5 months and counting.....

Here I sit, 5 months and 5 days since my last post, trying to decide what all I want to catch you up on. So much has happened in that time: we celebrated Kellan's first birthday and Cason's third, Kellan is walking, Cason has grown 3-4 inches, Chris and I went to Vegas, our family went snow skiing, and on and on and on. You see my dilemma. So, I will take bits and pieces now and spread some of the others out into their very own post...which will not be 5 months from now. Promise.

Let's talk about our vacations in this post, shall we?

Chris accepted a new position as the higher education manager for the Chickasaw Nation in October and has had to travel some with his new opportunity. First, he went to Minneapolis, Minnesota. (He wasn't a fan.) Next, they asked him to go to Las Vegas for a training. Thankfully, he asked me to tag along. It took me about, oh...2 seconds to make up my mind. LOL We had so much fun, but wish he didn't have to spend the days in class. I took full advantage of that though and did absolutely NOTHING!!!! It was so nice and definitely an answered prayer with impeccable timing. About two weeks before we left, I was talking with my cousin Ashley and half-heartedly joked that her and her husband should join us in Vegas. Little did I know, they had both already asked off for the week we were going, and hadn't decided what they would be doing during that time. I couldn't believe the way that worked out. They joined us in Las Vegas on Wednesday (we were there from Monday-Friday) and we made the most of our evenings together with them.

In December, we went snow skiing at Copper Mountain, Colorado with my parents and sisters. We had so much fun!!! It was the boys first time to fly and they passed with "flying" colors. (Pun intended) We arrived on a Wednesday afternoon and hit the slopes Thursday. Mom stayed with the boys while we all zipped down the mountain. Friday, I stayed home with the kiddos and what a blessing. After a long day of Cason needing mama's arms, cuddles and attention, we realized he had altitude sickness. However, Friday was also the day we took him up on the mountain and rented skis. Of course, this was prior to diagnosing him with altitude sickness. I thought he was throwing a two-year-old temper tantrum, so, as you can imagine I felt about two inches tall later that evening. It wasn't until we were walking back to our condo after eating that night and feeling our son as a limp noodle that I realized he wasn't just being a toot. I thought he had fallen asleep as his head fell off my shoulder while carrying him. Though, he was awake, he had no energy. After getting back to the condo, mom looked up his symptoms and all fit nicely into the diagnosis of altitude sickness. No energy, no appetite (he had maybe eaten 5 bites that day) and headache. Thankfully, our spirited, fun-loving Cason woke up the next morning raring to go.

Chris was new to the slopes, and it had been 10+ years since my family had gone. After a ski school lesson and an afternoon with my dad, Chris picked it really well. He and Kortney were masters of the green slopes, while dad, Kelsey and I took turns on the green and blue runs. Saturday, the last day to ski, Chris and I were able to ski together and we took the tallest lift we could. Chris had already completed this run but said the view was remarkable and wanted me to see for myself. Boy was he right, the entire run was amazingly beautiful. I could look at those snow capped mountains all day.

Saturday, was also the day Critterland opened. It was an area designated for children that was just outside our condo. It was complete with a mini tubing hill, a tubing carousel, a tube built up in the snow, playhouse and slide. Needless to say, Cason was a huge fan. The tubing hill was, by far, his favorite. We were also blessed with nice weather that day; it was 25 degrees!!! Funny how that seemed warm. :-)

All in all, both vacations were a success. Next time, I would prefer for them to be more than 10 days apart. They were both much needed and very enjoyable. Can't wait to see what this year has in store for us.

Poor Kellan couldn't move!!! This is him riding in the tube.

I think he liked it, what do you think?

Cason and I riding the shuttle back to the condo. This is the day he was sick. :-(

Roaring like a lion!!!

My beautiful sisters...

...and parents.

Hubby and I on the mountain.

The gang!

Let's play catch up!

Love this fella

Cason's new big boy bed

Giving mama a look

Love this smile

Cason LOVES the water this year.

Our 2 handsome boys

Our family

My, my, it has been a long time since I've gotten on here to update this blog. We have had such an eventful summer, with many "firsts."

