milestones

After being a slow learner and becoming completely happy with just sittin' there like a bump on a log, Molly finally started rolling at about 10 months old...and as of today, we can now add walking to her list of really neat tricks.

I'm watching Molly walk along the blurry edge of baby and toddler.  The milestones of her life are so awesome to see but in a quick second, like sand falling from between my fingers...I feel her growing up.

Oh the ways I love this little girl...

molly turned one.

I'm blogging!  I almost don't believe it myself.  I'd like to apologize to my avid followers [grandma and mom] for the blogging hiatus.  I promise to do better.

Where to start, where to start...Well since I'm recommitting to blogging I won't try to cover it all at once.  We'll take baby steps here...

I'm starting with Molly. My dear sweet Molly.  I've done everything I said I wouldn't do with the second child.  There were minimal pictures taken of you until we bought a working camera.  I've talked about you on this blog, like, 5 times.  Which my blog is supposed to be a modern day, cheap, virtual scrapbook...so in translation to a real scrapbook this would mean that I have 5 completed scrapbook pages of your life and I started 6 more but ran out of those cute stickers.  Let's just say your life has been really great.  That's all you need to know.

She never gets held.

We had a TuTu party with some friends and then had a few family parties too.  I thought this year that instead of doing one gigantic birthday party, I'd do a few smaller parties.  Let me tell you that I didn't save on time/money/party panic by having the smaller parties...so I might hop back on the huge-shin-dig train because there isn't much difference. 

Vivi changed Molly's diaper and the powder was in reach therefore the "CasperMolly" in the top right.

Tutu Party with some pals.

Molly and her G.Grandma Breden celebrated their birthdays together which explains the matching tiaras.

I love this video.  It was taken on her the morning of her big day.  She's such a little rug rat first thing in the morning.  I don't think she expected the paparazzi at such an early hour and Colt turned every light on within seconds giving her poor eyes a jolt.  I shall name this video...'Hey Molly, Mornin'...Hey Molly, Mornin'...Hey Molly, Mornin'...Colt would be a good Walmart greeter.

 It was a special day for my baby girl.  She's growing so fast!

lately...

1. We're gearing up for Molly's 1st birthday.  I cannot believe it's almost that time.  She's beautiful and happy and everything I love.

2. I signed up for a 1/2 marathon.  It's paid for and everything. GULP!  I've been running 4x's a week with my running partner Sarah.  I CANNOT believe that I'm doing this but I'm pretty proud of myself.  Yesterday I ran 5 miles for the first time ever and it didn't even suck that bad.  I just keep moving my feet and eventually it's over with...that's how I get through it. ha!  Andy is registered to run the marathon that same race.  He's never ran a full marathon before. I'm so excited for him.  Yesterday he ran a 1/2 marathon around town and he said it felt great.  Look at us! We're runners!

3. Colt is almost potty trained.  This makes me realllllllllly happy.  After going cold turkey on the diapers and just making him be in underwear he's catching on really well.  We have accidents still here and there but in general he goes in the potty.  I'm so proud of my little man!  He gets 1 jellybean when he goes peepee and 2 jellybeans when he goes #2.  He always reminds me 'Mom, poo potty...2 beans. 2 beans.'  Just making sure I don't jip him of those jellybeans.  I love my little boy.  He's growing up and I'm really proud of him.

4. After 4 years...we've decided, Copper's getting knocked up.  NO MORE DOGGIE PERIODS!  Andy has always wanted to breed her and so we're going for it.  I'll tell ya what though, someones gonna be crying when that last puppy get sold and that somebody is me!

5. We're healthy, happy and blessed.

he knows me

This morning I started looking at baby pictures of Colt.  Every time I do that I just can't believe how fast it's gone and how hard sometimes it is to remember the curves of his plump newborn face.  He was so small! 

I tried really hard to breath in every moment of when he was a newborn.  It seems so long ago.  I'd like to relive on of those days again.

I'm reminiscing, getting teary and then I hear Colt saying my name from his room.  He had just woken up.  I go in there and he's so happy to see me, as always.  Typically I pick him up and he runs off to the kitchen for food or to go find Copper but today the first thing he said was, Mama, Hold me? 

