Leave it to Weaver

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-18T10:24:00.001-06:00

YEA NATALIE!

2012-01-02T00:18:00.000-06:00

This is huge for us. I am so excited and so proud of Natalie. She can officially eat the "lil crunchies" without gagging. I am so happy. I love how happy she is eating them too. Now when we go out to eat, she can at least be occupied with some finger food other than me helping crush up crackers and put them in her mouth. She can do it all herself.

There's that little snorty face I told you about

Natalie's Nursery

2012-01-02T00:04:00.000-06:00

Okay, so she's almost a year old and I am just now getting around to posting pics of her completed nursery. I was waiting for the art over her crib but I couldn't quite decide what I wanted to do there. I didn't just want to do her name like I did with Dylan so I thought about it for a while. I finally decided to do her initials using her footprints (at 9 months).

Our bedding is from PBK. Since we didn't know if we were having a boy or girl, I picked out something in case we had a girl. We would have re-used Dylan's for a boy as I love it and still do. I have to say I wish I had known Natalie was a girl as I could have invested a little more time in the nursery. I am not as pleased with it as I was with Dylan's. I am not a pink girl, so why did I do all this pink? I really love the birds on the sheet, but was disappointed that the bedskirt was white with a little trim at the bottom, that you loose once you drop the mattress. Don't get me started on the bumper. This particular bumper was completely white on one side, so if I did it on the outside, it would be bland. If I did the white on the inside, Natalie would have nothing to stimulate her little eyes. I called PBK to ask if this was a defect (as their pics on the site show it having both sides). They said no, but I could bring it back. Well at this point, I had already washed the sheets and the bedskirt and have a newborn at home. Oy! We kept it and I had a friend down the street sew some pink and white polka dot fabric on the inside.

My friend, Jill, (who does all my kids art work) painted this picture for me. I got the idea from another artist who used flower vases and flowers with on vase being different than the others. We did birds instead....the bible verse is "do not conform to the ways of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind " I love how it turned out.

Here's the other side (bad coloring) The shelves are bare. I never know what to do here without going overboard. Suggestions? She still has another 2 years or so with this furniture until I can talk Damien into doing something different and not converting the crib into the queen it can become :)

Welcome 2012!

2012-01-01T22:24:00.000-06:00

New Year, New Beginnings. I don't like to make resolutions but I do try to set goals for myself. Maybe they are the same thing but I hate labels :) Here are my "goals" for the new year :

Read at least 1 book a month ( I can't tell you how long it's been since I actually read a book. I tend to use my alone time doing chores or mindless activites like TV or Facebook)

Do a daily devotional (just like reading I have been bad on this too. Since I have the bible on my phone with different reading plans, this one should be pretty obtainable. I just don't want to do it at the end of my day.)

Eat less. Eat Healthier. Less processed food.

Try and make it to the gym 3x a week (would really like to shoot for 4 but trying to make it realistic here) On my gym off days, do something here at the house. Found something on pinterest : The 100 workout : 100 jumping jacks, 90 crunches, 80 squats, 70 leg lifts, 60 jumping jacks, 50 crunches, 40 squats, 30 leg lifts, 20 jumping jacks, Run for 10 minutes.

Get Organized. I want to go through every room and really decide if I should keep or get rid of things. If I haven't used it in a year, why keep it? I feel as americans we acquire way too much stuff. I want to de-clutter and re-organize the house (especially the kitchen cabinets) I need a whole day to do that.

Any goals for yourself?

Feels like His Christmas present

2011-12-30T23:18:00.000-06:00

Dylan has really enjoyed jumping on the neighbors new trampoline. He has really worn himself out. I see more days of jumping in his future. Thanks neighbors for always sharing and allowing us to intrude :)

Dylan is in the aqua shirt. Their youngest son and Dylan could be mistaken for fraternal twins even though he's a year younger. Same cut and color

Wrestle time

Craft Day

2011-12-30T22:59:00.012-06:00

Depending on his mood and the day, if you ask Dylan where we live, you could get any answer. For the most part, he will say Tennessee, but the city, he doesn't quite understand that concept. One day, I was telling him how his friend that takes gymnastics is from Africa, and he said like us. He was dead serious. I thinks we are from Africa because I have been there a few times and we have had a few people from Africa stay at our house. I think he gets a little confused.

To clear up any confusion, we decided to embark on a craft that I found on pinterest. It was super easy. The only things needed are paper plate, markers, construction paper, scissors, glue and a binder clip (or yarn). These are things most people have around the house. When Dylan asked to do a craft the other day, my mind immediately jumped to this one.

The circles include : my house (with address), my city, my state, my country, my continent and the paper plate is my planet.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-28T08:38:00.000-06:00

Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T20:36:00.000-06:00

We had our immediate family over our house on Christmas eve. This included my mom and dad, brother and his family, and my grandparents.

Here is Trinity (14 months) and Natalie (10 months)

Natalie didn't know what to make of things. She was a little unsure. Especially with the crowd.

Dylan enjoyed getting lots of games. He's really gotten into playing games. This one is like Jenga but called Critter Crash. He called it Skit Skat.

Trinity and Natalie again

Smiles for Mommy

Christmas morning at our house. Natalie was all smiles as usual

In their PJs

Her attempt to unwrap a gift

Hollywood

The one thing that Dylan asked for, "a mega T-Rex" He said it was his favorite present.

He got a new playdoh creation station. Damien has become the expert molder. I think he enjoys it as much as Dylan

My one request for Christmas, a Christmas picture with my kidlets.

Dylan enjoying his new tablet

December 25 Advent and Elf

2011-12-25T20:34:00.001-06:00

Advent Calendar : Make Jesus a birthday cake.

While we were putting frosting on the cake. I asked Dylan if he wanted to put red sprinkles on it. He insisted on green since it's his favorite color. I explained we only had red. He asked if God liked the color red. I said, yes, he loves every color because he made them.

Later that night, I was eating a piece of it and he said what are you doing? I said eating a piece of birthday cake. He said, that's God's cake. I said, we get to eat the cake too because he wants us to celebrate Jesus' birthday.

The elves had a little gift that they wrapped up.

The letter said,

Dylan and Natalie,

It's Christmas! Woo Hoo! See the present we wrapped, open it, go on....then come back and read the letter.

It's Jesus. He's the greatest gift ever. Born into the world as a baby and died to be our best friend forever. I am so thankful for Jesus. I want to shout it from the mountain tops. I love Jesus! How about you? See you next year.

Love
Batty and Peppermiz

He was opening the gift. All I could think was I hope he doesn't get mad when he realizes this isn't a gift for him per say.

Then the reveal. It's baby Jesus. (There is a story behind this baby Jesus. I got a nativity from Malawi during my first trip. It's carved of wood and it's really pretty. They wrapped it for me at the market, so I didn't bother unwrapping since I thought it would travel well. I got home with the nativity and guess what, no baby Jesus. I guess I got them to low on the price and they taught me a lesson. The following year and I had to hit up everyone in the market for a fair price on just a baby Jesus. They really priced gouged me compared to what I paid for the entire nativity. )

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T04:24:00.000-06:00

December 24 Advent and Elf

2011-12-24T20:14:00.000-06:00

Advent Calendar : Read the Christmas Story

A little light climbing for the elves

Fun with the Family

2011-12-24T08:06:00.000-06:00

Dylan could not wait for his cousins to come visit. We always have a good time with them when they visit or when we visit them.

We haven't seen them since July (well one of them longer than that) so Taylor enjoyed holding Natalie, and Natalie could actually kind of play with them

They played games like pop the pig and hide n go seek. Dylan had a stellar hiding spot.

We visited Opryland hotel for their Dreamworks Christmas. We didn't get to meet the characters as you had to buy a wristband which started at $50. No thank you...ridiculous.

After Opryland,, we went to Bass Pro Shop so Taylor could see Santa. My kids wanted nothing to do with that, so we did the other free stuff, like riding the carousel.

Afterwards we had to go somewhere to warm Natalie's bottle, so we hit up the McDonalds, where Damien and Dylan played a round of "what are you looking at, then followed by some name" Dylan has been saying bone head but we explained that was like calling someone stupid and it wasn't very nice. Now, it's what are you looking at snowman?

Christmas Program

2011-12-24T07:56:00.000-06:00

Dylan had his Christmas program at school. This year his class sang, Reindeer Pokey, Rudolph and we wish you a merry Christmas. We would sing it together but I left out all the extras. Then he started to add some of the extras like Yippee, so I sang it to him with all the extras, monopoly, like a light bulb, like Columbus and he insisted that it was wrong to sing it like that. That his way was the right way (later on we heard someone sing it on TV and he said, Mommy they are singing it like you). This year he wasn't distracted like last year, but he was still a little shy.

before the show

Natalie having some fun waiting for the show to start

His class performing

Afterwards we enjoyed some cake. Great job Dylan

Gymanstics

2011-12-24T07:43:00.000-06:00

Earlier in the month, Dylan's gymnastics place had award ceremony. For every child who had benn taking class for a year, they received a trophy. All others received a ribbon. We have been doing the class about 3 months, so Dylan was excited to get his ribbon. Here is his ribbon pose.

Natalie enjoys going to gymnastics and crawling all over the floor and pulling up (when she stays awake)

This past week, they let the kids do something new. It looked like a lot of fun and Dylan seemed to really enjoy it.

December 23 Advent and Elf

2011-12-23T17:00:00.000-06:00

Advent Calendar : Get a Christmas treat - (really it said go bowling but we just didn't have time) I had a little batman car so here's your treat.

The elves were busy making breakfast this morning, but Dylan did not want to eat it.

December 22 Advent and Elf

2011-12-22T16:58:00.001-06:00

Advent Calendar : Go to ICE

To do ICE, it's like $25 a person. (thankfully Dylan was free) We heard a lot of people went in and out in 10 minutes because it was so cold. We decided only one of us would do it and the other would stay with Natalie. Of course, Dylan picked Damien. He seems to be the favorite lately.

Damien said it was really impressive what they could do with ICE. The theme this year was Merry Madagascar.

Here are a few pics Damien snapped :

We also saw the Shrektacular show at Opryland. A lot of Dreamworks characters were there for the party. Like Gingy...

Shrek and Fiona

Puss n Boots and the Penguins

Dylan said his favorite was Puss n Boots.

The elves got a little sick yesterday. Daddy, Dylan and Sophie touched them. Hope they feel better soon

And the campout from the night before....well it didn't go so well. Set up went fine, but an hour after laying there, Dylan was still chatting and wide awake, then proclaimed he didn't want to sleep. Uh no, it's 11pm, we are going to sleep, so off he went to his bed.

December 21 Advent and Elf

2011-12-21T13:51:00.000-06:00

Advent Calendar : Have a camp out in front of the Christmas tree

Camp out will be postponed til tomorrow night, due to rain. Actually mommy needed to get some stuff done downstairs after kidlet's bed time.

The elves were excited about reading Dylan's new book, even if he wasn't.

December 20 Advent and Elf

2011-12-20T12:53:00.000-06:00

Advent Calendar : Play a Game

Instead of playing a game. We took the kids to Inside Out to play.

