Boppy's House

I sure love this little family of mine.... BTW we had just gotten back from swimming that's why we are all looking so fantastic! :)

Such a sad face!!

We had to try the racoon hat on Bobo! It went perfectly with his Camo coat. Another hunter in the making?

With school starting soon and us having to have a stricter schedule we decided to take one last spur of the moment trip to the cabin. We packed up and headed out on Thursday afternoon before school started and headed out. It's always such a fun time and the kids always have so much fun. I wish it wasn't quite so far so we could go more often!!

Happy 5th Birthday Jack

Happy Birthday to You!!

Our favorite 4 year old turned into our favorite 5 year old and we celebrated in dino style! Of course we had to have a dino cake, trip to the dino museum and may dino themed gifts. This kid is so spoiled and has so many people that love him that it seems like birthday celebrations last for an entire week around here. Mistie and Duane were so nice and gave us 4 tickets to Lagoon so after his party we surprised him with a trip to Lagoon too. Later that week Uncle Trevor said he would take us boating for Jack's birthday too so the partying continued on! I can't believe you are 5 years old Jacker! I am so proud of you for being such a good brother (to Brody- Ella not so much!) and for being such a good helper to me. You are always willing to help me out with minimal complaining and you do such a good job when asked. I wouldn't change a thing about your spunky personality although some days it is challenging- You wouldn't be who you are without it! You keep us on our toes and teach us new things everyday! Can't wait to see what this year brings for you!! Love you Jacker Man!The cake turned out so cute and I was so thankful Del made it for me! It's hard to bake one handed with a baby on your hip! At the dino museum with friends. Colter, Kaden, Payton, Tyson, Hailey, Karley, Baby Jack and Jack. (picking at his fingernails... his favorite hobby!) Love that boy!

Get you back to your day.....

The other morning I was scrubbing the toilets. As I put the cleaner in Jack came marching in and watched. A few seconds into watching he proclaimed...."that will definitely get you back to your day!" I was like "WHAT??" He repeated it again several times. I had no idea what he was talking about until he said is that CLR? Because that stuff definitely gets you back to your day. It finally clicked what he was talking about. He was referring to an infomercial about CLR cleaning products and their tagline is that the cleaner will help you get back to your day! I about died laughing... apparently he is really interested in this cleaner and has the whole commercial memorized!

Later that same day he was watching shows with Ryan and gave out a grunt at the end of a commercial. Ryan asked him what was wrong and he said "You have to be 18 or older to get all the cool stuff!" Good thing he doesn't know my credit card number and that he is only 5 or we could be in trouble! After this day I determined he definitely watches too much tv!

I'm BACK.....

After way too long and missing way too many important things that should have been documented I am back to try and catch up.  To say it has been a hectic, busy, crazy and insane couple of months would be an understatement.  We have sold our home, moved 4 times and added a sweet boy to our family.  When you put it on paper it doesn't sound like that much but trust me.... it has been a LOT to handle.  But we are in our new home, settled and loving our new little man and trying to keep up with the Jacker Man and Ella Rosen. 
I am going to try and backtrack a bit to make sure I don't miss out on any of the highlights of the last few months.

At the end of April after being on the market for 2 weeks we sold our humble abode on Perth St.  Sooo many memories were made there and it was very bitterweet for us.  We were ready to move on to a bigger house to fit our growing family but weren't ready to leave our wonderful neighbors and neighborhood.  Oh how I wish I could put our new house right where this one was and live on Perth St. again.  We REALLY miss our wonderful neighbors and the kids especially miss their friends.  As I walked out the last time I had tears in my eyes because this is where I brought my babies home.  This is where they learned to crawl and walk.  This is where I spent MANY nights rocking them and loving on them.  So many memories were made in this house and it will always hold a special place in my heart.  It is still hard to go visit my old neighbors and know that is no longer our home. 

After selling our home and waiting to close on our new home we had a couple of weeks in the mean time with nowhere to live.  We were homeless.  Luckily, my wonderful in-laws agreed to let us crash in their basement until we could get in the new house.  They had NO idea what they were getting themselves into!  Not to mention during this 2 week stay I had a baby.... no big deal! :) (this will get a post of its own!)  A few days after getting home from the hospital the people we were buying the home from agreed to let us move in (rent) the home we were buying from them because the paperwork was delayed.  They had already moved to Arizona so the home was empty.  We rounded up the troops and moved in.  Fast forward 2 weeks.... Sellers decide they no longer want to sell.  Homeless again!  Fortunately for us Ryan's parents let us move in AGAIN.  This time we had NO timeframe and they still let our family of 5 our dog and our fish crash in their basement again!  The house search was on again!  Lucky for us (and them) another home came on the market in the same neighborhood and on the same STREET.  We put in our offer and they accepted.  It was where we were meant to be.

