Merry Christmas From Andrew and Aaron!

Dearest Andrew and Aaron,
Merry Christmas to my two favorite guys (Shhhh, don't tell Daddy I said that! Hehe :) ).  We had such a wonderful Christmas as always.  We spent time with each side of the family and you two got so many presents!  Aaron, you don't get Christmas yet, but when you do, you will be as crazy about it as Andrew! :) And Andrew, you truly were crazy about Christmas this year!  It was so awesome to watch you get excited when opening your gifts.  You got so many new train tracks!  I can't even.  Haha.  Our house is slowing being taken over by Thomas and Chuggington! :P  We love it though!  Andrew, you are also finally starting to understand the true meaning of Christmas this year.  I know it will take a few more years to really sink in, but you are getting there.  You understand that we celebrate because Jesus was born.  I can't wait until you learn even more!
Well, I love you two so much!  Hopefully 2015 will be the year Mommy gets back in gear with this blog!  Poor Aaron needs some screen time! :)  There's just a little less time now with my two little turkeys than when there was just one. Hehe. :)  But it is SO worth it!  I love my little turkeys soooo very much!

Andrew and the Christmas Play

Dearest Andrew,
Oh. My. Cuteness!!! You, my sweet boy, were in your first play this weekend. It was short and sweet (and oh so cute!), but it was so perfect.  You played Joseph and wore a costume made from a pillow case.  I can't even.  It was such a mommy moment for me.  You wore a costume from a pillow case I actually made.  It was super easy, required no sewing, and your Aunt Amy told me how, but I still made it and you looked adorable! And I LOVED that you were learning about the true meaning of Christmas!  Sis. Smith did an amazing job with you guys!  I was so very proud and recorded as much as I could.  My camera was giving me problems.  Ugh!  Meanwhile Daddy was snapping away with his camera getting plenty of cute pictures.  And when you guys took a bow at the end, I just about died! <3 <3 <3 Cutest thing ever!!!  There you go topping yourself again for "cutest thing ever!"  Haha! :)  This is a memory I will keep with me forever!!! <3
I love you my sweet little Joseph! :)

Praying For John Deere

Dearest Andrew,
You love your John Deere dump truck.  GiGi and Papa have one that you loved to play with, so I put one on your Christmas list last year.  I didn't pay attention to the size however, I just know it looked right on the screen.  Hehe. :)  When you opened it, it was WAY bigger than the one GiGi and Papa have!  Grandma got it for you and thought I was crazy for asking for such a big truck for you!  Hehe!  I couldn't believe how big it actually was!  I vaguely remember you could fit in the back that Christmas morning as one of your uncles pushed you around. :)   Now, you can't fit in it, but you love to play with it all the same.  It carries loads all over the house.  I hear those wheels on the tile as you race through the house pushing John Deere along.  That is what you call him, you actually call him John Deere. Too cute.  :)  I don't know if I have mentioned it on here or not, but you have the BEST imagination there is!  You love to pretend and I love pretending with you! Tonight, not long before bed, you told me John Deere was sick.  I asked how he was sick and you pointed to his ailment (that I couldn't see, but oh how I pretended I could! :) ).  I said, "Well, maybe you should pray for John Deere."  That's when it happened.  That's when you did one of the sweetest things to date.  You closed your little eyes tightly, laid your hand on your truck, and uttered this short prayer:
"Dear Lord, please touch John Deere.  Please help him to get better.  In Jesus's name, Amen."
You were SO sincere!  I know you learned that from me praying for you, but it just touched my heart so deeply!  Sure you were just pretending and of course the truck wasn't really hurt (and it's just a toy), but I love that you know to do that!  You make Mommy so happy!  I love that you have a heart for Jesus at this young age and that you know who to call on when things go wrong.  I know you don't understand it fully, but for what you know, you believe with all your heart!  Keep living for Him little man!  Even when you don't understand, even when it may seem hard, God will always be there and He will always help you through!  For now we pray for our trucks and skinned knees, but as you grow, I pray your faith in Him will as well!  I love you!!!

The Many (Cute) Faces of Aaron

Dearest Aaron,
I put you in your jumper for the first time today and you L-O-V-E-D it!  Woo-hoo!  I got Daddy's camera and started snapping away!  I went to post a few pictures on Facebook and realized there were WAY too many cute ones to just choose a few! :)  When I got to looking, I realized you have just as many funny/silly/cute expressions as your brother does!  My kids have personality!!! :)  I thought, "Well, here is entry one in "The Many (Cute) Faces of Aaron"!  I know, I know, I have SO neglected this poor little blog.  But let me tell ya, going from one kid to two is a big difference!  It's a change for sure, but the most wonderful change ever!  I am a mom of BOYS and I love it! :)  We are having a blast!!! :)  I will talk more about that later. For now, here are the many (cute) faces of Aaron!  I am sure there will be more to come! :)

