Chandler is SEVEN!

Seven years ago today I was seeing this face for the very first time.

Chandler Keaton--about 2 hours new

For the past seven years, Chandler has been the reason to get up every morning, the challenge of every day, and the overwhelming joy and pride of every moment.  Seven has gone by so fast.  Here's what this kiddo has been up to this past year.

In September, he become a Tiger Cub.

As he so often does, he reminded me to stop and smell the roses in October.

He became a bona fide first grader in November with the loss of his first two (bottom) teeth.

And he got to play in snow (a bit) for the first time in a long while in December.

Carried on with his usual "Chan"tics in January.

And did some sweet snugglin' during an unusually cold winter in February.

He got pretty up close and personal with a black bear at The Knoxville Zoo in March!

And ran his first Kids' Marathon in April with a super fast time!

He became an avid tree climber in May and has since tackled many an oak and maple.

And he conquered Big Thunder Mountain Railroad during his first trip to Disney World in June.

Spent the lazy days of summer in the water one place or another during July.

And started his 2nd grade adventure in Mrs. Quinn's class in August.

And then there's today, his birthday.  Riding his new scooter since 7:15 this morning.

I knew being his Momma was gonna be a blessing.  I just had no idea how BIG!  Every day is a new adventure with this kid.  And I am enjoying every second.  (Okay, I could do without the sass mouth, but other than that ;)

Happy Birthday to the BEST birthday present I've ever gotten!!!

Love you, Chandler Man!!  Hope you're birthday ROCKS!

Mom :)

"I'll love you forever, 

I'll like you for always.

As long as I'm living,

my BABY you'll be."

~Robert Munsch~

My Not-So-Baby Lamb

I would love to say that I've slowed down time and this day isn't here yet.  But, alas, I still haven't quite figured out how to do that, and it seems the harder I try the faster time goes.  So here we go again...Liam's birthday! 

As par for the course on each birthday my boys have had, I seriously cannot believe that another year has passed so quickly.  MY BABY IS TURNING THREE, YOU GUYS!!  He has seriously been practicing turning his "bunny ears" into a set of three fingers for like a month now.  (And he's almost got it down.  Almost.)  He is so super excited about his "bertday" and his "pwesents".  Can't wait to celebrate my Not-So-Baby Lamb today!

And, of course, it wouldn't be a blog post of mine if it wasn't loaded with pictures.  So, here is Liam's Year of 2 with some of my fave shots from each month:

May 9, 2013.  The day he turned 2.

June: pretty sure this fella is gonna be our party animal

July: Liam's first sounds game. He ate.  A lot.

August: one of Wendy Hardin's shots of my sweet boy after cooling off in the creek

September: playing pirate at Chan's birthday party

October: being a complete beach bum and loving every minute of it

October (I couldn't pick just one): Halloween and the cutest dalmatian ever

November: playing with his toys.  THAT FACE!!  (Liam's, not the Santa)

December: one of my favorites ever of Liam, another shot from Wendy Hardin

December (cheating again with 2): first time playing in the snow, even if it was just a little bit

January: my little boy is SUCH A MAN!!

February: first night in his big boy bed!

March: my Lamb and his Beagle

April: looking dapper on Easter Sunday

And back to May.  One whole year, just like that!

"I'll love you forvever, I'll like you for always.

As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be."

~Robert Munsch~

Happy Birthday, Baby Lamb!  

I love you to the moon and back (over and over again)!

Mommy :)

P.S.- To see Liam's first year in months, check out this blog post: 

http://koehnkiddos.blogspot.com/2012/05/liam-by-month.html

P.P.S.- To see Liam's year of ONE in months, check out this blog post:

http://koehnkiddos.blogspot.com/2013/05/liam-is-two.html

P.P.S.S.- To take a completely unrelated look back at The Space Conundrum and the saga of the minivan (because, why not??) check out this blog post:

http://koehnkiddos.blogspot.com/2012/03/space-conundrum.html

My Top 10 of 2013 (Plus 6)

Did I just blink and then 2013 happened???  Cause, um, I am pretty sure we were just having New Year's Eve celebrations like yesterday.

Hey there Time; please slow down.

Even though it seems like it was gone in the blink of an eye, there was LOTS of fun, memories, laughs, accomplishments, thrills, sadness, waiting, blessings, answered prayers, and so much more in 2013.  Thinking back over the past year, we've had a pretty great one.

So, here is my Top 10 of 2013 (Plus 6...because that's how I roll).  And in chronological order (because that just makes sense):

January 2013: Getting baptized for the second time at church on January 6.

February 2013: I surprised Justin on Valentine's Day with a dinner at McNamara's followed by tickets to see one of our faves Flogging Molly in Nashville.  Best date night ever.

March 2013: Girls trip to Gatlinburg with my two oldest & bestest friends.  And it top if off, it snowed the whole weekend!  Was a gorgeous weekend with my gorgeous friends.

May 2013: Baby Lamb turned 2!!  We celebrated Liam's two years on May 9 with a trip to Build a Bear, dinner at Chuy's, and a carousel ride.  We had a fun party that weekend, too.

May 2013: Celebrated an AMAZING year with these kiddos at Mother's Day Out.  I LOVED my time there.  LOVED it.

June 2013: Chandler learned to ride his bike!!  We practiced for half an hour and then he was flying.  Super proud day.

July 2013: We said peace out to the miniature van.  She served us well, but Momma was pretty happy to see her go.

July 2013: I started my new position as a 2nd grade teacher at Lakeview Elementary with these amazing people.  Where I have always said I've wanted to teach. I am home.

August 2013: Chandler started 1st grade on August 1st!  Still cannot believe it!

August 2013: On August 11 we got as many of the Flatts (my Mom's family) together in my Aunt Ora's backyard for a good old-fashioned "get together".  Have so many memories with these great people in this place.

September 2013: We celebrated our birthdays!!  Chandler turned 6 and Mommy turned 32 29.  We had a yummy dinner at Cinco with the fam and a pirate party followed on the weekend.

September 2013: I ran (and finished!) the Women's Half Marathon in Nashville on September 28.  After training for three months, I ran the WHOLE thing and finished in 2:15:58, which was 2 seconds within my goal time.

October 2013: Family beach trip!!  The whole Whitaker clan headed to our fave place for a whole entire week.  Relaxing, great weather, beautiful water, and family.  Love.

December 2013: Snow day before Christmas!!  Not much, but enough to get out of school. :)

December 2013: Christmas Eve at Nama's with The Koehns.  Always one of our favorite days of the year.

December 2013: BIG NEWS TODAY!!!  My sister Andrea & BIL Jon found out today that Sam will be coming home in January 2014!  They leave for China on January 8th, will meet their son on January 13th, and be home as a complete family of 6 on January 26th!!!  Answered prayers!

What an amazing year it has been!!!  I simply cannot wait to see what 2014 holds in store for us Koehns.  It's gonna be good, friends.  In fact, it'll probably be kind of great.

"We will open the book.  It's pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called Opportunity and it's first chapter is New Year's Day."

~Edith Lovejoy Pierce~

Till next year friends!

Brittany :)