We were so happy when the papers were finally signed and this beauty was ours.  Words cannot express how thankful and grateful we are for Keldon and Annette letting us crash their home... (literally) for several months.  This was a very stressful time with a newborn and I can't imagine how we would have been able to handle it without their help.  Thank you thank you thank you!!! 

I would like to say life has slowed down a bit since we got moved in but.... it hasn't.  We like to keep a busy schedule and we have accomplished it this summer.  I figure those boxes will still be sitting here waiting to be unpacked when it's winter and we have nothing else to do.  In the meantime, who needs tupperware, seasoning salt, and clean pillowcases.  (just a few things I have yet to find!)  And just to justify all of this happening... I LOVE this home so much more and I am so happy despite all the craziness that it caused that the other home fell through!

Okay, just a start to my major catch up but I am hoping if BoBo will cooperate to get this updated on a regular basis from now on!

Honolulu 2012

Flashback to January with my girls trip to Hawaii!

We had a wonderful trip and Ryan did an amazing job watching the kids so that I could enjoy a girls trip with some friends from high school.  It was so much fun and I hope we can do it again soon!  We spent our days lounging at the beach, shopping, reminiscing and enjoying our kid free time.

We stayed with my friend Sarah who was our tour guide for the entire trip and she did a fantastic job.  We hiked to waterfalls, went snorkeling, went to a luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center, went whale watching, went to the Dole Plantation, swam with sea turtles.... oh my it was so busy and fun.

I am thinking of "dressing" up one of our Muleys like this one!  This was in the Juicy store in Waikiki and I had to get a picture of it! Love the lipstick!

 We went snorkeling here at Hanauma Bay.  Probably my favorite thing that we did.  I could do this everyday and not get tired of it.  The walk up and down to the bay... that might make me tired!  But I can say I didn't take the tram either way and I was 5 months pregnant!

 Note to self... never go on a vacation that requires little clothing with skinny friends while pregnant!! :)

 At the Polynesian Cultural Center... Jack would have loved the fire show here!

 With the sea turtles... So beautiful and amazing! 

 April and I on the Whale watch before the sea sickness kicked in for everyone.  Luckily I was one of the select few that wasn't hanging over the edge puking the entire trip! 

 It was such a great time and I am so appreciative to everyone who helped make it happen.  Ryan and Grandma Nette took such great care of the kids I think I might have to do this more often!

Durf-Bury Reunion 2012

We may have been slightly insane when we decided that going to the family reunion with a 7 week old was a good idea. It was a little hectic but all in all a lot of fun. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins and it's always a good time to visit with all of my cousins too! Gina and Gloria did a fantastic job planning this year and we even had a Luau complete with a roasted pig! The kids thought it was great to dress up in Hawaii clothes and we had such a fun time! It was a little chilly the first night so the next night we all loaded up into Mandy's trailer and had a sleep over! It was a little squishy but we most definitely didn't get cold- actually too hot and sweaty! Such a fun weekend and we can't wait until next year!!

First Bath

Brody had is first bath and he was not a fan! It was quite memorable for all of us! We had just moved into our new house and we didn't have hot water yet so I had to warm his water up in the microwave. Of course first it was too hot, then too cold... blah blah blah. A bath shouldn't be this hard! He was mad so he kept shoving off with his feet and kept launching himself almost out of my arms. And since we had just moved and hadn't unpacked much yet all we could find for a towel was this pink one. He was not one bit pleased to have to use his sister's pink towel!

