Fathers Day 2013

Father's Day 2013 was Casey's 3rd, but his first one with 2 kiddos! Here are some pictures of that day!  

Dayton even wore his Longhorn jersey because it was Daddy's special day! :)

Some of Casey's daddy moments with each child :)

What a good daddy he is!

Easter 2013

I never blogged about Easter last year and well, since it's almost Easter again, I figured I better get busy.  Easter is self-explanatory, so this will mainly be picture heavy with one video of the kids' egg hunt. This year Dayton will be able to participate. :)

I can't believe how bald Dayton use to be!! 

Our Easter 2013 picture!

Big Girl Bed

This post has been way over due, but I wanted to make sure it hit the blog at some point. Back in May of 2013 Sawyer decided to start crawling out of her bed over and over. I actually had her do it for me in person so I could video it ;) That same day we transitioned her into her "big girl bed" (same bed, but with a toddler rail) so that she wouldn't ever hurt herself crawling out in the middle of the night!

This all happened a month after she turned 2 and I had a 5 month old newborn as well. Needless to say, as soon as Sawyer was transitioned into her toddler bed, life got a little more crazy for me! ;)

helping her daddy out :)

"you mean I'm free to get in and out as I please?" 

She slept great in it for a solid 2 weeks without getting out. She would even wait for us to come get her in the mornings. And then…it hit her…all toddlerhood let loose. She's been in our room almost every night since ;) We now have a cot set up so when she comes in in the middle of the night she just lays down there and doesn't disturb us (as much) while we are sleeping. Every now and then she stays asleep in her room all night long and doesn't migrate over to ours, but that's rare, haha. She always starts out in her room, though, and usually lasts about 3-5 hours before coming over to ours. Oh well. It's better than all night in our room!!

Cannot believe she's about to be 3…

Advocare 24 Day Challenge: Week 1

I have been interested in trying Advocare for a while now, but the stars aligned when I got money for graduation (from my parents & Casey's parents!!) and the new year began! I love to make new year's resolutions, so I figured what better time to start a 24 day challenge?! I purchased my 24 Day Challenge through my friend Rachel who started the challenge the same day as me and is also my accountability partner! We have texted most days to see how the other one has done. That helps me a lot! We are also apart of a Facebook group with other people who are doing the challenge.

On Sunday, January 5th, I bought a bunch of fruit and veggies at the grocery store so that I would have plenty to snack on. I soon realized that I was going to need much more than that because pretty much nothing in my house was healthy or acceptable! We are very on-the-go eaters and Casey does not like much of anything that is green or fresh, ha ha. I could be fine eating mac-n-cheese for every lunch and cereal (Honey Bunches of Oats with Strawberries is my fav!) for breakfast AND dinner! Because we both work several nights a week, there's not many meals that we sit down and eat together. And most weekends we eat out, so that's been a big change this week, too!

Day 1:

• I woke up excited to start my challenge and then…I made the Fiber Drink we are supposed to drink days 1-3 and 8-10. Oh. My. Gosh. That thing was GROSS! I had no idea what to do to make it better on that first day so I just spooned, yes I said spooned it into my mouth. It was as thick as applesauce, but it didn't taste good. At all. Sawyer saw me eating/drinking it and asked me if she could have some. I let her try it and she said "Momma don't drink that. It doesn't taste good." Ha ha ha ha ha…
• After I finally got the Fiber Drink down, I drank some Orange Mandarin Spark. Orange isn't my favorite flavor, but after the Fiber Drink it tasted like Heaven!
• For breakfast I had a scrambled egg and was too full to eat anything else.
• I worked out legs/butt and ran that day!
• For lunch that day I ate with my mom & the kiddos at Chipotle wear I got lettuce, black beans, chicken, tomato, pico, and hot sauce (no rice, cheese, sour cream, or chips) with water with lemon.
• I had a snack of fruit when I got home.
• For dinner I took the Omegaplex pills and then ate grilled chicken and veggies (bell pepper and zucchini with season all) with water.
• I did not have an evening snack.
• I drank plenty of water on my first day - probably 60 oz. or more
• I took the Herbal Cleanse pills at bedtime.

Day 2 was a bit more tricky because I worked 12 hours and didn't adequately prepare the night before.

