Thursday, August 2, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
Spring has Sprung!!
It was a very mild winter(very mild - only 2 significant snow falls; even then under 4"). Spring came in full force too! The ground hog predicted 6 more weeks of winter, but mid-March brought temps in the 80s!!! The kids are LOVING it outside. Now if we can just get the back yard to completely dry up, so I can stop worrying about Andi & her MUDDY paws!!! She has to get a "paw-dicure" every time she goes out. Not fun... But, the past week has been more Spring like with temps in the 50s & 60s and this week it's been dry!!! Yay!
February started with Elmo Live on 02/03. Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry bought tickets for Sean & Evie for Christmas & Daddy & I decided to tag along. ;) Both kids were sent with money from Grandma & Puppa and Grandpa Jim to buy souveniers as well. The kids seriously want for nothing, especially when a grandparent is involved!!! The Wilsons went too. They bought a family four pack almost a month after us & their seats were one row behind us. It was perfect. We went to Hockey Town Cafe for dinner. It wasn't crowded, the kids behaved well. It was a pleasant dining experience even with the ratio of kids to adults being 1:1! :) We headed over to the Fox, found our seats right away (amazing seats by the way; front row, center balcony!) and the show started within 5 minutes of us sitting down. The kids did great. No one could've prepared me for how much Evie enjoyed the show. She was in awe the whole time. She danced, pointed, sang - it was awesome. I don't know if I smiled or cried more, but both were brought on by happiness. :)02/10 Evie & I went to Mrs. Nancy's house for lunch. Again, it brought me great happiness to watch Evie enjoy her food! :) Evie ate majedra, hummus, falafel, fruit, etc. She's definitely my child!! It was really cool to watch her play with Gianna too. She was nice to her & interested in her. I'm hoping this is a sign of how she'll react to her little sister when she gets here! :) On 02/11 me, Daddy, Sean & Evie went to Lakeside Mall. We just wanted to get out & do something, but it was too cold outside to do anything outdoors. The kids rode the merry-go-round and a train. Sean went into a bounce house area & Evie played on foam boats & slides. We had dinner & got a Mario prize at Game Stop. 02/16 Sean tied his shoes for the first time!!! Every report card he gets has all 1's and (1) 4. 1 is the best you can get, 4 is the worst. The 4 is always next to "ties his shoes". We decided to really work on it one day & by the end of our "training session", he had done it himself. That week he went to school & showed Mrs. Scott. He got a star on the shoe tieing board! 02/18 we went to the Young People's Wildlife Fair at the Best Western Sterling Inn. Grandpa Jim, Paige, the Wilsons & the Murphys were there too. Evie was most interested in the "stuffed" animals. She loved the bears, coyotes, wolves, etc. Sean was more interested in the live animals. He held a bunny and even briefly held a snake! It made him nervous & you could tell when he was ready to be done, but I was so proud of him for trying it. We watched the Birds of Prey presentation too & got to see some owls. 02/22 was Sean's 100th day of school field trip. Every day of school each kid put 1 penny in a jar. By the 100th day, they each had $1, so the field trip was to Burger King & the dollar store. I got to go with him. We had lunch first, then went to Dollar Tree where the kids each picked out a toy. Then, we went back to the school for show & tell. 03/03 was Aunt Mary's baby shower. Evie wore a pretty pink dress & went with me to the shower. She loved twirling around in her dress & the attention it brought her. She also sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" the whole time. Sean & Daddy went to see The Lorax while we were there. Sean has seen it in the theater twice since with Grandpa Jim. I think he likes it!! 03/05-03/09 was Spirit Week at WWCS. Monday was sports day, so Sean wore one of his flag football jerseys. Tuesday was mismatch day. Wednesday was Lion/Lamb day (Sean was a lion). Thursday was culture day (Sean wore a "lucky & charming" shirt, along with an irish hat) and Friday was career day (Sean was a mechanic). He was excited to show Puppa his mechanic shirt because it looked like his, except it didn't say Mario, so we went by Grandma & Puppa's after school. March definitely came in like a lamb, so we spent a lot of time outside & at the park that week & the next. 03/13 & 03/14 Evie was a sicky baby. :( Both kids managed to stay remarkable healthy all fall/winter. Evie had one virus that didn't last long & that was the worst of it other than the occasional runny nose. Amazing how you can stay healthy through flu season & then get the flu in March! She did great though. She threw up a few times the one morning & then once the next day. We had to eliminate yogurt & dairy for a couple days though, so that was hard. Evie loves her yogurt!! 03/16 - VACATION!!! We took Sean to school & stopped by CVS for some last minute essentials. We came home & finished packing, picked Sean up from school, picked Daddy up from work & then headed north. We planned on maybe stopping once before Grayling, but every one was doing so well in the car, so we just wanted to get there. We checked in & almost immediately got our bathing suits on & went swimming. Sean was a little nervous at first when it came to jumping in, but it wasn't long before he was jumping in & swimming the width of the pool by himself. He is such a good swimmer, especially for his age! We saved up lots of quarters, with help from all the grandparents, so we spent time in the game room & then played on the play area too. I think that was Evie's favorite part. 03/17 Daddy could get no relief from what appeared to be a pinched nerve in his back. He was miserable & nothing was helping. Thank God Grandma & Puppa were visiting Aunt Mary & had planned on meeting us in Gaylord that day. A slight change in plans & we were good to go! Puppa came & took Daddy to the emergency room in Grayling while me, Sean, Evie & Grandma went to Gaylord. We met Aunt Mary, her friend Morgan & her kids at Call of the Wild. It's just a museum of taxidermy animals, but the kids love it. I remember loving it as a kid too. :) Puppa was able to get Daddy back to the hotel room with food & medicine so he could rest & then he joined us in Gaylord for lunch at La Senoritas. Another childhood favorite of mine! :) Although the events didn't go as planned, I'm convinced that it all worked out for the best! 03/18 we got up, ate a light breakfast, swam, packed up, went to the game room, played on the playset & headed to lunch at Shakers, Daddy's favorite restaurant up north. We had a smooth trip home. We met Grandpa Jim at Daddy's work & he took Sean to a birthday party for a girl in his class. Sean was so worried because it was a skating party & he didn't know how to skate, but he had fun. We were so proud of him because even though he was nervous, he tried skating. :) 03/19 Happy Birthday to Aunt Susie!! :) 03/22 I got a phone call at work that Sean had thrown up at school. Poor baby never threw up again, but spent the rest of the day suffering from stomach cramps & boredom! Plus, he couldn't drink milk or eat cheese for a couple days & those are his favorites! Grandma came over after work to hang out with the kids while me & Daddy went to look at a new minivan. 03/23 Sean was feeling a lot better, but still hadn't eaten much, so he stayed home from school. This was the first day he'd missed since the beginning of the year. Thank God he was so healthy all fall/winter! At lunchtime, we all went to the dealership to get our new minivan. The kids were so excited. Evie wanted to drive home & was very upset when she had to get in her seat. She loves that she can close her door by pushing a button. :) That night, Evie & I went to small group, while Sean stayed home with Daddy. He had been on yellow twice that week, so that was his punishment. 03/24 Aunt Mary & Uncle Scott made an unexpected trip home to close on the condo, so we met them & Grandma for breakfast. Later that night Sean, Evie, Grandpa Jim & Daddy went to see Dora's Pirate Adventure. I stayed home to prepare for teaching at church the next day. Daddy said Evie was just as excited & interactive as she was for Elmo. She sang all the songs & shouted out answers to every question. I got to see some videos on Daddy's phone. It was awesome. 03/25 after church & nap, we brought balloons, cake, presents & dinner to Grandma & Puppa's to celebrate Grandma's birthday. She was nice & shared her balloons with Sean & Evie. They got her Cat in the Hat movies & she shared those with them too! Sean picked out a laser light wand for her & he was so excited about that. 03/26 Happy Birthday to Grandma!! :) 03/28 Sean went to the Butterfly Exhibit at Oakland Mall with school. He got to ride with Aunt Annette, Connor & Zach. He loved holding a butterfly & learning about their life cycle. 03/30 after we took Sean to school, Evie & I took coffee to "Ella's grandpa" at Father Murray's. She made everyone she passed smile. She is so good about waving & saying "hi" to everyone. :) That night, the kids dressed up as pirates for Nate's pirate birthday party. Evie said, "my a pirate, arrrrgh". Love it. :)03/31 Grandma came over at 5:00 am while Daddy & I went downtown for a date. I had a bridal shower & dinner with friends, so Sean & Evie spent most of the day hanging out with Daddy & being bums. I don't think they got dressed that day. They even went to Meijers in their pajamas! 04/01 Sean went to south campus & bowling with Grandpa Jim & Paiger while we went out to teach at north campus. Spring break started the next day, so Sean spent the night with Paige at Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry's. 04/03 we met Grandma at Lakeside to visit with the Easter Bunny. Evie was fine until it came time to sit on his lap & take a picture. She wasn't having it. So, we got a picture of her on Sean's lap, reaching for the camera. She said, "I no wike dat bunny". 04/04 we went to the zoo with Grandpa Jim, Miss Abby, Connor & Ella. It was the perfect zoo day - 60 & sunny. Lots of animals were out & the kids were so good. I was exhausted the rest of the day. It was a lot of walking, but doing it at almost 9 months pregnant did me in!! 04/05 Sean & Evie spent the day with Miss Abby, Miss Jenna, Connor & Ella. They went to Chuck E. Cheese with Grandpa Jim too. 04/06 Daddy only had to work a 1/2 day, so after nap Grandma came over & we dyed Easter eggs. This was the first year Evie could really get into it & she did. I only regret that I didn't boil more than 2 dozen eggs. I'll have to do 4 next year! That night Grandpa Jim came over while Daddy & I went to the Good Friday service at church. On the way home, we noticed the moon was big & close, so we got home, loaded the kids in the van & drove down Jefferson to get a better look at it. Evie said it looked like a "big bouncy ball". It was out Evie's window most of the time, so she kept saying, "it's out my window, not awny's" and it's "my moon". Sean did a good job waiting until we turned around, so it could be out his window. :) 04/07 we went to breakfast & then to Meijers to get a big girl seat for Evie & some stuff for our Easter celebrations. Evie was so excited to get a new high back booster. She's wanted a big girl seat for a long time. She wants to be like just like Seany. :) That afternoon we went to an Easter party at Miss Kim's house. Again we had beautiful weather, so the kids played outside, dyed eggs & went on an egg hunt. Sean found one of two golden eggs with $2 in it. He was SO excited & that egg hasn't left his possession much since! 04/08 Happy Easter!!! The kids have been doing the resurrection eggs for a couple weeks now & I just love listening to them go through each one. My favorite part is when Evie opens the last egg & it's empty & she says, "Jesus is awive!". They woke up early & found their baskets. Sean loved his remote control helicopter & Evie's favorite was the $1 bubble wand in hers. Grandma & Puppa came over to went drove to church with us. Grandpa Jim & the Wilsons came to north campus for service too. Afterwards, we went to Uncle Mike & Aunt Nicole's for dinner & an egg hunt. Mikey, Evie & Sean played sidewalk chalk & bubbles outside with Puppa & Grandma too. They didn't want the day to end. When we got home, Grandpa Jim came over with bubbles & sidewalk chalk, so they got to play outside with him too. Then, Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry came over to pick Sean up, so they played ball & read books with them too. The had a wonderful afternoon/evening filled with grandparents & they loved every minute of it. :)
Sean is growing up super fast. As we get ready to have a newborn, I'm reminded of just how fast the last 5 1/2 years have gone by. I'm so proud of who he is & who he's becoming. Of course we have some little kinks to work through, but part of it is just being a 5 year old boy! He's easily distracted, so it usually takes 3 or 4 times of telling him to do something for him to actually do it. He hates having down time and always wants to be doing something fun. When he's not doing what he wants, he gets whiney. He struggles sometimes with NOT joining what the other kids do at school, even when it's not the right choice. We're working on all of it. I always wonder if I sound like I think my kids are super human. They are amazing, but they are human! Now, on the the amazing stuff. On March 5th, on the way to Susie's, Sean & I were talking. Our conversation started about a friend's dog, then went to one about Andi, then to one about Dani who died shortly after Evie was born. Sean said to me, "Did you know that dogs don't go to heaven?". He explained that his teacher told him they don't because they don't have souls. Then he said, "Yeah, plus, you know, they're not good or bad, so they can't go to heaven or hell." I stopped him & explained that going to heaven or hell isn't about being good or bad. God knew we could never be good enough to go to heaven, so he sent Jesus. And, we can never be bad enough to go to hell. The only way to go to heaven is to accept that God sent Jesus to die for our sins and if he lives in our hearts, we'll go to heaven. Sean quickly replied, "I've never prayed that prayer. Have you?". I told him yes & he asked me if I'd help him pray that Jesus would come live in his heart. Immediately a CRAZY rush of emotion came over me. I felt scared, I felt doubt because of his age, I felt anxiety over NOT praying with him, etc. But, there was no question what the right thing to do was. So, the rest of the way to Susie's we discussed the ABC's of salvation and when we got to Susie's, we went into a room, shut the door & prayed. What an amazing experience it was. Sean has the most compassionate & kind heart of any 5 year old I know. When he found that golden egg on Saturday, he was completely thrilled. But, he saw another little boy crying because he didn't find it. He looked at me & said that he could give him the egg, so he wouldn't be sad. He melts my heart with stuff like that all the time. He's incredible. He's still the best big brother ever and Evie adores him. He told me that soon he'll have another little sister to teach how to walk & talk! He really wants a 3DS and we told him he'd have to save for it. So, he's really excited about "raising" the money he'll need to buy it. Of course, he's working his grandparents for contributions, but I'm still so proud of him for doing what it takes to get the money, instead of whining about not having it. He's been collecting & earning money for about 3 weeks now & he's over 1/2way there! :)
Evie... I have NEVER met another 22 month old like Evie & everyone says the same. She has curly red hair & none of her curls hang on her forehead, but I'd have to say her demeanor is summed up in the following rhyme: "There was a little girl, who had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead. And when she was good, she was very very good, but when she was bad she was horrid!". Yep, that's Evie. Her vocabulary & communication skills are off the charts and she's very mature for her age. So, when she throws a temper tantrum like a 22 month old it throws us off. But, man, can she throw a tantrum! The other night we had to pull her out of the bath twice to put her in time out. She was dumping cups of water out of the tub & when comfronted with "that's naughty" or "not a good choice", she'd just smile & say, "yes a good choice" or "not naughty" and continue to do it! I saw red!! We've had a couple episodes like this. One night she kept pulling on the curtains in our room. I told her to stop because they could fall on her head. She just kept saying, "it's fun" and then doing it. We have our hands full!! She uses "my" instead of "I" which I will have a hard time correcting because it is so cute! She says, "my do it" or "my have a idea" or "what my want?" (while looking for what to eat next!). She loves to sing and does a mean rendition of the "we did it" Dora song, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", "ABCs" and the Beatles "I love you, yeah, yeah, yeah". Although the teens get a little blended, she can count to 20. I love hearing her say, "oh goodie", "thank you & you're welcome", "ut oh spaghettios"...just to name a few. She has learned that being cute, sweet & pitiful will get her what she wants most of the time. Her new thing is to say, "my miss my daddy...my need him...my wuv him". Now, in place of Daddy, put anyone's name who's NOT making her do something she doesn't want to do! If I'm putting her to sleep, it's Daddy she needs. If Daddy's putting her to sleep, it's me. She's working the system for sure! She still loves her "ogurts" & it's the first thing she asks for each morning. She's big on plain donuts right now too. Almost everything she says or does makes me want to pull out my phone or camera & get it on video. She's super cute & fun right now (when she's NOT throwing a fit, of course!). I remember going through this "I could tell stories about him every second of every day" phase. A part of me want to keep freeze this phase forever!!! :)
Within 11 days, we'll have a new addition to our family. Scary & exciting. I try to remind myself how scared I was before I had Sean & Evie & how almost immediately I didn't know how we ever existed without them. :) Soon enough, Ally will be here & our new "normal" will begin!! :)
