whew!

My goodness, I am amazed how quickly the weeks go by. We are recovering from sickness here and that has wiped me out.  Finnean had back to back strep throat bouts and then Hutchinson got croup...then we had a huge Bare Root show. I am tired.  BUT so grateful.  I am always amazed how I am surrounded by crazy good people. First and foremost, Michael.  My land he is flat out amazing and then my friends and my sweet mother-in-law.  This parenting gig is tough and I am thankful that I don't have to do it on my own.  So we made it...what else have we been up too?

• Finnean officially got into the school we wanted him to get into...yes, I am still freaking out that he is going to kindergarten. He will do great!
• Hutchinson is in a big boy bed. He is super old and loving it!
• Books, puzzles, legos and Wii bowling/Mario Cart keep our evenings busy.
• Hutchinson is just a like a little person - talking up a storm and using his imagination when he plays. 
• Finnean just started really thinking outside of himself. He asks how we are doing. Tells me he likes the dinner I cooked. Stuff that just makes my heart melt.
• Finnean is loving preschool still and his teacher, Ms. Margaret just rocks. He has his Valentine's party this week...exciting!

There is so much more but I am having a bit of a writer's block or my brain is just really tired.  Yeah, I think that is probably it.  Hoping to update the end of last year soon (BEFORE MARCH)!  Check back again---Courtney

January in pictures...

Cali love.
PS-this is just after he FREAKED out and was "that" kid screaming to leave the train table.

This is probably one of my favorite picture of Hutchinson to date.  He is NEVER this serious, NEVER.  I told them to make a superhero face and this is what I got.  OH MY!
(This was taken after we went to a Super Hero Party at Chick-Fil-A.  Finnean declared it was the BEST PARTY EVER!)

These boys make my heart swell.  Can't get enough of those smiles!

Those cheeks get me.

Smile twins.

Snuggling or nuggling as Hutchinson calls it in Momma's sweater.

Captain America with his shield that he made!!

Oh my.  This pirate gets me.  "Arrrh pi-tys!"

Whew.  Hutchinson is super old.  We switched him to a big boy bed (against my will!!) so he can get ready to potty train.  Seriously, just look at him.  HE IS SO OLD.  He loves it and as only fallen out once. 

One Sunday it was super warm and we headed to the Sculpture Park to check out the sunset and I snagged this picture.  Finnean is way ahead of us but I love how it is of my favorite things!

That's alotta cuteness for one picture.  They LOVE their Dad!

Same night as above...took my breathe away.

This is the winner for my favorite picture ever. Thanks Michael for capturing our joy!

New art calls for a family photo op.

Cutest church greeters that we ever did see.

We went on a date last week and Michael pulled these outta his pocket.  NEVER leave home without at least two HotWheels.

H is completely and utterly obsessed with puzzles.  This is what he does, all day long.  "You play puzzles with me?" And he kind of cocks his head when he says it...how can you say no!?

Go Fast MOMMA!

This kid is seriously old.  Look at those hands.  He loves taking pictures. 

H helping fold the sheets.  :)

Check it out!

I am over on the Des Moines Moms Blog today sharing about our favorite free things to do in DSM. 

Dear 2014...

Holy Crap.  2014 is kicking my ass.  I have been on the verge of tears or in tears since the calendar (or my phone-let's be honest, we don't have a calendar to actually flip) flipped over to 2014.  I have actually had this post on my heart since the 1st but this is the first time I felt I could write it without crying my eyes out.  You're thinking what is wrong with you?!  A new year, a new start, a year full of opportunity.  Sure it is all of those things, 2014 has so much to offer my family and yes, I am truly excited about that but I need time to s l o w  d o w n. 

