He's a big boy now...

Tonight at the dinner table I was helping the boy eat a banana... he has to eat them whole these days... I am no longer allowed to cut them up... he is after all, a big boy. Tonight we had the following conversation...

I asked him "Do you like bananas?"

"Yeah!" he answered.

"Do you know who else likes to eat bananas?"

"Um, I do!"

"I know you do. Do you know what animal likes to eat bananas?"

"No, mommy. Animals eat grass."

Since when did he start correcting me? And since when did he start talking so much? And furthermore, just where is he learning all of this stuff?

Well, he is a big boy now.

He has been sleeping in his big boy bed, for both naps and through the night, since Friday.

He is very proud of himself! And we are pretty proud of him too! The crib has officially been taken down. Soon it will be stored away. All the signs of his babyhood are quickly slipping away.
It is a really fun time in our lives, but sometimes it is hard to process that this is how much change occurs in only two years. It's going to be quite an adventure.

Oh, the secrets they will share...

This afternoon both kids were playing on the floor in our game room while I was sewing. I could hear the boy telling things to the girl the whole time. He would tell her about his cars, ask her questions about her toys and just talk to her in general. At one point I heard him toot. I looked up in time to see him lean in close to his sister and whisper into her ear...

"Sister, I tooted." as quietly as his two year old voice would let him.

It was funny. But it was also a sudden glimpse into a future of many shared secrets between them that I will never be a part of... and I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of envy that I won't be part of that world. But I am so happy that they have each other!

How to carve a pumpkin... by Caden

First you have to put on matching shirts and get your picture made with your little sister. It is so annoying.

"Seriously, mommy?"

I had to keep telling sister to smile.

Mommy said something about it being a disaster so she made me switch places with sister. Then sister wouldn't look at the camera at all.

I was tired of sitting there by this time. I just started laughing... and nobody could figure out what sister was looking at. Mom finally gave up.
She settled for this picture.

Ok, so back to pumpkin carving. First you need to get your tools.
You will need one of these...
And one of these...
Then dad cuts open the top and you pull it off like this...
Be sure to inspect it really closely before moving on. I don't know what you should be looking for... just make it look really important.

Then you pull out the gooey slimy stuff.
At this point your hands should look like this...
And this...
Then you go play for about an hour to an hour and a half. During that time you might hear mommy and daddy say things like "carpal tunnel" and stuff. But they really seemed to enjoy it... daddy even said that carving pumpkins was a great idea and mommy said something about sarcasm... whatever that is. But they were laughing, so I KNOW they were having as good of a time as I was.

Then after you are all done playing you get to see your pumpkin. Guess which one mine is. Daddy said it looks just like me... I think that is a good thing.
Then your mommy will make you get your picture made again. Be sure to say "CHEESE" so you don't have to keep getting pictures made.
After all that hard work you will probably need a nap! Happy carving!!

She's 5 months old...

Things have been so busy! I keep looking back at the photos on my camera and realizing that I just don't have anything to post about! But with the holidays coming we will have a TON of photo opportunities!

So anyway, she turned FIVE months old today. Gulp. Time flies! So we started off the day in this outfit...
This picture turned out pretty cute. I like how she is holding the sign with her little hand and almost pointing to it with the other. It's as if she is saying "Hey look! I am this many today!" After this photo my camera battery pooped out on me. So, as I got up to go charge my battery the girl spit up all over this outfit.

Fast forward several hours later... this was the outfit. I tried to redo the the photo shoot, but the dad and brother were too distracting. Plus at this point she would not hold the sign... she just kept trying to eat it (notice the crinkles in the paper)... I had to hang it from the swing.

I have started giving her some cereal in the afternoon. More on that later... but I'll just say she is really starting to like it!

Another of her favorite things is this flower arrangement in her room.

As soon as she spots it she starts kicking her legs and stretching out her arms to try and get it. I am not sure it will survive her babyhood, but hey... no big deal!

Please excuse the quality of the pics... I had to take them through the mirror with one hand. It is amazing the talents you acquire as a mom. It ought to be an Olympic Sport... but I don't know what you would call it... mommy-tasking.

We are also getting ready for Halloween. Dollar spot pants from Target... can you stand it? Too cute! She is getting to that point where she is doing something different every day. She is changing so quickly. In a way it is so exciting, but in a way I am sad at how quickly she will leave this stage of her life! But for now we will just enjoy each day!

10 Things I LOVE about the boy...

Please understand that there are an infinite number of things I love about him, but here are some of my favorite things.

1. I love that he has a receding hairline... before he has even gotten much hair. I inspect his hairline on a regular basis wondering if the hair will ever fill in there. We have to leave the top long to help hide it!

