Snow time!

Normally I'm not a huge snow fan(really it's more the cold that I'm not a fan of, more than the actual snow), as I've mentioned before, but I Patrick seemed so fascinated by it that I couldn't help but take him outside for some fun.  I swear, he spends at least 20 min. every morning just staring outside, like playing in the snow is his biggest dream in life.  Luckily, he had a snow suit that kind of fit him from last year so we bundled him up and went outside.

Our dogs decided to join in the fun as well.

And our little, pathetic snowman.  But, Patrick had fun taking it apart so I guess that's all that really matters.

15 months

I know 15 months is kind of a random time to update about Patrick's milestones but it's been awhile and I wanted to include this cute picture in the blog(Aubree took this up at the cabin during the family reunion).

Some little things about Patrick right now:

-He loves blowing kisses and giving kisses.  Our dogs are a little frightened by this but the rest of us love it
-He's getting better at giving real hugs.  Again, our dogs are not thrilled about this
-He waves hi and bye.  For some reason when people used to say bye to him, he would just blow a kiss but he's finally gotten down the waving thing.
-He understands simple commands like, "Let's put those toys away," or "let's close the door," or "bring me your shoes."
-He loves trying to help clean up around the house.  If there's a mop or broom around, he is more than happy to push it around "helping"
-Something he started doing a couple months ago is that he would get a diaper and wipe out of his diaper bag, bring it to us and then poop in his diaper.  Sometimes he would poop first and then bring us all the stuff but either way, we know poop is on the way when he starts going through his diaper bag.
-Cupboards and drawers are still a constant fascination to him.
-Favorite "toys" include: cooking utensils, pots and pans, pens and pencils, and electronics with buttons.  He'll play with actual toys but for some reason he's really drawn to anything in the kitchen
-He moved down to one nap a day about a month ago.  Patrick adjusted really well but it took me a little longer to get used to.  I really loved that shower time in the morning...
-He doesn't seem overly interested in mastering more words than nana(banana, although recently he's using that word for anything he wants at the time), mama, dada.  He talks a lot and gets quite animated sometimes, but it's still mostly just babbling.  He does try to copy our words more and more so he's imitated words like; bye, hi, and ok, but they're not really constant enough for me to say that he really knows what they mean.

I don't know what we'd do without this little guy.  I feel like he's just so sweet and innocent still and has a way of helping us forget, for a moment, how hard life is.  His cute laugh never ceases to lighten the mood...except for when it's a mischievous one from him knowing he's getting into something he shouldn't.  Which happens quite often now.  I'll admit I get exhausted chasing him with his endless amount of energy, but I still love him more than I can put into words.  Happy 15 month birthday, Patrick!

Blackburn Family Reunion

I have to say, Kami and Aubree outdid themselves with planning the family reunion.  Here's how planning events usually goes with me: I look up a million idea, have something amazing planned, realize it's all too expensive and takes a lot of time, so I go the other extreme and don't do much of anything.  Sooo...good thing I haven't been in charge of one of these yet.  If I am, I'll have to plan like a year in advance.

We went up to Mike's family cabin(Aubree's husband) and did a lot of this:

                                                  

 And some cute crafts.  Patrick pretty much loved the stuff we made with the kids.  Even after we got home, he still played with these glow sticks and his lantern and the Frankenstein noise maker(I should have added a picture of it)

 And some late night minute to win it games.  Notice Jon's dad in the background?  I think this was at 11ish and we were all pretty surprised he was still up since he goes to bed around 9.  Actually, I'm surprised I was still up.  Not gonna lie, I'm horrible at late night.  After mono, getting pregnant, having Patrick and now being pregnant again, I feel like my body just gets worn down faster and faster.  I don't mean this as a complaint, but if someone has some energy boosting ideas feel free to spread the knowledge(besides exercising becomes while it makes me feel better in lots of ways, and I love it, it doesn't necessarily give me more energy).  I'm tired of being the party pooper. ;)

And then we spent some time enjoying how beautiful it is out in nature

...I won't mention the part about how tiring it is having LOTS of little babies around trying to sleep in close range of each other.  There might have been some late nights and early mornings.  Thanks again Aubree and Kami for putting so much effort into everything!

Catch-Up

It's been awhile so really this is just a catch-up of what we've been doing lately.  I know, since my life is so interesting, that you all have been checking your computers every single day to see when I would update it again. ;)

So, firstly, my dad's headstone got installed and it's perfect.  To be honest, I think it will take awhile before I get used to seeing my parent's name on a headstone.  Going to the cemetery always has a way of bringing on the tears and feelings of complete loss, mixed with a sense of peace. 

This last Saturday, in between sessions, Mike blessed their baby boy, Marcus.  We found out this last week that Mike is going to Afghanistan for the next year.  I'm pretty sure I'm not strong enough to handle having a husband in the military.  This is his 4th time going overseas.

Mike, Jen, Marcus, Cannon, Ada

Family on the Blackburn side

Also, I have to keep up the tradition from last time of posting bad lighting and not so attractive pregnant pictures.  Just over 4 months down and just over 5 months left to go.  Next doctor's appointment, we find out the gender. :)  I already knew what Patrick was by this time so I'm practicing my patience this time around.  Although, overall, I'm not as impatient to have the baby come as I was the first time.  The only reason for my impatience now is so that I can stop feeling this crappy morning sickness.  It's still my constant companion, 24/7, but like I mentioned in the last post, I'm grateful it eased off a little bit from the first trimester.

It's a good thing these cute little people are worth anything we have to go through to get them here. ;)

Side note: Patrick loves laundry baskets. Who knew they were so cool to hang out in? 

   A few days ago, I was mentioning to my mom that it's hard to really think that anything happening now is of much significance because of everything that's happened this summer.  I know it is, and since this is our family journal, I need to keep this updated but it's been harder than usual.  Conference came at the perfect time for a little pick me up.  Not that it makes life perfect, but it's always great to be reminded why we're here and what we're capable of doing.