Aubrey's Dedication

Aubrey was dedicated at our church yesterday and it was a special moment for our family!! However, immediately after our church service, we had an ice storm! As we were walking out of the church, the parking lot was pure ice!! Crazy to say the least but we didn't let it put a damper on our special day....we just had to shorten the celebration a bit :)

 

Sweet Aubrey Beth

 

 

Both sets of grandparents were able to make it!

 

Sorry, my mind is blank today so I don't have much else to say about the day....it was special, fun, and very memorable :) Hope you all have a great week!

Her Corner

I am finally getting around to posting a picture of Aubrey's "corner" of the house :) You get the idea even though the picture doesn't do it justice :)

 

One hint that I read about having two children share a room (especially, I might add, a boy and a girl sharing a room) is to draw an imaginary line down the center of the room. Half the room is literally Aubrey's and the other half is Tristen's. It has worked SOOO well (even our changing table is "cut in half" in my mind and one side is Aubrey's and the other Tristen's)!! An overlapping color is brown but it's crazy how it totally feels like two separate rooms to me because of the contrasting colors (yellow and pink for Aubrey and blue and green for Tristen)

 

Speaking of Aubrey, she is getting dedicated at our church on Sunday. :) Pictures to come for sure :) Happy weekend all!

Grandma's Birthday

My sweet grandma turned 85 last weekend!! My family (aunts, uncles, cousins, and all their  kids!) celebrated her birthday and it was SOOO much fun! I grew up living close to this side of the family but we don't get to see each other nearly as often anymore.....so to have the chance to catch up on a beautiful January day was just perfect :)

 

The birthday girl! :)

 

Grandma with one of her many great-grandchildren. I think I could have taken home any child from the party and not realized until I got home that it wasn't my own child! They all look SO similar! But, this IS Tristen :)

The newest baby, Coby! :)

All the older cousins LOVED the babies....and I didn't mind one bit having a break while they played away with my kids! :)

 

There are MANY more pics of the day but I relied on others to take them :) But, maybe these give you a taste of a great day with family, celebrating my grandma's birthday :)

 

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I've been taking my New Year's Resolutions seriously this year and have already been excited to be committed to some goals. Simplifying is KEY I've found! And, upping my energy level has been the thing that has made the most difference. I've committed to exercising every day and as I exclaimed to my husband yesterday, "I have SOOO much energy since I started really exercising!". My goal is to be in as good of shape (if not better) than I was when I played basketball in high school. And, to get good at kickboxing.....boxing is such a great exercise and I've always been intrigued by it...plus it's a crazy good workout :)

 

Hope you all have a great Thursday! And, if you're feeling tired and unmotivated, do some jumping jacks....I guarantee you'll have energy then!!

Spare Time!?! What Spare Time!?!

Tonight I was asked (in front of a group of high schoolers) what I do in my spare time. Not wanting to take a long time to answer, my mind quickly whizzed through everything I do in a day: Play with trains, feed a baby, make baby food, take pictures of my children, take my dog outside, bring my dog inside, attempt to get ready in 30 minutes flat, and occasionally sneak in a TV episode on Netflix with the hubby.

So, what was my answer?!

Well, I tried to remember the things I USED to do that were cool. So, without thinking I said,
"Play guitar?!" I followed it up with "Play piano..and sing?!"

HA! I mean, don't get me wrong....I have a guitar. I used to "play" the guitar (meaning, I know like 6-7 chords and was an aspiring beginner guitar player a few years back) but I haven't picked up my guitar since this summer when I used it to show Tristen how to strum it. I have a piano...and plunk out songs that are soon interrupted by bangs by both Tristen and Aubrey. And, I sing....in my car.

And it was in that moment that I realized HOW much has changed since the last time I worked with a youth group. I became a mother and in essence, I grew up. Times have changed but this one thing hasn't:

I still love working with youth.

 

Funny because I was JUST praying for an opportunity to minister in our church. Feeling a tad bit burned out in the whole children department, I didn't really feel like volunteering in the nursery was the right fit. Every week I would watch my husband head off to youth group and be just a tad bit sad that I couldn't be joining him. And then, out of the blue, they needed a female youth leader. When I was asked to consider it, I didn't have to think long because I knew what the answer was. Wednesdays will be just a tad bit busier from now on but I can't wait to see what this semester will bring. *sigh* And on that note, I'm totally going to bed....because, frankly, THAT'S what I do in my spare time :)

Just in Case You're Having a Bad Day....

Maybe this face will cheer you up!!

Hee, hee :) She most certainly cheers ME up everyday!