2. I love his nose. It is so cute and little. When he was born several of the nurses commented on his "cute little button nose" and ooohed and ahhhed and giggled over it every time they saw him.

3. I love how his voice changes to this high-pitched "sweet" voice when he is talking to Mama Frog or his baby sister. It is the cutest thing!

4. I love how much he LOVES cars, trucks, and trains... and bulldozers, front-end loaders, tractors... etc. He plays with them all day long every day!

5. I love that he wants to look at his hair in the mirror every morning to see if he has "crazy hair". If he does have crazy hair, he laughs and says "Mommy, bad hair day!"

6. I love that he loves music. I love that while singing the days of the week song in preschool the other day he jumped up and started dancing! That's how much he loves to sing... and dance.

7. I love that he has a good heart. He is so loving and helpful to his family and friends. But we knew he was going to have a good heart, even before he was born.

8. I love that when he toots, he blames everyone else in the room and avoids owning up to it himself. "Oh, daddy tooted. Oh, no. Chia tooted. Oh. Uhhh, sister tooted."

9. I love that he loves books. It tickles me to no end for him to ask me to read to him. I look forward to the days when we read exciting stories like The Chronicles of Narnia and... well, there are just too many to mention.

10. I love that he will eat anything... except Cheetos! The boy wants to try any and everything the dad and I eat. Rarely... very, very rarely does he not want more. This tickles his father to no end... he can't wait to introduce him to sushi... in hopes that the boy will love it... thus giving him a reason to eat it more often!

But, more than anything I love being his mommy! He is such a blessing!

What we've been doing...

Things have just been hopping right along around here. I have been trying to update the blog, but it has not been cooperating with my photos... and I just don't have all day to mess with it... so I keep giving up on it! But today we have success... well, except for the fact that I posted the photos in reverse order of occurrence. Oh well... just try to follow along!

Today has been a lazy day... mostly because both kids decided that 4 am was a good time to wake up. The husband and I then spent the rest of the night going back and forth between them trying our best to convince them they were mistaken in thinking it was time to get up. We were finally successful at about 7 am. But that didn't last long, they were up and ready for the day by 8:30. Sigh.

As always, the boy LOVES music. He would listen to it, dance to it, and sing to it all day long if I would let him. The other day he burst out with a rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star... we didn't even know he knew that one. It seems he learned it at preschool. His teacher says that music time... and playing outside... are his favorite times of the day! Also, note that his clothes don't fit him. The boy is growing like a weed and I am not sure that anything I bought him for winter will still fit him by the time it is cool enough to wear them!
The girl is growing quickly too! Her newest discovery is spending time in the ExerSaucer. I think she enjoys it, but she gets really frustrated with the toys and her lack of ability to get them into her mouth!

Can you stand this? She sleeps on her tummy now... and her hiney is always in the air! It is so darn cute!

We also recently celebrated my birthday. We won't discuss which one it was... but I am starting to feel a little old. We'll leave it at that. The fam got me this adorable... and yummy... cake! I also got a sewing/ embroidery machine... and the list of projects is growing by the minute. But it gives me an excuse for buying more fabric... and that is my most favorite thing to do! The husband is just so glad I have another reason to spend money!

It has been raining a lot around here... and since our backyard is in desperate need of landscaping... we have a TON of mud! It is great when you have a huge dog that likes to track it in all over the house and two small children that play on the floor! One of the many reasons I so love this time of year! (Can you sense the sarcasm?? I'm laying it on pretty thick!)

Anyway, in better trying to allow my boy to express his boyness... I let him play in the mud the other day! Thankfully he didn't go too crazy. Just this little bit of mud caused me to need to spray him down in the tub... then clean out the tub... then give him a bath. Sometimes it just isn't worth it to have fun! Okay, not really... it is totally worth it!



In early September we also watched the cousins get their black belts in Karate. It was so exciting, and stressful, and amazing... and stressful. I am glad I had no idea what they were going to have to do... I am not sure I could have handled it.

My boy... thinks he is just as big as the cousins are. I am glad he isn't there yet... those boys are growing up way too quickly.

I took pictures of the event (along with a few other people) in hopes of capturing some great moments. I took 630 something pics... hopefully we got some good ones! Plus it helped me not think too much about what was going on... thus less stress for me. I sure am glad I wasn't the mama there... phew!




Well, that is about it. We are getting ready for the holidays... gulp. I just can't believe how quickly the months are passing by! Each year it gets more and more exciting as our family grows larger and the kids get bigger! It's such a fun adventure!