop timing down--he tended to tell me as he was pooping and therefore too late. But he's been great ever since and has even stayed dry during naps and overnight!

I feel kinda bad because he was really ready back in July but between the morning sickness, fatigue, and then my father in law's heart attack the consistency just wasn't there on my end. So he was a part time underwear wearer. Plus we had a hard time finding underwear to fit him since he's so little.

He's so proud to be a big boy and I'm so incredibly proud of him!!! We had to get another seat for the upstairs toilet though because he and Liam seem to poop at the same time of day and that's where our initial accidents were coming from. All is well now that we're equipped to handle the double load.

Halloween and Spilling the Beans

We had a great time trick or treating this year! They boys warmed up quickly to it and by the 3rd house were yelling "Trick or Treat!!!" before we even rang the bell! I haven't uploaded the pictures of them in their costumes yet but Lochy was a puppy (he picked it out) and Liam was a tiger. They looked so cute even though Loch wouldn't leave the puppy ears on and no one knew what he was.

I do have some pictures from our pumpkin painting and carving extravaganza. They had such a great time doing this and it's something we've done every year since Liam's first Halloween when he was just 10 months old.

Here they are starting out:




Lochy's messiness begins:


And the aftermath:


Ok and now for spilling the beans. We've kept it under wraps for as long as possible but with my sister's shower yesterday just about everyone now knows that

I AM PREGNANT!!!!!

That's right! Another baby is on the way!!! This week I will be 22 weeks pregnant and I'm due mid March. We did find out the gender. I wanted it to be a suprise but Ian really wanted to know. It was more important for him to know than it was for me to be surprised so we did find out. We are all very excited to be welcoming a baby girl to our family!!! Her name is Lila Agnes (Agnes after Ian's Grandma who passed away on Easter in 2007) and we can't wait to meet her!

So far she is much more mellow than the boys. She definitely has her active times of the day but she's not nonstop like the boys were. Everything is going well so far. I am a little bummed I won't be getting my homebirth this time like we wanted but I'll be back at the birth center I had Lochy at so I'm happy with how things have turned out. I haven't gained any weight yet and I'm actually still 2 pounds below pre-pregnancy weight (although to look at me you'd never know that!). Morning sickness ended at 13 1/2 weeks and my old friend Braxton Hicks contractions started up at 17 weeks. I get several every day, more if I over do it. Well, that's about it for now. I'll probably post more about the pregnancy over the coming months. In the meantime here's a few pictures of Lila:

She was moving around like crazy so it was hard to get some good shots. I guess too much apple juice got her going! LOL




And the ever important "money shot"

Update on the boys

It has been absolutely forever since I've given an update on the boys. I guess there really hasn't been much new to tell.

We did find a new pediatrician only minutes from our house that we love and am so happy with! So at the beginnin of the month we took the boys for a well check up. Lochy's 2 year (2 months late) and Liam's 4 year (almost 3 months early). I wasn't planning on sharing that Lochy was still nursing (he weaned a couple days ago at 26 months old) but the milk question came up. So I had to tell her that no he doesn't drink cow's milk but he still nurses then I braced myself. To my delight (and surprise) she said, "That's great!" And she was totally cool with us holding off on vaccinations til he's at least 3. I can't begin to say how wonderful it is to have a pediatrician that is supportive of our parenting choices.

Lochy pitched a fit about having to take off his clothes to get weighed and measured. He was fighting me taking off his shirt and kept yelling, "NO, I'm handsome!" He thought he looked pretty good that day and didn't want to lose it I guess. LOL

They are both small for their ages--big surprise. Of course we knew that already. Liam weighs 30lbs and Lochy weighs 23lbs. They are both the same proportionately. They are 25% for height and 3% for weight. She was not at all concerned saying that's just the way they are and just to make sure they eat every couple hours. We do that so we're not concerned especially since Ian was always small growing up, though you'd never know that to look at him now.

Developmentally they are doing great too. Two very smart little boys if I do say so myself! I couldn't be prouder of my guys, they really are such a blessing even though they can really drive me nuts! Lochy is going through a biting phase that is getting really old but he mostly does it when he's excited, like he can't help himself. We're working on it though. Mostly they play really nicely together though they definitely like to push each others buttons. I can't help but laugh sometimes at the way they tease each other.

We had a great time picking out our pumpkins and the boys had a great time painting theirs. It's obvious why we strip down to t-shirts and underwear when we paint (at least for Lochy). I have some pics of that I still need to upload but here's a couple others that are fairly recent:

Liam:


And Lochy trying to race cars on Xbox (the last hair buzz of the year):

Happy Birthday Lochlann!!!

Well I'm a little late and I have no pictures yet but my baby turned 2 this past Friday (the 21st)! I can't believe he's 2 already! Where did the time go?

He's definitely a hand full and my "spirited" child. But I wouldn't have him any other way. He keeps me on my toes and is a real joy.

He had a great birthday on Friday and Grammy came up to celebrate with us. We had pizza and some ice cream cake. His party won't be until the 5th of September since Roger, my father in law, suffered a massive heart attack about a month ago. We almost lost him twice but he's been home for a few weeks now and doing great! We just wanted to give him an extra couple weeks to feel a little better.

I'll have pictures of the small party for sure and in the mean time hope to get a few recent ones of the boys. This time is going by so fast. Before I know it it'll be a couple more months and my Liam will be 4!

Kittens!!!