 

In case you want a little glimpse into the happenings in our house this week:

1) Aaron's back to school! Yay! We're all excited to get back into a schedule!

 

2) I'm OBSESSED with making baby food. Umm, for real! Love it!! I didn't make Tristen's baby food because I just didn't feel capable but I received a Baby Bullet this time around and I was nervous/excited to do it. Now I'm hooked and I could never go back! I can't believe how much money I'm saving!

 

3) Tristen's totally into trains (as you could tell from my last post!). And trucks, and cars, and balls...he's ALL boy :)

 

4) Aubrey could sit and stick toys in her mouth all day long! She has no interest in trying to army crawl or move around. She is content to sit (or stand while being held!) and always has to be around people :) She's a little extrovert :)

 

Happy Thursday!

Through the Eyes of My Son

If you looked through the eyes of my son today, this is what you would see.

 

 

 

 

SO fun, isn't it!?! :)

 

If I could predict what Tristen will be someday, based on his toy choices, I would predict some type of engineer. Time will tell :)

 

Sometimes we need to stop and see the world through our kids' eyes. Simple and fun....LOVE :)

It Took Long Enough

But, finally, FINALLY, my children are sharing a room!! Aubrey hasn't had a room for the last 6 months of her life. She has been shifted from room to room but we were determined to try to make sharing a room work since we have no other option!

It's been a week and it's finally working! Wahoo!!

Tristen's been in his toddler bed for a while, just waiting for his little sister to take over the crib. We envisioned that transition being the hard part but quite the opposite happened. He loved his toddler bed from the second we introduced him to it in September and we were excited to put Aubrey in the crib starting in October when she started sleeping through the night for good. Or so we thought. All of a sudden, Aubrey decided to not sleep through the night. We were at a loss because nothing worked to keep her sleeping at night. A combination of her not being on a set schedule and being a very light sleeper created quite the interesting few months for us but our determination to figure out a good schedule for her paid off (and, the start of solids helped too I believe!). I LOVE not waking up every 4 hours anymore!!

She sleeps through the night....like, 12 hours....FINALLY!!

We're all getting sleep and she finally has a corner of the house all to herself. :)

Their room is anything but the "cute Swiss Family Robinson" theme room that I envisioned but now that she is actually SLEEPING in there, I have just a tad bit of motivation to make it cute. :) I'll MAYBE post pictures but don't get your hopes up too much :) It's nothing to write home about!!

All that to say, we are finally enjoying a Friday night without having to move the pack-n-play from one room to the other. It feels good....like I have freedom again :) HA, it's the little things that help you feel free again when you're a mom :)

New Stats

Yesterday was a big day! We had not one but TWO doctor appointments yesterday. Since Tristen needed his 2 year appointment and Aubrey needed her 6 month appointment done in the same week, I decided to just group them together. I would totally do it again.....WITH Aaron along again since he was a huge help!

 

I was extremely curious to find out the weights and heights for them. Tristen eats and eats and is still in 18 month pants (hate to admit it, but even some 12 month things still fit him) so I was WAY curious to know his weight.

26.5 pounds

35 inches

No wonder! The kid is tall and lean.....so we'll continue on with the 18 month pants and the 2T shirts :) And keep feeding and feeding him!!

 

Aubrey totally had me stumped. She was 15 pounds at her last appointment and since she was a whoppin' 9 pounds when she was born, I figured she'd be around the 18-19 pound mark.

16.6 pounds

26 inches

NO! (it's the 16 pound jinx again!)

Does 16 pounds look familiar to you!?! Well, if not, I'll remind you....that's how much Tristen weighed at his 6 month mark and could not gain weight in the next 3 months of his life. I was shocked to say the least.....totally thought she would be more than that and I instantly thought of the struggle to get Tristen past 16 pounds. Let's just HOPE that Aubrey doesn't have that problem and she gains a few pounds next time around!

So, there you have it....their new stats in case you wanted to know (aka, for my family members out there!)

 

Today is a dreary day and I'm bummed since I was going to try to take some 2 year and 6 month pics today. The lighting is just not what I want and they are both still recovering from colds anyway. So, instead I'm finally taking down my Christmas tree :) Happy Thursday all!

My Companion

Sadie is my companion for the night. Today was a typical day in that it was busy from the moment I got up to the moment my children went to bed. Some tears, some tantrums, some giggles, some priceless moments. After I lay Aubrey in her crib and turn off the last light, I always need to relax. But, as I proceeded to unwind and kick up my feet, Sadie looked up at me with her wide eyes. I knew what it meant.

She needed attention.

