some days all you need is a good pair of heels and a flyswatter.....

<----case in point. This child keeps me laughing!










<----helping to decorate the tree. She has since undecorated and decorated parts of it again. And again.








<---i force Riley to take pics like this with me. Why not Chase?








Nothing much to report here. We are in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Christmas! Work is crazy as ever as every single college student needs their wisdom teeth out over break. We are booking into the middle of January now, just for consults!

We have been working with Chase to get him to sleep through the night again. Poor little man! He is so used to getting up at 2:45, and we are trying to break him of the habit. We know he can sleep through the night. Its just getting him to remember it!

Derrick is crazy at work. I guess when you are right in the shopping meca of Champaign-Urbana, thats what happens! I thought about doing some last minute shopping tonight, but decided to come home and spend some time with the beans instead. I think that we have enough holiday gatherings in the next couple weeks that I just wanted to spend some time with them!

Alright... off to work on some cards....

new pics

we got new pics done today. This is just a little sample... I got the kids in santa hats and ordered a ton of wallets to put in our Christmas cards, so I wont post them here. the kids really did a good job, I was so proud of them! We shopped a little around the mall afterward and came out to a thick layer of ice all over everything. We headed to Target ran in and out and then headed home! Its not doing anything now, but we are under a freezing rain advisory until 6pm. I talked to Derrick earlier and told him to try to leave early if he could. Who knows if he will or not.

All my Christmas is almost all done! I love the feeling of being done this early! I have a couple gifts left to buy, but they are simple, little things that I can do here and there, so I dont have to rush out. I have one card box left to make and I have to complete a bunch of cards for the other two boxes. And still make my Christmas cards. I need to be cardmaking instead of internet surfing!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

<--- Chase playing with a baby....







<-- Derrick corrected the poor little guy with something more boy oriented.









<---little man and sweet potatoes. Life is good.






<---the prettiest pie ever.








<--two cutie cousins sharing a chair.





Not too much to report here. Life is the same old, same old. Sometimes thats a good thing. I have been feverishly working to finish Christmas gift, the majority of which are done. I have about 30 cards left to do, I have to make my Christmas cards, and finish some gift card holders. And the countdown officially begins. We have an appointment for the kids to have their pictures done on Saturday, so I am hoping that I get some good wallets to send out in the Christmas cards! I tink that I am going to have them both go in jeans, white tees and bare feet. And Santa hats for at least one pose! We are going to a new place, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that the pics are good!!

We spent Thanksgiving at Derricks mom and dads. Good food, for sure! It was cute to see the kids all playing together, and I couldnt help but wonder what we did on Thanksgiving before we all had kids! I do think that I remember sleeping in more!! :)

I have to go into work tomorrow. Its only half a day, so its no biggie. I will probably start the annual Christmas decorating! I will be alone all morning, and people will think that we are closed so hopefully it wont be too busy!

Chase is trying his hardest to roll over. Its just not working for him too well! He cant seem to get past that chubby arm! I bet that he does it this weekend though!

Alright. off to wrangle the two year old...

2.5

<----this is a horrible scan....not to sure what happened with the colors either.....they really all match, in real life








<---cute blues and greens.......even cuter baby









<--I am sure Derrick will appreciate this page. At some point.







<---chunky little man










<---carving pumpkins






I only have about 2.5 seconds, cause I can hear Riley starting to get up....

Everything is going well....Chase has a cold, I have a sore throat, and Derrick and Riley seem to be the only ones that feel fine! We started carving pumpkins this morning, and will finish today when Daddy gets done outside. Riley kept pulling one seed out at a time...makes for very slow pregress. Chase just watched, but Daddy did let him stick his hand in the pumpkin, just a little bit!

I've been trying to get something creative done everyday. Somehow I feel more peaceful when I am getting something crafty done. To bad that I dont feel the same about laundry or something....

Okay...off to wrangle the monster....

<---so big.. in his little track uniform!







<--cutie






<---sitting on a VERY big rock







<--cute cousins






<---Chase and Great Grandpa





Not much to say here....same old same old...and Derrick wants to look for tires online so I better get off of here.....

pics

<---we took this picture so grandma could take it to the hospital with her






<---Riley with the sheep. It bothers me how un-afraid she is of anything. I worry that her hand will be bitten off!






<---looking at the goats










<----this was the cutest baby goat!









<---the kids in their Halloween costumes. My sweet little ducks. I ordered orange and yellow tights for them to wear!




Okay... I really think thats it for the day.....

So....

I'm searching the internet for a bumper sticker Derrick's dad saw today. Know those little Calvin and Hobbs bumper stickers? This one is similiar, but the Chief is in plave of Calvin. And the object is the NCAA. Ha. I will find it. I am still searching.

Nothing much else to report here... I have some new pics which I will put in a following post. Once I start typing, if I decide to add pictures, I loose everything.

Derricks mom is doing okay after her surgery. We stayed at the hospital until about 9 on Tuesday, but they still hadnt moved her to a room and we had a VERY tired two year old that we decided we needed to take home. She is home now, but still having a lot of pain. We went to go have breakfast with her this morning for her birthday, and I think that the kids and I will head over there in a little bit for cake.

Chase is growing like a weed. I can not believe how much they change at this age. He smiles all the time. I swear there is nothing better in the world than that sweet gummy smile!

Mom and Dad came down yesterday and we went to the second annual Wolly Worm festival in Camargo. It was pretty cute, but it was so hot! I think that we were all sweating by the time we walked to the park!!

Okay... of to upload some pics...

