Lovin' my boys

I am loving my boys right now. We seem to have turned some sort of child-raising corner in the Boria household these past two weeks. Noah has magically turned from a toddler into a little boy. He has gone to the next developmental level in his thinking where he really is "getting" things. We have been having the best conversations and I love getting a glimpse into what he's thinking. Today while driving over to our great friends, the Hollands, he kept sharing his thoughts.

"Momma, Bode is my best friend."

What? I didn't even know he knew what a best friend was! "Really?" I said.

"No, Cade is my best friend."

"Oh?"

"Actually, (one of my favorite words he says) Abby is my best friend." This went on as he listed every friend that he has. So cute.

After a few minutes we were passing a billboard for Hawaiian Airlines and Noah screamed, "Momma, LOOK! Hawaii! I go back there and see the beautiful sunset?"

Seriously? He's two, and we took that trip when he was one, but he still talks about it all the time and plays the slideshow while he plays with his trains. His mind just amazes me sometimes. I said we couldn't because we didn't have tickets, and he said, "Yeah, Grammy buy me tickets and I go up, up, up, on the airplane and go on the blue one." (we normally fly southwest and so he loves to see what color our plane is going to be...mostly blue:)

After another few minutes he said, "Oh look at the waterfall! It's beautiful, actually no, it's dirty." haha.

Then when we were getting close, he said in his sweet, excited tone, "We almost here! I go play with Bobo, and Cade, and Abby, and Coco, and Jack, and...who's this? (pointing to his fingers because he was counting each person on his fingers) "Ryan? " I said. "Oh yeah, and Ryan, and who's this?" (pointing to a different finger?) "Katherine?" "Yeah. And Katherine, and...dat's all!"

The littlest things he does crack me up and I love getting an insight into his thoughts. I have really started to tease and get sarcastic with him because he gets it now. If I'm teasing him and he wants me to stop he puts one finger up to my mouth and says, "Momma, you no talk like that. No teasin."


Jacob has been so cute too, he is dancing up a storm and makes the cutest faces! I will try and get some video and post it up...it's something I always want to remember. He is such an easy-going boy and plays so much with his brother. If you're not careful though, he'll be up the stairs in a second or getting into all the cupboards. He has managed to pull of every one of my parents door stop covers, you know, the little white piece to protect the door from getting scratched? He isn't so needy any more and the boys just play really well together now. Those of you who know me well know that I love kids the older they get, so this milestone has been great for my sanity. I am lovin' where I'm at right now with my boys...though don't get me wrong, I like my breaks too...I can't wait for scrapbooking all day tomorrow!

Busy Day and Thomas Live!

We had a busy day today getting a lot done in just one day. By 10 this morning I had made a meal for our meal co-op (with flank steak that had been cooking all night...yum), shredded a chicken that had been cooking all night (but don't worry, I'm letting the bones cook another night), made the boys eggs and toast, cleaned up (kind of, sorry Mom:), done a load of laundry, gotten everyone dressed, packed a picnic lunch, and headed off to the gym. Only a mom will understand how this is truly amazing with two very little ones! haha. Jacob was my little helper as he has recently discovered how the cupboards work...this is his favorite plate to play with because he can see himself in it...so cute as he talks, makes faces, and waves to himself.

I got a good workout in and then headed off to OMSI with some friends. I was amazed with all they have for little kids, even for Jacob! I had never been to that whole section, but we all loved it! After playing for almost 4 hours, we finally tuckered out and headed for home. Neither boy took naps today, because we grabbed a few things for dinner and then headed over to some friends to share a meal. As part of our meal co-op, we take turns bring dinner for everyone and we hang out with some pretty special people. The boys always have such a great time and I enjoy feeling like an adult for a while;) We get together 2-4 times a month, so it makes cooking healthy meals that much easier! Which don't we all need a little help in this journey called life?

I'm looking forward to scrapbooking all day Saturday with my Mom, Leslie, and Beka at our friends house! Then another volleyball tourney on Sunday.


Oh, and here are some cute pictures of Noah at Thomas Live last week at the Rose Garden with my Mom and her friend and grandkids. I guess Noah was in shock the whole time. He has his own cute little scrapbook of it that he reads about, oh, I don't know...100 times a day!

