Marriage is...

HARD! I'll be the first to admit that we do not have a perfect marriage (or relationship for that matter). I did not have great examples of healthy relationships growing up. My parents divorced when I was young (and never really had a great relationship during or after their marriage) and although my mom had relationships after that, they were usually unhealthy.

I always knew that if I got married, I wanted a marriage different than the ones I saw growing up. I wanted my children to have a stable household full of love. Well, I think we've accomplished those aspects of our relationship but there are some areas that need to be improved.

Over the past month, both Will and I have put a lot more effort into our marriage. We've started to do more things as a family (even though Will runs on a regular basis, he has started doing my 5K running plan with me and the boys as well). We have also made communicating a priority. I think that has been the biggest issue with our marriage and I'd like to see that change. I have come to realize that we'll never have the perfect marriage and I have to accept that. There will be hard times and there will be good times but I wouldn't have it any other way. The way I see it, if we didn't have hard times, we wouldn't appreciate the good ones. Let's hope for lots of good times in our future.

Merry Christmas to You and Yours!

From Will and Jaye and the Boys

Texas: Dallas Zoo

While in Texas, we decided to take another trip to the zoo. I really wanted to go to the Dallas zoo (even though it is smaller than the Fort Worth zoo) for one reason: You can feed the giraffes. I love giraffes! They are absolutely one of my favorite animals (besides Artemus, of course) so just the thought of feeding one made me practically burst with excitement.
This time we hit the zoo up with Will's dad, step mom and grandparents. We had a great time. The bird area was amazing! One bird flew and landed on top of Liam's head. He, understandably, freaked out and was done with the birds but that memory alone made this one of my favorite zoo experiences ever. Here are some pictures from our second zoo trip!

This bird flew up to me and started checking my pockets

Liam's new friend with the adorable gold Cowgirl boots

We're in Germany!

We all made it in one piece! It was an interesting and long journey (and I'm glad we won't have to do it again for three years) but we're here and excited. We haven't gotten out yet since Liam is still adjusting to the new time zone and he also has a cold (poor guy). We will be back soon to update the blog with pictures from our last couple weeks in Texas as well as a few from our journey here. See you guys soon!

Texas: Fort Worth Zoo

I've always loved zoos but I am really picky when it comes to visiting/sightseeing. We have zoos in Kansas but they aren't very big and I just didn't see the purpose in going if I wasn't going to enjoy myself. So when Will's mom (Nana Shanna) and stepdad (Papa Chill) told us that they had tickets to the Fort Worth Zoo, we got excited.
After a week or so of planning, we decided on a Friday trip to the zoo. Well, this Friday turned out to be the first rainy day in 34 days. It actually worked out in our favor since the zoo was practically empty. We had an amazing time and I loved seeing Liam's reaction to the different animals.
Here are some pictures from our adventure!

 

Our Texas and Germany Adventure: Part I

We have arrived in Texas! After a long (long) car ride and some terrifying Dallas highway driving, we made our way to the first stop of our overseas adventure. We will be here for over a month and have lots of plans so far. I'm trying to remind Will that we don't need to cram everything in right away. We have plenty of time to get out and enjoy time with family.

So far, we've spent a lot of time with Will's mom and stepdad. Will also has a much younger sister who has become the perfect companion for Liam. Over the past couple days I have started to feel a little under the weather. It started as a bit of a stomachache then turned into a full-blown cold (and sore throat). I am feeling a lot better now so we plan to hang out with Will's dad and stepmom. I'm planning to keep my camera nearby to capture lots of pictures while we are out. Here are a couple pictures of our trip so far!

What We've Been Up To...

So, I haven't been updating like I should (do you forgive me??). No worries though, things are good here (except for a little car trouble but that's taken care of now). We've been chugging along and things really seem to be falling into place. Liam has turned into Spiderman and is climbing everything. He decided that he wanted the car keys off the dining room table this morning and figured he'd just climb onto a chair and make his way on top of the table. I almost had a heart attack. That boy is trying to kill me!

In recent news (well, sort of recent news). Will and I celebrated our two year anniversary on March 24th. We just went to a nice baby-free dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Houlihan's. If you get a chance to go there, try their Seared Tuna Wontons. Best App Ever!

I mentioned that I am now working as a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor. I'm still super stoked about this job and really hope I can live up to the expectations of the program. I'm still trying to figure out exactly how everything will work (and so is everyone else since this is the first time the health department has offered this position). Once I get things perfected, I'll definitely do an update.

We also celebrated a low key Easter with family and friends. The weather was perfect and even though we decided to just do a small, fun Easter egg hunt at home instead of going to our town's annual event. Liam did not understand the concept of finding eggs so maybe it was a good thing we put off the actual Easter egg hunt until next year.

We also celebrated another low key event: My 27th birthday! I never do much for my birthday and honestly woke up that morning and didn't even remember it was my special day. The intake manifold on our Mustang cracked the day before so it was in the shop and I got to drive around our roommates Altima (definitely didn't want to give that back). I had a breastfeeding seminar during the day and went grocery shopping with my mom afterwards. When I got home, Will and Marks (our roommate) surprised me with a cake and ice cream. I was not expecting that at all since we had just planned on going to dinner this weekend to celebrate my birthday. That, along with all the Facebook love, made my day super special.

So, needless to say, things are good here. And here's a little visual entertainment courtesy of my Galaxy S2 (since I have no clue where my camera is) for you guys.