January 16 = Birthday Present Day

Look at these babiesssss:

Also, my birthday present came early!  Zachary got me handwritten lyrics from my favorite singer of all time, Joshua Radin- new prized possession.

Bath time!

Sweet snuggles after bath- clean smelling babies are the best babies!

June 10 = Joshua Radin Concert Day

Well today was one of my favorite days ever.  I'm going to start at the beginning.  This was the first time the kids and Zachary had been to my parents new house- here it is!  How cute!

Liam was loving going for walks with Dad- here are some pictures Zachary got.

Zachary went to the gym and my friend Alexandra came to visit us.  We took the kids to a nearby park:

And later, my mom had gotten the kids a sprinkler toy so we brought that out and got them in their bathing suits- Malia had a blast... Liam wasn't so sure.

Also here's a video- it's kind of long- of Malia talking to a garden gnome.  I wish I knew what she was saying!

 

Then later it was time for the whole reason we came down to NC... the Joshua Radin concert.  Joshua Radin is my favorite singer.  Ever.  My friend, Jaimie, introduced me to his music in college and I loved his voice- I loved the acoustic guitar- I loved all of it.  I would get on the elliptical at the Student Rec center for an hour and read James Patterson books- all of the Alex Cross series- and at the time he only had one album out so any time I hear one of the songs from his first album, I immediately picture the characters from this series of books in my head- it's so crazy.  Anyway.  Back in 2011 when Zachary went on deployment, he bought me tickets to see Joshua Radin in Raleigh- he bought two so I could take a friend with me- I chose Jaimie because she introduced me to him in the first place.  We got to meet him after the show and I got him to sign my navy blue chucks that I was wearing- I assured him they were brand new.  So anyways- I was super excited to go and even more excited that Zachary was going with me and my brother and Grace were going to!  We ate at McAlisters before the show- yummmm.

I left my ID in the car so I was branded as underage.

The show was amazing.  We were in the front row... I got to sit in the seat closest to him- I was so so excited.  

 Here's Matt and Grace in the nice blue lights:

During the show, Zachary was trying to get a picture of me with Joshua Radin in the background and a girl behind us asked if he wanted her to get a picture of the two of us- I love it!

 
Zachary had a bit to drink but nothing compared to the people sitting across the aisle from us.  I had to get a picture of them to remember.  Since Zachary was intoxicated he struck up a conversation with them which presented the perfect opportunity for me to snap a picture!

Before the concert started, I bought two t-shirts.  I couldn't pick between the two so I just got both.  I still wear the one I bought from his 2011 concert all the time so... it's fine.  Also, I was kind of hoping they'd give me a wristband like they did in 2011 when I bought two shirts (that time one for me and one for Jaimie) but they didn't.  Sad.  But in the middle of the show, Zachary bought me this awesome lyric book and when he bought that, they gave him a wristband!  He came back with the book and the wristband and I about started crying.  It was such a great experience.  He got to hear these songs that he's heard before as background music but really listened to the words this time.  And when he heard this one song, Belong, he got emotional thinking of Liam and his struggles.  So I decided when I got to meet him, I'd ask him to write out part of the song for Liam.  So when I got up to him, I told him a little about Liam and said that he loves his music so much- when he comes on, Liam says "It's Josh!  It's Josh!"  He seemed so touched and wrote out "You hear it say 'Be Strong.'" It was such a great night- one I'll never forget!

April 2 = Facebook Picture Day

I've gotten really behind on my blogging so I'm writing this ten days after the fact and I have no pictures of what we did today- only screenshots of stuff I saw on facebook.  So I thought I'd share.

So true!  I wrote yesterday about moms putting so much pressure on themselves to be the perfect mom.  We have a picture in our head of what we should look like and what our house should look like and what our kids' days should look like.  And instead of celebrating what's in front of us we compare it to that picture.  So this is a reminder to let go of expectations and just enjoy what is.

I say so many times- the five minutes of peace I get to finish something is never ever worth it.  Whether the entire changing table has been cleaned off or a roll of toilet paper has been rolled out entirely... the quiet is never a good thing.

Joshua Radin is my favorite singer and recently, he put an invitation on his Facebook page for people to send him lyrics they would get as a tattoo and he would write them so you can get the tattoo in his handwriting.  I'm probably never going to get lyrics tattooed on my body but it's still cool to see what lyrics people submit and his response to them.  In case you can't read this one it says "Wait till tomorrow, see what that brings."

January 7 = Teething Day

Liam is feeling a lot better, Malia is definitely less miserable but today has been the roughest day for me.  Zachary had asked me a few times if I had a fever to which I quickly replied no but when I started shivering today, I checked it and sure enough, 101!  And my temperature is usually low so 101 is pretty bad for me.  So I laid down while he made dinner- Malia has not been sleeping at night and barely any during the day so taking into consideration with just her lack of sleep I'd be exhausted on a good day, I'm extremely exhausted also being sick.  So I was very relieved that dinner was taken care of- I didn't eat very much but it was worth waking up for to get to see this:

Liam never used any teething toys which was disappointing because he had no relief for his teething pain so I'm super excited that Malia does and when a teething toy isn't available, she'll find a way!

After dinner, Zachary took the babies to the gym and I got a little cleaning done around the house.  I checked the mail and there was something from Amazon.  Zachary had told me not to look at recently placed orders on Amazon so I figured it might be an early birthday present.  I waited until he got home and eagerly opened it, hoping it would be Joshua Radin's new CD and it was!!

Speaking of presents, Uncle Matty had gotten Liam and Malia Duke outfits for Christmas and because I'm a good sister-in-law, I put Malia in hers during the Duke v. Wake Forest game.  Even though it wasn't televised she still showed her spirit and it made for a great photo op!