SNOW Round 1

After seeing many Facebook posts and text messages from friends yesterday of everyone else in the state receiving their fair share of snow I was starting to get very jealous, but was still very helpful that we too might receive some of the precious white stuff!  Zane came running into our room to wake us up this morning yelling "mommy, I just opened the curtain downstairs and guess what, THERE'S SNOW"! I was so happy for him (and for me, I won't lie, I love the snow too)!  We didn't have a lot, but the grass had a nice dusting and it was still coming down - it didn't matter to Zane how much we had, he was just so happy to see it!  We had breakfast and then bundled the boys up and out they went!

Zane wasn't too sure of the stuff - he pretty much went back and forth between having a look of confusion on his face to crying, back to confusion:

Zane on the other hand was THRILLED from the moment he stepped out the door!  He was even more excited when we told him he could drive his "quad" in the snow!  I stuck Landon on the sled and away we went.

I was hoping it wouldn't be like last year where it took me longer to get Zane bundled up to go out than the amount of time he actually spent outside in the snow.  He was definitely a different kid out there this year, he LOVED it - couldn't get enough of it!  Thankfully a few of the neighborhood kids came out and he could play with someone cooler than mommy!

The kids had a snowball fight and took to sledding on the "hill" - they were having so much fun!  Zane even took a turn rolling down the hill - something he NEVER would've done last year!

And here is my little angel making a snow angel, haha!

I built the kids a little snowman (can't tell you the last time I did that) and I am not kidding when I say about a half a second after snapping this picture the little dude fell over backwards!  It happened so fast of me taking the picture I honestly thought the picture would be of the snowman in mid fall, but I guess I snapped it just in time!

And while Zane was out having fun with his buds - Landon was inside getting warm and playing with his favorite past time - Hotwheels!

After Landon wakes up from his nap, we are headed over to my mom's to frolic in her snowy yard for a bit - can't wait!!  Its too bad daddy had to head to work this afternoon :(

1 Year Well-Child

Landon had his 1 year well-child appointment last week (1/11/12) and passed with flying colors! The doctor said he looked just great and was doing everything that he was supposed to be doing!

- He has completely transitioned to a sippy cup.

- He pulls himself up on everything and is slowly starting to "cruise" furniture (no real steps yet).

- He is completely off baby food and on all table food.

- He says "mama", "dada", "nigh nigh" (for night night)

- He is not a snuggle-bug at all like his big bro, he is on the go constantly!

- He sleeps through the night (always a hiccup here and there of course).

- He can wave and clap.

- He loves cars more than anything else.

- He loves to open up any drawer or cabinet he can get his hands onto (most are child locked, but not all).

12 month stats:

Weight: 25 lbs 2 oz - 78%

Height: 2' 6" - 52%

Head Circ: 18.5" - 65%

In the car on the way home - zonked from his shots :(

Glasses

I took Zane to a follow-up appointment for his eyes a couple of weeks ago (just haven't had time to post about it) and it was decided that he should wear glasses for now. This may be a permanent thing or it may be a temporary thing it all depends on his eyes (duh) and his level of cooperation at his next appt! Because he is 4 and a typical 4 year old at that, he has a very low attention span and his cooperation only lasts so long. This appt ended up being THREE hours long, I was beyond annoyed with this doctor (Lori, it wasn't Grace - we had to end up seeing someone else due to Grace's schedule). Don't get me wrong, the doctor was very nice and did specialize in children, but I wasn't thrilled with how long it was taking her to do stuff and how she would just repeat the same thing over and over when it wasn't necessary...oh and the fact she tried to bribe my child (who you might recall has Type 1 Diabetes) with CANDY and without asking me first!! We really do our best not to restrict Zane from much and let him carry on like any other 4 year old, but in order for him to have candy I need to know a few things like...his current blood sugar and the carb count in the candy etc. This doctor was well aware of his diabetes so that is why this upset me so much. Anyway, we made it through the appointment (yes, Zane did get to enjoy a Dum-Dum) and like with everything else that has been handed to Zane he has adapted to it like no one's business! Zane enjoys wearing his glasses and we think he looks absolutely adorable in them (but we might be biased)!! We have a follow-up appointment in 3 months!

