Have a holly jolly christmas

We started our holiday season off this Thanksgiving with Thanksgiving at our house. Mark's grandmother and grandfather, aunt and uncle, and mom and dad came to stay with us. My mom, dad and brother also came over and I got a surprise visit from my aunt. It was great fun! We well I woke up the next morning and went shopping at 3 am with my best friend and my mother. We got 90% of our christmas shopping done, but ran into a ton of crazy's along the way.

This Christmas has been a great for teaching about the reason we celebrate. Aiden is supremely interested and loves this time of year just like I do. It was very important to him that we get our christmas tree, and it must be big, and be put in the center of our living room. We have our big tree but it is not in the center of the room. We decorated our house for the first time with christmas lights and let the kids play in the ever growing piles of hickory nut leaves.


I also started an advent calendar this christmas. I started but did not finish. I got somewhat off track. I began by adding a piece of candy in each little door and we would talk about a piece of the christmas story from the kids bible, or read a bible verse. Since then I have gotten a plan from Sandra and plan to start it hardcore next year. The lack of planning started my slackness, but what really got the ball moving was what happened in the wee hours of the first weekend of advent.

Aiden woke up very early and I took him into the living room and put on a movie for him to watch. I got him a cup of milk and his breakfast bar and left him playing cars. Usually Aiden will come back in our room 15 times. The result of this is never going back to sleep but rather just closing your eyes. This is really the story of my life lately, but thats another story. So, this morning he did not do this and I when I woke up at 11:00 I flew out of my bed. I was not worried about Taylor because I know she will stay in bed just as long as you will let her most mornings, but I was relieved when I found Aiden still quietly playing with his trains and cars. That is until he looked up and his mouth was covered in chocolate. Our conversation went something like this:
Me: Aiden, why do you have chocolate all over your face?
Aiden: I ate chocolate
Me: Yes, I know that Aiden, but from where?
Aiden: From the calendar
Me: (running to the calendar and frantically opening every door) you ate it all?!!! All 20 pieces?!
Aiden: I did not eat baby Jesus' birthday.
Me: Does your belly hurt? Do you need to go potty? We don't eat chocolate without asking mommy or daddy!

Needless to say he did not eat much for the rest of the day. So this is how our holiday began.

Friday we went to see Santa. Taylor cried and Aiden had a long talk with the big guy. Aiden ran right up to him and began telling him that he wanted a rope? for Christmas. He also asked him if he liked chocolate milk. He was a hoot. Santa even chuckled a few times. After Taylor got as far away from Santa as she could she pointed and called out "Santa!" and "hohoho."

Today we have more family coming in and we will have the first of many family dinners. Here we go...

Need I say more?

Pea Pod

I feel like every time I go to post lately it is because I am feeling sappy. . I have also had a bad case of writers block. Our lives are so fast paced and busy that it is hard to sit down and just think about how we have spent our time. Tonight I will give it a shot. Bear with me, I am a proud mama!Regardless, lately I have started to realize that our little Pea Pod is growing up. I seem to notice changes in her on a daily basis. Her language is building every day and she is changing from baby to little girl. She has such a funny sense of humor and loves to laugh and play. She is our little love bug. She is a VERY loud child that voices her opinion whenever she can. Currently she is like a little Linus with either a baby or a blanket. She loves her baby and can often be distracted from injury, or from her older brother. She uses words like: baby, mama, daddy, cup, yes, thanks, night night, snack, bow, eyes, teeth...I think there are a few more. She loves to dance and has rhythm from who knows where. She can identify her eyes, nose, mouth, head, tongue, teeth, ears, knees. She gives kisses, plays peek a boo and does whatever Aiden does. I just love this age!

We got the sickies

Last week Taylor was home for 2 days sick. This week Aiden was home sick. I always struggle with when it is an appropriate time to take them to the Doctor. Now, with the H1N1/Flu scare and craze, I don't want to take them to the doctor to pick up any more germies. So Saturday in a matter of about an hour Aiden went from no fever to about 104. It scared me. With some Ibuprofen and some snuggling ( I like to think it helps) it came down to about 102. He was lethargic most of the time, but leave it to Aiden to make a situation comical. In the midst of it all, this is how I found him on the potty entertaining himself. Where does he get this stuff? I love his spirit. He loves to entertain, and to find humor in everything. What a nut!

Raining

It has been raining this week, I mean the whole week. My children are crazy, I am crazy, and the 25 children that I teach everyday are crazy. I mean I am all for a nice rain storm, but seriously enough is enough.

Today the kids and I went to my mom and dad's house, which includes driving down a very windy, very wet canopy road. As we were leaving I told Aiden that we should say a prayer to God to ask him to keep us safe on the way home. This is pretty much how it went: "Dear God (hands folded, eyes shut tight), please push the rain button and turn off the rain. We are all done. Oh and keep us safe, Amen.) Amen brotha!

