Our Runny Peach Pie

And I Quote...Lily Edition

2012-02-08T19:12:00.000-08:00

Little Miss is beginning to have a few things to say. It's funny to see how her first language kind of reflects her sassy personality. Here are some of her favorite phrases as of late...

"Stop it"

"Have it"

"No. No. No. No. No. Nooo." (Said with her tiny index finger out and repositioning that finger with each "no")

"Uhhhh...No tank you"

"Cheat pease" = treat please

"Where ____ doe?" = Where did _____ go?

"Iowno" = I don't know

"Toming Mama" = Coming Mama (sometimes I call for her just so I can hear her say it)

"One? One? Two?" = pleading for a vitamin or treat. She knows she can only have one, but at least gives two a shot

"Toffee, otay?" = Coffee, okay? Patting us on the face and trying to get us out of bed since requesting her own breakfast doesn't provide fast enough results

"Shhhh...______ seeping." = shushing us if someone is sleeping

"No like it"

"Cuuuuuuth" = becauuuuuse, when asked why she was in time-out

"No Weton" = No Weston

She has a little lisp and I must say it's pretty cute. Yeth, it is.

Stay tuned. This crazy girl turns two tomorrow and pictures WILL be taken. But for now, I'm going to bed because she's already been up three times and I'm pretty sure sleep will be minimal this evening :)

A Year of Intention

2012-01-19T12:10:00.000-08:00

My "New Years' post" last year was all about having some relaxed goals for 2011. Here they are with the end of year summary of how it went in red.

Wear an apron at least once a day. (I have added some great aprons to my collection and next I would like a half apron with pockets that I can wear around the house. Not wearing an apron EVERY day though)
Eat 9 fruits and vegetables...make that 5 because week one of that has not gone so well. (I get close to 5...depends on if there are homemade treats in the house...)
Consume even more butter than last year. (Lots of butter consumption 'round here. Success)
Listen to more music throughout the day. (This is getting better. It's especially good for the morning to soothe children whilst I do some morning chores. And winter absolutely calls for dance parties that result in children just running in circles)
Get up before the babies again. I'm having a little bit of a hard time beating Lily who currently likes to start her day at 4:15 a.m. (I've gone in and out of adhering to this, but I would say I consistently get up at least 10 minutes before them...enough to gulp down a cup of coffee and a treat. I try to squeeze some reading and a shower in if I haven't hit snooze 5 times. Lily STILL gets up early. Way. Too. Early.)
Work up to running 20 miles a week. This will only be accomplished with my tried and true running partner(and sweet friend) Katie who's been spurring me on since 2004. Love you girl. Let's do it. (Two words: Yeah. Right. Although Katie and I have been meeting at the YMCA Monday mornings at the crack of dawn, the conversation usually goes like something like this,"Have you done any exercising since last Monday? No, you? Nope." But I think we're both okay with it)
Taste and see that the Lord is good. (It's amazing in just 365 days the seasons your soul travels through, but in the end, God is still and forever good)
Grow my hair out and donate it. (Whoops, cut my hair the shortest it's ever been instead)

So as you can see, even with some very "relaxed" resolutions, I still came out at best 3 for 8.

This year, no more resolutions, just a mindset. I love how this great lady has a theme for each year. I think it's wise. And, for me, this year I want to be intentional. This touches all the spheres of my life, big and small. Intentional with time management, intentional with my kids, intentional with my marriage, intentional with cooking good meals, intentional with growing in my faith, intentional resting, intentional with my spending...you get the point. Colossians 3:17 says, "Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus." It's a consciousness of what you're doing and what you're saying. It is not hasty. Being intentional requires thought and preparation. But it does NOT require perfection and everything going the way you planned. There's a tension there...and I like it.

And in case you thought I haven't been doing my list of gratitude because I had forgotten or been grumpy (in which you would be correct) here is the latest:

#83 Being challenged

#84 Lily, all sassy in a new haircut, wearing a sweater and jeans like a big girl and saying "otay" and "no tank you"

#85 A husband who is not hasty like me

#86 Food on the table and warm, cozy bed at the end of the day

Happy New Year all!

Dreams

2012-01-13T11:44:00.000-08:00

It was so weird to me when Weston started having bad dreams. All I could think was, "What terrible thing have you seen that could even trigger your brain to bring up bad dreams?"

This morning I had to laugh (pretty hard) because he came in our bedroom and said he'd had a bad dream. "What was it about?" I asked as usual. You know it's scary when it starts like this...

"There was a skunk in my pants..."

"A what?!"

"A skunk in my pants."

"How did a skunk get in your pants?"

"I was playing in the sandbox....and there was a mole eating a carrot too..."

Sounds terrifying! Poor kid :)

Christmas Come

2011-12-29T11:07:00.000-08:00

Is it just me or did Christmas just fly by us? Not exactly the speed I like for Christmas...I like to soak it in more than watch it whiz by and leave a pile of recycling. Not that it wasn't good, it was!

Weston and I got the chance to go see the musical "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" with some friends at the Peabody Opera House . Very fun and Weston even took to the scary Grinch saying, "He's just wearing a costume, right?"

We decided to have a "hands on" tree this year and allow the kids to play with the (non-breakable) ornaments at the bottom of the tree. I'm not sure it was a great idea...our tree took quite a beating and was a bit saggy by Christmas. I'm thinking next year we'll have a special "kid tree"!

I've been working part-time at Williams-Sonoma this holiday season which has been a nice outlet for me away from home, but perhaps added a little to the craziness of the season.

Weston, however, picked up a full time job. Crafting. I've never seen a kid who wanted to endlessly craft reindeer and snowmen as this child. I think he's picked it up from Mother's Day Out and lucky for us Nana provided plenty of crafting materials to sustain us through Christmas. One day, 15 minutes into the morning, as I rubbed my eyes and poured my first cup of coffee, Weston jumps up and down, "Can we do a craft? Can we do a craft?!" I just don't have as much enthusiasm for glue and glitter at 6:30 a.m., but it's been fun to watch him figure out directions and create interesting little projects!

We typically (and intentionally) get the kids three gifts each at Christmas. Lily's gifts included a tunnel to crawl through, a shopping cart and books.

Weston got a basketball hoop, a magnetic fishing set and books.

Merry Christmas! We enjoy celebrating the birth of a Savior, God with us, and savoring the innumerable blessings we have have in family and friends! Peace and hope to you blog readers!

The Tree

2011-12-02T12:02:00.000-08:00

Remember this post and this post? Well here we are for year three at Heritage Valley Tree Farm with the annual and promised cookies...

Even though we're living at my parents this Christmas I had to have a tree and get out my decorations because, well, just because.

This year some great friends joined us last minute and made our morning and lunch even sweeter. Wanna come next year? Here's your formal invitation: 10:00 a.m. day after Thanksgiving 2012. Much fun to be had!

There were so many pictures I loved and want to remember, so it will just have to be a picture heavy post...

Now my husband is always a handsome fellow, but he always looks exceptionally good looking a the tree farm...maybe it's that smell of pine he loves so much :)

And don't even get me started on the cuteness of this little sassafrass...

...or this one. Even though he pulled the tongue off of this giraffe like a year and half ago, he was particularly sorrowful of the giraffe's loss the whole way there and he had to come cut down the tree with us.

He also insisted on pulling the tree. He made it about 50 feet.

Happy Christmas season to you from us!

On Aging

2011-11-16T12:51:00.001-08:00

Four alarming and hilarious things have occurred in the short span of a few days that have sealed the deal that I am no longer a spring chicken:

1. I did a somersault for the first time in awhile and almost threw up I was so dizzy and nauseous .

2. Upon trying to get dressed one morning this EXACT thought came across my mind, "I really need more elastic pants."

3. The NEXT day, I purchased a PURPLE sweatsuit (now to my defense, it's "heather" purple and it was the only color left in my size and it's Eddie Bauer brand and they're REALLY comfortable...justified yet? I hope so because I would like three more pair.)

4. My older sister, whom I am like in many ways, has joined my parents in forsaking all family heritage and Christmas spirit for the ease of an ARTIFICIAL tree. This is where I'm headed people.

Cardinals Win the World Series!

2011-11-10T12:52:00.000-08:00

Unless you've been living under a rock, you're well aware that St. Louis was/is much aflutter after our post-season comeback to win the World Series. Obviously, a lot of baseball was viewed in our household during that time period and Weston finally took to his tee ball after owning it approximately 2 years.

He had to do everything just like the baseball players...from waving the bat behind his head, tapping the tip of the bat on the ground, wiping his feet on the ground, throwing the bat after he hit it and then running the bases (which was really to a bush and back). Lily helpfully shagged his balls. It was all pretty entertaining.

He called Albert Pujols "Robert" throughout the entire series and much to Daddy's delight called a catch by Jon Jay in the outfield.

Yay Cardinals!

Grateful for...

#77 Pudgy feet on the pooldeck

#78 Singing and rocking babies for naps each day

#79 A God who makes beauty from ashes

#80 A moment of silence watching a bird peck around for food outside the window and remembering this verse.

#81 When little boy smiles so big that his cheeks make little balls and dimples form on the sides of his face

#82 the smell of freshly grated nutmeg

Not So Spooky Halloween

2011-11-04T10:53:00.000-07:00

Given my love affair with the season of Fall, I'm much less enthusiastic about Halloween. It's just whatever. Weston, however, was really excited to dress up this year. Lucky for us, we have a lot of great hand -me -down costumes from cousins Blake and Brooke and Weston took to the spider costume. I bought Lily a lobster costume 2 days before Halloween at a resale shop for 68 cents. Not bad if I do say so myself.

Lily loved playing in this bucket that my dad found from days of old...

We finally carved our pumpkin the day of Halloween. I teased Weston that we should make a grumpy faced one since we were all crabby that morning. Not looking crabby here though...

Happy Jack-o-lantern...

Lily was not thrilled with her costume to say the very least. But she was terribly cute...

Kurt took the kids around the block for trick-or-treating and I stayed back and handed out candy.

Don't tell Weston, but I put him in girl stretch pants for his costume. I think that's okay when you're three.

The best part of Halloween for me is that you see neighbors and meet new ones. My parents were out of town, but we went to a little neighborhood party where the kids jumped in a big bounce house while Kurt and I met people we've only kind of waved at thus far.

Now, how to get rid of all that candy before Thanksgiving...

S'mores

2011-10-31T16:59:00.000-07:00

Ever since we moved in with my parents I've been dying to use the wood burning stove on their deck to make S'mores. At last the weather, a good nap and time to make some homemade marshmallows that I've been wanting to make all came together...

The marshmallows were a bit of a flop, but melted with chocolate on graham cracker they were delicious!

Not pictured is Lily. She is sleeping. Sorry lady, you around a fire is enough anxiety to put me in my grave right now. Maybe next year!

Apple Pickin'

2011-10-25T18:03:00.000-07:00

I've never been apple picking in my thirty-one years of life until a few weeks ago when we went with some dear friends. Friends whose daughter happens to be Weston's Prom Date 2024. Here they are holding hands within seconds of greeting one another...

As it turns out, apple picking is pretty Lily friendly. There's just not much trouble you can get into in an apple orchard!

The group consensus ranked Golden Delicious as the favorite.

Sweetest. Face. Ever. Don't lie, you want to scrunch those cheeks right through your computer screen...

Happy husband and wife. I may or may not have had a hand in getting us turned around in East St. Louis on the way there. He was not a happy husband then...

Much to my surprise, Weston followed Sophie on a first ever pony ride adventure.

