My Next Thirty Years

I had a fun filled birthday weekend beginning on Friday afternoon when I got the biggest surprise from my longest friend, Paula.  She flew from NYC just for my birthday, how special is that?  You seriously could not make a better person than her, so selfless.  Josh had planned lunch with me at my favorite restaurant in DSM, Splash, and after Josh arrived in pops Paula!  I could not believe it!  It was so nice to have her here at my home, so she could spend a few days in my world.  After lunch we stopped by the PD so Josh could give us {her} a tour and then we stopped by my office before being off until Tuesday afternoon after Paula's departure (tear).

That night I had planned on going out to dinner with a few of my very best friends, so it worked out perfectly for Paula to be there.  We ate at Trostel's Dish and it was delish!  We followed up by going out to a couple country bars to end the night!

The following night was another surprise.  Josh really did an amazing job for my birthday {love him}.  I knew I was going to go out to eat with my family, but he had a few of my friends there as well!  We had an amazing dinner at AJ's Steakhouse and followed up the night with some gambling.  It was so fun because my grandmother, mother and I were all sitting at the same blackjack table so everyone at Prairie Meadows thought that was pretty darn cool (as did I).  My mom, Kendra and Corey stayed out until 3am!  But not to worry, I ended up winning.  Josh and Nick had a blast playing Craps and we also played a few slots.  A fun night for everyone.

The next day Paula, my mom and I headed to the Junk Jubilee.  There were so many cool vendors there!  I got a vintage Coach purse, gifts for my brother and grandma; Paula got a fur and my mom got a few things as well. 

That night Paula and I made fish tacos for everyone and they were amazing!  Bo and Vallery by this point are convinced that Paula is here to stay and Vallery has officially named Paula "Lala". 

 

 

We finished up the trip with a target run, lunch at Barrata's, dinner at Django, and a shopping trip to Raygun.  I thoroughly enjoyed her company and was so excited that she was able to take a walk in my life for a bit.  We will miss you Lala!  See you at Christmas!

I was a little nervous about turning the big 3-0, but I am ready to take on my next thirty years full speed ahead.  My twenties gave me Josh, my two children, and more enlightenment than I ever thought possible.  I now know that I am never going to please everyone or be friends with everyone and that is OK.  I have come to peace with some issues that I have had over the years and become a happier more positive person in general.  I have learned to surround myself with people who are positive and believe in me.  It is a fantastic feeling!  Cheers to my next thirty years!

Vallery update {15 1/2 months}

Our little Vallery is growing up so fast.  And I have been slacking on giving updates on her.  She has been walking for a few months now and can officially run, its a little stiff legged, but she can do it.  She is also a little bo-legged, which I find cute as can be.  She still has thighs for days!!  We call her out little chunker.  We have been waiting for her to thin out, but it doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon.  I was little late getting her 15 month shots, so her stats are as follows -

Height - 31.5 inches - 73%
Weight - 25.1 lbs - 89%
Head - 18.5 inches - 80%

She knows how to say so many words and will attempt to repeat anything you say.  Her favorite words are Mama, Dad, Bobo, Boston, Thank You, Bye Bye, Hi, and Night Night.  She says thank you after everything and it is soo cute.  She drags the "Youuuuuuuu" on and I want to laugh everytime.  Everytime you give her a drink of water or anything she asks for she will tell you thank you.  She can drink water from a cup, she knows her belly, nose, mouth, teeth, eyes, ears, hand, and fingers.  She still eats like a champ (clearly since she is almost in the 90th percentile).  She is a mommy and daddy's girl.  She loves any kind of attention and copies everything her brother does.  She has, of course, taken an interest in the ninja turtles and dusty from planes.  Vallery loves her blankets and binky.  She has to know where they are both at all times.

I do have mention her feet.  I never had a problem with Bo, but hers are so pudgy we have to be careful what shoes we buy for her.  She loves her Moccs and those always fit nicely, but needed a pair of everyday wear and tear shoes, so I found some purple Nikes that were wide and tall enough to fit her tiny {big} foot in.  I also got her some ugg-looking boots from Target and had to go up a size because I couldn't get them zipped up from her ankles!! 

