Happy 13th Birthday, Casey!

On Saturday night, my cousin Casey had her 13th birthday party. She got to choose what she wanted, and she picked a 50s-themed sock hop! They invited 40 kids and had the party at the elementary school gym. Brian and I were able to stop by on our way home from Christmas shopping. We arrived just in time for the 8 p.m. limbo. Most of the kids were dressed up for the sock hop (poodle skirts, white t's and jeans for boys, etc.). Menu items included burgers and fries, and the cakes looked just like vinyl records! It looked like a lot of fun and we are so happy to be part of this amazing young lady's life. She is a great person. Happy 13th Birthday, Casey!!

Visit To Santa

On Saturday morning, we took the boys to eat breakfast with Santa. Sam was so excited to see Santa, but when we got to the room, he chickened out. Santa finally came up to our table to tickle Sam and ask what he wanted for Christmas. Sam changed his "blue car" request at the last minute to "doughnuts!" (Don't know where that came from, as our breakfast with Santa consisted of eggs, sausage and cinnamon rolls ... which Sam called Tootsie Rolls ... too funny!)

Afterwards, Sam and I went to Santa's Workshop to make some crafts and color. Fun day!

Lincoln, Nebraska-Iowa

I'm finally posting from the past few weeks ... On Dec. 6-7, we rented a van and drove the four of us plus my grandparents to Lincoln, Neb. (Sam calls it Lincoln, Nebraska-Iowa.) My aunt coaches basketball so we usually make more trips there during the season to watch her team play. She and her hubby have a four-year-old son and the boys have a blast playing together. We drove straight to the arena for the Noon tipoff, and when we got there we discovered the boys were dressed exactly the same! (We received the outfit last year from Aunt Connie and it's about the only red one he has without ISU on it!) They had so much fun playing together in their matching outfits! We had a great time visiting with Grandma and Grandpa in the van and Sam had waaay too many snacks! That's what grandparents are for! Thanks for a fun weekend, everyone! Here are some pics and videos from the weekend ...

So Proud

This morning, Brian and I took the boys to a new daycare. Our previous one is closing and it's the only place our boys have ever known. Sam has grown up there, and has made some very good buddies. He absolutely loved playing with them, as well as our provider's older boys who are 11 and 13. He looked up to them and idolized them. So it made this morning extremely difficult for us, especially me. I was dreading taking them someplace new and unfamiliar. It literally hurt my heart.

Last night, we invited our new care provider, her hubby and two boys (2 yrs. and 3 mos.) over for pizza. We wanted them to play together at least once before just leaving him there with unfamiliar people. They had a great time playing cars and trucks and just running around. That was a good sign and eased my anxiety a bit.

Then, this morning, our precious two-and-a-half-year-old did something that brought tears to my eyes. He was ready to go to "Carson and Carter's house". We piled into Brian's car and Sam said that HE wanted to knock on the door. That little dude knocked on the door, went on in and started playing with Carson. He thought Mommy and Daddy would be staying, but when we said we had to go to work, he came over, gave us each a hug and kiss and even made a joke, saying "Bye bye, Pumpkin!"

That little guy made me SO PROUD to be his mom. Even though I can't stop thinking about him and Jake today, I know we are doing the right thing and raising a confident and happy little boy. And that makes me so proud.

Slacker

I haven't posted in awhile so am taking the lazy way out and putting pics in a slideshow. (Weird how having two kids, a full-time job and getting ready for Christmas makes life a bit hectic!) I'll try to post more when I have a little more time. For now, enjoy the pics and we hope you are doing well!