He did great! Didn't even want me walking beside the pony.

Later he told me he wanted to ride a horse because ponies can't run and he wants to ride a running horse. We'll see about that Mr. Serious Cowboy...

Apple picking is definitely a do again for next year! Thanks friends for a great time!

Stats on a Random Thursday

2011-10-20T08:41:00.001-07:00

It's 10:45 a.m. on a simple Thursday and I'm a bit impressed with the stats so far:

Awake for almost 6 hours

Off to a nutritionally healthy start already having consumed 2 cups of coffee, 2 cupcakes, 2 pieces of pizza and 1/2 a beer

Lily is on her 3rd outfit of the day

1 trip to the Sprint store (1 more left for the day)

1 Child to Mother's Day Out, 1 child already napping

At this rate everyone will be in bed about 4 p.m and we'll call it a day :)

Blog to Book

2011-10-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

I started this blog a little over two years ago with the purpose of documenting our days and making this into a book each year (in lieu of my nonexistent scrap booking skills). Well, I finally got the kick in the rump I needed to do it when I found a Groupon to Blurb, one of a few companies who "slurps" your blog into a book (still leaving much of the work to you to my dismay!). It's not always easy to find time to blog, but after making this...

...I'm so glad I've disciplined myself to update this regularly. I learned a lot making this book and I'll do it differently next year (including not cramming the creation into the 3 days prior to the coupon expiring). I also learned how I can blog better so it will fit more easily into a book format.

Someday I'd like to move up from point and shoot land to a nicer SLR camera...and learn how to actually take pictures (can you tell I'm not getting tutorials from my best friend?!). But I think this little place will grow in many ways through the years and for now I'm doing the best I can with the time and resources given to me in this season.

Grateful for...

#74 A family to create a blog/book about

#75 The sanctification of parenting

#76 Sunny, wind blowing leaves everywhere day

And I Quote...A Catch Up on Weston

2011-10-11T17:32:00.000-07:00

Lucky for Weston, he has said some pretty great things in his third year that have made us at least smile if not belly laugh. If he weren't so funny, I might just pop him in the mail to Alaska some days. Or perhaps Africa, he'd like the animals better.

Just kidding, you're a great kid Westie...

(Erin Duggin Photography!)

...I mean who can resist that face? Not me, and I frequently kiss his cheeks repetitively until he pushes my head away.

I digress, here are some funny things he's said recently before I forget:

(In response to whether he would ever like another brother or sister): "Yes! But I want a grown-up sister who can talk to me...not like Lily."

W: "Mom, is there grass in my heart?"
M: "Why would there be grass in your heart?"
W: "For Jesus to stand on. Doesn't he need something to stand on?"

(Driving down the highway, he spots a motorcycle): "Mom! Look! That guy's not pedaling!"

(He has a bull bouncy jump ball toy that sits high up on a hutch waiting for him to wear underwear. This comment came as I'm cleaning his massive out diaper poop explosion): "We're not going to get a bull like this are we?"

(After Lily had just torn up our favorite Jesus Storybook Bible, Weston brings in a different Children's Bible): "Lily, you canNOT tear up this book because THIS is the Holy Spirit of Jesus."

"Last night when I was sleeping with Noni, I thought I heard a lion roaring...but it was just Noni snoring."

I'm sure I'll remember more later and have to post again. Meanwhile, it feels like Lily has a new word everyday and is starting to put two words together. Can't wait to hear what's going on in that little mind!

Crib Schmib

2011-10-02T18:47:00.000-07:00

This little bit is crawling out of her crib already.

Are we surprised? Not. One. Bit. Third percentile for size? Not a problem when you're part monkey. I wouldn't quite call it a habit yet and she stays once we put her back. I'm partially in denial and praying she just forgets this little trick. But we also don't want her to get hurt. Although I think she's managing fine... one morning she quietly marched herself right upstairs...didn't even bother to stop in our bedroom to say "good morning". Luckily, Noni was already awake upstairs and took care of her until I had that freak out moment when you go to get your child and she's not in her crib.

Oh, my sweet, sweet Lily. Never a dull moment with you. We're thinking of legally changing your middle name to Sass. And I couldn't be more proud of you.

Grateful for...

#72 finding a dinosaur on my nightstand before bed

#73 beautiful, crisp Autumn weather so many days in a row

Portrait

2011-09-25T11:21:00.000-07:00

Weston has been drawing animals for several months, but he recently drew his first portrait of a person.

It is his Mommy and really...

I think I've never looked so good.

Grateful for...

#66 Little toes peeking under the bathroom door

#67 So many words from Lulu...especially "hug"

#68 Laughing until my belly hurt

#69 Dinner out on a beautiful Fall weekday with Kurt

#70 BSF starting again and already loving the study of Acts.

#71 Pumpkin pancakes

To the Cards Game: One Sticker at a Time

2011-09-12T13:15:00.000-07:00

This summer has been an interesting season of parenting (read difficult). Not that our kids aren't the love of our lives, they are just small, not sleeping well and we uprooted them from their home and placed them in a new household. So I get it. And we're coming up out of it and seeing some refreshment and praying for wisdom and perspective and patience and grace to be extended to everyone (momma needing most of it) in this little family unit.

Subsequently, early in the summer I made a positive reinforcement sticker chart for Weston. It's a tough life being 3, so we needed a little pick-me-up. The reward for filling it was Daddy taking him to the Cardinal game. It was a bit of a journey, but here he is putting his last sticker on...

Whew! And Yay! And so proud of you buddy!

Let's just say that as stickers increased on "rest time" and "bed time", the other two increased accordingly. I'm pretty convinced that 75% of behavior issues are due to lack of sleep.

So off they went, Weston hopping and skipping and so excited to go see Fredbird.

If you ask Weston what his favorite part of the game was, he'll say it was when he saw Fredbird on the big screen doing silly tricks and water skiing. Kurt said Weston made a lot of friends in the bleachers...he's a pretty funny kid.

This picture cracks me up because it is such a testimony of Dad-ness. No mom would let a 3 year old loose in his car seat with a dripping ice cream cone. I asked Kurt how he kept it from getting everywhere and he said he just took the cone at every stoplight and licked the edges so it wouldn't drip down his arm. Easy enough. And pretty awesome. I think I'll stick to raisins and crackers.

Grateful for...

#62 The difficulty of age 3 being paired with the hilarious things he says

#63 Homemade ice cream

#64 The smell of Autumn coming

#65 God answering long awaited prayers in His own, perfect timing

My Long Dress

2011-08-31T12:15:00.000-07:00

On the way home from the store today, Weston asked, "Mom, where's your long dress?"

"What long dress buddy?"
"The one you wore when you got married."
"It's at home in the closet."
"Can I see it."
"Sure...what made you think about mommy's wedding dress?"
"Because, when you were getting married, I was at home waiting for you."

I love the complete, yet confident, irrationality of a three year old.

So we got home and I dug into the closet and showed him a peek of the dress through the bag.

Here it was 6 years ago...

I showed him my veil and, of course, he wanted to know how you wear a veil and I put it on. He asked if I would wear it for lunch... and I said, "Why not?!"

Things like this make me smile and cherish the days where he wonders about such random things and gets a kick out of me cooking up lunch in a veil. I can't imagine when he's sixteen that he'll think this is so cool!

Summer: Undocumented

2011-08-27T18:26:00.001-07:00

Well, it's that time of year where it's still 100 degrees out, but all the pool toys are on clearance and Halloween candy is out, so I kind of feel like summer is over and I should have sweaters close at hand.

It also reminds me that we've been busy and there is a lot that has gone unmentioned.

Hold on to your hats folks, here we go!

The Muny!...

Kurt's cousin Amanda's wedding...

Yoga with Noni...

Pool time...

Nature walks...

Butterfly House...

Hanging with Nana and Aunt Julie...

Transportation Museum...

Playing inside...

(this is an elephant)

Playgrounds...

Weston's first trip to the movie theater to see "Pooh"...

Grant's Farm...

A trip to the fire station to see our friend Jim...

Phew! I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted after that many pictures!

Pigtails

2011-08-24T05:10:00.000-07:00

Lily is wearing her first pigtails. Getting a picture of her in the pigtails was near as hard as actually getting the pigtails in her hair. So, Lily, when you're looking through this as a book years from now, do not think I'm playing favorites with the amount of photos between you and your brother. You are just REALLY hard to catch.

Case in point, a picture where she is completely out of the frame before the picture is caught...

Pigtails...

Trying to get a picture without the necklace in her mouth. How did you really feel about that Lily?

She is entirely too cute running around with her hair up. More little steps into girlhood...I guess that's okay.

Grateful for...

#58 Friends and family who have faithfully prayed for us and have for a long time

#59 Going to church as a family this summer

#60 Homemade ice cream

#61 Tough forgiveness

Waking Westie

2011-08-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

When Weston naps, Lily is typically up first. We have to wake him up after a couple of hours otherwise he'd sleep through dinner and be up past his momma's bedtime.

Lily loves to wake him up. When I tell her it's time, she runs in yelling, "Hieeeeeeee!" And then it proceeds as follows...

Sleeping child...

Going in for the kill...

Closer...

Plop!

He's REALLY hard to wake. Sometimes there's some pulling and squeezing involved...

Taking a break from her antics. "Mom, he won't wake up..."

Awake at last and smiling (we'll skip the part where he's crabby).

Water Buffalo

2011-08-15T13:39:00.000-07:00

We already know Weston is a big animal lover. We have lots of these animals. Many purchased by Papa, but a lot by Kurt and I. They are pricey little guys, but I tell you what: When given a new one of these, Weston will play with it for two days straight. Kurt and I joke that there's no need for fancy gifts here, just one of these animals. They are real looking, well made and I'm pretty sure they would make it through a natural disaster, so they're definitely toddler/preschool proof.

The other day I was at Target solo and, thinking of him, strolled down the aisle where they sell them. They must be discontinuing because they were like 80% off! They only had baby raccoons and water buffalo left so I went with the water buffalo. Kind of random, but for $1.74, whatever.

When I gave it to him, he started jumping up and down and then ran to show everyone in the house. Funny thing is, random or not, he knew exactly what it was.

He then desperately wanted to watch video clips of water buffalo. Here he is, squeaky clean after a bath, glued to the computer...

He makes me laugh. And smile. And I love that there's a special place in his animal loving heart for a water buffalo.
...
Grateful for

#54 a weekend of lounging on land and water with delicious food and great friends

#55 husband who can hold the fort

#56 cool weather after brutal heat

#56 snuggling infants

#57 napping preschooler

On Potty Training

2011-08-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

I laugh as I type the title of this post, as if I have anything profound to say about potty training. We tried for the third time with Westie this past weekend and it was not the "charm" we were hoping for. I think I made the right decision to quit early the third day as it was taking on the exact same pattern as the last time we tried when I drew it out for seven days and then felt as if we had all lost a week of life at the end.

But here is what I have concluded: This is no longer an issue about Weston learning anything about the toilet or underwear or pee and poop. This is a willful decision he is going to have to make. He knows how to do it. He can hold it FOREVER. He can also go on the potty when he feels like it. But if you put them together for too many days in a row? No dice. He's all excited at first to wear his underwear and then by day 2 something in him says, "I don't want to do this."

There are so many different takes, philosophies and advice to be had on good ol' potty training. And I don't even know where we're going to go from here. I would love to think that someday soon he'll just come up to me and say, "Let's do it for real this time!". I just don't know if that will happen. All I know is I'm done for now. And I'm sad. I don't know why. Probably selfish reasons. I don't want to have two in diapers anymore. I wanted him to be able to go to preschool this year. He has really cute underwear I'm dying for him to wear. Fear that he won't do it and we'll have to send him to some sort of potty therapist when he's 5.