Batty and Peppermiz took some time to write out their Christmas cards. They are a little late. Hope they get them in the mail soon.

Inside Out is this new place and it's a really cool concept. However ,when I read about it, it seemed like it was going to be way bigger that it actually was and I thought I saw pics of swings. There were no swings.

They had a really cool tree house. On the down side, there was only one way up and one way down, the cargo ladder. I thought it should have a slide or a pole, something.

Natalie enjoyed hanging out in the grass and playing with her toys, but I don't understand why we had to pay $5 for her to sit on the ground and for me to hold her. Most places don't charge you for children under 1 with a paying child. (Notice I am doing a little review for my readers, the pros and the cons)

This is a snap shot of the place. They have play ground equipment and a little track circling the space.

Here is a shot of the track and Dylan wiping out on the Y bike. They had tons of Y bikes and tricycles for the kidlets to ride.

How cute are these restroom doors? It's like a port a potty. When you go in thought, it's a full bathroom...one stall is even equipped with a kid size john. I love it when businesses do this.

My last complaint about this place is that there is no outside food allowed. they have a coffee bar and a small deli. We ordered a sandwich, salad and a smoothie. The sandwiches and salads were pre made so I don't know why it took 20 minutes to get a smoothie made. They weren't even busy, so if you make us buy your food, be prompt about it. Thanks !

December 19 Advent and Elf

2011-12-19T08:33:00.000-06:00

Advent Calendar : Read a Christmas Story Book

We purchased a new Christmas story book, but Dylan was not up for reading it. Damien forged through and read it.

The elves, well they have been slacking since we have had company in town. Usually they move the night before, but it's been 5 minutes before Dylan gets up this week. This time, they tried hiding in the kleenex box.

December 18 Advent and Elf

2011-12-18T09:02:00.000-06:00

Advent Calendar : make cookies

I don't have a picture of the cookies, but we attempted some rudolph sugar cookies. They were just more like round faces with red noses :)

The elves got into a little mischief again. I am sure they won't clean up after themselves. This time the rolled the play room christmas tree.

December 17 Advent and Elf

2011-12-17T08:33:00.000-06:00

Advent Calendar : Roast Marshmallows in the fireplace

While I thought it was a great idea, Damien thought it was a bad one. He thought the natural gas would not make for good marshmallows, so instead, we made s'mores in the toaster oven. I think this was Dylan's first s'mores.

The elves even got in the spirit

December 16 Advent and Elf

2011-12-16T08:24:00.000-06:00

Advent Calendar : Watch a Christmas movie and Make popcorn

Dylan choose the Grinch who stole Christmas (animation). Since it was only 30 minutes long, I choose the Muppets Christmas Carol afterwards. Either it was really boring or they were really tired.

The elves made it into Dylan's room without Buzz and Rex catching them. They hung Dylan's underwear on the fans and created their very own merry go round.

December 15 Advent and Elf

2011-12-15T08:01:00.000-06:00

Advent Calendar : Take gifts to teachers

For our christmas gift to our teachers, we got them gift cards (along with other students) and thanks to pinterest, I made these cans to put all the gift cards in. It's a can with a pop top tab, that's all jazzed up and superglued on the bottom. The recipient actually gets to pop open the can.

The elves, well you may have noticed, they have been on strike lately. They have not written a letter in a few days and probably will not until Christmas day. This was becoming a part time job. They need to start earlier and be more prepared next year. Today, they were captured by Buzz and Rex. I can only guess they were trying to sneak into Dylan's room to do something.

Dylan also had his school party today. The kids really enjoyed playing Christmas Bingo.

Natalie enjoyed the freedom of crawling around the room to check things out (oh and I am sure you will see this outfit again. Nana got it for us and we need to get her money's worth)

For their craft and dessert, the kids got to decorate sugar cookies. Dylan ate the icing but not the cookie.

My little Christmas cuties

Dylan along with some of his classmates.

As a part of the gift exchange, a mom read Bear Stays up for Christmas. Each time the word bear was read, the gifts would be traded to the person beside them. At the end of the book, the gift they were holding, became their gift. Dylan got a Thomas the Train Christmas book.

December 14 Advent and Elf

2011-12-14T23:58:00.000-06:00

Advent Calendar : Make a Gingerbread House
This was quite an adventure. Fun, messy and memorable. I know next year he will enjoy this one even more. Of course, he ate a few pieces of candy and lick some icing. I did most of the icing for him.

The gingerbread man and the snowman look sad, I know.

The elves were up to tricking us again. This time they turned the milk green. Surprisingly, it didn't stop Dylan from drinking it.

Last night, I said to Dylan, "these elves sure have been making a mess lately and they aren't cleaning up after themselves. I better not find feathers all over the house in the morning or they are going to be in trouble" to which he replied "or poop or they're going to be in trouble" BOYS!

Watch Natalie Grow - 10 months

2011-12-14T23:28:00.000-06:00

Natalie loves to smile at the camera. Seriously...when I pop out the camera, she cheeses it up. Nothing much has changed in our milestones, other than a big one :) She is now pulling up and on everything. I love seeing her snort her nose and blow it really hard as she laughs, as if to say, I am so proud of myself, look at me.

We still have eating issues. I googled "10 month old gagging" and came back with a lot of moms with the same thing going on. Reading them comforted me. I prayed that God would give me a good eater because Dylan was not and still is not a great eater. Sometimes I find myself getting mad at God for not answering my prayer. She doesn't really sit in her chair and open her mouth wide for food. Then on top of that, she gags and sometimes expels everything I just fed her. I asked God why, when He knew what my prayer was. Then the other day, I thought, He did answer my prayer and maybe it's WAIT. What if she has this gag issue because once she can eat food, there's no turning back for her. She will gobble up everything without me ever having to say EAT. I find that she really wants to eat people food and opens her mouth wide for that, so it may just be baby food she hates...but poor thing can't just eat whatever. I pray this resolves itself soon.

December 13 Advent and Elf

2011-12-13T23:39:00.000-06:00

Advent Calendar : Do something nice for someone
I asked Dylan if he did anything nice for someone at school. "Yea, I gave Macy a doll to play with but she didn't want it"

The elves were excited to get a little nostalgic. The even took vintage pictures to fit in with the movie they were watching.

Sadly, the elves stayed up a little late and did not write a letter.

December 12 Advent and Elf

2011-12-12T23:32:00.000-06:00

Advent Calendar : Buy a new Christmas ornament
What did Dylan pick out...Rudolph. He sure is on this Rudolph kick. Of course the one we found was the last one in the store...it was the display one. I made the mistake of saying it was missing a piece, so that was a no go for purchasing it. I reassured Dylan that I would find it the following day while he was at school, and I made good on that promise.

The elves, well they have been making a little bit of a mess lately. The latest with post it notes...

Hi Dylan and Natalie,

Jesus' birthday was a big deal. Lots of people were so happy to hear of the birth of our savior. there was one person who was not happy at all., King Herod. He was a mean ole king. He heard from the wise men that Jesus had been born. He knew that he would be a king. He thought he should be the king forever so he wanted jesus dead. He tried to trick the wise men into believing that he wanted to worship Jesus, so they should tell him where he lived. The wise men, being well, wise, knew that King Herod was not telling the truth and that he wanted to hurt Jesus. When the wise men went home after visiting Jesus, they took another way home to avoid the King. the King was not happy so ordered all the boys within the town under the age of 2, to be killed. Guess what God warned Joseph and Mary before this happened and they had left town already. Jesus was saved because he served a greater purpose. God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. He saved Jesus.

Love,

Batty and Peppermiz

December 11 Advent and Elf

2011-12-11T23:22:00.000-06:00

Advent Calendar: Buy a Christmas Movie or CD
Dylan's choice, the classic, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Which is funny that it fell on this day, because a few weeks ago at church they interviewed a few kids for Christmas clips. They show the clips leading up to service (like 5 minutes before service begins). Today, Dylan debuted his funny clip. They asked, what is your favorite thing about Christmas...."we eat reindeer" "what does that taste like" "it's kind of yucky" "how do you make it" "you mix it with sausage" Where does he get this stuff? And for the record, we do not eat deer at this house.

The elves got a little pranky last night. They drew on the mirror a mustache, a beard and a cowboy hat for Dylan's face when he looked in the mirror.

Hi Dylan and Natalie,

Guess what! We found a cow who was in the stable that night that Jesus was born. We asked him to write what he remembered from that special night.

My name is Benny. I’m a cow. I want to tell you a special story that

happened a long, long time ago. I was in the barn with the other animals. We were eating our hay for supper when I heard the door open. Suddenly, two people came into the barn. It was a man and a woman. The woman was very big. I could tell that she was going to have a baby soon. I wasn’t sure why they were sleeping in a barn. The other animals guessed that our master did not have any more rooms in his house.

After a while, all of us settled down to go to sleep. It had been a long day and we were ready for bed. Suddenly in the middle of the night, I heard an unusual sound. It sounded like someone was hurt. I pricked my cow ears to listen. The noise was coming from the woman. What could it be?

I looked around and saw that the woman was having a baby! I heard the man call her name. It was Mary. The man’s name was Joseph. He was so good to her. He really helped her as she was having the baby.

What I can’t wait to tell you is what happened next. The baby was a very special child. When He was born, a bright star suddenly shown above us outside. Then, angels came and sang beautiful songs. It was amazing.

I knew that God had done a miracle that night. He gave us His Son, Jesus. God loved us so much that He sent His Son to help us.

Thanks to Benny for telling us his side of the story. Awesome!

Love,

Batty and Peppermiz

And we made good on an earlier advent and went out for a special treat

December 10 Advent and Elf

2011-12-10T23:16:00.000-06:00

Advent Calendar : Drive around and look at Christmas lights
This was the perfect thing for today as Dylan had a fever. It didn't require much energy just the ability to sit and look. We have lots of people in our neighborhood who have gone all out, so we didn't have to travel far.

The elves wanted to have more play time, and since Dylan was sick and slept in our bed, they snuck upstairs to his room.

Hi Dylan and Natalie,

Did you know that Jesus was born in a stable? A stable is like a barn, it's were animals sleep and where their food is kept. Wanna hear how he got to be born in a manager? It's a long story, and by long, we mean distance. It was a long way away from their home. Joseph and Mary had to return to Joseph's hometown of Bethlehem for a census (they had to be counted). In order to get to Bethlehem, they had to walk. Back then they did not have cars or planes or even trains. Bethlehem was a 2 day walk from Nazareth. I can only imagine how tired they were when they got there, but guess what, they didn't have a place for them to stay the night. Every place they went was full but they found one person who had a stable that they were willing to let Joseph and Mary stay the night in....and that's where Jesus was born. Even though he is a prince, God allowed Jesus to be born in a cold, smelly stable. God had a big plan for all of this.

We can't wait to share more with you later.

