... When No One Else is Watching

~ life is good ~

How can life be bad when you get to be surrounded by these amazing people everyday? An amazing husband and two really fantastic children! Pinch me!

Out of the mouths of babes

I took the girls to their playgroup this morning at a place called Jumpin' Jacks, which is basically a big building with a bunch of inflatable bounce houses and slides... pretty much Avery's own personal version of heaven. I guess all that activity really loosened up her sinuses because while we were driving home she says, "ugh, mommy, I have got lots of boogers!" I look back to see that yes, she certainly does need her nose wiped and I say, "wow! where did that all come from?!" She quickly replies, "the boogers came from Jesus mommy.... I came from Jesus too." She certainly did.

Prepare Yourselves....

...or yourself. Uh, actually do I even have any readers anymore because I have been MIA where this blogging thing is concerned! I swear, add another child to the routine and blogging seems to be the last thing on the list of things to do! Either way, I have a lot to document in regards to how we spent our summer, our fall and now our winter so beginning within the next few days I'm going to be updating this blog virtually daily with what kept us busy from June to December. But I'll be going in reverse a bit because the first thing I need to write about is the fact that my dear, sweet Avery is turning four tomorrow. Heavens, where does the time go? I keep on thinking, "what was I doing four years ago at this very moment?" And I can actually answer that question... I took a trip to Target by myself, not because I needed anything but because I felt like it was the last time I would be able to go anywhere by myself for a very long time. Odd, but true. It's amazing how much changes when you bring a child into the world, your life is not your own anymore and every minute of everyday seems to hitch on how you need to care for that little being. I'd have it no other way nowadays because if there is one thing I'm most certain of in my life it's that being a mom to Avery and Hadleigh is by far, the greatest thing I have ever done and will ever do. Wow... I got carried away there, I'll save all this gooey stuff for Avery's fourth birthday post. But since we're on the cusp of talking about Avery and in that same post, I'm sure I'll be mentioning Hadleigh, why not take a look at a picture of the girls which was taken at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Texas! Enjoy!

Ummmm.... Yuck.

So, we just got home from Texas on Thursday night and, like most mothers, I was hot to trot on the laundry because really... kids are disgusting and just a tad dirty. I noticed that Avery's favorite blanket (which she must sleep with every night, a la Linus) was ridiculously smelly and gross and needed an urgent trip into the washer. I was able to sneak the blanket away from her and give it a good washing just in time for her to ask for it for bedtime. I presented the newly washed blanket to her and right away she holds it to her face and sniffs in all the yummy laundry smell and promptly pulls it away from her face and yells, "YUCK... that's disgusting!" I was so confused and said, "What's disgusting? I just washed your blanket, it should be clean." She then throws herself to the floor, crying and says, "Noooo, you not supposed to wash it, it smells disgusting now!"

Hmmm, I guess she likes the scent of sweat and her own personal body odor rather than the smell of Downy's Garden Fresh fabric softener. Weird. That's my girl.

Where have we been!?!?!

Just got home from visiting Rob's side of the family in Texas. The girls were beyond thrilled to see their grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousin and were spoiled rotten. Many pictures and stories to be shared!

Not so bad...

Yesterday wasn't a stellar day for a "look at the camera and smile!" photography session. In fact, I left my mom's house pretty certain that the number of great photos I got was a whopping zero! But, I'm happy to report that they didn't turn out all that bad. Here are a few shots for your viewing pleasure. Oh! And on another note, my baby started walking yesterday. I haven't been able to catch a picture of her walking yet because when she realizes she is walking by herself she freaks out and plants her butt on the ground. Her rear end plants itself just when I get to my camera. Soon, very soon!

 

 
 
 

Unwilling Subjects

I went to my mom's house today because she wanted some photos of her and the girls to send out with her Christmas cards. How did it go? Well, let's just say that I used to think Avery was starting to become difficult to photograph but I obviously had no idea what it was like to try and take photos with two unwilling children. I had such cute outfits picked out for them and great locations close to my mom's house but all my planning pretty much went to waste. I don't think I have ever yelled my children's names so much in the matter of a couple hours.

And now I understand why professional photographers have assistants. I need to get me one of those!

*I'm uploading all the photos that I think turned out okay tomorrow morning and will update the last few blog posts with some photos. See, I'm no dummy, I know that the people who visit this blog usually only stop by for the pictures. That's the stuff I like too!*

Who thought up his name?!

The other night, when we were watching my friends little girls and her niece, I decided that I needed some activities and maybe a couple of new movies to keep the girls entertained. Avery definitely likes many Disney movies but she prefers ones without a scary character in it. This seems to be a difficult task sometimes because think about it, virtually every cartoon has a bad guy... a scary bad guy. There's the Little Mermaid which has Ursula... scary. There's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with the evil queen... scary. And let's not forget Sleeping Beauty with mean dark fairy, Maleficent.... scary. See my problem?

Thank goodness for the fairytales that are sweet, even if they do have some mean characters, you know the ones I am talking about... Cinderella, Cars and Beauty and the Beast. I was on the hunt to find a couple more of these types of cartoons because I really wanted an evening where the girls could just relax and calm down a bit in front of a movie once all the playing had subsided. I made the decision to buy Pinocchio and 101 Dalmations.

I can't even tell you how much these two new movies are loved in this household. Avery loves any show with animals so the fact that she gets to watch cartoon dogs for a full 80 minutes is her own personal version of heaven! And Pinocchio! Who doesn't love that movie?! Avery is now Pinocchio's biggest fan and so happy he's had his wish fulfilled of becoming a real, live boy. Now if she could only say his name correctly... but I'm not rushing her on it because it's so cute. How does she pronounce his name? I'm glad you asked because it really is the cutest pronunciation ever!!!! Pinocchi-yoki. For some reason she's having a hard time getting that last "o" on the end of his name and adds a couple more syllables to it instead. And now I'm having a hard time not saying Pinnochi-yoki.

So cute it hurts!

It's Official!

The holiday season has now, officially, begun! How can I be so sure? Well, I made the Christmas Puddings today. Yes, plural. After our traditional Christmas pudding went over so well with the family last year (even Rob is now in love with Christmas pudding!) I decided I should probably make two so that if anyone is desiring more than their portion on Christmas day they will be able to take some home to enjoy with their Christmas dinner leftovers. That's how nice I am.... thinking of everyone elses "day after" meal.... stop it, I know, I know, too kind. Ack.

Now that the puddings have been steamed and are parchment paper-tied and sitting in our cool basement I have the distinct urge to light up some apple cider scented candles and put up a Christmas tree. I'll see how long I can hold out but don't be surprised if you come to my home and Christmas tunes are playing.

Birth Control

I have told Rob many times that I would probably be open to having three children. He is very adament that two is good for us and that he likes our family the way it is. Since I came into this marriage saying I always thought I would have two or three children I figure it's probably fair to just say, "okay, I did say I would be happy with two so we are done." But for some reason "number three" has always nagged at me a bit.... until today. Why? Tonight I ended up watching my friend's two little girls and her niece and I can officially say having five little girls all under the age of four in my home was pure chaos. Yes, it was fun chaos but chaos none the less. Holy moly! Once my friend made it out the door with all her girls in tow I closed the door, turned around and uttered the words Rob has been waiting a long time to hear, "You're right sweetheart, I think we're done with two." You've never seen a man smirk so much in your life.

I hate it when he's right.