Thankfullness

Teaching my boys to be thankful for what they have, no matter how big or small, is very important to me! I want them to grow up being thankful and not entitle so over the month of November we worked on being thankful for things we have. Each day I would ask the boys at the end of the night what they were thankful for and we would write it on a leaf. We kept hanging up each leaf until Thanksgiving Day and the best part is that Ben asked after the last leaf was full, if we could keep doing this.... MISSION COMPLETE!

After years of infertility, pregnancy losses, and heartache I thought the dream of holding my own baby in my arms was a dream that I would never see come true. But each day, I am thankful that my dream did come true and that my prayers were answered not just once, but twice. I am beyond thankful for my 2 little dreams come true, not just this Thanksgiving, but everyday!

Smiles and Giggles Galore

Thursday morning we got to hang out with our friends Sofia again. We had a special breakfast, listened and danced to Christmas music and played for endless hours. These 3 had me, and each other, cracking up ALL morning!!!

drawing pictures while we wait for our food. The kids
were so quiet and good the whole time and got complimented by
the people at the table next to us :)

giggles and mickey mouse pancakes

Ben was super helpful helping with the babies any chance he got

Full House, Full Heart

The other day, due to a last minute emergency, Sofia came over to play. My car was full, my house was super busy, the noise volume was intense, but the laughter was abundant and my heart was SUPER full and that is all that matters!!!

silly hats

Nathan-isms

Nathan loves telling stories lately. He will walk up to you randomly and say "hey, do you want to hear a story? Once upon a time....(insert random silly story)... the end". His silliness is my favorite!

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Nathan brought me this bear the other day and said "mommy, look he has a sexygon on his back"...
I was cracking up. What 2 year knows that a 6 sided shape has a specific name and I loved how he
accidentally changed the name. 

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Nathan's new favorite word is "exactly" and he uses it in the funniest ways:

- mommy, this dinner is exactly what I wanted it
- mommy, this is not exactly my thing to do

Mommy's Owie

On Sept 26th, I hurt my wrist while helping at a vball clinic. I was originally told, at urgent care, that I ruptured my bursa sac but it soon became evident that there was something else going on with it. Eventually, I saw an orthopedic who sent me to see a hand and wrist specialist. The first specialist wanted to do surgery the very next week and said I would only have 10% use of my right hand for the rest of my life, that I would never play or coach again, and that I would have pins for 3 months and another cast for 3 months after that. Well, that just wasn't going to work for me so I decided to get a second opinion. The second specialist was much more geared towards athletes and really went above and beyond to determine the exact extent of the injury before just cutting me open. He ordered x-rays of both wrists for comparison, an MRI and a second MRI where they inject dye with needles into the joint and check for tears in the ligaments. After all these tests, it was determined that I have a significant tear in my scapholunate ligament. His recommendation was surgery but after some discussion we decided we could try to cast it for 4 weeks to see if it would heal on its own and use surgery as a last resort. So here is my new accessory until Dec 12.

first cast: just blue

A few days after getting the first cast, my arm started swelling and eventually swole out of the cast. So I then got a second cast. This time I had Ben with me so I let him choose my color. He chose the same color but this time had them add glitter/sparkles to it. I am not really a glittery/sparkly girl but he was so sweet about it that I couldn't say no. In fact he told the dr- "my mom needs sparkles because she is a princess"

Nathan is a little afraid of the cast but he loves the soft fluffy stuff underneath and plays with it all the time

Celebrating Turkeys With My Little Turkey

Last week Ben's class had their Thanksgiving feast and it was a fun morning. They had special Thanksgiving foods and got to play games. It was a really fun morning and I am so thankful that my boys go to such an amazing school with such awesome teachers.

Ben playing Trouble with his friends

Papa and Grandma Donna Time

Every Monday while I go teach the boys spend time with Papa and Grandma Donna. They eat dinner, take baths, play hide and go seek, UNO, go fish, you name it- they've probably played it haha! The boys love going each week and always have a great time. This week, they all worked together to make an apple pie.  YUMMY!!! :)

Operation Christmas Child

Each year since Ben was little, I have tried to do something with him to teach him the value of giving to others during the Christmas season. I really want my boys to learn to serve others in their community and around the world by giving (items, their time, etc). I want them to realize how blessed they are to live here and to be thankful for what they have, realizing that not everybody has the things that they do. I think one of the most important things we can teach to our children is to learn to put other first and to be givers.

Last year, Ben loved putting together a shoe box for Operation Christmas Child. He enjoyed picking out items for the shoe box, filling it up, and packaging it up. So this year I decided to do the same thing with the boys. So one day after school, we headed to the store, grabbed a box and began picking items to put in it. Some of the choices included: a new toothbrush, crayons, coloring book, hot wheels, race cars, bubbles, gum, little dinosaurs, etc.

The boys were really into and had a great time picking out things "to make other little children smile at Christmas" (said by Ben). Afterwards, we stopped for a quick ice cream and had a great time talking about who might get the box, where that child might live, what they might be doing right now, etc. I love these sweet little moments with my boys, and I hope that they continue to grow up being excited about giving to others.