Brody Arthur Paxman

Our sweet little boy joined our family on April 29, 2012. I was scheduled to be induced on the 30th but got antsy to meet my little man. I tried several things to get my labor started and even thought the night before might be the night.  I went to bed having what I thought were contractions and told Ryan I was nervous because I have never actually just went into labor.  To my dismay they stopped shortly after they started and we knew it wasn't the night. Luckily my cousin Danielle was working that next day in Labor and Delivery at the hospital and "snuck" me in to get me started on bringing him into the world. She sent the text at 7 am that I was the next contestant in Labor and Delivery and to get down there asap. I woke up Ry, Rosie and Ainslee and told them it was time to go. I showered and we headed out the door. It was a great uneventful labor and definitely my best one to date. I actually enjoyed myself (thanks to the epidural) and would do it again anyday. Okay that might be a tad bit of a stretch but I can't complain one bit about my labor and delivery this go round. Danielle's shift ended at 6 so we were in a rush to get this little boy here so she could see him. We succeeded!

 He was the cheesiest little boy you have ever seen.  He was 8lbs 7 ounces and I swear that whole 7 ounces was probably that layer of cheese we had to scrub off of him.  He came out with the sweetest little cry and I immediately fell in love with him.  I had felt so guilty because of the move and all the craziness in our lives I didn't feel like I had emotionally prepared for him.  It didn't take one second after seeing him and I was head over heels in love with him and knew he was meant to be in our family!

 I'm always jealous that Ryan gets to spend more time with them when they are first born than me!

 We did get some snuggle time in though and I loved every second!  He started flaring his nostrils a bit and they were worried about his breathing so they took him to get checked out.  Ryan went with him so he wouldn't be alone and I stayed back and waited for my legs to become useable again.  I think we rushed it just a bit because when they tried to put me in the wheelchair I dang near ended up on the ground.  Luckily I was able to catch myself but I think I about gave my mother a heart attack!

Jack was beyond excited to be getting a baby brother.  He has taken the job very seriously and has done so great.  He has far exceeded my expectations of how well he would do with the transition.  I can always count on him to help me out with anything for his baby brother.  He about plowed the nurse over on his visit in to see us at the hospital.  He couldn't wait to get his hands on the baby.  Ella on the other hand insisted the baby was scary and wanted NOTHING to do with him.  She couldn't even be bribed to sit by him for a picture.  She has decided though that he is not so bad and can often be found pinching his cheeks and telling him he is a cutie boy!  He is such a sweet baby and was right from the start!  I could almost have another one because he has just been a piece of cake!  I really think you get sent what you can handle and luckily I got a content little boy. 

After much debate/discussion/pondering we finally decided to name him Brody Arthur Paxman.  Although I don't think he has been called Brody yet.  He is our little BoBo and the name fits him perfectly!  Hopefully someday he will look like a Brody but for now we just love our little BoBo!

Just because...

They seriously LOVE their Dad.  I wish they would EVER get as excited to see me as they do their Daddy-o!
Ella the builder.....

 I love to see them starting to actually like each other.  Ella declares daily that Jacky is her BEST friend!

 Days before we moved and all we had left was our couch and this kids table.  The kids thought it was fantastic that they got to eat in the living room!

 Yes, Jack loves fire.... apparently he likes to fight it too!

I have been so lazy about getting the camera out and taking pictures and I know one day I am going to be so sad about it! I have tried to make a conscious effort to snap a couple occasionally so I can remember how cute my little muffins were!

Colton and Jenny's Wedding

The much aniticpated day finally arrived and it didn't disappoint.  Aunt Jenny married Colton and we couldn't be happier for them.  The kids waited and waited for this day because they couldn't wait to wear their "wedding clothes" and the cupcakes didn't hurt either.  It turned out beautifully and we are so happy that Colton is now our Uncle and Brother.  I didn't get very many good pictures but I did have a couple good excuses.  I was 900 months pregnant and I did have to babysit those 2 two foot T-rexs that Jack insisted had to go to the wedding!  Congrats guys!

Ryan, Jack and Granpa Frisby

 Just love them and their "wedding clothes!"

 The princess and me.

 The beautiful bride and Grandpa Keldon.

It's Dads Birthday shout HOORAY!

In the midst of trying to sell our home and me being very pregnant we celebrated Ryan's 31st birthday!  To say I was unprepared is an understatement.  SO we had an impromptu pancake party for him before he headed to work.  It was complete with Bratz and turtle decor, balloons and tattoos that I had unearthed while packing for the move!  Although I'm sure it wasn't Ryan's best celebrated birthday ever the kids sure had a blast planning his party and making his pancakes.  Happy Birthday to you Ry!  We LOVE you to the moon!

Cute Bum..... Where you from???

I found this on Ryan's phone from last summer and it was too cute not to share! I'm sure the neighbors enjoyed the view while she was pedaling past! :)

Where to start?

