Jacob Andrew and William Colin: 2015

Hello friends and family,

"Update blog" has been on my to do list every day for a few months now, can you tell? Life is busy and wonderful, but it's always nice to sit down and reflex on what's going on with us and share with
you all.

Matt continues to work hard at the Command and General Staff College getting high grades and impressing his instructors. He got accepted to the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS), so we will be at Fort Leavenworth an extra year. We are so proud of him as the selections for SAMS were not easy. He's excited to learn about strategic planning - right up his alley. This school definitely appeals to his ability to think outside the box.

I am loving working part time from home as a health/fitness coach with beach body. It's so nice to tap into one of my passions and help others feel better and stronger. It keeps me busy, but I'm thankful to run my own business and stay home with my boys. And I get to tap into my teacher mode each day when I work with the boys. I have a fun Bunco group that I get to hang out with once a month and I love my mommy friends who keep me laughing as we motor through life with little ones. I continue to volunteer as the Athletic Director for the Team RWB chapter here and as the School Coordinator for the OKC Memorial Kids Marathon. My planner gets heavy use these days.

Jake LOVES preschool! He is learning so much about the school environment and enjoys going each day. He loves his friends and can report EVERY detail of not only his day, but everyone else's as well. I am working on getting him to wait to tell me who "wasn't a good listener" until we get to the car instead of feeling like he should report it directly to the child's mother or father. At least he's honest (sometimes to a fault) and aware of the rules. Jake started basketball and takes it seriously but has a blast. He was a bit disappointed the first time that I didn't chant "OKC!" from the bleachers and bring him a snack in the locker room at half time as he expected, but he got over it. Jake certainly craves physical activity and even likes to work up a sweat doing T25, PiYo, and Combat with me. His love of the Thunder remains strong despite difficulties in the season. He has now been to two Thunder games and cheers loudly! Jake loves his little brother and they play really well together. He also loves memorizing his books and re reads his favorites all the time - the best part is when I walk into a room and hear him reading to Will. Jake can best be described as the Energizer Bunny - always moving, always thinking, always in action! He can drive us bonkers with the constant questions and requests, not to mention his strong willed opinions, but we love him so much and always get a good laugh after recounting our Jake stories of the day. That boy says the funniest things! He has been potty trained all the time except nap and bed time since June, but he is now done with pullups for nap and bedtime too - such a success and we are pumped to only pay for Will's diapers now. Jake is independent and wants to do everything by himself. His imagination and pretend play is really expanding which is fun to see. Jake loves Paw Patrol, most Pixar movies, Blaze and the Monster Machines, Star Wars, and all things super heroes - let the obsession begin. You'll notice that he is wearing his Darth Vader shirt in most pictures. I do wash it - I promise.

Will is such a sweetheart. He's curious and always trying to figure out how things work and what his brother is up to. He loves his "cackies" (cookies) so much. He says so many words now - cookie, apple sauce, baby, Jake, Mommy, Daddy, M, P, Oma, Opa, Bow Bow, Tank, puppy, neena (banana), eat, milk, thank you, bless you, nose, teeth (of which he has NONE at 14 months old), and any other words he hears and mimics:) He started walking on December 22 - we got out of the car in OKC for Christmas, and he walked across my parents' living room. He hasn't stopped since. Will is constantly working on "projects." Most of them involve the plunger, straws, and toilet paper. Will loves to play and move and read his "Pat A Cake - Curious George" book. He enjoys peek-a-boo and giving "fives." Will is a go with the flow type of kiddo which gives us good balance in our family. He and Jake compliment each other well. Will is always smiling and laughing - he loves snuggling.

Here are some recent pictures from November and December. Enjoy:)