Swimming Lessons!!

Nathan started swimming lessons on Monday. He has them Mon, Wed, Fri for the next couple of weeks. Today was his third session and he is making so much progress! I'm am so proud of him. He only has one other student in his class. That boy was not there today so it was nice to have a one on one session. I think by the end of this class he is going to be doing awesome in the water!

Grandpa came and spent the day with us yesterday. It is always so nice when family can come to visit. He bought Nathan lots of candy, a huge watermelon, and a cantaloupe. We went to the pool for a bit and then we came home and had a nice lunch. Nathan was having a blast showing Grandpa all of his toys. We are soo excited that Grandpa and Jane will be back in a few weeks to spend some more time with us!

Logan is getting so big too quick! I have started the weaning process. We are about half and half with nursing and formula. He's doing great. He has two little teeth on the bottom! I have also started teaching him to self feed. He LOVES Mum Mums. I give him puffs too but he hasn't quite figured out how to get them into his mouth. He also loves eating bananas and watermelon out of his mesh feeder. Such a big boy!!

He is very mobile! He isn't crawling up on his knees yet but he is doing the army crawl like a champ. He shoots around all over and very fast!

Happy Birthday Skest!!

Today is my little sister's 27th bday. Wow...we are all grown up! Emily has been my best friend from the moment she was born. Mom says that I was such a proud big sister and after I met her I kept saying "My sissy!"

I am very proud of the woman she has become. She is such a caring and giving person. Sometimes she seems a little rough around the edges but she has a bigger heart than anyone I know. Whether it's taking care of her patients at work or helping out the hurt and injured dogs with the Indy Pit Crew, she gives it her all.

And she is freakin hilarious! When we are together we are laughing the majority of the time. Most times all we have to do is look at each other and we burst out laughing. We seem to know what the other is thinking!

I wish Emily nothing but the best in life. A few curve balls have been thrown but I think it only makes her stronger. I just hope she knows how much she is loved and admired.

I still can't believe my baby sister is all grown up. I still remember all the nights singing each other to sleep so loud, our parents would have to tell us to be quiet. Moving our beds into the same room bc we wanted to share a room. Riding our bikes around the neighborhood and playing Ghost Writer. Camping trips. Getting ready for Proms. Getting ready for our weddings. Seeing her hold my sons for the first time. Making her the God Mother of my children. So many wonderful memories with my sister.

God really broke the mold when he gave me Emily. I am honored to call her my sister. And so blessed to call her my best friend. Happy birthday Skest! I love you!! XOXOXO

Summer is here!

Saturday Grandma and Paupie stopped by on their way to the airport. Nathan had a great time playing dinosaurs with them. That night Logan was up every couple of hours. He is cutting his first tooth! So needless to say I didn't get much sleep.

Sunday morning John had to go into work for a meeting. He was home by noon and worked in the yard. He took the boys out for a couple of hours so I could take a nap. It felt great! And John is getting braver...He took the boys to Lowes and Target!

Monday we ran errands pretty much all day. We did stop into the Aquarium for a bit. Nathan loves running around there and especially the splash pad outside. All three boys had fun shooting each other with water on the big pirate ship.

Goals

A friend of mine posted something on Facebook that really struck a strong response from me. She said "Isn't it funny how your goals change as you get older." Soo true! And it made me really think about my goals. Then that depressed me. Let me explain...

I don't want John to take this the wrong way. I am very proud of everything he has done. But I also want to be truthful. We are at the mercy of his company. Yes, John does all the work to get to where he wants to be. But when you break it down, people that don't even know me are calling all the shots in my life. Crazy huh? They pick what position John holds. They pick when we move. They pick where we live. Those are big decisions that will in the future affect my children.

My goals have changed in the sense that before you have kids everything is about yourself. But once you bring these precious beings into the world everything shifts. Life is about them now. And I'm completely ok with that. I will get my time again when they are older. So it is starting to really freak me out not knowing what the future holds. Yes, no one knows what the future holds but I think the majority at least have a good idea of where they will be living and what they will be doing. Not us.

I was perfectly fine with moving all around wherever before we had our boys. But now I'm not. I really do not want to uproot them every couple of years. Once they start school they will start to develop important relationships. John and I were very fortunate that we both stayed in the same school districts from the time we started school until we graduated. I have no idea what it's like to be the new kid.