Love,

Batty and Peppermiz

December 9 Advent and Elf

2011-12-09T23:07:00.001-06:00

Advent Calendar : Buy a gift for a child in need.
Our conversation on this... " I am a kid in need" "No you're not" "What about William" "no he's not either" "then who" "we don't really know anyone that would be considered in need. It's for kids who's mommy and daddy don't have a lot of money to buy gifts" "oh ok"

We went to the store and I let him pick out a few gifts. Of course, he needed a little guidance. Much like any shopping he does, he wants everything "what about this". We ended up getting a barbie doll, leap frog magnet set, Candy Land and a nerf gun. Gifts for everyone in a family :) Now the mission was to find someone to give these gifts to. The local food pantry was taking gifts until the 7th, doh, I missed it by 2 days. I heard that a local elementary school was taking gifts up for Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. ok that's a thought then I noticed at gymnastics that they were taking toys up for the Nashville Rescue Mission. There you have it.

The elves were feeling a little angelic today, watching us from above.

Hi Dylan and Natalie,

Angels are an important part of the Christmas story. They make appearances throughout, starting with an angel visiting Mary and telling her that she would have a baby. Later, an angel visited Joseph (Mary's soon to be husband) and told him that Mary was pregnant with God's baby and that they were to name him Emmanuel Jesus. Then after Jesus was born an angel appeared to the shepherds and told them about our savior's birth. Can you imagine, being in a dark field, all by yourself surrounded by sheep and poof, out of nowhere there's an angel. I think they were scared but then were excited that they were the first to get the news of this amazing baby.

Love,

Batty and Peppermiz

December 8 Advent and Elf

2011-12-08T23:05:00.000-06:00

Advent Calendar : Wrap Christmas Gifts
This one was a little difficult, but I knew he would enjoy it. Lets say I just re-wrapped it later.

The elves got an idea from the day before. Dylan and his friends raced hot wheels, so Batty and Peppermiz decided to try it.

Hi Dylan and Natalie,

What is your favorite Christmas candy? Ours is the candy cane. We cannot say "no" to those tasty treats. What about you? Do you like candy canes?

Well there is a story to the candy cane, it's not just candy.

According to some candy cane tradition, the meaning of the "J"-shaped treat can be traced back to the birth of Jesus. The shepherd's staff, it is said, was the inspiration for the candy cane. Of course, the image of the shepherd fills the pages of the New Testament: Christ is called the Good Shepherd; angels appeared to shepherds at His birth, etc. In addition, there is another symbolism in the candy cane design: if you turn the candy cane upside down, it becomes the letter "J" for Jesus. And there is more. Tradition suggests that the candy cane's stripes symbolize the stripes, or whipping, that Christ received before He was crucified. It is said that the candy cane is made with red stripes as a representation of the blood of Jesus, who washed away our sins. The white stripes (sometimes symbolizing the Virgin Birth) represent Christ's ability to make us pure as snow. The hardness of the candy cane is said to represent the solid rock or the firm foundation of Christ and His promises.

Love,

Batty and Peppermiz

December 7 Advent and Elf

2011-12-07T22:46:00.000-06:00

Advent Calendar : Have a friend over to play and have lunch (this was further down the list but a friend called and asked if I could help her out, so ta-dah we moved it up the list, Perfect)

Dylan's friend came over that morning. We had gymnastics that day and they were sweet to let his friend join in on the fun. It was even trophy day. All the kids who had been there a year got a trophy and those who had not, got a ribbon.

The elves decided to try and slide down the bannister but that darned garland got in the way.

Hi Dylan and Natalie,

Presents.....woo hoo. Why do we get presents on Christmas? Ever asked that question? Well, One of the main reasons we have the custom of giving and receiving presents at Christmas, is to remind us of the presents given to Jesus by the Wise Men: Frankincense, Gold and Myrrh.

Frankincense was a perfume used in Jewish worship and, as a gift, it showed that people would worship Jesus.
Gold was associated with Kings and Christians believe that Jesus is the King of Kings.
Myrrh was a perfume that was put on dead bodies to make them smell nice and, as a gift, it showed that Jesus would suffer and die.

Christmas itself is really about a big present that God gave the world about 2000 years ago - Jesus! One of the most famous bible verses, John 3:16, says: 'God loved the world so much, that he gave his one and only Son, so that whoever believes in him may not be lost but have eternal life.'

Jesus is our favorite gift of all time. We hope He is yours too. Jesus Rocks!

Love,

Batty and Peppermiz

We got our official first snow today as well.

December 6 Advent and Elf

2011-12-06T22:37:00.000-06:00

Advent Calendar : Read a Christmas story

The elves were inspired by our craft the day before, so they got a little creative themselves.

Hi Dylan and Natalie,

You know the man in the big red suit, santa, well he's pretty cool. How did he come to be?

The story goes that a long long time ago, that a man in Turkey named Saint Nicholas was very nice, especially to children. He obeyed Jesus and sold everything he owned and gave the money to the poor. He helped the needy and the sick. He gave his life to serve God. Because he led his life by helping others, many families and churches embrace true St. nicholas traditions like the advent calendar. You are doing one of these, right?

Love,

Batty and Peppermiz

December 5 Advent and Elf

2011-12-05T21:52:00.000-06:00

Advent Calendar : Make a Christmas Craft

We dug out the paints for this one and did a little craft we found on pinterest using footprints.

Also, did a little free style painting. He wanted to do Santa's sleigh so I found a picture online and he re-created it.

His version (red stuff on the trees and ground is the snow, since white wouldn't show up)

Our elves had a little marshmallow fight last night. Of course when Dylan found them, he asked if he could eat the marshmallows. He ate a few.

The elves told Dylan about the wise men and how they found Jesus.

Hi Dylan and Natalie,

I know that you have been told the story of the birth of Jesus, but we wanted to share with you a little about the wise men. A lot of times, people refer to them as the 3 kings, but the bible never says that there were 3 or that they were kings.

The wise men (or the magi) found Jesus (who was actually like 2 years old at the time) by following a "new" star.

there's are some guesses as to what this new star was....was it a supernova, a comet, a planet, 3 stars aligned together or something created by God, especially to guide the wise men.

Do you think that you could follow a star in the sky to find someone? That would be really hard. They were truly wise men. Tonight if you remember, look up in the sky and try to find the brightest star (if it's raining do it on a night when it's not raining)

Love,

Batty and Peppermiz

December 4 Advent and Elf

2011-12-04T21:18:00.002-06:00

Advent Calendar - Go out for a treat

Because our day was so packed, Dylan said that he was okay with going out for a treat later on. The plan is Sweet CeCe's. Yum

Our elves decided to do a little fishing in a mason jar with gold fish. I don't know why I don't have a picture. I guess it slipped my mind. Dylan enjoyed eating all the gold fish though. The elves talked about the wise men and how they found Jesus.

Hi Dylan and Natalie,

I am sure you know by now why we celebrate Christmas. Go Jesus, it's your birthday, we're going to party like it's your birthday.

Well Jesus is the most recognized name in the world. That means if I say the name Jesus in Africa, in London, in Australia, anywhere., people are going to know who I am talking about. DId you know that Jesus has many other names. Here are a few out of the hundreds :

Almighty God, Beloved, Bread of Life, Carpenter, Chosen, Cornerstone, Creator, Emmanuel, Healer, The Just, King, Lion of the Tribe of Juda, Living Water, Messiah, Prince, Redeemer, Seed of David, Shepherd, The Vine, Worthy and the list goes on.

You know what though, he was known as a fisher of men. In the bible Jesus approached some men and he told them to follow him. Those men were actual fishermen, but Jesus told them that he would make them fisher of men. He wanted to "catch" and bring people so they can know His Father, God.

Cool, huh.

Love,

Batty and Peppermiz

Dylan said Prince and Redeemer were his favorite names :)

That night we had our church Christmas party. We had tons of food and the kids enjoyed a visit from Santa and Buddy the Elf, not to mention the sweet HD big screen movie in the auditorium where they watched Polar Express.

Natalie and I played in the lights a bit.

December 3 Advent and Elf

2011-12-03T20:55:00.000-06:00

Advent Calendar : Go to a Christmas Parade

(this would have been were I would insert a picture but I did not go to the parade as I had a photography class, and you know when mommy isn't around, there are no pictures)

Dylan and Natalie had a grand time though. Especially Dylan gathering candy. Like we need more candy around here.

Our elves got a little tricky last night. They snuck in Dylan's room and painted his nose red. He was not crazy about this. In fact, he was a little whiny about it. He wanted it off!

Hi Dylan and Natalie,

Ready to find out about the colors Red and Green and why they are popular christmas colors? Well, it's pretty simple and way cool.

They weren’t inspired by holiday characters or festive decorations. Red didn’t come from candy canes or Rudolf’s nose or Santa Claus’s suit. And green wasn’t inspired by Santa’s elves, holiday wreaths or sprigs of holly.

The color green is represents eternal life, think an evergreen tree and how it survives through the winter season without losing it's needles (like how other trees loose their leaves). That’s why, in Christian belief, green represents the eternal life of Jesus Christ. The color red symbolizes Christ’s blood which was shed during his crucifixion. Remember how your dad told you the Romans put those long nails in Jesus' hands. Jesus could have made them stop, but he didn't because he loves you. His blood shows us that he loves us so much. How cool!!!

Love,

Batty and Peppermiz

P.S. Hope you're not mad at us for our prank.

December 2 Advent and Elf

2011-12-02T20:48:00.001-06:00

Advent Calendar : Go to Monkey Treehouse - even more special, a friend went with us.

Last night the elves wanted to play a little reindeer games, wait, maybe it's just elf games. Anyway, it was a friendly game of chutes and ladders with lion and bear.

Today's letter wasn't so much to do with the Christmas story. Sometimes there just needs to be valuable life lessons..

Hi Dylan and Natalie,

We heard that you like to play games Dylan. We love games. Remember when you play games, you have to be a good winner and a good looser. Meaning, don't cry and whine if you don't win and don't rub it in others faces when you do win. Just be joyful always.

Tomorrow, we will share more about Christmas and it's meaning with you. Just a little clue, it has something to do with the colors red and green...which are our favorite colors.

Love,

Batty and Peppermiz

December 1 Advent and Elf

2011-12-01T20:34:00.000-06:00

Advent Calendar Day 1 : Dylan pulled the card and I said, what does it say. He said "go to chuck e. cheese. I couldn't help but laugh. It did not say that. Instead, it said to Hang Christmas Window Clings - Dylan loves putting stuff on the back door for whatever season and rearranging it every day, so I knew he'd like this one.

Along with the advent calendar, I am doing a version of elf on the shelf for the little ones this year. It's not like most peoples as our elves do not go to the North Pole every night. Our elves don't watch over the kids nor do they report to Santa. Instead, they just do fun stuff and leave notes. (so mine is a little more involved but I am okay with that) The notes share a little about the Christmas story or why traditions are what they are. I am excited to share the Christmas story with Dylan this way (and eventually Natalie) so I hope he remembers what the elves tell him.

Last night our elves made their first real appearance (he was with me when I purchased them at Hobby Lobby and had played with them around the house), but first they needed a name. We had told Dylan he could name his and I would name Natalie...he was coming up with nothing, so come to find out, they already had names. (okay so I found them names by using Dylan and Natalie's name and generating elf names. I introduce to you Batty Twinkle Toes and Peppermiz Twinkle Toes.

