Father's & Sons

Anthon took Roman to his very first Father's & Sons outing this weekend, & they had a lot of fun! He was going to take both boys, but decided since Sterling can't walk yet, it might be kinda hard to take him, plus we thought it would be good for him & Roman to have some one-on-one time alone, for a change!

Friday, they left around 4ish, got to camp &:

Caught lizards & bugs.

Roasted hot dogs!
Here's Roman with his 2 little friends Wyatt & Quintin

Then played soccer before bed

 I have to write about Friday night, so I never forget! Anthon called me when they were going to sleep & said Roman needed to talk to me. Roman gets on the phone & I hear him sniffling like he's crying. Our conversation goes as follows:

Me: What's the matter, Romey??
R: I need a cuddle with you!
M: Oh, buddy I'm sorry! But Daddy can cuddle you- he's a really good cuddler!
R: I know, but I need your HAIR!!
M: Aww, I sorry. Well, do you want Daddy to sing you the Romey song?
R:Yeah, does he know it?!?
M: Of course, he knows it, Buddy!

Anthon told me to just sing it to him over the phone, so I did & he went to sleep- no problem! It was so pathetic & sweet, but made me feel really good that he still loves/needs me :)

 Saturday morning, they woke up, ate breakfast & went for a hike

Is this not the cutest shot!! I'm so proud of Anthon for catching it!

They got to climb to the top of a lookout tower once they got to the top of their hike

They saw some really cool views

Then they hiked back, packed up, & headed home

  I'm so glad they got to go & spend some time doing things they love together! It's such a special bond, between father & son, and I love when they have special opportunities to strengthen their bond!

Family Fun Day

I had yesterday off. I'm NEVER off on Saturday's- unless there's something important going on & I take a vacation day. But this weekend I had a 3 day weekend, with no plans with extended family, church, or school... that NEVER happens! So, we decided to enjoy the time together & have a family fun day Saturday! I had a Groupon that was expiring for Ice Den, so we decided that we'd take the boys & go ice skating. It was a BLAST!!

Roman getting all laced up

First time on the ice!

Not quite sure how to balance, but having fun!

He kept looking at my feet while we were skating... "How you do it, mommy?"

Daddy's turn to take him out on the ice!

Roman was really apprehensive about not being able to balance, & Anthon was nervous about falling with him so they got this little "walker" thing to balance with. Roman wasn't really a fan of it...

But Anthon was! So he got himself one for grown-ups!
PS-I love that Anthon doesn't care what people think about him, & that he just has fun!!

Where was Sterling during all the fun?! Enjoying the action from the sidelines :)

Anthon going crazy with his walker-thing

Roman playing in the box while we watched daddy skate

Sweet boys!

 Since we were already in North Scottsdale, we decided me might as well go to Studio Movie Grill for lunch (it's only like 3 miles away from the ice skating rink), so we saw "Mirror, Mirror" while we ate. Sterling was fussy, so I missed about 15 minutes of the beginning while I stepped out to put him to sleep, and then Roman was OVER the show about 20 minutes before it ended (I thought it was going to be more age appropriate than it was, my bad!) so I missed the ending too, but Anthon said it was pretty cute, and I really enjoyed the parts I saw. It was SO fun to spend the day together doing wholesome recreational activities!!

Then, to end the perfect family fun day Anthon & I were able to go on a mini date night to the temple & do a session for our ward temple night, then get some frozen yogurt. SOO fun! We were in desperate need of some quality time together- with our children & by ourselves- so Saturday was perfect! Now, we're refreshed & ready to take on the challenges of life (100º+ weather, finals, the usual). I'm so grateful for our little family! They, each individually, make me so happy and eternally thankful that they are mine!

It has been a fabulous weekend!!

Sterling is almost 1 year!!

Sterling turned 11 months old on the 6th & I haven't posted since he was 9 months old, so I have some catching up to do :). He still is as sweet and darling as ever! See for yourself...

 Some of his favorite things are:

#1 Balls- they are his favorite toy! #2 Baths- he LOVES the water!I have a video that is so cute of his kicking, splashing, & laughing hysterically in the bath! I'd share it, but it's not modest at all!

#3- FOOD! HE is the easiest kid to feed! He eats whatever we eat & eats more than Roman does usually. HE loves sitting up by the table with the family

#4 Roman. His brother. His buddy. They play, giggle, & love on each other all day long. It's the cutest!

Some milestones he's reached these last 2 months are:

Sleeping through the night- YAY!!! Finally! He goes down around 8 or 8:30 & sleeps for 12 hours straight. I've been waiting for this since the day he was born...it's glorious!

