7 years and going strong

Today is our 7 year wedding anniversary! I can't believe that it's been that long already! I guess if you throw 3 kids into the mix, time can go a lot faster! I have loved every minute with my wonderful hubby, and wouldn't change anything. We got to celebrate our anniversary on Saturday night, since that's when we got my mom and dad to babysit. We went to a new restaurant called Fogo De Chao in Indy. It is a Brazilian Steakhouse where they bring you as much meat as you can eat! It was soooo good! I loved it and think I ate more than Ricky did! I would defiately recommend the restaurant to everyone, although it is a little pricey. Very good place for a special occasion. Thanks for dinner, babe! I had a wonderful time!

December is always a busy month! Getting everything ready for Christmas, potty training a little girl, getting over sicknesses, snow, and so much more! Where to begin... Dylan's preschool did a little Christmas program. It was really cute and he even sang the songs this time. He has a fear of singing (even with a group) in front of people. What a great way to get into the Christmas spirit! Lauren is going potty all the time at home, and most of the time when we are out. She should hopefully be trained by the next week. I am working really hard on keeping her dry. It can be exhausting! Ethan is all over the place! He is pulling himself up onto things, like the stairs, couch, fireplace. It won't be long before he is walking! Ricky's leg it totally healed! Yeah! I can actually have him do things now! :) He just has to work on getting the muscles trained again. He is a great husband and helps out a TON around the house and with the kids! I couldn't ask for a better husband/father for my children. I have been busy baking cookies, I did another cookie exchange this year. I think I am going to make it a tradition. I love getting together with friends, and making cookies, so it is a win/win situation! I don't have much time for getting on the computer anymore, so I'll have to post pictures when I get some time (probably January).

Happy Birthday to me!

I can't believe that I'm 28 years old! It seems like just yesterday I was turning 21 and getting married. Now I have 3 children and a busy life! Dylan had school in the morning, and then we met Jaime and her boys for lunch at Chick-fil-A. It was nice to spend time with her since they are moving to South Carolina in a few months. I sure am going to miss them! After lunch, we came home to 2 bouquets of flowers! One from my parents and one from my friend, Wendy. They are beautiful and I always love flowers! About an hour later, there was another bouquet of flowers delivered from Ricky. I guess that works out because 3 is my favorite number! Ricky brought home some yummy doughnuts and gave my my gift of a North Face jacket. I have always wanted one, so my sweet hubby got me one! Yeah! I love it and it definitely keeps me warm! We all went to Scotty's Brewhouse for dinner. (I got a coupon for a free dinner and dessert!) I now know why we don't go out to eat as a family very often. It was a little crazy, but it wouldn't be life if it wasn't crazy! The food was very yummy! Thanks for a wonderful day!
Yesterday, Dylan made me some cupcakes, since we didn't have any on my birthday! I enjoy celebrating and sharing time with my children. Dylan is growing up so fast! He doesn't usually remember what he learns at school unless I ask him specifics. He enjoys it, but won't tell me what he's learned. I've heard that it's a boy thing. He asked me in the car the other day when we are going to move. I have no clue where that came from, but he said that he wants a different colored house. To be a kid again!
Lauren is almost potty trained! Yeah! She wears her princess underwear when we are at home, and then princess pull-ups when we are out. She only had 2 accidents yesterday and one this morning, so we are doing pretty good! She just had her yearly exam for first steps. She is excellent in everything except gross motor skills. She is still having some difficulties with confidence and can't walk up the stairs. The therapist said that she can't stand on one leg and that some of her muscles still aren't strong. We will continue working with her therapist once a month to hopefully get her muscles strong. Lauren is a talker! When we take Dylan to school, she is constantly talking. She loves to play with Dylan, but is getting unsure of Ethan getting in her space. She is still trying to 'mommy' him by shoving his pacifier in his mouth or rolling him over. I guess that's the girl in her.
Ethan is all over the place! I set him down to go do something in the kitchen, and within a minute he is right there! He doesn't like to be left alone (maybe why he started crawling faster)! He loves to watch Dylan and Lauren playing. He even joins in sometimes. He takes 2 naps a day, which I love! Except for the first one is usually right when I need to leave to get Dylan from school. We are working things out! He also decided that he NEEDS to wake up to eat 2 times! I can't handle it for much longer. Ricky is hoping to help ween him from this bad habit when he can walk. He has a little cold, so I think I'll wait til he feels better.

