Ryan: Seven

Happy 7th Birthday Ryan James Nullmeyer!!

How are you already 7? Looking at the above picture I can see a glimpse of the older boy in you. I still think you are an absolutely adorable little boy, but I can see your features starting to mature and it's exciting to get a glimpse of the future in your face.

A few words I would use to describe you right now are: Sweet, Sensitive, Moody, Serious, Innocent, Creative, Fast, Smart, Competitive and Loyal.

You love drawing and building things and your favorite thing to draw/build is any sort of car. The other day I overheard you talking to your friend about the front end of a truck you saw. You had a definite opinion about the way it looked, while your friend obviously couldn't care less. I'm not sure if it is nature or nurture, but you are getting more and more interested in cars. Given who your Daddy is, I'm not surprised!

You absolutely shine as a big brother to Jenna.

 You are very protective of her and I just love watching you try to take care of her.

Despite your serious nature and uncomfortableness with public displays of affection, your are very snuggly. Given the opportunity, you would sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed every single night, curled up around me!

This year you learned to ride a bike and graduated out of your carseat to a booster seat. You also have excelled this year in 1st grade. At the beginning of the year you were a little behind in your reading skills, but you have caught up really quickly and now you are consistently getting near perfect spelling test scores. You just learned how to tell time, and you are very quick with your math homework. You love learning about sharks and you are already looking forward to Shark Week on TV this summer!

(Ryan as a soon to be big brother at 20 months!)

And Ryan now, as a big brother of 3!

You absolutely love tacos (meat, cheese, hot sauce and crispy shell, to be exact!), in addition to other super healthy foods like pizza, burgers, and chocolate.

Last night you opened a few presents from Mommy and Daddy.

You were very happy and well-behaved, Lucas was a goofball, and Jenna was super excited to watch you open presents.

In addition to a paper-airplane-making kit and some shark swim trunks, you got a pair of Heelys! You were so excited when you discovered that your new shoes had wheels on the bottom of them. You get frustrated very easily, and I could tell that was starting to happen last night when you couldn't get the hang of them right away. But I think with a little practice you will be zooming around on your shoes in no time. You are a pretty coordinated boy!

Ryan, I don't think I could love you more if I tried. You are a huge blessing from God and you are teaching me so much about being a mother. Every "first" with you is so fun to experience and I'm excited to see what "firsts" being 7 will bring!!  

Happy Birthday! We love you!

Andrew: 2 Months

Happy 2-Month Birthday my little Andrew! Daddy and I both agree that it feels like you have been here much longer than 2 months. It seems like you should be at least 3 months old by now!

You have the cutest smile and your face lights up when I smile and talk to you. You like when I make the "OH" sound and sometimes it sounds like you are trying to say "ah-goo". I think this is the classic first baby sound that all our babies have made. It is usually easier to get you to smile first thing in the morning, when you are well-rested.

You are officially our best burper. Not only do you burp multiple times during each feeding, but you burp like a grown man!

Your sleeping habits are not the greatest. You tend to take little catnaps throughout the day and you are easily woken up by your siblings. You prefer to be worn or held by me, although I can usually get you to take one nap in your swing. At night I have a hard time getting you to fall asleep. Once you do, I try placing you in your bassinet but you almost always wake up. Most nights you end up sleeping snuggled next to me in bed.

I think you weigh just over 11 pounds but I will know for certain next week at your doctor appointment.

Daddy calls you his "Drewski" all the time. I usually just call you Baby Andrew or my Baby Boy.

Your siblings are in love with you. So much that they smother you all day long. They are constantly asking to see you, touch you, climb on you, give you your pacifier, just be as close to you as possible!

Sometimes you like the attention...

But usually you don't.

(Your hair looks red in these pictures but it is actually quite blond in real life.)

I love you to pieces baby Andrew John!

Weighty Wednesday: Week 4

Despite still being sick this week I feel like I did a great job with my eating. I didn't get much exercise in but I did focus on eating fewer sweets and smaller portions overall, with the focus on produce, whole grains, healthy fats and protein. I even found the time to snap photos of 2 separate days of what I ate, so I'll share that below. This week I lost 3 pounds!!

Lbs Lost So Far: 7
Lbs Left To Lose: 20

Are you trying to lose weight or simply eat healthier? Take photos of everything you eat and share it on the internet. Seriously, it helps keep me very accountable!

Day 1
Breakfast: Vanilla yogurt topped with frozen blueberries, the last of my homemade granola, and a few almonds.

Lunch: Black beans topped with 2 scrambled eggs, raw bell peppers and salsa

Snack: 1 big granny smith apple, cottage cheese topped with cinnamon

Dinner: Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

I have never made anything using cream of chicken soup because of the less than healthy ingredients. But I found this organic version that looked fairly healthy, so I decided to make a chicken broccoli rice casserole. I used brown rice and it turned out SO good! Adam loved it.

 I served it with a simple salad. I also went back for a tiny second portion of the casserole.

 Dessert: 2 Larabar Bites

Day 2
Breakfast: I was in the mood for something different this morning. I fried an egg in a little butter and served it on top of a corn tortilla with about 1/3 of an avocado spread on top. It was delicious! I also had a cutie and iced coffee with a tiny splash of cream and milk.

Snack: One of my favorite snacks from Trader Joe's.....dried mango! (Get the kind with no added sugar)

Lunch: Lettuce topped with cucumber, tomato, bell pepper and leftover steak, topped with blue cheese dressing

Snack: RXBAR in chocolate sea salt. I was running out the door so I grabbed this new bar to try. I don't eat granola bars very often because they seem expensive and not usually the healthiest option. But I do love peanut butter Larabars, and I've heard these new RX bars are similar. It was pretty good but a little pricey.

Dinner: Salmon, Broccoli, Brown Rice/Quinoa Rice medley topped with parmesan. (Plus a little extra parmesan cheese eaten straight from the bag!)

Dessert: Plain yogurt with cinnamon and a drizzle of maple syrup

I tend to crave something sweet after most meals. So rather than totally deprive myself of desserts I've been trying to save a little treat for myself at the end of most days. So far I feel like it's really working! Do you crave something sweet after dinner?

Spring Days

Spring days around here are filled with:

Exploring hidden ponds in local backyards.




Entire dinners cooked on the BBQ.

Wearing pink cardigans and maxi dresses.


Meeting the cousins at the park.

Dragging out the wading pool as soon as the temps reach 75.



Buying daffodils for myself.

And wearing nothing but your diaper.


Happy Spring!