Whew

It has been one CRAZY BUSY weekend.
Saturday morning I woke up and got all ready to go to a scrapbooking crop.  I had so much fun talking, cutting, pasting, and finishing around 15 pages for a future family scrapbook.
After that I headed over to our church building to put some diaper cakes together for a baby shower I was helping to host on Sunday.  My friend Rachel is having twins, a boy and a girl, hopefully in April/May.  We had the shower today and I am overwhelmed so I have no idea how she is feeling.  She got so many great gifts.  Tons of clothes, towels, birp clothes, sippy cups, blankets.  The place was decorated beautifully and the food was so good!  Thanks to all the hostesses!
It was also just so great to see all the people who love and support Josh and Rachel.  They are truly great people and are going to be exceptional parents.  I am getting so excited to meet baby Steeds!  
Tom played basketball tonight after church so I had the kids and then after I put them to bed finally had a chance to sit and relax and watch me some Gilmore Girls all by myself!  Perfect end to a perfect weekend!
Did I mention Tom had the kids by himself for most of the weekend?  Thanks Tom!
I wish I had some pics but no can do!

She is on the move

It seems that the past couple of days any time I turn my back on Tinzley she is somewhere else.  She LOVES to pull herself up.  She is not walking along anything yet but she loves to just stand there and see what else she can find.  I took some pics of her today.  She was pretty proud of herself.
Also, Jonas has been acting a little better.  He has his first visit with the dentist today so we will see how it goes.  He is also really getting into checking out books at the library which I am so proud of. Tinzley is starting to get into books too.  It has taken her awhile to show interest in books.

We are staying busy as always!

Crawling!! (slowly but surely)

So last night Tinzley finally figured out how to move forward on all fours.  It only took 2 months!  :)  She is very slow but she gets where she wants eventually! Here are some pics from the last week or so.  I have not posted pictures in awhile!

Our big SNOW day :)

Playing with brother

Loves his train books from the library

Pretty much what this kid has looked like for the past three weeks

Also, I wanted to mention that today I found out my Dad lost his job.  We would love to have them move down here closer to us but.... A LOT of things have to happen before that can happen as well.  They have two houses they would have to sell and my Dad would have to find a job down here.  Please pray that God shows us his plan.  :)

  

Ups and Downs

So for those of you who don't know I had a birthday this week.  Tom and I hired a babysitter and went out to lunch and a movie on Sunday.  We went to a great new to us Italian restaurant.  Then we went to see Dear John.  It was okay but so was the book.  I love Nicholas Sparks so the book did not disappoint but was just not as good as his other books.  It was really a great day on Sunday.  Now as most of you who know me are aware Valentine's Day and my birthday are a pretty big deal.  There is a lot of pressure on Tom to out do himself every year.  Now I will admit he usually does a GREAT job.  The last couple of years have been tough.  We have two kids now and less money.  So my birthday came and went just like any other day.  No big deal but in all honesty it was not a great day.  I do not want to whine and complain but I do want to say getting older is NO FUN!  :)
Also, it has been just a very trying couple of weeks with our three year old.  Ever since Jonas was sick and has gotten "better" he has been a MONSTER.  I am ready to take him to get an exorcism.  NO lie.  He just is throwing HUGE fits for hours and nothing works to calm him down.  You cannot talk to him or reason with him, not that you can anyway, and there is just no calming him at ALL.  He started acting like this around a year ago.  When he turned two and a half the 'terrible twos' started.  I hate to tell all of you mothers who have yet to enter 2/3 age group.  IT IS HORRIBLE!!!!!  It is a little glimpse into the teen years really.  I am really at my wits end.  I tried reading this new book and trying to think of new ways to handle him but there is just no handling him.  So right around when he turned 3 he got a little better.  I really started seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.  OH no, no, no, no....  The worst was just around the corner.  The last three weeks have been worse than the 6 months between 2 1/2 and three years old.  I really am starting to lose it.  Somedays I just burst into tears for no reason.  I get so frustrated and I just do not treat Jonas very nicely sometimes.
With all of that said.  He has moments that he is just delightful.  He is absolutely OBSESSED with trains.  It is really fun to see his enthusiasm and enjoyment.  It is hard to see these things when he has been screaming and crying and hitting, and spitting and throwing himself on the floor for hours and hours.  I never knew that being a Mom would be so hard.  I doubt myself constantly.  How do you know that you are doing the right thing?  Is it wrong to want to just walk out the door sometimes?  Oh, the guilt and pressure.  I know this to shall pass but when?
On a completely different note.  Tuesday I taught the ladies bible class.  I really enjoyed doing it besides feeling completely inadequate.  I was also VERY nervous.  It went okay I think and I actually walked away from it really pondering what I had talked about.  So if no one got anything out of it, I did.  It made me think about the influence I am having on the world and my children.  I do not feel like I show Christ the way I should and I know I do not show Him with my kids like I should.  Yes, we go to church and we pray at the dinner table and Jonas LOVES going to church but do I really show Christ to my kids?  It is such a scary job to be a parent.  I just hope that one day Jonas and Tinzley can look back and think about how they had a happy childhood.  :)
I feel like I am just rambling on here.  It is late and I need to go to bed.  I have been staying up to watch the Olympics.  Also, very interesting.  These people have such a determination and dedication to their sport.  It is truly inspiring.  I still have no idea what I am doing and where I am going with my life.  Hopefully something will come clear soon.
Good night!     

