so in love.

i'm so in love. in love with this little boy.

i teared up last night at the thought of going back to work in 7 days. i honestly thought i was the tough mom who wouldn't cry. ha! funny. something about having your own child makes you an emotional mess. i can't imagine not spending our 8-hour 'work day' together. i love him more than anything and his little smiles and laughs and funny faces make my day, everyday.

that's one thing in life i will never understand. why is it that we retire after our kids are grown and work when they are growing up? yea, i know for money, but seriously this is the most messed up concept in life. don't get me wrong i am so thankful for my job and i really enjoy being around my co-workers on a daily basis, but i can't fathom missing some of banks' first milestones and being there to comfort him when he's upset. ahh. this is killing me.

speaking of milestones, we hit a few recently!

we went up a size in diapers! size 2's are much more comfy!

banks rolled over! yes! he was so happy about it too! he was just laughing and smiling and looking at us like "LOOK WHAT I JUST DID!"

he can pull himself up on his iGym. he even ripped off the handle one day and continued to play with his other hand! crazy boy. he NEVER stops moving. i'm thinking (and hoping) we have a little athlete on our hands!

he 'talks' a lot!

here are some of our newest moments captured on camera. we are just so in love. 

headed to church

i found mom's hair and pull on it ALL of the time.

i blow bubbles an spit

i wake up happy and smiling

i hold my head up so high!

time is of the essence

time. where does it go? 

i write this because i'm so in awe of how time is disappearing before my eyes. i go back to work in 10 days :( Banks is 11 weeks old. I miss a meal everyday. My house is a mess. I'm 25. I missed a workout 3 days into training.... ahhhhhh.

crap. i already missed a workout. 

i just had to write a post about this so that i had more motivation to go back to the gym tonight. ya know, it's hard to get motivated to workout when the husband gets home from work and you finally get to sit down and just RELAX. i'm already so nervous about going back to work. I can only imagine how my time management skills will be abused once this happens. my first problem: i'm a tv addict. yes, i need intervention - speaking of, i love that show. see! it's a problem! i just need to convince myself that the shows that i watch are equally good when i'm running and watching them vs. laying on the couch and watching them. don't get me wrong i LOVE to workout, but this whole no sleep thing really kicks your butt. which brings me to how i feel today - awesome!

 that's right. awesome. Banks slept through the night for the first time last night! we took the big boy to another WSU game last night (#24 ranked shockers! woo hoo!) and he stayed awake for the majority of the game so he was worn out. we got home, he ate, fell asleep and didn't wake up until 7:15 am! i'm so rejuvenated! i feel like a new woman. ha! i'm so proud of him!! yay Banks! i'm entirely aware that being this happy and posting about his accomplishment will bite me tonight, but hey, baby steps, right? if we can get through one night every now and then, i'll be happy!

ok. i'm going to go practice my time management skills. wish me luck!

and... THANK YOU banks! You're awesome. Congrats to you on your first full night of sleep!

love

happy valentine's day to all!

i couldn't help but share a picture of my most loved valentine!

baby galore!

i have mentioned before that g and i had opted to have a natural childbirth - medication free. yes, this means no induction, no epidural, pitocin, c-section or anything up that alley. we prepared for this adventure by taking a 12 week Bradley Method Birth Class. this class was suggested by a friend of ours who had completed the class a year before us and had a successful natural delivery. my mom on the other hand, who also had two natural (by natural i mean medication free) deliveries, thought the class was a waste of time as she said nothing would help the pain. i'll give her that, nothing would help the pain, but garrett and i were so glad we took the class as we learned so much about childbirth. i felt that i knew exactly what my body was going through and how i 'should' feel during each step of labor. this made me feel like i could tell myself that the enormous amount of pain i was experiencing was half-way normal and i wasn't going to die - yea, something like that.

well, it ends up we succeeded at our goal of a medication-free delivery and i would say it ranks as one of my most proud moments. it was an amazing experience as i felt so connected with the birth of baby Banks.

enough about that.

our class set up a reunion after all the babies were born so that we could share stories and meet all the cute babies! it was really neat to hear how different everyone's story was. i can vouch that no experience was identical to the next mother's.

here's a few pictures from our reunion. aren't they so cute!?