Ricky is doing well. His leg is healing good and the doctor said that he can start putting a little weight on it. He usually doesn't use his crutches around the house. I'm sure that it feels good to get around without them!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. On Thursday, we celebrated with Ricky's parents and brother, Kris, and family. Dylan and Alex played all day long! They had so much fun together. We spent the day relaxing and enjoying some great food. On our way home, my friend called and asked me if I wanted to go shopping with them. I said sure, so we went out at 10pm to start our adventure. We went to Toy's R Us, but they were way too busy, so we went to Old Navy instead. We got some great deals there and enjoyed some girl time. On our way to Walmart, Ricky called to tell me that Ethan wouldn't stop crying, so I had to go home and feed him. I got him back to sleep and then went to Walmart to get the great deals. I had so much fun! I know, I know. I am one of those crazy black Friday shoppers!

Ricky had to work on Friday, so I hung out with the kids all day. It was nice to just stay home after not getting home until 3am! On Saturday, we headed over to Bloomington, Illinois to my aunt's house. We spent the weekend there with all my family and cousins. We had 29 people there! It was so much fun! There were also 13 kids with the oldest being 8! Talk about a full house! My grandma and grandpa also came, so it was so nice to see everyone!

I am thankful that I have a great family and that I can visit them often. I am also thankful that everyone gets along great! I love this time of year because I get to spend more time with the ones I love!

November fun

Where has this month gone? I thought things would settle down a bit, but they seem to be getting more chaotic. I don't even know where to begin. We got our family pictures taken by a good friend of mine, Jessica Bateman. She did a wonderful job and I can't wait to get the pictures printed! We had a wonderful time and the weather was gorgeous! Thanks to Ricky for being a great sport and hobbling around the battleground with his crutches. I Love my family!

You can check the rest of them out at:

www.jessicabatemanphotography.com

What else... Ethan started crawling last week. He is all over the place! He stays close to the ground, but it won't be long before he gets up on his hands and knees. He is getting so big! I can't believe that he is 8 months old already! Time sure does fly by! He has 8 teeth now and still loves his food! Lauren isn't too fond of him getting around because he gets into her things. I hope they work things out!

Dylan is doing great at school. He learns so much and has a blast. Last week, they had their Thanksgiving program. It was so cute! Dylan just stood there while everyone else sang the songs. He knows all of them, he sings them around the house, but wouldn't sing them at the program. Silly boy!

Last night, we went to see Harry Potter. The movie was great, but we sure had an adventure after. I started the car and somehow the car decided to lock itself. It made a very long night! Thank goodness we were with friends who helped us get our spare keys from home. It was great to go see a movie, it had been forever since we had been to the theater.

Happy Halloween

Only a couple of weeks late, but here it is! We went to the church trunk or treat on Saturday night. There was a great turnout and the kids had a blast! It was nice that Ricky could participate and help hand out candy! My parents helped me and the kids walk around. I forgot my camera, so we didn't get any pictures. Bummer. On Sunday, we went to a few houses around the neighborhood with our friends and my mom. Thanks to my parents for coming up here and helping out with the kids. It would have been really difficult to have all 3 kids by myself! My dad also fixed the hole in the wall while he was here! Yeah!Ethan was my little monkey!Dylan was GI Joe. (Gotta love the clearance section at Walmart after Halloween last year!) Lauren was a beautiful Barbie princess. (we had all of the making at home! Yeah!)Dylan loves his sister!
Here are our friends' kids. Dylan and his friend, Chloe.This is a tradition that I started with Dylan when he was a baby. On November 1, I get a picture of all the kids and their candy.
They got a lot this year! One of the perks of having lots of kids, I guess!
Dylan also got to dress up for his school Halloween party. He dressed up as Spiderman. Funny thing, when we got to school, the girl Dylan in his class was dressed up as Spidergirl. How fun!
Happy Halloween everyone!