As you can see, the elves decided they wanted to make snow angels in the sugar. As for their first note, have a look see.

Hi Dylan and Natalie,

We are your elves, Batty Twinkle Toes and Peppermiz Twinkle Toes. Like you, we are brother and sister. We love the snow and love to make snow angels. How about you?

We are so excited to share this Christmas season with you. and can't wait to share the real meaning of Christmas with you, the birth of Jesus Christ. That's where we will start in sharing...Christ is a name we call Jesus and it's in the word CHRISTmas. See it?

Oh and during the month of December until Christmas. You can't touch us. After Christmas, you can play with us any time that is until December 1st. See you around.

Love,

Batty and Peppermiz

Advent Calendar

2011-12-01T16:21:00.000-06:00

I decided the Weavers need to do an advent calendar this year. For those maybe like me who do not know what advent means, here's a little excerpt from a devotion I am doing...Advent comes from the latin word adventus meaning arrival or coming. The Hebrews looked forward to the coming of a Messiah - the first advent. Now, we are waiting expectantly for his return - the second advent. The advent reminds us to look forward to His return every day. This season is about resetting Jesus at the center of our lives.

I had never grown up with an advent calendar, so wasn't sure what they were about or what to even do with them. I know some people put candy in theirs or small gifts, but I thought doing things would be best for us. After seeing so many cute ones on pinterest, then realizing I am not that crafty...my neighbor recommended checking out the parent teacher store for library book pockets (you know the old school kind when we signed our name on that card). I found some really cute white ones with red polka dots for like $5.99 for a pack of 30, yes please. Then I found some numbers for a school calendar for $2.99 that would work perfectly, yes please. Now did I just want to tape the pockets straight onto the wall, nah, I thought I'd jazz it up a bit by gluing them to felt and cutting out a christmas tree pattern complete with a bow for the star (felt and bow total about $5).

For this non creative girl, I think it turned out fabulous. For about $14, I give you the Weaver advent calendar....

Baby Superheroes

2011-11-29T12:00:00.000-06:00

I came downstairs from a little siesta to find the boys playing baby superheroes on our bed. Dylan was baby batman and at times baby iron man while Damien was baby riddler (ok so not a superhero). There were kicking and screaming WAH...change my diapy. Boys!

My Black Friday Helper

2011-11-25T16:59:00.000-06:00

Watch Natalie Grow - 9 months

2011-11-22T11:30:00.000-06:00

She is 3/4 of the way to being 1 year old. I cannot believe it. Watching her grow and do things gives me such joy. We are truly blessed to have a little girl in our family. Although, I don't know really how to dress her for winter. This girl will not keep socks on. How am I suppose to keep her feet warm? Around the house, she can wear her leg warmers that my friend Sasha made (check her etsy shop out) but she can't really wear these every day out and about. The stress of having and dressing a girl and I know it will only get worse as she gets older.

Speaking of stress, Miss Natalie, you have caused me a lot of stress and restless nights this month. For whatever reason, you go on these binges were you wake up screaming and stay awake for 2 hours at a time. When I try to lay you down, thinking you are asleep, you wake up screaming again. I hope you don't make it a habit.

At 9 months, she has finally discovered how to really crawl. I think she loves her new found freedom and is really proud of her accomplishments. She has started blowing raspberries. She still eats around 22-26 oz a day and meals 3 times a day. We have tried puffs a few times, but she still gags on them. At her 9 month check up, Dr. L proposed a swallow study to see what's going on, but decided to wait it out and see how she is doing at 1 year. She is still spitting up occasionally and still takes her meds for acid reflux. She sleeps usually from 8:00 til about 4:00 on a good night and then back to sleep after she hits the bottle. However there are those nights that she may wake up around 12:00 or 1:00am. She has grown and Dr. L was proud of her progress. She weighs 16lbs 13oz (18th %) and is 27 inches (47th%).
At this same age, Dylan was 15th% in weight and 77th% in height. She is right on track....yep, that's us, we make small hairy babies with big noggins. The bigger the brain we say :)

Thanksgiving Program

2011-11-21T21:08:00.000-06:00

This past week, Dylan had his first thanksgiving program at school (last year, the 2 year olds didn't participate). His class were the turkeys. The older classes were the pilgrims and the indians.

Each class sang two songs and then every class got together to sing a song. Dylan's class sang :

"Turkey Trot" to the tune of the Hokey Pokey

"You pull your hands right in - You stick your elbows out - Then you flap your wings - and walk about ---You can wobble to the left. - you can wobble to the right - then you gobble - with all your might (GOBBLE GOBBLE) you do the turkey trot - you do the turkey trot - you do the turkey trot - then you gobble with all your might (GOBBLE GOBBLE)

"Fat Turkey's Song" (to the tune of Did you ever see a Lassie)

Oh, gobble, gobble, gobble- Fat Turkeys, Fat Turkeys - Oh, gobble, gobble, gobble - Fat Turkeys are we. - We walk very proudly and gobble so loudly - Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble - Oh gobble, gobble, gobble - Fat turkeys are we.

Every class sang "if you are thankful and you know it"

Of course, Natalie was there to support big brother.

We brought home a few things that he worked on at school, like his thankful turkey. What is he thankful for you ask. Let's see.... 1) his big T-Rex (this is what he has asked for for Christmas, he doesn't have it yet) 2) his new markers 3) Mommy, Daddy and Natalie and last but not least 4) pop tarts. This boy has a new love for pop tarts that I have now limited to weekends only, so when Daddy's home, he knows he gets to have pop tarts...not even the semi healthy kind, the flat out s'mores sugar kind.

He also made a cute little placemat with his handprint, and they gave us a sweet picture of him.

Happy Girl

2011-11-21T21:07:00.000-06:00

I love her little gummy smile. Pretty soon, she'll be smiling with a full set of teeth. I know it goes by so fast. I will cherish these moments, even though at times, it seems really stressful. Seriously though, how cute can she be?

She is beyond proud of herself as she learns new things.

and she loves her big brother

Fun at the Creative Museum

2011-11-19T21:27:00.000-06:00

We joined some of our friends for a trip to the creative museum. We haven't been there in a while so Dylan was ready to go. This was Natalie's first time going, so she had fun as well.

We stayed in the Tiny Town for a while. It was a busy day at the museum as there was a field trip there. This was the only area that they were not allowed in. Kept us sane :) Here's Dylan in the tree house.

Natalie found a little know in the tree to sit in.

Don't forget the cute big brother - little sister photo op

Natalie explored the baby area

then Dylan took Natalie for a spin

not only is he a great driver but he's a great climber too

and a great surfer

Natalie, well, she's just cute - one day she will be great at many things like her big brother

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-16T20:45:00.001-06:00

Halloween Fun

2011-10-31T22:10:00.000-05:00

We've had lots of opportunities to have fun this Halloween. For school, Dylan had a costume parade. Since Dylan wants to be a zookeeper when he grows up, I had to by Gymboree's zookeeper costume, on clearance of course. He choose to wear that to school for his costume parade. We had a hiccup that morning as he wanted to take his snake as his prop, but it couldn't be found. After a small meltdown (it could have been worse), he opted for his spider.

My little zookeeper

After the parade, the kids took their costumes off and had an hour or so of normal school day. Then the parents came back for a little Halloween party. First things first, they had to work for their lunch by bobbing for apples. Out of 11 kids, only one actually got their apple with their mouth. Some refused to put their heads in at all. I was really hoping to be entertained.

After lunch the kids gathered to make a scarecrow goody bag. (Shortly after this picture, Dylan had a huge meltdown. At that point, I had to threaten leaving the party. Finally he came around, all because I helped push his scarecrow's mouth down. Sheesh...pride starts early)

Then on Saturday, we headed downtown Franklin for Pumpkin Fest. It doesn't hold the candle for us as it once did (maybe because we can't go with the Browns). Our church no longer does the kids area so now the kids area cost money and it's not all that. Boo! (not the ghost boo either) Sadly I didn't get more pictures but with two kids, mommy doesn't get the camera out as much as she would like. Maybe when Natalie gets bigger and is more independent...maybe. We left pumpkinfest with Dylan saying "I never want to come back here again" - Meltdown party of one please....this time it was because he did the dinosaur bounce house but because there were so many kids, he didn't get to make it to the top to slide down. That meltdown was a little more reasonable. I'd be mad too if kids were in my way and I didn't get to do the fun part.

On Sunday morning, Dylan grabbed his glasses and some mardi gras beads and said he wanted to wear them to church. I remember it was creative Sunday. they encouraged kids (and adults) to get crazy. I told Dylan he could wear whatever he wanted. He came down with the frog hat and his batman cape.

Halloween day, we visited Daddy at work. His team had a Super Mario Brothers theme. They won best costume and best pod decorations for their department. Here is Wario (the evil Mario for those who didn't know like me) (minus the mustache and deflated belly)

Dylan wanted to wear his vampire costume to see Daddy.

Then Halloween night, my little vampire and mermaid.

We met up with some new friends that just moved in down the street. They have a boy that is 18 days younger than Dylan, and a little girl 6 weeks younger than Natalie. What a difference a year makes. Last year, Dylan mainly rode in the wagon and we stopped at the occasional house if I knew them. This year, he ran, I mean ran from house to house. I had to keep yelling for him to wait, to slow down and to stop. whew, energy. He would go to the house and say Trick or Treat, Thank you and Happy Halloween, all why I waited at the side walk. I think it made a huge difference that he had a friend with him too.

Here's a shot with our pumpkins (one is Mike from Monsters Inc.)

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-15T22:19:00.001-05:00

After last year's bust on the horrible pumpkin patch, we risked it and hit up a new one. I had heard great things about this one, so I thought it was safe. It was better than safe, it was awesome! I cannot wait to go back. The cool thing about this farm, is that it's open a lot throughout the year, not just for fall. We could have spent all day and all night here. There's so much to do and only for $8 per person. I was super impressed. I kept saying how we were done with G's and of course the lame one we went to last year.

They had a cute petting zoo, where you could actually buy feed and feed the animals. Donkeys, billy goats, pigs, llamas, chickens, sheep and horses could be found at the petting zoo. Then they had sinks and sanitizer everywhere. Impressed. Have I said that yet?

Natalie loved the animals

They had a huge playground area for the kids of all ages. There was a cute little water trough were you could pump the water and race rubber ducks. Creative!

Bounced a little

Not to mention a huge sandbox like area filled with corn. (we brought some of this corn home accidentally)

Dylan spent a lot of his time on the slides. He hit all of them up (3 different kinds) and he was not shy about going down on his little burlap bag. He even went down on his belly. He was kind of scared half way down, but I can't blame him, he ran out of slide and hit the hay bales at the end. He was going fast.

We did the hay ride (which I won't lie, that's the one thing I wasn't impressed with) and the train ride, which was very cute. Of course, Dylan wanted to ride in the green one.

