A long time has passed:

So yeah..I know. I haven't blogged for a long time. I got threatened the other day that if I did not update my blog I was going to be in BIG trouble. Here you go Melanie..Just for your reading pleasure. :)

UPDATES (don't you just love them?)

Anessa turned 10 a couple months ago. Wow! I've been a mom for a decade. Can I just tell you it's been a ride? Ness has turned into such a great young lady. Her personality is changing (Heaven help us!)and her body is changing. Meaning..she's almost as tall as me. Not a great feat, I know, but still! She comes up to my eyes now. I can't even do her hair anymore unless she kneels on the ground. She's borrowing my clothes, she's wearing deodorant and she's getting into the "boys are kind of cute" phase. We're in trouble.

Recent developments are: Anessa broke her arm yesterday. WTF?? Shouldn't it have been Peyton, Mr. Let Me Run Across the Ground Like a Wild Animal or Cohen, Mr. Let Me Jump Off the Couch Yelling "TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!!" to break their arm first? Nope. It was my sweet daughter who worked so hard to get her reading counts points all so that she could go ice skating with her class. Someone has a sense of humor.

Here are some pics of Ness at her birthday party. Yes...I helped clean the girl who completely colored her face. At least they had a good time right? Right?



Peyton turned 7 in September! Those of you who haven't seen him for a long time would definitely see a difference. This boy has turned from a sword-wielding crazy man to Mr. Cool and Collected. Seriously. The difference from last year to this year has been weird/cool. Weird in that it happened just like that. Cool because he's one cool kid. He has such a big heart and ADORES his little sister. Adores doesn't even begin to describe it. He calls her "little sweetie" and he thinks playing with her is the best. He always tells me how good dinner is even if it isn't his most favorite meal, and he always has a hug and an I love you Mom ready for when he gets home from school. *insert melting heart here* He's doing awesome in school. He's reading at second grade level and by the end of the year should be at the third grade level. SWEET!

Here is Peyton eating a sour War Head (hehehe..I'm mean, but seriously..He wanted it!) and feeding the reindeer with Cohen.



Ah..Cohen. Where do I begin? The kid is SO FUNNY! Just an example. This is a typical shopping trip with Cohen. While sitting in the cart, Cohen says to some random lady, "I really LOVE meatballs". Lady looks a bit disturbed by the statement and says "that's great honey" then laughs and says "well at least he knows what he likes!" Fast forward about 10 minutes. A lady is standing in front of our cart trying to get to something and Cohen yells at her "GET OUT OF OUR WAY! YOU'RE STANDING IN FRONT OF OUR CART!!". She gives him a weird look and I apologize profusely for his behavior. I then turn to him and tell him that it isn't right and we don't treat people like that. His response?? "whatever, mom". Okay then. SAME shopping trip, we are standing in front of the ice cream waiting for Mitch (okay me) to decide what/if to get any ice cream. Cohen says to some nice ladies standing there. "My dad has a lot of money because he bought me Apple Jacks." She bursts out laughing and proceeds to tell me what he says. Yep. Needless to say, Cohen provides our family with a lot of laughs. I guess the one bad thing he does do is that he LISTENS to everything and stores that gem of either "good parenting" or something he heard off the t.v. for a public appearance. You can see us with our mouths hanging open often and saying "where the crapp did he pick that up?!?".

Cohen.



Aja is just the cutest little thing on two legs. She hasn't grown much. She's just a little squat, but she has the sweetest spirit of any kid I know. She wakes up every morning singing to herself. She's always quick to hug and give kisses. Seeing her run and walk is just about the cutest thing I have ever seen. Okay, it's second to her talking. She has the most darling little voice EVER. She seems to be doing really good. Her progress is slow, which is to be expected, but she has exceeded A LOT of expectations. We have been lucky enough to not have any shunt malfunctions yet, but we know it's only a matter of time before it happens, but we don't focus on that, we focus on our cute little girl who likes to play with her babies, sing, get her hair done, color, eat and eat, jabber, and look at us with her beautiful eyes that melt your heart.

Here are some cutie pics of Aja. She LOVES to find random winter hats and wear them around the house.



Mitch and I are great! He's busy with work and I'm busy with kids. I have a new found love as well. ZUMBA!!! Holy crapp! I'm addicted. I could do it every day. Hence why I'm getting certified. Those of you who haven't tried it SHOULD! Funnest workout EVER!


Hope all is well with you and yours!