I am so far behind I don't even know where to begin but there are a few things (dates) that I don't want to forget so I figure I will at least jot them down....

December 1- First day that I KNEW for sure what I was feeling was my little bun in the oven swimming around!

December 20- Found out that the little bun was all..... BOY!
We are super excited to meet this little man and Jack is over the top thrilled that it is a boy! Whenever we go anywhere he always wants to look at the baby stuff and begs to buy something for his baby brother! I hope his excitement over the new little one lasts at least until he gets here!

January 1- Got my first look at teenage years with my little missy! I didn't turn on the TV for her at the cabin right when she requested it so with hands on her hips and in her meanest voice she pointed at me and said " YOU...... STINKY..... PANTS." She then proceeded upstairs and woke up her Boppy who of course did just what she said and turned on the tv for her! She is a tad bit spoiled and had us laughing so hard!
That same day she decided she wanted to take a bath in the sink. There is no hot water at the cabin so we have to heat it all for her on the stove when we bathe her. Usually this results in a bath in about 2 inches of water but she still insisted on wearing the swim goggles! It was so funny to see her in the sink with 2 inches of water wearing her goggles and singing all kinds of songs. She has such a fun personality!

January 7-8- Ryan and I celebrated SEVEN years of marriage! I love that boy so much and I am so appreciative of all he does for our family. He is a great husband and an even better father. The kids are so lucky to have him and I am so thankful that he is so good to them! We spent the afternoon together shopping a bit and then went to dinner at Outback Steakhouse. Nothing fancy but it was a great kid free afternoon spent with the one I love most. Later that night we returned home to find our poor cat had been hurt (intentionally by a mean neighbor) and we were going to have to put her down. It was a sad evening and Jack was really upset. It was hard to explain to him what was happening in a way that he could understand. Finally we settled on that Purzy was going to live with Jesus and he seemed to be okay with that! We had a love/hate relationship with Purzy but it was still so hard to see her in pain and have to make the choice to put her to sleep! We will miss you Purzy Paxman.... RIP! And, if I ever mention wanting to get another cat please someone knock some sense into me! So sad to say goodbye to our cat but so happy to say goodbye to having to have a litter box!!

January 12-19 - Took a fabulous vacation with friends to Hawaii! So much fun and so thankful to Ryan and Grandma Nette for making my trip possible. I was worried how the week would go but surprisingly they all did just fine without me! Guess I need to do less around here because now I know they are capable! ;) I will post pictures sometime in the hopefully near future!

January 21- Started potty training Ella and let me tell you she has done AMAZING! I think holding out this long was good for her because now she just "gets it" whereas when I tried a few months ago she just didn't. "fingers crossed" No poop accidents and only one pee accident in 3 days! So far SOOOO good! She is amazing and we love her so much!

I decided I am not sending Jack to Kindergarten in the Fall even though he is technically old enough by 10 days. After much contemplation, talking to teachers and really weighing out the pros and cons I hope I have made the right decision. Now I just need to find him some kind of preschool for the next year and hope he enjoys it! I hope in the long run that we have made the right choice but I guess you never know if the decision you made is the best but it is what we feel like will be the best for HIM!

Can't believe I only have less than 15 weeks until the little one gets here! (He so needs a name... if you have any good suggestions please send them this way.) Ryan has recently taken up calling him Aldo... a slight improvement from Maynard and Jimmer but not much! So I need to come up with something better than Aldo soon or we may be welcoming Aldo Paxman into the family soon! (don't worry- not really!) I am trying not to complain and trying to enjoy this pregnancy but it has been hard. Harder than the other 2 by far. I feel like I am being slowly drained of EVERY ounce of energy I had! Hence no blogging because a nap sounds so much more enjoyable every afternoon while the kids sleep! It has been a lifesaver that my kids still nap so that I have been able to as well. My house is a disaster, the thought of cooking meat makes me sick and bending over is already getting hard.... needless to say we have eaten out a bit and luckily Ryan doesn't complain that the house is usually far from tidy. Hopefully soon that "nesting" feeling will kick in and my house and family will benefit from it!

Not nearly all the happenings from the Paxman household this month but I guess it is better than not getting anything written down! Just wanted to add that we are so blessed in so many ways and I am so thankful for everyone and everything I have in my life! Sometimes I forget to stop and think about what I do have rather than what I don't have!