Damien and Dylan bought tickets to launch small pumpkins with a slingshot. As we were buying the tickets, Dylan was jumping up and down with excitement. They got pretty close to the target. Check out the gear.

Of course we checked out the pumpkin patch, had some good grub and had our photo op moments.

Checked out baby chicks and even learned how to milk a cow

I really felt we could have spent all day here. We didn't even play on all the equipment nor did we do the walking trail or the corn maze. I can't wait to go back. Did I say how impressed I was? Maybe I am easily impressed or this place was just that cool. It was very clean and well done. Two thumbs up from this momma.

You Just Got Skunked

2011-10-15T17:16:00.000-05:00

It was a normal night. Our day was a good one, and then bed time. I put the dogs out like every other night. I look and Turbo is just staring at me through the door. He didn't even get off the porch, so I march out there and scoot him off the porch. As I come back inside, I hear Sophie barking. Sophie only barks when kids are crossing behind our yard or if something is in our yard. Earlier in the day, my neighbor and I had smelled skunk. My gut told me there was a skunk in our yard. I run outside to see 2 black critters in our back yard (one of which was Sophie). Sophie is some what smart, she kept a safe distance and barked while it retreated. Turbo, well I won't say he is stupid, but more inquisitive in a not so smart way. I see him creeping up on the skunk. Turbo is getting up in his age and he's loosing his hearing. I start yelling like a crazy "No Turbo No No No Turbo No"...scream a general scream, pound my open hand on the railing of the deck. Yell for Turbo and Sophie to come back. It was too late. The skunk left our yard and now Turbo was using the bathroom. I come inside and collapse in anger. I was livid. (not to mention that apparently none of my neighbors were concerned about my well being as I screamed bloody murder). I crack the door when the dogs come back on the deck, and realize there is no need to open it any further to verify if they were sprayed...I could smell it. I assume Sophie didn't get a direct hit as she was at a safe distance but it was windy. Turbo on the other hand, probably was a direct hit. We start researching what we should do. Every site said to take immediate action. We get scissors and mix up a little hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dawn to bathe them. We put on clothes that we are willing to throw away (Damien dawns a pair of black dress pants) and we proceed with caution. Trimming hair that we feel was a direct hit, then bathing them with the mixture and rinsing. It didn't smell that bad, but they slept in the garage.

Here's their conversation....

Turbo: Thanks Sophie
Sophie; Me? What did I do?
Turbo: You barked at it and got me all excited. I am deaf and blind. I wouldn't have known it was there.
Sophie: I didn't tell you to sniff it's butt.
Turbo: Well you didn't tell me not to either. I think you owe me an apology. What you did was unfair.
Sophie: What I did was unfair. You got us sprayed old man.
Turbo: I did no such thing. By the way your hair cut is horrible.
Sophie: You should see yours. Oh and in case you haven't noticed we are sleeping in the garage.
Turbo: I am still waiting on my apology.
Sophie: Well, I am sorry. What about you?
Turbo: Did you only apologize so that I would?

Okay, so maybe that conversation wasn't just Turbo and Sophie's but you could totally see how it could go down.

They made a trip to petsm@rt today to get shaved and de-skunked. Let's hope it works.

Family Pics

2011-10-14T17:19:00.000-05:00

We made an appointment with Rebecca Kelly for family photos (more for Natalie than anyone since we have cheated her on the professional pictures). I was so excited. I think they turned out great and I can't wait to use her again in a few months. Here are a few of my favorites.

he fell asleep on the way there and didn't wake up in a good mood. i love the pic still

Watch Natalie Grow - 8 months

2011-10-14T17:12:00.000-05:00

Natalie is officially 3/4 of the way to 1 year old. I cannot believe it. You know I hear all the time, she's small, when I tell people her age. I know she is in the smaller percentile, but she's pretty much were Dylan was at her age....both at 16%. I say we just make small, hairy babies.

She's is so ready to crawl. I see her getting fustrated when she wants to be on the go, but she just can't figure it out. She gets around pretty well either scooting backwards or inching forward, laying down, sitting up, and repeating. It will happen any day now.

She's eating 3 meals a day: cereal in the morning, fruit for lunch and vegetable at dinner. One day, I tried to do vegetables and fruit at the same feeding...up came all the food. My baby has a sensitive tummy that's for sure. We have tried puffs a few times, but she gags on them and doesn't understand what to do with them. They usually end up getting pushed out of her mouth. She eats about 25-28oz of breastmilk a day. I still pump exclusively. I am doing it 3x a day, but will soon cut down to 2x and rely on my freezer supply for a month and evaluate later.

She sleeps decently. I would say most nights she sleeps 6 hours and wakes up, may stay awake for 30-60 minutes and then back asleep until 6:30. However there are those nights like last night when she woke up at 12:30, 1:30, 4:30 then 6:30. I am chalking that up to teething.

She is starting to loose her curls. Not so much loosing them, I think her hair is getting longer, so it's weighing them down. As for eyes, we get compliments all the time how blue they are.

Chicago Trip

2011-10-13T12:03:00.000-05:00

Damien signed up to run the Chicago marathon at the beginning of the year. It would be our first trip without kids since Natalie was born. I was a little apprehensive...ok a lot apprehensive but I knew I could do it. After dropping them off at my parent's house, I cried a little but it would be the only time I cried, let me just say that. I was worried how Natalie would do without me as we have never been apart for more than 4 hours. We are like paper and glue. I knew that it was good for all of us to have a break. It would make us stronger.

We got to Chicago early Friday morning and after checking in, we hit up the runner's expo so Damien could get his bib number and other things. This expo was huge. All kinds of vendors and things to be seen. Wow. I even found Damien's name on the Nike wall.

We didn't do too much touristy things as Damien was trying to rest and I was trying to shop. We did manage to get a picture with the larger than life Marilyn Monroe.

We ate some delicious food as a couple, with friends and solo. Did a little shopping. Got a massage after the race (obviously more for Damien than for me).

The big event though was the marathon. I tried to find Damien and 3 different points (1 mile, 3 miles and 13 miles). The 1 mile was crazy chaotic. With 50,000 runners, they were all packed in tight. I didn't tell Damien I would be at that point so he didn't know to look for me. After watching for a while, I trucked on to the 3 mile stop. Snapples! There's a split in the road. I stood on the right side and Damien took the left side. We missed each other again. I joined the race at this point for a block so I could safely cross the runner's traffic. I tried to snap a picture of my "running" the marathon but I only got curb in the picture. Finally at the 13 mile point, did I see him. I got to there early and got a good spot, right after the drink stations. Then I finally saw him.....

Damien ran for Holiday Heroes which is a local, Chicago charity started by two teenage sisters. It's awesome. They go to the local hospitals and cheer up the kids on their birthdays and Christmas with gifts and visits from athletes. Learn more about the organization here.

Damien's goal was to run the marathon in 4 hours. He was ahead of that goal up until mile 16, then hip fatigue sat in. He really felt the toll and had to walk a little more than he had hoped. His final time was 4 hours and 30 minutes. He did amazing. We tried to meet up after the race. I went to the Holiday Heroes tent and waited for him but he was too tired to walk back so he went to the Hotel. Thankfully, I met some really nice people at the tent, including Santa...

Damien said he would never run a marathon, well now that he has, he's checked that off his list and....is already thinking about doing another one!!! I told him that for every marathon he runs, I will get a tattoo (I was debating one in Chicago but think I have opted out). I said, so basically it's up to you how many tattoos I get. :) Of course I am joking. Maybe one day the running bug will bite me, but until then, I will stand on the sidelines and cheer him on, like this guy....

I love seeing people run marathons that have fun doing so...

One lady ran the marathon 38 weeks and 5 days pregnant. She finished in 6 hours and 30 minutes and 7 hours later had her baby. Talk about dedication.

Oh, and the kids, they did great. Why did I worry?

Ham Festival

2011-10-03T11:18:00.000-05:00

Every year around my birthday, we have a local festival, the Ham Festival. This year we attended and I was reminded yet again of the mistake that we make time and time again....to eat at the Festival a) there are not a lot of food choices and b)it's really expensive. Lesson learned again, don't do that.

All in all, it was a good few hours out of the house on a beautiful day. Dylan got to do some bounce slides. We did the petting zoo (and by we, I mean Dylan)

Natalie and I strolled through the vendors.

At the petting zoo, there was a huge boar that Dylan was scared to touch, but he snuck up on it, then petted his back side all while the boar slept. It was pretty funny. Sadly, I didn't get a picture of it.

Oh, and Dylan got to check out the fire truck. All in all a good day, a good birthday for me :)

Standing...barely, but standing

2011-10-01T11:27:00.000-05:00

For a while, I have been worried about Natalie (shocker) not putting pressure on her feet. I mean, all babies usually do this by 2 months of age. Not Natalie, she's too laid back. Finally she started putting pressure on her little tootsies and can stand for brief periods. However, she's not pulling up on her own yet. We have to get those little legs stronger. I am so proud of her and I think she is proud of herself too.

Snakes on a Plane

2011-09-30T11:03:00.000-05:00

Dylan and a friend were playing today and they had left one of their toys behind while they moved onto the next toy. I snapped this picture.

Fun for Dylan

2011-09-20T22:02:00.000-05:00

We have a slight hill in our backyard. What kid wouldn't enjoy rolling, running or spinning down it. Dylan has a lot of fun doing just that.

Watch Natalie Grow - 7 months

2011-09-20T21:52:00.000-05:00

Wow! 7 months already! I love watching Natalie's personality develop but I have to admit, we think she's going to be a little introvert. She is finally warming up to Daddy, and if anyone else talks to her or tries to hold her she screams and cries. I had a friend stop by today that came in with a big smile and said "Hi" to her and Natalie lost it.

We have had a good few weeks with the acid reflux. In the course of 3 weeks, I would say she only had 4 episodes. That's a vast improvement from two times a day. We went back to the doctor for the remainder of our vaccinations ( I split them up so she doesn't get too much in one day) and they weighed her...she had gained a pound in one month. That's what keeping feedings down will do. Our little cakes started out at 8lbs 3oz and now she's about 14lbs 13oz. Oh and I measured her myself later and she measured 26.5 inches. While she may be about the 15th percentile in weight, she's 74th percentile in length and 90% of head circumference.

I have to admit that I have been worried that she isn't putting pressure on her feet yet. When I try and stand her up, she tucks her little feet under her. If it's not one thing to worry about, it's another. I pray she does it soon so I can stop worrying about that and move on to something else :)

On a good note, guess we better start planning her 1st Birthday, it will be here soon.

At 7 months Natalie :

- Lights up at the sight of Turbo. Turbo is much more tolerable of her than he was of Dylan.

- Grabs and reaches for everything.

- Has tried the following foods : sweet potatoes, yellow squash, zucchini squash, apples, apricots, avocado, peaches, pears, raspberries, bananas. ( her favorites yellow squash, avocado and peaches)

- Starting to bend forward from the sitting position to start a crawl

- Has started on her two bottom toothies.

Interview with Dylan

2011-09-19T13:23:00.003-05:00

This is something I am going to try and do once a year with Dylan and Natalie just to see how their answers change over time. Here's Dylan's first go at it....

