Faces

I just wanted to post some recent pictures we got taken of our little family and the kids! My in laws got us all together for Christmas pictures, so I snuck in a little belated 6 month session for Tessa as well. I won't spoil my in laws Christmas card and post the all family pics, but here are some great moments that were captured of our little clan! (Ironically, I also scheduled Christmas pictures for us this weekend, so will have MORE pics for that! I am so glad we are getting all of these--the kids grow and change so fast!)

Classic "No" face

Kisses!

Pain in the Bite

Its been over a month since I got my wisdom teeth out, and I can honestly say this is the first week that my mouth feels completely better. (not even really normal, but no pain). Right at the end of August, I decided to quickly get my wisdom teeth out (after years of being told to) since my insurance changed Sept 1st, and under my old insurance, I could get the surgery done for free. Not even a co pay. (Now THAT is good insurance). So in less than a week's time, I made arrangements to make it happen. Now before going into surgery, I heard a lot of people's experiences--good and bad. Some people were eating steak 2 days later, and others didn't quite feel back to normal for a couple weeks. Well, let's just say that after my experience, I probably won't be sharing my story with people. Because if they heard it, they would probably let their wisdom teeth take up permanent residence in their mouth. Mine was not a normal experience. And after the weeks of a puffy cheek (yep, just one side--which, in my opinion, is even more awkward), endless pain, no real food, gross sockets, popping Vicodin and Tylenol like candy, smoothies and ice cream (which I could honestly do without for a while), I finally feel better. I can finally take a bite into a sandwich and chew. What's funny is that I still can't have a full, extended bite--yes, this sounds weird. After not using muscles for a while and the fact that my jaw was even considered "sprained" (what the heck, right?!), its still hard to fit a normal bite in my mouth.( I am thinking about taking up jaw yoga to help this). BUT after not being able to bite at all for weeks, any bite is good for me.
So after this fun little adventure, I couldn't help but think, Wow, that was annoying. And wonder (as I do often when things happen in life) why did I go through that? While I realize it wasn't a life changing event, or for that matter, anything huge in the scope of things, it did affect my everyday life for over a month. It changed work, being a mom, being a wife, my comfort, my attitude... therefore, I can't help but wonder why God allowed it to happen. So in pondering this, here is my little list of learnings from all of this (some deep, some practical, and some not either of those things).

• Don't take my health for granted--its amazing when you are in extreme pain how much it affects your life. And how you just want that pain free state back. While my pain was minor in what so many people deal with, it makes me grateful for each day I wake up pain free and can function normally.
• My comfort greatly affects my attitude. I found myself snappy and impatient and realized it was because I was uncomfortable. I had to keep having an attitude check and remind myself this was no ones fault. Not Jon's, not the Drs (ok maybe a little bit of hers), and certainly not Caden or Tessa's. It just was what is was and it sucked. And my attitude could either worsen things, or make it tolerable. One of my supervisors at work reminded me the other week that God often takes us through the same test over and over in order to shape us and teach us--over and over, especially if we don't get what God is trying to teach us. Well, this was another pop quiz. And I failed. So a month later, I realized that I don't want to keep taking this test over and over...I want to look at the bigger picture of things and realize that I am called to be joyful in all things, and again, is this really that bad? No. Could it be worse? Certainly. But more importantly, no matter what physical state I am in, what financial situation we are in, what house we are living in, what comforts I do or don't have, I am called to be thankful and joyful. This learning applies to so much more than my physical comfort...but my emotional comfort, my spiritual comfort, what I think I "deserve" to be comfortable...so I am choosing to strive for change and joy. I realize the quizzes might not be over, but I pray that my heart is changed so with each situation that I encounter, my attitude reflects that change.
  
• Don't open your 2 year olds fruit snacks with your teeth. Just a good rule for life.
• I have an amazing husband. He takes care of me. He takes care of the kids. I often focus on the things he doesn't do, and forget about the many things he does do. And does so well. And appreciates what I do without making me feel bad if I don't do them. He never asks me (or complains about) to clean the house, to do laundry, to make meals...but is grateful when I do them.
  
• I have amazing friends and family. I have so many family members and friends that jumped in to help me with life during all of this. My mom who left her first week back at work to take care of the kids so I could rest. My friends who took Caden for me so I wouldn't have to chase a 2 year old in my extreme pain. All that asked how I was and was concerned for all my "mouth drama". In the scheme of life, it wasn't that big of a deal. But it was hard. And painful. And annoying. And those around me showed genuine concern. I love community like that.
• Don't put your daughters pacifier in your mouth (the ring, plastic part) and bite down on it to hold it because both your hands are occupied. Carry your daughter, then go back and get it. Trying to carry it in your mouth and biting down (bite being the operative term) probably isn't a good idea when you haven't bit on anything for almost 3 weeks. Apparently jaws can be sprained. And it hurts. A lot.
  
