My Mother's Day present

Mavs game

Dave had a rare game off last week, so he took Charlie and his dad to the game. Charlie's favorite parts were the fire that shot out of some basketballs during the starting lineups and "the door." Apparently Dave had to open a large door to the loading dock when he was taking them to the TV truck, and the loud noise it made left a big impression on Charlie. They stayed until halftime when Charlie announced "I'm all done watching basketball."

fun with the boys

maybe a little too many bubbles in the bath

at TCU baseball game

the glasses are Dave's from when he was a kid

going down the slide. Must have been pretty exciting based on my expression.

precious Nate

all my Minnesota relatives, be sure to note Nate in his Minnesota shirt and hat :)

Can't wait to show this to Charlie when he's older

And here he is five minutes later

Stadium Tour

Dave and I took the Cowboys Stadium tour with my parents while they were here last month. It was fun to see the stadium up close. We were bummed, though, that they stopped giving tours of the video board control room.

In the locker room

fun at the park

From my family's visit last month

Nate's favorite place

Nate's favorite place is on my lap, sucking his thumb, touching my face. Turns out it's one of my favorite places to be, too.

Firefighter Charlie

Here is Charlie wearing his fire coat, oxygen mask and fire boots.

Then Granny and Gray-Gray dug in their attic and found Dave's old firefighter/"Emergency" gear. Here they're playing with the call box (and it has a defibrillator on the other side)

Now Charlie has a true oxygen mask and tank. They're showing a little of their wear being that they're almost 30 years old, but he loves wearing them around the house.

He's gotten very good at doing his firehouse puzzle and doesn't need much help.

The other day I had promised Charlie a wagon ride if it wasn't raining after his nap, but turns out it was too cold. But I am a woman of my word, so we took a wagon ride around the house, and Charlie quickly dubbed it his fire truck. He'd tell me where the fires were so I could take him there to put them out.

I think it's safe to say he's a little fixated on fire fighting right now. He also has a slide in the backyard that he'll stand on with the garden hose and put out fires. And he climbs on a little outdoor table to rescue people. And whenever we get in the car to go somewhere he says he's getting in his fire truck.

February

Taking down the crib

First morning after sleeping in the bed

With Storm Troopers at the NBA All-Star Fan Jam

Charlie has taken to watching "Emergency," it was Dave's favorite show as a kid, and thanks to Aunt Nancy we have 5 seasons on DVD. He's a big fan and likes to act out the scenes while he watches. He calls himself "Gage" and Nate "DeSoto" after the two main characters.

Brotherly love (notice the fire helmet, again. It has replaced the football helmet as his favorite head gear at the moment.)

Our Valentine's Day/Anniversary dinner at Fearing's

1,000 Days

Wow, I just realized how long it had been since I blogged. Unfortunately no new pictures this time, but I'll try to get some up soon.

Dave mentioned a few weeks ago that we must have been getting close to 1,000 days of Charlie. Turns out today is Charlie's 1,000th day. Kind of a random milestone, but a milestone nonetheless!

Here he is on Day 1:

He hardly resembles the boy running around now, but when he cries I always see the same mouth of that "tiny" little newborn.

Here he is on Day 996.

January

A couple videos

I just realized I hadn't imported photos from my camera in quite a while. I have some updating to do, but in the meantime, here are a couple videos:



Nate riding Hank



Charlie making snow balls

Encouraging Words

If I can be honest here, and I sure hope that I can since it's my blog, the last couple weeks have been probably the most challenging of my mothering "career." While the boys are still the most sweet and precious things in the world to me, they have been testing me so much. Charlie seems to think defiance is always an option, and he does it with a manipulative smile. And Nate is a precious Momma's boy, which is sweet, but makes it a little difficult to cook dinner (or to do anything else for that matter) when he is crying at my legs for me to hold him. Add on top of that Dave working and traveling a lot, and I am fried. There are so many times where I feel like if I would only do something different, everything would be better... I'm not doing a good enough job, and that's why the boys are acting out... But so often I don't have it in me to teach them and set boundaries, instead I react out of frustration and turn on the TV for them to watch. I find myself questioning my strength to do this.

Today I actually managed to get a little quiet time, and came across these precious words:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Cor. 12:9)

So here I am, boasting of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. It is my prayer that where I feel weak in my mothering skills, Jesus' power will be made perfect.