2014 is the year that my first born is going to kindergarten.  I am not sure I am going to be able to handle that.  I know people send kids to school all the time but I am not sure he is going.  Maybe I will just keep him at home with me.  I always joke with Michael that Hutchinson is never going to school, but maybe it is Finnean that I am not going to let out of the house.  Why is it so hard to let these babies grow up?  Why does time go SO fast?  I feel like we just sent Finnean to preschool for the very first time and now he can't stop talking about what he is going to take to kindergarten.  Maybe I don't want him to be around somebody but me all day, maybe I like being the one who teaches him cool things, maybe I want to protect him a little longer, from the bullies, or being stressed by school, or from learning all kinds of naughty words or becoming even more sassy from gaining more independence.  Five seems SO young to be at school all day.  Okay, he will be well on his way to being a six year old, but really...all day long, without my Finnean.  I think most of all I am just scared.  Scared something will happen to him and I won't be there.  Or scared that I haven't prepared him, given him the tools he needs to handle himself at school all day.  I think most of all I don't want him to lose his innocence, I don't want him to want to stop wanting to play Legos for hours or I don't want him to WANT everything, just because his little friends have it.  I just want him to be protected.  Heck, maybe I am scared I am not going to know how to respond when those tough things come up. Not going to be able to handle the hard stuff when the time comes.

I know, deep down that is going to be great.  I know that he will be ready.  I know that he will make friends and that he will learn so many new things.  I know he will become more independent and I know he will learn how to deal with being hurt.  He will learn how to deal with so many new situations.  I know he will gain so many skills, I know he will be awesome.  BUT WHY!?!?!  Why does he have to be so old?  Can't I just keep him little forever?  "The days are long but the years are short."  That is what has been sticking my head.  Some days are SO hard but I don't want to wish them away. I want to soak them up and learn from them, so I can be a better mom the next day. 

So, here's to 2014 being the year of adventure.  Making the most of our time before school starts.  I know, I know, stop being a drama queen, school starts in EIGHT months but it will be here before we know it. So here's to extra snuggles, reading more books, being better at teaching hard lessons and playing Legos for hours.  Here's to extra walks and bike rides this summer and more adventures to the park.  Here's to getting him to eat more than peanut butter sandwiches for lunch (I think he might starve at school with no peanut butter).  Here's to more laughing and less grumping, to more trips to the zoo to ride the train, more science experiments, more baking together.  Here's to not worrying about sending him to kindergarten and soaking him up.  Here's to letting him gain independence and explore on his own.  Here's to making memories.  So listen up 2014, we are about to kick your ass.

Why would I want to send him to school, just look at that smile. 
This was taken just after he asked me if I wanted to snuggle him.  Absolutely, little buddy, absolutely. 

                                       

last week...

We headed downtown to the Festival of Trees at the old Vets.  It was a crisp evening but we caught the sunset over the city....one of my favorite things!

This picture does not have any sort of filter on it-it was just that pretty in there!  The ballroom in Vets is just over the top.  The ceiling changes colors, the boys loved it and so did we.  The trees were pretty but not as over the top as we had expected.  The favorite tree was the Lego tree and the Iowa Wild Hockey teams tree.  The boys thought it was pretty neat.  They had a few games and crafts as well.  It all goes to a good cause and it was a really fun family date!

We headed down to the Fong's after our exploring of the Christmas trees and the boys actually ate dinner!! It was some sort of miracle!  Maybe it was because they walked a mile or so to get to dinner via the skywalk system!  This picture is capturing how big their muscles were after eating all that food!

We headed back up the hill to our car.  We LOVE skywalking and especially at night.  It is so neat to see the cars whizzing by underneath you and Hutchinson loves seeing the Capitol Dome from all different angles!  You can see it peeking over Michael's head in this picture.

I can't get enough of this kid and the way he sleeps.  I wish I could crash that hard!

They love the Christmas lights!  I wish I could tell you how Hutchinson says it but I don't know how to describe it.  Whatever it is, it is cute and he gets EXCITED when we sees some!

One morning last week, we snuggled and snuggled and the he said, "we play tickle game, Mom?"  He has my heart, love his tiny giggle!

They LOVE the Christmas tree.  They really like taking the ornaments off and on...drives me a bit crazy but at least they aren't breaking them...yet!

