Haircuts!

I'm not sure if you notice in the previous posts that my boys have been in desperate need of haircuts. Here are some pics that I took in the last few weeks...

This one reminds me of a "flock of seagulls" hair that was popular during some crazy time.

He was trying to eat his sandwich without using his hands... I'm not sure why. Do notice the "comb-over." Several family members commented on it over the Christmas break.

I love this picture. You can see Kyle is doing something that Bryce does not like and he is voicing his opinion to Kyle in the form of a whinny yell.

So cute... but like I said, so in need of haircuts! I have always given the boys haircuts. Since there are two of them now, I have to psych myself up for the event because neither of them care for it. I will say that I don't mind doing it in the summer when I can take them outside and just buzz it off, but I like to keep their hair a little bit longer in the winter to help keep their little heads warm. That didn't work this time, they were both so squirmy and whiny I just buzzed them both... I used the longest guard I had, but it is still pretty short. Here are the after pics:

Finally, looking somewhat presentable. The nice things about boys' haircuts, as Grandpa Laird states, the only thing separating a bad haircut from a good haircut is three days.

We're still recovering...

It is hard to believe that Christmas was three weeks ago. Part of the reason may be that we just took our tree down this past Sunday. We had a great time with family during Jeremy's two week break from school and we're still trying to recover. Almost every day was spent out and about and the kids didn't always get sleep when they needed it, so I'm very glad that we were able to stay healthy. Here are some random pictures from our Christmas.

One of our first outings was to go downtown, eat an early dinner and walk the length of the 16th St. Mall to see the lights and decorations. We stopped at the Denver City and County building (located just across from the capitol building) to take in all of the lights. It was so pretty!

It was a very chilly night and we did our best to keep the boys warm. I kept joking that Bryce looked like he was a geriatric patient, with the blanket spread out over him.

They had a manger scene on display, just across the steps from Santa's workshop. I don't recall hearing any controversy over the display, but I'm sure it is only a matter of time until someone claims it is offensive.

The boys were troopers and did great, but as you can see all of the riding around wore Bryce out. On our way back to our cars we stopped in one of the FIVE Starbucks they had along 16th St. (The mall is only a mile long... yet there is a need and apparently a demand for that many coffee shops!)

Here is a picture of the boys on Christmas Eve in their pj's. This picture is sooo telling of our two boys. Bryce is a pretty calm, laid-back kind of kid who is generally happy and smiling. Kyle is our "in-your-face", crazy, out of control, happy maniac.

This is what my living room looked like after Christmas morning. I usually try to maintain control while things are being opened, but I'm realizing that is a losing battle if I try to fight it solo. We had to rush out the door to spend the rest of the day with family, so it stayed like this for at least a day. The rest of the house soon started to look like this in the following days due to the fact that we were rarely home, except to sleep, change clothes, and feed our dog. Maybe that's why it has taken us so long to recover. It was a great Christmas, full of family and laughter and the joyous reminder of our Savior and His overwhelming love and humility regarding us.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Christmas!! With some minor destruction here and there.....

Here are the boys in Santa hats, wearing matching PJ's that my parents recently sent them.

One day earlier this month I had come across my candy dish and realized someone had been up to something. Needless to say, this started becoming a recurring event and I had to move the candy dish all together.

We bought the boys an early Christmas present this year. We set it under the tree just after Thanksgiving and they've been enjoying it ever since. It is the FP Little People nativity set. FP actually has a few different sets, but we got the manger scene, the inn with no room set and the wise men set so that the boys can actually play out the whole Christmas story. It had to be moved out from under the tree when Jeremy decided to get himself an early Christmas present as well and purchased a train set that had to go under the tree. :)

I haven't really posted any pictures of the house since the move, but here is our foyer. I just painted it at the end of September and I'm still not sure if I like it. The color looks great in this picture, but it changes constantly throughout the day as the light changes.

This is a terrible picture of the outside of the house, but Jer did such a great job of putting up lights that I really wanted to give him some credit. He even bought lights for me to put on the wreaths that I made for the windows and front door.

And... as I promised... some pictures of the "Molly damage." I came home one morning and found that she had ripped some molding off of the wall in the dining room, where I had closed her in. Not only did she rip it off... but she chewed part of it to pieces! (Did I mention she is camera shy?? Most pictures I have of her look like this.)

Later that same day, we had to run out to a Dr. apt. and then we ran to Walmart to get a crate to put her in while we were out. This is what we returned home to. Notice the wires hanging out of the wall... that was where a phone jack used to be. Yeah, she ripped that right out of the wall, too.