February started with Elmo Live on 02/03. Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry bought tickets for Sean & Evie for Christmas & Daddy & I decided to tag along. ;) Both kids were sent with money from Grandma & Puppa and Grandpa Jim to buy souveniers as well. The kids seriously want for nothing, especially when a grandparent is involved!!! The Wilsons went too. They bought a family four pack almost a month after us & their seats were one row behind us. It was perfect. We went to Hockey Town Cafe for dinner. It wasn't crowded, the kids behaved well. It was a pleasant dining experience even with the ratio of kids to adults being 1:1! :) We headed over to the Fox, found our seats right away (amazing seats by the way; front row, center balcony!) and the show started within 5 minutes of us sitting down. The kids did great. No one could've prepared me for how much Evie enjoyed the show. She was in awe the whole time. She danced, pointed, sang - it was awesome. I don't know if I smiled or cried more, but both were brought on by happiness. :)02/10 Evie & I went to Mrs. Nancy's house for lunch. Again, it brought me great happiness to watch Evie enjoy her food! :) Evie ate majedra, hummus, falafel, fruit, etc. She's definitely my child!! It was really cool to watch her play with Gianna too. She was nice to her & interested in her. I'm hoping this is a sign of how she'll react to her little sister when she gets here! :) On 02/11 me, Daddy, Sean & Evie went to Lakeside Mall. We just wanted to get out & do something, but it was too cold outside to do anything outdoors. The kids rode the merry-go-round and a train. Sean went into a bounce house area & Evie played on foam boats & slides. We had dinner & got a Mario prize at Game Stop. 02/16 Sean tied his shoes for the first time!!! Every report card he gets has all 1's and (1) 4. 1 is the best you can get, 4 is the worst. The 4 is always next to "ties his shoes". We decided to really work on it one day & by the end of our "training session", he had done it himself. That week he went to school & showed Mrs. Scott. He got a star on the shoe tieing board! 02/18 we went to the Young People's Wildlife Fair at the Best Western Sterling Inn. Grandpa Jim, Paige, the Wilsons & the Murphys were there too. Evie was most interested in the "stuffed" animals. She loved the bears, coyotes, wolves, etc. Sean was more interested in the live animals. He held a bunny and even briefly held a snake! It made him nervous & you could tell when he was ready to be done, but I was so proud of him for trying it. We watched the Birds of Prey presentation too & got to see some owls. 02/22 was Sean's 100th day of school field trip. Every day of school each kid put 1 penny in a jar. By the 100th day, they each had $1, so the field trip was to Burger King & the dollar store. I got to go with him. We had lunch first, then went to Dollar Tree where the kids each picked out a toy. Then, we went back to the school for show & tell. 03/03 was Aunt Mary's baby shower. Evie wore a pretty pink dress & went with me to the shower. She loved twirling around in her dress & the attention it brought her. She also sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" the whole time. Sean & Daddy went to see The Lorax while we were there. Sean has seen it in the theater twice since with Grandpa Jim. I think he likes it!! 03/05-03/09 was Spirit Week at WWCS. Monday was sports day, so Sean wore one of his flag football jerseys. Tuesday was mismatch day. Wednesday was Lion/Lamb day (Sean was a lion). Thursday was culture day (Sean wore a "lucky & charming" shirt, along with an irish hat) and Friday was career day (Sean was a mechanic). He was excited to show Puppa his mechanic shirt because it looked like his, except it didn't say Mario, so we went by Grandma & Puppa's after school. March definitely came in like a lamb, so we spent a lot of time outside & at the park that week & the next. 03/13 & 03/14 Evie was a sicky baby. :( Both kids managed to stay remarkable healthy all fall/winter. Evie had one virus that didn't last long & that was the worst of it other than the occasional runny nose. Amazing how you can stay healthy through flu season & then get the flu in March! She did great though. She threw up a few times the one morning & then once the next day. We had to eliminate yogurt & dairy for a couple days though, so that was hard. Evie loves her yogurt!! 03/16 - VACATION!!! We took Sean to school & stopped by CVS for some last minute essentials. We came home & finished packing, picked Sean up from school, picked Daddy up from work & then headed north. We planned on maybe stopping once before Grayling, but every one was doing so well in the car, so we just wanted to get there. We checked in & almost immediately got our bathing suits on & went swimming. Sean was a little nervous at first when it came to jumping in, but it wasn't long before he was jumping in & swimming the width of the pool by himself. He is such a good swimmer, especially for his age! We saved up lots of quarters, with help from all the grandparents, so we spent time in the game room & then played on the play area too. I think that was Evie's favorite part. 03/17 Daddy could get no relief from what appeared to be a pinched nerve in his back. He was miserable & nothing was helping. Thank God Grandma & Puppa were visiting Aunt Mary & had planned on meeting us in Gaylord that day. A slight change in plans & we were good to go! Puppa came & took Daddy to the emergency room in Grayling while me, Sean, Evie & Grandma went to Gaylord. We met Aunt Mary, her friend Morgan & her kids at Call of the Wild. It's just a museum of taxidermy animals, but the kids love it. I remember loving it as a kid too. :) Puppa was able to get Daddy back to the hotel room with food & medicine so he could rest & then he joined us in Gaylord for lunch at La Senoritas. Another childhood favorite of mine! :) Although the events didn't go as planned, I'm convinced that it all worked out for the best! 03/18 we got up, ate a light breakfast, swam, packed up, went to the game room, played on the playset & headed to lunch at Shakers, Daddy's favorite restaurant up north. We had a smooth trip home. We met Grandpa Jim at Daddy's work & he took Sean to a birthday party for a girl in his class. Sean was so worried because it was a skating party & he didn't know how to skate, but he had fun. We were so proud of him because even though he was nervous, he tried skating. :) 03/19 Happy Birthday to Aunt Susie!! :) 03/22 I got a phone call at work that Sean had thrown up at school. Poor baby never threw up again, but spent the rest of the day suffering from stomach cramps & boredom! Plus, he couldn't drink milk or eat cheese for a couple days & those are his favorites! Grandma came over after work to hang out with the kids while me & Daddy went to look at a new minivan. 03/23 Sean was feeling a lot better, but still hadn't eaten much, so he stayed home from school. This was the first day he'd missed since the beginning of the year. Thank God he was so healthy all fall/winter! At lunchtime, we all went to the dealership to get our new minivan. The kids were so excited. Evie wanted to drive home & was very upset when she had to get in her seat. She loves that she can close her door by pushing a button. :) That night, Evie & I went to small group, while Sean stayed home with Daddy. He had been on yellow twice that week, so that was his punishment. 03/24 Aunt Mary & Uncle Scott made an unexpected trip home to close on the condo, so we met them & Grandma for breakfast. Later that night Sean, Evie, Grandpa Jim & Daddy went to see Dora's Pirate Adventure. I stayed home to prepare for teaching at church the next day. Daddy said Evie was just as excited & interactive as she was for Elmo. She sang all the songs & shouted out answers to every question. I got to see some videos on Daddy's phone. It was awesome. 03/25 after church & nap, we brought balloons, cake, presents & dinner to Grandma & Puppa's to celebrate Grandma's birthday. She was nice & shared her balloons with Sean & Evie. They got her Cat in the Hat movies & she shared those with them too! Sean picked out a laser light wand for her & he was so excited about that. 03/26 Happy Birthday to Grandma!! :) 03/28 Sean went to the Butterfly Exhibit at Oakland Mall with school. He got to ride with Aunt Annette, Connor & Zach. He loved holding a butterfly & learning about their life cycle. 03/30 after we took Sean to school, Evie & I took coffee to "Ella's grandpa" at Father Murray's. She made everyone she passed smile. She is so good about waving & saying "hi" to everyone. :) That night, the kids dressed up as pirates for Nate's pirate birthday party. Evie said, "my a pirate, arrrrgh". Love it. :)03/31 Grandma came over at 5:00 am while Daddy & I went downtown for a date. I had a bridal shower & dinner with friends, so Sean & Evie spent most of the day hanging out with Daddy & being bums. I don't think they got dressed that day. They even went to Meijers in their pajamas! 04/01 Sean went to south campus & bowling with Grandpa Jim & Paiger while we went out to teach at north campus. Spring break started the next day, so Sean spent the night with Paige at Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry's. 04/03 we met Grandma at Lakeside to visit with the Easter Bunny. Evie was fine until it came time to sit on his lap & take a picture. She wasn't having it. So, we got a picture of her on Sean's lap, reaching for the camera. She said, "I no wike dat bunny". 04/04 we went to the zoo with Grandpa Jim, Miss Abby, Connor & Ella. It was the perfect zoo day - 60 & sunny. Lots of animals were out & the kids were so good. I was exhausted the rest of the day. It was a lot of walking, but doing it at almost 9 months pregnant did me in!! 04/05 Sean & Evie spent the day with Miss Abby, Miss Jenna, Connor & Ella. They went to Chuck E. Cheese with Grandpa Jim too. 04/06 Daddy only had to work a 1/2 day, so after nap Grandma came over & we dyed Easter eggs. This was the first year Evie could really get into it & she did. I only regret that I didn't boil more than 2 dozen eggs. I'll have to do 4 next year! That night Grandpa Jim came over while Daddy & I went to the Good Friday service at church. On the way home, we noticed the moon was big & close, so we got home, loaded the kids in the van & drove down Jefferson to get a better look at it. Evie said it looked like a "big bouncy ball". It was out Evie's window most of the time, so she kept saying, "it's out my window, not awny's" and it's "my moon". Sean did a good job waiting until we turned around, so it could be out his window. :) 04/07 we went to breakfast & then to Meijers to get a big girl seat for Evie & some stuff for our Easter celebrations. Evie was so excited to get a new high back booster. She's wanted a big girl seat for a long time. She wants to be like just like Seany. :) That afternoon we went to an Easter party at Miss Kim's house. Again we had beautiful weather, so the kids played outside, dyed eggs & went on an egg hunt. Sean found one of two golden eggs with $2 in it. He was SO excited & that egg hasn't left his possession much since! 04/08 Happy Easter!!! The kids have been doing the resurrection eggs for a couple weeks now & I just love listening to them go through each one. My favorite part is when Evie opens the last egg & it's empty & she says, "Jesus is awive!". They woke up early & found their baskets. Sean loved his remote control helicopter & Evie's favorite was the $1 bubble wand in hers. Grandma & Puppa came over to went drove to church with us. Grandpa Jim & the Wilsons came to north campus for service too. Afterwards, we went to Uncle Mike & Aunt Nicole's for dinner & an egg hunt. Mikey, Evie & Sean played sidewalk chalk & bubbles outside with Puppa & Grandma too. They didn't want the day to end. When we got home, Grandpa Jim came over with bubbles & sidewalk chalk, so they got to play outside with him too. Then, Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry came over to pick Sean up, so they played ball & read books with them too. The had a wonderful afternoon/evening filled with grandparents & they loved every minute of it. :)
Sean is growing up super fast. As we get ready to have a newborn, I'm reminded of just how fast the last 5 1/2 years have gone by. I'm so proud of who he is & who he's becoming. Of course we have some little kinks to work through, but part of it is just being a 5 year old boy! He's easily distracted, so it usually takes 3 or 4 times of telling him to do something for him to actually do it. He hates having down time and always wants to be doing something fun. When he's not doing what he wants, he gets whiney. He struggles sometimes with NOT joining what the other kids do at school, even when it's not the right choice. We're working on all of it. I always wonder if I sound like I think my kids are super human. They are amazing, but they are human! Now, on the the amazing stuff. On March 5th, on the way to Susie's, Sean & I were talking. Our conversation started about a friend's dog, then went to one about Andi, then to one about Dani who died shortly after Evie was born. Sean said to me, "Did you know that dogs don't go to heaven?". He explained that his teacher told him they don't because they don't have souls. Then he said, "Yeah, plus, you know, they're not good or bad, so they can't go to heaven or hell." I stopped him & explained that going to heaven or hell isn't about being good or bad. God knew we could never be good enough to go to heaven, so he sent Jesus. And, we can never be bad enough to go to hell. The only way to go to heaven is to accept that God sent Jesus to die for our sins and if he lives in our hearts, we'll go to heaven. Sean quickly replied, "I've never prayed that prayer. Have you?". I told him yes & he asked me if I'd help him pray that Jesus would come live in his heart. Immediately a CRAZY rush of emotion came over me. I felt scared, I felt doubt because of his age, I felt anxiety over NOT praying with him, etc. But, there was no question what the right thing to do was. So, the rest of the way to Susie's we discussed the ABC's of salvation and when we got to Susie's, we went into a room, shut the door & prayed. What an amazing experience it was. Sean has the most compassionate & kind heart of any 5 year old I know. When he found that golden egg on Saturday, he was completely thrilled. But, he saw another little boy crying because he didn't find it. He looked at me & said that he could give him the egg, so he wouldn't be sad. He melts my heart with stuff like that all the time. He's incredible. He's still the best big brother ever and Evie adores him. He told me that soon he'll have another little sister to teach how to walk & talk! He really wants a 3DS and we told him he'd have to save for it. So, he's really excited about "raising" the money he'll need to buy it. Of course, he's working his grandparents for contributions, but I'm still so proud of him for doing what it takes to get the money, instead of whining about not having it. He's been collecting & earning money for about 3 weeks now & he's over 1/2way there! :)
Evie... I have NEVER met another 22 month old like Evie & everyone says the same. She has curly red hair & none of her curls hang on her forehead, but I'd have to say her demeanor is summed up in the following rhyme: "There was a little girl, who had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead. And when she was good, she was very very good, but when she was bad she was horrid!". Yep, that's Evie. Her vocabulary & communication skills are off the charts and she's very mature for her age. So, when she throws a temper tantrum like a 22 month old it throws us off. But, man, can she throw a tantrum! The other night we had to pull her out of the bath twice to put her in time out. She was dumping cups of water out of the tub & when comfronted with "that's naughty" or "not a good choice", she'd just smile & say, "yes a good choice" or "not naughty" and continue to do it! I saw red!! We've had a couple episodes like this. One night she kept pulling on the curtains in our room. I told her to stop because they could fall on her head. She just kept saying, "it's fun" and then doing it. We have our hands full!! She uses "my" instead of "I" which I will have a hard time correcting because it is so cute! She says, "my do it" or "my have a idea" or "what my want?" (while looking for what to eat next!). She loves to sing and does a mean rendition of the "we did it" Dora song, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", "ABCs" and the Beatles "I love you, yeah, yeah, yeah". Although the teens get a little blended, she can count to 20. I love hearing her say, "oh goodie", "thank you & you're welcome", "ut oh spaghettios"...just to name a few. She has learned that being cute, sweet & pitiful will get her what she wants most of the time. Her new thing is to say, "my miss my daddy...my need him...my wuv him". Now, in place of Daddy, put anyone's name who's NOT making her do something she doesn't want to do! If I'm putting her to sleep, it's Daddy she needs. If Daddy's putting her to sleep, it's me. She's working the system for sure! She still loves her "ogurts" & it's the first thing she asks for each morning. She's big on plain donuts right now too. Almost everything she says or does makes me want to pull out my phone or camera & get it on video. She's super cute & fun right now (when she's NOT throwing a fit, of course!). I remember going through this "I could tell stories about him every second of every day" phase. A part of me want to keep freeze this phase forever!!! :)
Within 11 days, we'll have a new addition to our family. Scary & exciting. I try to remind myself how scared I was before I had Sean & Evie & how almost immediately I didn't know how we ever existed without them. :) Soon enough, Ally will be here & our new "normal" will begin!! :)
Thursday, January 26, 2012
It's a Girl!!!
Well, as much as Sean wanted a little brother, we found out in November that this baby is a girl. The ultrasound tech tried to avoid it, but as she put it, "I'm sorry, I just don't see any male parts!". Sean was sad at first and has made comments like "well, she couldn't say for sure it's a girl, so it could still be a boy" and "why can't you just be having a brother", but overall, he's done great. We praise him for being such an amazing big brother to Evie. We know he'll be great to this sister too. We tell him that God knows he's such a good big brother that He chose to give him another one. :) We also explained how cool it'll be to do all the guy stuff with daddy, since they'll be the only boys.