But, like I frequently have to remind myself, this isn't about me. And that's that.

In conclusion here are some funny things that summarize everything:

(Before he pees or poops)..."Mom, do I have a diaper on?" (me: "yes, but do you want to go on the potty?") "No thanks." (and then goes in his diaper)

"Tell Miss Melissa (director at preschool he cannot go to this year) not to be sad. I'll get bigger and then I'll wear underwear and go on the potty and then I'll go to school." (me: Aren't you big now?") "yeah, but I'll get even bigger."

"Mom, wipe my bottom soft, and don't go fast and I have some more poop right here". Seriously?! If we're having this discussion, you need to be cleaning up your own rump!

Meanwhile, Lily has been sitting on Weston's potty all the time and looks at us and says, "poopoo" when she goes. So maybe the Lord's blessing in all of this is that it's going to be a 2 for 1 deal and I'll have both of them trained at the same time! Here's to hoping...

Lulu

2011-07-31T12:06:00.001-07:00

Can you even believe how big and cute this girl is getting? I cannot. I still refer to her as a baby even though she has been a toddler for quite some time.

Here's what Lily's M.O has been lately:

making this cheesy smile when you catch her eye
being a TERRIBLE pest to her brother whose patience is growing slim
asking if everything is "hot"...don't blame you sister, everything is HOT in St. Louis right now
chin-ups on anything she can hang on
all things that involve lots of motion and/or with final result being on top of something
sitting on our heads when we're lying down and then bouncing
kisses...mainly to men
eating meat, no veggies, little fruit, sometimes bread
hiding something behind her back and running when you catch her with a forbidden object
new words..."hat" is the most recent addition
swinging at the playground "wee? wee?"
trying to run faster than her little legs will allow resulting in lots of spills
playing momma to her baby
putting a purse on her arm and saying "bye-bye"
playing with stickers
she loves when you scare her or chase her...I have the rug burns on my knees to go along

Oh Lily, you are such a character. I love you to pieces even though you put my toothbrush in the toilet and sucked the water off of it a couple of nights ago. You keep us on our toes (more like on foot, running), lest anyone think about getting lazy around here.

Grateful for...

#49 watching Lily's facial expressions as she put stickers all over my face

#50 a trip to Target and a pool with just Lily

#51 early bedtimes and ice cream out with my husband

#52 not knowing and not having a plan...two things I despise which is why I'm experiencing them

#53 a weekend with no plans

Dinner Relief

2011-07-29T17:47:00.000-07:00

My mom and I have been talking about how nice it is to have two cooks in the household. We each get a break from cooking some nights, my parents get carry out less, we sous chef for each other and have someone to share dish duty.

I love that I'm learning more about cooking from my mom and she loves that I try new recipes (mainly because she's such a good cook that she hasn't really needed to try new things).

I did a Linda style dinner the other night when they were out of town. My mom frequently takes leftover roasted potatoes (which we have a lot) and creates a stack up involving an over easy/medium egg. We had leftover potatoes and seasoned steak from this recipe, so I put them together with the egg and chopped fresh tomatoes and mozzarella cheese

Delicious and fast! I love that something as easy as potatoes and an egg can be the base of yummy dinner.

Book Bags: A New Favorite

2011-07-22T18:08:00.000-07:00

We've been exploring the new library digs on a weekly basis and joined the kids summer reading club. Lily is still on my short list of people on probation from the library, so I leave her at home...sorry girl, I gave you two tries and that last stint of trying to escape through the automatic doors to the parking lot did me in.

I had seen book bags (book with storytelling on CD) at our old library, but had always kind of thought, "I read the books to my kids so I don't really need a CD." I just didn't really get it.

I'm sorry book bag, I entirely misunderstood you and your coolness. I formally and publicly apologize for my snarkiness.

Weston loves the autonomy of being able to do it all by himself. He loads the CD, turns to the title page and listens for the directions. And he actually does a pretty good job of staying on cue with the page turns. Some of the storytellers are better than others, but they're probably all better than me and sometimes it has music and appropriate noises to the story also. And then my job, instead of reading*, is to keep Lily from pressing stop or eject on the CD player warranting multiple "do-overs" before the story is over. Oh. That. Girl.

(*Note: We do still read books together all the time...we just get a couple of CD's a week. Lest, Westie read this ten years from now and I think I cut him off from stories at age 3)

A little behind in gratitude...in my heart and here:

#43 authenticity of a friendship despite distance

#44 champagne on my birthday

#45 fun mornings...making up for afternoons that are difficult

#46 husband who graciously watches kiddos

#47 a birthday lunch treat by a friend

#48 cooking with mom

Swim Lessons Week 1: Success

2011-07-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

On our way to Weston's first day of swim class I thought, "This is either going to be awesome or a disaster and the likelihood of an in between is slim." Hip, hip, hooray that it was awesome!

Weston loves it. There are only 3 kids in his class so they get a lot of swim time. In fact, the first day he got a private lesson the first 25 minutes because kiddo 2 wouldn't get in the pool and kiddo 3 was really late. When we came back for the second day, he was skipping on the way into the Y from the parking lot telling me how he was going to wear his "googles" and go under water.

I sit on the bench and watch, giving thumbs up and smiles as needed...only the start of many big kid things he's going to be up to this next year. Like wearing underwear, right? Please?

On Cake

2011-07-08T12:31:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty into baking cakes. Cakes, cupcakes, some with fillings, different flavors of frostings...always from scratch. I love making cakes from the raw ingredients because somehow then it's really yours. A creation. And since I'm not really crafty or creative otherwise, this is a nice (and tasty) outlet for me. Don't get me wrong, I've had plenty of disasters and I am in no way a cake decorator. It's always slightly lopsided and never perfectly frosted, but I don't care. It's the process, not the product that makes me the happiest.

I've been reading this book series and one of the characters in the book is renown for her orange marmalade cake and is a very funny little lady. Her thoughts on cake made me laugh and resonated with my soul...

"It was hard, very hard, when people couldn't - and, in today's world wouldn't - eat cake. When she was coming up, families lived from cake to cake. A cake was a special event, it meant something. Now a homemade, baked from scratch cake meant next to nothing. For one thing, most young people had never experienced such a thing. All they'd ever known was bought from a store and tasted like hamster shavings, or had been emptied from a box into a bowl, stirred with low fat milk, and shoved into an oven that nearly blew a fuse from being turned on in the first place. Such a cake could never be your cake, no way, it would be Betty Crocker's or Duncan Hines's cake, and the difference between yours and theirs was vast and unforgivable.

And look how people acted these days at the mere sight of a piece of cake. Cake? Get it out of here! I'm on a diet! I don't want it in the house! Worse yet was the inevitable declaration: I never eat cake!

Never touch cake. Pathetic! The world was increasingly filled with such people, not to mention the crowd that ate cake in secret, stuffing it in their faces when nobody was looking, and claiming to nourish themselves on a diet of boiled eggs and dry toast. She knew who they were."

Now, this is NOT some judgement on box and store bought cakes. You gotta do what you gotta do when you're supposed to arrive somewhere in 30 minutes with cupcakes. Or if you just plain don't enjoy baking. I get it.

Here is the one I made today for my husband to celebrate six years of wedded bliss (it's been bliss, right Kurt?!) Three layer yellow cake, coffee frosting with chocolate chips. If I make it again, I would definitely do it with chocolate cake, but that's what I've made the last few times so I wanted to change my tune.

I know what's for breakfast tomorrow...

Happy 4th Grammy and Grampy Style

2011-07-05T18:27:00.000-07:00

We took a trip up to see Grammy and Grampy for the holiday weekend. As usual, they spoiled us with lots of love, fun and yummy food. Lily became immediate B.F.F's with their dog Ellie. She followed her everywhere saying "Hi!" and let Ellie lick her hands while she too stuck her tongue out like she was licking. Sadly for Lily this momma has no desire for a family dog. Except I do like the part where they eat everything off the floor after dinner. We'll see.

We went swimming and the kids did great in the water which was super encouraging after our first pool encounter this summer. Swim lessons here we come!

They have the best seats in the neighborhood for watching a nearby country club's fireworks, so all we had to do was plop a lawn chair in the driveway amongst their neighbors and friends and enjoy a great show.

Here Lily is enjoying some time with Grandpa Dominic. They played a game of chase the ball...he would hit it with his cane and she would go get it and throw it back. Maybe we don't need a dog...

Trip to the farmer's market...

Bike riding with Grampy...

Chalking...

Considering no one slept on the 6 hour ride there, on the way back home this...

plus this...

equaled...

Thanks Grammy and Grampy!

Grateful for...

#40 having read this book

#41 excitement over butterflies

#42 when things don't go as bad as I expect reminding me to be more positive

And I Quote...

2011-06-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

Weston at the playground being pushed in the swing:

"We need to get a kite so we can fly high, high, high up in the air to go see Jesus. When are we going to see Him? Me, you, Daddy, Lily...we need to get kites and fly up and see Jesus."

Grateful for...

#38 Fall like weather at the end of June

#39 Friendly mom at the playground

Settling In

2011-06-21T18:15:00.000-07:00

We are starting to settle in here. Our renters are in our house after a LOT of work to get it ready. Ninety-five percent of this work was done by Kurt with the help of some family and friends. I kid you not, that man can get his game face on and work some consecutive 16 hour days when push comes to shove. Thank you Love...you're my hero!

The hardest part of this transition has been the kids sleeping. They're sharing a room now and Weston moved into a big boy bed. I figured I should get him in one before Kindergarten. He's being quite the pickle about taking an afternoon rest (and by pickle, I really mean disaster). He's just in that phase where he's testing all his boundries to see if they're still there and, while I know this is normal, it is exhausting to argue and discipline all the time and even harder to do it unemotionally without getting angry. And finding the balance of graciousness in transition. I think we're all just tired and trying to grapple with change. As I type, Lily is currently throwing a lengthy bedtime hissy in her crib (Kurt is gone) and somehow Weston has fallen asleep in the midst of it. I would really like to join him. She'll probably also be up at least once in the middle of the night and, if we're lucky, sleep past six. I know in the grand scheme of things families across the globe are dealing with much more difficult situations, so hey, whatever (note to self: WHATEVER).

The rest has been really sweet. Lily started saying "Papa" within two days of being here and is working hard on "Noni". She's saying a whole slew of other words, blowing kisses, playing with baby dolls and is the funniest little tot girl I know. Here she is enjoying some of Noni's homemade jam...

This afternoon Weston watched part of a John Wayne movie with my dad (his early movies are NOT scary my mom assured me :). I just think this is hilarious for many reasons. At first I thought he was just hanging out, but then when I told him that Daddy was home and wanted to play hide-and-seek (his FAVORITE thing to do), he passed it up because, "I wanna watch a little bit more of this, mom."

Noni is great with taking a kid on some errands or enlisting their help with something...

On a somewhat unrelated end note, my mom made some Summer Beer to go with dinner tonight. Ever had that? It is as sangria is to wine. Go make some. It's delicious.

Grateful for...

#33 How Lily twirls the back of my hair when she's sleepy

#34 Summer beer outside after a rainy afternoon

#35 An unsolicited apology from my little man

#36 The immediacy and completeness of a child's forgiveness (which I've seemingly needed to ask for frequently these days)

#37 Free Cardinal tickets for the hard-working hubby tonight

And I quote...

