2 years / 4 months

Our handsome boys... both growing up too fast!

They both had well-child check-ups on Monday:

Bennett (2 yrs) weighed in at 31 lbs!

Sawyer (4 months) weighed in at 17 lbs 1 oz!!!  

Sawyer continues to have success on his "I want to be Bigger than my Big Brother" plan.

This is what I found Bennett had done the other day.. he put the cowboy on the horse :)

I just wish they could help fold!

And this is why i'm losing hearing & hair... lol ;)

Bennett's 2nd Birthday!

We have learned that we can always count on Aunt Laurel to have a surprise waiting for us when we wake up on any special occasion!

This is what she did for Bennett on the morning of his birthday:

"Thank you Auntie LoLo, I love you!" ~Bennett

(He was eating eggs for breakfast in this picture, eggs followed immediately by handful upon handful of Reese Pieces!!!)

Laurel also made this awesome birthday cake for Bennett too!!!  

And he LOVED IT!

He had just gotten in from playing outside so that's why he has dirt on his face.

He loves it when he gets "Happy Birthday" sung to him, but his favorite part is blowing out the candles!!!

Time to open presents & eat cake!!!

LINCOLN LOGS!!!  

Thank you Laurel, for everything you do for us!!!!!!

Bennett's birthday was a success thanks to you :)

I have to sneak a picture of Sawyer into the blog post too!

This is how Bennett shows his affection for his little brother... 

puts his tag blankie on his head ;)

Sawyer sure doesn't seem to mind!

Thank you to everyone who gave Bennett birthday presents or thought of him and told us to give him a hug & kiss for his birthday!!!  You made his day truly special.  

Personally I will never forget his 2nd birthday for 2 reasons:

1) Because I made a visit to the E.R. on his birthday :(  

(Don't worry, things are getting better!)

2) Because he had to get bundled up to go play outside on JUNE 20th! 

It was 48 degrees that afternoon... boo!!!

A rare day off together :)

Erik and I pretty much work opposite days now, in an effort to keep our boys at home, which is working!  But we sure don't have many days off together anymore, so when we do (like today) we have lots of fun :) :) :)

The boys both woke up on the good side of the bed, so that started the day off nicely.

Bennett is still in awe of his little brother :)

Sawyer is the happiest little dude ever!

We took a walk to the park as a family of four, before the heat of the day kicked in, and before Bennett's nap.  

The weather was so perfect, starting to get hot in the sun, but hanging out in the shade was blissful... as my friend Donella would say :) :) :)

I feel so blessed to be able to call these beautiful boys my sons!!!

Sawyer's first ride on the swings!!!

Now I have to work the next three days (one 8 hr shift and two 12 hr shifts), and then...

VACATION!!!!!!!  

And even better than vacation....  

SHELBY AND JUSTIN'S WEDDING SATURDAY JUNE 15th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Think maybe i'm a little excited?!!!  :) :) :)

Fun times with friends!

Bennett had his friends Ruth, Mary, and Daniel over for dinner last night!

It's a challenge to get a picture of these busy little buggers!

Mason did a pretty good job behind the camera though :)

BUBBLES!!!!!!!

I should've taken more pictures, I didn't get any of Gretchen and Merritt, but I got this cute pic of Sawyer hanging out with Uncle Mason!

*Ruth, Mary, and Daniel's Uncle Mason... just to clarify :)

What a great evening, and so nice having warm/hot weather so we could enjoy eating outside again!!!  Thanks for coming, we'll do it again soon!

The best kind of nap...

...is a group nap :)

*Disclamer: To anyone who was thinking of nominating me for "Worst Mother of the Year" award based on this picture... lol, I don't let the baby and Bennett nap together in the same bed, just FYI!  This is just how we sometimes fall asleep for naptime together, and then Sawyer & I move out to let Bennett nap on his own :)

Les Miserables

Sorry my blog followers, no pictures of the boys in this post!  

Just some of my rambling thoughts this time...

I was watching Les Mis yesterday (for the umpteenth time), well I only get to watch parts of it at a time because I don't really have 2 hours and 38 minutes a day to just sit down and watch a movie!!!  Still, even little bits at a time, I am usually brought to tears.  And even though i've heard all the words before and have actually had them memorized since childhood, it never fails that every time I watch it, I listen to one of the lines in a different way, or hear some deeper meaning in the lyrics.  I'm just in love this with this musical and the story it tells!!!!  If anyone hasn't seen it... GO RENT IT!!!!!!!!

Yesterday these were the lines I heard in a new way, the Bishop is singing them, when he finds Jean Valjean sleeping outside in the cold and snow:

(I really wish I could put a sound clip in here 

because the words are so beautiful when they are sung!  

Well those of you who know the musical can sing them to yourself!)

"Come in sir for you are weary,

And the night is cold out there.

Though our lives are very humble,

What we have, we have to share.

There is wine here to revive you,

There is bread to make you strong.

There's a bed to rest til morning,

Rest from pain, and rest from wrong."

At some point in our lives, we will all need (or have needed) someone like the Bishop to come to our aid.  We all desire to be cared for in times of despair, and I hope I can be there for someone like this when they need nurturing the most, especially for my sons... 
because just think of what would've happened to Jean Valjean had the Bishop not let him inside and shown him what it meant to love, and maybe most importantly, taught him what it meant to forgive.  


I've always been the nurturing type (even since childhood, according to my Mom), which is why I chose nursing as a profession... but since becoming a mother I think that part of me has multiplied exponentially.

Ok that's about all the time I have right now for writing down my rambling thoughts!

Thanks for listening, and i'll leave you with one of my favorite lyrics from Les Mis:

"To love another person is to see the face of God"

I'm too tired so you can add your own captions

MOHAWK!