The Things to be Remembered

There are always moments in my life that I think, "I hope I never forget this."  That being said, I have the worse memory ever so I try to make an effort to write these moments down.  The moments that make me smile, laugh, and think, "how did I get so lucky."  They are generally little nuggets, often taken for granted, but when I stop they are what make up the best parts of my life.

Don't forget 15 month old Maddox:

• He has dimples...when he smiles he has dimples up by the sides of his eyes.  His smiles are so big that normal dimples on his checks wouldn't do justice.  Little dimples by his eyes!  I hope he has them forever and I am sure that if he does they will steel some hearts.
• Maddox loves the chase.  As soon as you say, "I'm going to get you"  he immediately giggles and runs as fast as his little legs can go. And then there are the dimples again.
• 3/4 head and torso and 1/4 legs.  The shortest little legs ever!  I don't know what it is about his silly proportions that make Maddox ridiculously cute, but I love it. 
• The cheeks...The thickest cheeks ever...they are always rosy and always kissable.  

Liesel:

• Her Laugh...this petite little girl has a full on man laugh.  A deep throaty laugh, that stops people in their tracks.  A laugh that cannot be ignored.  A laugh that will make you laugh.  I dare anyone to not smile when Liesel laughs. 
• Our social butterfly makes friends with any little kid that even looks in her direction.  If you are a little girl within a 20 foot radius of Liesel,  be warned, she will come for you, overwhelm you, and befriend you.  She refers to any little girl that she met as her sister.  I am not sure if she doesn't understand what a sister is or if she is just feels very strongly about her female friends. Hey I have girlfriends I would consider sisters.
• "You happy Mommy?"...she asks me this at least once a week.  No matter how I felt prior to her inquiry I always respond with yes.  Not because I don't want to admit to her that I am not, but because I truly am happy.  I am happy to hear this little voice, and I am happy that she is sweet enough to care that others are happy.

Milo:

• When Milo wakes up from a nap, yes he still naps, he almost always asks for "mom snuggles".  I know a day will come when he no longer wants me to cuddle him, but until then I will do my best to make time and enjoy these moments.
• There are few things Milo loves more than an inside joke.  He loves to feel like he is on the inside of some scoop.  Example:  I will reward Milo's good behavior with an extra 1/2 hour of play time before naps.  I tell him not to tell Liesel because she still needs a 2 hour nap.  He will  tell Liesel that he is tired, help tuck her in, and then look at me and give me the Milo Wink.  He can't actually wink but he gives a mouth click and points his index finger at me.  I sometimes make up secrets just to get a Milo Wink.

Bosco:

• The best dog ever!  At the age of 9, our 100lb pup has officially entered old dog stage.  I could not ask for a better family dog.  He walks well, he is great with the kids, loves naps and instead of his dog bed insists on sleeping on our love seat.  We let him.

Scott:

• I would like to say that Scott and I regularly take the time out of our busy schedules to really nourish our marriage, but that would be a lie.  With two busy careers, three even busier kids, a house under construction and the other tasks associated with life, we are pooped.  Often the best we can do is a little hand squeeze and an "I love you" before bed.  That being said I hope I never forget that when Scott gets up at 5:00am to go to work on cold snowy days, he always scrapes the ice and snow off my car before he leaves the driveway. 

Me:

• I hope I always remember the importance of participating in the activities that make me feel like me.  Not like mom me, work me, nor wife me, but me.  This year, while playing soccer I have found the strongest moments of Jane.  Even when I find time by myself, whether I am running or driving, I am still doing the mental check list.  Moms, you know, grocery lists, to-do lists, forgot-to-do lists.  When I play soccer I am truly present and can only focus on the game.  If I don't I may find a ball to the face. 

On to the pictures....

Liesel is now in "Ballallina Class". In typical Liesel fashion, she loves dancing with her "sisters", but isn't a huge fan of listening to her teacher.

Liesel and Uncle Matthew having Dinner together

A boy and his dog, and his grandparents dog, and his uncle's dog.

Watching Football with Daddy.

Liesel is Potty trained.  "She did it"

Helping her Brother.

Playing with the Sturges' girls at Casa Bonita.

Baths after Casa Bonita

 

One very bad thing about being built like Maddox, the falls. 

Liesel has a habit of sneaking into my bed every morning at 5:00am. 

As of January 27, 2016 we now have a concrete slab for our house.  Talk about making memories.

A New Year

2016...What...How did that happen.