We had a great Thanksgiving. Started at Grandma & Puppa's with everyone. Scott & Mary were able to come down too. :) Evie ate olives & banana pudding at one point, but no upset stomachs!! All the kids played great together. It was one of the nicest Thanksgivings we've ever had. Afterwards we went to Grandpa Larry & Grandma Sue's. Their company had left already, so we just sat & visited until the kids (mostly Evie) had decided the day was long enough, so we went home. :) That Saturday, we went to Huckleberry Railroad with our small group. The weather was amazing - almost 60 degrees. That made walking through the village a lot nicer than if it was freezing! Evie was one of the kids who "braved" the old ferris wheel with Daddy. Such a big girl. Both kids did awesome on the train ride too. We finished the night at Bob Evan's for dinner. We had a party of 14 and 8 were kids. The kids did SO well. It was late, most of them were tired & it took awhile to get our food. No meltdowns, everyone ate their food. It was such a nice experience. :) 12/09 we went to bedtime stories with Santa. Grandma, Uncle Mike, Livie, Max, Jax, Mikey & the Wilsons came with us. Again, awesome experience. All of the kids (except Ella) loved Santa. During story time, Evie even tried to take the book out of his hands to read the story herself. After story time was present time & then cookies & juice. The kids had over an hour with Santa & each other. :) 12/11 was Family Christmas at the church. We had practiced the Christmas music with Sean for over a month, so he was ready. Our only concern was his nervous habit of putting his hands or clothes in his mouth during the performance. When we picked him up from practice the day before his sleeve was wet almost up to his elbow. :( We talked to him & told him to think about where his hands were, so he didn't put them in his mouth. He did a great job on stage. Sang all of the songs, kept his hands at his side or in front of him...it was awesome. I think I scared him when he came off stage because I hugged him & cried & told him I was so proud of him. Made my heart happy. :) After church, we went to Sean's last bowling before the holidsys. Santa was there too. Again, both kids were comfortable sitting in Santa's lap. Sean told him "again" ;) that he wanted Mario & Evie said, "Dora" & "Elmo". After bowling, we met Grandma, Austin, Max, Livie, Jax & Mikey for lunch and shopping for mommies & daddies at Walmart. We went back to Grandma's work to wrap the presents, make cards for Joey (a sick kid), decorate elf donuts & do "What does God want for Christmas" together. It was a really enjoyable afternoon. 7 kids is a lot, especially for lunch & shopping! But, they all did great together and we had a lot of fun. 12/15 was Sean's Christmas program for school. He was a little nervous going in and when it came time to go on stage, he was all worked up. He was so afraid he had told us to sit on the wrong side of the stage. :( Again we were so proud of him though because he was able to take a few deep breaths and pull it together enough to meet his class on stage for the rest of their performance. :) 12/17 Daddy & I went out to celebrate his birthday while Sean & Evie went to Grandma's to bake cookies & decorate cookies for Santa. Evie ate most of what she decorated for Santa, but we were able to save some for him! 12/21 Happy Birthday to the best Daddy in the whole world!!!! :) :) We celebrated the night before with presents & lasagna - Daddy's favorite! Sean was excited about getting him a Grinch tshirt which he wore proudly to a couple Christmas events. :) 12/23 we celebrated Christmas at Aunt Sally's. It was the kick off to almost a full week of Christmas celebrations. 12/24 we celebrated Christmas at Aunt Pam's with Grandpa Larry's family. We finished the night at Grandma & Puppa's with Paiger & Uncle Scott. Evie got a baby named "Allie" which is what we're thinking about naming the baby, so it's fun to hear her say it. :) 12/25 we woke up early to a living room full of presents! Sean & I had to wake up Daddy & Evie. Grandma & Puppa came over while we opened presents. We went to breakfast at Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry's, then to church. We went to Big Jack's BBQ for dinner & then Grandpa Jim came over to do presents with the kids. It was a nice day. We got to see everyone & it wasn't too fast paced. We need a bigger house, or less stuff, but that's ok. ;) 12/26 we went to Aunt Susie & Uncle Billee's with Grandma, Puppa, Vinnie, Sam, Jesse & Dianna to celebrate Christmas. Lots of good food and of course, more presents. Plus quality time with Tillie! :) 12/27 we went to Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry's with Grandpa Jim, Paige & Uncle Scott to celebrate Daddy's birthday. Bacon sandwiches & macaroni & cheese! 12/28 Sean & Daddy went to see Chipwrecked while Evie & I went to Grandma & Puppa's for a meeting with Aunt Mary about her shower. Hard to believe that the babies will be here so soon! These pregnancies are flying (now that the 24/7 puke/nausea fest is over!). 12/29 Sean & Evie hung out at Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry's with Paiger while Daddy bowled & I went to dinner with Aunt Mary, Uncle Scott & some friends. 12/30 we went to Uncle Marty & Aunt Val's with Amanda & the kids for pizza & cookies. All of the kids played while the mommies talked & the daddies went out. 12/31 we went to Uncle Mike & Aunt Nicole's to celebrate Christmas with them, Grandma & Puppa & Aunt Mary & Uncle Scott. Grandma is like a big kid. Once we were all there, she asked Aunt Nicole how long until dinner to see if there was enough time to do presents first! :) After dinner, Evie sat in Grandma's lap & colored a picture frame that Aunt Mary got her. Most of the marker, which wasn't washable, ended up ALL over her hands. When I asked her who colored on her hands, she said "Grandma". No problem throwing her under the bus!!! 01/01 Happy New Year!!! I taught out at north campus and we spent most of the rest of the day being bums. We did the same thing on Monday too. So many Christmas celebrations the previous week, plus not much work & no school. We needed to prepare for reality to start back up again. :( 01/02 Happy Birthday to Connor! Daddy & I wanted to finish our time off with a date night, so the kids hung out with Grandpa Jim while we went to dinner. 01/04 was Evie's 18 month check up. She was 35 1/4" - the height of an average 28 month old - off the charts and 26.6 lbs which is average for her age. She had to get 1 shot, but there was minimal crying. We just kept saying, "all done". It doesn't get any easier either.:( Sean hates shots, mostly because he knows what's coming. 01/06 We went to dinner with Daddy before he went to volunteer at Ignite Bash. Then, we went to Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry's. Sean was staying the night & Evie I are were just visiting for a few. Everything was great until I went to the bathroom & she thought I had left. It was total meltdown, tantrum, fit pitching craziness after that. I could barely get her in her carseat because she kept stiffening her body when I'd try. Interesting night... 01/07 we went to Jungle Java to celebrate Connor's birthday. Later we met the Ferrells at BK to play. It was a fun day, filled with friends & stuff to do and those are Sean's favorite days. 01/08 was church, bowling, Sean went shopping with Grandma & then we met them at her house later for dinner with Puppa. 01/09 Sean started full day Kindergarten. We planned on him going that day, just to try it out & he's stayed full time since. He was coming home each day bored, hungry, tired, etc. Didn't know what to do with himself from 1:00 on!! And, he was interested in full day school, but his only concern was the rest time twice a week. We ask him every day if he likes it & he says yes. After school is much smoother now too. 01/13 was our first small group meeting since before the holidays. The kids were so happy to see each other & they played so well. Usually we're the first ones to leave because the meltdowns begin, but Evie ate 2 plates of spaghetti & was ready to go! We had to make them wrap things up & leave around 9:30. 01/14 we met Aunt Annette, Connor & Ella at Jungle Java because we all had passes from Connor's birthday party. Sean was worried about having nothing to do while Daddy & I watched football "all day" afterwards, so we took a break from our "constant" football watching to go to McDonalds for dinner, ice cream & playtime that night. :) 01/15 we went to see Beauty & the Beast 3D. It was Evie's first movie experience, so we weren't sure how that was going to go, but she did great. She looked so grown up sitting in her seat with her popcorn in her lap & her 3D glasses on. She sat there for almost half the movie then moved to my lap & fell asleep. Grandpa Jim rescued the kids later that day & took them to BK while Daddy & I watched playoff football. :) 01/16 Daddy took the kids to Susie's while I went to work & he went in for a few hours. He picked Evie up after her nap & they met Sean & Grandpa Jim at Chuck E. Cheese. I met them for dinner at Longhorn after work & then we went & watched Daddy & Sean get their hair cut. The kids got suckers & balloons out of the deal. On the way there, I kept saying "no whining" & Evie would shout back "mumma no whining". Her & Sean got a big kick out of that! 01/17 after dinner, we went to Cold "Rocks" as Sean says it. He ate most of Daddy's ice cream cone & all the gummy bears off his & Evie's ice cream. He's developed quite the sweet tooth! 01/18 I ran a fever most of the day, so Evie and I just laid around. She was such a good girl. Just cuddled with her mommy! Daddy stayed home from church that night to take care of me. Thankfully, no one else has gotten sick! We have been incredibly blessed with health this fall/winter!!! 01/20 we met Daddy over Grandma Sue's & Grandpa Larry's. We ate dinner & the kids played, then me, Daddy & Evie left while Sean stayed the night there with Paiger. 01/21 we picked Sean up & headed to Aunt Sally's for some sledding...finally!!! Sean has been waiting for snow & this was the first real snow fall of the season. He kept asking, "Why would Santa bring us sleds if it's never going to snow!!". ;) We only got about 2-3 inches, but we made it work!! Both kids loved the snow. We ended up staying at Aunt Sally's til late afternoon with Amanda, Glenn, Ella & Riley. We all had a great time. 01/22 Church, bowling & then FOOTBALL!! Thankfully, Grandma & Puppa rescued Sean & Evie from the dreaded Sunday afternoon relaxing & watching football time at our house. While she was at Grandma's house, Evie did her make up. It was..."special". They face timed with me to show me her beauty & she kept yelling back & forth with Puppa, "NO MAKEUP!". :) 01/23 we went to Country Inn to see "Dora". We're not crazy about their food, but Evie loves Dora, so we had to go visit. Evie kept waiving & saying "Dora" & "backpack"! :) 01/25 was Hot Diggity Dog Day for the Kindergarten class. I found a "doggie bag" costume online for Sean. All the kids dressed up as dogs, they had hot dogs for lunch & they did dog activities all day. Tonight we are going to Grandma & Puppa's to have dinner with Mary & Bella. Evie LOVES Bella. She scrolls through the pictures on my phone until she gets to a picture of Bella and then says, "oh, mella mella". :)
Sean is doing great in school. He says all of the books of the Old Testament & most of the New Testament. He knows the presidents through Teddy Roosevelt. The week before Martin Luther King Jr. Day he came home & told us that "Martin Luther King Jr. thought that people should be judged by their character & not the color of their skin." He gave us a longer explanation of why we remember & celebrate him. We couldn't believe how much he had retained because it was like he was reciting exactly what his teacher had taught them that day. The other night, when we were doing family devotions, Daddy asked the first question which was, "What is sin?" We expected his answer to be something like, "When you do something wrong". Not even close... his answer was "anything that goes against God's holy will". Wow... Most of his answers & our conversations that come up during devotions amaze us. We're thankful that we're able to send him to a christian school. Sean has and has always had a very compassionate heart. For Christmas, he raised $15 in change to give to Hope Center through our church to feed 50 people. He was also excited to send (4) chickens (one from each of us) to a family in need through Compassion International. He's saving up more money now for babies who are in need through the baby bottle drive at our church. I love his tender heart & hope he NEVER loses it. Sean looks forward to Fridays because Fridays are either small group or a sleepover at Grandma Sue's with Paiger. He always asks how many days until Friday. He's still a very anxious child & we're working on that. I'm thankful that he asks us to pray for him when he's worried about something. He doesn't like sleeping alone. He's raising money for a new couch because we have a new baby coming in April & ours barely fits him, Daddy & Evie! :) He is the most amazing big brother ever. His patience & understanding with Evie usually blows my mind, especially for his age. The other day he got a police hat from school. He got in the car, put it on Evie & said, "Look what I got for us!". I told him he was such a great big brother & he told me, "Yeah, and in April, I'll have 2 sisters to take care of." :) :) :)
Evie Loretta...where to begin. I have NEVER met a 20 month old like Evie. She seemed to turn from baby to toddler almost immediately after we found out we were having another baby and she just keeps growing up! She still really loves her Daddy, but she's definitely become more of a Mommy's girl again. :) She tries (and usually does a pretty good job) of mimicking & parroting whatever Sean does or says. She really loves & looks up to him. They were in the bath & he said, "Look at my invention". Evie said, "Wook, mumma, invention!". She gets sad some mornings when we take him to school. She'll say, "no, Evie go gool". :) Her diet consists mostly of chicken nuggets, fruits & yogurt, but she's pretty good at trying whatever we have for dinner. I'm thankful that she's not as picky of an eater as Sean...yet. He seemed to get worse as he got older. Evie LOVES music, singing & dancing. I love listening to her "sing" because if you know the song, you know what she's singing. I love hearing her sing, "know know know mumma, wuv wuv wuv mumma" and "mumma got a pretty baby". I had to put a passcode on my iphone because she knew how to unlock it. She'd say, "birds" for Angry Birds or "Dora" or "Cat" & she knows which buttons to push to get where she wants to go. Instead of "shhhhhhsssshh" for Sean, she now says "awny", which can be a little confusing if there's a possibility she's saying "andi". They sound similar. A couple weeks ago, she blew me away when she started counting & counted to 11. I'm so thankful I was able to get that on video or else it would've been unbelievable. She's starting to talk in complete sentences now, which is just amazing to me for her age. The other night we were dancing in the kitchen & when a new song came on, she said, "not diss song...flag!". Last night she was talking to Puppa on the phone & he said, "you better love your puppa!" and she replied, "NO WUV YOUR MUMMA!". Or this morning when I dropped her off with Abby, her & Ella knocked over a chair & Evie said, "Ella did it!". She really amazes me every day.
Both of them are growing up so fast. I can't believe in 12 weeks, we'll have another member of our family. It's hard for me to imagine it, but it was hard for me to imagine what our life would like with Evie and it's been awesome. We're hoping to plan something fun, like maybe a weekend up north to visit Aunt Mary before the baby comes. Maybe March...we'll see.
