We Are Alive!!

Oh my gosh, this has been a long time coming. I know. I dont even know where to start.....so if this whole updating is random......well....thats just how my brain works ;)

            We welcomed our beautiful daughter Chloe Adelle on May 25, 2011. She was 7lbs 4oz and perfect! We were/are elated over our girl. She was screaming her head off and looked just like her brothers.

            Now at 21 months old, she definitely rules the roost around here. She loves girly things and her baby dolls. She asks me to put on her "pretties" (bracelets) all the time. She says tons of things, including "no" of course. She is sassy, funny, demanding, bossy.......yup pretty much just like a girl should be haha! We love her to pieces!

            Brady is now nearing the end of 1st grade. This kid is so smart! He does so well in school. School work that is lol. His teacher, Mrs. Hunter, sends a picture of a stoplight home everyday just to let the parents know how their child did for that day. Green means awesome! Yellow means a warning. Red means he had a lunch detention (they sit in with the principal for lunch or some other faculty person. Not fun.) and for a whole week there, he was getting yellow lights. I was getting so frustrated! He was almost always getting green lights and all of a sudden it changed. I had no idea where it was coming from! But after talks with him and agreeing that if he got two green lights in a row, he could play the x-box after school, thats all it took. Now we are back to green lights and a happier little mommy :) Luckily we never had a red light situation.
            He is looking forward to chess club starting in March and soon we will be deciding what after school program he wants to get into (baseball or spring soccer) as well as some motorcross racing on the weekends.

            Owen is almost through an entire year of preschool. He complains alot that no one there plays with him, but whenever I walk him in, there are kids saying, "Hi Owen!!!" all over. Everyday that I watch him walk into school, I smile but also feel sad that another one of my kids are getting old enough to go to the "big" school. He looks too small for kindergarten. I try to remind myself everyday to spend time with my kids and listen to all the things they want to tell me, because soon enough they will be teenagers who wont be around and  who wont tell me things :( I really hope not though. I want time to stand still.
            Owen is such a funny guy, always making us laugh. He named his sister "Pip" when she was just tiny. I have no idea where he got it from but it is so perfect for her. Every morning (even now) he will beg me to go get Chloe out of her bed. And everytime we walk into her room he says "Hey Pip!!" and she just smiles. Thats where it all began :) I don't know if she will ever learn her real name lol. All of us call her Pip now.

            Brett still loves working for himself. He is so motivated and hard working. I love him for that and for being so ambitious. He works just 3 minutes from home and its awesome! No commute and hardly any gas!
He is the Elders Quorum Secretary in our ward. It has helped him get to know many people.

            I am going stir crazy because of this blasted weather!!!! We have had snow c.o.n.t.i.n.u.a.l.l.y. since November. I hate it. This is the first year ever in my whole life that it has had an effect on me. Its depressing. I cant wait to have Spring, work in my yard and plant flowers!!
I am a Activity Days Leader in my ward and I really love my calling. Easy peasy. There are 2 other leaders that teach with me so we each take a month and have 2 months off. Couldn't get better than that right???

            So Brett and I have decided to get healthier. Well, I would say it has been pretty on and off with us for the past two years. Last year, right before Chloes first birthday, I lost 20 lbs doing medifast and I felt so great! It was hard but for that time in my life it was perfect. I have since kept 15 lbs off but just want to transform my body more. I want muscles to show and be really fit. Every week I have to remind myself that the scale number does not matter. Its a hard thing for me.
            Brett started lifting weights around that time and has been doing that ever since. He has helped me out a ton on starting a weight lifting program for myself and I have been lifting for about a month now. We are also on nutrition plans and hope to get our sexy back here soon lol. Its so nice to do this with each other and our nights during the week consist of working out in our basement together. Not the ideal way to spend time as a couple, especially when we both have our ipods on, fully concentrated, but we do it early enough to still fit a movie in or one of our favorite shows.
            Today I had my body fat checked and lost 3 lbs of fat and gained 3 lbs of muscle. I am so stoked about it!!! I can't wait to get bikini hot. We are going on a anniversary trip at the end of March to San Antonio Texas. It will be a blast!!