PIcs from the patch...

<--okay. So this one isnt from the patch, but isnt he cute?






<----almost three feet tall!!






<---in the wagon on our way out to pick pumpkins





<---Chase just kinda hung out in the stroller. Maybe next year....






<----helping daddy carry her pumpkin. I think that they picked the biggest one they could find!





We went up to Curtis Orchard today to pick out pumpkins, and just spend some time together. It was so hot! We walked all the way out to the patch, but it was so hot, and there was no room to push the stroller, so we came back up and got our pumpkins out of the already picked batch. Riley helped to pick one out for Chase, so they each have their own pumpkins. Dadd and her picked out a really big one, and Riley helped to carry it to the wagon! It was really cute...

Well, off to finish a scrapbook page while everyone is sleeping....

And now..... the update

So. Obviously we had Riley's b-day party already. I can not believe that she is two. It's just bittersweet. It seems like you are so excited for them to crawl, then walk, and talk, and in the blink of an eye you have a walking, talking, tantrum throwing two year old. It just amazes me! She got so much great stuff for her birthday! She was terrified of her tickle me elmo, which really shocked me. In fact tickle me elmo now has a new home on top of the entertainment center, where he can not traumatize her anymore.

Chase is doing well. He is sleeping through the night now, which is exciting, but a little sad. I dont have to get up with a newborn anymore! It's sad knowing that he is our last, cause everything he does signifies the "end" of something. Like I am never getting up in the middle of the night again with a newborn. Does that make sense?

Both kids are doing really well getting adjusted to daycare. Riley was a little upset the first day but she did fine. I think that she cries a bit every morning when Derrick drops her off, but I think thats just her typical response right now. She loves to be around other kids, so I think that she has a lot of fun there.

Work is going well. I am having a hard time getting up in the morning, but after nine weeks of sleeping in, I think thats probably a little normal! It will be nice when I get myself retrained to just get up at the time I am used too! We got up this morning around 6, so I really didnt sleep in too bad. I think that the more you stay close to your normal schedule on your days off, the better off you are. It is so nice to be back among all the people that I work with! I really do work with a great group of people, which makes it easy to go back. I really am just not cut out to stay at home!

Tonight we are headed to Tony and Cindy's for Katelyn's birthday party! I think that it will be so stinking cute, and I can not believe that she is one already!

Thursday marked a year since the miscarriage. I wondered how I would deal with the day. I think that it was a little easier since I already have another baby. I know that everything happens for a reason, and that Chase is the baby that we were supposed to have, but I cant help but mourn for the little one that we didnt have the chance to meet. It feels kinda double sided because I am so thankful for Chase and know that if we had had the other baby we wouldnt have met Chase. But yet I am sad that we didnt meet the other baby at all. I hope that makes sense, and I am not coming off as harsh or totally irrational. It does make perfect sense in my head, its just a little harder to type it all out.

I am in the middle of a new book. Nineteen Minutes, by Jodi Picoult. If you have not read this you need to. When I have the chance to read, its so hard to piut it down. It feels a little similar to her book "The Pact" but a different subject matter. I think it only feels similar because they both involve teens, tragedy and their parents. And Jordan McAfee. Is it weird that I am so excited everytime that I read him enter as a character in her books? He makes me want to go to law school. Seriously.

Okay. It about 7am, and I know that I can get some scrapping done before the bigger bean awakens....

More Two!!

Two!! Two!! Two!!

Cute pics..

We went to a wedding today at Rockome Gardens in Arcola. It was pretty fun to see Riley running around being cute as can be, but we were all so tired by the end of the night! Riley didnt get to nap at all, And was so tired when we got home around ten....

Tomorrow is my last day off work! I am gearing myself up to wake up on MOnday. I am getting excited to go back, but I am going to miss these kids like crazy...

Alright, its late, I'm tired. I still have some more pics to upload, and will hopefully do that tomorrow...

Cutest Kids... Ever

I am so happy I got these pics of Chase smiling!

















And of course Riley, in all her glory, doing what she does best.....






We had a laid back day today. Sent out birthday invites, washed laundry, scrapbooked, and that was about the extent of it. It was nice to be calm though! I am looking foward to going back to work still, but as the time gets closer, I get more and more worried how I will cram my day into a four hour time span between getting home and going to bed! At least Riley still goes down pretty early, so that is helpful. And one of my friends pointed out that we wont be here through the day anymore, which will cut down on the mess.

Scott and Julie's wedding is this weekend, and the kids will be decked out in camoflauge! I think that it will be really cute to see the girls together in their matching dresses, and little Chase in camo overalls! What cute kids we all have!

Ordered a new book from Amazon today... Jodi Picoult (again). The book is called 19 minutes. I really recommend her books to read if you have not yet. This is coming from someone who doesnt stray from what she likes and knows. I have read Harvesting the Heart, Salem Falls, and Plain Truth. Loved them all. I just started picture perfect, and will get it done by the time the next book arrives! I even paid extra for shipping so that it will be here Friday! This book is about a school shooting in a small town. There was an exerpt in the end of one of the last books I read, that left me dying to read this one (the nineteen minutes one).

Well I think that I should get some scrapping done while its quiet. Derrick just called and is running errands in town before he comes home, so I have about another 45 minutes to myself... Riley is already in bed, and Chase is sleeping in his swing....

pics

Four wheeling mama.....








Just cause she is so dang cute....





Riley and Daddy....







Riley wearing eyeliner. Everywhere.








My sweet little man....





Okay off to bed now...