We had a great Thanksgiving. Started at Grandma & Puppa's with everyone. Scott & Mary were able to come down too. :) Evie ate olives & banana pudding at one point, but no upset stomachs!! All the kids played great together. It was one of the nicest Thanksgivings we've ever had. Afterwards we went to Grandpa Larry & Grandma Sue's. Their company had left already, so we just sat & visited until the kids (mostly Evie) had decided the day was long enough, so we went home. :) That Saturday, we went to Huckleberry Railroad with our small group. The weather was amazing - almost 60 degrees. That made walking through the village a lot nicer than if it was freezing! Evie was one of the kids who "braved" the old ferris wheel with Daddy. Such a big girl. Both kids did awesome on the train ride too. We finished the night at Bob Evan's for dinner. We had a party of 14 and 8 were kids. The kids did SO well. It was late, most of them were tired & it took awhile to get our food. No meltdowns, everyone ate their food. It was such a nice experience. :) 12/09 we went to bedtime stories with Santa. Grandma, Uncle Mike, Livie, Max, Jax, Mikey & the Wilsons came with us. Again, awesome experience. All of the kids (except Ella) loved Santa. During story time, Evie even tried to take the book out of his hands to read the story herself. After story time was present time & then cookies & juice. The kids had over an hour with Santa & each other. :) 12/11 was Family Christmas at the church. We had practiced the Christmas music with Sean for over a month, so he was ready. Our only concern was his nervous habit of putting his hands or clothes in his mouth during the performance. When we picked him up from practice the day before his sleeve was wet almost up to his elbow. :( We talked to him & told him to think about where his hands were, so he didn't put them in his mouth. He did a great job on stage. Sang all of the songs, kept his hands at his side or in front of him...it was awesome. I think I scared him when he came off stage because I hugged him & cried & told him I was so proud of him. Made my heart happy. :) After church, we went to Sean's last bowling before the holidsys. Santa was there too. Again, both kids were comfortable sitting in Santa's lap. Sean told him "again" ;) that he wanted Mario & Evie said, "Dora" & "Elmo". After bowling, we met Grandma, Austin, Max, Livie, Jax & Mikey for lunch and shopping for mommies & daddies at Walmart. We went back to Grandma's work to wrap the presents, make cards for Joey (a sick kid), decorate elf donuts & do "What does God want for Christmas" together. It was a really enjoyable afternoon. 7 kids is a lot, especially for lunch & shopping! But, they all did great together and we had a lot of fun. 12/15 was Sean's Christmas program for school. He was a little nervous going in and when it came time to go on stage, he was all worked up. He was so afraid he had told us to sit on the wrong side of the stage. :( Again we were so proud of him though because he was able to take a few deep breaths and pull it together enough to meet his class on stage for the rest of their performance. :) 12/17 Daddy & I went out to celebrate his birthday while Sean & Evie went to Grandma's to bake cookies & decorate cookies for Santa. Evie ate most of what she decorated for Santa, but we were able to save some for him! 12/21 Happy Birthday to the best Daddy in the whole world!!!! :) :) We celebrated the night before with presents & lasagna - Daddy's favorite! Sean was excited about getting him a Grinch tshirt which he wore proudly to a couple Christmas events. :) 12/23 we celebrated Christmas at Aunt Sally's. It was the kick off to almost a full week of Christmas celebrations. 12/24 we celebrated Christmas at Aunt Pam's with Grandpa Larry's family. We finished the night at Grandma & Puppa's with Paiger & Uncle Scott. Evie got a baby named "Allie" which is what we're thinking about naming the baby, so it's fun to hear her say it. :) 12/25 we woke up early to a living room full of presents! Sean & I had to wake up Daddy & Evie. Grandma & Puppa came over while we opened presents. We went to breakfast at Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry's, then to church. We went to Big Jack's BBQ for dinner & then Grandpa Jim came over to do presents with the kids. It was a nice day. We got to see everyone & it wasn't too fast paced. We need a bigger house, or less stuff, but that's ok. ;) 12/26 we went to Aunt Susie & Uncle Billee's with Grandma, Puppa, Vinnie, Sam, Jesse & Dianna to celebrate Christmas. Lots of good food and of course, more presents. Plus quality time with Tillie! :) 12/27 we went to Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry's with Grandpa Jim, Paige & Uncle Scott to celebrate Daddy's birthday. Bacon sandwiches & macaroni & cheese! 12/28 Sean & Daddy went to see Chipwrecked while Evie & I went to Grandma & Puppa's for a meeting with Aunt Mary about her shower. Hard to believe that the babies will be here so soon! These pregnancies are flying (now that the 24/7 puke/nausea fest is over!). 12/29 Sean & Evie hung out at Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry's with Paiger while Daddy bowled & I went to dinner with Aunt Mary, Uncle Scott & some friends. 12/30 we went to Uncle Marty & Aunt Val's with Amanda & the kids for pizza & cookies. All of the kids played while the mommies talked & the daddies went out. 12/31 we went to Uncle Mike & Aunt Nicole's to celebrate Christmas with them, Grandma & Puppa & Aunt Mary & Uncle Scott. Grandma is like a big kid. Once we were all there, she asked Aunt Nicole how long until dinner to see if there was enough time to do presents first! :) After dinner, Evie sat in Grandma's lap & colored a picture frame that Aunt Mary got her. Most of the marker, which wasn't washable, ended up ALL over her hands. When I asked her who colored on her hands, she said "Grandma". No problem throwing her under the bus!!! 01/01 Happy New Year!!! I taught out at north campus and we spent most of the rest of the day being bums. We did the same thing on Monday too. So many Christmas celebrations the previous week, plus not much work & no school. We needed to prepare for reality to start back up again. :( 01/02 Happy Birthday to Connor! Daddy & I wanted to finish our time off with a date night, so the kids hung out with Grandpa Jim while we went to dinner. 01/04 was Evie's 18 month check up. She was 35 1/4" - the height of an average 28 month old - off the charts and 26.6 lbs which is average for her age. She had to get 1 shot, but there was minimal crying. We just kept saying, "all done". It doesn't get any easier either.:( Sean hates shots, mostly because he knows what's coming. 01/06 We went to dinner with Daddy before he went to volunteer at Ignite Bash. Then, we went to Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry's. Sean was staying the night & Evie I are were just visiting for a few. Everything was great until I went to the bathroom & she thought I had left. It was total meltdown, tantrum, fit pitching craziness after that. I could barely get her in her carseat because she kept stiffening her body when I'd try. Interesting night... 01/07 we went to Jungle Java to celebrate Connor's birthday. Later we met the Ferrells at BK to play. It was a fun day, filled with friends & stuff to do and those are Sean's favorite days. 01/08 was church, bowling, Sean went shopping with Grandma & then we met them at her house later for dinner with Puppa. 01/09 Sean started full day Kindergarten. We planned on him going that day, just to try it out & he's stayed full time since. He was coming home each day bored, hungry, tired, etc. Didn't know what to do with himself from 1:00 on!! And, he was interested in full day school, but his only concern was the rest time twice a week. We ask him every day if he likes it & he says yes. After school is much smoother now too. 01/13 was our first small group meeting since before the holidays. The kids were so happy to see each other & they played so well. Usually we're the first ones to leave because the meltdowns begin, but Evie ate 2 plates of spaghetti & was ready to go! We had to make them wrap things up & leave around 9:30. 01/14 we met Aunt Annette, Connor & Ella at Jungle Java because we all had passes from Connor's birthday party. Sean was worried about having nothing to do while Daddy & I watched football "all day" afterwards, so we took a break from our "constant" football watching to go to McDonalds for dinner, ice cream & playtime that night. :) 01/15 we went to see Beauty & the Beast 3D. It was Evie's first movie experience, so we weren't sure how that was going to go, but she did great. She looked so grown up sitting in her seat with her popcorn in her lap & her 3D glasses on. She sat there for almost half the movie then moved to my lap & fell asleep. Grandpa Jim rescued the kids later that day & took them to BK while Daddy & I watched playoff football. :) 01/16 Daddy took the kids to Susie's while I went to work & he went in for a few hours. He picked Evie up after her nap & they met Sean & Grandpa Jim at Chuck E. Cheese. I met them for dinner at Longhorn after work & then we went & watched Daddy & Sean get their hair cut. The kids got suckers & balloons out of the deal. On the way there, I kept saying "no whining" & Evie would shout back "mumma no whining". Her & Sean got a big kick out of that! 01/17 after dinner, we went to Cold "Rocks" as Sean says it. He ate most of Daddy's ice cream cone & all the gummy bears off his & Evie's ice cream. He's developed quite the sweet tooth! 01/18 I ran a fever most of the day, so Evie and I just laid around. She was such a good girl. Just cuddled with her mommy! Daddy stayed home from church that night to take care of me. Thankfully, no one else has gotten sick! We have been incredibly blessed with health this fall/winter!!! 01/20 we met Daddy over Grandma Sue's & Grandpa Larry's. We ate dinner & the kids played, then me, Daddy & Evie left while Sean stayed the night there with Paiger. 01/21 we picked Sean up & headed to Aunt Sally's for some sledding...finally!!! Sean has been waiting for snow & this was the first real snow fall of the season. He kept asking, "Why would Santa bring us sleds if it's never going to snow!!". ;) We only got about 2-3 inches, but we made it work!! Both kids loved the snow. We ended up staying at Aunt Sally's til late afternoon with Amanda, Glenn, Ella & Riley. We all had a great time. 01/22 Church, bowling & then FOOTBALL!! Thankfully, Grandma & Puppa rescued Sean & Evie from the dreaded Sunday afternoon relaxing & watching football time at our house. While she was at Grandma's house, Evie did her make up. It was..."special". They face timed with me to show me her beauty & she kept yelling back & forth with Puppa, "NO MAKEUP!". :) 01/23 we went to Country Inn to see "Dora". We're not crazy about their food, but Evie loves Dora, so we had to go visit. Evie kept waiving & saying "Dora" & "backpack"! :) 01/25 was Hot Diggity Dog Day for the Kindergarten class. I found a "doggie bag" costume online for Sean. All the kids dressed up as dogs, they had hot dogs for lunch & they did dog activities all day. Tonight we are going to Grandma & Puppa's to have dinner with Mary & Bella. Evie LOVES Bella. She scrolls through the pictures on my phone until she gets to a picture of Bella and then says, "oh, mella mella". :)
Sean is doing great in school. He says all of the books of the Old Testament & most of the New Testament. He knows the presidents through Teddy Roosevelt. The week before Martin Luther King Jr. Day he came home & told us that "Martin Luther King Jr. thought that people should be judged by their character & not the color of their skin." He gave us a longer explanation of why we remember & celebrate him. We couldn't believe how much he had retained because it was like he was reciting exactly what his teacher had taught them that day. The other night, when we were doing family devotions, Daddy asked the first question which was, "What is sin?" We expected his answer to be something like, "When you do something wrong". Not even close... his answer was "anything that goes against God's holy will". Wow... Most of his answers & our conversations that come up during devotions amaze us. We're thankful that we're able to send him to a christian school. Sean has and has always had a very compassionate heart. For Christmas, he raised $15 in change to give to Hope Center through our church to feed 50 people. He was also excited to send (4) chickens (one from each of us) to a family in need through Compassion International. He's saving up more money now for babies who are in need through the baby bottle drive at our church. I love his tender heart & hope he NEVER loses it. Sean looks forward to Fridays because Fridays are either small group or a sleepover at Grandma Sue's with Paiger. He always asks how many days until Friday. He's still a very anxious child & we're working on that. I'm thankful that he asks us to pray for him when he's worried about something. He doesn't like sleeping alone. He's raising money for a new couch because we have a new baby coming in April & ours barely fits him, Daddy & Evie! :) He is the most amazing big brother ever. His patience & understanding with Evie usually blows my mind, especially for his age. The other day he got a police hat from school. He got in the car, put it on Evie & said, "Look what I got for us!". I told him he was such a great big brother & he told me, "Yeah, and in April, I'll have 2 sisters to take care of." :) :) :)
Evie Loretta...where to begin. I have NEVER met a 20 month old like Evie. She seemed to turn from baby to toddler almost immediately after we found out we were having another baby and she just keeps growing up! She still really loves her Daddy, but she's definitely become more of a Mommy's girl again. :) She tries (and usually does a pretty good job) of mimicking & parroting whatever Sean does or says. She really loves & looks up to him. They were in the bath & he said, "Look at my invention". Evie said, "Wook, mumma, invention!". She gets sad some mornings when we take him to school. She'll say, "no, Evie go gool". :) Her diet consists mostly of chicken nuggets, fruits & yogurt, but she's pretty good at trying whatever we have for dinner. I'm thankful that she's not as picky of an eater as Sean...yet. He seemed to get worse as he got older. Evie LOVES music, singing & dancing. I love listening to her "sing" because if you know the song, you know what she's singing. I love hearing her sing, "know know know mumma, wuv wuv wuv mumma" and "mumma got a pretty baby". I had to put a passcode on my iphone because she knew how to unlock it. She'd say, "birds" for Angry Birds or "Dora" or "Cat" & she knows which buttons to push to get where she wants to go. Instead of "shhhhhhsssshh" for Sean, she now says "awny", which can be a little confusing if there's a possibility she's saying "andi". They sound similar. A couple weeks ago, she blew me away when she started counting & counted to 11. I'm so thankful I was able to get that on video or else it would've been unbelievable. She's starting to talk in complete sentences now, which is just amazing to me for her age. The other night we were dancing in the kitchen & when a new song came on, she said, "not diss song...flag!". Last night she was talking to Puppa on the phone & he said, "you better love your puppa!" and she replied, "NO WUV YOUR MUMMA!". Or this morning when I dropped her off with Abby, her & Ella knocked over a chair & Evie said, "Ella did it!". She really amazes me every day.
Both of them are growing up so fast. I can't believe in 12 weeks, we'll have another member of our family. It's hard for me to imagine it, but it was hard for me to imagine what our life would like with Evie and it's been awesome. We're hoping to plan something fun, like maybe a weekend up north to visit Aunt Mary before the baby comes. Maybe March...we'll see.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Happy Fall Y'all
Thought I'd update after going a record 3 months without an update. I really do have good intentions. My plan was to update when we got back from Pennsylvania, but as most of you who read this know, I found out that I'm pregnant then. I spent most of that weekend crying, trying to absorb the news. Then, I got sick. Nausea & vomiting have plagued me since. So, that's my excuse. I'm a buffoon and I'll do better next time.
Pennsylvania was awesome. Both kids did great in the car. I don't even think Sean asked "how much longer?" on the way there. We had a minor setback when we found out the pool at the Knights Inn was closed for the season, but we quickly found a city pool close by and avoided the heartbreak. I think Sean went to that pool almost every day we were in Greensburg. We went to the Pittsburgh Children's Museum and both kids had a blast playing on/with the exhibits. We finished our time there with Dora Live. Again, it was an hour show & both kids did great! We always enjoy visiting family while we're there. I wish we didn't live so far from them. Once a year visits are never enough. After 3 days in Greensburg, we headed to Jones Mill & the Living Treasures Animal Park. It was rainy, but that didn't stop us. Evie LOVED feeding the animals. We were shocked at how much she was able to do & how much she enjoyed this vacation. We went to Idlewild Park the next day & Evie got to ride on a lot of rides (thanks to her big brother :). She rode a few "baby" rides that he never would've got on if it weren't for his sister. We finished our trip at Kalahari. Sean is a fish. That boy has no fear when it comes to water. He can even jump off the diving board at the St. Clair Shores pool. So, Kalahari was a little disappointing because he had to wear a life jacket the whole time. Ohio state law. But, he was fearless in other ways. Going down big waterslides, doing the lazy river by himself. He's such a big boy. Speaking of big boy, Sean started Kindergarten on 09/06. He looks so handsome in his uniform and so far, other than 1 bad day, he's stayed on green. We're hoping his one day on red was the first & the last. Other than that, Kindergarten has been a wonderful experience. When he got home his first day, he said, "That was awesome!". He loves his teachers & has friends in the class. Hope the rest of the year goes as smooth as the last 2 months have. On 09/11, we were able to surprise Sean for his birthday. Again, this was a tough task because he planned the party & even hired Grandma as his assistant to tell everyone when to yell surprise & to help him forget about his party so that he could be surprised. The morning of his party, I told him I had to leave to go to a party (not a lie! :) and that while I was gone, he should go to the Warren Community Center with Daddy & Evie to make sure that's still where he wanted to have his party. He agreed. I left about an hour & a half before them to pick up the cake, set-up the room & get everyone back in the party room before Sean arrived. He was SOOOO surprised. He told us he really thought his party was going to be in a couple days. And, after his party, he said, "I have 3 words to describe that party...awesome, awesome & awesome!". :) Mission accomplished! 09/12/11 - Happy 5th Birthday to Sean!!! He went to school & brought Mario Bros. fruit snacks to share with his friends. After school, he hung out with Grandpa Jim until Connor got out of school. Then, he went to Jungle Java with Aunt Susie, Ms. Abby, Evie, Connor & Ella. I met them there & took Sean & Evie to Daddy. It was a fun day. :) 09/16/11 Daddy went up north, so we planned a fun weekend to keep us busy so we wouldn't cry too hard for him. ;) We went to Plaster Playhouse with Aunt Annette, Connor & Ella. Sean painted a plaster Mario & Evie painted a ceramic plate. Afterwards we got dinner & had a sleepover at our house. The boys slept all night a tent on the living room floor. 09/17/11 Happy Birthday Grandpa Jim! Today we hung out with Grandma, went to dinner & then Toys R Us. We finished with popcorn, Tangled & a sleepover with Grandma. Sean was so happy. He really doesn't like falling asleep in his own bed. It's caused many "fights" because every night he asks to fall asleep with us or on the couch. He's allowed to come get us if he wakes up, but the rule is he has to fall asleep in his bed. So, falling asleep with Grandma on the couch was probably his favorite part of the night. 09/18/11 Daddy came home!! Yay!! It was also the first day of bowling. Sean gets to bowl with Aiden, Liam & now Connor. He bowled a 96 his first week!! 09/20/11 We had a bacon party at our house to celebrate Sean & Grandpa Jim's birthdays. 09/25/11 Sean had his 1st flag football game of the season. He was on the Bills this season. We still don't think this is his "thing", but he wanted to play. He just had his last game on 11/06/11 & was super excited to get a medal for the season. We're proud that he went to each game with a good attitude and participated. :) Not gonna lie, October is a bit of a blurr. I know Sean got to sing on stage for Christian Education Sunday on 10/09. His favorite song went like this, "And if our God is for us, then who can ever STOMP us...". Cracks me up. But, it's true, just as true as STOP us. ;) 10/22 was Chilifest at Maranatha. Sean & Paige made the sign for "Paige's Monster Chili" and I cooked the chili. Paige took 1st place!! 10/25 we celebrated Uncle Scott & Grandma Sue with a pizza party at our house. 10/29 Happy Birthday Grandma Sue! We carved pumpkins today. Sean needed long, yellow rubber gloves & no shirt to touch the pumpkin guts. Evie really had no part in the carving, but she wanted to look like Sean too. Daddy & I did a great job on the following the Two Boos & Bat Cat patterns and our pumpkins turned out great. Sean had a playdate at our house with Spencer this night too. They were both very nice to Evie & let her play with them. If they didn't, she was sure to run out & "tell" on them. She'd come flying out of the room & say "Sean!" or "SHHHHHHH". I'd say, "What did Sean say?". She'd reply, "no no!". Then Sean would yell from the bedroom, "I didn't say that!!". They're awesome together. :)10/31 Aunt Susie brought the kids out to my work & we headed to Uncle Mike & Aunt Nicole's for Trick-or-Treating. Sean was Mario this year & Evie was a pink cat. The weather was almost perfect (a little chilly) for Halloween. Grandma, Puppa, Jackson, Mikey, me, Daddy, Sean & Evie started trick-or-treating. Sean wanted to go fast. He's a pro at this now & the little ones slowed him down. He was still very polite, saying "trick-or-treat", "Happy Halloween" & "thank you" at most houses he went to. Evie was absolutely amazing. I've never witnessed a better 17 month old trick-or-treater in my life!! She had us all amazed. She had a sucker in one hand and her Elmo bucket in another. She'd go up to each house & say "treat" & put her Elmo basket out. She'd come running back down to us to show us what she got. It was awesome. Both kids blew us away. It was a really nice Halloween. 11/05 I was gone most of the day working on a fundraiser for Sean's school. Daddy & I went to the event at night & Sean & Evie went to Grandma & Puppa's. Grandma Sean & Evie came back to our house, took a bath & sang songs until they fell asleep. :) 11/06 Today was Sean's last flag football game & he was super excited to get his medal. We had dinner with Grandma & Puppa to celebrate my birthday & to spend time with Grandma before her El Salvador trip. For my birthday, Sean, Evie & Daddy made me lots of cards & got me presents and then put them in a box & hid them. I had to follow clues to find them. I'm so blessed! :) 11/07 after work, I picked up the kids & we met Daddy at Chili's for dinner. I had a great birthday & I still get to celebrate. Daddy & I are going on a date this weekend!! Woo-hoo! :)11/11 Sean invited Puppa to his school for a special Veteran's Day chapel service. Puppa served as a Marine from 1975-1978. They both had a great time honoring & remembering veterans from all branches of the military. 11/12 We went to Cranbrook & Jesse took some family pictures. It was about 50 degrees & sunny, which is nice for a mid-November day, so we took our pictures outside. Afterwards, Daddy & Sean went to the zoo. The kids finished the night at the bowling alley with Grandpa Jim watching Uncle Scott bowl.
