January Zips By and Big News!!

 January is just about over and I haven't done a single blog for the month.  The month  started out with a few last savored days of vacation before school and all the activities started back up.  David's work schedule doesn't match up well with the school schedule, so we don't have a lot of free play time with all of the family.  So we REALLY did enjoy our break together and loved all the time we got to spend all together!!  I love this picture of us welcoming in the New Year with our sparkling cider--Stephen is such a character!!!

Too funny!!  She looks like it was a long night of partying doesn't she.  Really waiting up for Daddy to get home just before midnight was TIRING!!

Before the break ended we did sneak in some more Six Flags time and got our passes renewed for another exciting year of roller coasters---I think this might be the year Natalie is tall enough for Titan and she is looking forward to it with a bit of trepidation and a LOT of excitement!! 

 We also spent a day at the Children's Museum in Dallas- which was a lot of fun.  I've taken the kids to the Ft. Worth musuem on some Saturday while David was working, but it is never as much fun as when Daddy is with us!! 

 Is she cute or what??

David thought it was SO funny posing Stephen for this picture!!

 Besides trips to the museum when Daddy is at work; we've visited friends and played at the jumping place and of course we always LOVE to go to the Make A Wish art parties.  We've also had some plain old relaxing Saturdays, which are sometimes very nice!!

Stephen is proud of his artwork!!

 Swimming started back up again and now both kids go on the same night.  It is a night David works, so swimming has become a Mommy thing.  I love watching them!!

 Stephen is SO excited for the summer and can't wait to swim in the outdoor "amenity center pool."  He has it all planned out- first a picnic and then we swim!!  He can hardly wait for it to get warm and start swimming more than once a week. 

 Natalie's new teacher keeps telling me how FAST Natalie is and that she should do swim team!!  That is exactly what Natalie has been wanting so I am excited for her to progress to that point. 

Besides swimming everyone in our family is doing piano (well Stephen is still doing pre piano stuff but will start in the fall on the piano). Natalie is LOVING it and I think it is great because it helps strengthen the visual motor coordination that she specifically tested as having some issues with from her chemo. It is so cool seeing David play--he is really good and LOVES it!!! I love it too and need to work harder and not get distracted by all the things I think I need to do!! David and I are both preparing for a competition in a few weeks where we will be judged!

Another great thing this month is how many warm days have been mixed in with the cold ones.  We try to take any chance to get to stop at the park after school and other days.  It is so nice to be able to spend time outside when it is warm.  I love how much fun my kiddos always have at the park.  I haven't taken any pictures of them playing at the park this month except this random one of my cutie pie. 

Another thing that has been big with Stephen since Christmas is playing football in the living room with Daddy.  It actually surprises me a bit that David lets him play in there considering how protective David is of his t.v., but David LOVES seeing Stephen playing and loves to join him.  It is honestly one of the cutest things!!

It seems like this month I have hardly taken any pictures and most of them are random--mostly on cell phones and stuff.  But that just seems to be the way the month has been.  So here's the cute random pics of my sweeties!

 Love this!!

A divided art space- Stephen made this bug or maybe it is a sun.  I love when they work together.

 I love these SO much- bowl of grapes all gone by their side- too cute!!

This is another of my favorites.  Everytime Stephen gets out of the bath he is always cold and crouches down and sort of walks along in this position- he always tells me he is a mushroom!!!  So cute and creative.  He has been doing it forever but for some reason this is the first time I snapped a picture of it.  I think these are some of the things that are so important to capture--so you remember those special little things that were a part of your life at their different stages. 

 Another VERY fun thing that Stephen started a week ago is that he is "The Chef" and I am "The Assistant" and he is LOVING every minute of cooking with Mommy and Mommy is loving it and his cute, serious, helpfullness just as much!!!

 Probably one of the best things this month is that Stephen started preschool at the Spanish Immersion preschool that Natalie went to.  This was him on his first day at the beginning of the month.  Isn't he too cute with the spikey backpack he got for Christmas that looks WAY too big on him!!

He goes twice a week and one of those days is David's day off so we have REALLY been enjoying our new date time together.  Five hours from the time we drop him off until we have to get him--that's even enough time for lunch and a movie!!  It really has been great!!!

 This is in front of Stephen's preschool on a day Natalie had an early out.  I think she is the most excited about Stephen being in preschool and telling him all about the great things to expect.  She was SO excited to get to stop by this day and go in and give everyone hugs!!!  Her beloved teacher wasn't there that day and she is dying to go back on a day she can see her!!  She seriously loves this place!!  Stephen is quite a character because he tells us "it is hard to have to listen to my teacher."  And when we ask if he is good he tells us yes and then he says "kind of."  Recently he stopped wanting to go and it turns out it is because he HATES nap time.  Everyone else falls asleep and he just can't--I guess today they found a compromise and let him play quietly with some toys and they told me it was perfect!!

 Love these two together!!

Another great thing this month is Natalie had her bi-annual oncology visit and her bloodwork looks great!!  I didn't really have a single concern to even talk about.  I ended up getting her flu shot and that turned out to make the already long appt (backed up from the holidays, heck they are always slow) into more than four hours!!  Everyone was tired and HUNGRY and Natalie was NOT happy about her flu shot even though she is SO awesome for her finger pokes now.  I have never gotten Natalie's flu shot so late in the season before--how cool is it that I can afford to be so cavalier about it???  After missing more than 25 days of school last year from being sick my little sweetie has only missed three--two from a stomach bug and one wasn't even an abscence because she threw up at school and had to come home.  So that has been an amazing turn around that we are SO happy about!! 

Our most exciting news though is that Natalie and Stephen are expecting a baby brother or sister in July!!  That is the real reason I haven't taken many pictures or blogged much lately.  I haven't felt well in months and have hardly been keeping up--but this week I am finally feeling a LOT better and ready to start tackling a lot of projects to get ready for this little one.  I've had several miscarriages since Stephen was born because of low progesterone and was pretty nervous at first because the last time I miscarried even with taking progesterone.  But I've had a good feeling and it looks like we are past the risky point--when I found out my due date was ON my birthday I took that as a good sign!!  We are all so excited----Natalie is dying for a sister and Stephen wants a brother!!!  When Natalie was four and picking what she wanted for Make A Wish- the first thing she asked for was a baby sister--maybe she'll get her wish!!