The BIG 3-OH!

Yup...I will the BIG 30 on Tuesday! Sometimes it really hits me hard, and others it's not that big of a deal. Yes, I now have too many grey hairs to continue to pluck, but that's what hair dye is for, right? Even though I am going grey and don't have the metabolism of a 16-year-old any longer, I am very thankful for all of the experiences that I have had to get to this point. When I was younger, I thought 30 seemed so far away, but here we are. 30 years old...happily married, secured in a worthy career, 2 beautiful boys, a mortgage, a cute little puppy dog...livin' the American Dream. I wouldn't have it any other way. Just another birthday, and with the life expectancy at 78.7 years, I will (hopefully) have many more!

Photo Courtesy of Kyler - GOOO! Look at all those wrinkles!

Half a year...

...that's how old Blake is! It is simply amazing just how time has flown by since we've welcomed this little bundle of joy into our lives! A bundle of joy he is! He adds such happiness to our family and we couldn't imagine our lives without him. A lot has happened over the last month. (Since I have been back to work, it has been difficult to find time to blog.) Not only has Blake grown a TON over the last month (he has his well-baby check-up on Wednesday so we'll see then just how much he has grown), but he has been moving all about by pushing and rolling around...it won't be long before he's crawling. He has also cut his first tooth, tried rice cereal and bananas, found his voice, is strating to really recognize his family, and has been weaned from breastmilk to formula. With the many changes he could have become very cranky, however, he is quite the opposite. He is such a happy baby that enjoys mostly everything! A few of his favorite things are his brother, Kyler, bathtime, and his feet (he LOVES playing with them and LOVES when they are tickled).

We LOVE Blake James!

Five Fabulous Months

I can't believe that Blake is five months old. Time really does fly, and it seems to be flying even more quickly with the second child as compared to the first. I am back to work full-time, therefore, my time with the boys is limited. Every minute spent with them is so special.
Blake is getting so BIG! He loves to roll all about the living room and when he is on his stomach he kicks in circles in an effort to crawl. Cooing is another one of his favorite things. In the morning when he wakes up from his 7-8 hours night's sleep he is very happy and coos a TON! As long as he is kept to his 3-4 hour routine of eat, play, sleep he is an extremely happy baby! My mom was commenting the other day that she has never met a baby that doesn't cry when water is poured over his face during bathtime...that's Blake for you. His cries just signify he is ready for the next step in his routine! No well-baby check at five months, so we'll just have to wait until next month to see how much he has grown and where he falls amongst his peers. We are very thankful for Blake James...we can't imagine our lives without you!

Gut Giggles

The feeling of brotherly love is pretty mutual between Kyler and Blake. Kyler has been nothing but kind to his younger brother ever since we brought Blake home from the hospital. And now that Blake is becoming more aware of what is going on, he is starting to recognize Kyler and seems to enjoy his company. The other night while we were finishing up with dinner Kyler was getting Blake to gut giggle. It took me a minute to find the camera, so this is the tail end of it, but very cute.

As their mother, I can only hope that their relationship continues to strengthen. It is so neat to watch!

Summer Lovin', had me a blast!

There are many reasons in which I love summer, but the number one reason is spending time with my family. I feel as though summer is a time for me to really get to know my sons as individuals and spend quality time with my husband. And I can say that I have done both of those things successfully this summer. I have had extra special time this particular summer since I have been on maternity leave since March 18. But now summer is coming to a close and I am looking forward to slipping back into my role as a working mother.As I am gearing up to go back to work on Thursday, I am getting ready for new and exciting challenges. I will still be teaching fourth grade at Scott Elementary, but we have all new administrators, new state standards, an entirely new set of students I know nothing about (the last group of kiddos I had taught in third and fourth grades), and a new teammate that I am responsible for mentoring through her first year of teaching. These changes will keep things interesting and will hopefully make for a great school year!

Who's who?

The Urich Boys edition! Can you tell who is who?

#1
#2
#3
The advancement in photography has probably given away which one is Josh, but the similarities are astounding!

(#1-Blake, #2-Josh, #3-Kyler)

Wyoming

We just got back from visiting Josh's brother, Jeremy, his wife, Toni and their cutie pie, Hadley. We had great visit up to Gillette. It was nice to see where they lived and spend some quality time with them!Cousins keepin' cool!

Gillette is named,"The energy capital of the nation" due to all of the coal mining and natural gas wells that can be found there. So we took an afternoon to go out to one of the coal mine overlooks and park. It was very intriguing!
We also took a short day trip over to Buffalo to meet up with the Julsons. Ryan and Josh went to Mesa State College together. We were able to meet their newest addition, Jace...he was adorable! I don't know why I didn't get the camera out, but we met up for lunch and hung out in City Park.
What a nice trip!

It's a bird, it's a plane...

...it's a Superhero! Kyler has been really into superheroes lately. He got a few Spiderman figurines for his birthday and absolutely LOVES them. Just the other day he was pretending to be a superhero, as he usually does, only this time he had on quite the get-up!He had stripped down to his undies (like many superheroes wear) and had his sword (a.k.a the golf club) in it's scabbard (down the side of his underwear)! He was ready for any danger that might come his way! I loved every minute of it!