Miracles really do happen!

I really thought this kid might not ever walk. Like for reals. He started standing on his own around Christmas and taking a few steps shortly after that. With my other kids, once they got that far it only took them a couple of days before they were walking all over the place. Not my dear, sweet stubborn Maddox. For the next month he would do little performances and walk all around while we cheered and then when his fun was over he would go back to crawling. He had the crawl thing down, he could go super fast, sideways, backwards and wherever he wanted so he didn't see the need to start walking. Finally around the end of January (about 15 1/2 months old), he decided it was officially time. I love seeing him toddle all around with his arms stretched out, a huge grin on his face and trying to balance on those chubby little bow-legs.

Trail of evidence

Cause every kid deserves a cute little naked bum shot (and trust me, it's much cuter when he strips outside rather than in his bed at nap time and falls asleep in his own puddle of pee.)

Happy New Year!

If you know Jason, you know that he loves snowboarding. Ever since we were dating he would talk about how as soon as his kids turned five they would be on a board. It's crazy that time has already come and I don't think Jason could have been any prouder of his kids. I spent the past couple of months trying to convince Jason that they were going to hate it and that we should start them on skiis (traitor, I know) and that all the money he was spending on the boards and equipment was just a waste. He definately got the last laugh since they LOVED it. I think I whined more than they did on my first day. I couldn't get over how cute they looked in their little mini gear and pint sized boards. We went up with the Martinez's and the dad's drove up at like 5 am with the older kids and Julie and I drove up later with the little ones. Jason said that Kylie had fun, but after about the third run she preferred just sitting in the lodge and playing with Mia. Jayden on the other hand didn't even want to stop for lunch and cried when it was time to go. That's my little Jay in the making! I think Jason may have gotten a little teary eyed. The second day Julie and I swapped watching the little ones. I watched her twins, Maddox, Kylie and Mia (who opted for a half day of skiing) at the hotel then drove their van up at noon. I was nervous to drive their van in the snow and for good reason. I got stuck three different times and on the third time I was stuck right in the middle of the parking lot with a huge line of people behind me. Of course I'm so frustrated and emberassed and getting all teary eyed, while my van full of kids were oblivious to it all. I called Jason and he was so sweet to come to my rescue. He jumped right in the pilot and started passing people right and left as he flew to save me. The whole "knight in shining armor" thing is such a turn on. Once we got on the mountain we were having the best time with the kids but wanted to take one last run with just Jason and I for centimental sake. I was feeling nervous since I haven't been in 7 years (you couldn't tell from my 1998 gear, complete with a safety pin to fix the broken zipper on my jacket. sweetness.), but was glad Jason was there....oh wait, he opted to leave me and go with the guys once we got to the top. So much for my knight in shining armor! That's okay, I was excited to go down with Marcee. I was just getting a hang of it again when out of nowhere a skiier comes behind me and plows me over. It was definately the worst wreck I've ever had and my head hurt the rest of the night. I'm glad atleast Marcee was there to save me! Jason felt so bad and has spent the last several weeks finding me a helmet (along with a new board and jacket, I think he was emberassed by my not so chic retro look :). Between the whole stuck in the snow and my wreck I was a little emotional, and definately cried more than the kids that day! I'm such a baby sometimes. We had fun invading a local Mexican restraunt and then going back to the hotel for a little hot tub and hot chocolate. We were all so wiped out and could barely stay awake to ring in the New Year, which was a little anti-climatic after such a fun day. We stopped on our way home to do a little tubing. It wasn't quite what I had imagined, instead of soft powder we had ice and mud, it was totally crowded and I ended up sitting in the car with Maddox for the majority of the time. The kids still had fun, so I guess that's all that matters. It was such a fun weekend and we can't wait to go back again soon!

They rock!

I've still got some catching up to do, but I had to post these videos of the kid's first snowboarding trip. I've never seen a 5 year old and 7 year old pick it up so fast. Jason's a great teacher and left all the ski school instructors in awe as they flew down the bunny slopes. It was definately a proud moment and could they seriously get any cuter??