PS this picture was taken the day after our appt after we picked up his glasses (a few weeks ago) - we do not still have our tree up today :)

Dr. Seuss 1st Birthday Party

Today was Landon's highly anticipated 1st Birthday Party and I think it was a success! I have been planning this thing since the summer and I took last Thurs/Fri off work to finish up the final details to get this thing off the ground...but I was still running around like a chicken with my head cut off this morning trying to get the finishing touches done before guests showed up! HUGE thank you to my father-in-law, husband, Zane and good friend Jen for helping me with the finishing touches this morning!!

I started freaking out last week when I looked at the RSVP list and realized there were over 40 people coming and probably half of those were kids all under the age of 5. I sent Josh a text message telling him that I was already having anxiety over the party because our house is really not that big and I could only imagine the disaster it would be in after 20+ kids left. He sent me a text back right away saying "rent a bouncy house" - holy cow, best idea ever and the best money ever spent (for this party anyway)! The older kids had the time of their lives in that thing all day and the the rest of us (and babies) had a great time inside!

Over 170 pictures were taken today - I was able to narrow it down to 30ish...in other words, its a photo dump, have fun!

I had so much fun crafting and decorating for this party - I hope you don't mind me sharing a few decoration photos in the mix :)

First the invitation:

Onto a little decor:

The Birthday Boy:

Kid was SPOILED...can I just say that our family and friends have the best taste in clothes too - watch out for one stylin' profilin' kid in the near future! Notice in the last picture him trying to escape...haha, he was not all over the gifts, he wanted to just go play with his buds!

Cake!!! I had so much fun making his "smash cake" - took me a very long time for a short time of pleasure from him, but was so worth it!

Baby Bouncy House time - as you can see, not all were too thrilled with it!!

A sorry attempt to get a picture of all of the babies:

Landon warmed up to it:

Big kids bouncing their brains out:

Ahh, what a fun day - now to clean up :)

Random Photos

While downloading my camera today I found some cute pictures of the boys on there that don't have much of a story behind them, but still too cute not to share :)

Playing in the tunnels one morning:

Just being cute:

Taking a ride:

Watching big brother take another drive:

Scootin' around:

Landon's first ride on a carousel:

A Year In Review - 2011

Before we say good-bye to 2011 and hello to 2012, here is our last year in review. I tried to only pick one photo from each month - that was SO hard! I failed for a couple months!!

JANUARY - Life at home with a newborn began - Landon's newborn photoshoot:

FEBRUARY - The boys enjoyed a little snow finally:

MARCH - Landon was baptized:

APRIL - Landon enjoyed his 1st of many Sounders games:

MAY (1) - Zane's 1st and most traumatic dentist appointment:

May (2) - First Annual Team Zane Beat the Bridge to Beat Diabetes Walk (over $9K raised!!):

MAY - not pictured - Josh survived Gall Bladder Surgery

JUNE - Josh, Zane and I attended our first Family Diabetes Camp where we met Olympic Gold Medal swimmer and Type 1 Diabetic himself: Gary Hall Jr!

JULY - Our first family camping trip:

AUGUST: Landon received his 1st haircut:

August - not pictured - Josh began his career at Boeing!

SEPTEMBER (1) - Zane enjoyed his first time at Wild Waves:

SEPTEMBER (2) - Josh and I attended our good friend Anna's beautiful wedding in Bellingham and had a night away from the kiddos:

OCTOBER - Zane turned 4 and had a Batman Themed Birthday Party:

NOVEMBER - Zane enjoyed playing Laser Tag for the first time:

DECEMBER - Landon turned 1!!

We had a wonderful year and can't wait to see what adventures and excitement 2012 has in store for us!!