A Tooth for Sis

Sis finally cut her first tooth yesterday.  I was wondering when it was going to happen.  Maddox got his first one between 6 and 7 months and she will be 8 months next week.  Her first one is one the bottom middle one on her right.  I could tell it was going to be soon because I could see that her gums were swollen and she was fussy and chewing on EVERYTHING!! I think her other bottom middle one will be coming in pretty soon too because that side of her gums looks the same as the other has looked.  The tooth isn't in far enough to get a good picture of it yet but once it is I will try to take one.  Maybe when I do her 8 month pics next week I can get one :D.

Basement Update

We are officially a week into construction on our basement.  Things have been quite loud the past week as they have been framing.  Thankfully, the kids have still napped pretty well despite the table saw, hammering, and nail gun going off all day long!  This has made me super thankful for their slightly noisy humidifiers that always run in their rooms that drown out the noise!

They guys finished up the framing today which makes it a lot easier for us to get a feel for the space.  We are now able to see where all the walls will be and how high the ceilings are.  Next week they will work on the rough plumbing and electrical stuff.

This past week Collin, Maddox, Addison, and I went to Home Depot to pick out several things like plumbing hardware, vanities, light fixtures, and tile.  It was quite the trip.  Both kids were crying and we had NO idea what we were looking for.  Somehow we managed to get it all selected and what we didn't get done I was able to select and order online.

After a week of it all I think the only annoying thing is not having my washer and dryer.  It is quite the pain to load all of our dirty clothes up and take them somewhere to wash them.  I have found through this that we do not have a single laundromat in Highlands Ranch or anywhere relatively close for that matter.  So that leaves me with 2 options, the church or a friends house.  The hard things is that each load takes so long so when you have more than one load to do it leaves a lot of time with nothing to do.  I now realize how convenient it is to have a washer and dryer at my house and can't wait to have ours back!!

Below are a few pictures of the progress.  The first set is from before they started last Tuesday and the second set is from this afternoon after they finished framing.  I'm looking forward to watching the transition take place!

Steroid Rage

So I last posted about Maddox's new breathing treatments.  He has been on them just over a week now and is still taking them like a champ each morning and evening.  The only problem is that the steroids are REALLY effecting his behavior!  I mean like he is a complete Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde!  One minute he is fine and the next he is throwing an ALL OUT fit because he can't have a cookie or because we tell him its time to go potty.  It is absolutely horrible.  This happens on and off all day every day.  It is also making him super wild.  He just zips here and there all day long...it wears me out.  People have told me that this will get better as he gets used to the way the meds make him feel but right now it is a lot to handle.  Prayers would be appreciated that he would adjust to the way the steroids make him feel and get back to his happy self soon!!

Breathing Treatments

I mentioned the other day in my post about Maddox that we would be taking him to the doctor to look into his recurring croup.  At his appointment his doctor decided to put him on some breathing treatments through the winter and spring months.  So we left the office with and "occu-chamber" and a prescription for an inhaler.  He has to have 2 doses twice a day through the month of May. Hopefully this will help us get through these next few months without any serious cases or croup.

We really weren't sure how he would handle the treatments but he has done awesome!  We told him he gets super powers from them and he thinks that is pretty cool!  I am so thankful he is doing so well with them because I know it could have been a horrible battle to get him to take them!  He actually thinks it is really funny and just smiles the entire time!  I really hope this works because he is so pitiful when he get croup and it is pretty scary when he struggles with his breathing!

2011: The Short Version

2011 was a year full of blessings for our family!!  We got to do a lot of fun things and had some exciting things happen.  I have selected a picture or 2 from each month to chronicle the high points of our year!!  

In January, we found out baby #2 would be a precious little girl...

and also got to go to Cabo San Lucas with Collin's family.

In February, we soaked up special Maddox time before sis arrived! 

In March, we finally got rid of the beloved paci...

and looked super cute in our coordinating Easter outfits!

In April, we got to take fun maternity pictures.

In May, my awesome friends threw me a surprise baby shower...f

And our precious Addison was born!!

In June, our little buddy turned 2!!

In July, we took a day trip with friends to Breckenridge!

In August, we got to go to the Rockies Faith Day game and see Casting Crowns perform after the game.

In September, Addison and I made a little weekend trip to Dallas...

and Maddox had his first day of Thursday School.

In October, the kids and I spent 2 weeks with family in Dallas.

And the kids were cute little skeletons for Halloween!

In November, we had a lot to be thankful for including this little sweetie!!