Banks and Everett - Everett's mommy, Lindsey, is a great friend!

From L to R: Coen, Calvin (he's a twin, so I hope I don't mix these two up!), Philomena, Everett, Banks, Kipton and Eli (other twin)

Banks and Everett

Peace Dude!

Mamas and Babies! From L to R (Mamas): Lisa, Sarah, Lindsey, Me, Christy and Martha

twenty-five.

happy 25th birthday to me!

it's been a fabulous week. i was able to celebrate with my closest friends and family - which in my mind is the best way to celebrate. Thursday my boys and I just 'chilled' and watched KU and WSU go home with wins and Friday my birthday buddy, Amber, and I celebrated our days of birth with a hot yoga, lunch, manicure and pedicure date before going out that night. Saturday, the whole fam, friends and co-workers (also friends) met up at Jersey's to watch the KU and WSU games while sipping on some beer - which was a way exciting moment as beer has been missed greatly by this mama for about the past year! We also went out that night to dance - which you all know is one of my favorite things to do!  It was really a great weekend with so many great people. 

So for the gifts... who can forget that part of birthdays? :)

my closest friends have probably heard me say a time or two (whenever one of them receives flowers) "I NEVER get flowers". That's okay - I know Garrett spoils me - but, really, I NEVER get flowers, so I was completely surprised to open the door to a flower delivery man on my birthday. WHAT?! I'll admit I got butterflies as this is a very rare occasion. Garrett was home, and he acted surprised, but I thought he was just 'acting'. So, I was a little emotional when I read the card that was attached to the bouquet that read "Sister, ...." I should have known. The flowers were from my hopeless romantic, sweet, caring brother! Thanks, Dennan! You are so sweet. Garrett, well, he didn't pull through with flowers, but I was SO excited when I opened my gift from G and my parents - a DSLR camera! So stinkin' excited!! I've been wanting one for so long, and now I feel that I have the perfect excuse for one - the cutest lil' boy ever!  So, if you thought I was a picture whore before, you betta watch out, because as soon as I figure out how to use this confusing, huge, intimidating machine with way too many numbers and buttons, I will be snapping away at every life moment. Steve and Kathy also came through with some fabulous KU apparel and decor (Rock Chalk!!)- does it get better than that?

 February 8 (well, 8-11 because of my extra-long celebrated birthday) i'm soo very thankful for being blessed with another amazing year - which i'm confident will be the best year yet as our family grew by 1 and we are loving every moment. :) as i look back on the past 25 years i cannot think of a more blessed life. so here are 25 things that i'm so very thankful for having been a part of my first 25 years of life!

1. my family

2. marrying my love, g baby

3. my precious baby boys, banks & hadley

4. my college degree

5. my job

6. buying a house and making it home

7. my basketball career

8. friends i've met because of moving from town to town

9. my health

10. a true best friend

11. jesus

12. summers full of basketball camps and tournaments - i loved my childhood

13. having grandma mickey live with us growing up - she's a special lady

14. college roommates 

15. our wedding

16. living with my father-in- law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law, although they may not be as thankful as i am :) ... i feel that we got to know each other so much better and i'm thankful for that

17. accomplishing a natural childbirth - an amazing experience

18. learning from mistakes

19. my brother and our close relationship

20. my parents who never stop caring and take the time to do anything for their kids

21. role models

22. education

23. accomplishing goals i set for myself

24. the ability to believe in something bigger than myself

25. for another year

here's to 25!

Banks' 'crib'.

even though it's still not 100% complete, i thought i'd share pictures of banks' 'crib'. 

he has slept in his crib for about 7 weeks now, so i think he's okay with what i picked out. he also LOVES his changing table/pad. he's always smiling once he lays down on it.

we still need a rocking chair cover, ottoman/foot rest and some kind of window treatment... i'll get there!