2011-06-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

Weston, looking at my unshaven legs:

"Mom, you've got sprinkles on your legs."

Gratitude

#31 bumped, bruised and dirty legs of summertime

#32 grocery shopping and frozen colas with this lady

Moved

2011-06-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

Our little family has started a little adventure of sorts. We have rented our house in the city to a cute little family and are going to live with my parents in West County for a while. The reasons are numerous and the decision had many "faces" to it. I don't think we really even fully understand all of the reasons yet. We're just following what we both felt God calling us to do for our family. We have some big decisions to pray about for the future and we hope this is going to give us some freedom and time to make them.

We have been overwhelmed by the support and help of our friends and family throughout the whole process of deciding, finding a renter, moving...so many people have encouraged , prayed for us and helped us. We feel so blessed.

I wish I had a ton of pictures of moving day and everyone that helped, but I couldn't even find my camera for a few days and things have been pretty hectic. Kurt is working like mad at our house in preparation for the renters and I'm trying (not super successfully) to balance old house, unpacking here and creating some sort of normalcy for the kids' transition. My parents have been awesome and patient and so helpful with all of the upheaval of combining two households and we know things won't be this crazy for too long, right?!

I did manage to catch this cute girl playing in the backyard yesterday...

One day at a time, one foot in front of the other...

This heart needs a heap load more of gratitude this week...

#28 Grace
#29 The refreshment of running with great friends who remind me of #28
#30 Cicadas

Meet Hershey

2011-05-25T11:49:00.000-07:00

So really this post should be about the fact that we just moved this weekend, but I can't really wrap my mind around that post yet, so I'm writing about Hershey instead.

Meet Hershey. The dog I have walked with my children for over two years.

We started when Weston was not quite one and have walked him twice a week ever since. Through beautiful days, hot days, cold days, very pregnant days...it has been a weekly adventure. I'm a creature of habit, so we take the same route every time. We watch houses go for sale, pumpkins arrive on porches, then Christmas decorations, then the planting of flowers. Sometimes we go to the playground first and have lunch. Sometimes we end up driving there because we've been running errands.

I think it's been an awesome thing for the kids. I would go on walks with them anyway, but maybe not as long and probably not on the days when the weather is not grand. Even at three, Weston understands that it's our "job" and that we're responsible for Hershey and we have to do it even when he doesn't feel like it. He can stay in the stroller for almost an hour which I think is pretty good for a three year old. This does require me to answer approximately 184 questions in that time span, but when else would I take the time to describe all the details of pruning bushes to a preschooler? And Lily just takes it easy in the back, points to everything inquisitively and tries to throw her shoes out the sides.

And sometimes snoozes...

We're going to miss ol' Hershey. I mean, both of my kids' third word was "dog". I'm not really a dog person, so the fact that I'm getting all sappy over one is pretty significant. So long little canine friend...

Grateful for...

#24 Hershey dog

#25 Crazy awesome family and friends that helped and encouraged and prayed for us through the move.

#26 A husband who knows me

#27 My ever so gracious and generous parents

MoBot

2011-05-16T12:01:00.000-07:00

I Heart St. Louis City. Mostly when the weather's nice. Not when it rains incessantly and not when I get a parking ticket in front of my own house on street sweeping day. ANYWAY, there are so many COOL and FREE things to do here which makes a mama like me have heart palpitations...nothing's free anymore, right? Well the Missouri Botanical Garden is on Wednesday and Saturday mornings (for residents) and we partook on a nice Wednesday last week. They have an awesome exhibit right now where they've built tree houses (made out of trees, not IN the tree) and they were so interesting to play in and admire. Having a husband in the construction business, I kept thinking, "Kurt would really appreciate the way they did ____."

They also have a huge children's garden and since last summer Lily was just able to sit up, it was really fun to watch her run and play...

If this picture doesn't summarize the end goal of every move Lily makes with her brother, I don't know what does...

Grateful for:

#17 The Lord pairing fearlessness with toughness in Lily

#18 Weston doing a FANTASTIC job at the audiologist as we and others had prayed for

#19 Weston's hearing test coming back as temporary hearing loss and not permanent

#20 Friends willing to help

#21 Simply Lemonade mixed with seltzer water on a sunny day

#22 Trees against a cloudless sky

#23 American Idol...which really means couch date with husband

Lauging over Spilled Milk

2011-05-09T12:46:00.000-07:00

Life with littles was pretty much summarized last week with this scenario:

While both children happened to sleep at the same time, I took the opportunity to sweep and mop the kitchen and hardwood floors that usually get crusted over every 2-3 days. They woke up just as I was finishing, so we had a snack right away so they would be up off the wet floor. They snacked in the kitchen and I finished up the living room and dining room. I came in to get Lily down from her high chair and within the same second Weston had knocked over a full glass of milk all over himself, stool and clean kitchen floor. We don't make a big deal about accidents around here, so Weston just got down and helped me clean it up and I held my tongue of uttering a word about how freshly clean the kitchen floor was. Meanwhile, Lily wants in on the action and decides to splash through the milk puddles and run all through the house with milky feet. The floors weren't even dry yet. I laughed. And it was of God because sweeping and mopping are not my favorite chores. This is what I do right now...clean messes as messes are happening. All acts of cleanliness WILL be undone within five minutes. I think I'm starting to get over it.

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Colossians 3:17) Nothing mentioned here about the end result of the deed, just why I'm doing it.

#9 Spilled milk

#10 Little boy chatting and playing "alligator" with pair of kitchen tongs while I cook dinner

#11 Baby legs (real ones, not the leg warmers)

#12 A face of delight every time he fits a puzzle piece in

#13 A dear friend I never tire of hanging out with

#14 Little face waiting for me at the screen door

#15 Number of calories burned chasing Lily

#16 The Lord gracing over my mothering mistakes

And just for good measure...

My Favorite Mispronuniciations

2011-05-02T06:01:00.000-07:00

Weston only has a few words left that he doesn't pronounce exactly. It's kind of sad when your child starts talking articulately. Here are the few that remain...

Fravorite (favorite)
Workhog (warthog)
Flamily (family)
Pwenguin (penguin)
bulldaloller (bulldozer)

And gratitude...

#4 A double rainbow on a dreaded grocery trip
#5 Ten whole minutes of both babies still and snuggling on my lap
#6 Getting up early
#7 Bird songs
#8 Handy Husband

On Easter, Facebook and a Grateful Heart

2011-04-26T17:29:00.000-07:00

The season of Lent and Easter seems to spring up so quickly. I really wanted to prepare more for it this year but did so in a hodge podge kind of way. This was the first year that we explained Jesus' death and resurrection to Weston. We have a couple of story bibles that have good age appropriate storytelling. My favorite brief summary from him was, "Jesus got dead on the cross and then He came back". Lots of tough questions too..."Mom, when are we going to heaven?" Tonight I was praying with him about Jesus as our Savior and when we were finished he asked, "Mom, does Jesus wear a cape?"

We made a palm branch the week of palm Sunday. He had his toy donkey trample over the palm to be accurate. The whole activity ended with him angrily throwing the donkey across the room. Whatever.

I gave up Facebook for Lent. I have a love/hate relationship with FB. It was good to have a break. And since I spent an unnecessary amount of time reading moment by moment updates of people's lives, I had quite a bit of time to reflect on some things. In BSF this year we're studying the book of Isaiah. A few weeks ago I read Isaiah 61:3 and it was the icing on the cake of things I feel like God is teaching me right now about a heart of gratitude.

NIV translation, "...to bestow on them...a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair"

NASB translation, "...He will give... a garment of praise instead of a faint spirit."

King James Bible, "...to give unto them...a garment of praise instead of a spirit of heaviness."

Spirit of despair? Check. Faint Spirit? Check. Spirit of heaviness? Check. Not all the time. But enough.

Pair that with reading this book and there is a new little addition to this blog. A running list of gratitude. Everyday and then I will copy here when I post. Choosing to have a spirit of thanksgiving in the moments of everyday life just as Jesus did the night before His death when he broke bread with the disciples. Focusing on gifts rather than hurrying. Seeing God's blessings and goodness in difficult and dark times. Slowing. Down. Changing.

It will not come easy friends and I will not do it perfectly, but you will hold me accountable (all ten of you :)).

And so we begin...

#1 Shades of spring greens contrasted with white of Dogwoods.
#2 Small hands with dimples for knuckles

#3 Husband who crosses things off my to-do list (because he did them)

I didn't really bother with Easter apparel, but Lily did look so sweet in this little dress. The only picture I have of it is her escaping through the front door. Which pretty much summarizes why it's the only picture I have of her.

Black Eye

2011-04-22T13:24:00.001-07:00

I suppose every little boy has their first black eye.

First Zoo Trip of Spring

2011-04-20T10:49:00.000-07:00

Hallelujah that the weather has finally gotten the Spring memo! We took our first trip of the year to the zoo last week and had a great time. Since we live so close to the zoo I usually pick a "part" of the zoo to do, but this day we did the WHOLE zoo. Three and half hours later, Lily was exhausted and I was a close second.

Merry-go-round...

Lily wanted no part of riding an animal and death-gripped my shirt the entire time...

She also took charge of this little jeep in the Children's Zoo. I'm pretty sure she's in a great deal of family photos since every time other kids got in to take a cute picture she came over and hollered at the door as if they were trespassing.

This is horrible, but I have to post this picture because after I realized what I had captured I could not stop laughing. Since I was looking through the camera and it had started to take the picture, it was delayed and I didn't see him start to fall. It's blurry because I started to move to catch him, but the picture still took...

More Children's Zoo...

Elephant...

Zebra...

Baby giraffe...

Welcome Spring, we missed you!

And I Quote...

2011-04-14T11:32:00.000-07:00

We were on the way home from a friends house a few days ago and Weston in a very distressed and concerned voice says to me from the backseat:

"Mom, I don't want to get big."

"What do you mean buddy?"

"I don't want to be big. I want to stay little."

"Well, what do you like about being little?" (I thought since we just finished Potty Training Trauma Part 2 he was going to say he wanted to wear diapers longer)

"I don't wanna be big. I wanna stay little so I can snuggle you."

What can I say? I want him to stay little too! Could someone press a pause button please? At least the slow-mo one. However, instead of agreeing, I assured him we could still snuggle as he grows bigger.

It Was Too Quiet...

2011-04-11T13:51:00.000-07:00

Three and Underwear Free

2011-04-10T06:58:00.000-07:00

Enough said.

Three and Diaper Free

2011-04-04T17:53:00.000-07:00

Westie turned three on Friday. In the weeks prior to his birthday if you were to ask him how old he was going to be he consistently said, "six." Lord help me when he truly is six because three sounds old enough. A preschooler! I asked him this week if he could please stop growing up and he replied, "No, I'm just going to get bigger and bigger." Dang it.

We had planned a little play date during the day with a couple of his close buddies. Sadly, one had dance class, one got pneumonia and another was also sick. That left us with little Sophie as the life of the party. They had a great time! They play really well together and Sophie goes along with Weston's goofy antics and love of animals. I think they played "snake" with two pieces of string for 20 minutes.

I've already talked to Sophie's mother about an arranged marriage after witnessing this: Sophie gives Weston a big hug and looks at him, "I love you Weston." "I love you too," Weston replies. Then he looks at me, "Sophie is my special heart. A special heart is when you love someone."
Oh. My. Goodness.

We made cupcakes and sang "Happy Birthday". Noni stopped by for lunch last minute since we were short on guests.

