Happy New Year!

My Little Elf!

Parents Have Entered The Smart Phone Era

The first post of the year 2015, one of my many resolutions is to be better at posting every week. So far, so good! We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's with my side of the family. We are so blessed to have such great people to spend the holidays with, Aiden especially enjoys seeing everyone. Every time we leave he says that he misses everyone, listing them each by name and I have to reassure him that we will see them all again soon.  Connor is doing great, he is starting to sleep for longer periods of time and smiles all the time. There is just something about his smile that totally melts my heart! Aiden's vocabulary is expanding all the time, I think that it may even surpass some of Dave's students soon! I hope that I can continue to foster a love of learning in my children, it will help them when they enter the education system and enrich their lives overall. I find that people who have a passion for learning tend to be happier and more fulfilled. I am starting to get our house back together after being away for the holidays, finding places for all our new things and getting rid of things we do not need. This weekend I will take down the Christmas decorations, much to Aiden's chagrin. Send up a prayer for me that he takes it well, he is pretty attached to many of the decorations. 

Cutest Kids I've Ever Seen

Wearing his hat from his Uncle Matthew

Date: January 7, 2015

Weight: 13.7 pounds

Height: 23 1/2 inches

Aiden on Christmas Morning!

Aiden on New Year's Eve

Aiden lasted all the way past midnight on New Year's, he was more awake than most of the adults and he was still in a fantastic mood! We did this fun walkabout at the stroke of midnight, which is an Irish tradition that Aiden REALLY got into and totally loved. I am pretty sure that it is going to be a forever tradition now.This kid is too much fun. I love him soooo much!!

Merry Christmas Eve!!!

I am so excited to celebrate Christmas with our family this year. It is our first Christmas as a "complete" Sanders family, since we have just added our final member and I am officially a Sanders since we were married in January of this year. I am extremely thankful that my family is happy and healthy, and filled with Christmas cheer. Aiden is so excited for Christmas, it makes my heart smile. We have had so much fun getting ready for Christmas, Aiden has helped me tape a lot of the presents while wrapping. So, if you find any rogue pieces of tape you know why! We also did our annual Christmas tree shopping contest and cookie decorating. Here are some pictures of the festivities and a fun video capturing Aiden trying to wake up his uncle Adam.

 

Connor John Sanders-1 Month

I have given myself a little time with our newest addition before I got back to the blog, one month to be exact. As of Monday, I am officially back to work and doing my best to balance a full-time job, two small children and all my household duties. It is a little overwhelming, but so far I think I am doing fair job.

Connor John Sanders

November 16, 2014   10:01am

8 lbs 3.5 ounces  

21 1/2 inches

LABOR DAY
At 2 am I started having pretty serious pains in my back and I had a suspicion that I was going into labor.  After two hours of the pain getting stronger and more consistent, I decided to wake David up and tell him that it was time to head to the hospital. I was trying to hold out until the sun came up because it was so cold and windy outside, it was insane. The wind moved everything on our porch, including our BBQ and pretty heavy outdoor storage trunk. Despite my best efforts to stall, I knew that it was not wise to wait much longer. We packed up the car, bundled up Aiden and headed to emergency room. I called my mom to let her know that I was in labor and we were headed to hospital. At the hospital, we checked in and were admitted up to our room.  After I was settled and all hooked up, I sent the boys to the cafeteria to get breakfast. While they were gone, my doctor came and checked me out and informed me that Connor would be here in twenty minutes! I got on my phone to get David back up to the room so he did not miss it!  Luckily, we had some friends who were able to get to the hospital quickly to sit with Aiden while I was actually pushing.  Dave made it back into the room right around the time Connor was crowning, I had him out in under 8 minutes of pushing.  He was much easier to get out than Aiden and did less damage, although I guess because he came out so fast he was a little purple and bruised when he came out. At first sight, I thought he looked like a cross between Gollum and duck(in the cutest way possible). The bruising quickly faded and he became the cute little guy you see in the photos.

My mom came to help out the first week and took Aiden with her the second. Aiden has adjusted pretty well to being a big brother. He LOVES Connor. He is constantly saying, "How cute & I love you Connor" when he sees him.  He covers him with hugs and kisses and always wants the baby to sit next to him. Connor loves to eat, he wants to be fed every one to two hours. It keeps me pretty busy to say to the least. We went to see Santa a couple weeks ago, and saw a light parade. Aiden is in LOVE with Christmas.  He constantly asks to see Santa and says that he misses him. He always wants to drive around and see Christmas lights, watch Christmas movies and sing Christmas songs.  I must say, that I am loving it! I love seeing his enthusiasm and enjoyment over the little things in life. His Christmas cheer is infectious and I hope that he continues to love Christmas for all his days. Since we have a new baby it means that we can start having weekly weigh-ins again! So far Connor is following in his big brother's footsteps and gaining weight really quickly.

Let sleeping boys lie...

All smiles!!

They have the same look!

Date: December 17, 2014

Weight: 12 pounds 3 ounces

Height: 23 inches