Day of thanks...

Let It Snow!

 Henry 22 Months & Oliver 3 Months - first snow fall of the season!

Lately...

I'm exhausted.  I don't remember the last time I got a good nights rest.  I haven't been able to shower and get ready from head to toe in one sitting in god knows how long.  But you know what, I love every minute of it.  Well, maybe I could use some more rest but I know it will get here eventually.  I can do it.  These boys give me the strength and energy to not only make it through each day but to dance through it.  I am simply blessed with these two smiley vibrant boys.
Some of my favorite moments lately...

- Henry loves to throw things away for us.  You can give him a dirty diaper and he will run saying "pew wee" all the way to the trash can and dispose of it.  But, your next trip to the garbage you might just find one of Olie's toys, a kitchen towel that apparently was too dirty to be washed or a sock or two. Hmmm.

- Henry can finally jump!  And, I mean get air and jump!  Boy is he proud of himself. 

- Our evening dance sessions in Henry's room.  Nothing like getting an extra boost of energy right before daddy gets home. Heehee.

- Henry's new love for "yeego" aka "yoga".  The kid knows more poses than his mother.  Who knew I would have a little yogi on my hands. ;o)  Nauna is sooo proud.

- Olie has recently discovered his hands.  Not sure that he knows they are his yet as he does occasionally get surprised when that big paw of his bounces off his forehead.
- Someone knocking on our front door and Henry and daddy yelling, "Come In" at the exact same time.  Yes, the simple little things like this just bring a sparkle to my eye.
- Henry out of the blue just saying, "Daddy, I love you."  So sweet.

- Henry can now count to 3 and say "A,B,C" 
- Oliver slept 5 hours in a row by himself last night....yes this is a miracle!  Praying for more nights like this.
- A morning outing to the grocery store where the 3 ft tall Snoopy had to ride up front with Henry while we shopped.  And yes, mom did convince him that Snoopy lived at the store and not at our house.  Ok, it did take a trade with a new matchbox car.  7 am milk run....mom is a bit easy.  Wonder how long it will take him to figure that out?!?

- My husband making us breakfast every single morning this past week and giving mommy some extra sleep whenever possible.  After the craziness of last month and his week long hunting trip last week, I'll take all the extra love I can get!  Thanks babe!

Anyway, life is good.  These kids are amazing. I am determined to wake up each and every day and spend as much time cuddling, jumping on beds, dancing and simply giggling as much as possible.  Time just goes by so fast and I want to smell each and every rose petal along the way.  Now the real challenge....Chris and I need to find some time for ourselves.  Nothing like a newborn and a toddler to eat up all your time that you forget or are simply too exhausted to nurture your spouse.  So important and we are both committed to working on it.  Now you cute little boys...go to bed so mommy and daddy can have some alone time ok! ;o)

(Almost 3 months & 22 months)

Future Cougs!

BOO

Tonight was Henry's first experience trick or treating and man did he live it up!  I fully expected that we may only make it to the next door neighbors house and getting him even in his costume was going to be a challenge.  Boy was I wrong.  He got right into his bomber pilot outfit and caught right on to the whole trick or treating business.  We could not stop smiling watching him knock on the door, say trick or treat, pick out his candy and then say thank you.  Pretty amazing.  He was fasinated with the witches and of course pumpkins everywhere and just had to be in the mix with all the other kids.  His candy pumpkin basket was so heavy but he refused to let us help him carry it and knew when we tried to off load some of his candy...nice try nauna!  He knows what goods are his. ;o)  Overall, it was an amazing night witnessing his first experience roaming the streets collecting some treats.  I am one proud mama!  Olie even went half way around the block in his bear suit.  Can't wait for next year when they both are running around.  So fun!

Stats and Swim

We finally got in for Oliver's 2 month well child check and he is doing great and is one BIG kid like his bro.  Check these stats out:

Height: 25" (>95%)
Weight: 13 lbs 1 oz (75 - 90%)
Head Circ: 16 1/4" (75-90%)

Henry was also 25" at his 2 month and was slightly smaller in weight at 12 lbs 3 oz.  What healthy boys we have!

On another note, we started Henry back at swim lessons last week.  It was this time last year that he first entered the pool and I was nervous he might not like it so much being it's been so long since he was in the water.  This summer he only liked getting ankle deep and keeping water out of his eyes in the bath to prevent a melt down is important.  However, I will say with him taking showers with me lately the water in the eyes thing has gotten a lot better.  Anyway, he LOVED swim class and was even sitting on the edge of the pool and trying to 'jump' in to me.  So fun and I cannot wait to get back in the water with him again this coming week.  I told him he is one lucky fellow that mommy would even consider putting a swimsuit on just 9 weeks post baby!  So not the fun thing but who cares it'll come off and Henry is having a blast.

An October Haze

It's been so long since I posted an update on here I don't even know where to begin.  We are almost done with October and while I love the fall I am so ready for pumpkin season to be over.  Chris works 7 days a week at our family pumpkin patch and up to 12 hour days.  Long days for him and long days for me running the household solo.  After we get through this month however things slow down a lot.  I cannot wait.  However I must say we have had a blast this past month.  My dad spent almost 2 weeks here visiting us from Kentucky and we filled up our schedule venturing out to the Woodland Park Zoo, Salmon Days, NW Trek and had a few big family dinners.  Henry has been lucky enough to get to go to the pumpkin patch and ride on tractors several times a week all month.  He constantly says, "see dada, pumpkins" and if I turn right out of my driveway instead of left towards the pumpkin patch he immediately has a bit of a fit.  The kid is in love with pumpkins....at least until he has to work there 12 hours a day, which you can bet his grandpa will have him there one day!  Overall, we are all doing great as a family of 4.