When Kurt got home we headed to Red Robin for dinner. We were a little unsure of the wisdom of this idea since containing Lily in a high chair is often a full time job, but it was a lot of fun and Weston loved the "to do" they put on for his special day.

Lily was a chow hound and ate Weston's entire corn dog in addition to a healthy amount of french fries. Lord knows this girl needs quite a bit of fuel for her fast moving motor.

I took this picture on the way home because I just couldn't believe how old he looked. Hands in his pockets? Definitely wasn't doing that last year.

We opened presents when we got home. From Mommy and Daddy he got a dinosaur floor puzzle, velcro frog catching mits, Goodnight Train (a favorite book we always get at the library), lacing beads and an alligator sleeping bag.

The sleeping bag was the favorite and everyone had a turn...

He got sweet gifts and cards from family and friends and seemed genuinely thankful for people thinking of him on his birthday. Man we love this kid. He just has a sweet little spirit about him. He makes us laugh so much and has the most curious mind I know. Two has been normally challenging, but he is pulling through and growing so much and we're just so proud of him.

The next morning we woke up and started the Three and Diaper Free campaign. Cold turkey. The gradual approach, while tempting, will not work for Weston because he would just wait and go in a pull-up. So while we're diaper free, we're certainly not accident free nor stubborn-free. In fact, I thought it was supposed to get better everyday, right? Well, we're on day 3 and each day has been worse than the one prior. Today when Kurt got home I left him with the kids and went to Target and ate a hot dog by myself for dinner...that's pretty bad people. Here's praying that the Lord's mercies and Westie's underwear will be afresh in the morning.

In, On or Through

2011-03-28T13:35:00.000-07:00

Approximately 80% of Lily's daily life is spent in something, on something or climbing through something. She will seek out anything, anywhere to climb into or sit/stand on. This requires a great deal of energy to keep her safe and I pray daily that God protects her. She needs every bit of grace for her fearless little self. Yesterday my heart nearly stopped as I caught her half way through two stair ballisters at my parents house trying to squeeze her way through to a two story fall. Perhaps I should have entitled this post Please Fast and Pray for Our Daughter.

Sweetness

2011-03-17T18:43:00.000-07:00

Although currently wrapping up a nap strike, Weston has had some serious sweet moments in the last week or so.

One of the things I never want to forget about him right now is how he has misunderstood the concept of "blowing a kiss". For Weston, it is not about sending a kiss from far away. It is a soft little kiss on the cheek and then he blows in your face. Just typing this, I am laughing out loud picturing his silly grin after he sends a gust of air that blows your hair back. He REALLY thinks this is what blowing a kiss is and it CRACKS me up. I, of course, have not corrected him.

Weston and I spend a great deal of time together. Everyday, all day and occasionally in the middle of the night. Nonetheless, lately when I've gone to the grocery store or out for a run, upon my arrival home he greets me as if we've been apart all day. I hope this means he enjoys my company.

This morning I dressed him in shorts because it is finally warm enough (Hallelujah and thank you Jesus). Apparently he's forgotten what shorts are because he kept pulling on the ends of them saying, "Can we scoot these down a bit?"

Then this afternoon when Kurt got home I quickly changed my clothes for an appointment and was running out the door when Weston yells to me, "Mommy, you look so pretty!" First of all, he doesn't even really use the word "pretty" so I don't know where it came from, and secondly, I was wearing a t-shirt and my hair was in pigtails.

Sweetness.

Sweeping Shapes

2011-03-17T11:48:00.000-07:00

Picked this little idea up somewhere I cannot now remember, but it's a keeper if you have a sweeper.

When you have a little pint size helper that wants to assist with sweeping, simply tape a shape on the floor, preferably across the room from where you are sweeping :), and give instructions to sweep any crumbs, dirt, etc. he can find into the shape. In our case, the shape is primarily filled with Cheerios. Which is saying a lot because there's a lot of dirt around here too.

Guaranteed to be fun and keep little feet out of your dust piles.

Lily Lady

2011-03-10T12:15:00.000-08:00

I just love this picture of Lily. I am certainly not a good, or even decent, photographer with my little point and shoot camera. But I suppose that's beside the point and purpose of this little blog. The point is that this little girl is adorable and I love her profile and the way her hair curls over her ear and onto her face. I love her little Buddha belly in her pajamas. I love that what she's probably doing in this picture is pinching her Daddy's face because she hasn't quite learned how to be gentle yet. Love. This. Girl.

Piano

2011-03-08T17:48:00.000-08:00

Some are more musically inclined while clothed...

Some are not...

B.F.F.

2011-03-03T11:14:00.000-08:00

I think we've finally arrived. Arrived at a place where the age gap between our kids is narrowing and you can see how they're becoming friends. They play together, laugh together, chase each other, play peek-a-boo and the like. It is so fun to watch and so fun to daydream about the other things they'll enjoy together as they grow older. Having kids that are close in age can be hard in the beginning, so it's nice to be in a place where you see the fruits of your labor. Not that having them further apart is any easier, each has their own challenges...you know what I mean. And seeing as though I am not currently pregnant like I was when Weston was this age, any kids we have from here on out (or don't) will be further apart. All the more reason to enjoy watching these kiddos do life together...

And I Quote...

2011-03-01T18:36:00.001-08:00

Background history: 1. Weston has a really bad diaper rash from the antibiotics he's taking and 2. We've been working on being quiet and still while we're praying.

So, tonight while we are praying with him before bed, he starts:

W: "Dad..."
Us: "Westie, you need to be quiet when Daddy's praying..."
W: "No, Dad, will you pray for my bottom? That it will stop hurting."

Bless his heart. I don't know why, I just loved it. I think its his first genuine, personal prayer request.

Speaking of bottoms...

...I couldn't help it.

Three Valentines

2011-02-22T12:08:00.000-08:00

We have a picnic each year in our living room with carry out on Valentine's Day. You can read the history on that in last year's post. Kurt said to me this year, "Remember last year?". Yes, yes I do. Lily was still in the hospital, I was in tears daily (perhaps hourly) and I drove home in a snowstorm from spending the day with her to have dinner with Weston and Kurt. Needless to say, we were very glad to welcome her to the picnic this year.

We didn't know how we would contain her outside of a high chair so we busted out the Bumbo again wondering a) if she would still fit in it and b) whether she would find her way out. She did great! This year it was Qdoba and it was tasty.

An added little bonus to this year was me delivering flowers during the day. Crazy, right?! Well friends, we might have stumbled upon another tradition for Valentine's Day. It was pretty fun, I got some cash in our pocket and a free bouquet of flowers. And made it home well before dinner. Not too shabby.

Lily Lou Turns One

2011-02-15T13:03:00.000-08:00

As previously mentioned, we did not plan a big ol' birthday party for Lily. In hindsight, I'm pretty glad we didn't because I got a stomach virus that lasted through the early morning of her birthday. I awoke and cried a bit for two reasons 1. Baby girl is one and where has the time gone? and 2. I had been so sick and hadn't been able to finish up some of the details of even our little family birthday. But I felt God remind my heart, "it's not about decorations and balloons and the perfect meals and activities and homemade cake, it's about loving Lily", so I got my big girl pants on a made do with what we had. Weston and I made her a card while she napped in the morning (he insisted I draw a cow that said "MOO! Happy Birthday!"), then we went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch and played...

On the way home we stopped at the grocery for balloons, and (gulp) box cake.

I still had our camera in my pocket when I put her down for her nap and couldn't help snap this as I sat and lingered long to admire this girl...

While the kids napped I made cupcakes and got the table ready for evening...

Weston was too excited about the birthday card he decorated for her, so he gave it to her right when they woke up...

We sang and had cupcakes...

Opened presents (a red CD player and a jack-in-the box)...

And that was that. A little sweet day for a little sweet girl.

I can't believe that I posted this a year ago. I said she was a precious, sweet gift but I had no idea WHAT a precious sweet gift she would be in our life. I think about the Psalm I wrote, reminding myself of God's unchanging character amidst a sick baby that I couldn't take home and I praise Him for her life and that He protected her and healed her. And how I want to be compassionate, gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness to my children just as He has been to me.

Lily girl, we love you to pieces. What can we say?! You have changed us and blessed us. You are spunky, zealous, loving, beautiful, determined and funny. You are you and we love how God made you. Mommy and Daddy often find ourselves saying ,"Oh Lily" while smiling and laughing. We are so proud of you and look forward to watching you grow and grow...

Dads Are Awesome

2011-02-07T11:41:00.000-08:00

There is something different about Dads. They bring a unique kind of fun to the house that I can't fully describe. It's in the ridiculous games they create that Mom would never think of. It's the ability they have to do something over and over and over (and over one more time) like a toddler and baby love to do. It's funny noises. It's crazy dancing. It's Goofy-shaped pancakes...

Whatever it is, we love it.

Not So Snowpocolypse

2011-02-03T12:53:00.000-08:00

The entire city of St. Louis shut down this week for the predicted snow blizzard of the century only to have an inch of ice and couple inches of snow. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't great weather and we surely stayed in a couple of days, but a bread and ice melt shortage was probably unnecessary.

Kurt worked from home for two days which was super great. Its just nice to have company during the day and an extra pair of hands for diaper explosions from kiddos on antibiotics. I REALLY need to gear up my energy for potty training attempt two.

Considering we were already holed in the past two weeks with various illnesses, the prospect of being holed in another couple of days due to weather was unappealing to say the least. I must say, though, we kept ourselves pretty busy...

bath painting...

snuggling...

making Valentine cookies...

Snuggling and making Valentine cookies...

We got one of the themed "bins" from the library (which if you haven't done, please do so ASAP) and this one was on counting and had a great floor puzzle and some cool games and books too.

Somehow with Kurt home, I gave myself more freedom to curl up with my book or stare out the window at nap time. Note to self: Do more frequently. Yes, Mom and Erin, I know you tell me this all the time :)

Lily took advantage of the time at home to go ahead and start walking. What?! Little girl, you are NOT EVEN turning 1 next week. I can't handle it. So much so that I don't have a single thing planned. No big birthday bash, just us chickens celebrating our special girl here at home. It's the kind of mood we're in and as someone just told me, "a first birthday party is really for the parents anyway." I don't think she'll mind. Or remember for that matter. Can you tell I'm still convincing myself? Please encourage me that my daughter is not going to be scarred for life. A party is not a reflection of the immense amount of love I have for this sweet baby, right?

I WILL post pictures of Miss Thing being her little one year old self though...stay tuned.

Hats Make Things Better

2011-01-28T13:04:00.001-08:00

Pneumonia victim or Future Firefighter of America? I think you can guess which one goes over better in this household.

We have to liven things up a bit for this treatment to be "cool"...otherwise the mask suspiciously is removed.

And I love a kids who makes things happen...here he figured out that he could indeed still suck his thumb...

All fun put aside, let's be real. The New Year has kicked off by kicking us in the rear. In ways too numerous and personal to bother listing, but two double ear infections and pneumonia were the icing on an already frosted cake. This morning was a bit rough and despite my best efforts, I found myself teetering on the brink of sanity. Before I put Weston down for his nap, we were apologizing to each other (again) and he said to me, "When we're angry and sad, we still love each other." God bless that precious child...even when I want to throw him out the window.

And then I read this in the silence of a sleeping house and felt gratitude swell:

"He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." Isaiah 40:11

Ah, God is near and He knows.