I also had a long great conversation with my father-in-law a couple months back. He really knows how to put things into perspective. I really appreciate that about him. So I guess the only thing I can do now is get with John and try to come up with a plan that works for the whole family. Again this goes back to the statement that goals are not only about us anymore. We have two little people to consider.

I'm going to pray about it and know that God will put on the path that we need to be on.

Mother's Day!

This was my third Mother's Day. 3rd!! Very hard to believe that I have already been a mommy for three years. I am very blessed to have two healthy happy little boys! And I am soo spoiled! Sunday morning we all went to the grocery store. John never goes to the store with us so that was a nice treat in itself. We got home and I basically stayed on the couch watching the Reds game for the rest of the afternoon. John took the boys out for a bit. First time ever taking both boys by himself!! They came back with beautiful flowers, yummy desserts, and Starbucks! My little family is the sweetest bunch of boys ever! I love you John, Nathan, and Logan :)

Cincy Trip

Wow, it's been almost two weeks since I posted last. I told you it would be awhile! And this is going to be looooonnnnngggggg!

We got back from Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon. Here's a recap...

John, Logan, and I all started our 14.5 hour trip on Thursday April 28th at about 4AM. The car ride was not so bad. John drove the whole way. He wouldn't let me take a turn. Logan did very well. We did run into a little traffic a couple times but I think that's par for the course. Boy were we happy to finally see Winter Woods Court!!

Friday John spent the day helping Grandpa mulch the yard. Logan and I stayed busy running errands and grocery shopping for Saturday. That afternoon Mom, Dad, Em, and Nathan all got into town! I was so excited to see my baby boy! And he was excited to see us too. Nathan helped finish up the yard then we headed over to the Creation Museum to visit Norman. It was such a great afternoon.

Saturday morning was Logan's Baptism. Father Shappelle is such an awesome priest. He married John and I. And he has now baptized both of the boys. He has such a special place in our hearts. The Baptism went great even though I called my son by the wrong middle name. There is always so much on a mother's mind! Then everyone headed back to John Sr's for a BBQ. Everyone had so much fun! And the weather was perfect! It was an especially wonderful day for the Holman crew because that was the first time all five (well 12 now) of us have been all together in years.

Sunday we spent some quality time at Grandma's house. We saw Tom and the Nageotte's off. It is always so hard to say bye to our loved ones! We really appreciate everyone who made it out to see us!

Monday we had lunch with Scot and Sue. We just love them :) They are great people. We then headed out to Indy. My brother has a cute little cozy apartment. His first! I'm so proud to see how hard he is working. We went out with him, his gf, and more friends and family. One of my best friends from High School, Matt Glover, met us out. I haven't seen him in like six years! And the Rawlings champed it out with us until around 1:30AM. They are such great friends and we always have so much fun with them! Seeing all these wonderful people really makes me miss home!

Tuesday morning I woke up sick :( That afternoon we ran errands. That evening we met Grandma for dinner. Skyline finally!! And for dessert we had UDF!! Such yummy food in Cincy!! I went straight to bed when we got back to Grandpa's.

Wednesday Grandpa took us to the conservatory to see the butterfly exhibit. It was really neat! The butterflies were so friendly that you could even pick them up! When we got back Jane came over and we grilled out a great dinner. I need to get back to the gym asap after all this wonderful food I've had all week!

Thursday we took Logan to his first Reds game!!! It was another beautiful sunny day! Tim Klanke and Mason met us there. Everyone enjoyed their fair share of peanuts of course! Grandpa got Nathan cotton candy and he devoured it in about ten minutes. And Reds won!!! When we got back Grandpa took Nathan for a ride on the Deere! He had a blast :)

Friday was time to go home :( We pulled out at about 6:15AM. We got to our hotel in Macon a little before 5. We took the boys swimming for a bit and then ordered pizza. We called it a night early. Saturday morning we got up at 4:30AM to head home. The last 5.5 hours was the longest ever!! Everyone was just ready to get home. Nathan was getting sick and could not get comfortable in the car. We stopped about 7 seven times in the first couple of hours. I've never been so happy to see Early Run Lane!!!

We had such a wonderful trip! I only wish we could come home more often. It warms my heart to be reminded of how much we are loved and missed by our family and friends. We may live in Florida now but our hearts will always remain in the Midwest. I can only pray that God has it in the plans to get us back there one day.

Thanks again to everyone who made it out to see us! We love and miss you all! We are truly blessed!