Baby Shower Fun!

In our group of friends someone is always pregnant. Right now four girls are prego. One of the many great things about having babies is that it gives us girls another reason to hang and have a fun night out together. This was taken at the latest shower. Michelle's little Zoey is on the way. Any day she will be here. I imagine the future and I think of all of the fun pictures like this that our children will have together. So far there are 20 something of them so I am sure there will be plenty. We are blessed to have such wonderful friends!

Jack and Jill

Aiden and Taylor have a new backyard game this week.
Aiden pushes the fourwheeler (that he is probably too big for) up the hill and Taylor follows. When they get to the top of the hill Aiden rides the fourwheeler full speed down the hill and Taylor follows running. There is a lot of squealing involved. This goes on and on for quite a while and several times Taylor rolls down the hill head over feet, laughing the whole time. When we cannot stand the mosquitoes any longer we head inside. They are sweaty, tired, and Taylor is covered in dirt and scratches.

Each night they beg to go outside. I can feel summer slipping away. The cooler air is coming and I can't wait to open those huge doors and let them run in and out!

A new stage

This summer was a whirlwind. In late May we sold our house, moved into an apartment, bought a new house, worked on the new house while living in the apartment, moved out of the apartment, and into the new house and now I have gone back to work.

Apartment living is not for me. It may have been a one point but with a family it was a very tense time. We lived in a two bedroom apartment. Aiden and Taylor (3 and 1) shared a room, and Mark and I had the other room. It definitely had its perks. The pool being the top one, and listening to the sweet sounds of brother and sister laughing and giggling as they settled down for the evening to go to sleep. It was a precious memory that I will always remember. The down side was the close quarters and the lack of our possessions that made us feel at home. One of the other major problems we had this summer was with our sweet imaginative Aiden. This has been the summer of "monsters, people in the wall, and dinosaurs in the closet. It was not a loud place, but in general there are going to be noises of other people in the building. Aiden was terrified each night to be alone and it was heartbreaking. I prayed each and every night that my little one would rest and would feel comfortable in his own room but it did not come. Mark and I took turns comforting him and sitting with him until he fell asleep. He would then wake up in the middle of the night, causing Taylor to wake up. We didn't get much sleep. ever. The days were fun. We would wake up in the morning, go do something fun, be home to nap, play in the afternoon, have dinner, swim, and then go to bed. We did this for an entire month. Often times I felt like I was staying at an extended stay for the summer. I told myself this often to stay sane. Taylor took her first steps in that tiny apartment on May 31 and took off running soon after in the days following.
Aiden became very comfortable in the pool. He went from clinging to Mark or I for dear life, to jumping of the side of the pool into the water. He swam with his floaties but loved every minute of it. Taylor was a different story. Most of the time she had to be coaxed into floating around the pool and then we usually bought more time for us in the pool by giving her a snack in the stroller. Aaah the double stroller. What a lifesaver that was. It was always stocked with towels, sunscreen, various pool toys, and floaties, ready for the pool at the drop of a hat.
At the end of June our WHOLE family got a nasty stomach virus, which is even more fun and inevitable being in such close quarters.
At the end of June we bought our house. We had it for 3 days and worked in it night and day before Uncle Steve, Aunt Sam, Abby, and Joanna came to visit. When they were here we hung out with friends and went to hang out at our annual trip to the fireworks. Abby and Aiden are so much fun together. They are like peas and carrots and had fun dancing and playing together at the fireworks. We left the next day with all of the kids in tow and headed to Nana and Papa's for a week. After the fun there we returned to finish an entire month of working night and day in the house to get it move in ready.
By naptime each day we were at the house and would not leave until midnight or later each night. We would wake up the kids move them to the apartment and then start over the next day. We had awesome friends come and help us each and every day. We COULD NOT have done it without them. They were there for the hideous textured wallpaper removal and the painting of the ALL of the trim and countless times offered reassurance that it would indeed get done in time.
Finally the day came that our POD arrived. What a glorious day. Aiden and I watched as the man came unloaded the POD from the truck and set it in the driveway. Once again our amazing friends came over and the POD was unloaded in about 45 minutes. The day had arrived.

Now we are here. Most of our things are unpacked. We are no where near from being done with the house but we are home. My prayers have been answered and Aiden goes right to sleep on his own and everyone seems to be much more at ease with one another. We all have our own space and we love our new home. I can't believe the summer is over. I started school again this week and I don't like it one bit. Working is for the birds.

Both Aiden and Taylor have grown up so quickly this summer and I feel like I have been so busy that I have missed it.
We are in a new stage in our lives and I am ready for it! Come see us sometime!