Trouble

2011-01-25T13:22:00.000-08:00

Puzzling

2011-01-20T11:34:00.001-08:00

Weston got a couple of floor puzzles for Christmas and we have been puzzling ever since. He has caught on quickly and it couldn't have come at a better time because winter is long January through March.

It's funny how I tried to impose MY way of doing puzzles on him and how he would have nothing to do with it. In the beginning, he needed quite a bit of help and I learned that the way you do puzzles is to find your four corners first, then do the edges and THEN fill in the middle. It took me about two minutes of attempted convincing before I said to myself, "Self, why does he have to do it that way? Let him do it his own way." And so he does it his way: Section by section so that each part comes to completion. It's like little successes upon the way (Where's the octupus' eye? The octopus is done! Now to the pink fish.) I must say, it's a good strategy and has served him well since he can now do 36-50 piece puzzles by himself. And that allows me to occasionally get dinner started or read Lily a book (for 15 seconds if she lets me).

And I Quote...

2011-01-15T11:34:00.000-08:00

Last night as I was rocking Weston and singing, he was frowning at my face and I knew what he saw...

Weston (pointing to a pimple on my face): "Mom, you got a nipple on your face."
Me: "It's not a nipple, it's a pimple."
Weston (frowning harder): "Can you cut that pimple off?"

I wish.

I'm Pretty Sure...

2011-01-13T08:57:00.001-08:00

...this is what our paper towel holder will look like for the next two years:

A New Year

2011-01-10T12:31:00.001-08:00

New Years' is a little tricky for me. You see, I'm a little bit of a list addict. A tiny bit of a goal setter. When this time of year rolls around, I could possibly go off the deep end and drown in an ocean of endeavors. Luckily, I have a balanced husband that won't let that happen.

On New Years' Eve as we prepared to do absolutely nothing, I said these words (cringe) to Kurt, "Hey, since we're not doing anything festive for New Years, after we put the kids down, we could sit and talk about this year, set some goals and talk about what we want to do with (x,y,z)!" He didn't say a word, but this is what his face said, "It's bad enough we're not even hanging out with friends, and you're telling me that while the rest of the world is out having a hoot hollerin' grand time, we're going to sit on the couch with a notepad and map out our year? Awesome." Needless to say, no lists were made.

So, in lieu of a making a detailed instruction manual of my life in 2011, I've settled on a few "aspirations". Some relaxed, calm "aims" if you will...

Wear an apron at least once a day.
Eat 9 fruits and vegetables...make that 5 because week one of that has not gone so well.
Consume even more butter than last year.
Listen to more music throughout the day.
Get up before the babies again. I'm having a little bit of a hard time beating Lily who currently likes to start her day at 4:15 a.m.
Work up to running 20 miles a week. This will only be accomplished with my tried and true running partner(and sweet friend) Katie who's been spurring me on since 2004. Love you girl. Let's do it.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Grow my hair out and donate it.

And Lily's goal is to keep the house clean and organized. I mean, she's the neatest one here. Cleans up after herself, eats neatly, doesn't get into anything and doesn't make an inch of a mess...

The Five Days of Christmas and a Happy New Year

2011-01-03T11:50:00.000-08:00

Christmas is my favorite time of year. The obvious reason is the gloriousness of "God With Us" but, secondarily, it also serves as a kind of benchmark on life. You compare life now with life in Christmases past. You reflect on the past year and ponder where you've been and where you'd like to head.

This time last year, Weston was just starting to say "Dedad" (Jesus) and that was about the extent of what his little 20 month old mind could handle of the Christmas Story. This year, on top of saying Jesus correctly, he grasps the idea of it being His birthday, that he was born a little baby in a stable with animals, who His Mama and (sort of) Daddy were, that Jesus is God, that Jesus is now in Heaven, that Jesus loves us so much. He sings "Holy, Holy, Holy" and "Joy to the World". His little mind is able to understand a bit more, yet has so much still to understand (hmmm...like me I should say). I look forward to watching the Christmas Story unfold clearer and clearer, year after year for our children...what a blessed gift!

This time last year I was also enormously pregnant and Weston misunderstood that Jesus was in my belly. And now here she is, Lily Louise celebrating her first Christmas. She wasn't into wrapping paper like you hear baby's love to do. That's okay, she was just fun to have around and she looks so stinkin' cute these days. Since she didn't really "get" the gift thing, Weston took it upon himself to just claim her gifts as his own. Whatever. His time is short in this area before she catches on to his antics.

As far as a look back at the year...WOW! A few key words come to mind. Awesome, exhausting and waiting. Awesome because Lily has enriched our family and God has used her in so many ways. I cannot even imagine life without this precious little thing! Exhausting because there has been little sleep, lots of chasing, lots of discipline, lots of change, lots of decisions. Waiting because, well, I don't know. If I knew, I guess we wouldn't be in this waiting place that God has placed us in to trust Him more. Perhaps we're always waiting...

We celebrated Five Days of Christmas this year, so here we go...

With Nana and Julie's family...

Christmas Eve to ourselves...

Christmas morning...

Christmas evening at Noni and Papa's...

Not pictured: Montgomery City with the Bethel clan and dinner with our far away friends the Herndons and their sweet Sharp family...

And lastly, opening presents sent from Grammy and Grampy...

Our New Years' Eve was pretty uneventful. I don't really care for this holiday, so small children are kind of a good excuse for me to be a homebody, but I think Kurt misses a little New Year's adventure. Soon enough sweet husband. We ate dinner at the cute little Mexican restaurant by our house and then had breakfast the next morning with our dear friends the McKinley's.

Happy 2011 to you! Whoever you are? This wraps up my first full year of blogging and although my main purpose for this little place is to document moments for my family and print up a little blog book each year, I'm always surprised and touched to discover someone finds something here interesting enough to pop in every once in a while. I know there are just a handful of you, but perhaps if I don't know you're here, you could comment and come out of the closet? No fancy prizes, just saying thanks!

Snow Days

2010-12-28T13:00:00.000-08:00

We've gotten quite a bit of snow here in St. Louis for December, including a white Christmas. Kurt commented one day as he looked out of the window, "there's something so peaceful about snow." It's true, something about snow brings peace. Maybe it's the vast sprawling of white, maybe it's how it forces this crazy world to slow down, maybe it's the recollection of fond memories. Whatever it is, we like it. And here we are enjoying it...

Ahh...snow on snow on snow.

Croup

2010-12-22T11:41:00.000-08:00

This is what it looks like when croup hits our house...

Lily had her first trip to the ER for a steroid to ease her non-ease-able stridor. Just she and I went since Kurt had to stay home with Weston. After a snow storm. No fun.

Please don't return you pesky virus. You are loud, scary and unwelcome. Thanks.

Just the Two of Us

2010-12-16T11:53:00.001-08:00

About a month ago Kurt and I took a little weekend trip to Branson sans children. My parents have time share there and said, "Hey why don't you two get away for a weekend and we'll watch the kids?" To which we replied, "Okay!"

You probably think we took in a few Christmas shows on the strip and shopped our little hearts out at the outlet malls. We did not. You know why? We were sleeping. Rest was the theme of the weekend. In fact, I was so sleep deprived upon our arrival that I slept until 10 a.m. the next morning. The last time that occurred was 1996.

We did accomplish a few fun things during the waking hours. Like Kurt totally demolishing me at air hockey after I bragged about how great I was (however I DID do a pretty nice job with ski ball). We had some great BBQ for lunch at our favorite place down there. We had a business (read finance) meeting at this coffee shop with our laptop...

And had our favorite drinks at Macaroni Grill...

Kurt also sweetly endured me popping into a few shops, trying on clothes and telling me I looked cute.

It may sound boring, but it was AWESOME. We talked and laughed and did not change any diapers. Sometimes it is nice just to be "we". And I like us.

Of course, we were more than excited to return and see our other half. I think they got cuter while we were gone...or maybe it was just my vision adapting to adequate sleep.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree Part 2: Decorating the Tree

2010-12-11T11:55:00.001-08:00

I love getting everything out for Christmas decorating. Our house wears Christmas well. I've told Kurt several times that if/when we ever sell our house we should do it during the holidays. Another bonus is the packed away Christmas books and toys that provide new excitement for Weston and Lily.

Here we tried to distract Lily with the Little People nativity long enough for Kurt to get the lights on the tree...

...it wasn't quite long enough.

Weston helped us put the ornaments on. We still haven't fixed our whompus star...

He loved playing the french horn ornament...which led to the rule that once ornaments are on the tree we don't take them off to play with them. Otherwise I'll be redecorating the tree every last day of 2010.

And a few little quotes I would like to remember this year...

Weston (playing with the nativity for first time this year): "Oh, here's Jesus. Ope, there's Mary. Hey...where's Jerry?"

Kurt (explaining to Weston why Little People Mary would not stay on top of the donkey to ride): "Weston, she doesn't have any legs sweetheart."

Hopefully this will be the last post about the tree. But if there is another, be assured it will be "O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree Part 3: Lily Takes Down the Tree."

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree Part One: Securing the Tree

2010-12-07T12:22:00.001-08:00

We had such a fun time cutting down our tree last year at Heritage Valley Tree Farm that we decided to do it again this year. They are super-friendly, the place is so cute and they have hot chocolate, cookies and fun sleds to ride in for the kiddos. And the fact that our tree lasted twice as long pretty much sealed the deal. Somehow a near dead tree on the day (we celebrate) Jesus' birth seems a little oxymoronic.

Here we are last year. As I look back at the picture I'm wondering why I'M not the one being pulled around in the sled. Pregnant ladies...they think they can do everything.

And here we are this year. Miss Thing included and somehow our smiles look a bit more complete.

It was pretty chilly, but the kids did great. Weston was torn about which he wanted more...gloves on to keep his hands warm or gloves off to have the dexterity to eat his chocolate chip cookie. Tough call.

We picked a little tree with a cute shape. We're not the family that lingers at the lot for hours looking for the perfect tree. Once the chocolate chip cookie is gone, we have a short time frame to work with.

Kurt and Weston did all the work while Lily and I shot self portraits.

And isn't this the sweetest picture ever as we headed back? .

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree Part Two: Decorating the Tree will hopefully be up tomorrow.

Given a Box of Cheerios...

2010-12-02T13:08:00.000-08:00

...here is how Lily usually polishes it off:

60% are thrown on the floor to either be swept up or stepped on.
15% are somehow captured on her body and found later...like in her diaper or socks.
10% are still missing, perhaps never to be found.
10% are stolen by her brother.
5% are actually ingested and digested.

A Little Trip to the Grocery

2010-11-24T12:11:00.000-08:00

Scene: a cold, rainy day the morning before Thanksgiving.

10:30 a.m. I decide that even though it is blustery and pouring down rain and I will have two small children in tow, it would be better to do my grocery shopping this morning than fight everyone after work this evening.

10:35 a.m. Stuff Lily in a down fleece number making her extremely angry.

10:40 a.m. Weston stands on porch yelling something at me while I try to get Lily (who is now 5 times her normal size) into her car seat in the rain.

10:42 a.m. Lily has gone from seriously to critically angry. I ditch down fleece number and put her in car seat without it. Turn car on for heat.

10:50 a.m. We're in the car on our way to a grocery store 15 minutes away so I can use a coupon (you know I like my coupons). Albeit wet, everything is seemingly fine.

11:05 a.m. Arrive at grocery store and realize that I cannot find my wallet and I think its on the ledge in the living room.

11:06 a.m. Turn car back on, head back home. Call Kurt for moral support.

11:21 a.m. Arrive home, dash inside to grab wallet. Not there. Back out to car. Check diaper bag. It has indeed been in there the whole time, just in the wrong place.

