Bath's and Graduations

Lilly and Reid love their bathtime fun! They have become such great "big splash"-ers that they are about to get banned from Mommy and Daddy's tub. Seriously, they are getting the walls, the window sill, and the painting wet. No es bueno! But it is hard to ban them because they love it so much...hard...but not impossible. (:

They will stay in there forever. A lot of times I will put them in the tub and I will fold clothes while they play (I can of course see them while I am doing this). I try to get ready before they get up but if for some reason I haven't-I will do my hair and put on my make-up while they are playing.

Lilly likes the wrinkles that happen when you are good and soaked in the tub. And I love those little feet!

One of the things they don't teach you in parenting preparation classes is what to do in the event that one child poops in the tub. So, since this happened to us a couple of nights ago...let me tell you what we did. Matt was in the bathroom with them and I was starting a load of clothes (I have to set the scene, right?). When I hear him yell, "Noooo!" followed by "Sara we are going to need some help in here!" I come into the bathroom and he has the kids out of the tub and in our shower with the door closed. I see what the commotion is all about. At a loss. We have a bath scoop that holds all of the toys...and by some small miracle the toys were pretty much in there. So Matt grabbed it. Matt had the two-finger-don't-want-to-really-hold-it grip on the scoop and we decided it best just to chunk it. We had gotten our money's worth out of them. Then I grab towels and pjs and start cleaning the children from top to bottom in the shower while Matt finds a cup to scoop up "the business" and take it to the toilet. We get the kids out and dressed and in bed and soaked the tub in bleach water overnight followed by a thorough cleaning because, you know, you can't just "throw away" a bathtub. Oh, and I left out that there was lots of handwashing, gagging, and "disgusting/gross/ewwww" followed by "We poop in diapers or the potty! NOT bathtubs!!" So, if you ever find yourself in this situation...this is what we recommend. (: Ahhhh, the joys of parenting!

So if you have been following me for a while, you may know that my Mom got married last year to Ray. A couple of weekends ago, Ray's son Tyler, my new "brother from another mother" (as I like to call him) graduated high school. We had a little celebration dinner at our house afterward. In the picture above is Ray, Tyler (holding proof that he graduated), Jennifer (Tyler's sister/my stepsister), and my mom. We had a fun weekend visiting with them and celebrating his accomplishment!

Jennifer has three kiddos--Daniel--is about 6 months old and I think he slept the entire trip! Ha!He is precious!

And Madyson, who is just a a couple months older than Lilly. Lilly loved having Madyson over to play!

And to watch Dora with...because that is what we do now...watch Dora.

And then Crystal who is right on that teenager line. She is such a helpful sister! It was very impressive! Anyway, we loved spending time with our family and are proud of Tyler!

Mother's Day

Okay so I am sitting here during nap time (for the kids...not Mommy) wondering how it is already late afternoon FRIDAY?? This week has been in super-speed and jam-packed with busyness. Seriously, we started the fun last Friday and it hasn't ended yet. I will bore you with the details through future blog posts but my goal is to be caught up on blogging this weekend. If that is the case--grandparents--you should have posts to read for the next couple of weeks....considering I am starting with Mother's Day. For the record, though, I do not consider this a late post because I am posting it before Father's Day. Without further adieu...here are the details of my Mother's Day. Here is one of the two reasons I get to celebrate this holiday. My sweet Lilly.

The other--my sweet Reid. (Please take notice of the fact that not only does he have one shoe on and one shoe off BUT he is also wearing his sister's Hello Kitty rainboot.) I thank God for the opportunity (and HUGE blessing) to be "Mommy" to these two little cuties.

My Mother's Day started with breakfast in bed (biscuits and gravy and chocolate covered strawberries). Then I was told that my presents were wrapped and hidden around the house. I had to wait until after church to find and open them because, as always, we were running late. I got a new wallet which was necessary because the one that I had gotten for my birthday was very literally falling apart. I also got a necklace with a cross on it which I LOVE. Then, per my request, I got socks and tupperware-type-stuff. Yes, that is the kind of stuff I request. I needed both of them and was so excited to open them!!