I picked him up and he sat on my hip just staring me in the face with a sweet smile on.  Then he wiggled his little body around so that I could cradle him in my arms.  And with his head tucked in close to my elbow, resting on my chest and his legs dangling down to my knees...he rested there while I rocked him and for a second I saw my newborn baby boy in his toddler face.

I can't relive September 08 but today God created a moment for me that was the next best thing.  

He knows me.

coffee break

Most would say 'Yucky'.

Mine says 'MMmmm' and asks for more.

So we got him his own cup.

so much to say!

Ya know how I was gonna blog during nap time...eh, ya that didn't happen. So here I sit absolutely forcing myself to not do the other 20 things I should probably be doing and blog instead. How does that happen? No matter what, there is always something I should be doing. But for now I'm going to blog and stare at the toys that need picked up, the clean clothes in the basket that need folded and put away, the dishes in the sink and the list goes on. Seriously driving me a little crazy looking at this mess but oh well. Ok, I'm done.

Now I'm going to vomit my thoughts and try to make it to bed in 30 minutes :)

• debt. As of December 1st 2010 we are debt free! We said goodbye to the payments for a Ford, a Honda, a Jeep and a furnace totally to $33,000 dollars which we paid off in 2.5 years.  That included a few road bumps along the way too...1) Colt 2) I quit my full time job & my part time job to stay home and 3) Molly. Not that they are road bumps in our life just things that set us back a tad financially. We are really proud of ourselves. I love that we honored the money that God put into our life and I pray that from it we're able to live a financially easy life and give generously as we go. It feels realllly cool and I must say I think I've fallen more in love with my Andy on this journey. It's been hard, we had to pinch penny's and skip out on fun times and vacations but it's over with now and we're better for it. The one thing I heard Dave Ramsey say that stuck with me was, Adults devise a plan and see it through. Children do what feels good. That really put things in perspective and helped me stay focused. If you want to know how we made it happen go here and do this. You won't regret it!
• rollin' rollin'. Molly finally started to roll. At her 6 month appointment she was still totally content just laying there. She finally started to roll but not without help from Colt. Whenever he saw me lay the blanket on the living room floor he would say MOLLY? Roll??...I'd lay her down and he'd grab her shirt and pull/push her until she flipped over :) Such a helper. I feel like she will be a tad slower in all the physical milestones. She just wants to sit on the floor play with a Dolly or a toy and jibberjabber :)
• the grinch. I've watched this movie a dillion times in the last 3 weeks. I say every time how perfect this character is for Jim Carey to play and I'm in awe of what an amazing actor he is. This also is a hilarious movie. Every time I watch it I find something else in it that is hilarious. I also love the moral of the story. I love Max the dog. I love when Cindy Lou Who sings Where Are You Christmas in her room before bed that one night and hits that high note at the very end...she's just so sweet.  I want to be a Who.
• ibs. I figured we'd close the book on my whole intestinal/stomach ache/poop problems. After all those tests and everything I went through the doctors told me I have IBS. I feel like I could have figured that out. I've cut the majority of wheat out of my diet and it does help. I haven't had a stomach ache in months which is amazing. Now, when I cheat with wheat and eat it I vomit  and have terrible diarrhea instead. haha! Not all the time, just sometimes. Whatever. TMI. Anyways. Let's just say Lord help me when I'm 80 and naturally start to loose control of my bms. AND I just took it another step farter...I mean farther. I mean, POOP!
• 11:10pm I was supposed to go to bed ten minutes ago.
• snow. snow. snow. It's been snowing like crazy here and I for one, flipping love it. The more snow the merrier. It's beautiful. It's quiet. It bring a peace to my soul. You can hit someone in the face with it if you're mad...and you can eat it if you're hungry. It's amazing. Colt, Andy and Copper think so too...
• baby jesus. Christmas morning is almost here and I'm going to make a birthday cake for baby Jesus. Andy thinks I'm crazy. Maybe I won't ALWAYS make baby Jesus a birthday cake but it will help my 2 year old get the reason this day is so special...and WHO doesn't like cake??? [besides my irritable bowl.]