And in December, we spent 2 more weeks in Dallas celebrating Christmas.

We loved our time there!

I think that covers most of the big things.  We had an amazing year and can't wait to see what 2012 hold for us!!

Clean Out Basement: Check

We got everything cleared out and are ready to get started on Wednesday!! The lumber is being delivered tomorrow and the dumpster that will sit in our driveway will be delivered Wednesday morning. The framer will be here to get started at 8 am to get started!!! Here are a few pics of our now empty basement!!

Ps. Thanks so much to my hubs and the guys in our connection group for helping us move our ridiculously heavy washer, dryer and couches out of there!!

The Intentional Life

So if you read Collin's blog you have read a little about this but if not here it is.  For the second time Collin and I will be co-teaching a class at the Pepperdine Lectures in May.  When we found out that we were going to be doing this we racked our brains for something different yet still relative to teach on.  We ended up deciding to try a little experiment with our family that we will report on as our class.

What we are going to do is try to live more intentional lives as a family.  Lately we have so frequently found ourselves sitting on the couch bored and looking for something to do.  We more often than not would end up just sitting in front of some sort of technology (phone, iPad, computer, tv etc.) not communicating and acting like total zombies.  It was just horrible and had to change.  Collin has Fridays off each week (since Sunday is technically a work day for him) so we decided we would plan family activities that have some element that we can use to teach our kids (mostly Maddox at this point) about God, Jesus, the Kingdom, or the Christian life in general.  We started the first Friday in January and have decided to call these "Adventure Fridays" because Maddox gets really excited about the idea of going on an adventure!  We have now completed 2 weeks of this experiment and so far it is going great!!  I am not going to share too many details on here until after we teach our class; but just to give you an idea of what we are doing week one we went to the Children's Museum and focused on Imagination and this week we went to the Denver Science and Nature Museum and focused on how big our God is!  Each week after our "adventure" we jot down some notes on how the experience was so that we can remember them when it's time to compile our data!  We are also documenting our adventures with pictures and videos so when we are finished with the ones for the class I hope to put them all together in a video to possibly show in our class and for posterity's sake!

I think this is going to be so much fun and we are going to make so many awesome memories as a family by doing this. The idea of intentional living is something we want to continue to do long past what is needed for this class because we feel it is so important in forming our children spiritually!!  I can't wait to see what impact this has on our family and hope our findings will be helpful to other families that are looking to get out of the rut of everyday life.

Maddox 2.5

Our little buddy turned 2 1/2 just after Christmas so I thought I would post an update about what he is up to!!  He is such a sweet boy.  He talks non stop and says some of the funniest things now.  He knows how to make us laugh and also how to frustrate us to no end!  He can throw a mean temper tantrum but can also be so sweet and cuddly!  He loves on and plays with his sister and also hits and pushes her over. He has a silly personality and the sweetest little smile!  If is he awake he is moving non-stop!  

He is doing great with is potty training.  We did have a little set back after coming home from Texas but have gotten back in our routine and he is back on track.  He has become a pretty picky eater lately which is frustrating but I know the is pretty common with kids.  Some of his favorite things right now are trains, playing cars, watching cartoons (particularly Mickey Mouse, Dora, Thomas, Cars and Toy Story), and he loves playing on our iPads and his Leap Pad. He is a great sleeper and usually goes to bed around 8 pm and wakes up between 6-7 (selfishly I do wish he would sleep in a little more :D) and he also takes an 1 1/2 - 2 hour nap every day.  He still goes to Thursday school each week and loves it!  I don't know how much he weights or how tall he is right now but he is definitely growing!  He is in size 3T clothes and size 8 shoes. 

We do have to take him to the doctor next week to have him checked out since he got croup so many times last year. I think he had it 4-5 times and the last 3 times he required steroids because his airway closed up causing him to have breathing problems called stridor.  His doctor said she will check him out and most likely will have us do breathing treatments with steroids through the winter months to hopefully help prevent him from getting it so often!  So we will probably leave the pediatrician's office next Tuesday with a new nebulizer for him.  I just hope I can get him to sit still long enough to do the treatments lol and hopefully that helps because croup is no fun and sometime pretty scary when his breathing get really bad.  

He is such a joy and we are so thankful God chose us to be his mommy and daddy.  We can't imagine life without our sweet little buddy and look forward to continuing to watch him grow!!  Here are a few pics of him we had taken with Collin's family.  He is such a little cute pie!! :D

I love this picture of the 2 of us.  His face is just so sweet and innocent!

