a bit blogged down

Dear Emma,

You have grown so much in the last few months I can hardly believe my eyes!  I was just reading your birth story the other day and I can’t believe you are the same person that came out at only 6 lbs.  You were such a little fragile peanut.  Everyone around you is noticing how you are talking so much more lately.  You like to say, “Mom, listen to my story.”  Then you go on and on about your day or something you’ve made up.  It’s funny because you don’t just talk normal, you do it in this dramatic way.  It’s hilarious.  Even Ms. Jessie noticed today how you’re so much more animated and opinionated.  I told her that you’ve always been opinionated, it’s just that you’re just now getting comfortable enough to express yourself.  Jessie thinks it’s a good thing and assures me that no one will mess with you.  I guess that’s a good thing.  You are VERY opinionated.  You want things your way and you will stand right in front of someone and yell their name until they listen to you, even if they are talking to someone else.  I don’t think you’ve figured out that other people exist around you and that sometimes you have to wait your turn.  We’ll work on that one.

You still have your stubborn, sassy, redheaded personality.  I’m really hoping some of the attitude is a phase…REALLY hoping.  Grammy says you’re spoiled rotten, but just between you and me, I think she’s part of the problem.  Shhhhhhh.  You love your Grammy and you’re very close to her.  Because of that, you often give her attitude, kind of like you do to me.  We put up with it because we love you, but it drives us nuts.  Grandpa says he thinks you’ve made him your personal slave lately.  Thankfully, he also says he thinks he remembers this phase with Carter, which means at some point it will end.  You’re really into dolls/babies and taking care of them.  You’ve made Grandpa your babysitter, so when you “go to the movies” he watches your baby.  You also like to put your baby, “Carter” in time-out ALL day.  After a few hours, Grandpa insisted you rename the baby that makes bad choices all day, so now you call him Jimmy.  You did not get this all day time out idea from me, however, I would agree that I’ve thought about it multiple times.  Blankets must be all around you for your comfort and to make beds for your babies.  You rock them, tell them “Shhhh” lovingly and feed them their bottles.  It’s really adorable.

Torturing Carter is a natural talent of yours.  You love to get him in trouble and blame him for things that aren’t his fault.  I never thought by the age of 3 you’d master all these important “sister skills.”  Good job, you’re such a quick learner.  Whining is also one of your talents, but we’re working on that one, as well.  Frequently now, you tell us you’re frustrated, which I think is quite mature for a three year old.  Along with that you say, “Darn it!” and walk away with your mad face.  We try to help you when you’re frustrated or when you get hurt, sometimes you let us love on you and help and sometimes you don’t.  You really want to do so much on your own now.  Although, you still like to be carried A LOT…especially when Grandpa is around.  I have convinced you to walk the last few times we’ve run errands and you’ve done great.  You love to get on the end of the cart and go for a ride.  I guess I’ve turned into “that” parent that lets their child ride on the end of the cart…ugh.  You love it and so far you haven’t fallen.  I admit you do get to do things that Carter didn’t at this age, but I’m really hoping this makes you a more adjusted child.  I guess only time will tell on that one.

Stubbornness and spunk are not your only qualities.  You’re also loving…when you want to be.  You are great at giving hugs and kisses.  I love and cherish everyone of them.  Lately, I’ve been getting less snuggles as you’re becoming more independent.  So when I do get them I just close my eyes and enjoy every second…that is until you pop up and ask me if I want to hear a story.  Tonight you just sat on my lap facing me and we played with each other for at least 30 minutes.  It was so fun.  I love to hear you laugh.  You laugh every time Bot’s belly screen shows up on Team Umizoomi.  That and Yo Gabba Gabba are your favorite shows.  You would watch them all day if I let you.  However, we all love to put on a show for you so we can see you dance around the living room like you don’t have a care in the world.  It makes us all smile.

You weigh 30 lbs. now and wear a size 3T on top and bottom and a size 8 in shoes.  You love to wear your fake UGG boots and your pink cowboy boots.  You also like hats, such as your beanies and your Hello Kitty fidora.  We’re currently trying to get you to stop sucking your thumb.  First, we’re trying to stop it during the day and then we’ll move to nighttime.  I know this will be very hard for you, but it’s time.

