So blessed

I just love my little family. I can't imagine having it any other way. Some days I feel like it's a lot to handle with two kids, but most of the time I am overwhelmed with how much I love them! This morning I had the privelage to watch Jared chase Cache on his hands and knees as he squeeled and giggled. :)
Avelyn has been such a good sleeper! She sleeps all night in her crib (12-13 hours) and doesn't make a sound! Thankfully, Cache has been sleeping much better lately. He's been gluten free/soy free for about 2 months (+/-) and hasn't had a recurrance yet. The neurologist suggested that he might have another problem if he gets sick again (has a fever) so we will hope for the best. He hasn't had a true fever more than 2 or 3 times in his short little life, but I'm not hoping for one any time soon. ;) He's been keeping busy playing with his friends and chasing flies around the house. I'm assuming they are coming in on the wood we are burning, but there are wasps too, so I'm hoping no one gets bit. He will find a fly and yell, "thly!" and tell us to "get it!" This means he wants us to get the zapping fly swatter and zap them. He laughs when he hears the "pop!" and says, "Scared me! Throw it away?" It's just so exciting to him. It's really cute. And Avelyn just loves him. She laughs at him when he brushes his teeth, dances, runs...just about anything :)
Since last time, I wasn't able to post pictures (something to do with the blogger site) I will do so now!

Avelyn found the last of the banana bread!

Cache loves chocolate chips!

"What? Was I not supposed to eat it?"

Out shoveling snow with the kids

Big helper!

Riding the train at Christmas time!

Sitting with Santa! I wish I had had more time to post more blogs just about this!

Avelyn was pretty happy sitting on Santa's lap, but Cache was a little reluctant. He at least wasn't crying! What a good Santa!! You can still see his eyes are a little crossed from when he was sick, but that was the last major thing to fix itself.

These days we are exploring the joys of having an independent 2 year old. Cacher has always been such a good kid. He shares his toys and asks if someone is "ok" when they fall. He asks for permisson before eating things to make sure it's ok and he brings the baby "snacks" when he thinks she's hungry. Or he just brings me the nursing pillow and says, "She's hungry" He's very snuggly and loves to sit on our laps. I love that he becoming his own person, I just wish we didn't have to have so many tantrums! At least once a day we have to have very slow, cranky conversations about why he needs to eat his vitamins, take naps, or not do unsafe things. He can be very loud and loves to say "I said no!" which, or course just makes it all worse for him. I struggle with finding ways to try to get him to listen sometimes and it all makes me wonder if I'm being a good mom or if I am just expecting too much of a 2 year old. I just think he is capable of so much more, but I do want him to be a kid as much as possible. Hopefully, when the weather warms up, we can run off some steam at the park and not push mommy's buttons as much. :) In fact, the weather was nice yesterday (50's and sunny) so we took the kids out for a ride in the new bike trailer I got for Christmas!Such a nice thing to have! Cache loved it and didn't want to get out!

Took the kids for a ride!

Snuggly warm!

As for Jared and I, we have both been working on our health this year. I decided that I didn't want to wait to decide to have another kid before I loose weight. I want to enjoy being smaller and healthier for me. We got a membership to the local wellness center at my work and take turns going when he gets home from work. I also go to Zumba twice a week and that's a lot of fun! I even got asked if I was a dancer in high school because she thought I was good! She said she follows me whenever she can't see the instructor. Way to boost my confidence! So far we are both doing well with it and I have even gotten to a weight that I haven't been since high school! Probably less than when we got married! Well, I guess that keeps me motivated for now! I'm hoping to continue to do well.

Love and hugs to all!