Sean is (as always) an amazing little boy. We need to work on whining & listening the first time, but who doesn't at 5?? He loves Evie. He's very tolerant & good to her. He tries to hug her a lot, because he's a cuddler, but she's not. So, she dodges his attempts most of the time. But, he continues to try! I can't wait to see him be a big brother again. He really wants a brother, named Aiden. We'll work on the name... :) He knows EVERY word to Love Potion #9 and some of my favorite moments are spent dancing together & singing together as a family in the kitchen. Sean also knows through Daniel for his Old Testament books and through Henry Harrison for his presidents. He's doing great in school. We got his first report card on Friday. He got mostly ones - the best you can get. A couple 2s - which means "making good progress" and then (1) 4 which is needs improvement when it comes to tying his own shoes. I went to parent teacher conferences on 10/16. Mrs. Scott said he's a joy to have in class. He can be trusted with a lot of kids (not all kids) but a lot at one time. Of course there are some who he distracts & those who distract him. But again he's 5. Overall we've heard that he's a smart boy & a joy to have in class. He loves playing with his friends & staying busy. He's not a big fan of down time. ;)I think this is the first Christmas since he was a baby that he's not collecting anything, so we don't have a long Christmas list for him. Works for me!!
Evie Loretta... The strongest willed 17 month old I know!! She's learned the word "no" and uses it frequently, but doesn't seem to acknowledge it when others say it to her. We're trying to figure out how to discipline her. She's very smart & knows exactly what she's doing, but spankings & time-outs don't seem fitting or effective for her age. She's not easy to get to sleep & we seem to dread the bedtime routine every night. Since vacation she's been quite the daddy's girl. Some days, if Daddy's home, she won't let him do ANYTHING without her. Evie loves music just like her brother. She needs a spoon to sing into & dance around the kitchen when we play music on the ipod. She tries to sing along & usually finishes sentences that end with "me" or words that rhyme with it. She's talking a lot & saying (or trying to say) most words, except Sean. That still comes out "SHHHHHHSSSS". She loves chicken nuggets (or chicken fries) & has a morning routine that includes (2) 3oz yogurt smoothies. We always make sure we have those in stock, because it's the first thing she asks for when she wakes up. She loves sleeping on the couch next to her daddy.
We are so excited about the upcoming holidays. Both kids are at super fun ages (as we learned on Halloween) & I can't wait to watch them over the next couple months!! :)
Pennsylvania was awesome. Both kids did great in the car. I don't even think Sean asked "how much longer?" on the way there. We had a minor setback when we found out the pool at the Knights Inn was closed for the season, but we quickly found a city pool close by and avoided the heartbreak. I think Sean went to that pool almost every day we were in Greensburg. We went to the Pittsburgh Children's Museum and both kids had a blast playing on/with the exhibits. We finished our time there with Dora Live. Again, it was an hour show & both kids did great! We always enjoy visiting family while we're there. I wish we didn't live so far from them. Once a year visits are never enough. After 3 days in Greensburg, we headed to Jones Mill & the Living Treasures Animal Park. It was rainy, but that didn't stop us. Evie LOVED feeding the animals. We were shocked at how much she was able to do & how much she enjoyed this vacation. We went to Idlewild Park the next day & Evie got to ride on a lot of rides (thanks to her big brother :). She rode a few "baby" rides that he never would've got on if it weren't for his sister. We finished our trip at Kalahari. Sean is a fish. That boy has no fear when it comes to water. He can even jump off the diving board at the St. Clair Shores pool. So, Kalahari was a little disappointing because he had to wear a life jacket the whole time. Ohio state law. But, he was fearless in other ways. Going down big waterslides, doing the lazy river by himself. He's such a big boy. Speaking of big boy, Sean started Kindergarten on 09/06. He looks so handsome in his uniform and so far, other than 1 bad day, he's stayed on green. We're hoping his one day on red was the first & the last. Other than that, Kindergarten has been a wonderful experience. When he got home his first day, he said, "That was awesome!". He loves his teachers & has friends in the class. Hope the rest of the year goes as smooth as the last 2 months have. On 09/11, we were able to surprise Sean for his birthday. Again, this was a tough task because he planned the party & even hired Grandma as his assistant to tell everyone when to yell surprise & to help him forget about his party so that he could be surprised. The morning of his party, I told him I had to leave to go to a party (not a lie! :) and that while I was gone, he should go to the Warren Community Center with Daddy & Evie to make sure that's still where he wanted to have his party. He agreed. I left about an hour & a half before them to pick up the cake, set-up the room & get everyone back in the party room before Sean arrived. He was SOOOO surprised. He told us he really thought his party was going to be in a couple days. And, after his party, he said, "I have 3 words to describe that party...awesome, awesome & awesome!". :) Mission accomplished! 09/12/11 - Happy 5th Birthday to Sean!!! He went to school & brought Mario Bros. fruit snacks to share with his friends. After school, he hung out with Grandpa Jim until Connor got out of school. Then, he went to Jungle Java with Aunt Susie, Ms. Abby, Evie, Connor & Ella. I met them there & took Sean & Evie to Daddy. It was a fun day. :) 09/16/11 Daddy went up north, so we planned a fun weekend to keep us busy so we wouldn't cry too hard for him. ;) We went to Plaster Playhouse with Aunt Annette, Connor & Ella. Sean painted a plaster Mario & Evie painted a ceramic plate. Afterwards we got dinner & had a sleepover at our house. The boys slept all night a tent on the living room floor. 09/17/11 Happy Birthday Grandpa Jim! Today we hung out with Grandma, went to dinner & then Toys R Us. We finished with popcorn, Tangled & a sleepover with Grandma. Sean was so happy. He really doesn't like falling asleep in his own bed. It's caused many "fights" because every night he asks to fall asleep with us or on the couch. He's allowed to come get us if he wakes up, but the rule is he has to fall asleep in his bed. So, falling asleep with Grandma on the couch was probably his favorite part of the night. 09/18/11 Daddy came home!! Yay!! It was also the first day of bowling. Sean gets to bowl with Aiden, Liam & now Connor. He bowled a 96 his first week!! 09/20/11 We had a bacon party at our house to celebrate Sean & Grandpa Jim's birthdays. 09/25/11 Sean had his 1st flag football game of the season. He was on the Bills this season. We still don't think this is his "thing", but he wanted to play. He just had his last game on 11/06/11 & was super excited to get a medal for the season. We're proud that he went to each game with a good attitude and participated. :) Not gonna lie, October is a bit of a blurr. I know Sean got to sing on stage for Christian Education Sunday on 10/09. His favorite song went like this, "And if our God is for us, then who can ever STOMP us...". Cracks me up. But, it's true, just as true as STOP us. ;) 10/22 was Chilifest at Maranatha. Sean & Paige made the sign for "Paige's Monster Chili" and I cooked the chili. Paige took 1st place!! 10/25 we celebrated Uncle Scott & Grandma Sue with a pizza party at our house. 10/29 Happy Birthday Grandma Sue! We carved pumpkins today. Sean needed long, yellow rubber gloves & no shirt to touch the pumpkin guts. Evie really had no part in the carving, but she wanted to look like Sean too. Daddy & I did a great job on the following the Two Boos & Bat Cat patterns and our pumpkins turned out great. Sean had a playdate at our house with Spencer this night too. They were both very nice to Evie & let her play with them. If they didn't, she was sure to run out & "tell" on them. She'd come flying out of the room & say "Sean!" or "SHHHHHHH". I'd say, "What did Sean say?". She'd reply, "no no!". Then Sean would yell from the bedroom, "I didn't say that!!". They're awesome together. :)10/31 Aunt Susie brought the kids out to my work & we headed to Uncle Mike & Aunt Nicole's for Trick-or-Treating. Sean was Mario this year & Evie was a pink cat. The weather was almost perfect (a little chilly) for Halloween. Grandma, Puppa, Jackson, Mikey, me, Daddy, Sean & Evie started trick-or-treating. Sean wanted to go fast. He's a pro at this now & the little ones slowed him down. He was still very polite, saying "trick-or-treat", "Happy Halloween" & "thank you" at most houses he went to. Evie was absolutely amazing. I've never witnessed a better 17 month old trick-or-treater in my life!! She had us all amazed. She had a sucker in one hand and her Elmo bucket in another. She'd go up to each house & say "treat" & put her Elmo basket out. She'd come running back down to us to show us what she got. It was awesome. Both kids blew us away. It was a really nice Halloween. 11/05 I was gone most of the day working on a fundraiser for Sean's school. Daddy & I went to the event at night & Sean & Evie went to Grandma & Puppa's. Grandma Sean & Evie came back to our house, took a bath & sang songs until they fell asleep. :) 11/06 Today was Sean's last flag football game & he was super excited to get his medal. We had dinner with Grandma & Puppa to celebrate my birthday & to spend time with Grandma before her El Salvador trip. For my birthday, Sean, Evie & Daddy made me lots of cards & got me presents and then put them in a box & hid them. I had to follow clues to find them. I'm so blessed! :) 11/07 after work, I picked up the kids & we met Daddy at Chili's for dinner. I had a great birthday & I still get to celebrate. Daddy & I are going on a date this weekend!! Woo-hoo! :)11/11 Sean invited Puppa to his school for a special Veteran's Day chapel service. Puppa served as a Marine from 1975-1978. They both had a great time honoring & remembering veterans from all branches of the military. 11/12 We went to Cranbrook & Jesse took some family pictures. It was about 50 degrees & sunny, which is nice for a mid-November day, so we took our pictures outside. Afterwards, Daddy & Sean went to the zoo. The kids finished the night at the bowling alley with Grandpa Jim watching Uncle Scott bowl.
Sean is (as always) an amazing little boy. We need to work on whining & listening the first time, but who doesn't at 5?? He loves Evie. He's very tolerant & good to her. He tries to hug her a lot, because he's a cuddler, but she's not. So, she dodges his attempts most of the time. But, he continues to try! I can't wait to see him be a big brother again. He really wants a brother, named Aiden. We'll work on the name... :) He knows EVERY word to Love Potion #9 and some of my favorite moments are spent dancing together & singing together as a family in the kitchen. Sean also knows through Daniel for his Old Testament books and through Henry Harrison for his presidents. He's doing great in school. We got his first report card on Friday. He got mostly ones - the best you can get. A couple 2s - which means "making good progress" and then (1) 4 which is needs improvement when it comes to tying his own shoes. I went to parent teacher conferences on 10/16. Mrs. Scott said he's a joy to have in class. He can be trusted with a lot of kids (not all kids) but a lot at one time. Of course there are some who he distracts & those who distract him. But again he's 5. Overall we've heard that he's a smart boy & a joy to have in class. He loves playing with his friends & staying busy. He's not a big fan of down time. ;)I think this is the first Christmas since he was a baby that he's not collecting anything, so we don't have a long Christmas list for him. Works for me!!
Evie Loretta... The strongest willed 17 month old I know!! She's learned the word "no" and uses it frequently, but doesn't seem to acknowledge it when others say it to her. We're trying to figure out how to discipline her. She's very smart & knows exactly what she's doing, but spankings & time-outs don't seem fitting or effective for her age. She's not easy to get to sleep & we seem to dread the bedtime routine every night. Since vacation she's been quite the daddy's girl. Some days, if Daddy's home, she won't let him do ANYTHING without her. Evie loves music just like her brother. She needs a spoon to sing into & dance around the kitchen when we play music on the ipod. She tries to sing along & usually finishes sentences that end with "me" or words that rhyme with it. She's talking a lot & saying (or trying to say) most words, except Sean. That still comes out "SHHHHHHSSSS". She loves chicken nuggets (or chicken fries) & has a morning routine that includes (2) 3oz yogurt smoothies. We always make sure we have those in stock, because it's the first thing she asks for when she wakes up. She loves sleeping on the couch next to her daddy.
We are so excited about the upcoming holidays. Both kids are at super fun ages (as we learned on Halloween) & I can't wait to watch them over the next couple months!! :)
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Summertime and the livin' is easy...
I looked back through my blogs & I was much better at this in the beginning. Once a week??? I really had good intentions. Time just goes by way too fast. We've had a great summer. Lots of swimming, splash zones, zoo, friends, family and HEAT!!! Just what summer's supposed to be.