Jacob's Birthday Invitations

Yay! I just finished all Jacob's birthday invitations! I have done invitations/ Christmas cards like this since Noah's birth announcements and keep thinking I'm going to change to do a little more of a regular card just because all of them I've done are so similar in layout, just different paper lines. But then I go over to someones house and I see all of them up on the fridge and I just love the way they look and that people can keep them looking cute on their fridge instead of just a picture stuck in the card. haha...I'm lame like that. I guess I'll keep doing the same thing until people's fridges fill up:)

This paper line is Basic Grey...my favorite scrapbooking company...I LOVE all their lines! It's their cupcake line. I only used four papers (3 on front, 1 on back), and 1 chipboard pack (I just put a different embelishment on each one). These were my easiest cards I have made, they only took me 3 hours for all of them...my Christmas cards on the other hand took probably 10 hours easy...but I loved them too:)

So here's how I do it to make my life a little easier. I cut a 12x12 into 3 5x7 rectangles. This is the background piece. Double-sided paper works best for this as I normally decorate the back with the information and stuff that people won't need to know after it's up on their fridge:)

Then, I cut a 12x12 into 6 4x5.5" pieces. This is to mount the picture on. I always print my pictures in a 3 1/2 by 5 so that I don't have to do any trimming, if you take your picture into costco and ask for this size they will print it up for you...$.13 you can't beat it.

Then I print up on textured cardstock whatever I want it to say on the front of the card ("All grown up, Our sweet Jacob is turning 1!") Then I cut those up and mount them all on to the other paper that I have picked out! It really is pretty inexpensive! Oh, and I also have to mention that I chalk everything! Even each little piece of the tree, it really makes your projects have something extra. I've tried to skip this step, and things just don't look as quality. I also use pop-dots to pop different things up (like the words) just to give some more texture.

That's it! It can be as simple or as fancy as you want it to be, like on the Christmas ones I added fibers and some stars and ornaments, but on Jacob's invites I just stuck on a piece of chipboard! Pretty simple! I think the key is picking good papers...oh, and my Christmas cards also featured all Basic Grey papers, their two Christmas lines. haha...I think I have most of their stuff...it's just so cute! I already have Noah's planned out and they are the dinasour Basic Grey line...

The Sun is Shining!

These two are my favorites for his invitations I think...but which one...

Yay! The sun is shining, it's amazing how that can boost your whole outlook on life. I ended up getting a 1/2 day today for none other then my mother! So Andrew tried to take the boys out to the river today...but the scary geese were out in full force, so after many tears (I'm not sure if they were from Andrew or Noah;) they headed back for home. When I got home we took the boys to the park by our house for a photo shoot. I made Jacob's birthday invitations yesterday, but needed just the right picture. So 150 pictures later, we have some good possibilites...but I'm not set on any one just yet. I'm going to print some of them and see how they look. Here are some of my favorites from the afternoon. It was GEORGEOUS! I forget that spring and summer are coming...there's light at the end of the tunnel!


I love his face in this one with the mountain in the back
Out chasing Noah...one of Jacob's favorite things to do
Jacob is always so genuinely happy to see his brother, it's so cute! I love Noah's movement in this picture with the sharpness of the grass.


My two boys!

This perspective is awesome, it looks like the blue sky is huge! And they're being so sweet playing with the grass:)
How can this not make you happy? I love our camera for outside shots...inside I'm still not so sure, but outside shots blow me away sometimes. It was one of the best purchases we've ever made. Pictures are very important to me.

New pj's, slow mornings, and Valentines treats

This is a random post, but I just plugged in my camera and this is what I got! We had a slow morning of staying in our pj's all day, well atleast the boys. Andrew and I switched off getting our workout in and we also got our taxes done. We were just waiting for the boys to get sick again today, but nothing! That's a good sign! Andrew is out playing racquetball with some friends and I'm working on volleyball stuff, but I'm almost done! Noah looks a little out of it in this picture, but Jacob's smile is so sweet.
This picture is from Valentines Day when Noah decorated a cookie with frosting and sprinkles (left over from my mom's Kindergarten class). He thought it was amazing he could do the sprinkles and frosting all by himself!

Thanks Grammy & Pops!