I'm glad I got that off my chest :)

a xanax would have come in handy.

i've got a lot to say

I'm playing catch up on...

• my guts.  I had my colonoscopy a few weeks ago and an ultra sound right after that.  Both came back clear and healthy lookin.  It's good I'm healthy lookin, but it's also pretty frustrating that we still had no answers.  After my colonoscopy I decided to cut wheat out of my diet just to see what would happen, I had already had blood tests showing that I did not have siliac disease but I thought what the heck, I'll give it a try.  Magically all my pain went away and it was amazing.  I did miss my toast and the occasional goldfish cracker I would snatch from Colt's lunch but I survived.  After about 2 weeks of feeling good my stomach aches came back with a vengeance. I am still staying away from wheat until I meet next Thursday with a GI doctor.  I'll probably need an upper GI.  Weee!
• my disappearing fatness.  Andy and I have about 1 week left in our weight loss competition for this month.  I'm pleased to say that I have 1 pound to go!  I'm just going to go ahead and say how much I had to loose this month to win because I honestly don't mind sharing and hopefully someone will get inspired or something...but will have lost 9lbs this month.  That's a lot of weight!  My total will be 28lbs since June.  I can feel that $100 burning a hole in my pocket as we speak.  I saw a really cute jacket at Target that has my name written all over it.  I love that I haven't even won yet I've found a way to mentally spend all my winnings.
• funny disappearing fatness timing.  Two days before our weigh in we're having a big tailgate for the ND game.  Food, Drinks and more FOOD!  The day after that is Halloween.  Candy, Chocolate and more CANDY!  Will power don't fail my now!  I've been thinking about my strategy and I might wear my retainers to stop the likeliness of food entering my mouth...on the other hand the likeliness of something calling me a dork goes up dramatically with this idea.
• andy.
• On Wednesday Andy reports to the ambulance as a paramedic.  Today was his last day on the fire truck.  I'm proud of his hard work and excited for his raise.
• Andy is also getting skinny.  His pants are ridiculously big and he needs a new belt because he no longer has enough notches to keep them up.  It looks like he has old man pleats in his camo shorts they're so big.  I would never have done well this year if it weren't for his support.  He's really awesome.
• money.  We've been patting ourselves on the back lately.  This month, with Andy's over time and our diligence to keep living on a tight budget we were able to put an extra $750 on our car payment for this month.  Again,  I'm sharing this to brag on ourselves but more importantly to encourage people to do the same.  It's possible!  Only $1,000 more and we will owe NO. ONE. ANYTHING.  Totally debt free!  We owed about $12,000 a year ago and it's almost over with.  I see myself jumping on the bed throwing dollar bills in air already.  Who knows, maybe one day we'll even go on a vacation.  Just one step closer to our life goal of being skinny and rich.  :)  I kid.
• one of my favorite times of the day.  I love when my family is all tucked away for the night and I lay my head on the pillow and start to pray.  I so enjoy reflecting on my day with God.  I thank God for pairing me with Andy.  I ask for wisdom on how to be a better mom.  I pray for my friends.  I thank God that Molly hasn't started crying even though I know she spit her paci out a few minutes ago.  The good, bad and ugly...I absolutely love my life.  I could cry just thinking about the thankfulness and love that I have for my maker.  I'm what they call a happy human.
• molly haab.
• She turned 6 months last week.   I swear she tripled in size last month.  We got to her doctor appointment this week.  I'm excited to see how big she's gotten. 
• She still isn't rolling but she's close to sitting by herself. 
• We started giving her food this week too.  She likes bananas. 
• She is still really chatty.  She's always squealing and complaining about how her socks never stay on.  She's my angel baby.  And really, she is just that.
• colt. 
• Little boy has been referred to as a 5 year old on more than a few occasions this week.  When you see my "5 year old" throwing a tantrum it's because he's 2.  He only looks 5. 
• He is starting to talk a lot more.  He finishes the last word of every sentence in his prayers [peyss] at night and says 'pounds' when I ask him how much he weighs after he stands on our bathroom scale.  He's cute.
• Today he helped me clean the house and played with Copper for hours on end.  At one point I looked up and found Copper wrapped up in all his blankies and he was laying next to her on her dog bed. 
• hunting.  I'm going hunting with Andy on Monday morning.  I've never been hunting so I thought it would be fun to join.  I'm gonna shoot the BIG BUCK.  Not really, I'll be reading my book club book that I haven't even started yet but my hope is that I'll be there with him when he shoots the big one.  I really just want to spend some time with him doing what he loves to do.  I'm going to take some noisy snacks.