1. What is something Mommy always says to you?
I spelled my name wrong

2. What makes Mommy happy?
when I obey

3. What makes Mommy sad?
When I don't listen that makes you sad

4. How does Mommy make you laugh?
you make funny words

5. What was Mommy like as a child?
Pooterjohn (my nickname as a baby)

6. How old is Mommy?
4

7. How tall is Mommy?
"this tall" with hand stretched about his head

8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?
"Go to the zoo" (I think he has me mistaken for him), then he changed it to "Love me"

9. What does Mommy do when you're not around?
Look for me

10. If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
Praying to God

11. What is Mommy really good at?
Dancing

12. What is Mommy not very good at?
Looking out for me (where does he get this?)

13. What does Mommy do for her job?
get the newspaper (seriously, what about the cooking and cleaning and playing)

14. What is Mommy's favorite food?
Carrots (whatever?)

15. What makes you proud of Mommy?
When I work (does he mean getting the newspaper?)

16. If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Goofy (well at least he got that one right)

17. What do you and Mommy do together?
Take a walk

18. How are you and Mommy the same?
we both have blue eyes

19. How are you and Mommy different?
God made us all different

20. How do you know Mommy loves you?
Sings "sing I love you, shout I love you, whisper I love you"

21. Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?
to the fair (obviously his answer again)

Play Time at the Park

2011-09-16T11:06:00.000-05:00

Fall is my favorite season. I love when the weather gets nice and the air feels crisp. It's the best. It's the best time to go to the park and play too. We went to the park and there were a group of older boys playing. However, there were no kids Dylan's age. I was surprised when he jumped in with them playing tag. I was fearful that they would shun him but I was pleasantly surprised by how much they worked with him on how to play tag. Of course, Dylan was "it" many times, because he was the slowest, but that didn't phase him. One of the boys would say, "little dude, tag me" and Dylan would touch him and then he would run off to tag someone else. One of the boys told another one, slow down let him tag you, he's little. It almost brought a tear to my eye as to how nice they were being to him. They would say "little dude is it" and then finally one of the boys asked little dude what his name was, then I heard "little dude's name is Dylan" It made me smile.

I am so impressed when kids this age take the time to be a good friend to him. You can tell their moms and dads raised them right. Some days we walk through the neighborhood and Dylan will wave and say hi to a kid and the kid just stares at him like, huh? I want to march up to that kid and say you better say hi back and wave at him. I am so afraid if he gets ignored too many times it will break his spirit.

Natalie gave the swings a try today. She did much better than Dylan's first attempt at them. She smiled. She is a good baby. Only fussy when she's tired or hungry.

I love my kids to pieces.

First Day of Preschool - 3 year old class

2011-09-02T22:14:00.000-05:00

This year we are back to Sunshine School. We are sad that the director of the school has moved as she really made it an easy decision for me to send Dylan there in the first place. We have changed days and are now on the Tuesday/Thursday schedule to be with one of his best friends. Thankfully, Dylan's best bud from Monday/Wednesday class moved as well.

We have been drumming up school for the past few weeks to prepare Dylan. All summer long, Dylan and I have been singing "school's out for summer" and as it got closer, he would sing "school's out for 2 more days". It cracked me up.

Dylan and I had a talk on the way to school. If he took good pictures with his teachers for me, then he could have a sucker when he got in the car after school. I asked him to take pictures with Mrs Shanna and he jumped right up and said "yes ma'am"

Then I asked him to take a picture with Mrs. Katie. He jumped right up again. Sweet! I actually got pictures of him with his teachers on the first day of school, and he's actually smiling.

But what's not to smile about? He's in a class with his best friends.

Although, one is missing. One of his friends from Monday/Wednesday has moved up to the 4 year old class and stayed Monday/Wednesday. That night, Damien asked who was in his class and Dylan's response "not William" it broke my heart, so I surprised him and he came over to play today.

We Need a Good Cry

2011-09-01T22:28:00.001-05:00

Sometimes, all we need is a good cry. After Dylan's first day of school, we met up with Daddy for lunch (by the way, a plug for Drakes...yummy and cool atmosphere). Dylan wanted a hamburger. The whole time we were there, he didn't eat one bite of his burger and picked at his macaroni. All the while, lying on Damien. He was suppose to go over a friend's house when we got back but because he acted the way he did, he would go home to nap.

The entire way home, I heard this "I don't want to go home" "I wanna eat my lunch" "I don't want to nap" Of course, he screamed and cried the whole way home....well, until we got 5 minutes from home, then he wore himself out and fell asleep. The monster woke back up at home and insisted he didn't need a nap. I was not about to let that happen, not on my watch, so upstairs to his bedroom we went where he ended up napping for over 2 hours. I guess he just needed to recharge. Oh and that burger and mac and cheese, he got it for dinner.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-31T22:34:00.000-05:00

Houston, We Have Started Solids

2011-08-30T22:15:00.000-05:00

My little Nattie cakes has now started solids. She started rice and oatmeal around 5 months but I waited on fruits/veggies until she turned 6 months. Her first food was sweet potatoes followed by zucchini squash, then apples and her favorite so far, yellow squash. She was actually guiding the spoon in her mouth and opening for it. Then there was peas. I wonder if she is truly ready for solids, so we are literally taking baby steps with it. Must meals we end up outside as she gets furstrated and tired, but she always perks up outside and her mood changes. Hope winter doesn't get here to fast :)

I bought a baby bullet so I am attempting to make her food. I figure I should do something for her that I didn't do for Dylan to even it all out, right? She's has had two jarred organic foods when we've been out and about like butternut squash and apple...then maybe pear and something.

I can't wait until she starts putting it down though. I need to see some excitement for food..other than what I am eating.

Whatever Keeps Her Happy

2011-08-26T22:57:00.000-05:00

While in the kitchen, I usually sit Natalie in her little pod while I wash dishes or cook dinner. The first thing she goes for is the paper towel roll, where she usually ends up unwinding the whole roll. I say, whatever makes her happy and it does.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-24T21:52:00.000-05:00

Dylanism

2011-08-23T23:06:00.000-05:00

The other day, Dylan, Natalie and I were on the back porch. Dylan declares that God doesn't love him. I said yes he does, He loves everyone. He said, He doesn't love ( I am giving him the stank eye at this point, you see the wheels churning in his head trying to think of something) He doesn't love the old hummingbird feeder because it's old. (Guess he saw the new one and thought of that) Funny boy.

D-Y-L-A-N

2011-08-22T22:54:00.000-05:00

It's official Dylan can spell his name. I am so proud of him. He makes my heart smile.

Silly Things Damien Does

2011-08-19T21:45:00.000-05:00

Damien is training for the Chicago marathon. His boss has been giving him advice on things to do to help him recover and various training tips. The latest....an ice bath. That's right, Damien filled the tub up with 4 bags of ice and water and immersed himself. Here he is enjoying is 30 minute ice bath. (ice had already melted)

Watch Natalie Grow - 6 months

2011-08-18T21:13:00.000-05:00

Half way to the one year mark and our little cakes still has is....well, little. Although she is getting a few rolls on her legs. She is still having issues with acid reflux. (I don't know if I have mentioned that in the blog yet) It seems to have gotten more frequent, so we decided to try the chiropractor (aka bone doctor to Dylan). When we first took her in, there were several adjustments to be made (around 4 or 5) and we had hoped that would help. Of course, it's not a one and done deal with the bone doctor, we made several visits. After about 7 visits, which are not cheap I might add, we decided to try medicine. I have been dead set against medicating but it just got to the point where I was getting stressed by doing laundry, cleaning floors and worrying about her weight and being in pain, that I couldn't take it any longer. We wanted to make sure that we were being her advocate and trying everything that we could to help her. It seemed that the day we started the meds, was the first day that she went in a long time without having an episode. We shall see how it goes.

Natalie and I at the chiro. This was the first time she cried (like her 5th visit) so I couldn't get a pic of just her on the table like I planned.

We have only given Natalie oatmeal and cereal so far, and that hasn't been consistent. I purchased a baby bullet so I am going to attempt to make her food. I didn't do this with Dylan, although I wanted to, so we shall see if I last. I figure being the second child, she's getting gipped on some things, so I should make an effort on others.

At 6 months she :

- continues to roll everywhere
- pushes up and thrusts herself forward (not crawling)
- laughs at her big brother and loves whenever he is around
- can sit up
- eats anywhere from 24 oz - 30oz a day
- eats oatmeal and cereal at least once a day
- weighs 13lbs 15oz and 24.75 inches long (although the doctor said she thinks there was a wrong measurement)
- gets excited when I drink from a cup and enjoys getting a sip of water

- doesn't spit up/throw up as much as she use to, thankfully
- doesn't spit up/throw up as much as she use to, thankfully

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-17T21:41:00.000-05:00

County Fair

2011-08-13T21:21:00.001-05:00

The fair has come to town again and for the first time, we actually went. It's always so hot but we actually got a break in the weather. I was super stoked to take Dylan and have a grand time. PawPaw and Nana came to our house to watch Natalie, so it was just the three of us. Dylan was really excited to ride the rides. I mean it's no Disney World, but to him it was fabulous. He wanted to ride everything. He even got to ride his first roller coaster. I was so proud of him. He was so big.

We even attended a few shows like a clown show where they did some death defying acts which I could not watch like running on this thing and jumping on it...

We attend a wild west kind of show where he had a horse trained to do tricks.

We were sitting on the front row and all I could think of was "when animals attack". We made it out safe and sound and it was a really cool show.

Dylan even got to be a farmer and take some of his crops through the entire process of planting to selling at market then taking his money and buying something. It was really cute.

Then of course there are the animals. There was a huge bull and then these cute little baby pigs that were days old.

I can't wake to take Dylan and Natalie next year.

Natalie and Lucas

2011-08-08T21:16:00.000-05:00

When we started telling people that we were pregnant, I ran into my friend as I was walking. I was running late but I had to tell her that I was due Feburary 4th. Her response, I am due Febuary 3rd. We screamed like little girls and jumped up and down and hugged each other. Dylan and her middle child are about 2 weeks apartment as our Natalie and Lucas. She was induced early with Lucas and we all know that I was 10 days late and induced with Natalie.

I know they don't look 2 weeks apartment but I swear they are. The first of many play dates.

Monkey Tree House

2011-08-06T20:54:00.000-05:00

Dylan has been asking for his girlfriend to go on a "date" with him. Since her mom recently started home schooling, I thought we'd invite his girlfriend to go with us one day so her mom could focus on getting the curriculum started.

This was our first visit to this location. They have lots to interact with....a small scale town, a big "treehouse" with climbing walls and slides and various stations like cars, trains, dinosaurs and a doll house, to name a few.

They had a blast....and so did Natalie

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-03T20:51:00.001-05:00

Her First Crown

2011-08-02T20:45:00.000-05:00

I am not a girly girl. You may already know this if you know me. I mean, I don't even put bows in Natalie's hair. Occasionally, I might get a little crazy and do so, but for the most part, we like cute casual wear and she has hair already...I feel like bows are for bald babies to give them a little something something. Recently we went to a local play place and they had crowns in their dress up area. Being that we don't have any at home, I thought I would put one on Natalie for fun.