Ellie is your best friend and you love talking to her on your “phone” while you’re in your kitchen.  You come up with very realistic sounding conversations.  When I watch this, I see future flashes to your teenage years when you spend hours on the phone, or texting, or whatever teenagers will be doing in 10 years.  Scary.  Cooking at home always involves you since you always want to help Grammy or me or anyone around you that is cooking.  Ironically, you’re eating habits aren’t the best.  You eat healthy for the most part…if you consider cheesy crackers a crucial food group.  We buy whales (the Walmart version of goldfish) and you ask for them throughout the day, even for breakfast.  I do limit them and only give them to you once a day and in a normal quantity.  Otherwise, you’re pretty picky with your eating.  You don’t like beans or vegetables, but you like bananas, cheese, yogurt, and you LOVE peanut butter.  Yep, you’re your momma’s girl!  Meat, just cut up is always a winner with you, as well.  No fancy stuff, just the meat.  Oh, I almost forgot your favorite thing…candy. Your life revolves around it.  You ask for mints all day, and try to get a special candy treat after every meal, except breakfast.  When you occasionally get the sugar you so badly crave, you eat a little and then you’re done. Frequently, you will leave half of your treat in your bowl.  Happily, Carter or Daddy finish it off for you.

Daddy knows you well and knows how to deal with you when you’re in a mood, which is quite often.  He gives you all that good daddy love that you need and deserve.  You have him wrapped around your little pinky, but we’ll just keep that as our little secret.  Your daddy loves watching you do all those girly things you do, from your lip gloss to your babies.  If you know what’s best for you, you’ll keep him on your good side.

You are such a princess.  You are sweet and spicy, naughty and nice.  You are unique and special and in some weird way I can’t explain, you perfectly complete our family.  I think you offer the smiles and excitement that our lives would be lacking without you.  We love you, Emma!!

Dear Carter,

Just a few days ago, you turned six years old.  As we’ve always said, you’re so mature for your age.  You rarely act like a six year old.  You are responsible, considerate, and caring.  Each month that goes by, you learn new things and  can do more and more for yourself.  I am enjoying the fact that you take showers completely by yourself now.  Daddy or I just tell you to go shower and ten minutes later, you’re out and dressed.  You still fight me on your laundry, but it’s not because you can’t do it or don’t want to do it.  You just want someone to do it with you.  You help around the house by unloading the dishwasher (a job your dad and I hate), setting the table, and cleaning up the table after dinner.  You are still a wonderful helper.  You help whenever asked without any complaining.

Physically, you’re the cutest six year old I’ve ever seen…hands down.  Each day I see more freckles on the bridge of your nose and cheeks.  I love every single one of those freckles.  I tell you they’re angel kisses and you have a lot of angels kissing on you.  Most people are surprised when I tell them you’re six.  You really look like you could be eight.  You are very tall for your age and you weigh 60 lbs.  You are very healthy and don’t have an inch of fat on you.  I’m sure that’s because you’re always on the go.  You just moved into size 7 in pants and you’re wearing 7s on the top, too.  I think your bottom is finally catching up with your top.  You are wearing a size 3 shoe, although they are a bit big.  It seems we’re buying shoes for you all the time; between wearing them out and growing out of them.

You love to play with your friends outside at school and you love to do all things outside and active.  You are getting ready to start your second season of baseball (t-ball).  Weekends always involve a trip to our nearby park to play frisby, throw the football, or go for a family bike ride.  You now want to ride your electric scooter all the time.  Grammy and Grandpa got you that for your birthday.  You are obsessed with that, your radio controlled helicopter, and the kindle fire.  You still love spending time with your family and especially Grammy and Grandpa.  You still golf occasionally with Grandpa and you play games with Grammy every time we get together.  Your favorites are War and Uno although, I recently taught you Yahtzee and you enjoyed that too.  You’re like your Grammy in that there’s not really a game you don’t like.  You enjoy games on the computer and the Fire.  Angry Birds is just one of your favorites.  Watching TV is fun for you, but you’d rather watch a movie.  Word World is your favorite show right now and Diary of a Wimpy Kid is your favorite movie along with Popeye.