• I mixed my Fiber Drink with Orange Mandarin Spark this day and it was ooooohhhh so much better!!
• I drank plenty of water all day long
• I had a scrambled egg for breakfast…I know I was supposed to have more, but I was in a hurry and also super full from the Spark/Fiber Drink
• I went to Jason's Deli for lunch and got the Salad Bar! It was amazing because I sprinkled lemon juice over everything and also some banana pepper juice. I love salad's but also love salad dressing so I was kind of dreading it, but the peppers and also olives gave the salad enough kick! See my picture? It looks yummy to me even now!
• I had a small snack of Mangos covered in whole grain oats and fat free yogurt.
• I drank a second Spark that day - I needed it because I worked til 9pm!
• I had a meal replacement shake for dinner because I had back-to-back clients in the evening and no time to eat.
• I didn't have an evening snack.
• I took my Omegaplex caplets before bed

Day 3

• I made a massive fruit smoothie with 2 bananas and 10 strawberries for breakfast and mixed the Spark and Fiber Drink in with that to mask the taste - it worked!
• I didn't have a morning snack
• I did drink a second Spark
• I had tuna with lemon juice and pickles for lunch on whole wheat crackers
• I had celery and raw peanut butter for an afternoon snack
• I drank a meal replacement shake for dinner
• That night I forgot to take the Herbal Cleanse caplets before bed :(

Day 4

• I was sooo glad to not have to drink the Fiber Drink this day!!
• I took the Probiotic Restore Ultra pills 30 minutes before eating
• I ate a scrambled egg for breakfast & fat free greek yogurt with strawberries and drank a Spark
• I didn't have a morning snack OR a second Spark
• I ate at Jason's Deli again and got the same salad without dressing
• Drank plenty of water all day long
• I had apples and mango in dried whole weat oats and yogurt as a snack
• I worked out for the 2nd time this week - arms, shoulders, abs, & running
• I took the OmegaPlex with dinner
• I had a yummy dish of brown rice, shrimp, garlic, spinach, red bell pepper, and squash! So tasty!
• I did not have an evening snack
• I forgot to take my Herbal Cleanse caplets for the second night in a row :(

Day 5

• Day 5 was a lot easier because we were all 4 home together! 
• I took the ProBiotic pills before breakfast
• For breakfast I had 2 scrambled eggs, 3 grapes, 2 strawberries, and 3 apple slices with raw peanut butter with a spark
• I went straight to workout after my breakfast! I ran, did legs/butt and abs - total of 3 workouts for the week
• I had a second spark after my workout
• I didn't have any daytime snacks
• I ate tuna with lemon juice and pickles on whole wheat crackers for lunch
• I drank plenty of water all day
• I took my Omegaplex with dinner
• We made yummy shish-ka-bobs for dinner! They had pineapple, grilled chicken, green bell pepper, red potatoes, and fresh green beans as a side! Best dinner yet!!
• I had yogurt & oat covered mango for "dessert"
• I had plenty of water all day :)
• I FINALLY remembered my Herbal Cleanse caplets before bed!!!

Day 6

• I took the ProBiotic Pills before breakfast
• I drank a Spark and had a whole lotta fruit for breakfast! I was at Ginni's birthday party and it was super super tempting because there was a bunch of sweets, and that's my sweet spot! But luckily there was a lot of good fresh fruit :)
• I didn't have a snack or a second Spark
• For lunch, I had sushi with brown rice - Yum! I'm starting to mix it up a little.
• I had a small glass of 1% milk and a Muscle Milk protein bar as a snack
• I took Omegaplex with dinner
• We ate dinner at Mi Cocina for Ginni's 30th birthday and it was tempting, but I managed to not eat chips or salsa! Yay! I got Tilapia with veggies and beans and it was good!
• I didn't have a snack and I actually remembered to take the Herbal Cleanse caplets!

Day 7

• On day 7 I drank a Spark and had a Meal Replacement Shake for breakfast at church :)
• We took Casey to the airport so for lunch we ate out - I had turkey on wheat with lettuce, tomato, and banana peppers, with no dressing
• I didn't have a snack or a second Spark
• For dinner I took my Omegaplex and had brown rice, shrimp, garlic, spinach, red bell pepper, & squash (again)! 
• I had the munchies so my evening snack was a Muscle Milk protein bar with a small glass of 1% milk

I didn't cheat at all my first week and I am down 3 lbs!! I cannot believe it! I have more energy and am feeling good. :) Can't wait to see how the next couple of weeks goes. :)

Coats Family 2013 Blessings and Review

Every year since 2009 Casey & I sit down around the end of the year and write down all of our blessings from the past year. It is always so neat to see how God blessed, provided, and proved faithful again--year after year. We both feel just a little bit better after writing down all of the blessings we encountered in 365 days. Some things are more personal or confidential, so they might not make the blog list, but there are still many to share with everyone!!

2013 Blessings

All 4 of us are healthy and well!