I don't imagine that we would have a lot of princess things around our house unless she asks for it and then I am not sure I will cave in. I am not sure I won't the whole princess thing going to her head. She's already a princess as she's the daughter of a king, so I don't know if I want her thinking that she has to be in a ball gown, with jewelry and made up. Who knows, I may change my mind when we actually get there. I have learned never to say never. In the meantime, we will have fun playing dress up.

Fun at Deer Run

2011-07-31T15:29:00.000-05:00

This month, our church designated family month and set up fun events for the church to take part in. One Sunday afternoon, it was Deer Run. We were really looking forward to it as they have lots of space and things to do. However, it was hot, but we came prepared to swim. Bummer though, we had to wait for a life vest before we could get in the lake. There were so many people as both campuses were invited and Dylan and I had to wait a while. Once we got our vests we swam in the water and watched the kids to the zip line into the water. I asked Dylan if he wanted to do it, knowing he wouldn't want to, and he of course said no, that it looked scary. However, he surprised me by saying he wanted to do the water slide. It wasn't a small water slide, it was really long and high up. We had to climb about 3 flights of stairs and the slide was probably 100 feet long if I had to guess. I let him watch a few people before I went first to make sure he wasn't going to back out. I jumped and slid and screamed. I went fast. Of course the heavier you are the faster you go. Dylan got on and scooted himself down. Bless his heart, he couldn't get the speed. Once at the bottom of the slide, he had to stand up and jump in. Dylan doesn't even jump off the side of the pool, so I wasn't sure how this was going to go. He was about 6 feet off the ground. I told him to hold his nose and jump in. The second his feet left the slide, he let go of his nose. Oh well. I praised him and told him how brave he was and how proud I was of him. He said "really? you are?" Then he insisted on going again. I wished I had pics by Damien was taking care of Natalie and well men don't think that way. We played a little while longer and checked out the horses before leaving.

Natalie enjoying the outdoors

Later that night, we got in late so I tried to talk Dylan into taking a shower. He agreed. I was shocked. He hates showers. While in the shower, I asked him when he got to be a big boy and he said when I went down the water slide. Since then he has taken a few showers and I am proud to say, he no longer hates them.

Before meet After

2011-07-30T15:28:00.000-05:00

This post is way over do as the office was converted to the playroom back in May. I realized that I never posted the reveal.

At Damien's office Christmas party, he won a new lap top. Since we were getting rid of the old PC and Damien no longer worked from home, we decided to give the office a face lift. I found that I spent a lot of time downstairs with Natalie since she was sleeping in our room and Dylan was always hanging around under my feet. He barely went upstairs to play, so we thought, why not bring the fun down stairs. Then when Natalie got older, she could play downstairs as well, since she won't have the stairs mastered like her big brother.

So here is the before....

Just a plain ole office...desk, cabinet, futon, filing cabinet and bookshelf. Of course not all pictured but in the room (only photo that I had)

and here is the new and improved play room...

Cabinet we had built based on a PBK design. 2 framed cork boards from Hobby Lobby, one for Dylan and one for Natalie when she gets older. Baskets match perfectly from L@we's.

I searched every where for the perfect kitchen. Since this is in the front of our house, I was a kitchen snob. I wanted it to "match" and I finally found on on cr@igslist. I hung one of my favorite pics of the kid thanks to my group0n. I want a wall decal below it that says "give them hope, give them praise, give them love everyday"

and the remaining "office". we still needed to house supplies, the printer and files so we had this piece built as we couldn't find anything that would work.

Dylan loves it. When we first finished it he would say thank you almost every day and tell everyone about his new play room. I have to say it's one of my favorite rooms in the house and is a breeze to clean up.

Swim Swim

2011-07-23T22:23:00.000-05:00

Dylan hasn't had formal swimming lessons. I didn't think it was a good idea considering I can't spend a lot of time with him in the pool this summer, but every now and then we let him take his swimmies off and we let him practice swimming. I have to admit he does pretty good considering.

Turbo + Fireworks = scared

2011-07-23T22:06:00.004-05:00

Turbo is not a fan of the 4th...or any holiday where people shoot fireworks, which around here is pretty much every holiday...I kid you not. We can barely get him to go potty outside. Here he is after hearing fireworks trying to get in.....

Bye Bye Paci Bye Bye

2011-07-23T20:58:00.000-05:00

Dylan was not a paci taker or a thumb sucker, and Natalie loves her paci. However, I was not loving getting up every hour to put it back in her mouth. She only needed it to go to sleep when she slept in our room, but for some reason when we put her in her bed, she all of a sudden needed it all night. I read up on it online and everyone said it was better to take it away before 6 months. After debating it, I pulled the trigger. I have to admit the first few nights were hard. She would be awake for an hour wanting her paci. I just kept going in her room every 5-10 minutes to soothe her. Now, 6 days later, it's getting easier. I think she still wants it and she has even found her thumb at times, but I don't want her doing that either as I was a thumb sucker and I know the damage it does. Natalie, you will thank me later but at the moment, I seem cruel. I wish you could have found your paci on your own without making me because I know how much you love your paci.

Cooking with Dylan

2011-07-22T22:02:00.001-05:00

I had Dylan "read" me a recipe while I was cooking. I don't think you want him in your kitchen any time soon. Where does this kid come up with this stuff?

Hokey Pokey

2011-07-20T21:35:00.000-05:00

Caught in the act....I overheard Dylan singing and decided to grab the camera and catch it. It makes my heart smile, that's for sure.

Natalie's First Dip

2011-07-19T21:32:00.000-05:00

We haven't been able to make it to the pool as often as Dylan would like, but it's really hard to keep Natalie out of the sun. I broke down and put some suntan lotion on her (70 SPF) and tucked her into her suit and let her get in the pool. She was okay with it for the first few minutes but after getting splashed, it was down hill. She especially did not like me holding her out to "kick". Hopefully she will get use to it more and more.

Playing in the Rain

2011-07-17T21:27:00.000-05:00

The other day, we had a monsoon out of no where. It was the perfect playing in the rain kind of rain, you know what I mean...no lightening, no thunder, just pure rain. Dylan insisted on playing in it. He had to put on his boots, his rain coat and he grabbed his umbrella. It was super steamy outside...the heat plus the rain was not very pleasant. You can tell through my camera lens how steamy it is....as it fogged up the lens. He played for a whole 5 minutes but I guess he had fun :)

Ready, Set, Roll

2011-07-16T14:24:00.000-05:00

Natalie has officially started rolling. I would say around 3 months she accidentally rolled over a few times, but I don't really count that. I start counting it when it happens all the time, which started happening just after she turned 4 months old. I was a little worried as her over achiever brother started rolling over right at 3 months, by 4 months he would hold his head up so high...she wasn't there yet, but I know that you cannot compare babies. They each do things at their own pace. As Dr. L pointed out at our check up, boys have more motor skills and girls tend to me more vocal. Since Natalie smiles all the time, I am going with that theory. Here she is rolling.

Watch Natalie Grow - 5 months

2011-07-15T22:03:00.002-05:00

First off, I would just like to point out that I know that is not a 5 but in fact a "s". About 3 months into this idea, Hobby L@bby decided to clearance out these wooden number/letters. Unfortunately the 5 was sold out, but they had S's still :)

Time is really flying by, yet going slow. Does that make sense? I know you understand, right. Natalie brings so much joy into our lives and I couldn't imagine life any other way. Her smile is infectious and I love how she giggles when Dylan talks to her or acts silly. She loves and adores her big brother.

Within the past week, she has been sitting up all by herself. She can't do it for very long before she falls over, but she is holding her on. One thing she has mastered this month is rolling over and over and over and over....you get the picture. She is even holding her head up really high.

Another thing she has recently started doing, playing with her toes. Yes, she has found them and she is fond of them...just like all babies I guess.

How sweet is it when they try and eat their toes. I could just eat them up myself.

At 5 months
- rolls everywhere
- can sit up some what on her own, briefly
- tried rice cereal but still has a pretty active reflex so it comes all out
- sleeps about 10 hours a night, don't get excited she wakes up at least once or twice
- weighs almost 13 lbs... we have a small fry but I am okay with that :)
- starting to push up on her knees but I think it will be a while before she crawls.
- eats around 28-32oz
- doesn't spit up/throw up as much as she use to, thankfully

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-13T08:37:00.000-05:00

Big Girl Alert

2011-07-12T21:24:00.000-05:00

I tried sitting Natalie up and low and behold, she could do it. Of course, for not very long but long enough for me to snap a picture. I was so proud of her.

Taylor's Visit

2011-07-11T15:17:00.000-05:00

This past week, my niece, Taylor, came to visit. Dylan was really looking forward to her visit, and I was looking forward to it as well. Dylan would have someone to do something with around the clock. Her mom brought her up the weekend before July 4th. We had a great time. I tried to plan an outing every day so they had time out of the house.

For the 4th, we went to my parent's house and to the pool. At my parent's house, they got to ride the four wheeler with Uncle Billy. At first they were both hesitant, but Billy insisted he would go really slow just around the yard. After they went once, they couldn't get enough.

Taylor enjoyed it so much that she saved a seat beside her at lunch for Uncle Billy. Even Natalie and Trinity had a fun time "talking" to each other...

On the way home, everyone took a power nap including Taylor.

Once we got home, we got ready and headed for the pool. I haven't been able to take Dylan to the pool as much as I would like as it's to hard to take Natalie due to the heat. Although, today Damien and I took turns working with Dylan on his swimming. We even let him take his floaties off and he did fabulous. I was so proud of him. I haven't signed him up for swim lessons this year as I know that he will never want to put the floaties on again after lessons....I can't afford to be in the pool with him all the time since Natalie can't be in the pool yet. I am so proud how well he is doing without lessons.

Taylor going airborne

Of course, we had to end the day with fireworks. I bought a few sparklers for the kids but we like to enjoy our neighbor's fireworks. We have a great view of the neighborhood and a lot of people around us spend a ridiculous amount of money on fireworks...so thanks neighbors.

The next day, we went to the library to pick up some books. We didn't realize it, but they were having a program that day. The kids learned about various things about Japan and got to do crafts.

That night, we went to Chick-f!l-a as it was family night (aka kids eat free). There they had balloon artist, face painting and a craft. This week, the craft was a sandwich board and a cow hat for Friday's cow appreciation day.

Dylan choose a sword for his balloon art. Taylor choose a horse. As for face painting, Dylan picked a tiger, and Taylor picked an "ice princess".

They had fun playing after all their food had been gobbled up...oh yea and can't forget ice cream.

On Wednesday, we headed to Monkey J@e's. No pictures, just a good time. They even made friends with a brother sister and played games with them.

On Thursday, we went to the pool first thing that morning...9am and stayed for 2 hours. Thankfully it wasn't too hot and Natalie even got to nap a little bit. That afternoon we just cruised the target.