• It really nice when dr's offices come to know you by first name and have gotten to know a lot about you. Its not nice when its because you have to go there every day for 2 weeks to get a piece of gauze stuffed in the back of your mouth that tastes like clove--a mix of ginger and medicine tasting flavor. I hate ginger flavor by the way. While it helps a lot of people with nausea, it makes me want to barf. Gagging daily due to the flavor and huge hands in your mouth really bonds you to a group of people. But I can honestly say I don't miss Dr Jui, Rob or Julian. And I think they are doing just fine without me.
  

So that's been my month or so...and I am happy to be moving on and functioning normally, rarely thinking twice about all that happened. And I am thankful that its over and all that I can appreciate more because of it. And even more thankful God only gave us one set of wisdom teeth. Because I will NEVER have to do that again.

Thirty, Thrifty, and Thriving

What a busy month this has been, and its still winding down! The big event of September is (as it is every year) my birthday! It was a milestone birthday though, since I turned 30. Honestly, I don't feel any differently, but it was fun to finally hit the big 3-0 and have an excuse to celebrate a little more. Jon took me out to an amazing birthday dinner at Mastro's Steakhouse---sooooo good. Steak, Prime Rib, Mashed Potatoes, Mac & Cheese, Salad, Wine....We ate until we couldn't eat any more...and then they brought me this...

So then we ate more. :) Could you resist this? Me neither. (And it came with a bowl of fresh whipped cream that I pretty much could have eaten by itself. De-lici-ous. That same weekend we threw a little party for friends and family at my in laws house. We had a taco catering company come, who cooked fresh tacos for everyone, and had a little margarita machine. It was yummy and a fun time to have everyone together. I didn't get any pictures since we were busy trying to hang with everyone and the kids too! But it was a fun night, topped off by my parents taking our kids for the night. Jon and I enjoyed a restful night that night, then went out to brunch the next morning at Marmalade Cafe. (I took the morning off work--I LOVE weekends off!)
In other, not so fun events, this month has also been the month of home repair. A few thousand dollars to repair the air conditioning, dryer and ice machine broken (repairs and/or replacement happening today so we will see how that goes)...home ownership has its downsides. As a result, I am now challenged to have to be even more thrifty to "make up" for these home repairs. Always a challenge when things that I tend to spend more money on are often out of convenience or for the kids. With a pretty much full time job and 2 kids, I seem to buy things when I can and out of need, as opposed to having the time to shop around etc. So I am trying to focus on really what we need, and not what I want. Always a struggle in the bigger and better culture we live in. For instance, we have been talking for a long time about wanting a new coffee table before Tessa starts walking. The one we have has some hard edges and corners that weren't (and still aren't) so kind to Caden. So we plan on getting an ottoman that is soft and can function as both. I was really thinking if we need a coffee table at all or not...and truly, we do since we have no dining room table due to our lack of space in our house, and this piece functions as our "dining room" in our house. So I've been looking around at ottomans...and of course, the ones I love are the Ballard Designs, Ashley Furniture type ones. But I think we are going to go for a good old Walmart one instead. What's the difference? Well, probably quality--but mostly price. And that's ok. Cuz honestly, this new piece of furniture will probably end up with drool, crayons and Thomas the Train indentations in it anyways. And at the rate my kids take down food and diapers these days, its the best choice for us financially.
Finally, here are some pictures of the kids as they grow bigger every day. Tessa had her 6 month appointment and is 15 pounds, 6 oz. and 27 1/4 inches (92% in height)! Caden is getting more and more intrested in potty training but isn't quite there yet. Well, to be quite honest, he very much rebels at the thought of sitting still on the toilet, BUT he wants his diaper changed when its dirty and can talk about when he has to go some of the time. Its still not quite time, but baby steps...in the mean time, his vocab has expanded like crazy! He repeats everything we say (makes us watch our words even more!) and loves calling me "Mom! Mom! Mom!" (yes that many times or more) or "Jen!". Yep, I am working on that last one. They both head back to Mops childcare once a week (while I work) next week, which I think will be great for both of them. Caden LOVES church and class, so he's good to go. Tessa is finally at a better place where not only is she just more into a routine, even keeled and fun, but she feels more independent in playing in an exersaucer or on the ground with toys. A far cry (no pun intended) from my little girl from 0-3 months. So it will be good for both of us to have her more consistently in a class. She hasn't gone to church as much as Caden did by this age but when she has gone lately has done very well.
That's all for now--I leave you with some latest pics of the kiddos!