11:22 a.m. Send Kurt a text with the awesome news.

11:23 Head back to the grocery store. Weston is confused and asking where we're going. I take a different way to the grocery store for a change of scenery which confuses him even more.

11:35 Arrive back at the grocery store. Since Lily is not in winter outwear (and I'm not about to go through that saga again), I take off my coat in the rain put her in the front carrier and put on my coat over me and her.

11:37 Inside grocery store. Wet, but we made it. And we have money. Which we had from the beginning, but whatever. Take coat off, put Weston in cart. Realize I left coupon in car.

11:38 Kindly ask customer service if it is necessary that I actually HAVE the coupon in my possession. It is. Curse under my breath.

11:40 Put coat back on. Zip it up. Bundle Lily's head. "Ma'm hold on, we're going to get you a coupon so you don't have to go back out to the car." Try to take coat off. Zipper is stuck. Lily (still in front carrier) is getting mad. Weston is also becoming disgruntled. In desperation I give one more fatal pull which breaks the zipper of my favorite REI parka.

11:41 Begin grocery shopping...approximately one hour later than planned. Get items on my list...minus jelly which I forgot.

12:00 Check out...saved $5. Worth it? Questionable.

12:05 Unload groceries into car. Unload Lily. Zip coat back up...oh wait, no zipper.

12:20 Arrive home. As I'm pulling up I see that I have left my front door wide open in all the wallet mayhem. I have the thought that Kurt will be really excited if someone stole our t.v. since he's been wanting a flat screen since 2005.

12:30 Groceries and children are inside. T.V. is still in place.

2:00 Lunch has been consumed, babies are sleeping and I am now laughing. Laughing because although I almost lost my mind, these things are so trifling. I have food on my table. I have healthy, sweet children. I have a husband who listens. I have a roof over my head. I have family to visit tomorrow. I live in the land of the free. I know the God of the universe. I am rich and I am blessed.

And next time, I'll opt for the evening grocery trip.

Inviting Disaster

2010-11-18T10:43:00.000-08:00

Over the past year or so since Weston has gotten "helpful", I have been learning how to invite him into everyday activities. Most of the time he is eager to help with a task. I know it is good for him to feel a part of daily household chores. It is fun for him to play/pretend. It is bonding to work side by side with my kids. I enjoy the company of my children. For all these reasons, I continue to find ways to include him in what I'm doing. However, I must be prepared for inviting disaster.

It is pretty much guaranteed that when you ask a two year old to help you it will:

1. Take twice as long.
2. Be three times as messy.
3. Quite possibly not even accomplish what is supposed to get done.
4. Even more possible that it will accomplish the exact opposite of what is supposed to get done.

For someone who likes to cross things off the list these are tough things to swallow, but I do because I need to learn how to slow down and be patient. And because there is nothing better than watching your child have the satisfaction of accomplishing something seemingly "grown up."

Next up...scrubbing toilets.

Books, Books, Books

2010-10-28T12:56:00.001-07:00

We love books around here. Who doesn't love books? I think I get more excited to get new childrens books at the library than Weston. There are TONS of good ones out there, but here are some of our favorites:

Lulu The Big Little Chick by Paulette Bogan
Cha Cha Chimps by Julie Durango
Good Night Train by Julie Sobel
Moose on the Loose by Kathy-Jo Wargin
Jesus Story Bible
Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton
Five Little Monkeys Wash the Car by Eileen Christelow
Llama, Llama Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney

What are your favorites?

And I Quote...

2010-10-26T11:14:00.001-07:00

Last night it stormed and Weston was fascinated. It brought up the subject of the things God has made (i.e. thunder, lightning, etc.).

This morning at the breakfast table, he drops this line:

"Jesus made poop, Mom."

Ya'll can go ahead and jot that in the "Notes" section of your Bible for free. Right next to where God created the sound of farts.

Weston at Two

2010-10-22T11:31:00.000-07:00

Weston was 2 1/2 this month and I find myself pondering over his second year so far. There are so many things I want to remember about him at this age.

Here are a few...

Weston is obsessed with animals. He knows the names of critters from yaks to triceratops. He also has quite the collection of animals figurines and plays with them like a girl would dolls. They have conversations and go places and sometimes I have to remind one of the animals that his voice is getting a bit cranky or unkind. When we're out and about, everything looks like an animal, whether its the clouds or a blob of mud. You can imagine what our trips to the zoo are like.

He has a sensitive spirit.

He is fairly uninterested in balls, throwing, catching, kicking, etc. This makes dad a little sad sometimes, but I think he'll come around eventually.

He is a good friend.

Weston was a really early talker. At least once a week someone in public will comment on his speech. He talks a lot and is articulate and has a pretty nice vocabulary. Someone recently asked if I thought Lily would be as verbal and my response was, "if she can get a word in edgewise."

He loves books. Which may explain the talking. And we LOVE reading to him.

He is so curious. I would say 80% of our day is spent answering questions.

Weston has a contagious smile. And eyelashes that make every woman jealous.

He hates leaving places. This sometimes involves me leaving a playground or friend's house holding an infant in one arm and a screaming toddler in the other.

Weston has a healthy fear of feathers, fuzzies and shadows.

He's getting better at climbing.

Weston is a great big brother. He hugs and kisses Lily, brings her toys, keeps her from danger and is on 24 hour spit-up alert duty.

He thinks that everyone that is "at work" is with Daddy. Like its a big party or something.

Speaking of Daddy, Weston loves him. Most of the time when we pull up to the house, even if it's 11:30, he asks if he's home. He also thinks Dad knows everything (which is mostly true). If he asks me something and I say "I don't know.", he will often reply, "We'll ask Daddy." or "Daddy will fix it." And, of course, there is much glee when he arrives home.

His favorite foods are yogurt with honey, fruit, PBJ's and treats. No vegetables.

Weston is really good with names. He knows his friends names, their siblings and their parents and knows who goes with who. He remembers little Donovan who we met at the library a month ago and he will probably wake up from his nap today talking about Bruno, Max and Mason who we met at the playground today. I forget someone's name one second after shaking his hand so this trait must be inherited from Dad.

He's a great sleeper. I am reminded of this every time Lily wakes up at 2 a.m.

He's pretty organized for a two year old. Kurt blames me. I just like things in their place, you know?

I think he's the sweetest kid ever. Because I'm his mom. And because he is.

(photos courtesy of Erin Duggin Photography)

Checking in With Lily

2010-10-14T13:23:00.001-07:00

Lily has been busy lately and its time we checked in to see what she's been up to.

The biggest news is that she started crawling at 7 1/2 months.That's a good 5 months before her brother, so I'm a little unsure of how to deal with her.

So far I've caught her chewing on television wiring, pulling apart the underside of an ottoman, trying to get her hand stuck in the air vent and generally getting into whatever her brother doesn't want her to.

She likes to attack most things with her mouth. Especially your face.

She's puffin' it up finger food style...

She pulls up to her knees...

And her favorite game is to play peek-a-boo through the cube-shaped shelf in our kitchen cart...

Overall, she's the sweetest thing since chocolate cake and is melting our hearts with each passing day.

Jesse Bear

2010-10-06T12:15:00.000-07:00

My crafty, creative friend Allison led me to a book called Five in a Row which is basically reading activities for tots using already published books (you can buy or wisely visit your local library). Anyway, Jesse Bear What Will You Wear is the first book. You can read about Allison's experience here, but I also had to post about Jesse Bear because it was such a typical toddler activity progression.

We started here with the initial thought of playing a matching/sorting game of clothes on Jesse Bear (yes, I realize the shortcomings of my teddy bear making...cardboard is difficult to cut, yes?)

But then Weston wanted to color on the bear. Having worked perilously on the cardboard cut-out, I decided to trace a different one on construction paper for him to color. So here we are...

However,when I got into the craft drawer to get the construction paper, Weston saw our package of balloons. So now here we are...

From matching/sorting to balloons in less than ten minutes. That's pretty much how it goes!

IKEA

2010-10-04T13:22:00.000-07:00

My nearest and dearest friend Erin and I headed to Schaumburg, IL this past weekend with an empty mini-van. Empty of children and seats so that we could get a mother load of IKEA bounty. We were gone less than 36 hours, but we came home with a full van, full bellies and full of sleep.

I meant to take more pictures but only got this one of us eating in the food court of IKEA...

Here are the pictures I wish I would have gotten: the advertisement for meatballs in the women's restroom of IKEA, my face when I realized the high chair I had driven 400 miles for was out of stock, Erin and I not realizing that you can't take carts to your car and thus attempting to carry all of our loot in our arms which resulted in dropping a salad spinner several times and chasing it...and it was raining, us at dinner with our friend Kristi (who lives minutes from IKEA) at a yummy microbrewery, Erin at Target with her pajamas on so we could get Tylenol PM, toothpaste and magazines.

I mainly did some Christmas shopping. My favorite find was an easel for Weston. However, Erin got nearly everything she needs for her little one to arrive in April...woohoo!

Erin found a great deal on a nice hotel. It was pretty nice to sleep ten hours! And then stay in a cozy bed with coffee and a muffin while watching "Say Yes to the Dress" on cable? Amazing.

And a huge shout out to Kurt who is always gracious in letting me get away!

Sweet Pea Face

2010-10-01T04:25:00.000-07:00

A Sweet List

2010-09-28T11:19:00.000-07:00

I like to make lists. Kurt sometimes teases me, but I think he understands that it helps me to think clearly. Or remember anything. I had my list for today out on the counter this morning and next to my list to pick up milk and diapers, he added a few items while I was getting dressed...

This was a sweet reminder of a couple of trueisms: One, my husband his great. It's these type of little things he inserts into my daily life that help me to not take everything so seriously. And secondly, God is in control of my day, not my list. May I not be so self-absorbed that I don't recognize the Lord's leading, the needs of others or that I need to trash the list altogether. Because when I don't recognize these things, God tends to trash the list anyway :)

Too Early

2010-09-27T11:33:00.000-07:00

This is what it looks like when our children wake up before 6 a.m.

Confessions of Motherhood

2010-09-23T11:24:00.000-07:00

The following things have happened in the last couple months:

I drove home from the park with Weston not strapped into his car seat (scary!).

I let Lily sleep in a poopy diaper (this is a long story, but involved her waking in the middle of her nap and me not realizing she had a dirty diaper until I had patted her back to sleep).

I had the thought that I could be that mom on the 10 o'clock news that is missing for a week and when they found me I would be holed in a local hotel just sleeping for seven days straight.

I served Weston chocolate cake for breakfast.

I ripped a pair of Lily's pajamas in the middle of the night because the zipper was stuck and she was wailing.

I told Weston a piece of toffee chocolate I was eating had coffee in it so I wouldn't have to share it (toffee...coffee...same thing, right!? Bad. I feel guilty.)

I found a ziploc bag of some unidentified purple substance in the bottom of my diaper bag. It's been in there so long I will never have even the foggiest memory of what it is.

Weston said to me while I was wiping his face from breakfast, "Mom, you're kinda driving me crazy." (where did he learn that?!)

I am so in need of and thankful for God's grace and mercy each day because being a mom is the hardest thing I've done in life so far. And most certainly the best.

Here they are...they don't seem any worse for wear.

A Good Day

2010-09-21T12:01:00.001-07:00

Every day is a great day around here, however some days are more CHALLENGING than others. But then there are those days where everything seems to come into place, the weather is nice, screeching is at a minimum and no one poops out their pants.