Now we're all caught up and I can sleep good tonight.

'twuo'

Happy Birthday to one of the sweetest, funniest kids I've ever met.

So lucky you're mine!

Colt is 2!

porch sitting

Colt really likes to sit on the porch.  When ever we open the door he wiggles his body outside like a dog does when they try to run away.  Colt doesn't want to run away.  He just wants to sit on the porch.  Sometimes he goes with Daddy to get the mail and then sits and reads the paper.  Sometimes he waves at our neighbors...or looks for birds and air planes.  It's always very exciting times. 

growing pains

Colt turns 2 years old this week. Seems like just yesterday I was in the hospital smelling his sweet baby skin. I don't know what in the world is going on with me lately but the fact that his turning 2 is hard to swallow. I cry often thinking at how big he's gotten. He's not longer my bite size baby. He's a little boy. He knows what he wants. Sometimes it's not his momma but most of the time it is.

The first year of a babies life is amazing. They go from being a pile of goo in your arms to a walking & talking being in a short 12 months. The growth is amazing! Then comes their first birthday and it's so much fun. One of the biggest bashes of their life. You prepare, buy all the food & decorations and enjoy the special day. Turning 1 is really fun! Then they turn 2...

I feel like I'm on a roller coaster. From birth to the 1 year birthday is a gradual climb to the top...they're learning so much and becoming a little person. Now, after reaching the top, all I can do is hold on as tight as I can and try not to let life pass me by. Soon he'll be 3, then 4 and off to school and then college. Sound depressing much? I just don't want it to be going so fast.

Op, here I go. Crying again. Dang!

Control yourself woman!

Anyhow, the reason for all the tears is plain and simple. I just absolutely love my life. I absolutely adore my children. I'm so thankful I get to be their mom. I thank God every single day that I get to hold them, teach them and love them with every ounce of my soul. I should be happy that Colt's 2 and healthy, and trust me I am! I just want time to slow down a bit. I really love him.

it's a bed for big boys

Yesterday I had a bug up my butt to re-arrange the rugs in the house, move some pieces of furniture and change Colt's crib into a big boy bed. I'm not quite sure what possessed me to want to move Colt's bed around. He hadn't ever fallen out of his crib. One time while I was drying my hair I could see into his room in the reflection of my bathroom mirror and he was straddling the side of his bed like a Clydesdale horse. I snapped at him and he never did it again. So I know he's got the muscles and the height to get out...what he lacks is the balls.

I convinced young Andrew to please get out his tools and change his son's bed around. He obeyed...even though I could tell what he was thinking by the random glaces he was giving me...You're totally putting the cart before the horse here. You're also totally getting up all night with him if this backfires because after all...It was your idea, Woman. It's amazing after 3.5 years of pure marital bliss all it takes is one glance from the hubs and I can piece together 3 or 4 sentences. Sometimes we don't even need to talk. Our eyebrows do the work for us.

Bedtime came around. We said prayers, tucked Colt in like usual and started to walk away. I wish I had a picture to capture his face. It was the most adorable/break your heart kind of face. His bottom lip started to pucker out as I walked out and he made a face like...Don't leave me Mom. This is weird. I'm kinda scared.

I closed the door and he started to cry. I then heard him trying to open the door. A few seconds later the cry turned into some pretty seriously wailing. I heard the closet door. I heard him dump his toys. Five minutes later, he kicked it up a notch. Boy oh Boy was he putting up a fight. He does this funny thing lately when he's in trouble or when he's not wanting to nap. He'll call out for Betty [his great grandma, who lives across town]. Does he think she's magically appeared to save him for the wrath that is about to strike down upon him via Mean Mommy? I guess so. It makes me laugh though...Bebee! Bebeeeeeee!