Caden playing Uncle Chewie's guitar (he says "my play! my sing!")

Going swimming for the first time! (Daddy wasn't a fan of the 2 piece, but I think its adorable!)

Our Growing Girl

Just a few pictures of our growing 5 1/2 month old! Her current claim to fames are:

• Rolling over all by herself....and then getting mad that she is on her stomach. Can she roll back to her back by herself? Yes. But she forgets.
• Smiling and giggling--even if you glance her, she is begging for some eye contact so she can say hi with a sweet smile!
  
• Watching--she stays happiest when Caden is running around like the crazy 2 year old he is and she can just watch the chaos!
  
• Eating cereal! She just did this for the first time yesterday, and so far she loves it! She still has a little bit of that tongue reflex when she wants to push the food out, but she was all about it and enjoying the taste (surprisingly). She was following the spoon with her head all over the place!
• Hanging in her exersaucer--I bought one off of Craigslist for $20 to keep on the patio when Caden and I play out there, and she loves it!
  
• Grabbing--she grabs anything and everything near by. The best is when Caden sets down a toy next to her and next thing you know shes got it! When he notices it, he usually tries to take it back ("baby--no! Mine!" No and Mine are Cadens top 2 words these days). Its been some good teaching moments for Caden on the importance of sharing. It usually ends up with Caden bringing another toy to her (that he doesn't want) and "trades" it for the one she's grabbed. Oh yeah--and I love that she will grab your face if its close enough. And sometimes pull ya in for a kiss (i.e. slobber on your face).

She started on the other side of her play mat, and then I found her here, little rolley polley!

Getting ready for a taste of her first cereal!!

Yummers!!

Vegas!

Jon and I were able to take a little vacation to Vegas for 3 days, 2 nights this past week. Jon's parents watched the kids one day, and my parents for overnights and the other 2 days, so we could celebrate our 5th anniversary. And it was so much fun! It was the perfect amount of time--we felt like we got to see and do a lot, but then were ready to come home and see our kids by the end of it. We ate LOTS of yummy food, walked around, went shopping, gambled on penny slots (Jon won $300 one night on one big win!)...it was great. It was nice to be just the two of us, especially since the weeks preceding the trip I was crazy busy at work, and gone most evenings working and rehearsing. (If you want to see why I was rehearsing, click HERE and fast forward to about 32 minutes in. Its about a 15 minute skit if you have the time or interest to watch!) I kept calling Jon and I "passing ships in the night" those weeks, because we literally would just say hi and bye to each other, or talk "kid"details, or talk work...but after this trip I feel like we got caught up with each other, laughed a lot and even had some good old karaoke time on the road trips...doesn't get much better that that. So now we are back to reality--we missed our kids like crazy, and they look like they grew a ton in just a couple days (Tessa especially). :) We are so blessed to have family close by who loves and knows our kids so well, and offers to take them so Jon and I can have alone time. The kids did GREAT with both grandparents (and with Tessa, this is a huge relief) and, what is even more of a blessing, is even if Tessa had a tough time--I am pretty sure my mom wouldn't let me know. :) But I am pretty sure Grammie is Tessa's fav--TK smiles and knows Grammie's voice as well and Jon and I. Such a blessing.
Here are some snap shots of our few days away!

Our suite at the Palazzo (newer hotel connected to the Venetian--so nice!)

Entertaining ourselves while we listened to some lame music at a lounge...we had fun the first night at a dueling piano bar, but night 2 was more of us laughing at how terrible the music was. But we had fun anyways!

Family Pictures

One of the highlights of my sister and her family visiting California this summer was all of us taking family pictures together. We haven't done that since Jon and I's wedding, so 5 years later--here they are! With kids and all! Here are some of my favs! (More details and pics of our time with the Bowers to come!)

Real Quick

My sister and her family are in town and its been SO amazing to spend time with them! We did some family pictures today and our wonderful photographer already posted this. Rosina is SO talented--she did our Christmas pictures and my maternity pictures (for Tessa) which WE LOVE! So we are blessed to have her take these shots, and I can't wait to see them all! Here is the sneak peek! :)