I got some sweet cards from Lilly and Reid that they made at Kid's Day Out.

And these stepping stones from KDO too! We made them in Lilly's class so I grabbed Reid from his class to do one too. I LOVE LOVE LOVE these. I think it both crazy and hysterical that Lilly and Reid's feet are the same size.

I also got this book. "Heaven is For Real". It is the story about a little 3 year old boy who was in the hospital and while he was getting operated on went to Heaven for "3 minutes". So it describes Heaven from a child-like perspective. Now, I am a fairly skeptical person when it comes to this kind of stuff...I think you need to be to guard against false prophets/teaching/testimonies. BUT I will say that there is nothing in the book that goes against what the bible says--in fact, most of it matches up with scripture. I say most because it does talk about things that are not covered in the bible. For example, he has an older sister and between him and his sister his mother was pregnant and miscarried. They had never told him about that since he was only three but he told his mom that he had "two sisters" while playing one day. I could go into details but it basically said that God (not Jesus--God) had adopted her and was taking care of her until they got to Heaven and that she was very excited to see them. Also, since they didn't know she was a girl, they didn't name her and she was waiting on them to name her. I thought that gives so much hope to an uncovered topic. And, since I know way too many friends that have gone through miscarriages I thought I would share. I don't know whether or not the book is true but I will say it is a good book and I would recommend reading it..at bare minimum it makes you think..and even look forward to seeing Heaven one day.

To my family--thanks for making Mother's Day so special!! Love you guys!!

Lilly's Expressions

Okay so I have mentioned on here a few times how Lilly's facial expressions (and the way she talks with her hands) are just precious and generally keeps us rolling with laughter. For the last day of KDO, we put together a photo album for each one of the kids of pictures of them throughout the year. As we were putting Lilly's together, Mrs. "Tiffy" and I were cracking up at all the different looks on Lilly's face!
The "You talkin' to me?" look.

"I'm not up to ANYthing" look

"Do you think I am cute enough to get away with it?" look.

"Could I be any cuter?" smile.

"I will keep you on your toes" look.

The wrinkled nose smile. This generally happens when she cracks herself up. Ha!

"I am super sweet" look.

"Sassy!"

"Innocent and precious" smile.

"Cheeeeeese" smile.

"I am pretty much the cuteset thing ever and I know it" look.

I wish you guys could see her face when she is really into telling a story. She is so dramatic with her looks and motions. We LOVE this girl and all of her many facial expressions.

Day at the Park

Well since we are on night 3 of severe weather in our area I thought I would blog about a sunny day. A sunny day that we spent at the park! Lilly loved climbing up and sitting on the dinosaur.

Look at that sweet smile. Makes up for moments like today when she claimed, "I cain't (can't) listen!"

This is her mid-story. She makes the best facial expressions when she tells you a story. She is very serious so I have to try my hardest not to laugh...but it so funny and cute!

We met some sweet friends like this little cutie at the park to play! Jillian is so sweet and happy....not to mention ADORABLE!

Addy too! Addy and Lilly are in KDO together and are big buddies. Addy's parents were in birthing classes with Matt and I. We didn't become friends from there, though--we ended up becoming friends in church. Lilly and Addy's birthdays are one day apart. They also have a little boy just a couple months younger than Reid. It is fun having friends that have kids the same age as both of our kids.

Reid was way too busy to pose for pictures. He squeaked all over the playground thanks to DeDe! She got him some new razorback squeakers and he LOVES them.

This is Addy's little brother Sam. Reid says Sam's name and it is precious. It is his first friend that he has talked about by name.

Brody, Reid, and Lilly checking out the happenings on the playground. We are so thankful for sweet friends and sunny days at the park!! Well--back to severe-weather-watching for me! Stay safe!!

