Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!

If you scroll through the blog and take a trip down memory lane you'll see the progression of our trips to visit Santa. Eva slept through her 1st, screamed through her 2nd and today was in complete awe. Kellan is turning out to be just like sis. This picture proves it. My hope is then that next year I have 2 kids equally as intrigued. :-)

'Tis the Season!

Perfect Morning

A mom could get used to this!

After starting my morning cuddled up with Kellan watching cartoons.....

We had breakfast and did some housecleaning from yesterday's fun. 

While I thought I'd take advantage of some quiet time to obviously catch up on the blog, I look over to see the sweetest thing. Sesame Street is on but they could care less, my sweet kids are wonderfully reading to each other. I wish I'd gotten video of their voices... while Kellan's is still more of a squeal, Eva is reading her Elmo book and doing exactly what it says "touch your eye, touch your nose...."

Next up on our day off is showers and Target then lunch with Dad (since he has to work). I am loving this quiet day with my kiddos and could definitely get used to it!!

Gobble Gobble.... Happy Turkey Day

The two cutest little people in the whole world are what I am most Thankful for this year. Jon and I couldnt be more blessed to have such great kids! After two thanksgiving of newborns it was super nice to enjoy the holiday with toddlers. Amazing what a difference a year makes!

Little Sunshine Preschool had a parent/child Thanksgiving Lunch that was too cute. 12 kids around the table very confused why there were 20 adults sitting on the floor by them.

All in all a wonderful week of fun!

My Little Lady

I am constantly reminded of how my little girl is growing into such a little lady. She is my joy and my heart and just had to show off some of her 'big girl' pictures.

Eva ready to go shopping.... what you dont see here is 2 seconds later she went and grabbed my little coach wallet that has a strap, put it on her wrist and said 'lets rock n roll'!

She's been really into 'mommy's helper' as well. So the other night we busted out some Nestle Tollhouse cookies and went to town!

Dancing on our ottoman is her fav. This has become her stage but this day she insisted on having her red shoes (which she wore when she was Dorothy for Halloween) and her purse that has a little stuffed puppy. What more could a girl want??!!

And this one warms my heart. Her first big girl nightgown. We let her pick out whatever she wanted for being so good at Target and a Minnie Mouse nightgown was the choice. For any of you who know my aversion to licensed clothing you'll know this is huge for me. But how can you resist this girl. 

First time for everything.....

And our first ER trip happened on 11/8/10. Eva came home from school and was fine but just fussy.... typical two year old one would think. After our dinner/bathtime routine, Jon was putting on her PJ's and called me into the living room. Not just a 'hey can you come in here' call but a 'something is wrong, hurry' call. Thats when we both noticed two orange 'somethings' in Eva's nose. I tried the hospital booger sucker (you all know what I am talking about) and to no avail, i threw a jacket on E, shoes on me and off we went. I called the pediatricians office who agreed going to the ER was the right course of action. I must say, I am impressed with how calm I was through it all. Jon stayed back and put Kellan down to bed but he was a mess texting me for updates the whole time :-) Too sweet.

Once we got to Washington regional the real fun began. Eva was quite the hit with the nurses.... being super good and so much fun. Other than what felt like the longest wait of my life, all went well. After a small vacuum was the tool of choice to remove the objects we were able to quickly confirm that two small berries off a wreath at school were the culprits.

We headed home and both crashed at 11pm. the next morning at school was funny as I got to describe the event to all the teachers at her preschool. Thankfully they promptly removed all wreaths and decor that had said berries and Eva had a great day.... and Mom and dad have a funny story to tell.

'Time Flies When You're Having Fun'

For the past few weeks/months, Jon has reminded me I havent updated the blog since Fathers Day... I almost didnt believe him and then I thought about everything that's been going on in our lives since then and it unfortunately made sense. So for the few of you who followed the blog for kiddo updates, I send my sincere apologies. 

And to that point I am just going to put it out there.... there is no way I could adequately update you all on June 21st - November 2nd.... But I will, once again, recommit myself to better and more frequent updates moving forward.

So... here goes the latest post.... 

Saying 'times flies when you're having fun' is no exception for the Whittakers. Its hard to believe that just last week we celebrated Eva's 2nd and Kellan's 1st birthdays! I thank my lucky stars for the amazing kids they have become and that Jon and I successfully kept our sanity through what everyone told us would be the 'hard part' of having two kids so close together. While the blog suffered a bit, I must say that may be it. Yeah we dont all travel together much and maybe we dont eat out much anymore, but thats about it. Life has continued, I have been fortunate to still travel with my job, Jon always steps in as 'mom' when need be, Eva is a ball of energy, talking up a storm and fully embracing her two -year old self. Kellan, what can I say.... for all of life's many surprises, he could very well be the best one ever. He's the sweetest, cutest little man. He wakes up excited to be alive, loves giving hugs, waves, saying Dada, Momma, Ball and points at what he wants. 

As of last week we can say we're off formula, out of 'baby clothes' in most stores and have two forward facing car seats. We celebrated their milestone birthdays at the same pumpkin patch we did for Eva but with sunshine and more friends than we could ask for. We are 'that' family at a restaurant apologizing for the mess, our living room looks like a toys r us. We snuggle up and read Dr. Seuss and Goodnight Moon more than we ever imagined and go through 2-3 gallons of milk a week... my Tahoe has more crayons, goldfish and DVD's that I thought it could ever hold....but you know what.... I wouldnt have life any different than it is right now!

Even if time keeps flying by, these 4 Whittakers will just keep having that much more fun!

