[Text + No Pictures] = {SORRY!}

Jake and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary last week. Things didn't go exactly as we had planned/hoped for because we went to pick up our new car from Maaco that morning and it took a really long time to get the lights back in, the bumpers on and to get it inspected. Oh well. We dropped off the kids and went to Cafe Zupas for lunch and then headed downtown for our scheduled couples massage. Jake has never had a massage before and he was really happy with the results. We came back to feed Nathan and then went to Tepanyaki for dinner and had the most amazing food. My favorite part was definitely the sushi that we started with. I am craving sushi like CRAZY now!

{Insert Cheese} I am so happy that I married Jake. People have told us that they never would have expected us to marry because of how different we were. I say "were" because that certainly isn't the case now. We compliment each other so well and each of our strengths have contributed to the other. I am proud to call him my husband and to be the mother of our two beautiful children. He never reads this blog unless I show it to him but I love him so much and I am so grateful for the man he is!

Well, if you caught it from my opening paragraph... we have a new car now! HURRAY! We sold my old 1987 Honda Civic last week to a Pick-and-Save place. With it misfiring so badly it is all for the best that it be sold for parts instead of as a whole. The company who bought it sent a man out with a tow truck to pick it up. He paid me and proceeded to load the car onto the tow truck. Abrielle was SO distressed! She started yelling at the guy, "No! No! That's my car! That's my car!" When I came out to join her and saw my darling little redhead in a big pink trenchcoat taking this big bearded tow guy to town with her verbal abuse I tried quickly to soothe her and tell her that the car wasn't ours anymore. It has taken her several days to come to terms with the fact but it will hopefully be a lot better now that we actually have the new car.

The car we purchased is a 1997 Toyota Camry. We have always wanted a Camry for many reasons but mostly because of the roominess of the interior. Someday we will have 3 kids and will need 3 carseats to be able to fit in the backseat... oi vay! But the car runs on CNG (natural gas) which will save us a TON of money on gas prices and we had it painted a jade metallic color. Very pretty. It still needs a little bit of "tweaking" but my Grandpa is the one who has done all of this for us so far and will continue to take care of us.

Nathan continues to grow and we absoltuely love all of his different phases. He has recently become aware of his hands and will reach for hanging mobiles or, his favorite, mommy's hair. He is starting to sound more like a "real person" in his cry and laugh and his giggles make me so happy. He is still such a happy little guy and a joy and a delight in our lives.

Abrielle is becoming more and more a young lady. She is doing very well with her potty training and is now learning how to dress herself completely. She still has a little trouble with directions... she frequently puts things on backwards, but she is starting to understand the concept better which I am happy for. She must be growing right now because all she wants to do is eat all the time. She certainly is tall and spends her life wearing leggings because nothing else is long enough while still being able to stay on her basically nonexistent tush. She is a wonderful big sister and a lot of fun to be around, especially as she is (SLOWLY) growing out of the terrible two phase and has fewer tantrums unless she is REALLY tired. But when I am really tired I feel like throwing a tantrum too so I can't really blame her.

We hope everyone is well and happy and healthy.

Much love, Shayla