Wow! We got home from the zoo today with a few special surprises...one good, one not so good. Which one first, the good or bad...how about bad. My poor, sweet, littlest boy has the flu! It's so sad because he's so helpless and cuddly. He normally won't let you hold him for more then a minute because he likes to be moving and playing, but all night he's been snuggling...oh, and throwing up all over me! Andrew's working, so I'm by myself...only not at all because my AMAZING parents are here! I think I would have lost my mind if I were here alone. Andrew is amazing and has already offered to take over tonight when he gets home and let me sleep in in the morning...I'm not going to work tomorrow. Poor boy. Although, I really can not complain because we have not been sick at all this whole year besides one round of little colds...and all my mastitis, but that's different.

And the good! Grammy and Pops sent the boys an awesome Valentine's package! Noah almost lost his mind...inside was 3 (yes THREE) new Thomas trains, a snowy Thomas, a painted Thomas, and a dirty Thomas. Noah is beside himself right now in his bed with 4 Thomas's and Annie and Clarabelle. He just yelled down to make sure I knew that he had 4 Thomas's. It's like he's in shock...or heaven, I'm not sure which one. They also sent a nice Gap sweatshirt for Noah and Gap train pj's (my fav!) for Jacob, and lots of fruit snacks and candy (I did eat the peanut butter ones Grammy, sorry!). Oh, and some of the baby stars for Jacob, his favorite kind (or Andrew's?), banana. But the other best part was one of those cards that you can record a message. Grammy recorded a greeting for the boys, and Noah started talking right back to her like she was there, it was so cute! I haven't seen Noah that excited in a long time, it was really cute. Thanks Grammy! That was so kind!

Preschool Debate

Oh preschool...it's crazy it's that time to start thinking about this for Noah, but he'll be three in June! Time really does fly. Registration opens up next week most places, and we're trying to think about where to register him. I worked at a preschool in high school that is using "best practice," or what I was taught best practice is from my bachlors in early childhood education. I would love for Noah to go there, the only hang up I have is that it's hard to get in (lottery) and it's about ten minutes away. Which isn't that bad, but that's 1/2 hour by the time we drive there, drop him off, and drive home. With preschool only being 2 1/2 hours...is it worth it? Also, they have a very constructivist philosophy, which I like, but I think there needs to be a little balance... Noah won't come home with the traditional (old school?) rainbow painting that is the same as every other kid in the class. He won't have his C page for "C" week. He won't have the cookie cutter (everyone does the same craft) projects that are associated with preschool. Will he still be learning? You bet! But does he need some of the other "old school" stuff? Yes!

I guess seeing as how I could be teaching his pre-school class, I could do that traditional stuff at home. I really do believe that children learn from exploring the world around them, and this school sets up the enviornment to encourage that exploration, but doesn't force kids into learning about C during C week, rather when they are ready and curious about it. For example, when we had a boy who was very interested in dinasours, the next day there were lots of dinasour books, dinasour dramatic play props, dinasour models, etc. It's very student centered. The ratos are also really good, there are always two pre-school teachers (one with a college degree in early childhood which is not required to teach or run a preschool) in the room, and then for 2 of the hours there are 5-7 additional trained highschoolers there (which is what I did in highschool). That's pretty good if you ask me!

Now, for the other option we're looking into (I'm going to observe next week) there is more of a traditional preschool that is literally 1/2 a mile from our house that my mom's friend teaches at. This one is a Christian pre-school, where the other is not. I can't judge too much yet since I have not personally been, but I have a friend who's son has gone there for two years. He's learned a lot, but it does sound very traditional, which doesn't have to be bad...just not best practice...and don't we want what's best for Noah? I'm already looking forward to the time I'll get to have with just Jacob since he's never had that time before...and maybe I'll get a workout in too:)

Atleast the problem is we have two good options...we're in a win, win situation. I'll keep you updated as we've made more of our decision.

First Steps!

Jacob took his first steps today! What a sweet and happy boy he is, it's so fun working with him and watching him play because any time you make a noise or look at him, he smiles or busts up laughing! What a joy he is in our lives! He's learning so many new "tricks," and learns things so quickly now...I love the older our boys get--most of the time...haha

I had to add this picture, I think my dad just took it while playing with his new camera one night, but Jacob just looks like a whole different (fat;) baby...so cute. He's going to love me when he's older and looking at his scrapbooks!

What is this?