My Valentine

I wanted to give a special tribute to Tom, my one and only Valentine, because I feel like he never gets mentioned on this thing.  So we started dating in May of 2002.  It was the summer after my freshman year of college.  I knew I had liked him since we got back from Christmas break.  Being who I am I told him right away.  He did not share my feelings.  In his words (he hates this story, by the way) were "he was not physically attracted to me" (see why he does not like it?)  :)  Well, that was not enough for me to go away.  I think I became even more persistent.  Which I would not recommend because it just turned him off more.  We became best friends though.  Since I had already told him I liked him I pretty much had no trouble telling him anything else.  We hung out all the time.  He borrowed my car all the time.  We went on walks, talked on the phone for hours..... okay we pretty much were dating besides the whole kissing and holding hands part.  I just thought he was the one.  I thought he was the one because he was so honest with me.  He would sit and listen to me blab on and on, which those of you who know me know how much I can talk, forever.  He just was the first person in my life who was so honest and I knew I could trust him.
He lived in a house with 3-4 guys.  I absolutely LOVED hanging out at his house.  We played pool, watched movies, talked, listened to music.  I got to be pretty good friends with everyone who lived there.   All the guys he lived with thought he was crazy, who wouldn't right?  :)
So I decided to stay in York for the summer.  A big reason was Tom.  I have to admit it, lame right?  I just could not give it up.  Another big reason was I had a great opportunity to make some pretty good money that summer.  It makes me laugh now because I made a whole 7 dollars an hour as assistant manager at the movie theater.
Anyways, everyone was leaving to go home for the summer.  Tom had a decision to make.  See, he liked my friend Katie.  I was putting the pressure on pretty thick that we should just try dating.  She was leaving I was staying.  Easy decision right?  Well, he decided to try it.  It was the best month of my life.  Then he went off to camp and decided it was too much for him.  I liked him way more than he liked me and the relationship felt uneven.  WHAT?  :)
So I backed off.  I told him if he wanted to hang out with me he knew where to find me.  Let's just say I was fed up.
So, that is all it took.  Then I had him.  HAHAHAHA (evil laugh)
Honestly though that is what it took.  The fear of losing me as a friend made him realize how much he loved me.  :)
The rest is history.  We were married that next August.  Three years later we had Jonas and then three years after him we had Tinzley.  We have a lot of ups and downs but one thing has always stayed the same.  Tom is always honest.  :)  I always know he will tell me the truth and I can trust him with how I feel.  It is so amazing to have married my best friend, well my boy best friend :).

I love you Tom, with all of my heart.  Thank you for everything you do for our family!

Be My Valentine!

9 months!

Today Tinzley is 9 months old.  I know I say this every month but OH MY!  I cannot believe how fast it has gone.  I feel like I just did her 8 month post.  Anyways....
We went to get her pictures taken today at my friend Andrea's house.  I so love having a photographer as a friend.  It is a lot less stressful!  It is also nice to visit and Jonas gets to play with a friend too!
So here is what Tinzley is doing now
weighs about 18 pounds
eats three meals a day and has 4 bottles
drinks out of a sippy cup sometimes
loves puffs and graham crackers
loves cheese and yogurt!
loves any people food we give her but still eats her baby food most of the time
has started eating cut up peaches and pears and LOVES them
is not a fan of peas just like her mom!
is not yet crawling but is very close.
scoots on her bottom and scoots backwards to get anywhere
can pull up and can take steps with help from Mom or Dad
waves bye bye, hi, and night night
she says Mama, and Dada, and just started saying bah when we say Bye Bye
still prefers Mom over anyone
LOVES Jonas
loves her Sunday school teacher.
loves babies and herself in the mirror
loves men with dark hair but is starting to be afraid of people she does not know
is not very smiley on command but is a very happy and content baby
she loves sitting and listening to Tom play guitar and loves any singing or music
is getting SO BIG!!!!!!  :)

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

We wanted to put Tinzley in Jonas' old Peyton Manning jersey for the game but did not realize how much she would look like a boy.  So this is my attempt to put a bow in her head.  I finally gave up went to Target and bought a bow.  

Attempt 1Attempt 2No bowFinal product!

GO COLTS!

Sippy cup here we come, bye bye bottle (soon, anyway)

So precious

I never get pics of my kids sleeping and it is such a shame.  How sweet it is....    














And who would not want to pinch these cheeks?  :)

On another note... Jonas is feeling MUCH better.  He is back to his old loud self again.  :)

          

Sick

Jonas started feeling bad last Thursday night when he through a HUGE fit about cleaning up.  I knew something was up because he has not acted like that in months.  He also started having accidents all of the sudden.  He woke up Friday not feeling great but he had a play date he did not want to miss (worst mother ever? oh it gets better)  When I came to pick him up I knew something was not right with him.  He had another accident at his friend's house and then he fell asleep in the car on the way home at 11 in the morning.  So I gave him some Motrin and sent him to bed.  He seemed to be better that afternoon.  He still was not himself on Saturday but woke up acting fine on Sunday.  He seemed like the worst was behind us on Sunday night and Monday.  Today was a different story.  He woke up and did NOT want to eat his donut?  REALLY?  I felt his head and he was very warm.  I took his temp and it was 104!  I have never seen temperature that high on my kids yet.  So we headed to the doctor and found out he has strep.  Boy, do I feel so bad.  :(  We took our prescription to the drug store, came home, got our blankets and popped a movie in.  He also got to pick up two treats from Publix, goldfish and a Thomas train, Diesel!  Sometimes it pays to be sick because your mom has major guilt!  :)

In other news... Tinzley LOVES when Tom plays guitar.  She also had her first tooth pop through.  She loves eating any table food we give her.  She also loves her big brother when he plays with her.  Tinzley is not crawling yet but she can get around enough that she is not as frustrated as she used to be.  Here are some pics from the last few days. Have I also mentioned Jonas can play Farkle on the computer, well mostly by himself.  Crazy huh?