19 months

Little man is already 20 months and I didn't get this posted before he Tuesday because little one got the stomach flu... and then today I thought the stomach flu was over and then, SURPRISE, more vomit :( Just hoping this little one can get over this yucky sickness!

I loved this month as well.. I think I said that last month...and although he is gets into everything, he also is hilarious and so fun. I love how he is trying to constantly learn and his toddler talking.

Words he is saying: There are many things that he tries to say and I really have no idea what he is talking about... but for the most part he is saying things I can understand! He knows alot of foods "juu" for juice, "bays" for strawberries, "nana" for bananas, "fishy" for goldfish, ect. I try to get him to say "Love you Mommy" and he says something to that effect.. my favorite!

Learning to do: Well, he pooped in his potty the other day. I was so excited! He's gone twice in his potty now... but so not ready to start potty training yet! He is trying to learn his numbers; how he counts: 2, 4, 5, 8. Makes me laugh every time. He also is trying to learn letters - and when he sees any writing he says "A." The other day I was holding up three different letters and he was telling me each of them - A, I, and Y. He is so eager to learn! He loves to play games on the Ipad that have these flash cards with animals and animal noises, food, ect and he is trying to learn those things as well.

Loves: Coloring, Elmo, Choo-choos, doggies, cars, tools, cookies, strawberries, any sport, and his paci.

Hates: We went to the doctor today to make sure everything was ok with his sickness and he hates going to the doctor because he thinks he is going to get a shot...

Sickness and Cuddles

So this pictures pretty much sums up the last 48 hours in the Penz household....

I've been blessed this winter that Brecken hasn't gotten sick too much. He did have the stomach flu in October and a day of a fever, but this sickness that just hit my little man made my momma heart hurt. I thought maybe the throwing up on Monday was a one time thing, but several hours later it was happening very frequently. Monday night I officially got to experience my first "Mommy all-nighter." I have pulled many all-nighters in my college days cramming for a test or writing a paper, staying up with help of some Red Bull. Although there were many nights that I got much less sleep than necessary while caring for Brecken, this was the first time I was up all night til 5 am. I was worried about dehydration, and getting fluids down and to stay down proved to be quite the challenge. 

Luckily, the next morning he seemed alot better but in order to ensure that nothing came back up, I only gave him a tiny bit of Pedialyte at a time. Poor little man was so thirsty and he was crying for juice every time I gave him just a little bit. It was so hard to hear him crying for more juice. He is now doing quite a bit better but still working on recovering. 

It is just so hard to watch your little one be sick and you as a mother are sick with worry. Seeing him be sick and screaming for juice just tugs on my heartstrings. There will be many more rounds of sickness, many more sleepless nights, moments of worry, calls to the 24 hour nurse line, and midnight runs to Walmart for Pedialyte. It is all in the job description of a mom. But the cuddles and the sweet little kiss he planted on my cheek as almost to say "thank you" make every moment of sickness, sleeplessness and worry worth it. 

March Goals

So besides the post last week, I took a little break from blogging. The last part of February got a little busy for me with the huge carnival fundraiser I was planning for the preschool I work for. Then last week after the event, I relaxed... maybe a bit too much. But I am back! :)

I didn't do very good on my February goals since I feel like my life was consumed with a carnival.... but I am hopeful for March :) Every month I try to make some small goals to work towards my yearly goals...

Here were my February goals:

1. Make dentist appointment 
2. Go on four one-on-one dates with Brecken and four dates with Todd: two in, two out
 * I went swimming and on a few special outings with Brecken, and a couple dates out with Todd and a movie in - I think I did ok on this goal! :) 
3. House: Hallways and Family Room painted and art/pictures up. Work on painting the trim in these areas as well.
*Painted the family room and got a shelf and photos put up. The walls still need alot more art! 
4. Organizing: clean out "junk" room. There is a room in the house unused and stores all the things I don't have a place for yet.
5. Stick to a cleaning plan this month
6. Write 2 encouraging notes
*I wrote 5 last month so I guess I stocked up in January :) 
7. Blog three times a week
*Did good for two weeks...
8. Work out three times per week
*I think there were a couple weeks I accomplished this...
9. Start class at church. My church is offering a class to discover my spiritual gifts and what I am passionate about and this lines up with my goal to write a purpose statement and discover my gifts/talents.
*Started this class and have learned so much already! 
10. Make 7 freezer meals and start a list of meals I know how to make
11. Finish Bible by birthday - I started reading the Bible last birthday and I have a few books left til I read it all in a year. 
*Didn't finish it by my birthday, but did finish it. Yay!
12. Organize the photos cds I have, and clean up photos on phone and computer
13. Finish Happy Moms book and 2 Karen Kingsbury Books
14. Plan a fantastic event for work. I am working on a HUGE fundraising carnival for the preschool I work for and this is big focus for the month. This is my added goal for the month! 