On 06/24 Daddy & Seany went to see Cars 2. Sean said he liked it better than the first one because there were more characters. And of course, all of the characters are available for purchase!! Just what we need, something else to collect. Speaking of things to collect, Sean's latest are plush pigs & birds from Angry Birds. I guess it's a game you play on an iphone. It's the craze right now. ;) On 06/28 we enjoyed an evening with the Boccaccios. They were here visiting from Africa. We went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse & then came home & visited for awhile. It was so nice to spend time with them & have them spend time with Sean & Evie. Jason & I were a big part of their kids lives when they were Sean & Evie's ages. Time really does go by too fast. Sean was SO excited about fireworks this year. He couldn't wait to go shopping for them. Unfortunately, his whining (which we struggle with sometimes) lost him the priviledge of shopping for fireworks on 06/29. It was pitiful and so hard for me as a parent, but I had to stick to my guns. He cried himself to sleep in Aunt Mary's bed while we were waiting for a fridge to be delivered. I told him if he had a better attitude the next day, he'd be able to go buy some. Thankfully, he changed his attitude & was able to go to the fireworks store the next day. Grandma & Puppa gave him money too, so while Evie & I stayed at their house for dinner, Sean & Daddy went shopping. He got strobe lights, fountains, pops, sparklers and smoke balls. We did fireworks every night over 4th of July weekend. Grandpa Jim bought Sean a multi-pack and Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry got him some pops too. Evie wasn't too crazy about the fountains or smokeballs, but she loved the pops. She'd throw them & say "pop"! On 07/05, we celebrated Puppa's birthday because he'd be up north on his actual birthday. Josh & Sarah came over for dinner too. Evie loved sitting in Puppa's lap while every one sang and she kept picking up his spoon to feed her more frosting from the cupcakes. 07/08 we picked Seany & Paige up from Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry's and met cousin Nicole, cousin Amanda & the kids at the zoo. It was really hot, so we didn't see many animals, but the kids loved the dinosaur exhibit. Sean was our tour guide & Evie just rode in the wagon waiving at the dinosaurs & saying "rawr". We finished the night with dinner at Red Lobster with Grandma. We got a meal that came with dessert & Evie loved finishing off our brownie sundae. At one point she had a spoon in each hand. She doesn't growl as much when she eats anymore, but she says "mmmm" while she eats if she really likes something. On 07/09 we went to breakfast with Aunt Susie & Grandma. Later that afternoon we went to Ethan's 4th birthday party. Evie loved fishing for duckies in the baby pool. After the party, we met Aunt Mary, Uncle Scott & Grandma for dinner. Evie kept saying "got". She thought it was funny when Mary would say "no, say Aunt Mary", so she just kept pointing to Scott & saying "got". We finished the evening swimming with Grandma. On 07/10 we went to church & then met Daddy at home. We missed him SO much!! But, Sean protected me & kept me from being sad while he was gone. He's a good boy. On 07/13 we attempted to go to the zoo with Kiara & Grandpa Jim, but it was full!! I guess after weeks of 85-100 degree weather, everyone wanted to do something outside on a 75 degree day! So, we improvised & went to Great Lake Crossing instead. When we got in, there was a claw machine with Angry Bird pigs just outside of Rainforest Cafe. I won a pig (a pig that would normally cost us $20) for $1.50. That was the highlight of everyone's day (well, mine & Seany's at least ;). On 07/15, Daddy went into work late & we went to Bob Evan's for breakfast. I love days off like that. I wish Daddy never had to work! 07/16 was Grandpa Larry's family reunion. We enjoyed showing off the kids. Evie & Sean loved playing on the stairs in the santuary at Maranatha. Later that night we picked Paiger up, went swimming & then got an ice cream. It was a full day!! 07/17 We went to church & then to Liam's 6th birthday party. When we got home, Grandma & Puppa came over for dinner. We blasted "If you're happy & you know it" (Evie's favorite right now) and danced in the kitchen. She's great at the clapping, stomping & woo-hooing. :) 07/18 was Evie's ear tube surgery. Grandpa Jim came over at 7:00 to stay with Sean, while me, Daddy, Grandma & Evie went to the surgery center. Evie did amazing. I was so worried that she'd ask for something to eat or drink, but she just played with her baby & us in the waiting room. She even played & remained calm when we went in the back. She cried when the nurses had to take her from us. I cried too. :( Coming out of the sedation was hard for her too. She cried for a solid hour, hour and a half. It was hard for everyone involved. Even Sean's heart broke for his sister. He wanted to make her happy, but he couldn't. After a bubba & a nap, Evie was good as new. We're looking forward to a much happier & healthier fall & winter!! On 07/20 we went over to Mrs. Jenny's house to swim. It was 99 degrees outside and it got even hotter the next day. This was a tough week to be outside! 07/22 we met Grandpa Jim, Aiden, Liam, Aunt Val, Alex & Nathan at the Warren splash pad. The fountains there stop & start again, so Evie got quite a few faces full of water! She didn't seem to mind though, cause she just kept going back for more! 07/23 we went to breakfast & then shopping with Grandma. Evie is a shopper!! Good thing she doesn't have her own credit card and that most places have carts to confine her!! We went to Borders Express because they're closing & Sean found a talking Angry Bird pig there. Woo-hoo!! This was the day he hired Grandma to be his assistant for his birthday party too. He's planning himself a surprise party at Warren Community Center. Grandma's job is to buy him presents, tell everyone when to yell surprise and most importantly, she's suppose to make him forget, so that he can be surprised. :) Good luck Grandma!! After shopping with Granmda, we went to Staples with Aunt Annette, Connor & Ella to finish shopping for school supplies. Can't believe my BABY is starting Kindergarten soon. He gets mad at me when I whine about it. He tells me that he has to grow up. That my mom probably whined when I started growing up, but I grew up anyway. It's just how it is. Leave it to Sean to put me in my place! Later that day we went to memberfest at the zoo with the Wilsons. The Dinosaur exhibit & train rides were free and most of the animals were out. Probably my best Detroit Zoo experience yet. 07/26 we celebrated Paiger's 11th birthday. Everyone came to our house for dinner. Poor Andy had to go to the vet for stitches, so she wasn't up for partying. Sean broke Daddy's heart later that night because he was devastated when he tried to wake Andy up & couldn't. Daddy explained that she was just tired from her stitches & she was fine. He took him outside with Andy, to show him she was ok. Sean was scared that she'd die like his last dog. Poor baby still misses his Dani girl. :( 07/27 Sean went to the splash zone with Grandpa Jim, Aiden & Liam while me & Evie came home to hang out with Kiara, Rory & Mrs. Amanda. After Evie's nap, we went to the Mach's. Sean was so excited to hang out with Chase. They were able to link up their DS' and play Mario Bros together. :) 07/29 I took Evie to the doctors because she was waking up a lot at night. I wanted to make sure her ears weren't the problem, especially since she just had the tubes put in 11 days before. Ears were perfect, but gums were swollen. Ready to cut 4 molers...yipes! That night we dropped the kids off at Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry's & Daddy & I went on a dinner date. We picked Evie up & Sean stayed the night there with Paiger. 07/30 Evie & I met Grandma & Aunt Mary at Cracker Barrel. She found necklaces, bracelets, a purse & a princess wand. She definitely looked like a girly girl. Doesn't get that from her mother!! ;) That afternoon Evie & I went to a birthday party while Daddy & Sean went to the Tigers game. Sean was convinced that he was going to catch a baseball. Daddy tried to prepare him by telling him that the odds were not in his favor. They went to the game early for batting practice in hopes to increase their odds. Sure enough a ball hit a couple chairs down from Sean while Daddy was chasing after another ball. Sean picked it up...that simple. He was so excited about that ball. When he told me the story he made it clear that he got it himself and that it was a special ball, not one that could be purchased in a store. This ball was hit by a real live baseball player. Grandpa Jim got him a display case & it's sitting on his dresser. Pretty awesome. On 07/31 after church Daddy & I went to a Tigers game while Sean & Evie hung out with Grandma & then Grandma & Puppa. Sean doesn't say he's jealous of Evie, but as she's interacting with HIS people more & more, it becomes clear that he struggles. When he's with Puppa at Puppa's house, they "read" a special book together. Grandma told me he did great most of the time, but when it was time to read his book with Puppa & Evie jumped in his lap, Sean started to draw the line!! I'm sure it's difficult to be the center of everyone's world & then have to deal with some one else stealing your spotlight. We try to make sure that Sean has special times/situations with his people to soften the blow. He's always had a special relationship with Grandma. They just GET each other. So, it's not shocking that she has the job of & is fulfilling her responsibilites as his personal assistant. She even does stuff that's not included in her job description, like hold doors open for him. Like he's royalty or something!! A few times throughout the week Sean spends time away from the house, with Grandpa Jim. They go to Chuck E. Cheese, the library, the splash zone, etc. Most Wednesdays his friends Aiden & Liam get to go with them. He spends the night at Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry's without Evie once-twice a month. Daddy & I take turns going to events with him, without Evie. I'm sure one day he'll understand the effort we put into making him feel as special as he is, but to a 4 year old, right now, the shared attention with Evie is just plain tough sometimes! Today, 08/02 Sean got a countdown to his birthday present from Grandma. A white Angry Bird. He's only missing the yellow & black ones now. Grandpa Jim took him to his library summer reading program party. There was a magician there and Sean got a book, video, coloring book & magic wand! Tonight, Puppa came over for dinner & he brought Sean a slinky and Evie a board book. They all read the book together & then tried to get the slinky to go down the stairs. At dinner, Puppa got Sean to try lettuce & cucumbers (a food he used to like, but stopped at some point). We can usually get Sean to "try" foods, but they don't always end up going down. He made it though & even said he liked them!! I'm not sure where to insert this, so here will have to do. Sean & Evie are living it up on their "Susie" days this summer. They spend lots of time outside, at splash zones or beaches. They even went garage saling. What lives they have!
Evie has transitioned from baby to toddler this month. Everyone who sees her says they can't believe how much she's grown & how "old" she looks. Her communication skills are amazing. She understands everything & can usually get you to understand what she wants or needs. Her hand/eye coordination is insane. She was in a moving wagon at the zoo and she took a capri sun straw out & put it back in. That's tough for most people!! She chews her tongue. It's usually positioned where her vampire teeth will be on the left side. She doesn't like it when Daddy & I hug. She pushes us a part & whines. Probably because I'm her favorite person & she doesn't want to share. ;) If she wants to go outside (and she loves it outside), she gets your shoes & hers. The other day, she had her shoes on & a purse hanging from her wrist. She went to the front door & tried to turn the door knob. Evie still adores Seany. He can make her laugh like no one else. They both do a great dance routine to Beauty & the Beast's "Be Our Guest". Sean tries to dance like the candle stick & Evie spins around! She's still memorized by "Mommy & Me" and "Curious George". Her favorite morning foods are goldfish crackers and yogurt smoothies. Although we can't understand her, I'm convinced she knows how to read. ;) She turns the pages & babbles through each one. She's all of a sudden an independent eater or at least she tries to be. She wants your help getting the food on the utensil, but she has to put the food in her mouth.
We're all excited about our upcoming Pennsylvania trip. I can't wait for a week away with my favorite people!
On 06/24 Daddy & Seany went to see Cars 2. Sean said he liked it better than the first one because there were more characters. And of course, all of the characters are available for purchase!! Just what we need, something else to collect. Speaking of things to collect, Sean's latest are plush pigs & birds from Angry Birds. I guess it's a game you play on an iphone. It's the craze right now. ;) On 06/28 we enjoyed an evening with the Boccaccios. They were here visiting from Africa. We went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse & then came home & visited for awhile. It was so nice to spend time with them & have them spend time with Sean & Evie. Jason & I were a big part of their kids lives when they were Sean & Evie's ages. Time really does go by too fast. Sean was SO excited about fireworks this year. He couldn't wait to go shopping for them. Unfortunately, his whining (which we struggle with sometimes) lost him the priviledge of shopping for fireworks on 06/29. It was pitiful and so hard for me as a parent, but I had to stick to my guns. He cried himself to sleep in Aunt Mary's bed while we were waiting for a fridge to be delivered. I told him if he had a better attitude the next day, he'd be able to go buy some. Thankfully, he changed his attitude & was able to go to the fireworks store the next day. Grandma & Puppa gave him money too, so while Evie & I stayed at their house for dinner, Sean & Daddy went shopping. He got strobe lights, fountains, pops, sparklers and smoke balls. We did fireworks every night over 4th of July weekend. Grandpa Jim bought Sean a multi-pack and Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry got him some pops too. Evie wasn't too crazy about the fountains or smokeballs, but she loved the pops. She'd throw them & say "pop"! On 07/05, we celebrated Puppa's birthday because he'd be up north on his actual birthday. Josh & Sarah came over for dinner too. Evie loved sitting in Puppa's lap while every one sang and she kept picking up his spoon to feed her more frosting from the cupcakes. 07/08 we picked Seany & Paige up from Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry's and met cousin Nicole, cousin Amanda & the kids at the zoo. It was really hot, so we didn't see many animals, but the kids loved the dinosaur exhibit. Sean was our tour guide & Evie just rode in the wagon waiving at the dinosaurs & saying "rawr". We finished the night with dinner at Red Lobster with Grandma. We got a meal that came with dessert & Evie loved finishing off our brownie sundae. At one point she had a spoon in each hand. She doesn't growl as much when she eats anymore, but she says "mmmm" while she eats if she really likes something. On 07/09 we went to breakfast with Aunt Susie & Grandma. Later that afternoon we went to Ethan's 4th birthday party. Evie loved fishing for duckies in the baby pool. After the party, we met Aunt Mary, Uncle Scott & Grandma for dinner. Evie kept saying "got". She thought it was funny when Mary would say "no, say Aunt Mary", so she just kept pointing to Scott & saying "got". We finished the evening swimming with Grandma. On 07/10 we went to church & then met Daddy at home. We missed him SO much!! But, Sean protected me & kept me from being sad while he was gone. He's a good boy. On 07/13 we attempted to go to the zoo with Kiara & Grandpa Jim, but it was full!! I guess after weeks of 85-100 degree weather, everyone wanted to do something outside on a 75 degree day! So, we improvised & went to Great Lake Crossing instead. When we got in, there was a claw machine with Angry Bird pigs just outside of Rainforest Cafe. I won a pig (a pig that would normally cost us $20) for $1.50. That was the highlight of everyone's day (well, mine & Seany's at least ;). On 07/15, Daddy went into work late & we went to Bob Evan's for breakfast. I love days off like that. I wish Daddy never had to work! 07/16 was Grandpa Larry's family reunion. We enjoyed showing off the kids. Evie & Sean loved playing on the stairs in the santuary at Maranatha. Later that night we picked Paiger up, went swimming & then got an ice cream. It was a full day!! 07/17 We went to church & then to Liam's 6th birthday party. When we got home, Grandma & Puppa came over for dinner. We blasted "If you're happy & you know it" (Evie's favorite right now) and danced in the kitchen. She's great at the clapping, stomping & woo-hooing. :) 07/18 was Evie's ear tube surgery. Grandpa Jim came over at 7:00 to stay with Sean, while me, Daddy, Grandma & Evie went to the surgery center. Evie did amazing. I was so worried that she'd ask for something to eat or drink, but she just played with her baby & us in the waiting room. She even played & remained calm when we went in the back. She cried when the nurses had to take her from us. I cried too. :( Coming out of the sedation was hard for her too. She cried for a solid hour, hour and a half. It was hard for everyone involved. Even Sean's heart broke for his sister. He wanted to make her happy, but he couldn't. After a bubba & a nap, Evie was good as new. We're looking forward to a much happier & healthier fall & winter!! On 07/20 we went over to Mrs. Jenny's house to swim. It was 99 degrees outside and it got even hotter the next day. This was a tough week to be outside! 07/22 we met Grandpa Jim, Aiden, Liam, Aunt Val, Alex & Nathan at the Warren splash pad. The fountains there stop & start again, so Evie got quite a few faces full of water! She didn't seem to mind though, cause she just kept going back for more! 07/23 we went to breakfast & then shopping with Grandma. Evie is a shopper!! Good thing she doesn't have her own credit card and that most places have carts to confine her!! We went to Borders Express because they're closing & Sean found a talking Angry Bird pig there. Woo-hoo!! This was the day he hired Grandma to be his assistant for his birthday party too. He's planning himself a surprise party at Warren Community Center. Grandma's job is to buy him presents, tell everyone when to yell surprise and most importantly, she's suppose to make him forget, so that he can be surprised. :) Good luck Grandma!! After shopping with Granmda, we went to Staples with Aunt Annette, Connor & Ella to finish shopping for school supplies. Can't believe my BABY is starting Kindergarten soon. He gets mad at me when I whine about it. He tells me that he has to grow up. That my mom probably whined when I started growing up, but I grew up anyway. It's just how it is. Leave it to Sean to put me in my place! Later that day we went to memberfest at the zoo with the Wilsons. The Dinosaur exhibit & train rides were free and most of the animals were out. Probably my best Detroit Zoo experience yet. 07/26 we celebrated Paiger's 11th birthday. Everyone came to our house for dinner. Poor Andy had to go to the vet for stitches, so she wasn't up for partying. Sean broke Daddy's heart later that night because he was devastated when he tried to wake Andy up & couldn't. Daddy explained that she was just tired from her stitches & she was fine. He took him outside with Andy, to show him she was ok. Sean was scared that she'd die like his last dog. Poor baby still misses his Dani girl. :( 07/27 Sean went to the splash zone with Grandpa Jim, Aiden & Liam while me & Evie came home to hang out with Kiara, Rory & Mrs. Amanda. After Evie's nap, we went to the Mach's. Sean was so excited to hang out with Chase. They were able to link up their DS' and play Mario Bros together. :) 07/29 I took Evie to the doctors because she was waking up a lot at night. I wanted to make sure her ears weren't the problem, especially since she just had the tubes put in 11 days before. Ears were perfect, but gums were swollen. Ready to cut 4 molers...yipes! That night we dropped the kids off at Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry's & Daddy & I went on a dinner date. We picked Evie up & Sean stayed the night there with Paiger. 07/30 Evie & I met Grandma & Aunt Mary at Cracker Barrel. She found necklaces, bracelets, a purse & a princess wand. She definitely looked like a girly girl. Doesn't get that from her mother!! ;) That afternoon Evie & I went to a birthday party while Daddy & Sean went to the Tigers game. Sean was convinced that he was going to catch a baseball. Daddy tried to prepare him by telling him that the odds were not in his favor. They went to the game early for batting practice in hopes to increase their odds. Sure enough a ball hit a couple chairs down from Sean while Daddy was chasing after another ball. Sean picked it up...that simple. He was so excited about that ball. When he told me the story he made it clear that he got it himself and that it was a special ball, not one that could be purchased in a store. This ball was hit by a real live baseball player. Grandpa Jim got him a display case & it's sitting on his dresser. Pretty awesome. On 07/31 after church Daddy & I went to a Tigers game while Sean & Evie hung out with Grandma & then Grandma & Puppa. Sean doesn't say he's jealous of Evie, but as she's interacting with HIS people more & more, it becomes clear that he struggles. When he's with Puppa at Puppa's house, they "read" a special book together. Grandma told me he did great most of the time, but when it was time to read his book with Puppa & Evie jumped in his lap, Sean started to draw the line!! I'm sure it's difficult to be the center of everyone's world & then have to deal with some one else stealing your spotlight. We try to make sure that Sean has special times/situations with his people to soften the blow. He's always had a special relationship with Grandma. They just GET each other. So, it's not shocking that she has the job of & is fulfilling her responsibilites as his personal assistant. She even does stuff that's not included in her job description, like hold doors open for him. Like he's royalty or something!! A few times throughout the week Sean spends time away from the house, with Grandpa Jim. They go to Chuck E. Cheese, the library, the splash zone, etc. Most Wednesdays his friends Aiden & Liam get to go with them. He spends the night at Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry's without Evie once-twice a month. Daddy & I take turns going to events with him, without Evie. I'm sure one day he'll understand the effort we put into making him feel as special as he is, but to a 4 year old, right now, the shared attention with Evie is just plain tough sometimes! Today, 08/02 Sean got a countdown to his birthday present from Grandma. A white Angry Bird. He's only missing the yellow & black ones now. Grandpa Jim took him to his library summer reading program party. There was a magician there and Sean got a book, video, coloring book & magic wand! Tonight, Puppa came over for dinner & he brought Sean a slinky and Evie a board book. They all read the book together & then tried to get the slinky to go down the stairs. At dinner, Puppa got Sean to try lettuce & cucumbers (a food he used to like, but stopped at some point). We can usually get Sean to "try" foods, but they don't always end up going down. He made it though & even said he liked them!! I'm not sure where to insert this, so here will have to do. Sean & Evie are living it up on their "Susie" days this summer. They spend lots of time outside, at splash zones or beaches. They even went garage saling. What lives they have!
