Thanksgiving with friends

This year we decided to stay around Oregon for Thanksgiving and we celebrated with our friends the Zderads.  They're like our family so we were really looking forward to a fun day of food and friends with them.

I didn't take a whole lot of pictures because I only had my 'zoom' lense and I was too busy stuffing my face, but goodness, the food was so good and the company even better.  It was really low key with all the kiddos just playing together, a board game after our meal, and lots of just sharing life together.  Its so good to just sit back and recount how truly blessed we are and thank God for both the good and the bad and His hand in it all.  Fun memories of a wonderful day!

Nana's birthday, potty training and another tummy bug

Shortly after we got back from our weekend getaway we had round two of the tummy bug.  This time it struck our sweet little Jonah.  Goodness, it is so hard when 2 year olds are throwing up, it just makes them so sad and pitiful.  In fact, there are pajamas that Jonah refused to wear for a long time because he wore them while he was throwing up and somehow in his mind the jammies caused him to get sick.  How adorable right??

The bug didn't last long, but it was definitely a few sleep deprived long, Lysol filled, days...

He sure is precious when he's sleeping.

A few days before Jonah got sick we had their friends over to play one morning.  I love watching these 4 boys grow up.

And a few days after he was feeling better, we celebrated Nana's birthday with a yummy dinner.  Seafood is her favorite so we cooked up some scallops and asparagus with fresh fruit and a warm banana pudding (her request!) for dessert.  Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.  The boys sure do love their Nana and were delighted to decorate the house in her favorite color purple.

And last but not least, Jonah was finally and completely potty trained.  We had started training with him before Ethan was born but then we stopped once Ethan arrived because I wasn't giving him the dedication he deserved to really succeed and I didn't want to frustrate him.  I was just too tired and busy to really work with him.  So we stopped for awhile but began again sometime after Halloween.  Once we re-began the process he took to it really quickly.  No pull-ups the second time around, just big boy undies and I was so proud of him.  He had a few hiccups of course and it was hard to find the right motivation to get him to really make that jump to being fully potty trained.  Cue the Disney store.  We stopped in that store at the local Outlets and he found his beloved Jake and the Neverland Pirates sword.  Ding ding ding.  IDEA.  Hey Jonah, if you stop going potty in your undies Mommy will buy you a Jake Sword (off amazon for cheaper of course, ha ha!)  Little guy loves him some Jake so it was all the motivation he needed and very soon after that promise, he was keeping his undies dry and we had succeeded.  SO proud of you Jonah, you are growing up so fast but we are loving each step.

Weekend getaway

You know how you just get an 'itch' to get outta town every once in awhile?  Well, we were feeling that in the early fall but knew we were a bit limited due to budget, vacation days, and the fact that we had a baby!  But we didn't let that stop us from a fun little weekend getaway to Portland.  I wouldn't exactly say it was a vacation because it was still a bit of work, but it was definitely a fun, breatho f fresh air, and I know our boys had an absolute blast.

We headed out Sunday after church was over, ate lunch in the car and headed straight to OMSI.  Our family gets in free so it was the perfect way to spend a few hours before we could check into our hotel.  We ate dinner ate Noodles & Co which wasn't super fun since Ethan was being a bit of a fussy baby, but we survived, and headed to the hotel.  The best part of being at a hotel is always jumping on the bed right?

We settled in for the night, it was great since we had a hotel suite with 2 rooms, hooray!!

The next day we went to the Children's Museum and just let the boys play like crazy.  It was a bit crowded but still fun.

Later that afternoon we headed back to the hotel so Ethan could take a nap and the boys could swim with Daddy.  They were so excited and I am so grateful they have a Daddy who does such fun things with them.

We realize restaurants are not the easiest or most fun choice for us right now so Peter took off that evening to go bring some Papa Johns back to the hotel.  The boys got to watch a movie while they waited so it was pretty much the best thing ever in their minds!

The next morning we headed back to OMSI for some more playing after we checked out of our hotel.  We of course had to hit up a Starbucks first for some mommy/daddy fuel :-)  It was ridiculously windy that day so we were so glad we had decided against going to the zoo, we would truly have blown away!

We played until the boys were worn out and then we headed home, but not without a stop to get some take out at The Cheesecake Factory.  That sure was delicious as a little welcome home dinner that night, yum!

There were definitely some rough moments throughout the weekend but I need to remember that though its often a lot of work and prep to take 3 little boys away for a weekend, it is so necessary.  Necessary for them and necessary for me.  I love mixing up our routine and watching our boys just soak in the fun that comes with a night in a hotel room, different food and just a day focused on them.  Kids don't need Disneyland and all the bells and whistles.  They just want simple memories, a day built around childhood excitement, and extra love and attention from their parents.  Looking forward to many more weekend getaways with my boys.