Andy finally goes in about ten minutes later and tries to calm him down. Five minutes go by and all I hear is Colt still crying, but now he's crying for Betty and me. Apparently Betty needs back up.

I go in. Sit on the edge of his bed while he cries at the door and calmly tell him...It's going to be okay. We're going to bed. No other options. I'm making your mind up for you since you seem to be so very confused. He eventually lays down. I lay with him, hoping I don't break the bed. I tested that theory a few weeks ago by actually crawling into his crib with him one morning and hanging out in there for a bit. It didn't break then and I've lost a few since then so I figured I was golden.

Finally, after about 10 minutes of me talking him into a sleepy haze and him getting over his hiccups from his cry fest, I tell him I'm leaving now...I love him...Jesus loves him...Peace out little man. He falls asleep. Victory is mine.

So this morning, after last night, I wasn't really looking forward to nap time. I put him down, and he practically chased me out of the room. I couldn't shut the door fast enough. He cried [not as hard as last night] for about 5 minutes and then a hush fell over the house. I waited a while longer before I checked on him and he'd fallen asleep on his toy box [which is a really soft fabric ottoman, so I was ok with it]. About 20 minutes later he falls off the ottoman, starts crying and that was the end of nap time.

I did put him down for a 2nd nap this afternoon since the first one suuuucked and he only cried for 1-2 minutes then slept for 1.5 hours...in his bed! I was proud of his progress.

Tonight I was preparing for another meltdown or 2. Or 3. Or 4...but wouldn't ya know it after we did our routine and I tucked him in I didn't hear ONE PEEP!! Not ONE SINGLE PEEP!!!

That's a big change! I'm really proud of him for being a good transitioner. Although this doesn't make me want to start potty training any sooner :)

I kinda of feel like since he'll be the big #2 in just a few weeks that all these things [ie. potty training, big boy bed, learning to ride a bike...] need to be done soon. But really, he's still just a little nugget. Still really young. I mean, I compare him all day long to my 4 month old, when really, he's still a baby himself. I need to take a chill pill...some call it Xanax. Anyone care to share? Caring is sharing.

hip baby

I always love when my babies can sit on my hips. I'm much faster at everything if I can have at least 1 hand free while maneuvering through the house. I can't believe how big Molly's getting! Seriously, home girl's getting all these fat rolls and extra chins. Tonight she had two dinners. Thinking about introducing oatmeal soon...She be hungry!! 4 months old!!

excuse my pj's and baaad bedhead. it happens.

potty 911

Colt is to the point where we should start potty training.  But who knew finding the perfect potty would be harder than the SAT's.  We've bought two in the last two days and immediatly determined neither work. 

Anyone have any suggestions?  I've been reading reviews like crazy but figured I'd take your word for it. 

A few things to note:
Colt is pretty tall for his age.
Colt is quite beefy for his age.

And His butt is larger than life.

my monkey man

Every night Andy and I lay in bed and recall how hilarious Colt is throughout the day. I say all the time how each stage of his life has been more fun than the last. Not the the stages are ever boring when you're in them...but Colt just keeps getting more fun and more fun. Here are some thing he's done the last couple days that make me laugh/happy:

1. He saw a commercial on TV of an opera singer. When the commercial was over, he turned to Andy and I, raise his arm up in the air and belted out the adorable cat-sounding opera note at the top of his lungs.
2. We made a tent out of a blanket and he gave me free kisses. sweetness.
3. After he got his diaper changed him and Daddy ran through the house to find me and spanked my butt. He thinks it's hilarious...so does Andy.
4. When we say our prayers a night he always nods and says 'ehhMAN! [amen] quite confidently.
5. After prayers when we give kisses he grabs the back of my head and the back of Andy's head and pushes them together to make us kiss. He makes us kiss at least 83 times a night. Andy asked the other day, "When does this get weird? Him making us kiss all the time", I assured him when he's ten I doubt he'll still be making us kiss. And honestly, I think him seeing his parents kiss all the time is sweet. At least he'll never question if we love each other or not.
6. His new thing is to stand on the arm of the sofa and do a big belly flop across the length of the sofa. I no longer say 'No' I say 'Becareful!' No got to tiring to keep saying and he's too much of a monkey to not let him act like one...so I say, becareful instead.
7. Last night I was holding molly before we layed him down and he kissed her goodnight on his own. He always kisses her on the forehead. Then he kissed Andy's forehead and pushed my head down so he could kiss my forehead. Apparently he likes to kiss foreheads.
8. He has been running up to copper, pushing her butt out of the way and saying GO! I wonder where he gets that from. ha!
9. All I have to say lately is 'please use your manors' and he'll insert the appropriate 'pease'[please] or 'thannng' [thanks/thankyou]...every once in a while he'll throw in a 'peepease???' [pretty please]. When he does that, doesn't matter if he's asking for a cup of pure sugar to mix into his chocolate milk, I give him it simply because he's adorable and I cannot resist.