Evie has transitioned from baby to toddler this month. Everyone who sees her says they can't believe how much she's grown & how "old" she looks. Her communication skills are amazing. She understands everything & can usually get you to understand what she wants or needs. Her hand/eye coordination is insane. She was in a moving wagon at the zoo and she took a capri sun straw out & put it back in. That's tough for most people!! She chews her tongue. It's usually positioned where her vampire teeth will be on the left side. She doesn't like it when Daddy & I hug. She pushes us a part & whines. Probably because I'm her favorite person & she doesn't want to share. ;) If she wants to go outside (and she loves it outside), she gets your shoes & hers. The other day, she had her shoes on & a purse hanging from her wrist. She went to the front door & tried to turn the door knob. Evie still adores Seany. He can make her laugh like no one else. They both do a great dance routine to Beauty & the Beast's "Be Our Guest". Sean tries to dance like the candle stick & Evie spins around! She's still memorized by "Mommy & Me" and "Curious George". Her favorite morning foods are goldfish crackers and yogurt smoothies. Although we can't understand her, I'm convinced she knows how to read. ;) She turns the pages & babbles through each one. She's all of a sudden an independent eater or at least she tries to be. She wants your help getting the food on the utensil, but she has to put the food in her mouth.
We're all excited about our upcoming Pennsylvania trip. I can't wait for a week away with my favorite people!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Terrible 'Ones'?
No surprise, but Evie is a very strong-willed toddler. She knows what she wants and doesn't want & she has no problem communicating. She just turned one, so I can't imagine what the terrible twos will be like!!
On 05/19, the night before Sean's preschool graduation, Sean was jumping on his bed & decided to do a free fall. He cracked the bridge of his nose on the end of his car bed. Thank God the car bed is plastic & he hit where he did because a little lower & he would've knocked some teeth out. Daddy took him to the ER where Uncle Mike works & he got some x-rays done. He thought that was the coolest thing. He said, "The next time I break my nose, take a picture of that!". Seeing his skull was pretty awesome. He didn't break his nose and hopefully there won't be a next time. Sean's preschool graduation ceremony was awesome. As soon as he got on stage, he put his hands down his pants. We thought for sure he was going to be "that kid" through the whole performance again. But he pulled it together quickly & did a great job. We were so proud!! Grandma, Aunt Susie, Grandma Sue, Grandpa Larry & Grandpa Jim were there. Sean was showered with graduation gifts too. He thought it was great (of course ;). On 05/23 Daddy & Sean went to Sean's end of the year bowling party with his class. Sean got a double in the 10th frame of the last game to score a 93! 05/26 we celebrated Evie's 1st birthday. We went to Daddy's work to visit and then to Grandma's work to pick her up. We met Daddy at Rainforest Cafe. Evie loved all the animals. Forget about eating, she wanted to walk around the whole time. After that, we went & climbed on the foam food in the food court. We finished the night with pizza & cake at our house with Grandma, Puppa, Grandpa Jim, Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry. Evie LOVED her first cupcake! Her whole head was dyed pink! 05/27 we loaded the car & headed up north to see Aunt Mary & Uncle Scott. The kids were AMAZING the whole car ride. Evie's favorite part? Having her car seat turned around!! While I'm putting her in the car, she directs me to turn the dvd player on!! Her favorite video is Mommy & Me. It never gets old!! We stopped at Call of The Wild in Gaylord. My nan used to take me there when I was little. It was so cool for me to go there with my family. Sean was fascinated & a little freaked out by the bear displays, but we had to keep going back to look at them. Sean kept talking about the 5 mile bridge, but when we got to it, he was asleep. I tried to wake him up, but he wasn't having it. Good thing he got to see it on the way home. Mr. Terry from Daddy's work gave us ferry tickets, so on 05/28 we went to Mackinaw Island. Lots of horses, souvenier shops & fudge!! There was a little toy store where Evie found a stuffed Curious George that she LOVED! George went everywhere with her from then on. He was $10, so we almost didn't buy him. But, you can't put a price on love. ;) We stayed at the Days Inn and our room was the closest to the pool. Everything was perfect. On our way home on 05/29, we stopped at Daddy's favorite restaurant near Houghton Lake. He always talks about their ham when he goes up north, so we finally got to try it. On Memorial Day it was HOT. We went swimming & Sean tried the water slide. He did great! He tried it with a lifeguard catching him at the bottom and without. He's so brave!! We went to Grandma & Puppa's for dinner and then finished the night back at the pool. Sean hurt his toe jumping in the shallow end & we haven't been back since because of the weather. We'll see how he does next time. Hopefully the injury didn't scar him! On 05/31 Evie went for her 1 year well visit. She was 24 1/2 lbs and 31 in. In the 97th percentile for both. Her head is still 100th!! :) She's growing beautifully. She was NOT happy to be at the doctor's office. Dr. Berry told me she's very smart. She's aware of her surroundings & she knows the doctor's office is not a place she wants to be. He didn't need to tell me how smart she is, we already know that. But I guess it never hurts to hear it from a "professional". :) She had to get 3 shots...boo hoo. :( On 06/04 Daddy & Evie took Sean to his Kindergarten testing. We just got the results on this & it's recommended that we send Sean to Kindergarten. A little vague... The only area it said he needs to work on is "skipping". After Sean's testing we went to Fort Fraser for Evie's party. It was almost the hottest day of the year so far. That was miserable, but everything else turned out great. We were surrounded by friends & family. I always feel so fortunate to have so many people who love me, Jason & our kids. :) Evie came home & enjoyed opening all of her gifts. Our living room was full of toys & clothes...what's new? ;)06/07 Sean went to the library with Mrs. Lori & Kiara. It was the kick-off to a summer reading program that Sean's enrolled in. He has to read or be read to 20 minutes every day. If he does, he gets prizes and entries into a drawing for a grand prize. He also gets to go every Tuesday for a special story time. He reminds me each day that we have to read books! 06/10 was Evie's ENT appt. Dr. Fishman said that due to her chronic ear infections and the fact that there was still fluid in her ears, she was a good canidate for tubes. Her surgery is scheduled for 07/18. I know she needs them & I know they'll bring relief & I know it's a simple procedure...it still makes me sad. :( 06/11 Daddy was gone all day. It was a guy's golf & card day. So, we got up & went to Bob Evan's with Grandma. Evie's favorite new thing there? Home fries!! No more panny cakers. Grandma & I couldn't get them in front of her fast enough. After breakfast we went to Connor & Ella's house. The mommies cooked & the kids played. They did great. Sean played in dirt & Evie played tea party. Just like it should be right? ;) We attempted to go to Sears & dinner with Grandma that night. We survived, but I don't think we'll be making any mall trips on long days with no afternoon naps anymore. 06/12 Sean & Daddy hung out & went to football. Evie & I went to Caden's 1st birthday party at the Warren Community Center. She loved the water and her favorite part was when I picked her up & slid her down the slide. Great for her, not so great for my back. We met Daddy & Sean over the Mach's after for Mr. Tim's surprise 40th birthday party. I had to stop at Meijer on the way to get Evie some long pants. It was 97 on 06/08, 67 on 06/09 and 57 on 06/12. Michigan weather. But, it was dry & the sun came out at times, so it was good. 06/17 we went to the library with Grandpa Jim to make crafts & cards for Father's Day. Evie loves to walk around pulling all the books/videos off the shelves. Good thing there's a kid's section or we might've gotten kicked out! 06/18 Evie & I met Aunt Mary & Grandma for breakfast while Daddy stayed home & cleaned. Ahhh, the joy that brought me!! ;) Grandma ran a couple errands with us and then we went & picked Seany up from Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry's. He had spent the night there with Paiger the night before. We came home, got ready & then went to see the Boccaccios. They're home for 6 weeks. It was an open house, so we didn't get to talk a lot, but we get to see them again next week!! We had lunch with Grandpa Jim before going home to take a nap. While Daddy (he deserved a nap after all the cleaning :) & Evie napped, I laid on the couch & watched Sean play Wii. He kept thanking me for watching him. We finished the night at Uncle Marty's & Aunt Val's for Alex's 6th birthday party. Evie got so dirty playing in the mud, but it was the most fun she had all day. 06/19 - Father's Day!! Sean tricked Daddy by hiding his presents in the dresser & drawing Daddy a map to find them. He also told Daddy not to go through his drawers, just so he wouldn't mess them up. A little trickery on his part. :) We went to church & then Daddy & Sean went golfing. We went to Sean's last football game after that. He had his biggest crowd yet. Grandpa Jim, Grandma, Puppa, Grandma Sue, Grandpa Larry, Uncle Scott, Paiger, Mr. Dan, Liam & Aiden. Daddy was able to be the assistant coach. The Vikings got their first win of the season!!! Go Vikings! Sean was so excited. He got pizza & a trophy afterwards too. I asked if he was going to put his trophy in his special drawer with his bowling plaque. He said, "Umm, nooooo. This trophy is way too special to go in a dirty drawer. It's going on my dresser!". We finished the night with an awesome steak dinner at Grandma & Puppa's. We had a great Father's Day!!
Sean-isms: "Don't be sad, I have to grow up. I will always love you. Even when I get married, I will get in my car & come to your house to visit you." ~ "Is that bacon? It doesn't look like bacon. But, if you say so, I trust you." ~ "I can't figure out why Kiara hasn't came out to call me over yet. You guys go ahead & go inside. I'm just gonna wait on the porch." ~ "I didn't open my door because there are bugs on it & you know I'm allergic to bugs." ~ "If you don't want to win, that's fine, keep dying." (to Daddy while playing Super Mario on the Wii)
Evie is brilliant. She follows directions very well. She understands everything & it's only a matter of time before she'll be able to say everything. She's done "more" in sign language for awhile, but never please. Grandma always makes her say please in sign language & now she does it!! She does thank you too. She says "hello?" when she hears my phone ring. She says "ball", "more", "mumma", "dadda", "puppa", "juice", "shoes" and "cheese" (although the last 3 sound very similar ;). She says "mumma" the most. Not just because she loves me, but because she thinks it has a thousand meanings! ;) She still adores her brother & smiles & laughs when he enters the room. She loves climbing over Andy. Andy's great with both kids...just takes the abuse. Evie does peek-a-boo & blows kisses. If I open the fridge, she makes her way past me & goes for the yogurt smoothies. She pulls them out & says, "juice". She's becoming a pickier eater...great. Just what I need...another picky eater! If she puts or you put something in her mouth she doesn't like, she spits it out. Sometimes she won't even try it. She loves green beans, most fruit, chicken nuggets, cheese, goldfish crackers and yogurt melts.
We have to keep the bathroom door shut because she loves opening the cupboards & pulling everything out. Now that the weather's better, her ears haven't been bothering her as much. She's sleeping a lot better, staying most nights in her crib. She takes a morning & afternoon nap. If she misses either, WATCH OUT!! She definitely needs her rest!
On 05/19, the night before Sean's preschool graduation, Sean was jumping on his bed & decided to do a free fall. He cracked the bridge of his nose on the end of his car bed. Thank God the car bed is plastic & he hit where he did because a little lower & he would've knocked some teeth out. Daddy took him to the ER where Uncle Mike works & he got some x-rays done. He thought that was the coolest thing. He said, "The next time I break my nose, take a picture of that!". Seeing his skull was pretty awesome. He didn't break his nose and hopefully there won't be a next time. Sean's preschool graduation ceremony was awesome. As soon as he got on stage, he put his hands down his pants. We thought for sure he was going to be "that kid" through the whole performance again. But he pulled it together quickly & did a great job. We were so proud!! Grandma, Aunt Susie, Grandma Sue, Grandpa Larry & Grandpa Jim were there. Sean was showered with graduation gifts too. He thought it was great (of course ;). On 05/23 Daddy & Sean went to Sean's end of the year bowling party with his class. Sean got a double in the 10th frame of the last game to score a 93! 05/26 we celebrated Evie's 1st birthday. We went to Daddy's work to visit and then to Grandma's work to pick her up. We met Daddy at Rainforest Cafe. Evie loved all the animals. Forget about eating, she wanted to walk around the whole time. After that, we went & climbed on the foam food in the food court. We finished the night with pizza & cake at our house with Grandma, Puppa, Grandpa Jim, Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry. Evie LOVED her first cupcake! Her whole head was dyed pink! 05/27 we loaded the car & headed up north to see Aunt Mary & Uncle Scott. The kids were AMAZING the whole car ride. Evie's favorite part? Having her car seat turned around!! While I'm putting her in the car, she directs me to turn the dvd player on!! Her favorite video is Mommy & Me. It never gets old!! We stopped at Call of The Wild in Gaylord. My nan used to take me there when I was little. It was so cool for me to go there with my family. Sean was fascinated & a little freaked out by the bear displays, but we had to keep going back to look at them. Sean kept talking about the 5 mile bridge, but when we got to it, he was asleep. I tried to wake him up, but he wasn't having it. Good thing he got to see it on the way home. Mr. Terry from Daddy's work gave us ferry tickets, so on 05/28 we went to Mackinaw Island. Lots of horses, souvenier shops & fudge!! There was a little toy store where Evie found a stuffed Curious George that she LOVED! George went everywhere with her from then on. He was $10, so we almost didn't buy him. But, you can't put a price on love. ;) We stayed at the Days Inn and our room was the closest to the pool. Everything was perfect. On our way home on 05/29, we stopped at Daddy's favorite restaurant near Houghton Lake. He always talks about their ham when he goes up north, so we finally got to try it. On Memorial Day it was HOT. We went swimming & Sean tried the water slide. He did great! He tried it with a lifeguard catching him at the bottom and without. He's so brave!! We went to Grandma & Puppa's for dinner and then finished the night back at the pool. Sean hurt his toe jumping in the shallow end & we haven't been back since because of the weather. We'll see how he does next time. Hopefully the injury didn't scar him! On 05/31 Evie went for her 1 year well visit. She was 24 1/2 lbs and 31 in. In the 97th percentile for both. Her head is still 100th!! :) She's growing beautifully. She was NOT happy to be at the doctor's office. Dr. Berry told me she's very smart. She's aware of her surroundings & she knows the doctor's office is not a place she wants to be. He didn't need to tell me how smart she is, we already know that. But I guess it never hurts to hear it from a "professional". :) She had to get 3 shots...boo hoo. :( On 06/04 Daddy & Evie took Sean to his Kindergarten testing. We just got the results on this & it's recommended that we send Sean to Kindergarten. A little vague... The only area it said he needs to work on is "skipping". After Sean's testing we went to Fort Fraser for Evie's party. It was almost the hottest day of the year so far. That was miserable, but everything else turned out great. We were surrounded by friends & family. I always feel so fortunate to have so many people who love me, Jason & our kids. :) Evie came home & enjoyed opening all of her gifts. Our living room was full of toys & clothes...what's new? ;)06/07 Sean went to the library with Mrs. Lori & Kiara. It was the kick-off to a summer reading program that Sean's enrolled in. He has to read or be read to 20 minutes every day. If he does, he gets prizes and entries into a drawing for a grand prize. He also gets to go every Tuesday for a special story time. He reminds me each day that we have to read books! 06/10 was Evie's ENT appt. Dr. Fishman said that due to her chronic ear infections and the fact that there was still fluid in her ears, she was a good canidate for tubes. Her surgery is scheduled for 07/18. I know she needs them & I know they'll bring relief & I know it's a simple procedure...it still makes me sad. :( 06/11 Daddy was gone all day. It was a guy's golf & card day. So, we got up & went to Bob Evan's with Grandma. Evie's favorite new thing there? Home fries!! No more panny cakers. Grandma & I couldn't get them in front of her fast enough. After breakfast we went to Connor & Ella's house. The mommies cooked & the kids played. They did great. Sean played in dirt & Evie played tea party. Just like it should be right? ;) We attempted to go to Sears & dinner with Grandma that night. We survived, but I don't think we'll be making any mall trips on long days with no afternoon naps anymore. 06/12 Sean & Daddy hung out & went to football. Evie & I went to Caden's 1st birthday party at the Warren Community Center. She loved the water and her favorite part was when I picked her up & slid her down the slide. Great for her, not so great for my back. We met Daddy & Sean over the Mach's after for Mr. Tim's surprise 40th birthday party. I had to stop at Meijer on the way to get Evie some long pants. It was 97 on 06/08, 67 on 06/09 and 57 on 06/12. Michigan weather. But, it was dry & the sun came out at times, so it was good. 06/17 we went to the library with Grandpa Jim to make crafts & cards for Father's Day. Evie loves to walk around pulling all the books/videos off the shelves. Good thing there's a kid's section or we might've gotten kicked out! 06/18 Evie & I met Aunt Mary & Grandma for breakfast while Daddy stayed home & cleaned. Ahhh, the joy that brought me!! ;) Grandma ran a couple errands with us and then we went & picked Seany up from Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry's. He had spent the night there with Paiger the night before. We came home, got ready & then went to see the Boccaccios. They're home for 6 weeks. It was an open house, so we didn't get to talk a lot, but we get to see them again next week!! We had lunch with Grandpa Jim before going home to take a nap. While Daddy (he deserved a nap after all the cleaning :) & Evie napped, I laid on the couch & watched Sean play Wii. He kept thanking me for watching him. We finished the night at Uncle Marty's & Aunt Val's for Alex's 6th birthday party. Evie got so dirty playing in the mud, but it was the most fun she had all day. 06/19 - Father's Day!! Sean tricked Daddy by hiding his presents in the dresser & drawing Daddy a map to find them. He also told Daddy not to go through his drawers, just so he wouldn't mess them up. A little trickery on his part. :) We went to church & then Daddy & Sean went golfing. We went to Sean's last football game after that. He had his biggest crowd yet. Grandpa Jim, Grandma, Puppa, Grandma Sue, Grandpa Larry, Uncle Scott, Paiger, Mr. Dan, Liam & Aiden. Daddy was able to be the assistant coach. The Vikings got their first win of the season!!! Go Vikings! Sean was so excited. He got pizza & a trophy afterwards too. I asked if he was going to put his trophy in his special drawer with his bowling plaque. He said, "Umm, nooooo. This trophy is way too special to go in a dirty drawer. It's going on my dresser!". We finished the night with an awesome steak dinner at Grandma & Puppa's. We had a great Father's Day!!