Last week we hit the library for the first time in ages and there wasn't a single person there.  It was glorious.  Hutchinson loved having the train table to himself and I actually got to read a book! 

This kid's smile just kills me.  I LOVE it and those eyes....add in a funny hat and he just might be the cutest thing ever.  He loved the wolf hat that Aunt Vicki got Hutchinson a couple years ago but says now that it is too hairy?  Seriously, he is always changing his mind about thing like that :)

Cousin Carter stayed with us on Saturday night and we went to dinner at Smokey D's.  The boys did great and then we went to Jolly Holiday Lights-it was SO fun.  The big kids loved it and Hutchinson just sat in amazement!

Sunday after church we headed to Gusto with the Murphys.  It was so snowy and with all the windows in the restaurant it felt like we were in a snow globe.  It was so pretty.  I could have cuddled up with a cup of hot tea and stayed all day.  Not to mention the pizza is over the top!

We had to get out and 'coop 'no, as Hutchinson says.  It is so sweet that he can't say the S sound yet.  So when it does snow he is yelling NO!!!! But he is just really excited that there is SNOW!! It's pretty cute!  Finnean LOVED helping Michael scoop the snow with a shovel and a broom, before long we won't have to do it, just send him out there.  I bet I could pay him in cookies!

This boys has to stop looking so old!!!

Last week we had a Bare Root sale and I am in charge of shipping.  Hutchinson was doing his best to help with that process by driving the "Bare Woot Train" he said!  It just cracks me up of how much these boys love Bare Root! 

Finnean had his five year check up on Friday.  He was a champ!  He was SUPER scared of getting a shot but only panicked a bit and then got it done.  We took him to lunch at Wendy's!  His pick.  He is 40 3/4 inches tall and 35 pounds.  He is growing taller and that is all the doctor is worried about.  He is not worried about his weight at all.  He is actually in double digits on the growth chart--so that is a big deal at the Wagler house.  He is a healthy boy the doctor said.  I am so thankful for our pediatrician and his nurse.  They are so good to our family-it is really a blessing!

That night we had a fun family date and went to Target to let the boys pick out presents for each other.  Finnean was SO excited, it was over the top cute.  Michael said he was bounding through the aisles.  He struggled with staying under the $10 budget (Michael said that he gets that from me:).  After they each picked something out and we were on our way home Finnean said, OKay now we switch teams, Mom you help me wrap and Dad you help Hutch wrap.  It was just so sweet, so we got them wrapped and under the tree.  Hutchinson keeps asking if he can open his:)

This picture just makes my heart happy.  Love his smile!

Sometimes a wrench gets thrown in your plan.  Our wrench was a sick Hutchinson on the day of the super fun church Christmas party and then we had a sitter for a SUPER fun double date.  But sometimes you just have to be a parent and hold a sick baby for the whole day.  Michael and I took shifts and then H finally took a nap in his own bed.  Around 7 that evening he finally started to perk up a bit.  It was so sad to see him so sick, sweet boy.  He is feeling better for the most part but still whiny and tired.  I can't imagine how much weight he lost from throwing up all day, the kid can't really afford to lose any!  So I am sure he is just getting his energy back!  I was thankful for capturing this smile, it was one of the only ones of the day.  That is just not right for this smiley little guy!

UPDATE!

I have had these pictures taunting me on the computer and I kept thinking I would do a post a night but it just wasn't happening...so I just did a bunch of updates.  Hope that is okay with you readers out there :)  This way I can be up to date and not feel like I am always behind!  Stay tuned for plenty of Christmas adventures and keep scrolling:) Don't forget that you can click on the pictures to make them bigger!

So many reasons to be grateful.

I try to live a life that is full of gratitude.  Some days I am better at it than others but I especially love November because everyone around me is being grateful too!  It seems silly but facebook is full of gratitude, the news, people are a little nicer in general, it seems anyway.   Only if we could be grateful all the months of the year, it would be awesome for everyone's quality of life! :)  Okay, sorry for the tangent but it is so true!  I will just do my best to be grateful and hope it spreads to someone else! We had so much fun this Thanksgiving and the week leading up to it.  Hope you enjoy our adventures!

