Chase is Tres!

Happy birthday Aiden! I love you more than words. I'm so glad that you got to have a fun day with your dad and brother and you have officially entered the big boy club. I am so proud to be your mom and so proud of you. You sure keep me on my toes...but I wouldn't have it any other way. I know you will be doing a lot of growing up this next year...I pray that it goes slow. I'm not ready for you to grow up. You are special...and thanks for making me special.

Love, Mom

Comfy Cam???

Yes, I realize that my baby is taking a nap somewhat naked. It was a busy morning around here...he got tired...didn't want to fight him...naked nap. I love how he fell asleep trying to pull himself up to the crib, but couldn't make it work so he sat down and fell asleep. Anyway, he is thinking that he is quite the big kid around here. My least favorite stage is right around the corner. Pulling himself up to everything. This kid is the early bird around here, and successfully got us to drop his mattress all the way down before he was a year old. That is a first in this family. And with that least favorite stage comes the even more dreaded walking stage. I get so nervous when they start to move and often wonder when the stitches are coming.

On another note, I learned today that time for myself still isn't everyone else's priority. I bought this stuff yesterday at the grocery store purely because it smelled awesome. I was giddy for my shower this morning, but that was cut short when I got out. Aiden (being the self sufficient kid that he is) decided that he needed a drink, got a cup out of the dishwasher, and proceeded to get a drink from the water dispenser in the fridge door. However, he didn't know when to make the water stop coming and decided to create a few puddles that stretched clear out to the carpet. I had a good laugh, he had a GREAT time, and I made a note to myself: induldge in yummy smelly stuff when he's sleeping early in the morning....

Hittin' the slopes with Dad!

Last Saturday, Scott and E joined the regular ski bums of the family for a day of learning. They had a great time, and I am so glad they got to go. E was so happy all week long, especially for the time he got to spend with his dad. He kept reminding me that in "___ sleeps I get to go skiing with Dad. It's gonna be so awesome!" Oh to be a kid again!

Can't quite figure out why my pictures are backwards...I've tried to put them in order, but I am sure you still get the same effect. There were crashes...

Lessons with the uncles...

Riding like a big kid...(does anyone else think he looks too big here? Why can't they stop growing!)

Good times with dad...

Good times with uncles...

successful trips down the hills...

and lots of "pizzas".

Good times with his cousins!
Again, with the looking big thing...seriously!

I have a great video of E doing what he loved the most...but I can't get it to upload. His uncle Corky took him in the terrain park and lifted him over the bumps (totally not a skiier, can you tell? I don't know what they were called.) so he felt like he was jumping too. He kept getting mad at Scott for telling him to slow down, "but Dad, I want to go faster!!" We knew that A was an adrenaline junkie, and now I am thinking E is as well. I guess I need to dust off the 1991 skiis down in the basement, gotta see my boys in action!

One for the record...

So, when we signed up for unemployment, the option was given to us to get a debit card account to have the money deposited into that we were eligible for. For some dumb reason (because it has been a pain in the butt) we thought that would be easier to keep track of our spending...ya, dumb. Anyway, when we were feeling down about our situation, we joked about this card being our "food stamps". I cannot express how much of a joke that is/was, and now I want to explain why we never should have called the card that.

Today, we went to Sam's club and the boys wanted pizza. I'm all about a $2 meal that I know they will eat, so I caved. As we were waiting in line, I had the card in my hand and E happened to see it. As loud as he could ( or it felt really loud) he asked me if that "was our food stamp card?" Yea, one for the record and a great lesson learned!