Emma is finally at a age where you two can really play together.  You love to eat together, when you’re not arguing about something.  Playdough is your favorite activity to do together other than wrestling.  You’re really good at teaching her things.  Recently, you taught Emma her numbers 1-5 in just a few minutes in the car.  For the most part, you’re pretty patient with her, however, there are those moments where Emma is irrational and we just look at eachother and roll our eyes.  We both get how high maintenance she is, but we love her anyway.  Most times lately, you play with your toys and she plays with hers, but you like to be in the same room.  It is rare that you go in your room for alone time.  You’d much rather be where the action is.

Kindergarten is going well.  A few weeks ago you finished mastering all your kindergarten sight words.  You are such a good reader now.  Ms. Mallard tells you to point at the words and you do because she says to, but you don’t think you need to.  You even sound out the words in your head.  I’m so glad you’ve picked this up quickly.  I hope you find a love in reading.  Right now you love it.  You ask to be read to daily and we read chapter books at night.  We just started the Magic Tree House series.  At your conference after the first quarter, Ms. Mallard said that you knew all the stuff you were supposed to, but you are a bit too talkative during class time.  This doesn’t really surprise me much.  You are very social and love being around people.  Brooks is your best friend and you love playing with him.  Today you came home crying for the first time because he wouldn’t share the ball with you during playtime at daycare.  You didn’t say anything to any of the adults because you didn’t want to get him in trouble.  You’re so sweet and almost always put others before yourself.   I hope you always have friends that appreciate that in you and don’t take advantage of it.  Your confidence is rising and I’m sure you are able to stick up for yourself if you need to.

The majority of your time out of school is spent with your dad doing boy stuff.  You two love to go to the park, play catch, ride bikes, and play with your helicopter.  Daddy loves spending time with you and I think one reason is because he gets to be a kid again, too, when he plays with you.  He teaches you so much when you play.  He wants you to be the best you can be and he’ll always be there to help you in any way he can.  He loves having you around to share life with.  He is now sharing with you all the things that he loved to do as a boy…sports, fishing, camping.  What a blessing that I get to see my two special guys spend such important time together.

We’ve been going on dates for quite a while now.  We go every month or so.  Red Lobster is your favorite place to go and then we go for an ice cream or a movie.  I love this time that I get you to myself.  I feel like I get to know you when we spend good quality time together.  I love who you are becoming.  Our next date is this Friday and we’re going to see Phineas and Ferb.  I can’t wait!

About a month ago you lost your front top teeth.  I absolutely love your smile with no teeth.  However, they are already growing back in.  Your smile (teeth or not) brightens my day.  This morning you told me that you couldn’t get out of bed before you got your Mommy Hugs.  You melt my heart.  We give snuggles, hugs, and kisses throughout the day and you promise me you’ll still give me snuggles even when you’re bigger than me.  I read you your birth story on your birthday and I think it was the first time you realized how much I love you.  We cried and hugged together as I read it.  You have such a big heart, I truly dread the day someone breaks it as I know mine will break along with it.   Hopefully, that is a long time away.  For now it is enough for you to hear every night that I’m proud to be your mom, I know you’ve got what it takes to be a great, godly man someday, and I love you with all of my heart.  And that is enough for me, too.

Christmas Eve and Christmas this year were very busy, but wonderful.  On Christmas Eve, we went over to Grandma C’s house for lunch and presents.  It was a great meal and we all had fun.  Carter found a new buddy in Randall.  I think he finally found someone with similar strength.  ;)  About 4:00 we headed home to give Emma a small nap before heading to church.  She woke up VERY grouchy, so after rushing to get to church, she had a major meltdown.  I ended up changing her into her Christmas Eve jammies in the car and taking her cranky butt back into church.  She finally calmed down after some crackers.  After church, it was straight to Seanna’s house so we could visit with Jason’s brother, Jeff, and family.  It was great to see everyone.  We came home a little after 9 and tucked the kiddos into bed.  I didn’t sleep well that night or the night before because I was so excited for all the festivities to come.