Crème Cupcake is a little dessert place on Ingersoll in Des Moines.  I met the owner last month at a Des Moines Moms Blog event and she told me about her cupcake decorating date.  It was a blast!  You get a super yummy cupcake, all the things you need to decorate your cupcake and a juice box for $5.  You go and make a mess at her shop and then leave!  You might even leave with a cupcake, unless your name is Finnean and Hutchinson and you eat it right there on the spot!  Chelsie and her boys met us there, it was fun to visit with them and just a really fun event!  The boys LOVED it.  We will definitely be back when she does it again! PS-Crème turns into a dessert lounge in the evenings, you can grab a sweet treat and a drink.  Perfect for date night or a girls night out!

Oh I love, love, love this picture!  It just captured the fun they were having! 

First of all, Finnean's teacher is awesome.  I just had to say it again.  She is so nice and friendly and amazing with the kids.  We just love Ms. Margaret!  Finnean had a Thankful Feast at school before he went on break.  I luckily got to help with it!  YES! I seriously LOVE volunteering in his class.  It is so fun to see him interact with his little friends and to see how things go down when you are not around!  It is kind of like peeking into his other life :)  All of the kids brought a food.  We are talking snacks galore, a few fruits and one little girl brought mac and cheese!  Hutchinson and I were in charge of setting up the buffet.  I told Ms. Margaret that our fee was some snacks for Hutchinson :) He loved "helping" set up! They had their little feast and then got ready for the First Annual Preschool Parade.  The teachers said that the kids got really excited when they were talkinga bout the Macy's parade and so they decided to throw together a parade.  It might be the cutest thing I have ever seen.  The had a police car (which Finnean painted the letters on-check it out!!), a marching band...which Finnean was a VERY proud member of, cheerleaders and they even had balloon "floats!"  It was so cute to see them all working together and I know they put a lot of work into all the details.  IT was so fun and such a great day!  I am so thankful that I get to be a part of this little man's life!

{Wagler Thanksgiving}
We offered to host Thanksgiving this year and it was so fun!  We kept it simple and dished out the responsibilities and it was pretty successful!  We watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and a little bit of football.  We ate and played Heads Up to get moving after lunch.  It was so fun and the house was full of laughter!  We even squeezed in a couple hands of dominoes while the big boys played Wii!  I made my first ever pumpkin pie and I made them mini!  A little too mini is what the feedback was, I will do a whole pie next year, Richard!!  We snapped some pictures and just overall had a really great day! 

 

 

The group photo was much more successful than the Ankeny Wagler's attempt at a family picture.  :) 
I love this picture and the people in it.  I am thankful that I get to be a part of this family!



This is one of my new favorite pictures!  Adam always captures the best moments and I just love the real smiles in it and the angle! And the little boy! What's not to love!  PS-this was during the failed family photo attempt :)

I knew it before but I LOVE hosting! It was so fun to make the house festive and put some time into little details.  I am so thankful I learned to make pie this year and was able to make a French silk pie for the dinner.  I also got in some snuggles with the little guy, you can't pass that up!  There are just so many reasons to be grateful!  Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!



Family Reunion!

A few weeks ago my Dad's entire family was back in Iowa at the same time!  ALL twelve of them!  It was nice to visit with everyone and the boys enjoyed meeting some family that they haven't ever met!  Hutchinson took a liking to Uncle Mitch and Aunt Liz (my godmother)...it made my heart happy.  Finnean loved hanging with the big kids!  He is FAST!  You can see him showing off his skills in the picture :)

Bare Root!

I don't usually blog about non-kid stuff but I wanted to share about our Holiday Open House.  I am thankful that I get stay home with the boys and then get to do Bare Root on the side.  We had such a fun time and it was awesome to be surround by such great ladies.  We had three other vendors with us and our two trusty check out girls!  It was so fun and I am thankful that I get to do life with these ladies!