2015 ended in a bang.  Christmas and New Year celebrations were lovely and I took one week off of work.  Christmas Eve we did our normal Christmas Eve Ice Skate.  Both Milo and Liesel skated this year and had lots of fun.  Milo asked for a clipboard for Christmas and Liesel followed suite.  Yes, they asked for a clipboard all season.  They even made their request to Santa.  It turned out that the clipboards were a big hit.  I got the kind with a compartment on the back and filled it with pens and paper.  They love them and a bonus is that they are great for restaurants. Other than clipboards, Milo asked for super heros and Liesel asked for a Unicorn and princess stuff.  Liesel starts ballet in a couple weeks. Milo is still in Taekwondo and got his yellow belt this week.  Both the kids' chosen activities are out of Scott and my wheel houses.  Just goes to show they come out with a mind of their own.  Next week we have Kindergarten registration...I can't believe that's happening.  I am a bit in denial.   Maddox is happy to be dragged from one activity to the other.  He is a very easy going baby and still loves food and sleep.  Over the break I usually had to wake him by 10:00am.  He still only has four teeth, but the others look like they are just around the corner.  Life is good in Maddox's world.  (other than his sister calling him Maalox)

Other than the normal and also very fun holiday activities we also packed in lots of other experiences into our holiday break. 

• Scott and I took the kids down town to eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory and stay at the Embassy Suites.  I vividly remember doing this with my family when I was little.  Though I remember the food being better the ambiance and excitement in my kiddos eyes was exactly how I remember.  We got to the hotel around 8:00pm and went swimming.  I don't know what it is about hotel pools,  but every kid loves them.  We had a blast and hope to make it an annual tradition.
• We had our first slumber party.  Connor and Joslyn spent the night and it was a ball.  The kids where asleep by 10:30 and slept until 7:00.  I call that a win.  Scott had to use his "dad" voice once, but I feel like every slumber party I ever went to as a child the parent had to "get serious" before we even tried to keep it down. 
• I got to visit with some of my favorite mom friends.  I feel like I sometimes miss these opportunities as a working mom.  We had play dates with the Sharkeys and Sturges'.  We got to see Teghan and Greg and hopefully not scare them off of ever wanting kids :).
• Uncle G took Milo and Liesel to Jump City.  The kids had tons of fun and are still talking about, and Mom and Dad got a little break.
• We had one day (okay, maybe two) where we stayed in our jammies all day.  My favorite.
• I did go into the office one day and got caught up on emails, filing, and some actual engineering tasks.  Martin/Martin is closed between Christmas and New Year's and this is one of my favorite weeks to go in.  No meetings, minimal emails and phone calls.  I can finish the day further ahead from when I started it.  It gave me a good head start on the new year.
  
  Liesel got frustrated walking Bosco because he wasn't moving fast enough.  She started to say "Come on you Old Busted Dog"  I have know idea where she got that but it cracked me up.  
  
  
  
  
  Waiting to See Santa
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Our Santa visit went as I expected it would.  Milo and Liesel were excited, Maddox was not having it. 
  
  
  
  Milo's Happy Valley Preschool Christmas Performance.
  
  
  
  Mom did a 5k race with a co-worker.  Trying to stay in shape after three babies is a challenge. 
  
  
  
  We are still struggling with Milo's respiratory issues.  Colds always seem to settle in chest and we  end up at the doctor's office.  This time the doctor didn't like the sound of him after multiple nebulizer treatments and we ended up taking an ambulance to Children's Hospital.  It was scary, exciting, and very educational.  We learned a lot and are hopeful we will be able to prevent more visits to the ER.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Zoo Lights with Nana and Papa
  
  
  
  Milo tested for his yellow belt in December and nailed it.
  
  
  
  Liesel has found that during Milo's Taekwando events she can make all kinds of friends.  
  
  
  
  Liesel chatting on the phone with her second cousin, Emily.  They are three weeks apart and surrounded by boys. 
  
  
  
  
  Great Grandma Arla with the Nix and Aschermann Grandkids. 
  
  
  
  During Christmas Break Nana took the kiddos to the library.
   
  
  
  
   And she had fun crafts for them. 
  
  
  
  
  Christmas Eve Skate. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Barrett and Liesel on Christmas Eve.
  
  
  
  Joslyn and Maddox
  
  
  
  Miss Jan and Liesel
  
  
  
  Girls with Attitude. 
  
  
  
  Scott and Jane on Christmas Eve.
  
  
  
  Maddox in his adorable Christmas PJs. 
  
  
  
  Christmas Morning. 
  
  
  
  Snuggle time. 
  
  
  
  Christmas night.  All the kids are tuckered out….except for Maddox. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   We had a great visit with the Broughams.
  
  
  
  
   The biggest hit this year was Santa's gift…clip boards.  Who knew?
  
  
  
   Family Fun Night:  Old Spaghetti Factory and the Embassy Suites.
  
  
  
  The kids first slumber party. 
  
  
  
  Maddox got his first hair cut. 
  
  
  
  Maddox's first attempt and the whole spoon gig. 
  
  
  
  Finger Paint
  
  
  
  Making a mes
  
  
  
  Turning for the worst. 
  
  
  
  May Day!!!!
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