Reid

Reid is 20 months old. Gulp. Reid you are such a fun boy! When you got your pictures made I asked how you did and they said, "OH he was such a ham! He just smiled so big for the camera and kept laughing!!" I am glad you did because that pretty much sums up your little personality.

You are a "big" boy for your age. You are the same size or bigger than a lot of your older friends. You have been in 2T for about 6 months. People are always asking me if you and Lilly are twins.

This week I have had to drag you out of the bathtub after an hour of playing in it. You just love the bath!!! You like to fill your cup with water from the faucet and dump it out everywhere. We are working on keeping all water INSIDE the tub. You also just plain LOVE to splash.

Look at your sweet face! You can just melt my heart with a look. Your personality is just as sweet as your face. You love to snuggle up in my lap and read books. (You are obsessed with reading books!) Today we were at Sam's and Lilly (or Sissy as you call her) and Daddy were still eating so you and I decided to go walking around. I was pushing you in the cart and you started holding your arms out really wide and then giving me "big hug"s. It was sooooo precious. You are very generous with your kisses and you think it is hilarious if you hold something up (a toy, the palm of your hand, etc) and I kiss it. I don't know what is so funny about it but you love it. You are also a big fan of "woo hoo" kisses. You have a good snuggle time right after you wake up from your nap. It is one of my favorite times of the day.

You say almost every thing your sister says. It has nothing to do with me teaching you...it is all your sister. You say the words exactly like she does. We call you Pete-as in Repeat. Your KDO teachers always talk about how smart you are (for the record, I am NOT your KDO teacher but I do whole-heartedly agree). You want to do whatever Lilly does. You want to eat what Lilly is eating, drink what Lilly is drinking, watch what Lilly is watching, play what Lilly is playing, etc. You LOVE your sister.

You are a good sleeper. You never wake up at night. You are ready for bed at 8 and you get up at 8 in the morning. If you sleep in--it is until 8:30 but you are almost always up at 8. At night we rock together, pray (you fold your hands and say "Amen" at the end), and read a couple of books. Then we kiss and I lay you down, start your giraffe, cover you up, and say "night-night". You take an average of a two-hour nap every day. You sing and talk yourself to sleep. I love listening to you over the monitor.

You call every bird (including penguins) "ducks". Last night we went to the park and you were chasing the little birds (or "ducks") and as soon as you got close to them they flew away and you turned around and said, "I got it!" and started giggling.

You like to walk around with your towel over your face and then pull it down...kind of like peek-a-boo but there is a lot of running into living room furniture involved in this version. I can not lay down on the floor without you coming and sitting on my stomach and bouncing up and down. You want to RUN everywhere. You don't really walk anymore--you are full speed all the time. Running and giggling all the way.

You love to play "bongo belly". This is where you hit your hands on your belly as if it were a bongo and we sing "bongo bongo belly". We also do bongo knees/table/etc. You know a lot of body parts including eyes, ears, nose, mouth, head, shoulders, knees, toes, belly, belly button, bottom, etc.

You love any kind of ball. You have a pretty good arm too! You love to throw a ball and then chase it down. They say your daddy was the same way. I pray you get his athletic ability and not mine! Ha! (Or maybe not since the day we found out you were a boy...I said, "Oh no! He might want to play football and get hurt!" :)

You are a good eater. You LOVE all things sweet. "Bownie" (brownie) is one of your favorite words. You speak in sentences and have for a while now. For example you can say "I want bownie pease". "I need a get dowwwwn." "I unna (wanna) watch Gaba." That is just to name a couple.

We did a few egg hunts with you and you were pretty funny.

You would find an egg, put it in your basket, and then stop, take it out of your basket, open it, and eat what was inside. THEN you would go and try to find another egg.

I tried to explain that you need to find all the eggs first and then you would end up with more candy but you weren't interested in changing your methods.