After being awake since about 3:30, Carter came into our bed at 6:00.  Mom and Dad came over at 6:30 and we woke up Emma.  We headed into the living room where Santa had left Carter a new bike and Emma a kitchen.  I really wish our kids would show a little enthusiasm.  They were happy, but don’t ever get super excited.  :(  Maybe one of these days Santa will get them something that will encourage a real excited reaction.  Oh well.

Next we opened stockings.

The favorite was Carter’s noise putty.  Carter would laugh so hard after making horrific butt noises.  I could listen to his laugh for hours.  I love it.  Jason had to get in on the noise putty, too!

We spent the next couple hours opening presents and playing with them.

Here’s Dad opening up his shovel and ax from Jason.

We are very blessed this year that our family is healthy and we had a very nice Christmas.  I know when I look back in ten years or so, that these will be the best Christmases.  We are enjoying every moment, except maybe the meltdowns.  I hope those end soon.  :)

Lastly, here’s a picture of Emma with her favorite gift (from Blanca)…her Dolly and matching jammies.

How fortunate we are to recognize and believe in the true reason for all the celebration…Jesus.  Thank you, God, for sending your son, Jesus, to save us.  What a sacrifice!

Well, it’s been a busy Christmas season and we have been greatly blessed.  Our family has been healthy, for the most part and we have been full of the Spirit.  The festivities began with making a gingerbread house with the kids.

Next, we took the kids to church to learn about the true meaning of Christmas…JESUS!!!

Then Emma had her first dance recital, which was precious.  She performed one song, Jingle Bell Rock and then sat and sang We Wish You a Merry Christmas.  She did great!  Being on stage and in front of people didn’t bother her at all.  Her BFF, Ellie, was a bit more apprehensive.  Poor thing.  At the end of the performance, we had cookies and saw Santa.  Ellie did great, but sitting on Santa’s lap is definitely not Emma’s thing.  ;)

Mom and Jason waiting for the performance to begin.

I brought Emma with me to school for our Christmas party.  I got her all ready at home first.  She is SO big!

Next post…CHRISTmas!!!

When I last took Carter to the dentist, they told me that his front teeth were getting a little wiggly.  They predicted that they would be out by the next visit, which just happened to be last week.  They were right!

Carter got the first one out on his own.  Then he sported his redneck look for a week or two.

I tried some gentle prodding (ok, maybe it wasn’t so gentle, but I was so ready for that tooth to be out), but I realized that wasn’t helping, so I just waited.  One night he went into the bathroom and tried to pull it out himself, but it was hanging by a thread.  He called me in and I gave it a quick yank and it was out.  It only hurt for a minute.  I love how he’s so happy here, but you can still see the tears.  Being a kid is hard sometimes.

Lastly, the tooth under the pillow for the tooth fairy.  She brought his own pack of gum and $5.

I absolutely love his new smile with no top teeth.  I think of this of the last time he’ll actually look like a little boy. If the top teeth are anything like the bottom, they’ll come in big!  They need to match the rest of his size, I guess.

Emma is officially addicted to the show Yo Gabba Gabba.  So when I saw that they were coming to the Rabobank, I decided that I’d get tickets for Jason to take Emma on their date night.  Emma chose to go to dinner at Elephant Bar and then it was off to the show.  She wanted to sit on Jason’s lap almost the whole time.  Jason was not heartbroken by this.  He loves his little girl snuggles.  She sat there in a trance, just like she did at the circus.  We assumed that she liked it, but the next day she asked if we were going to see Yo Gabba Gabba again.  I told her no and she said, “Awwww, man.”  I guess she really liked it.

This past week Carter had a big celebration at school…Native American Day.  They had been working and learning about Native Americans for several weeks and this was the culminating activity.

It was on a Friday and Mom was nice enough to watch Emma, so I could go and spend the day with Carter.  He was happy to have me there and I was lucky enough that I got to walk around with his group.

His Native American name he chose himself: Wise Owl.  I must say, it fits him well.  The only other name that might fit him better is Talking Bear (for his mouth and his size).

He got to plant corn, grind corn, shoot buffalo with a bow and arrow, make a necklace, get his face painted, decorate his vest, go fishing, eat a feast, and more.