Sean-isms: "Don't be sad, I have to grow up. I will always love you. Even when I get married, I will get in my car & come to your house to visit you." ~ "Is that bacon? It doesn't look like bacon. But, if you say so, I trust you." ~ "I can't figure out why Kiara hasn't came out to call me over yet. You guys go ahead & go inside. I'm just gonna wait on the porch." ~ "I didn't open my door because there are bugs on it & you know I'm allergic to bugs." ~ "If you don't want to win, that's fine, keep dying." (to Daddy while playing Super Mario on the Wii)
Evie is brilliant. She follows directions very well. She understands everything & it's only a matter of time before she'll be able to say everything. She's done "more" in sign language for awhile, but never please. Grandma always makes her say please in sign language & now she does it!! She does thank you too. She says "hello?" when she hears my phone ring. She says "ball", "more", "mumma", "dadda", "puppa", "juice", "shoes" and "cheese" (although the last 3 sound very similar ;). She says "mumma" the most. Not just because she loves me, but because she thinks it has a thousand meanings! ;) She still adores her brother & smiles & laughs when he enters the room. She loves climbing over Andy. Andy's great with both kids...just takes the abuse. Evie does peek-a-boo & blows kisses. If I open the fridge, she makes her way past me & goes for the yogurt smoothies. She pulls them out & says, "juice". She's becoming a pickier eater...great. Just what I need...another picky eater! If she puts or you put something in her mouth she doesn't like, she spits it out. Sometimes she won't even try it. She loves green beans, most fruit, chicken nuggets, cheese, goldfish crackers and yogurt melts.
We have to keep the bathroom door shut because she loves opening the cupboards & pulling everything out. Now that the weather's better, her ears haven't been bothering her as much. She's sleeping a lot better, staying most nights in her crib. She takes a morning & afternoon nap. If she misses either, WATCH OUT!! She definitely needs her rest!
Monday, May 16, 2011
What's next? College?
I'm trying not to get emotional about the fact that Sean graduates from preschool on Friday. I mean, it's just preschool, right? They did Spring (if that's what you call this season we're in ;) pictures at school & there's one of Sean in his graduation cap. It's crazy to think he's going to start Kindergarten in the fall. He's growing up so fast. He's always amazed us with what he knows and does and says, but he just seems so grown up lately. Every time I tell him he's growing up, I say I'm sad and make a face or whine. He says, "Why do you do that every time? You know I have to grow up!". I know, but I don't have to like it. I cherish times when he wants to hug or cuddle or love on me. Like last night. He was laying down, watching tv in his bed. I went in his room to hang up some clothes & he said, "Umm, next time you come in here & you don't have stuff in your hands, can you cuddle me a little bit?". :) Makes my heart smile!!
We had a great Easter. The day before we dyed eggs with Grandpa Jim & Grandma. Evie wasn't allowed to have real eggs because she likes to throw things. All of her plastic eggs ended up on the floor. We went to an Easter egg hunt at Mrs. Kim's house that afternoon. That night, Sean & Evie wrote letters to the Easter Bunny. Sean's said, "Happy Easter Jesus is Alive". :) Easter morning, Sean & I woke up before Daddy & Evie. We tried to be quiet as we read the letter from the Easter Bunny. Then we walked into the living room & heard a hide-and-seek egg, so Sean started looking for it. With the egg was his basket too. Not long after he found the baskets, Evie popped up & monkey crawled to her basket. She loved pulling everything out & looking through her basket with Sean. We went to church & then out to Uncle Mike's house for an Easter egg & basket hunt & dinner with Grandma, Puppa, Aunt Mary, Uncle Mike, Aunt Nicole & the kids. We left there & headed to Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry's house. It was a long, fun filled day.
On 04/21, Sean had his first flag football practice. His coach's name is Mr. Mike & his team is the Vikings. Sean's not very aggressive, so we've found that his best positions are center & quarterback. His first game was 05/01. It was cold & drizzly, but Sean did great. He was the quarterback on a play that ended in a touchtown. His next game was on Mother's Day, 05/08. It was sunny & 75 degrees. Perfect football game weather (from the stands at least ;). His next game was supposed to be 05/15, but it was super cold & rainy all day and not enough kids showed up to play a game. He's on a good team with a great group of boys who are nice to each other. Connor's on his team too! Not sure yet if football is their thing, but we just want them to listen to their coaches, be nice to their teammates & have fun. Daddy has been able to be on the field to help the coaches at both games. A true test of Daddy's patience, but he's great with the kids.
My Mother's Day was awesome. I was treated to some of my favorite things, including strawberry & banana crepes. Daddy made me a Vikings t-shirt with an iron on transfer. It was plain, other than the Vikings logo, so Sean decorated it for me. It says, "Sean's Mom" and "Go Go Go Sean" and "I love the Vikings". I love it. :) We had lunch at Olga's & went to Sean's game. Grandma, Puppa, Grandpa Jim, Grandpa Larry & Grandma Sue were all there to cheer on their guy. Evie enjoyed spending time with them in the stands too. Our neighbor & Sean's friend Kiara lost her father on Easter, so she's been spending some extra time with us. We pick her up from the bus stop on Tuesdays & Wednesdays. Sean loves having her over. She came with us to the game too.
Sean came home from school with a bruise above his eye last week. I asked him how he got the "shiner". From then on he referred to it as his "shiny". We sent Grandma a picture of his eye & she said it made her sad. He said, "I know it does. It's serious!". Sean & Daddy's new thing is to play Wii. They've been working on Donkey Kong Country Returns and finally beat it yesterday. This was a BIG accomplishment in our house. Sean & Daddy got to go fishing on Saturday. Puppa went with them & caught most of the fish. But, Sean caught the biggest. He came home & said, "I'm little, but I did a big thing. Just like David & Goliath!". LOVE him. He's a precious, smart, compassionate, loving, amazing little boy. But, he's still a little boy. We're working on NOT whining. My least favorite thing to hear is, "How long until we..." and "But that's a long time!!!". I really don't like, "But I never get to..." These are fighting words in my book. Today, Sean got on the yellow light at school. The first time he's had any disciplinary action taken at school. I asked him why he was moved to yellow & he said he didn't make wise choices and he didn't follow the rules. I asked him what rule he broke. His reply was, "You don't get moved to yellow if you just break one rule, you have to break a lot." Didn't do much to help his case. I thought Daddy was going to die from laughter at the dinner table when Sean told him, "Now, you're not gonna want to hear this & I just don't know why I did it, but I started biting." I guess it was fake biting or just making the motion with his mouth, but he was being distracting & not listening to his teachers. Hopefully he redeems himself next time he's there. If not, we may have to take away the wii...
Evie Loretta...where to begin... We thought she was going to get her eye teeth before any others came in. But, 2 weeks ago, I heard her grinding her teeth, which is impossible when you only have 2 on the bottom. So, I felt her gums & her 2 front top teeth had broken through. So, she has 4 teeth now and I'm not sure when the top ones broke through. She's taken 2-3 steps at a time for a couple weeks now, but last Thursday she started taking 4-5 steps at a time. Now, she's officially walking. Yesterday I watched her walk from the couch to the tv and then into the kitchen. Along with her new found mobility comes a new found curiosity. She likes to go on the landing & play with shoes. She likes to open cupboards & pull things out of the garbage. She's even tasted some dog food. Yuck! Her favorite foods are yogurt, bananas, puffs, yougurt melts, toddler cheese puffs, turkey & green beans. I thought she liked peas, but when I put some on her tray tonight, she refused to eat them. I tried to put one in her mouth & she spit it out. She tried to put one in my mouth, I refused & then she threw it at me. She is sassy! She whines. Like real whining, as if she's mimicking the whine Sean does. She's starting to mimick a lot. If you try to take something out of her hands, watch out. She screams & throws up her arms. Sean thinks it great when she gives us the "stink eye". Such attitude at such a young age! We joke that she's German because she yells a lot when she talks & says, "NIGH NIGH!". She always has a lot to "say". She absolutely adores Sean. She claps & waives & smiles & screams as soon as she sees him. Tonight, during her bath, Sean kept crawling in the bathroom like he was Donkey Kong. I've never heard Evie laugh harder. Her ears have really become an issue. She's on infection #7 since January, so we're scheduled to see the ENT in a couple weeks. She loves to sleep & does great in her crib, so you know her ears are really bothering her when she's up a lot through out the night. I can't believe that she'll be 1 next week. I'm switching my work days to spend her birthday with her. We're planning to have lots of fun!!
We had a great Easter. The day before we dyed eggs with Grandpa Jim & Grandma. Evie wasn't allowed to have real eggs because she likes to throw things. All of her plastic eggs ended up on the floor. We went to an Easter egg hunt at Mrs. Kim's house that afternoon. That night, Sean & Evie wrote letters to the Easter Bunny. Sean's said, "Happy Easter Jesus is Alive". :) Easter morning, Sean & I woke up before Daddy & Evie. We tried to be quiet as we read the letter from the Easter Bunny. Then we walked into the living room & heard a hide-and-seek egg, so Sean started looking for it. With the egg was his basket too. Not long after he found the baskets, Evie popped up & monkey crawled to her basket. She loved pulling everything out & looking through her basket with Sean. We went to church & then out to Uncle Mike's house for an Easter egg & basket hunt & dinner with Grandma, Puppa, Aunt Mary, Uncle Mike, Aunt Nicole & the kids. We left there & headed to Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry's house. It was a long, fun filled day.
On 04/21, Sean had his first flag football practice. His coach's name is Mr. Mike & his team is the Vikings. Sean's not very aggressive, so we've found that his best positions are center & quarterback. His first game was 05/01. It was cold & drizzly, but Sean did great. He was the quarterback on a play that ended in a touchtown. His next game was on Mother's Day, 05/08. It was sunny & 75 degrees. Perfect football game weather (from the stands at least ;). His next game was supposed to be 05/15, but it was super cold & rainy all day and not enough kids showed up to play a game. He's on a good team with a great group of boys who are nice to each other. Connor's on his team too! Not sure yet if football is their thing, but we just want them to listen to their coaches, be nice to their teammates & have fun. Daddy has been able to be on the field to help the coaches at both games. A true test of Daddy's patience, but he's great with the kids.
My Mother's Day was awesome. I was treated to some of my favorite things, including strawberry & banana crepes. Daddy made me a Vikings t-shirt with an iron on transfer. It was plain, other than the Vikings logo, so Sean decorated it for me. It says, "Sean's Mom" and "Go Go Go Sean" and "I love the Vikings". I love it. :) We had lunch at Olga's & went to Sean's game. Grandma, Puppa, Grandpa Jim, Grandpa Larry & Grandma Sue were all there to cheer on their guy. Evie enjoyed spending time with them in the stands too. Our neighbor & Sean's friend Kiara lost her father on Easter, so she's been spending some extra time with us. We pick her up from the bus stop on Tuesdays & Wednesdays. Sean loves having her over. She came with us to the game too.
Sean came home from school with a bruise above his eye last week. I asked him how he got the "shiner". From then on he referred to it as his "shiny". We sent Grandma a picture of his eye & she said it made her sad. He said, "I know it does. It's serious!". Sean & Daddy's new thing is to play Wii. They've been working on Donkey Kong Country Returns and finally beat it yesterday. This was a BIG accomplishment in our house. Sean & Daddy got to go fishing on Saturday. Puppa went with them & caught most of the fish. But, Sean caught the biggest. He came home & said, "I'm little, but I did a big thing. Just like David & Goliath!". LOVE him. He's a precious, smart, compassionate, loving, amazing little boy. But, he's still a little boy. We're working on NOT whining. My least favorite thing to hear is, "How long until we..." and "But that's a long time!!!". I really don't like, "But I never get to..." These are fighting words in my book. Today, Sean got on the yellow light at school. The first time he's had any disciplinary action taken at school. I asked him why he was moved to yellow & he said he didn't make wise choices and he didn't follow the rules. I asked him what rule he broke. His reply was, "You don't get moved to yellow if you just break one rule, you have to break a lot." Didn't do much to help his case. I thought Daddy was going to die from laughter at the dinner table when Sean told him, "Now, you're not gonna want to hear this & I just don't know why I did it, but I started biting." I guess it was fake biting or just making the motion with his mouth, but he was being distracting & not listening to his teachers. Hopefully he redeems himself next time he's there. If not, we may have to take away the wii...
Evie Loretta...where to begin... We thought she was going to get her eye teeth before any others came in. But, 2 weeks ago, I heard her grinding her teeth, which is impossible when you only have 2 on the bottom. So, I felt her gums & her 2 front top teeth had broken through. So, she has 4 teeth now and I'm not sure when the top ones broke through. She's taken 2-3 steps at a time for a couple weeks now, but last Thursday she started taking 4-5 steps at a time. Now, she's officially walking. Yesterday I watched her walk from the couch to the tv and then into the kitchen. Along with her new found mobility comes a new found curiosity. She likes to go on the landing & play with shoes. She likes to open cupboards & pull things out of the garbage. She's even tasted some dog food. Yuck! Her favorite foods are yogurt, bananas, puffs, yougurt melts, toddler cheese puffs, turkey & green beans. I thought she liked peas, but when I put some on her tray tonight, she refused to eat them. I tried to put one in her mouth & she spit it out. She tried to put one in my mouth, I refused & then she threw it at me. She is sassy! She whines. Like real whining, as if she's mimicking the whine Sean does. She's starting to mimick a lot. If you try to take something out of her hands, watch out. She screams & throws up her arms. Sean thinks it great when she gives us the "stink eye". Such attitude at such a young age! We joke that she's German because she yells a lot when she talks & says, "NIGH NIGH!". She always has a lot to "say". She absolutely adores Sean. She claps & waives & smiles & screams as soon as she sees him. Tonight, during her bath, Sean kept crawling in the bathroom like he was Donkey Kong. I've never heard Evie laugh harder. Her ears have really become an issue. She's on infection #7 since January, so we're scheduled to see the ENT in a couple weeks. She loves to sleep & does great in her crib, so you know her ears are really bothering her when she's up a lot through out the night. I can't believe that she'll be 1 next week. I'm switching my work days to spend her birthday with her. We're planning to have lots of fun!!
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