the fair

If you're wondering why it has taken me so long to blog again, just remember I'm pregnant. My memory has left me and I honestly didn't think I had anything to blog about. That is until I looked on the camera and saw pictures from the fair! How could I forget that we took pictures at the fair?! I honestly thought I had mentioned in a previous post about us going to the fair, but didn't have any pictures to go with it.

Neither of those were the case. So here is my very late post on our trip to the fair.

Please note that the only picture of myself is when I was eating. Yes, that is a foot long corn dog folks. It was either get the smaller version, or risk needing more food in an hour and being hangry. Trust me, that is a word. I saw it on Pinterest.

We didn't spend a lot of time looking at the animals, but we did enjoy the ones we came across. Even if they weren't real.

Our favorite part is always the little farm area where kids get to walk through the process of how food is grown, picked (or milked), and sold at a supermarket in return for money. Then he gets to turn in the money for a snack. 

Last year he needed some assistance making it all the way around, but this year he was cruising all by himself.

Evangeline really didn't have a care in the world. She just wanted out of the stroller and to be able to run around.

Since we entered the fairgrounds, all Ari kept talking about were the rides. He had never been on them before, but since we were given free ride tickets we thought we'd check it out.

I am a non-ride person. It makes me so nervous, even when it's not me on there. To see my little baby want to do something so crazy was beside me. Even the Ferris wheel makes me nervous. This one in particular was not your normal one. It went zooming around so fast I couldn't keep track of which bucket they were sitting in. Nonetheless, he still enjoyed it.

Next he rode the bee. Thankfully he has a father who gladly rides with him. Otherwise this kid would never get to ride anything.

I did actually enjoy watching him go down the big slide. I can still see the huge smile on his face and the "I want to do it again!" expression when he got to the bottom. He had enough tickets to go on it three times and each time he was just as delighted as the first.

5 years

It's amazing how fast time goes by. It seems like almost yesterday we were running down the aisle, ready to celebrate the ultimate commitment we made to each other forever.

But now we spend our days running around with our kids, wondering how they could already be so big.

When we were on our honeymoon, we decided to come back to Cabo for our five year anniversary. We laugh at that thought now because we were young and had no idea what life would be like five years down the road. Vacation in Mexico was probably a one time thing. But I am ok with that if it means I have little ones to be taking care of instead.

We love the life we have lived, but are looking forward to what God has in store for us the next coming years. I love my husband. He loves me, respects me, supports me, and we are very like-minded. He is easy to get along with and works very hard for our family in all areas of his life. He is the leader of our family and he takes it seriously. Our children have the best example to look up to. I just love him.

 

 Our anniversary fell on a Saturday this year and we got out for a few hours and went to Chang's. We only go there once or twice a year so I was not going to pass up the opportunity! Being pregnant with our third, I was not feeling well and did not feel up to doing much of anything. We ended up taking a walk on the canal (which was much prettier than I remembered) and heard a drum line playing.

We stopped by to see and there was a band competition going on. We were glued to this drum line in particular and stayed to watch until they were all done practicing. They were so talented! It was a fun night to get out for a bit but we missed the kids and decided to go get them. 

We love spending time together, but spending time with our kids is what we enjoy most. They are so much fun and bring us so much joy. We are looking forward to #3 being here in February!

15 months

I should have expected this photo shoot to be a little more tricky, but seeing that I am already two weeks behind on posting this these photos will just have to do.

I did manage to get one of her sitting still, but as the rest of these will depict our 15 month old likes to be on the move.

She loves her big brother because he is always trying to entertain her.  She likes to entertain us as well and will make silly faces to see us laugh. She loves to scrunch up her nose and blow air between her top two teeth. (Now that she has them both!) She still only has four teeth, but the doctor doesn't seem too concerned about it right now.

She loves to use this chair as a slide and will climb in and slide down over and over again.

If we have something, she wants it.

If we have something, she wants it. Oh, did I already say that? This game never ends, especially if we have food. Even though she is petite in stature (20 lbs. 14 oz.-20/25%), she is constantly wanting to eat. She is not a picky eater and will eat just about anything we give her. She is 35% for height and the dr. says she will more than likely take after me. What gave it away?

This sweet girl is so cuddly. She loves her blanket that great-grandma made for her. Every time we get her out of her crib, that is the first thing she hands us before she lets us get her out. She doesn't want it left behind. She will go lay herself down on the floor when she wants her diaper or clothes changed. She will pull on her clothes and say "ah ah" until I do something about it. She loves other babies and always wants to lay her head on them. She will even cuddle Ari on the occasion that he is sitting still enough.

life has been crazy

Since AJ's been back from his trip, life has not slowed down one bit. My grandpa passed away the day before AJ got home, so all last week was full of planning a funeral and getting things ready for that. We spent all weekend with family and enjoying all the memories we had with him. My grandpa was young, and he was the first to go out of all four of my grandparents. But saying goodbye isn't as hard when we know it's more like "see you later". We are thankful he is not suffering anymore. He wanted everyone to know how God changed his life, and more importantly how believing in Jesus Christ as your Savior could change yours.

This week has been full of fighting off colds, visiting my grandma before she heads back to Florida, and some meetings that we had at church. We are still waiting for life to slow down a bit, but I'm starting to wonder if that will really happen.

We were also able to squeeze in some time with a dear friend of mine and her son. Thanks for coming to visit Laura!

The weather has finally cooled down some that we were able to go outside and actually enjoy it.

Ari is going to play soccer this fall. He is so excited and wants to practice all the time.

With the unbelievable amount of heat we have had this summer, I almost forgot what it was like to be cold outside. I don't wish the summer away, but it was nice to finally have a break from the heat.

These two did an awesome job of putting up with mommy while daddy was away. We are going to have another baby and that was the most challenging part of AJ being away. Being a single mom for two weeks...no problem. Being a single mom for two weeks who could barely function because of nausea...well, there just aren't words to describe that. But we survived thanks to AJ's parents and lots of caring friends who had us over. 

We are so excited for this new little one and are thankful for all the moments I have spent over the toilet. :) It has not been easy but I am comforted by that because the baby is probably doing well. I am in the 11th week which puts me due February 28. We are all looking forward to that second trimester!