His 2 front teeth came in the week after he had his surgery, for a total of 4. I LOVE his little bucky beaver teeth- they're so gappy & cute! He hasn't gotten any new ones since, but he's a pro at biting, and loves to chomp down and not let go (he got weaned early from breast feeding because of it)!

He's becoming more confident with standing & walking. He cruises around the furniture and loves to push his little walked or the laundry basket around.

I LOVE this little man!! He just makes us all so happy with his incredibly sweet disposition and patient love for us. He doesn't say much- he babbles a LOT but the only words we can really understand are "No, Dada, Momma, & ball-ball". He HATES getting dressed, having his diaper changed, putting on his shoes, and getting his face/nose wiped off.

I was reading Roman's 10 & 11 month posts to see what he was doing at this age, and in one of them I listed all the nicknames we called him. Some of them I had already forgotten, so I want to write down Sterling's nicknames too, so we'll be sure to remember them. They are: Ster, Stern, Sterkey, Sterling Boy, Lover, Fat-fatty, & brother. It's the cutest when Roman calls him Sterling Boy!!

Next milestone post will be when he's 1 year old :'(... It's gone by too fast!

A day in the life of Romey

 While I was going through our pictures from the last 2 months to find ones to post of Sterling's post, I found a bunch of random, fun photos of Roman in his "natural habitat". Some are candid, some are not, but all of them are SO him! Enjoy :)

He's wearing Grandma Eileen's glasses

Olives are one of his favorite snacks & he's just discovered how to make alien hands with them- so fun!

At play- "To the rescue!"

Eating breakfast- "No pictures, Mom!"

Apparently frustrated with the Wii

"Wook at me! I up-side down!"

He loves water, so bath times are always a blast!

 

Man, I love this boy! He is at such a fun, adorable, sweet (but also frustrating, stubborn, & crazy) age. He's wild, he doesn't always listen, he throws some nasty temper tantrums, he never wants to go to sleep or wash his hair, but he's mine! He gives me kisses & tells me he loves me all the time, when I walk in the door from work he runs to me yelling, "Mommy! I so glad you're here to see me!", he makes me laugh, & still plays with my hair... I wouldn't want it any other way!

Easter Sunday

Our Easter was pretty low key, but so NICE! We spent the morning together making breakfast, listening to Rob Gardner's "Lamb of God" (If you haven't heard it, you REALLY need to! I'll let you borrow my CD. The music is so beautiful and it tells the story of our Savior's atonement so perfectly, and focuses on his last days from the perspective of those closest to Him. I'll post a link at the bottom if you wanna check it out!!), & getting ready for church.

Here are the boys all dressed & ready for church

Roman & his Easter basket- Sterling wondering what the fuss is all about

Both checking out their treats

Me: "What cha' eating Romey??"

After church we went & visited Anthon's grandma and then my mom. We decided to try & take a family picture at my mom's since she has pretty grass & trees. This is the best we got...

Then, I tried to get a good shot of each of the boys. Here are my favorites:

Actually smiling AT the camera- this rarely happens :)

Then he noticed all the grapefruit

Sterling thinking he's pretty cool sitting up there all by himself

"K that was fun. Now get me down!"

Ah, I LOVE they 3 guys!!! They are all so very special to me. My life would be incomplete without them! & the fact that they're all sooo cute doesn't hurt either ;)

I love the coordinating purple & grey!!

Anthon, I love you! You are my:

Dream come true. Confidant. Support system. Partner (in crime & fun!). Reassurance. Personal comedian. Motivation. #1 priority. Best friend.

So, Here's the link to the web page for The Lamb of God:

http://www.spiremusic.org/lamb/watch.php 

Anthon's favorite song is "I Cannot Watch Them" sung by Peter after his denial. My favorite song is probably (there are SO many good ones) "I am the Resurrection" which is sung after Lazarus is risen from the dead. This production has had such a profound impact on mine & Anthon's lives- We've seen it performed live twice & listen to the CD all the time! It helped me see the Savior and what He did for us more clearly. I respond a lot to music (especially orchestra- probably because I was brought up on Mozart) and the way Rob Gardner composed this piece just speaks to my soul!

I'm forever thankful for a loving Father in Heaven who sent His son, and for His son's willingness to come to earth and do for me what I could never do for myself! The opportunity the apply in atonement in my life is such a priceless gift and I'm humbled to think that my sins caused Jesus pain. I love Him with all my heart. I know he lived and died, and that He lives today!