Dearest Andrew & Aaron

Dearest Andrew and Aaron,
Okay, so there are two of you now.  Mommy was having trouble keeping up with just one blog and since you have doubled ( :) ) I cannot imagine keeping up with TWO blogs!  So I introduce "Dearest Andrew & Aaron"!  :)  Now this blog will be about the two coolest little boys on the planet!  There is so much I have missed blogging about these past few months, but instead of fretting about that, I plan to just move on and have a fresh start! :)  My hope is that I will keep up with your blog so you can read about all of the cool/fun/exciting/crazy things you did growing up (and what it was like to have ME as your mom, haha) and so that others can read about how cool you guys are now!  Plus it's fun to write about my boys!  I just forget.  Easily.  They say that happens after you have children, so really it's your fault.  Hahaha, Mommy is just kidding.  I was like that loooong before I had my sweet kiddos!  So, here's to a fresh start!  I am sure there will be many wonderful adventures, milestones, and so much more to blog about.  And now I should leave because you, Aaron, have decided it is time to eat and you are not into the whole waiting game! :)  Hehe!  I love you both SO much!!! <3

The Many (Cute) Faces of Andrew Part V

Dearest Andrew,
It has been well over a year since we posted one of your cute face collages.   I have always called them "The Many (Cute) Faces of Andrew" but now I think I should have changed it to "Funny".  :)  Hehe.  Today we went to play games and eat pizza with your Aunt Amy, Marcus, and Grandma and I snapped some pictures of you at the dinner table.  I had no idea how many crazy/silly faces you made!  You are too funny!  I was going through the photos and thought, "Yep!  Time for another collage!"  :)  I sure love you pal! You light up my life (insert Mommy singing sappy love song that is so old, you will probably never hear it) and make my days SO much fun!!!

Andrew and Aaron

Dearest Andrew,
Well, life has been extremely busy/hectic/a tad crazy/etc. around our house lately, but all in the best way possible.  We have welcomed Aaron into our lives and hearts and we are adjusting to being a family of four and having a newborn in our lives.  Aaron is WONDERFUL!  We all love him so much!  But you know what? YOU are still just as wonderful! :)  You have been the best big brother! <3  You are always asking to hold/kiss/touch/pet (lol, yes pet :) ) Aaron.  You love to give him kisses and it is so very sweet!  It has been an adjustment for sure, but we are having a blast!  We were meant to be a family of four.  Mommy would say there is still one missing, but Daddy does not agree!  Haha!  :)  We shall see down the road.  Seriously though, our family is perfect the way it is!  I know you will have a blast together once Aaron gets a little older and I pray you will be life-long best friends.  Thank you for being such a wonderful big brother!  I know it's probably hard in your sweet little three year old mind to see Mommy and Daddy giving so much attention to someone other than you.  Newborns need lots and lots of attention, but you seem to be doing okay with it.  We are trying our hardest to let you know you are still our buddy and Mommy and Daddy love you SO very much!  I hope you always know just how much.  :)  I cannot wait to see what the future holds for our family!  I don't know all the twists and turns we will face, both good and bad, but we will do it together as the super awesome family we are! What?  We really are awesome you know.  :)  I know we will have so many adventures together...Mommy and her three wonderful guys!  I love you SOOO much!

Happy Birthday Andrew!

Dearest Andrew,
Today you are three.  THREE!  Wow!  I am so happy to be celebrating with you.  We have already had your party of course, but I still wanted today to be special.  We sure had a good time! :)  I let you chose what we did.  I figured after we went out for breakfast (where I let you get the most unhealthy breakfast in the world since it was your birthday), the aquarium and the library, you would want to go out to lunch or playground or something, but no, you wanted to come home and play with your new toys. :)  I totally understand that!  You got so many great ones.  You sure are a blessed little boy!  <3  I had such a great time with my buddy today and I finally accepted you are three.  Sigh... :)  I love you so much, I just can't even say! :)

Andrew Celebrates Birthday Number Three!

Dearest Andrew,
This birthday was by the very best yet!  You had such a great time and you were involved in most of the decisions.  You were SO excited about your party and we talked about it for weeks before.  Last year I chose trains as the theme because you just didn't realize exactly what a birthday party was.  This year you were very much aware and chose Thomas as your theme.  Of course. :)  I was going back and forth trying to decide what we would have for lunch and I finally realized I should just ask the birthday boy.  You were quick to suggest pizza, so that's what we had.  It was delicious too!  I decided to get you an ice cream cake since you love both cake and ice cream and let you choose the flavors.  It was so fun to watch you get so excited and for you to help plan.  We celebrated with the same crowd as usual, but this year your Uncle Stephen, Aunt Renee, Zane, Sky, and Charis were able to join us.  You were thrilled!  And when it came time to open your presents, you were nearly beside yourself! :) You gave the best reaction to each present too!  It was wonderful! I hope you realize how extremely loved you are!  I am so thankful for such wonderful family and friends!  We are all so blessed.  Happy Birthday my sweet boy! <3