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!

Christmas 2011

To start off the Christmas Season we made a quick trip to Cabela's to catch up with good old Santa Claus. Nothing like sitting in Santa's lap surrounded by dead stuffed animals to bring on the holiday spirit! Actually it's great, they give you a picture for free and there is hardly a line. A win win if you ask me. Ella cried all the way up until it was time for me to plop her on his lap and then she was all smiles! Guess she didn't want him to see her being naughty! Jack was a big talker clear up until we got to see him and then he clammed right up and I could tell he was really nervous! He was a fantastic Santa and we can't wait to go see him next year!

We spent an evening decorating Gingerbread houses with the Frisby family and the kids had so much fun! I anticipated we would be the first ones done and out the door because my kids suffer from a lack of attention span. I was so shocked when we were the last ones there and that Jack had worked so hard on his house. I don't think he could have added anything else even if he had wanted to. His was complete with a wood stack, mailbox and the north and south poles. He had so much fun and Ella was just content eating all the candy and icing and playing with the toys. We will have to do this one again next year because they had so so so much fun! I feel hesitant to throw the finished product away because he had such a good time making it and did such a great job! But alas, tomorrow it will be going in the garbage!

(notice Ella's mouth full of candy in this one while Grandma does all the work!)

I am blaming it on being pregnant and tired but we didn't "make" one sugar cookie this holiday season. I decided at the last minute that we HAD to decorate some so I bought some for the kids to decorate from the local grocery store. They didn't seem to mind and loved eating all the frosting and sprinkles they could get their hands on. I have to admit we may take the easy route again last year... the cleanup was a breeze and I think the kids had just as much fun!

These were just a start to all the fun things we did before Christmas and I am hoping I get back around to blogging about the rest of them before NEXT Christmas gets here!

Charlie Brown Christmas

This year we decided to cut down our own Christmas tree. Let's just say it was an experience and I finally just said "fine" to the tree Ryan and Jack picked. And as suspected when I saw it in the forest it turned out to be a "charlie brown" Christmas tree. Jack couldn't have been prouder though and told everyone he could that he had the most beautiful tree and that he cut it down by himself. He was so cute that I might even consent to cutting down another "beautiful" tree next year instead of using my really beautiful, fully lit, symmetrical tree that spent the holiday season in the box in the attic! And no, the pictures don't lie- it was crooked and leaned to the right for the entire Christmas season. I can't believe I am admitting this but I may just be a tad bit sad to take it down tomorrow!