Anyway, he's growing up and so funny. Last night Andy said that Colt was his kinda kid....1) thick 2) sweet and 3) durable. That pretty much sums him up perfectly. Love my little doodie head.

goodbye paci, you were a dear friend in harder times.

Not to say we're completely paci-less in casa del Breden, but we're pretty stinkin close.  I decided three nights ago to just hide all the paci's and tell Colt at bedtime that I wasn't sure where they went.  I kinda lied....eh?  AND wouldn't ya know he's barely mentioned it?!?  I mean, I thought getting rid of the paci was going to be this huge flippin ordeal and it's been a piece of chocolate cake with double fudge icing on top.  AND a cherry. AND some ice cream.  Can you tell I'm pmsing?

Molly still has her paci though. In a perfect world they would both be paci free but let's face it...she likes her paci, and honestly it helps me when my hands are full.  It pacifies her when I can't so for now, baby girl gets to keep hers.  Colt tried to steal it once yesterday, but I got it back from him, told him he was silly and that paci's were for babies.  He then ran off to go play with other toys. 

I'M SO HAPPY!

I'd like to chalk this up to my amazing mothering skills but really, I think maybe it's my kid.  He's really cool and goes with the flow.  I'm so proud. Sniff Sniff.

AND, YESTERDAY...He grabbed his crotch, yelled 'PEEPEE' and ran to the bathroom?!?  WHAT?  Andy and I gave each other the most hilarious look like 'our son is amazing!' We ran into the bathroom, sat him on the pot and nothing happened.  We have him a bath right after and he whizzed all over but at least he was close to the toilet.  I'm proud of him for trying.  That's a very good start.

I love my Coley.  He's growing up into this adorable, funny and smart little ham hock.  I could hug and kiss him all day long.  Toddlering isn't as bad as they say...really, it isn't.

He's really cute.

quiet time

Usually when I hear nothing in my house, it means Colt is eating dog food or he's gotten the cap of my chap stick and is eating it as an afternoon snack. Lots of eating going on.

The other day, when I heard nothing and saw nothing, I went on a little boy hunt, expecting the worse. When I found him he was sitting in the sunshine with his bible and his blankie, mumbling it to Copper.

My heart melted.
Then I took this picture.

He is the sweetest thing that ever lived.

testing it out

This is our new sleeper/rocker we got for Molly. I'm really excited to test this baby out. We're going to use it in our room instead of a pack-n-play. It's sort of like a sling and the baby sits at an angle which all babies like angles as opposed to flat on mattress.

I tried to stop Colt from testing out Molly's new seat for the first 5 minutes after assembling but decided that was a fight I didn't want to keep fighting. So, he climbs in there sometimes. It hasn't broken or ripped yet, which is a great sign since he maxed out the weight limit on that sucker 6lbs ago. Sometimes ya gotta choose your battles.

He looks cozy though, right?

I'm measuring two weeks ahead and my doc said we'd create a birth plan for baby girl at 38 weeks...which makes me happy and makes Andy, the pessimist, say over and over, 'You're gonna go to your due date.' He doesn't want me to get my hopes up. I get it. But how can you not get excited at the thought of meeting your little one sooner than later?

You can't. It's too exciting.

the mall

and why we don't go there.

Don't worry, my mom was in arms reach.

tickling the ivories