To the Best Daddy in the World

Nothing makes this mom's life better than a father who is as great as this one!!

Jon, 

There are no words to describe how our kids look at you. Everyday I see admiration, unconditional love and joy in their eyes. The words Daddy warm my heart as much as I know they do yours and thank the Lord daily that you are the other half to this parenting duo. The sacrifices you've made, the support you give us all and the dedication to being the best husband and daddy ever make me love you more and more!! 

Hope you always remember you are our hero!

Happy Father's Day, 

Eva, Kellan and Amanda

Fun in the Sun

Eva and Kellan have definitely felt the season change this weekend. Mommy loves summer and I am making sure my kids do too! 

We spent Saturday in Ft Smith with my cousin and her family + Lauren & Sawyer. Not a lot of pictures because I had both kids on my own but hoping Lauren and Heidi grabbed some because it was so fun. I mean, how could it not be with a roller skating party and afternoon with 6 adults and 9 kids ranging from 8 months to (almost) 8 years!!

Then today with Patrick and his fiance Talia in town we took advantage of two things: Sunny day and a certfied swim instructer. 

After a yummy lunch....

Off to the pool we went.

Super fun time and both Eva and Mom learned so much about infant swimming. I think I'll be saying "1,2,3, ready, go" for days... weeks to come! Lots of dips, kickers and bubbles make the pool heaven for Eva, but the incoming rain was our cue to head home. Clearly, it was a great choice!

Look Who's Standing UP

And pulling up... and sitting up.... but definitely loves standing up... ALL ON HIS OWN!!

2 Cousins + 1 Duck Tub = Loads of Fun

One Tuesday night in May, two sisters had a plan that started something like this:

Amanda: Hey, Lauren, Lets let the boys take their baths together tonight

Lauren: Sure, Sawyer's never been in his tub so lets see how he likes it

Amanda: Oh Kellan loves it so this should be good.

And...this, my friends, is how that plan played out! Let me know if you think it was a success??!! :-)

My kids know how to make the best of it!

Jon and I always joke that life is hard for Eva and Kellan. Being that cute and playing this hard can wear you out sometimes. I love these two pictures of when my babies took advantage of a little snooze time.

Eva after a morning of playing with friends (notice the chapstick she would NOT let go of)

Kellan says "Walmart is exhausting"! I agree brother! 

Just for Fun

I couldnt resist. Since I have them... you think they're related???

 Eva at her 6 mo check up and Kellan at his. 

6 month and 18 month check ups = SUCCESS!!

Friday morning's doctor visit was quite the experience on a number of levels. I learned a lot that I feel is worth sharing.

1. I have two extremely healthy children and thank the Lord for that everyday. Its not something I ever take for granted.

2. I was either out of my mind or over confident when I decided to schedule their 6 mo and 18 mo checkups at the same appointment. My need for efficiency overshadowed my ability to care for two little ones in a small room at the same time. Reminder to self, two trips with one kid at a time is always a better idea.

3. Finding the right doctor makes all the difference. NWA Peds is fantastic but due to the number of kids in the clinic you typically just rotate through the doctors. I have loved them all but recently met Dr. Stacey Furlow and I am thrilled. She's now seen both my kids and I got full permission to specifically request my kids see her for all their appts (unless of course its an emergency and she's out). I always heard having a pediatrician who you trust and knows your kids is so great, it just took us a little bit to find that one. Now that we have we are not looking back!!

4. Eva is going through a growth spurt. She weighed in at 24.6 pounds which is right on and puts her in the 50th percentile on weight. Now the big news. At a whopping 32.5 inches she measured in the 75th percentile in height. My jaw dropped. This is the kid who came in either in the 10th or 25th every time and was deemed my shorty. Who knew! My favorite though was when she asked if Eva was saying at least 4-10 words clearly. I had to laugh out loud. I am not keeping count but would be shocked if it wasnt more like 40!! Shes totally my child in that regard. Atta girl. Then, she got 4 shots which she was NOT happy about but was so brave. The best part was that was her last round until she goes to kindergarten!! Phew!

5. Now there's Kellan. My shinning star, developing perfectly! However, now we have a new "shrimp" of the family. Weighing in at 17.1 pounds he's in the 25th percentile for weight and yes, at 25.3 inches he's in the 10th for height. What he doesnt have in size though he makes up for in personality. He's super strong, pulling up on his own, laughing, grabbing at things, jumping in his bouncy, eating baby foods but already eyeing grown up foods, and switched to only 4 bottles a day. Eva would never drink more than 6 oz at a time but Kellan will down an 8 oz bottle like its nothing. Dr. Furlow said let him progress as he wants. Being the second kid he has an example of what he's supposed to be doing so not to be surprised he wants to do things sooner than she did. So he's in the tub with his sister sitting up and splashing around, loving his highchair and still madly in love with his teachers at school. His smile lights up my day and his cheeks are the most kissable in the whole world.

6. Even for all the headaches they give me, the uncountable number of diapers I change and my intense desire to get my pre-baby body back, I couldnt imagine my life without these two. I was scared to death about what life with two a year apart would be and now cant imagine it any other way.

Eva wasnt much for the camera at this visit mainly because she was too busy taking the trash bags in and out of the cans while we waited on the doc. Hey, whatever kept her happy!!

Little man was also easy to entertain... I brought 3 books and 3 toys and all he wanted was the tongue depressor.

I just love this little face. Like "what? I'm just chillin'" - and that he does. He's so easy-going and all the time happy. 

How I got so lucky to have two such great kids is beyond me but I'll take it!? They are just perfect!!