She is a such a sweetheart and loves to cuddle and give hugs and kisses.  When she wants a kiss she puckers up and makes a noise to come give her one.  It is so sweet.  She definitely has Daddy wrapped around her finger because he thinks she can do no wrong. 

Love my family to pieces!!

Halloween 2014

Halloween was so much fun this year.  We had Bo and Vallery's costume picked out last year already so I was pretty excited to see them come to life.  Like last year we only bought one part of our costume and then just used whatever else we had.  Bo went as a devil and Vallery went as an angel and they couldn't have been any cuter.  I went as a cat last minute ($5 ears and tail from Target) and painted my face, so when I went to go paint Bo's face he kept telling me that he didn't want to be a kitty {too funny}.  We eventually got his eyebrows, mustache, and goatee on and he was ready to go.  I had planned on doing a little painting on Vallery's face, but decided it would probably be all over in 5 minutes, so we decided to leave that out.  I had looked f-o-r-e-v-e-r for Bo a devil cape that had horns on it and finally found one last minute.  Josh had gone has a devil when he was Bo's age, so as he requested we did the same for Bo.  We ordered Vallery's wings and halo from esty for 12 bucks and everything else she already had.

We met up with some friends to go trick or treating and all the kids had a blast.  The weather was pretty decent until the sun went down and got a little bit chilly.  All in all it was a fantastic Halloween and the kids enjoyed it.  Until next year......

 

 

Our Big Boy. {Bo}

Each and every day I am more proud of the big boy Bo is becoming.  He is such a caring, well-mannered little boy.  Trust me, he has his moments, but overall he is just a good kid.  A couple weeks ago Bo was officially potty trained.  I almost could've cried the first time I watched him run into the bathroom, pull his own pants down, and go.  That might be a little TMI, but I can't help it, I am so darn proud of him.  He hasn't had any accidents at school and is very excited to wear big boy underwear all the time.  We are still putting him in a diaper during nap and bedtime, but he has woke up dry nearly everytime.  Soon we will be forgoing the diapers for good for him. 

I need to give a GIANT shoutout to my rock star husband who volunteered to potty train Bo. He had some time he needed to burn at work, so he decided what week he was going to stay home with him and they had "potty training boot camp".  The first couple days I know were a little rough on both of them, but by day 3 Josh had him almost completely trained.  I am so proud and thankful for him being so involved with our kiddos. Bo has an awesome role model to look up to.

Back to Bo...He is always asking if we are ok and if we feel good, he has such a soft heart!  He does a very good job of apologizing when he has been naughty (most of the time it is for picking on his sister...). In a few short weeks he will be 3 years old and I continue to tell him that he is the best birthday present I have ever received since we are only 5 days apart. 

He is obsessed with the Ninja Turtles.  He loves watching the cartoon and playing with his Ninja Turtle toys.  He has very slowly gotten a 4 action figures along with Master Splinter (He acquired that one last as a treat from Dad after potty training).  He likes to act like a ninja a lot of times, which is pretty humorous.  He is dreamer and pretender, which I love.   

Bo loves to put together block puzzles.  My parents got him one with farm animals on it when he just a baby and he puts it together constantly now.  He knows all his colors, shapes, and abcs.  I know they practice writing their name all the time at school.  He also enjoys watching me draw pictures for him on demand.  His typical requests are Turtles, Woody, Buzz Lighyear, Sully, Boston, Sensei (Master Splinter), and a snowman.  He is such a hoot and says the funniest things! 

That little boy will forever have my heart and I am so lucky to be his Mama.

Center Grove Orchard

Last year we did not make it out to any pumpkin patches, so we wanted to make sure we went this year.  And I had heard so many good things about Center Grove Orchard, so we thought we would try it out. There was so much to do!  They had all different kinds of animals, little barns that the kids could play in, a corn pit, apply slinger, bouncy mats, hayride, giant slide and lots of places to eat/snack.  Bo had a blast going down the slide and slinging apples with Dad.  And Vallery enjoyed the slide once we got to the bottom:).  After a couples hours of playing we ate and headed home for the night.