Here’s Carter’s best buddy, Brooks.

My big boy…man I love him!

Dad, Jason, and Carter decided to head to Quail Valley for the day to check it out as a future camping spot and to do some fishing.  Jason had heard about this spot from his sister, Kay.  It’s not too far from home and it’s absolutely beautiful.  The boys did some fishing and caught a few trout.  That always helps make the trip a success.  It turns out it seems like a great place to camp, but maybe a bit earlier in the year.  It was quite chilly.  Nonetheless, Carter loved being out on an adventure with his dad and grandpa.

They left super early…before the sun was up.

I hope we’re able to go soon.  This whole work thing is really messing up our camping schedule.  ;)

We decided to head over to the church for the 2nd year in a row with the Grumbles’ for a Halloween celebration.  Halloween fell on Monday this year, so it was nice we could go out on Saturday and let the kids have a good time.  We had dinner together at BJ’s first and then it was on to St. John’s for trunk or treating and other games and activities.  The kids were so cute all dressed up.  Carter was a military man, Emma a cheerleader, Ellie was Ariel, and Paisley was Pocahontas.  Carter only agreed to the military costume, if we’d buy him a gun.  So, I picked one up at the dollar store.  He couldn’t take it to church, though.  Emma chose her own costume and she chose the cheerleader over all the princess costumes.  She loved the pom-poms and yelling Go Niners!  Of course she quickly handed off the pom-poms once she realized she was going to get to hold candy…her favorite.

I love this one of Jason and Emma walking to the festivities.

We took a hay ride.

Carter played some games.

Both kids got to climb up in a real fire truck!

The kids had a great time!

On Monday night, the actual Halloween day, we were planning on taking the kids around to a few houses in the neighborhood to trick-or-treat, but they were so excited to stay home and give candy out.  Maybe next year.

With Emma potty trained and all, I felt it was time to redo her nursery.  I guess it’s my way of saying she’s not a baby anymore…sniff, sniff.  I wanted her to have a big girl room and I wanted her to have storage for all her clothes and her girly stuff.  I did lots of research on furniture and then convinced Jason that Emma needed a medium height loft bed.  Her room is not huge and I wanted to maximize her storage and give her furniture that would last many years.

I loved redecorating her room.  In fact, I should just confess that this was my opportunity to create the dream room that I always wanted.  Yes, I’m living through her, at least for a day; until she decides that she doesn’t like this and wants to change that.  When she’s old enough to want things “her way” (I’m really hoping this doesn’t happen until age 10), I’ll tell her she can wait until she has a daughter and she can decorate her room.  ;)  Actually, we got neutral color furniture so that if she wants to change colors later, it’s not a big deal.

I painted a coat rack to hold her dance bag and hung it under her bow holder behind her door.  Jason hung a mirror low on the back of her door, so that she can look at herself if she’s playing dress-up.

I kept her clock and shelf the same with just one picture of her when she was a baby.

Online, I bought a bookcase that is a ladder style.  It was supposed to be white and pink.  When it got here, it was off-white and wouldn’t look good, so I painted it brown and left the sides pink.  We won’t use it for books, since she has a bookcase in her closet, but it’s good for storage of random girly items.

Here’s how all that came together.

We got rid of her changing table, and bought a dresser.  I keep her hair stuff on top of her dresser and I decorated a bulletin board to hold pictures.

I found the cutest tree wall art at Target and added a pink bean bag chair.  This sits right next to the closet, where her bookcase is.  Whenever she wants she can sit down, open the closet, and read.

She insisted I take a picture with her and her baby.

Here’s her bed with storage below and 3 drawers.  There is actually a desk that fits in the space by the window.  We pulled it out and put it on the wall, so she can use that area as a fort, to play in.

I love, love, love this bed.  It is so fun and sturdy, too!  If only I could be a kid again.  When she moves out, I may keep it and move into her room.  ;)

Here’s her desk.  I painted the wooded flowers and strung wire, so we can hang her work above her desk.

So here’s all that together.

And my sweetie…

That was so much fun, but I’m really glad it’s finished.  I hope someday she can appreciate it as much as I do.  She did thank me last night for fixing her room, so she’s on her way.