I also love this picture of him and Collin!!  Such a classic daddy/son picture!!

That precious little face just melts my heart!!

Under Construction

Beginning next Wednesday the Packer house will officially be under construction.  We have talked about for a while and finally decided that we want to finish our basement.  So, before we headed to Texas for Christmas we interviewed and got bids from 4 different companies.  When we got home we decided on the company we wanted to go with and this evening signed the contract and set a date to start work.  We are so excited to turn that space into something functional for our family!  When it is all said and done it will be a playroom for all the kids toys, a media/family room then a 3/4 bath and a laundry room!!  They have told us it will take 9 weeks MAX to complete but most likely will take less than that!!  It is really hard for us to picture what it will look like when it is complete but we know it will be great and can't wait!!  I think the worst part of the construction is going to be the fact that I won't have my washer and dryer the entire time they are working.  We have to move everything out of the basement including those because there isn't anywhere to put them out of the way and because there will be a lot of dust that could potentially damage them.  That will definitely be an inconvenience but we will make due!  I am going to try and document the transition so to start it all off here are the before pictures.  There is a ton of junk down there right now and it is a TOTAL disaster because Maddox plays down there!  We were expecting to begin on January 23 so when he said next Wednesday tonight we were like holy cow...because we have a lot of work to do to get it all cleared out before then!!  We will get it done though!  So, here are the before pictures...

what will be the kids play room

where the laundry room will be

the media/family room

view from the other direction

where the 3/4 bath will go

the play room from the other direction

Can't wait to be able to post an update soon!! :D

The Lord's Prayer

Be still my soul!  There isn't much sweeter in the world than hearing your child recite the words of our Lord!!

Christmas in Texas

Alright its blog catch up time since I have been a MAJOR slacker!!

We spent Christmas this year in Texas!  We had a blast and are so thankful that we were able to have so much time with our families!  We spent 2 weeks there and filled our time playing games, going shopping, hanging out with family, seeing friends, and eating yummy food (like Taco Bueno x 4, In N' Out, El Fenix, La Madeline to name a few :D).  Maddox is now at an age where he LOVES getting to spend time with his grandparents and Aunts and Uncles!!  It is so fun to watch him play and love on them!! It does make it harder to leave though!!

My family went out to the arboretum to take some pictures for my parents Christmas card and I think we got some good ones!!

a little awkward family photo action!

Love my sisters!!

the girls!

Our Christmas festivities started on the 22 and went through Christmas day.  Here is a little picture timeline.  On the 22nd we got with the extended Patton side of the family and did a yummy dinner and a little gift exchange!  I got a really cute canvas with "family rules" painted on it.  It will be perfect for the kids play room in the basement!!  Here is a picture of all the Patton cousins that were able to come on the stairwell that we have taken many photos on!!

On the 23rd we did Christmas with Collin's immediate family!!  We had a lot of fun and Maddox's expressions opening gifts were priceless!!

me and my babies before opening gifts!

our little family of 4!

Addy enjoyed the ribbons and bows more than the gifts this year!

Maddox was really excited about his Texas Longhorn bat and ball!

I think Maddox's favorite gift were his Lightning McQueen slippers from Aunt Lara and Uncle Clark!!

Christmas eve didn't start out great.  We had to take Maddox up to the ER because he had croup and was having trouble with his breathing.  For the 3rd time this year he had to have steroids to open up his airway.  After the medicine kicked in he was fine though.  Christmas eve night, we did dinner and a gift exchange with Collin's extended family.  We all brought a dvd or book and a gift card and did a white elephant exchange!  I ended up getting The Blind Side and an iTunes gift card.

Sweet sis looking so adorable in one of her Christmas outfits from Aunt Mo and bow from D.

My little elves in their matching Christmas jammies!!

On Christmas day we went to church at The Branch.  The kids looked so cute in their coordinating outfits!  After church we headed to my parents house for lunch and gifts!  It was a fun day with the fam!

Maddox and Addy love their Aunt Mo and Aunt Heathie!

Sis got her very 1st pair of UGG boots from Aunt Mo!

Riding the reindeer :D

We had so much fun on our trip to Texas!  The older the kids get the more fun it is to watch them enjoy it but like I said it also makes it harder to leave our families and come back to Colorado.  The car rides were not easy this time around so I am hoping not to make that drive again anytime soon!  The drive home included but is not limited to about 7 hours of Addison screaming and 2 diaper blow outs!!  It was a rough day.  We are glad to be home now and I am looking forward to getting back into a routine!!

I hope all of you had a blessed Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior!!