A few days ago we found two kittens in our garage. All but one of our outside cats is spayed (3 outside cats) and the one that isn't never even looked heavy let alone pregnant so we had no idea where these kittens came from. Well after observing for most of the day we realized that they were in fact her kittens and we figured since there was just the two maybe that's why she never looked pregnant. Then later that afternoon Ian came in saying he just found two more! So there are 4 kittens in total and they are just the cutest little things ever!!! I don't know where Noogy was hiding those babies in her belly but she definitely was! They are really sweet kittens. There are two orangy-striped ones, one light peach one, and a black one. Mom has already claimed the peach one we named Peaches (how original right? LOL). Here they all are:

One of the orange ones:

The other oragne one (on top) and Peaches (bottom):

The black one:


I have a bunch of pictures from the 4th of July I still have to upload. We went to Ian's aunt's shore house which is right on the water and they boys had a great time! They loved watching the boats go by and swimming in the lagoon. I'll try and get those pics up soon!

June Update

I'd like to say that we've been out and about doing tons of great and fun things but the reality is much more boring than that. It has rained just about every single day for the past several weeks and I think its getting to us all! Even the days it doesn't rain we still can't play outside becuase everything is soaking wet. We've all got some cabin fever and have even resorted to just walking around the mall and letting the boys run and climb all over the little rides there.

I celebrated my 31st birthday last Saturday. I drove the boys down to my parents house that morning so they could spend the night and Ian and I could have some alone time. We had such a nice time just the two of us. We went out to dinner and then breakfast the next morning before we took a great 5 mile hike through the woods at the reservoir. It was wonderful and so relaxing. I couldn't have celebrated any better! Ian's birthday (32) is next Saturday so we'll be doing some more celebrating soon.

The boys are doing wonderfully. Lochlann will be 22 months old on Sunday and Liam will be 3 1/2 on the 30th. Liam has taken to calling Lochy "my little Lochster." It's so cute! And Loch calls Liam "my Ween." Close enough right!?! LOL He loves going around the room saying everyones name--he calls himself "Nock." We're still nursing here but we're down to only once a day now, first thing in the morning. Most days he'll ask for it but once in a while he'll skip a day. My goal is to get him to 2 years but I have a feeling he may be done before then and that's fine too. I'm just glad it will be on his terms.

They are both still little peanuts. Liam has finally started wearing mostly 3T size stuff although I have to take the waist in a lot, and he's got a lot of 2T that still fits. Lochlann wears mostly 18 months stuff with the waist taken in a lot and has some 12 month stuff that still fits too. Liam is getting a lot better at trying different foods and Lochy is still my little Landfill. I swear that kid will eat just about anything!

We decided to hold off on preschool for Liam for another year and send him when he's 4. As for right now we'll continue working at home with him. He's getting good at writing his name and is getting more precise with drawing. Lochlann just talks a blue streak constantly and just soaks everything up like a sponge. He knows his basic shapes--circle, square, triangle, and star; and we're working on colors--he knows purple, green, and yellow and sometimes blue.

They just love playing together all the time and although they have their moments and fight over toys they mostly get along great and have a good time. Yesterday I came in to find them sitting so nicely building together with legos. They are so good and such a pleasure. They love to help me bake and do laundry and all that other fun stuff. We're planning a trip to the zoo in the Poconos next week so I'll have to remember the camera!

Here's some fairly recent pics of the boys:

Lochy after helping with the laundry:


Playing in their Thomas tent:

Coloring together:

Playing trains:

And Lochy playing with the dollhouse--a favorite!:

New Beds!

The boys' new beds came last week. Obviously Liam has been sleeping in his own bed for quite some time now but this was Lochy's first "big boy bed" all his own! He absolutely LOVES it!!!

Here they are at nap time:
Loch


Liam


And another shot of each of them:

Three Years!

This Wednesday Ian and I celebrate 3 years of wedded bliss!!! It seems like so much longer because I feel like we've been together forever! We've known each other for 10 years, been together for 9, and living together for 7. I've been looking through our wedding album a lot recently. I love reliving that day!
Here's some of my favorites:

Getting ready the morning of:



The family:




At the church:






At the reception site:




I like this one because I actually look thin

Get a life!

You know you need to get a life when you're just as excited as a 3 year old for the week of new Wow Wow Wubbzy shows! Somebody needs a hobby!

A day at the lake

Since it was so hot today--in the 90s!--we decided to go to the lake. Everyone had such a great time! Lochy is my little water baby and we couldn't get him out even though it was freezing! My feet and legs ached just standing in there with him and he didn't even seem to notice how cold it was. He did the same thing yesterday when we set up the little pool. Liam wants no parts of cold water and only dipped his toes in but Lochy was having a grand time!

They got to play in the sand a lot too which is always a big hit with them. Of course we had to bring some of our trains along with our sand toys. We have a few that are in not the greatest shape from being played with in the dirt, mud, water, sand, etc. You name it those trains have been through it!

There's a couple playgrounds there too that they had a great time playing on. Unfortunately there was no shade at the playground areas so everything was pretty hot. When are people going to learn to plant some trees or something around play equipment so these little guys don't burn their hands and legs playing?

After a few hours they were ready to come home though. They were so tired, especially since they didn't have a nap but they didn't sleep on the way home at all! Needless to say it was an early night for them!

Lochy in the water:






Pretty much the closest Liam got to the water:




Playing in the sand:










And when we first got home. They're vegging out to "Lady and the Tramp."