Nathan's finished box

Ben's finished box

trying to decide which flavor to get

too busy enjoying his ice cream to stop for a picture haha

giggle time with this silly little boy

Introducing: Nathan-isms

Since Ben was about 2 years old, I have been blogging posts called "Ben-isms" to keep track of the funny things that Ben would say. Well, I have decided that it is time to start doing the same for Nathan. So here is the first Nathan-isms post:

Today when I picked Nathan up from school we had this conversation:

Me: Fella, I missed you at school today

Nathan: Oh sweetheart, I missed you too 

Me: (laughing hysterically)

Nathan: don't laugh mommy, you're my most favorite sweetheart ever

Me: (gotta admit, my eyes were a little teary)

We were out running errands today and a man reached to open the door for me and the boys, apparently Nathan thought the man was trying to walk ahead of us or something so he put his hand out (like a stop sign) and shouts "hey Mr. Man, use your manners, ladies go in doors first, you wait your turn"

.... I'm not sure who was laughing more: me or the poor man but hey, at least Nathan knows his manners haha!

Flashback Friday

Nathan is 2yrs 8mo old and sometimes the way he talks and carries on a conversation I feel like he is so old but other times when he snuggles up or says "mommy will you carry me", I'm reminded that he is still really little. So then I got thinking about what Ben was like at this age and it is crazy to me that Ben was this age when Nathan was born! Here are some fun flashback Friday blog posts of when Ben was the age that Nathan is now:

http://babystone08.blogspot.com/2011/04/blog-post.html

http://babystone08.blogspot.com/2011/03/ben-loves-to-sing-songs-to-his-little.html

http://babystone08.blogspot.com/2011/03/silliness-at-stone-home.html

Silliness Runs in the Family

Nathan is really into making funny faces lately. He will make them for complete strangers in line, waitresses, his teachers, friends at school, and any mirror he can see himself in. The faces are never exactly the same so it is funny because you never really know what you're gonna get- but they are always funny! The other day when we were getting ready to leave for school I decided to record just some of the silliness:

After my sister heard about Nathan's funny faces, she sent me this video of Ben (from when he was about the same age). I was cracking up how similar they are and it took me back to how little Ben use to be. 

Sometimes these boys drive me nuts and I wonder if we will ever make it to them being 18; and then little moments like this happen and I'm reminded just how precious this time is and how fast it flies by and why I wouldn't trade it for anything!!!!

PS. More silliness by Ben, taking it way back (2yrs 10mo old): http://babystone08.blogspot.com/2011/03/silliness-at-stone-home.html

Oh the Joys of Raising Boys

I walked in the other afternoon to check on Nathan while he was taking a nap and found this:

....um, I'm confused as to what happened. Oh the joys of raising boys!

Nathan James

Silly boy at the park- love to spend time with him laughing and listening to his endless giggles

Way To Go Ben

Today Ben worked hard and brought home a second place medal at his BMX race which was awesome because he had to race up in the 6I group with only one other 5 year old: Francisco (who won 1st at nationals) and the best part..... Francisco and Ben took home the 1st and 2nd place over all the other, older riders! Way to go Ben- 2nd place against the big kids is awesome!!!

Up Up & Away

Friday afternoon the boys went on their first helicopter ride with Bryan. They met up with Ben's friend from school, Ethan and his dad, and off they went. The boys had a great time and I am guessing this won't be thier last time!

Fun Day at OT for Nathan

Nathan has been struggling with what is called "W" sitting and it has been effecting his running and climbing so at the suggestion of his teacher we recently took him to an OT for an eval. Nathan had a great time playing and learning to use his muscles better.

Where is Nathan???

climbing to the top

made it to the top to push the fire siren

Oh The Joys of Raising Boys

Recently our house got all new windows and was tented... excited stuff haha!

Well the boys wanted to see the house with the tent on it, so one afternoon after school, we drove by to check it out. While were sitting there looking at the tented house, this conversation occurred:

Nathan: what makes all the bugs die in there mommy?

Me: they put a gas in there that makes them all die.

Ben: Does the gas smell bad, is that why they die?

Nathan: (without missing a beat) Ben when you fart it smells bad and makes me want to die

...Oh the joys of raising boys!!!

A Tender Heart

Recently I went to Nathan's fall break parent/teacher conference and his teachers were telling me what a joy he is to have in class and how they love to see how he takes care of his friends and how he has the most tender heart. I see this at home all the time in the way he loves on me, his friends, Ben, loves to take care of his "animals", etc. And his teachers were telling me that at school if a little kid is crying, Nathan is the first to go over and rub their back and tell them "it's ok, don't cry, be happy".... makes me so proud to hear what a great friend he is and how he has such a tender heart! 

I like this little video because it gives just a little glimpse into what a sweet and tender little guy he is: 

Silly Times with Nathan James

I say this a lot, but anybody who knows Nathan understands just how true of a statement this is: he is the silliest cutest little guy ever! The other night we were playing with this cup and teaching him to suction it on to his face when he decided he wanted me to do it. So I did and then I blew it off and he just thought this was the funniest thing ever and kept saying "actually, more"... Ben and I were cracking up! 

Problem Solved

After changing Nathan's bed from a crib to a toddler bed, everything has been going great except for that a couple nights a week, in the middle of the night, I will hear a "thump" or just wake up and find him sleeping on the floor. I thought about trying to make a rail or something to prevent him from falling out but after getting some advice from a friend, it just wasn't going look right. So then I found this idea: a pool noodle, and it has been working great! I just bought a pool noodle, cut it down to size and stuck it between the mattress and the crib sheet and it makes a perfect little bumper to keep him falling out- super excited!!! Sometimes as a mom, it's the little victories that make me most happy haha!

Hard At Work/Play

I am so thankful that my boys get to attend such a great school with amazing teachers. Each day they have new and exciting things for the kids to do which encourages learning through play. The other day Nathan was working on motor development by hammering golf tees into a Styrofoam block... so creative and Nathan had a blast!

School Pics 2013-2014

Check out these handsome little guys!!!

(Ben: 5 years 3 months old)

(Nathan: 2 years 8 months old)