Monday Night Family

We have the most special group of friends. This was taken tonight at dinner. This was posted by Julie and it was so sweet. I couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks Julie!~

Our Gifts

Dear Children of Monday Night,

We, your parents, used to be a bunch of college students. There were no kid plates, no sippy cups, and no toys flying around when we got together. We were just God lovers trying to figure out what we wanted to do in this world. We had dreams and plans to make and do big things. We thought we knew what we wanted. But what we really wanted was you. Because you are our wildest dreams. And you've come true. You have shown us what it means to begin. To cry. To laugh. To try. To learn. To believe. To love. You are children and you are hope. You are new life and you are precious.

We are thankful. We are blessed. You have made our dreams come true. We are honored to be outnumbered by you. May your zeal, innocence, and wonder inspire us every day. We will not give up meeting together. We will do it forever. We will do it for you. We love you.

The Moms and Dads of Monday Night

Staying Cool

Today we tried something different and went to the pool down the road. FUN FUN FUN! Worth every penny. Aiden was glued to the water slide, and Taylor was right behind him as usual. Two hour pool trip= Three Hour Nap!

Its blueberry time!

For the second year in a row we ventured out to pick blueberries. This summer has been a scorcher so we were there by 8:30 am and by 9:30 (I think..) we were drenched in sweat! Taylor tromped around with Aiden and discovered just how yummy blueberries were. She found a seat next to Yaya and then Aiden promptly showed her how to pick them straight from the bush. She is a quick learner! So after a few diaper changes later I decided that I would freeze them up and save them for some yummy goodness when we visit with the Kagy Family later in the month. I'm saving them for you SAM!



She ate some grass along with her blueberries!
Best seat in the house.
Aiden doesn't go far without his shades.

Just like brother

This weekend Taylor officially seemed like a big girl to me. I don't think she crawled but once the entire weekend and strives to do everything Aiden does. As a result we have been constantly on both of them" off limits, no no yuck Taylor, Aiden make good choices, Aiden give that back to her, Taylor the potty is off limits, whew!

Taylor really looks up to Aiden and now it is a matter of getting him to make choices that are good so that she will follow good behavior.

Trying to stay cool.

So we are in the full swing of summer. This includes the 100+ degree weather that comes along with it. Our activities have been centered around getting out of our apartment and keeping cool. Most days we get out but by the time I make it to the car with a bag, a lunch box, two cups, a baby doll, a race car, a purse, a bag of trash, and any other item that we may need to take with us, sweat has begun dripping down my forehead. So we usually to something outside in the morning and try to nap during the hottest part of the day. This summer we get to add our YaYa to our play schedule. My mom retired this April (go mom!) and we get to go play at her house, or shop, or swim! This week we went over after nap and played. Aiden has been playing baseball with the tee and seems to get better and better. Taylor is walking everywhere and getting into everything. She mostly hung out in the pool and played ball girl for her big brother. Note: This was almost o'clock in the evening and still freaking hot!


Notice the look of concentration!

Pool Kids

Aiden and Taylor with my bestie Amy's girls, Rose and Lennon.

No more school! Summer has officially started. Call me to set up a playdate!

Summer Cuties

My last day of school was today. I am looking forward to hanging out with my babies each day and doing whatever we want. We are enjoying having a pool but are looking forward to working on our new home and eventually moving in and feeling settled. There is a lot to do, but we are so excited. We are set to close June 30th if all goes well and we have our work cut out for us. In the mean time if anyone needs me we'll be at the pool, or maybe on a play date...

Aiden's Birthday

In the midst of the craziness of the sale of our old house and the move to the TEMPORARY apartment, we still made time for our sweet Aiden's third birthday. Because of the small amount of time that we had we had a small Sunday afternoon party at the park. It was fun to hang with our buddies.

Daddy's a....

Lately Aiden has been very interested in who is a boy, who is a girl, man, or lady. This is the conversation we had in the car yesterday.








Aiden: Mommy you are a girl?
Mommy: Yes Aiden, but when girls grow up and get bigger we call them ladies.
Aiden: Oh. You are a lady.
Mommy: Is Taylor a boy or a girl?
Aiden: She is a baby girl.
Mommy: What is Daddy?
Aiden: (with great excitement) Daddy's a man! (quicker now) with big strong muscles, and he is good at fixing things too. Like my bike. He fixes my bike.
Mommy: (laughing) Yes, you should thank him for those things Aiden.

Well 30 minutes later when we walked in the door, the first thing he did was walk directly to Mark and tell him thank you for fixing his bike. I hope he always thinks so highly of his Daddy.

Sweet Friends like to Party~

These are the last ones...I promise