I love the expression on your face in this picture! You look like you are up to something. (;

You can spot a plane before anybody else. Your Daddy says you are better at finding planes than Tattoo. You say, "airkane, airkane". You know your friends' names at school and like to point to everyone and say their names. You broke your last molar through the other day! Mommy did a happy dance because both you and your sister are done with teething for now!!! Wahoo!!

Reid you are so happy! I pray that always have that joy!! You giggle and are so fun. You love to play games. You are the perfect combination of sweet and all boy. Your little grin can make a gloomy moment happy instantly! Your daddy and I are so thankful for the opportunity to be your parents and just like with your sister--we can't wait to see what you are going to do next and hear what you are going to say next. We know God has big plans for both of you!! Biiiiig Hugs!!

Lilly

I got the kids' "school" pictures from Kids Day Out the other day...so I thought I would do a post for each one of them and tell what they have been up to lately. Lilly is 2 years & 8 months old. Lilly--people keep telling me that you look like such a big girl. And the truth is....you are not only starting to look like a big girl but you are starting to act like one too. I wish I could just keep you little forever!! I know you need to grow and learn but you are just growing and learning too fast for this Mommy!!!!

This weekend you watched Dora the Explorer for the first time and were instantly hooked. I thank your Daddy for that. (: You are hysterical. You are seriously offended by Swiper the Fox (a fox that comes and tries to "swipe" Dora's stuff). Every time you see him you start yelling, "No man! No man! No! No! No! Move back!!!" You are passionate about it. (I should also mention at this point that you say "No Man and Yes Man" instead of "No ma'am and yes ma'am".)

You keep us laughing all of the time. We were somewhere the other day and I wanted a hug and you told me you left it at home. When we got home we had to search all over the house and you finally found it in bubby's room. Ha! You love "woohoo kisses". That is when you give me a kiss and I yell "woohoo!" I love them too!

You sing Jesus Loves Me at the top of your lungs. I have got to get it on video. It is the cutest thing ever. You also serenade Daddy, Reid, and me on every walk. While we were walking the other night you kept saying "So big! So big!" and stretching your arms wide. I asked you what was so big and you said, "My God is so big!" and you said it so matter-of-factly. It was precious. It turns out you sing a song that says, "My God is so big, so strong, so mighty, there's nothing He can't do" on Wednesday nights.

You want to eat EVERY meal at Sam's. We go there and eat pizza for lunch at least once a week...probably more. You clap and get really excited when we pull up. If we buy something at Sam's you have to be the one to carry the receipt and hand it to the guy as we walk out. They always draw a happy face on the receipt...which in turn makes your face happy too!

You are a professional bedtime staller. You will use anything to put off bedtime for, and I am quoting, "one more minute". You hold up your finger when you say it too. Your tactics include: wanting to skype DeDe or MoMo, another book, singing another song, asking for more juice (even though it is full), needing to tee-tee, you will ask for medicine claiming that every possible body part hurts, wanting to pray again, and my personal favorite--needing more kisses. This is on top of your already high-maintenance bedtime routine. This includes rocking with daddy (and your blanket, your monkey, your pacis, and your juice cup), reading a book, playing your piano book, and praying. The rest depends on whatever else you want in the crib with you that night (i.e. baby doll, taggie blanket, etc). You sleep in a crib full of stuffed animals. You love to pray. You thank God for whatever we did that day (playing outside, seeing friends, etc.) We always ask you who you want to pray for and you name off friends and family. The other night you said "Jesus". We prayed for Him even though I am pretty sure He has it covered. Ha! Melts my heart when you pray!

You go in the potty sometimes. Pretty much whenever you feel like it. It may be once every couple of days or it may be almost every time that day. Whenever you are going--you say, "Yay! Tickers (stickers) and jenny beans (jelly beans)!!" You also lean your head to one side and say in a very high pitch voice, "Bubby, you go poop in the potty? You get tickers!! Come on!" It is so funny.