On Friday, I had no clue what we would do...but they begged to go back to Monkey Joe's. We waited until later in the day to go...and we choose to hit up chick-f!l-a again for cow appreciation day. Basically if you dress head to cow in cow gear, then you get a meal for free. If you were a cow piece (shirt, hat, etc) then you get an entree for free. Dylan and Taylor sported their sandwich boards and cow hat they made earlier in the week.

I wore a white shirt and black shorts and safety pinned black spots on my shirt. I made a sandwich board for me as well. When I ordered our meal, the total was $0. We ate for free....woo hoo. Afterwards we went to MJ's. I gave them the deal that I bought online 5 visits for $25. The girl working went back and exchanged the print out for cards. She came back out and gave me 4 of them. She said I thought you only had one kid with you...don't worry about it. Sweet!!! Basically, our whole day of fun costs $5.

Saturday, we headed to Chattanooga (half way) and met her parents. Instead of turning around and coming back, we chose to hit up the zoo. While I was in school at UTC, the zoo was nothing, but they recently did a $12 million renovation on it. Now that can't go very far at a zoo, but I was still impressed. It was small, but it made it good for younger kids. I was impressed at the animals they had too...some better than the zoo here in Nashville in my opinion.

Dylan and Taylor checking out the python (Dylan knew what kind of snake it was)

They even had a special exhibit...dinosaurs. Dylan's favorite thing in the world :)

(thanks to my mom for coming to our house and watching Natalie so she wasn't subjected to the car for such a long trip)

Taylor, we enjoyed your time with us.

Boys will be Boys

2011-07-02T20:46:00.002-05:00

Boys and their toys....guns that is. No matter how much you keep guns away from boys, they will make guns with anything, sticks, legos, fingers, whatever....so just go ahead and give them guns.

Saying .... see you later

2011-07-01T20:46:00.000-05:00

I say see you later because I don't want to say good bye. A few weeks ago, our friends moved back to their home, Texas. We met them Browns shortly after they moved to Tennessee almost 6 years ago and became friends right away. We met them through our church when they joined our home group. Over the years, we enjoyed many birthday parties, family cook outs, girls night out, and even a trip to Africa.

After the house was packed, before they set off the next morning, we had a final ho-rah for the Browns with a few of their closest friends. It was great to have everyone together to break bread one last time with the Browns as a group and to let our little ones play with EG and N.

With their special gift that we gave them....a scrapbook page from each family.

Of course, I don't think Dylan understands what moving means but I tried to explain it as best as possible....him and N recently started playing a lot more together (N is a few years older)...and Dylan even asks about EG. (Just the other day, I waved at a guy at the store and Dylan asked me if it was N's daddy. I said no baby they live really far away. He said, it looks like N's Daddy.)

It was hard saying "see you later" to the Browns because they have been such a great family to know. They are amazing parents, stand out servants, and great friends. The next chapter in their life will soon unfold and I know that the people who they form friendships with will be blessed because of them.

You will be missed!!!

Yum Yum

2011-06-29T14:28:00.000-05:00

With Natalie, I decided to hold off on giving her any cereal until 6 months. I hoped for her just to get breast milk. However, there for a while, she seemed to be hungry all the time, so we thought we should try to give her some cereal. Of course her first time, she didn't know what to do, so her bib got most of it. Once there was a time she even kicked the whole bowl out of my hand in protest. Every time I fed her cereal, it seemed she got mad. I still continued to try and feed her some every now and then. Here is a picture of her first time having cereal....

I am happy to report that as of today (July 23 --- as this may be pre dated to go along with her first feeding...this is my baby book/scrapbook after all) that Natalie officially learned how to eat cereal. It was like a revelation to her. After she finished the little bit that I fixed her...sucking it down, I fixed her a little more to encourage her. I don't want her to forget how to do it. Then later in the day, I caught her sucking on her lips like she was trying to eat from a spoon. I am so happy she figured this out. She made me one happy momma.

Dylanisms

2011-06-20T10:49:00.000-05:00

I need to jot down the things that Dylan says that makes me chuckle so that he can look back on them when he is older. This week....

As we are looking at Natalie who is asleep. I say, "isn't she cute". Dylan says "yes she is" I reply "let's keep her" to which he replies " then we can put her in a basket, put her in the river and a whale will swallow her" ---at least he's listening the stories. Just a little confused that they all go together.

Later that day, Dylan asks if he can walk on my legs. I say no. He then says Jesus can walk on your legs (guess it's just not water he can walk on) to which I reply, Jesus can do whatever he wants because he's Jesus.

Gotta love what kids come up with.

3 Years Later

2011-06-19T10:37:00.002-05:00

Three years ago, Dylan, Ellie and Cole first met. Dylan was due first, but came last. His friend Cole was born first on April 30th. Ellie was born 2nd on May 1st. Then came Dylan on May 10th.

Three years later, they are still friends. Hopefully there are many more.

Birthday Fun

2011-06-18T10:07:00.000-05:00

We have been hitting up a lot of birthday parties in the past month. It seems like everyone we know has had a birthday. That may be a bit of a stretch but seriously. It's been fun and exhausting. I think one weekend, we had 3 birthday parties, whew. We went to a really unique, kid friendly one last weekend for a very special little, big boy. I say little, big boy because "B" just turned 2 but he's about the same size as Dylan. You would never know by looking at "B" that he has had heart surgery as a baby. He's a tough guy, a fighter, that's for sure. We were honored to have celebrated your 2nd birthday "B".

The party was kid friendly, most are, who am I kidding, but this was a really fun one as their were live animals...yes it was like a petting zoo. Here are a few pictures from the party.

Dylan with the birthday boy and his sister...see he's almost as tall as Dylan

I will add a picture of me and Natalie or me for that matter to any post that I can to prove that I was around. Even though this is not a good picture of me, it is of Natalie as she dressed for the theme "farm".

Dylan loves snakes. He talks about them all the time and just the other night he insisted that he had to have 3 of his snakes to take to bed since he was 3 years old. At this party, the guy had 3 snakes but Dylan only met this one. When he brought the other two out, that were bigger than this one, the guy went to put it around his neck and Dylan screamed and ran. Now when Dylan says he's not afraid of anything, I remind him that he screamed and ran away from the big snakes.

We had a blast. Thanks for inviting us.

VBS - The Big Apple

2011-06-17T22:06:00.000-05:00

At the beginning of June, our campus held it's very first VBS. We did the Big Apple (Lifeway curriculum) theme. I was asked to do the bible story/ praise time for the preschool aged kids (basically what I do every Sunday). I was nervous at first about how Natalie would do, but God really covered it all. Our schedules synced up perfectly and she basically just napped while we were there.

Dylan really enjoyed VBS. He was such a sweet kid all week and I think that can be chalked up to the extra stimulation throughout the week. He was a little reluctant to go into his class at first, but then by the time he came to bible story, he was in a good mood and then when I would go to pick him up "I am not ready to go yet" was what I heard.

Before VBS, I was listening to the CD that went with the curriculum and Dylan started singing along in the car. It was the sweetest thing. He doesn't come to Wee Connect yet (that's my Sunday morning class) but he caught on real quick. He was answering questions about the story and singing along with everyone. However he did learn that most answers were "Jesus and God"...smart booger...so he would belt that answer out each time.

VBS was a success and I can't wait until next year.

Watch Natalie Grow - 4 months

2011-06-16T22:29:00.000-05:00

Seems like yesterday that we brought Natalie home from the hospital, so it's hard to believe that she is now 4 months old. We went to the doctor earlier in the week and her stats were: 12 lbs 4 oz and 24 inches. She is a little peanut. For weight, she is in the 24th percentile and for height, she is in the 50th percentile.

At 4 months she has rolled over a few times but not consistently. She sleeps about 5 or 6 hours at night, but she is still in our room in her little upright bed contraption (which by the way is my favorite baby purchase ever. It's a must have for any new mom.) Some nights she will sleep up to 7 hours straight. She is starting to laugh out loud now which is adorable, not to mention cooing.

It's been kind of hard for me not to compare her milestones to Dylan's. I know I shouldn't because all babies are different, especially Dylan who was an advanced little guy. Right at 3 months, he was rolling over non stop. We couldn't keep him off his belly. At 5 months, he was crawling and at 8 months, he was walking. I know I can't compare Nattie Cakes to him. She's no where close to crawling or sitting up. Dr. L did tell me to get her off her back more because her head is still rather flat, but the girl is not a fan of tummy time and I just don't have the heart to let her lay there and cry. I try to do it in little spurts every few hours. Dr. L did assure me that her head lifting skills on her tummy is right were she would expect it to me. whew. I almost wish there was no such thing is the internet when it comes to babies. We read way to much and expect our kids to do the same things, but they will all learn at their own pace. That's what I have to tell myself. Like the kids in Africa, they spend most of their infancy on their mother's back while they work, they reach those milestones just like any other child...maybe later than the average but it happens.

Visit from T.K.

2011-06-09T15:05:00.001-05:00

It seems like such a short time ago, that I saw T.K. but after talking with him, it had been almost a year...really? I guess when you feel so close to someone, you feel like you just saw them. T.K. is from Nigeria originally and has lived in Malawi for several years. I met him during my first trip to Malawai and got reacquainted with him when he came to the U.S. about 6 months later. When we found out we were pregnant with Natalie, T.K. was the first person that we told...on skype none the less (sorry Mom you weren't the first). While in Malawi last year, T.K. was responsible for making sure I was safe..seeing I was preggers with Natalie and all. He did just that. When he was here just a few weeks ago, he came by our house for a visit. Dylan was quite the bashful one and the picture portrays reality, that's for sure.

We can't wait to see you next time T.K.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-08T14:53:00.002-05:00

School's Out for Summer

2011-06-07T14:48:00.000-05:00

This is a bit old....I am behind on blogging. One day I will be able to post the same week the event happens, but until then....everything will be old news. The reason I blog anyway is to have a scrapbook for the kids when they get older (I convert my blog into a hard back book) so when they read it, it will be really old news. Now onto the real post....

Dylan had a great year at school. I can't believe it was 9 months ago that he had his first day. At first, he was reluctant to go to class. Then there were days that I had to peel him off my leg and make a mad dash for the door. We were fortunate to have several days were he kissed me good bye and like a big boy, went into his class room all on his own after dropping off his lunch at their table. I must say, I wasn't thrilled that we had to do the Monday/Wednesday class, as all of Dylan's friends were in Tues/Thurs programs..what would we do on these days if they are all in school??? It came to a point where one of the kids dropped out of the Tues/Thurs program. This meant Dylan could have jumped over and been with one of his best buds, J, but I felt like God had put him in the Mon/Wed program for a reason, so we hung in there. We came out with some really good friends, a few of which we still do stuff with today. Not to mention that he had 2 really special teachers. Thank you so much Mrs. Lindsay and Mrs. Ann for teaching our little ones. We were blessed by you and your love for the kids.

We can't wait until next year. Especially for mommy to get a break and not to mention the car rider line...woo hoo. No more walking in and out to drop them off and pick them up.

Checking out his goodies

Mrs. Ann

Mrs. Lindsay

You can come back next year Dylan, don't be sad