 * This fundraiser was a success!! Alot of money was raised for scholarships for kids that cannot afford preschool and it seemed like all the attended had a fun time! 

So here are my March goals... 

1. Make dentist appointment 
2. Go on four one-on-one dates with Brecken and four dates with Todd: two in, two out
3. House: Upstairs hallway painted, work on painting trim white, get more art work up, get curtains up in dining and family room. 
4. Organizing: clean out "junk" room. There is a room in the house unused and stores all the things I don't have a place for yet.
5. Stick to a cleaning plan this month
6. Write 2 encouraging notes
7. Blog three times a week
8. Work out three times per week
9. Finish class at church and have more of a sense of where I should use my talents and gifts to serve.  
10. Make 7 freezer meals and start a list of meals I know how to make
11. Focus on reading the Bible to Brecken more and really focus on my prayer journal.
12. Organize the photos cds I have, and clean up photos on phone and computer. Start making a photo book. 
13. Read 2 - 3 Books. 

Snowy 18 Month Photos

In honor of the snowy day here... I felt like it was a good time to post these photos of Brecken I took a month ago. I labeled these as his "18 month photos" since I try to take some pictures of him every 3 months. This was his first time ever playing in the snow and he LOVED it, except he got a little cold and wet. We opted not to wear snow pants outside after a huge meltdown of trying to put them on and him refusing. We weren't out there long but for enough time to walk around the house and learn what snow was.

twenty-six.

It was my birthday last Thursday and this is how I celebrated it: 

Wednesday: Earlier that afternoon, I went out with my mother-in-law and sis-in-law for some afternoon appetizers and desserts at a quaint little restaurant, Zzest, as a little early celebration. That night, my sweet hubby took me out for a Valentine/birthday date to a fun restaurant in town, The Loop. 

The next morning, I attempted to make heart shaped pancakes for my loves. 

Little one sat on his potty with a sucker for a bit right after breakfast. Real life right here.

Ready for the day photo.

My sweet little valentine/date for the day!

We spent the morning at the mall...and had to get a little valentine treat at the candy store. 

Lunch at the mall.

Playing with "choo-choos" at Barnes and Noble 

 I got to spend the night of my birthday at Bible study with my friends and they made it so special for me. There was a cake, flowers (thanks Hannah!) and they all sang to me. They are so sweet! :) 

My little sweetie

The next night, my family came to see me and take me out for my birthday. We visited one of my favorites, the Redwood Room, which is a small, dark basement restaurant with lots of character and live music. We were seated close to where the musician was singing and Brecken would clap and yell "YAY" after each song. I think the singer liked all the attention. 

 Birthday dessert

And what birthday would be complete without a Scratch cupcake from my hometown? Wow. I never get sick of these!

All in all, it was a great birthday! I always love the extra attention of my birthday and all the extra love, calls, and texts it brings. I am one blessed girl. <3 p="">

Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day from our little heart breaker:

Feb 14

I kinda think that Valentine's Day is an overrated "holiday." Maybe it's partly because it's my birthday and I hate trying to find a place to go out to eat on my birthday.  :)

Well, this is another way to think of valentine's day and the real meaning of love. This gives a whole new meaning to valentine.

(I did not come up with this.. I found it on pinterest... I don't want to take credit for being this creative, I just wanted to share this cool idea of seeing the word valentine in the verse John 3:16 and what I did on my chalk wall.)