I think a list will be the most efficient way to update you, so here it goes, a list of firsts and other new and exciting things in our lives.

**Cason jumped off the diving board, by himself. Then repeated...many times.

**Kellan is crawling like an inch worm. We obviously don't create normal crawlers, but they

get the job done. (Not sure if I have posted this achievement before.)

**Kellan had is first 4th of July

**Cason is now sleeping in a big boy bed

**Cason is semi-potty trained. If we keep underwear on him, he does really well. Not so much

though when he's in a pull-up.

**The boys stayed away with Nana and Papa K for 4 nights for the first time...success!!!

**Kellan isn't in the baby room at daycare anymore, he's such a big boy.

**Kellan is getting much better with table food and wants to eat any time someone else is.

**Cason talks all the time. It's so much fun to hear him recall the events from the day and

what friends he played with. He's too big!!!

**Kellan loves to play peek-a-boo

**Cason has the stinkiest feet EVER!!!!

**Kellan weighs 20 lbs.

**Cason can sing almost the entire Itsy Bitsy Spider and the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme

song. He loves to do the "bumble bee" song and The Wheels on the Bus" which they do at

school.

We've had such a busy, but fun summer. The boys are both getting so big and are becoming good friends. Kellan loves to watch his big brother, and you can tell he is itching to play with him. Cason is loving that his little brother is finally getting a little bigger and not so fragile, although, Kellan is almost as big as Cason. Sometimes he forgets that he's still a baby...it'll just make Kellan tough, right? The boys have been going with me to walk/run, which they love. When Cason sees the stroller he yells "seat! Seat!" Then, when we go he constantly yells, "Go fast mommy, go fast!" If that's not motivation, I don't know what is. I can't believe we will be planning a first and third birthday before too long, why can't it slow down?

H.A.R.D

Hard, is probably the best word to describe having two children ages 2 1/2 and 6 months. Don't get me wrong, I love them and wouldn't change a thing...it's just hard. It's hard to have the time to play with Cason in between Kellan's feedings. It's hard to hold Kellan as much as he and I would both like because Cason wants to be played with. It's hard to cook dinner every night with a sweet little 2 1/2 year old that just wants mommy and daddy's attention and a sweet 6 month old that doesn't like to be in a room by himself.

Potty training is hard. It's hard to give Cason the time and attention he deserves so we can master this task because we've been doing feedings for Kellan every 3 hours and breathing treatments every 4 hours. But, Cason loves it when mommy and daddy praise him, and frankly doesn't care if we aren't harping and asking that question that is oh so common, "Cason, do you need to pee pee?" It's hard to help Kellan reach his milestones like sitting up because we are trying to potty-train his big brother.

It's hard to work full-time and be a full-time house keeper and mommy. It's so hard to keep the house clean and cook dinner every night. It's hard to work all day and not come home and just play. It's hard to be the best nurse I can be, when I just want to be home picking up the house or spending time with my family.

It's hard to be the best wife I can be, and the wife and partner I want to be. It's hard to have an entire adult conversation with Chris because we are constantly feeding, playing or asking that pesky question I mentioned earlier. It's hard to stay positive for Chris and remind him of how lucky I feel to be his wife and the mother of his kids. It's hard on me because I know I don't tell Chris nearly enough that I appreciate him. I appreciate all he does with the boys, he's the best daddy in the world. He's so good at bath time with Cason, and all he has to do is look at Kellan and Kellan smiles from ear to ear. It's hard to keep our relationship a priority and hard to take advantage of any alone time we may have (we usually just sleep, LOL).

Life is hard, especially right now. However, I know it will get easier, and believe me, I'm so thankful for the life I have. I love my boys and my husband and honestly, I have no idea what I would do without them. As I write this and weep, it's not a plea for sympathy or help. It's because I needed this. I needed to sit down and pour out my feelings and admit that I struggle. I try so hard to be the perfect wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend and nurse and every once in a while I get tired. Between sickness, new jobs and lack of sleep, my emotions are demanding to get out. So, I thank you for listening and hopefully understanding fully that I come from a place of peace in knowing this is normal. Feeling this way and being exhausted is normal...a part of it. So, thank you.