When Aaron is away, I usually respond with a "For real!? Sadie, I literally JUST sat down!" (and, as I write this, she suddenly has to go outside RIGHT now which I am also responding with a "For real!?!")

But tonight was different. She needs me and I need her right now. She brings a sense of relaxation and comfort. Just her presence has a "you don't have to have it all together, I still love you" aura to it and I found myself thinking, "Why am I not more like this?" Dogs are so forgiving. I can learn something from Sadie.

I'm ready for a new day. Ready to be patient with my children, to go with the flow and just be in their presence, and to give them the attention that they so need. Just like with Sadie, when I stop and just enjoy her, I learn a great deal from her. Praying for another joy-filled, yet crazy day learning from my kids :) 

Snow Fun

We have snow in Minnesota this year.....all is right in the world :) Last year was a major disappointment (although, I must add that my husband didn't mind since he didn't have to scoop any snow!) but this year is just perfect. Not too much but just the right amount to still have some snow fun.

Sledding, cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, tubing, making snowmen, snowball fights, snowmobiling.....give it ALL to me. :) However, all we've done is tromped around in it and pulled our kids on a sled but it's still fun!

Tristen always has to make sure that Aubrey has a turn with things. I love seeing the brother/sister relationship between them!

Aubrey LOVED sitting in the sled...and thankfully didn't mind how slow the sled was going :)

 

Tristen wanting to help pull Aubrey

 

Yay for sledding and snow fun!!

 

 

2013

It's 2013!!!! I haven't been so excited for a year since 2006 (went to Europe, got married, graduated from college!) and I was giddy with excitement when the clock struck midnight two nights ago!

This is going to be a huge year for our family and I'm SO ready for it. We have 2 weeks left of winter break and then Aaron will go straight until July 26th. One of the things he's most excited about is not getting treated like a 20 year old anymore :)

We'll possibly move this year which excites and frightens me all at once. It's always such an interesting process to buy/sell a house but we've stretched our house to the limit with 5 of us in here (plus 6 fish) :) so we're going to need something bigger sooner than later. We'll move wherever the best job opportunity is and our goal is to own some land so that will be a huge factor in where we end up as well.

I haven't thought much about New Year's Resolutions this year but I know I have some in the back of my head that need to get written out to try to make them happen. One is getting back to pre-pre pregnancy weight (meaning, before Tristen since I've lost all the weight from Aubrey....Wahoo!). I really want to get back into running/playing a sport/exercising in some way. We'll see what that looks like with 2 kids and a busy husband but it's a goal of mine :)

Another is to be more of a Mary than a Martha....meaning, spend less time in my house trying to keep it clean and more time investing in people and just BEING with them.  Knowing we might move from this community makes this hard because it will be harder to leave but our pastor encouraged us a few weeks back to never stop investing....no matter how little time you're at a place. It was the motivation I needed :)

Last one is slightly an oxymoron. I want to have fewer goals :) Last year I wrote out a gigantic list of every project imaginable that I wanted to get done throughout the year. In October I started feeling like a failure because I hadn't gotten to most of them. My kids will care less if they have a scrapbook chronicling every detail of their first year, they will care less if they have perfectly handcrafted toys......I need time to myself when my kids are sleeping at night and I've been realizing that. I just can't be a good mom without a little alone/refreshing time. Projects can wait. I need to slim my goals down to 3-4 and have projects for times when I am bored and don't know what to do with myself. Pinterest needs to be on the backburner in the next year :)

Well, that was easy.....I guess I wrote out my "resolutions"....Oh, wait, two more. I still want to look for beauty in the world and use my camera as a way to capture it. It helps me see the beauty in the world and not all the corruption/junk. Also, I want to become a better cook. Ever since a Nutrition class that Aaron took, we've been loving trying new recipes/concotions and I want to do more with him. It has become our date night since we can't get out of the house much these days :)

To end, here are a few pics from our Willey Christmas that happened a few days back. OH, and it's Aubrey's 6 month "b-day" today! Can you believe she's 6 months already!?!? I can't either! She got her first tooth over Christmas and started solids last week as well. Time flies when you're having fun :)

Trying to get a picture with the two of them in their Christmas outfits :)

 

Opening up presents at Grandpa and Grandma Willey's

 

Evie with her new sweater from Tristen and Aubrey

Aaron has a new hobby....his shotgun. So, he's all set now to get into hunting with a vest and shotgun shells. :)

 

All my gifts fit perfecty into my new purse that just might double as a diaper bag so I won't need to carry both now :)

 

Guess which one is having a baby boy in 4 weeks!?! :)

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from us!

Here's to a year of exciting things to come!