We were in the car Friday and we were going to pick Daddy up and you were talking to Reid and you said, "Bubby-we go see Daddy!" and Reid replied, "No!" You got really upset and started crying and said, "Mommy, Bubby tell me no!" You really thought that because he said no (which I should mention is one of his favorite words. Still. After many months. Still one of his favorite words.) that we were not going to pick Daddy up. This similar scenario has happened a few more times since then and I keep telling you that Bubby doesn't call the shots.

We have officially given up the paci during the day. You only have it at nap and bedtime. I had been thinking it was time to do it but the last straw was when we were at Aldi's the other day. You asked for your paci so I dug it out of my purse (a feat in itself) and you had for about 3 seconds before you threw it down and I spent 10 minutes looking for it. Done!

You are a little bit (a lot if I am not trying to spare your feelings) bossy. At KDO you try to tell the other kids what to do. If someone gets up from the table during lunch you tell them to "sit down"...usually you are out of your chair when you tell them this. You also like to tell Reid what to do. If he is lagging behind, you will stop and walk back to where he is, put your hand on his back, and say "come on bubby". You also try to tell me which route to take to get places even when you don't know where we are going. Backseat driver alert!

You learned how to crawl out of your crib the other day. Actually you have been climbing in your crib for months now...I guess you just decided to get out. However, I don't just let you climb out...I make you wait until I come and get you. I am hoping to keep you in a crib for a while longer. The crib is the last source of confinement...plus it means you are still my baby. (: It does make me feel better to know that you could get out in an emergency though. I don't know why-it just does.

You love stickers! You also love Kids Day Out. You go two days a week. Mrs. Tiffany and I are your teachers. You love all of your friends in your class and talk about them all week long. You ask about "Ms. Tiffy" every day. You also tell me that you love her. Every day when we leave you say "I have so much fun today!" and you get really excited when we pull up.

You remember everything! I am shocked at how far back your memory goes. You especially remember if a place you go to gives a sticker or a sucker or if you fell and got hurt somewhere. You are at an age where we can carry on conversations and you can tell me about your day and things that you did and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. You are so proud of every craft you make and picture you color or canvas you paint.

You loved hunting Easter eggs. You have been asking to hunt more eggs. I think we will probably hunt them again this week. You love it and I don't want eggs to be the thing that you link to Easter so I think if we hunt them sporadically through the year then it isn't just an Easter thing.??. I guess we will see.

You love to pick out your shoes. You typically don't match but I love your little personality and I think you look adorable no matter what shoes you pick. You also love accessories. Necklaces, sticker-earrings, your princess crown (you call it a band-aid--I can't explain this one?), purse, etc.

You get really excited about going places and doing things and seeing people. You have been talking about going swimming for weeks now! You love farm animals and trains and planes and tractors. We were late going somewhere one day and we got stopped by a train and I was thinking "oh great (insert sarcasm!)" and you got SOOO excited and said, "Mommy! A train! A train! Mommy you see the train?!?!" I had to laugh. Then a few days ago we were running late (a definite pattern in our family) and got stopped by another train but this time we were all excited! I wasn't really excited about the train--just excited because I love seeing you and your brother get soooo excited about something like that. So much joy!!

Eating...you are a picky eater. That is all I am going to say.

You make the funniest expressions. You are the sweetest sister (most of the time). You are always thinking about Bubby. If you get something (like a sucker), you always make sure Reid has one too. You play really well with him and love on him. I will never be able to put into words how much my heart just fills up with love and joy when I see you two playing together and loving on one another. I pray that you always have a close relationship. You are such a joy! I know this is a forever-long-post and I could go on and on! Lilly, your daddy and I just love you so much and are so thankful for the opportunity to be your parents. We pray for you daily and just enjoy every minute of life with you (even the challenging minutes:)! We can't wait to see what you are going to do next and hear what you are going to say next! Now, I am off to bed so I have enough energy to find my big hugs around the house tomorrow! (;