Lauren was able to stay at home with the children for another year

  Casey was promoted to Campus Pastor at c|Life West Campus

Lauren graduated with her Masters of Science Counseling after 3 years of classes and internships

Lauren got a great internship at The Vale

Lauren was later offered a position on staff at The Vale upon graduation

Dayton turned 1 year old and had many friends and family come to celebrate him

Casey & Lauren went on a free (highly discounted) 5 day cruise to Mexico (sans kids)

Lauren got a grant to pay for part of her last semester

Our Community Group has grown closer and provided us with good friendships

Casey was able to go on a mission trip to Guatemala over spring break

God continued to stretch our finances with small things throughout the year like free meals, gifts of diapers, wipes, and formula, and gifts of money and gift cards from unexpected people.

Sawyer needed another ear surgery and her great-grandparents offered to pay for it

Casey & Lauren were able to attend Catalyst for a second year in a row

The new Momentum Service at the West Campus was started and is going well

Lauren is able to bring the kids to Momentum on Wednesday nights and lead a CG of 11^th & 12^th grade girls while a volunteer babysitter watches the kids up at the church

Dayton was dedicated at church on April 7^th

We found a babysitter we really trusted with a newborn and 2-year-old—Ashlee was able to watch the kids while Lauren worked in the summer

Sawyer was able to do a month of gymnastics in the summer with her friend Avery

Sawyer was able to do swim lessons for another consecutive summer

Lauren, Sawyer, & Dayton were able to have many playdates with their friends Kristin, Avery, & Ally in the early days of Dayton’s life. This helped keep Lauren sane. ;)

Casey & Lauren were able to do pre-marriage counseling with a couple for several weeks before Casey performed their wedding

So many people have contributed to babysitting our kids when we really needed it: Casey parents, Casey’s grandmother, Lauren’s mom, Lauren’s grandma, Ginni, & Natalie

Lauren’s best friend, Lauren Stevenson, was able to come down to stay with her for a week when Casey was away on a mission trip

So many people brought us meals in January after Dayton was first born

Lauren’s mom paid to have a housekeeper come to clean our house once a month in 2013--man am I going to miss that!!!

2 great friends took some pictures of us and our kiddos for free—Christie Harty & Ginni Rickerson!

c|Life d|Now had over 400 kids attend and many accepted Christ!

More kids than ever are attending Momentum & CGs and many have accepted Christ!

Sawyer had a super fun 2^nd Birthday Party and Elmo made an appearance. It was a great time for her & her friends.

Casey turned 30 and we had a great surprise dinner for him with good friends—so much fun!

Casey's parents, & grandparents as well as Lauren's parents & grandparents have babysat the kids many, many times so that we could be where we needed to be or have date nights!!

2013 was a very blessed year for us!

Some Stuff Sawyer Says…

Lately Sawyer has said some of the most hilarious things and I just want to make sure I right it down so that I can look back and remember :)

One day we were going over the really tall bridge that goes from Hwy 30 Westbound to 635 South and Sawyer yells out "Momma, we're so tall!!!" Then when we got off she said "Momma, now we're short!"

We went to visit a friend's baby and Sawyer said "That's McKenna's baby. Momma, I want one." I guess Dayton isn't little enough for her anymore, ha.

I eat Chips Ahoy cookies and Sawyer always refers to them as "Momma's cookies." No other food in the house is referred to as "Momma's" or "Daddy's," but she knows the cookies are serious business. ;)

Sawyer will open the fridge and say, "Ummm…How about a chocolate milk shake?!" She just recently started to talking to us like she's an adult using words like "umm" and "like" or phrases like "how about."

Lately she tells us things from her baby doll's perspective, "Momma, my baby wants me to drink some milk." or "My baby doesn't want me to go to sleep yet."

When we just mention giving Dayton a spanking (which we do not do yet) she says very vehemently "NO! Dayton's too little to get a spanking!!" She gets very protective of him.  I like it. Sometimes I pretend he needs a spanking just to get her worked up a little, ha ha.

Sawyer sings constantly and always combines all her favorite songs together: ABCs, Jesus Loves Me, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, & Ring Around the Rosies. Her favorite song to dance to is The B-I-B-L-E.

She cracks me up on a daily basis! :)

My Officially Potty-Trained Toddler

Man oh man, have I been waiting on this!! Sawyer Grace is officially potty-trained and it feels so good!! It was more hard work for her Momma & Daddy than it was for her! Ha! Now she goes days without accidents and takes naps in big girl underwear and hasn't had any accidents during nap so far. She wears a diaper at night, but so far she gets up when she needs to use the potty and her diaper has been dry. We're just giving her a little while to adjust, but we're probably about to take the plunge and just put her in her big girl undies at night, too! She is super proud of them and prefers them anyway.

Sawyer wants to do everything herself in the bathroom from getting on the potty to washing and drying her hands. She is super independent and very proud of it. 

Good job, baby girl! We are so happy we don't have to spend $40 bucks a month on your diapers! ;)