Don't know what I would do without these boys.

My boys and me on Mother's Day

WOWZER!!!!

or holy moly, it's been a long time and let me tell you, we have been busy. We've made a trip to Haworth to visit the Kates' family, colored Easter eggs, had Easter parties, celebrated Easter and have started potty training. Whew, that's a lot. I figured you would all be much happier to learn of our adventures through pictures and not words so hear it goes (well, with as few words as I can handle ;-))...

Carley, Addison and Cason

The Kates babies...and Cason's fro!

Caught this moment while watching TV at

Nana and Papa K's house...melt my heart.

He's always so happy.

Future GQ model, dontcha think?

Our boys in their Easter outfits.

Celebrating Easter at daycare

Cason loves parties in class.

Hunting Easter eggs at school.

Dying Easter eggs with Laney

Let's put stickers on...

...and hair. We made monster eggs!

Easter 2011

Big boy

Look at Cason's loot.

We had to hide the eggs several times

because Cason LOVED finding them.

Kellan and his HUGE smile that mommy LOVES

Flushing the potty after he pee

peed like a big boy.

We are so proud of our big boy.

Love these moments

I know I said pictures not words, but I have to brag...after all, I am a mommy first. We started potty training last Monday ( 10 days ago) and couldn't be more proud of our oldest. He loves it when mommy and daddy make such a big deal of his feats. His smile couldn't stretch and further and he claps and raises his hands in excitement. I must say, it's one of the cutest things I've ever seen. Well, 2 nights ago we only had 1 accident from the time he got home, around 5:30pm, to when he went to bed. Last night, though...are you ready for this...NO accidents!!!! I'm so proud of Cason and hope for continued success.

There wasn't too many words, right? Besides, wouldn't you brag too?

Not a lot

There hasn't been anything to eventful in the Kates home over the last few weeks. Kellan will be 5 months old next week, and Cason is an energetic 2 year old ALL the time. Cason has used the bathroom a few times, we just haven't set aside a weekend to potty train full force yet. Believe me though, I'm so ready. We are up to our ears in diapers and can't wait to cut it in half. Cason is still quite the little talker, trying to repeat everything we say. Our filters are definitely on now. He also has an unconditional love for cookies and grapes. He asks for them all the time, even first thing in the morning before he's out of bed. Most of the time he's directed to grapes or something other that the cookies but he gives a valiant effort.

Kellan has rolled over both directions, but doesn't do it often. One thing he's learned from his bubba is to talk. He coo's ALL the time, it's absolutely adorable. Another one of the things Chris and I just love about Kellan is how he just sits back and observes everything. We will be sitting in our chairs and look over at Kellan in the swing and he will contently be watching us, then give us his huge smile that encompasses his entire face. Chris says Kellan is going to be mischievous when he gets older; however, I think he's just going to be a sweet little angel. (Typical mom, I know.) Kellan has tried cereal now too, and is less than impressed. He is not good with a spoon yet, but we are continuing to give it a try most nights. We also have been putting some in his bottles just before bed. This is new territory for us, as Cason had no problems with eating from a spoon. Kellan is eating a lot more with each feeding than Cason ever did though. For a couple of weeks, he was eating 8 oz every 3-4 hrs!!! He's since backed back down to 6oz. I think he's probably going to be a little bigger that his big bubba too. He's been measuring in the 50 percentile on both height and weight charts, whereas, Cason was always in the 5-10 percentile.

My job is getting better. After the second week of April I will be 8-4 with one weekend a month. I'm so happy that there's finally an end in sight. I'm still picking up about one 12 hour shift every 2 weeks in the ER. That allows me to see some good, complex patients, get skills, and get my ER fix. I feel like I have the best of both worlds right now. It's so nice to be able to be home with all my boys, and I love being able to take them to daycare in the mornings. All in all, we are pretty boring right now, and I think I like it.