I'm not really sure what this face is, but it's so funny! Jacob loves watching the trains go around the train track and gets so excited when one comes down the hill...it's so cute! The boys are loving their train table and all the trains! Thanks Grammy and Mom Mom! This is a battery operated train that Jacob watches go all around the track and waits for it to come by him...it's so cute as he's learning so much!

A little class

Last night we went to a wine tasting over at some of our friends from our small group's house. Neither Andrew or I are really all that into wine, but we had 3 reasons we wanted to go. 1.) To be educated for entertaining properly and at dinner parties knowing the no no's to avoid and the proper things to do. 2.) To try to find some wines that we really enjoy, and 3.) To have a fun and different night out! It turned out all three things were taken care of! The lady who lead the tasting did such a good job of educating, as all the couples who were there were very young, I think there were about 6 young couples? And no one was really that into wine, so we were all new together! We both founds atleast one wine that we actually enjoyed, though we got to try seven! I tend to like the whites better, though I wish I liked red better because they are so good for you, I'll work on that. And three, we did have a great time doing something new and different.

After the tasting was over, everyone left and there were just three couples left from our small group, we ended up staying til almost 1:00! It's so funny because other people are age don't think of that as that late, but to us it's sooo late! I got up with the boys at 7:30 and let Andrew sleep until 9:30, then I went back to bed for an hour and we still made it to church at 11:30!

The girls: me, Karen, and Anne. The guys are above: Andrew, Nate, and Ben
Andrew and I at the end of our evening...tired, but we both had a blast! We started Dave Ramsey as a small group on Thursday so are looking forward to that new adventure together!

Finally...a hair cut!

Finally, I have gotten a hair cut! My wonderful husband surprised me with one for Valentines Day! I'm not going to lie, this was way overdue...in fact, the last hair cut I have gotten that I can remember was back in March before our trip to Hawaii. I got it cut and colored, and I didn't even like it that much...actually, I think I might have got it done in July before Kiawah and Colorado, I can't really remember though. Now, 7-10 MONTHS later, here it is. I'm still getting used to it...but it was such a great gift! I decided after much deliberation to not get new color and to try it through the summer and see if my hair lightens enough on it's own. I don't like the blond in the front on the bottom, but in the back it's pretty well blended already. Thanks Andrew!

Oh, and it's official, I'm a loser, I took these pictures on our photobooth on our Mac, hence the blue face;) Can you get the whole effect Hannah? And yes, those are bangs...can you believe it? I thought I would never go back.

Swimming

We woke up and went straight to the aquatic park this morning. I'm feeling a little better after having mastitis yet again...the doctor said after I'm completely over it this time I need to stop nursing. Guess that means I won't make it a full year, almost 11 months though...still much better then last time.

Jacob liked just sitting and splashing in the water, and Noah enjoyed running/swimming all over the place. He actually wanted to wear a life jacket today, normally he likes water wings, but we forgot them, so he just went without in the kiddy pool and used the life jacket in the big pool. Although Andrew and I were freezing by the end of our time, we enjoyed seeing our boys have so much fun and being all together as a family! This really hardly ever happens, normally Andrew is home with the boys on Fridays while I'm working, but there was no school today! It was so nice to be able to be together, but I forget how much work going to the pool is for 4 people, there's no way I could take both boys by myself! Yay for being together as a family!

Zoo Trip Again!

Here are some pictures of our day today...we went to the zoo on such a gorgeous day with one of Noah's little buddies, and got to enjoy the beautiful weather! The polar bears and penguins were the highlight as they were so active, I've never seen them play so much!

Fire Proof

We watched Fire Proof last night, which we really wanted to go and support in theaters, but never made it. We loved it, it was really well done, and I was so pleased to see in Blockbuster that there were 5 shelves and only one movie left...I got the last one! It had more shelves then Eagle eye right next to it, which was a good movie too (atleast the hour I saw before I fell asleep).

Anyways, I have posted before about my heart and how I just need a heart change with my attitude towards those I love the most, and I got re-inspired last night. I can be such a jerk to those I love most, and it's just not right! So, it seems as though if I blog about something I feel more accountable...imagine that, so here I go. We already had the book from the movie, Love Dare, and I'm starting it--again, but hey. It's 40 days and I won't give you an update every day...don't worry, but I'll check in, and that way I will have some accountability. You can support me through prayer if you think about it, I really do want to change, but I know as I have often been reminded that it's God who will be doing the changing of my heart, not me!