I am no longer working and have THOROUGHLY enjoyed being a stay-at-home Mommy! I absolutely LOVE it! These early years of my children's lives are so crucial. I'm so happy to be able to be here for them full time and raise them and teach them. I love my kids so much! I really think I have the best, cutest kids EVER! I could be a bit biased though... ; )
On New Year's Eve Day we found a nice addition for our growing family . . .
Did I mention that it is COMPLETELY paid for??? SUCH a nice feeling! It seats 7 and only had one previous owner who took VERY good care of it. I love it! I've got the van, ALMOST 3 kids, and in a month Angela will actually be starting Soccer. LOL! I guess I am officially inducted into Motherhood now if I wasn't before! We are sooo super excited to finally have some *room to grow*. =) Next step will be a HOUSE.
Another birthday came along for me on January 14th. I am officially 26 years young. =) It was pretty low-key this year, which is totally fine by me! My sweet hubby took me out on a date. I got Olive Garden out of the deal and LOVED every bite! Then we did a movie. It was nice to just be with him and relax. Funny how, as we get older, we get easier to please. Dinner and a movie with my husband (and without the busy kids!) is the BEST! I love my sweet hunny!
Next on the birthday schedule was Miss Angie Mae on January 26th. She is a big 7 year old! Crazy! That week at school she was featured as *Star of the Week*. We made a poster together that was all about her and her favorite things and she got to present it to her class. I also got to share a couple of cute and funny stories about her with the class that made everyone giggle. That whole week she was treated with things such as being the line leader, classmates drawing pictures for her, and getting to wear a crown. Being the social princess that she is, she totally lapped it all up!
Last, but not least, our little Bubbers. He is the big number 3 now! He understood the whole birthday concept this year a lot better and was super excited to have people sing to him and blow out candles and get presents. He would go around inviting everyone to his "birthday with cake and candles and presents." LOL! It was soooo cute! Such an adorable little man he is!
We treated both kids to ice cream for their birthdays. Can't go wrong with Cold Stone! . . .
They both got lots of fun presents!
We threw a double birthday bash for both the kids at Jungle Jim's Playland. It was lots of fun! All the kids had a blast riding rides, playing games, eating pizza and cake, and doing presents. They also all took turns bashing a birthday pinata full of candy.
All in all, the 3 birthdays this January were a big success. Thanks to everyone who helped and came out for the party. It just isn't a proper celebration without family and friends. =)
For Valentine's Day the hubs and I treated ourselves to a special, romantic dinner downtown at a place called Tucano's. Apparently it's similar to Rodizio's Grill, but better? I've never been to Rodizio's so I wouldn't know personally. But Tucano's is a Brazilian Grill Buffet. There's an enormous salad and buffet bar. And on top of that they have dozens of servers walking around with gigantic skewers of different types and cuts of meats. Steak, chicken, pork, you name it! They also have a few grilled veggies and seafood dishes. And, my favorite-- FRESH, grilled, brown-sugared pineapple. YUM! =P And all these are ALL YOU CAN EAT! Double yum! As part of the special for Valentine's, at the end of the feasting they brought out HUMONGOUS chocolate-covered strawberries. I kid you not... these strawberries were the size of my palm. Dipped in dark chocolate, then drizzled with white chocolate. Super delish! I also got a beautiful rose to take home.
During our dinner, our good friends Misty and Trevor welcomed their darling baby girl into the world. They named her Emmy Lee. We were so excited for them! It worked out just right that we were able to stop by after our dinner to congratulate them and snuggle that precious new baby. That felt so good! I hadn't held a NEW baby in awhile. So tiny and perfect. Fresh from God. =) I simply cannot wait to hold my new little son and cuddle him... *sigh*
Speaking of our new little son.... We finally got the nursery COMPLETELY finished! Crib bedding arrived, washed, and put in the crib! Hooray! And we found a fishy crib toy just like Justin's to put in the crib. Justin still loves the music and lights at bedtime and we didn't want to taint the relationship between him and baby brother by taking his fish away and giving it to the "new guy". So we found one on Amazon and I am so glad we found one when we did! They've stopped making them, and had only 3 gently used ones available through Amazon. And the crib mobiles and other toys they make nowadays just aren't as cute or entertaining in my opinion. The fish have colorful lights, several soothing songs/ocean sounds, real bubbling water with *swimming* fish... they're just dang cute. =) So now we have 2 of the fish. Hopefully they will last through the rest of our kids. Of course, if our new little baby loves and gets as attached to HIS fish as Justin has, we may have to find something else! LOL! I'm sure one or both of the boys will eventually grow out of the fish... right?? =)
I also have all the swings, bouncers, saucers, high chairs, etc all dug out of storage and washed and sanitized and ready for use. And it's a good thing too since there's only 16 days left! We talked to my AWESOME OB and got him to schedule us an induction for March 17th!! Woo-hoo! That's right, we're going to have a St. Patrick's Day baby! I am soooo excited! And to have an actual date... I simply cannot believe it! It has all flown by so fast!
To go along with his Irish birth day, we have chosen an Irish name for him as well. *Callum* (spoken "Cal" - "Uhm"). His full name will be Callum Robert Knobel. His middle name Robert is after my dad's first name. Dad's pretty excited about that. =) The translation meaning of "Callum" is dove. Kaleb and I instantly fell in love with the name the minute we discovered it. And, with the disagreement and hardy discussion that has ensued over the past few months, when we both said we loved it, we knew it was a keeper! Hopefully Callum will behave and be able to make his debut on March 17 like we're planning. I am already dilating and effacing, and Callum is head down and already dropped a bit. Keep your fingers crossed that my body AND my son continue to cooperate! We will be sure to keep everyone posted!
We recently got our taxes done and filed and are anxiously awaiting our NICE refund. =) Should have it in a couple of days! Can't wait! As soon as it hits the bank we will be purchasing the remainder of our trip to DISNEY WORLD!!! Woo-hoo!! Just over 5 months now 'til we fly out! I'm not sure who is more excited... the kids, or Kaleb and I! It's gonna be sooooo much fun! =D This will be our kids' first trip to a Disney park period. I went to Disneyland when I was like, 10 maybe? Maybe younger? Can't remember much about it. So I am super stoked about getting to do Disney WORLD and getting to share it with my kids! It will be a blast!
Well I think that about sums it up for now.... The next blog posting will be all about our little Callum and the adventure of bringing him into the world. Wish us luck! These next couple weeks will fly by even faster than the last 9 months have, I'm sure! I feel so thankful for SUPER easy pregnancies, and even more so for the blessing of just being able to have children. Family is so important to me. Both my own personal one as well as extended. It is truly the core of my existence. I am so grateful for my Doctor and the modern medicine available today to help my husband and I create our own little family. I am even more thankful for the Gospel and the binding power of the Temple. The simple, precious, true definition of Heaven is an Eternal Family. Happiness both on Earth and in Heaven is centered around having a *Celestial Marriage* and an *Eternal Family*.... and I consider myself extremely blessed to have the opportunity to have both...