A big thank you to my father-in-law who came to our rescue and helped us patch everything up as good as new before a big Christmas party that we hosted, less than a week later!

Meet the newest member...

Molly.

Molly was rescued from a shelter in KS that was going to put her down. We adopted her from a local golden retriever rescue. She is a two year old golden retriever mix... not quite sure with what, but someone suggested a spotted spaniel so I'm going to go with that, since I have no clue. She only weighs about 45 lbs and she is totally adorable. She is a great dog, loves to be around people and she doesn't chew on anything! Well, she is great until we leave the house. Once I find my camera I'll share what she was up to while I was at MOPS the other day. (That is another reason for the absence of posts... our camera got lost in a box for about three months after we moved!) I love that she is potty trained, especially since neither of the boys are.

Does anyone even check this anymore??

I will be impressed, if after all this time, someone is still checking to see if we are on planet earth! Things have been crazy since the move and we spent the summer traveling and entertaining. Then school started. Then we had another miscarriage. Now the holidays are here. And we just got a dog. Whew!! Life just seems to run away with us at times.

When I named my blog I was thinking of Ecc. 3, where King Solomon states that there is a time for everything in life and a season for every activity. I try to remind myself that I'm in the season of "little ones" and that there is so much to be cherished in the craziness of it all. Sometimes, I'm going to be honest, I feel like there is nothing cherishable and I just want my kids to be eighteen and walking out the door. Then the Lord gently reminds me that I am exactly where He has placed me, for this time in life.... for this season. He has given me exactly what I need to be the best wife to Jeremy, the best mother for my children, and the best sister in Christ that I can be. I'm still learning. It is a constant lesson that I need to keep learning. Praise God. All this to say... we are here! We are doing well. We've missed you and I hope you've missed us too!

Our Peanut

Bryce is very different from his brother Kyle and he has been right from the beginning. Bryce was born at 6lbs 5oz. and was 18.5" long. (Kyle was 8lbs 1oz. and 20.5") When he came home all that fit him was preemie clothes... and he was born 10 days after his due date! He hasn't really grown the way the doctors would like and we've had to take him in for all kinds of lab work and special appts. just to see how he was growing. It has all been very frustrating. He has developed well and been content, but when your one year old is still sporting six-month clothing you start to wonder/worry. He has never really been a good eater which doesn't help his situation. After our visit to the Feeding and Nutrition Clinic at Children's hospital last week, the doctor felt that though he is definitely short for his age, his weight matches up with his height and he seems to be developing right on track. Praise the Lord!!

Bryce is just shy of being 14 months old and now weighs a whopping 16.5lbs! He is also 27" tall. He has been trying out walking on and off for the last two months but prefers to scoot his way around, probably since it is much faster for him and he can either keep up with his big brother or get out of his way! He has a very limited vocabulary, which was a bummer for me since Kyle was such a good talker so early. I'm beginning to think that Bryce has quite a bit to say, he just never gets a chance to try to say any of it! Kyle is a CONSTANT talker. Poor Bryce can never get a word in edgewise! Here is a little video I shot last week of Bryce saying "Kyle." Notice the background noise!! He is such a blessing from the Lord.

Jer n' Jenn

Marriage is a great thing. It's awesome to know that you have someone who is committed to you and will be by your side to help you through whatever life brings. I am sooooo blessed to be married to Jeremy. Unfortunately, it is so easy to become caught up in raising kids, cleaning and cooking and all the busyness that is our lives and before we know it, our focus has shifted and our spouse is no longer at the top of the list. Seriously, I don't have to worry about dressing him each day, he can fend for himself if I don't feed him, and.... well, he is potty trained... let's just say he is pretty self sufficient! I find myself constantly fighting against the notion that he doesn't need me as much as my kids and striving to keep my relationship with Jeremy a top priority. (Neither of us really remembers what marriage was like without kids. Kyle was born just a month and a half after our first anniversary.) This past weekend was a great opportunity to spend time together and focus on each other. Belleview held their Jr./Sr. banquet on Friday night and we got to enjoy an evening out together... all dressed up. (Just for the record, I love to dress up!)

On Saturday night, we headed downtown for the Rockies game. It wasn't the best evening for a game, being only 45 degrees it sprinkled during the sixth inning, but we made the best of it and had a great evening. Here we are before the game started and the Dodgers scored four runs in the first inning!

Thanks for two fun evenings in one weekend, Jer! I can't wait until our next night out together!