In terms of baby Oliver he is starting to find his voice and loves to share "agoo's" and big smiles.  I thought Henry was full of smiles but our little Olie shares more smiles at this age than any baby I have ever been around.  It absolutely cracks me up how easy it is to get him to smile.  It doesn't matter how sleep deprived I am he just takes me away with that smile of his.  And, yes I am very sleep deprived.  Oliver gets up to eat about every 2 hours at night still and only cat naps during the day.  Thankfully he does like his swing and will spend some time napping there during the day, which helps free up my hands to play with Henry and take care of the house, oh and myself I guess when I can. ;o) Getting a shower has been interesting to say the least.  I have resorted to throwing Henry in the shower with me while Olie takes a snooze in his swing.  Whatever it takes.  On another note, breastfeeding has been easier this time around and I am proud to say Olie is 100% breast fed.  However, I am giving him what I call 'boob in a bottle' a lot during the day and he feeds directly on the breast at night.  So far this hasn't caused any complications but I'm not certain I should continue this route or not.  Time will tell I guess.  Oliver still has beautiful blue eyes and is such a mellow little boy.  I cannot wait to continue to watch him grow and really see who he is going to be in this world.
As for big brother Henry, he is such a little spit fire!  Every day is something new and he just simply amazes me.  The vocabulary this kid has blows me away.  I could go on and on about the phrases he says now.  It's really wonderful to reach a stage where you can actually communicate with your child.  The things he remembers is unreal and reminds you to be cautious of what comes out of your mouth or what is on the tube each day.  My favorite memory this month was as I was headed out the door for an appointment he said "Love you mommy."  MELTED my heart.  Each night as we say our prayers I always thank him for an "awesome day" and for being nothing but himself.  He now says back to me "awesome day" with a big smile and gives me loves.  It's moments like this that make all these sleep deprived days worth it.  I mean what else in the world is as precious as the love you get to share with your children?  I am so blessed with these two little men.

To wrap up as I could go on forever about my kids I'll leave you with some of my favorite pics this month thus far.

Headed to an overnight at nauna & bapa's with his new suitcase. 

Brothers...
Henry 21 months  & Oliver 8 weeks

 My little bear....

Blog Patrol

Call me paranoid but I have decided to make our blog private to ensure the safety of our kids as many strangers are viewing our blog and it makes me a bit uneasy. I love to follow other blogs and have been a "blog stalker" myself. I don't want to take away from the networking and am very open to sharing our site via friends of friends, etc. Just send me an email with your email or simply make a comment with your email address and I will grant you access!

What the Carps have been up to...

I am finding it harder and harder to get on here and update our blog. Facebook is an easy place to just update with photos but I really want to continue to update our blog to reference back, sort of like a baby journal, for our boys. On that note, some of you have already seen these pics but here we go again!

First and foremost, my bro-in-law just got married on Friday and Henry was the ring bearer. We were really nervous that he would not make it down the aisle with 400 people staring at him but he in fact made it and was a little ham all day/night long. The flower girl, Tatum, is 3 years old and pulled him down the aisle in his wagon. They were so stinkin' cute! Having 2 kids and Chris being in the wedding I had my hands full but thanks to my parents it was soooo much easier to enjoy the evening and be able to snap a few photos early on in the day. We are so excited to officially welcome Auntie Emily to the family. I have been to a lot of weddings and hands down their ceremony was the most beautiful and heartfelt I have witnessed thus far (ours included!). They both wrote their own vows and the beauty in their words is indescribable. The entire evening and to this day all anyone can talk about was how touching their words to one another were. It certainly confirmed the love they have for one another and made me proud of the man and woman they are. Simply amazing.

My absolute favorite pic of the day...right as they announced them as Mr. & Mrs.! Secondly, my husband celebrated his 31st bday this past Saturday. Since he has absolutely everything and can never give me an idea of what he wants I decided to surprise him with an all guys poker party at our family lake house. He had no idea what was in store for him and was very happy to enjoy an evening with a bunch of his buddies. I am thrilled he had a good time and I was able to keep it a secret! It was fun keeping him guessing and to see his face as we arrived to find all the guys waiting for him and then his shock as I left him with some cash, a bottle of his favorite whiskey and a kiss goodnight as I headed back home to take care of the boys for the night.

Next up, we had Oliver's 1 month check up today and he is one healthy boy! Breast feeding has been so much easier this round and it was nice to see his stats to reassure me that he is getting the amount of feeding/ounces needed. Check out these stats...we have some solid boys on our hands!

Weight: 11lbs 13oz (95%)
Height: 23 3/4 (>95%)
Head Circ: 15 5/8 (80%)

In comparison Henry was:

Weight: 10lbs 2.5oz (55%)
Height: 23 (90%)

Lastly, our pumpkin patch opens this Friday and we are in for some long busy days at the patch and at home. Thankfully my dad arrives on Saturday for 12 days for a visit and lend a helping hand. I cannot wait to see Papa Gabby and introduce him to our latest addition! I am sure we will be making daily visits to the patch as Henry is absolute obsessed with pumpkins already! I guess it is in his blood.