Things I'm loving...

 Look at his cute tooth!  I love his new smile & the fact that he is eating more & more by himself.  

 These chocolatey mints from TJ's will change your life.  

 Why haven't I bought one of these in years past!?  This year we bought two & L-O-V-E it!  Great coupons supporting local businesses!

 This is totally random but, months ago my sister told me that she's started using dish soap for both dishes AND her hands at the kitchen sink.  Brilliant!  Why do we feel we must have seperate soaps?  We use this soap - it's not too slimy, it's clear & we've noticed no difference in how our hands feel.  I love not having a separate soap container by the kitchen sink.  We have it in our handy built-in pump & refill as necessary. 

 The triplets.  Laila loves all her cousins but, has bonded so much with these boys.  They play so well together...

 Where they go, she goes (whether they like it or not...)

 Are you a nursing mama?  Coconuts have amazing nutrients for you in their water & flesh.  I have loved these ever since I learned (the hard way) that the white part you see here is NOT edible.  You must dig a little to enjoy these "young coconuts" but, it's worth it...

Last but not least, my hubs... The kids & I have been sick this week, I've been severely sleep deprived for 7 nights (but who's counting) so, this man surprised me & is taking a sick day tomorrow to help out on the home-front.  THANKS so much babe!!!   

Healing.

I didn't want this day to slide by without acknowledging my 5 year back healing anniversary.  After a slip at work & 2 1/2 years of pain - God healed my back 5 years ago tonight at a prayer meeting.  I've given my testimony at our previous church as well as at a church conference.  If you ever need encouragement or would like to know more about my amazing story - I'd be happy to share.  I love my story.  God is so gracious & good to those that follow.  As a result I was able to carry 2 beautiful kids in my heavy belly for a total of 18 months pain free.  And, I can now carry my heavy son on my hip - pain free.  All the glory goes to Jesus Christ my Savior & Lord!

Need a chuckle?

Click here.

Thai anyone?

After a trip to our local food co-op, I came home looking for some new recipes involving beets. I sat down at the table with one of my favorite cookbooks & before I knew it, this little one grabbed her own cookbook & was sitting across from me looking at EVERY page (totally serious) saying, "hmm. hmm. hmm." After thumbing through almost every page she exclaims (beaming with excitement), "I know! We can make noodles!"

Look who's officially 27 lbs!

Ax is completely off the charts all around.  Our favorite doctor kept commenting on what a great disposition our little sweety has & thought he was looking great!  

In this pic - I had to grab a shot of this guy playing with the lights as we were finally getting all Christmas decorations put away last week...

Look who's helping mama!

Lai is getting so good at helping me fold our dozens of clean wash rags we use to wipe messy hands & faces after meal time.

Family time.

A last minute meatloaf night at my folks with their five youngest grandchildren made for a fun evening with cousins!

Inger, Atalie, Laila, Axel, Nils

(PLEASE NOTE: although my son looks like a line-backer and is wearing a football shirt - don't get too excited, he will never, ever be allowed to play football...)  :) Thank you & good night.  

One space or two?

Are you a one spacer or two? As you know, I've been a two spacer but this article has rocked my world. Oh man, I will now try my best to be a one spacer...

9 months.

He was in me for 9 months & now he's been out of me for 9 months.

My sweet boy is 9 months old.  He continues to grow & learn more each day.  His hair is slightly strawberry-blond, he's probably about 27 pounds, we discovered his first tooth broke through yesterday, he rolls, he sits, still doesn't crawl, feeding himself, & drinks with a sippy cup.  He loves watching his sister goof off, loves taking baths, & I'm not going to lie - he loves me.  He's a total mama's boy, his face lights up when I walk into the room -  just sayin...

We are so thankful for our little guy (& mama will be even more thankful for him to start crawling)!  Here are some pics of him with one of his favorite toys.  He loves standing while hanging on for dear life.

Terrible(y fun) two's.

Happy half birthday to our girl!  Laila is officially 2 1/2!  We celebrated with a walk around the block in the snow & lunch with grandma & grandpa.

Lai is officially potty trained & has only had a few accidents in the last month.  

She loves entertaining her brother. 

She loves tumbling class & practicing any chance she gets at home. 

She still takes a solid 2-3 hour nap everyday.

She loves talking on the phone with her grandparents.

She loves reading to "baby Greta" & her brother.

And, she loves being outside.

Her vocabulary still includes the following goofy phrases:

"rubber band" = band aid

"match stick" = chap stick

"Ingrin" = Ingrid
"muse-git" = music
"wee-woo" = fire engine
"Jeanie" = Gina

We love our little Laila Ingrid & can't believe that tomorrow she'll be closer to
her 3rd birthday than her 2nd.  

Tumbling class.

L's been waiting for weeks for gymnastics class "to open".  She's been telling us how she'll jump, do her somersaults & play with other kids.  Well, today was the big day.  It took her awhile to warm up but after she was comfortable, she had such a great time.  The teacher was a little surprised & happy to see a dad helping.

 It just so happened that "L" was the letter of the day!  

Everyone clapped for Lai b/c her name started with "L".  

I have a crush.

*photo by S. Kelly

 I just couldn't resist making this pic as big as possible.  Isn't he just dee-LISH!?  

Oh Canada.

We had a nice few days away this past week.  It was fun getting to use our passports, feeling all "urban" again & strolling around a city we hadn't been to since kids came into the picture, Vancouver.  A big thank you to J's parents for letting us use their timeshare points!!!

We hit the aquarium at Stanley Park (apparently the biggest aquarium in Canada), toured the city & the waterfront, found some swings, bought our traditional caramel apple, swam in the pool, shopped Robson Street, bought our Starbucks city mug, drove by the Olympic Village from the 2010 Winter Olympics, watched snow flakes pour down & of course bought a few crepes... (HELLO Nutella/banana crepe - happy new year to me!!!)

 checking out the beluga whales with daddy

 brrrr!

 huge Sequoia in Stanley Park

Surprisingly, not many remnants left of the Olympics... little disappointed...

 Olympic Village - centre 

This is where all the athlete's stayed - they're now condos...