Labor Day was one of those such days for us. Kurt was home, which makes any day 100% better and we did a little pre-planning which always helps when you have small children. We'd been having a CHALLENGING time in the morning with Weston, finding we were having the same arguments, the same whines, etc.. We needed a little "reset". The night before we decided to get organized to leave early. The zoo opened at 8:00 and everything is FREE for the first hour which is definitely our style. By 7:30 a.m we were loaded and pulling out. Kurt looked at me and commented, "You do realize we are the only people awake right now, let alone packed and headed somewhere." We grabbed some doughnuts on the way because we hadn't even taken time for breakfast (where the majority of CHALLENGES were occurring). We only planned on staying an hour or so to get back for Lily's nap, but we were having such a good time that we stayed 2 1/2 hours.

Here we are!

Note the doughnut remnants still on the face...

Here we are with the stingrays. Funny story insert: Weston had to leave his doughnut in the stroller to stand in line for the stingrays (no food allowed). As we waited I hear Kurt say, "Oh no!". I follow his gaze and see a bird flying away with Weston's half doughnut. We both looked at each other with that horror of "how do you tell a 2 year old who rarely gets doughnuts that a bird decided to finish the last treasured morsel?!" He actually took it pretty well and shook it off like a champ

Weston wanted nothing to do with the goats and everything to do with the goats.

We got home in plenty of time for lunch and naps. While they slept Kurt and I laid on the couch with the windows open. I caught up on some magazines, read my book, went for a walk and made a peach pie. Then our dear friends the Fabbs' came over last minute with pizza and shared our dessert.

Now that's a good day.

And I Quote

2010-09-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

In the context of Weston whining about some adverse condition, Kurt:

"What do you think it was like to be a pioneer traveling west? I mean, did their kids whine the whole time that it was hot and long and boring?"

Hmmm...not sure, but good point. No DVD's and animal crackers for those road trips.

Potty Training Attempt 1: Failure

2010-09-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I set forth to potty train Weston. I lasted approximately 9 hours. It was miserable. But here's the deal: I can handle cleaning accidents, I can handle being camped out at home, I can handle whatever length of time it takes to "get it". What I CANNOT handle is a tot who holds it (not even going in underwear) making himself unbearably uncomfortable, will not go on the potty and then proceeds to cry and scream on AND off the potty. Treats and prizes were even involved. Ones he REALLY wanted. But to no avail. I was done at 5:05 p.m. and strapped that diaper right back on. I won't be able to try again until 1) I'm getting more sleep (please, Lily, PLEASE!) and 2) Kurt is home for the first day or two to help prevent me from throwing anyone out the window.

These pictures were taken at 7:30 a.m when hopes were high and spirits were happy.

Weston is constipated today and I am reminded again of how much I hate the NOT going. Give me diarrhea any day of the week and twice on Saturday before constipation. Give me a toddler who pees and poops his pants for days before being potty trained. But please, not one that holds it until everyone is so miserable that diapers through high school becomes a viable option.

There you have it. That wraps up my thoughts on poop and potties. I'm pretty sure you were dying to know.

Runny Peach Pie

2010-09-07T11:16:00.001-07:00

I made my first peach pie. I couldn't NOT do a post about it, right? Surprisingly, it was not too runny. And actually, I made two. The first one was prettier. The second one tasted better. This is the second one.

You are probably wondering what the three blobs are in the middle and I will tell you they are my (failed) attempt at being cute and adding leaf cutouts to the center.

And in case you didn't know this about my side of the family, we eat pie for breakfast. Weston doesn't mind too much. Although this morning he asked me if I could put blueberries in the pie instead of peaches...sorry buddy.

Bridget Rose

2010-08-31T12:11:00.000-07:00

What a sweet name. And what a sweet, sweet little lady. I have been avoiding this blog for 2 weeks because I knew I could not post one single thing on our family "scrapbook" here until I talked about Miss Bridget who died in a tragic car accident Thursday, August 19th. Somehow it strangely makes it real rather than a terrible dream.

I knew Bridget for 9 years...since she was 15 and I was her K-life small group leader in Kirksville, MO. What a pleasure I was given in watching her grow up into womanhood. She came to St. Louis to go to nursing school and we got to see her quite frequently then because she didn't have a washer and dryer :). I treasure those times of hanging out in my living room with her while clothes washed and she folded. Inevitably she would need to leave and feel so bad that she was leaving a load of laundry behind, but it was just a great excuse to see her again the next day to pick it up. She lived with us for a few weeks when she was in between housing and eventually she graduated and continued to be a nurse at Children's Hospital. And when I say nurse, I really mean top of the line, best nurse of the year. How do we know? Well, in the Lord's sweet provision, when Weston was 9 days old and admitted to the hospital from the ER we were being escorted up to his floor and the nurse said on the elevator, "I think you may know your son's nurse...her name is Bridget." I just started sobbing. She greeted us and was, of course, the best nurse/friend/encourager/advocate we could have asked for. She loved kids and I'll never forget the warmth and love she showered on our own little ones. The last time I saw her was when she came over to meet Lily. She brought her a huge bag of the cutest little clothes and held her the whole time she was here. I picture her now with Lily in our leather chair, talking to me and alternating between rubbing Lily's little feet and her head. I was worried about Lily having a stuffy nose and she reassured me that she was breathing just fine.

I could go on and on about memories of Bridget. But all of them come back to a girl with a sweet, generous, loving, enthusiastic, happy spirit. Her smile and laugh will be etched in my mind forever. God used her life to touch a mass of His people. I am so proud of her. So, so proud of her.

After getting off the phone, Weston saw me crying and asked what was wrong. We had the following conversation:

Me: "Well buddy, mommy is really sad about Miss Bridget's boo-boo's that we prayed about last night."
Weston: "Where IS Bridget?"
Me: "Well, Miss Bridget is with Jesus in Heaven."
Weston: (pause, thinking)"Miss Bridget is at home far, far away."

Welcome Home sweet girl. I wish you were here, but I'll see you there.

And I Quote...

2010-08-11T11:35:00.000-07:00

So it's produce season and since we have a garden and a share in a CSA there has been a lot of vegetable vocabulary thrown around in our house. A couple of days ago Weston had scrambled eggs for breakfast. After he was finished I noticed he had spilled quite a bit of milk all over his plate.

Me: "Oh buddy, we had quite a milk spill here, eh?"
Weston: "Oh no mom, that's not milk. That's my eggplant. Just a little eggplant spill."

Sidewalk Chalk Paint

2010-08-07T12:22:00.000-07:00

I've been searching far and wide for inside and "close to home outside" things for Westie and I to do while Lily is taking her morning nap. I got this idea from a friend and it is super easy to concoct.

You make sidewalk paint chalk by mixing equal parts cornstarch and water and then several drops of your favorite food coloring.

We didn't even bother getting our "day" clothes on...we were out painting in our pajamas and waving goodbye to the neighbors as they left for work.

A few things I learned. Hefty paint brushes work best...no skimpy watercolor brushes. And sponge brushes work even better if you can keep your tot from mutilating them on the sidewalk.

We painted our hands and feet too make prints...

And when we were all done, we just poured out the rest of the paint and walked through it.

I'm always looking for ideas...what do you do during morning naptime?

When the Going gets Hot...

2010-08-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

...get out the hats, scarves and mittens. It has been bloody hot. And wicked humid. You pretty much need to be an amphibian in order to breath outside. So, we busted out our winter wear to play dress up and dream of colder times.

Thirty

2010-08-02T11:14:00.001-07:00

It's August! July flew right past me. Perhaps it's because I turned the big 3-0 and now the decade is flying by. I've been looking forward to turning 30 since I turned 25. I made two decisions at 25. One was that I was never going to be "in style" ever again and, two, was that when I turned 30 I would altogether stop caring what people thought of me. Lofty,eh?

But when I started to contemplate the work I needed to do this year in casting off the judgment of others, I came to this realization: Perhaps, I ALSO need to simultaneously mend my own judgmental attitudes. I may be doing it a different way than you would and you may be doing it a different way than I would, but we're all doing the best we can with what we know right now. And probably in the end, I'm not going to be everyone's "cup of tea" and that's okay. So world, as I navigate my thirties, please be gracious to me as I learn to also extend grace to you...especially you people who think it unnecessary to use your blinker :)

Summertime

2010-07-16T12:08:00.001-07:00

J.T. and Carole

2010-07-12T11:34:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago we found out our good friends James and Carole were coming to town. That is Taylor and King, of course. Because we don't have quite as close of a friendship as we would like, we had to purchase some tickets to see them. It was a Happy Birthday Kurt, Happy Birthday Beth, Happy 5th Anniversary gift to ourselves. We've been anxiously awaiting the celebration since May.

So here we are at the concert...

And here they are putting on a fabulous show...

Afterward we invited them over for drinks and dessert. Somehow there was a miscommunication. Perhaps they forgot our address. Quite possibly they lost our phone number. Maybe next year.

Papa Summarized

2010-07-09T11:41:00.000-07:00

If I could summarize my dad in a picture, this one just may be it.

Yes, you are correct, this is a hose with a dustpan assembled to the end to create a waterfall into the pool for Weston and his posse of animals. Please note the small piece of wood attached to the side. This was added last minute because the waterfall was not sufficiently level. Love it. Love it. And love it some more.

Happy Birthday America

2010-07-08T11:54:00.001-07:00

This is the first year in a couple of years that we've had Independence Day plans. In fact, last year Kurt and I laid in bed and laughed at ourselves as we crabbed about people shooting off fireworks at 10 p.m. We felt really old.

So we we very excited when our friends invited us to their new house for a BBQ and fireworks at Kirkwood Park. This was Weston's first firework experience and he LOVED it. He gave a running commentary throughout the show: "A green one!" "A waterfall!" "The fireworks are falling on my face!" "Who's making the fireworks?" It made it that much more entertaining to see him discover it for the first time. Lily slept back at the house (a few stayed back), but I don't think she would have appreciated the booms bothering her beauty sleep anyway.

Sparklerin' it up...

On our way to the show with Weston's buddy "Yim Yim"

A blurry picture of us enjoying the show...

"We have enjoyed so much freedom for so long that we are perhaps in danger of forgetting how much blood it cost to establish the Bill of Rights."
Felix Frankfurter

And I Quote...

2010-07-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

I've decided to add a special section of the blog dedicated to noteworthy things that are spoken in our household. There are just too many funny things being said around here and I don't want to forget them 10 years from now...or, for me, probably tomorrow. Most of them will probably be from the mouth of Weston, but KB can have some doozies and hopefully Lily will dropping some good one liners in a year or so. The posts will all be titled "And I quote..."

So to begin, Weston a couple nights ago was picking at a hang nail on his toe and called it a little mix of hang nail and toe nail. "Oooh, dats a hoe nail". He again referred to a hoe nail the next day on his finger. Apparently he needs a mani/pedi.

Lilylicious

2010-07-01T18:25:00.000-07:00

Kurt's Day

2010-06-19T18:35:00.001-07:00

In lieu of the traditional Father's Day card, how about a post in honor of the resident dad of the house? I am sure bloggers across America are doting on daddies today, and I will happily join that bandwagon because ours surely deserves it.

Dear Kurt,

How do we count the ways in which you are totally rad? Nearly impossible. From listening to me weep on tough days to taking a paci run for Lily at 4 a.m. to pitching in with housework that I can't seem to get done to rushing home from work when I nearly slice my finger off to taking the kids to the library...you really are OUTSTANDING. I am so grateful that God gave me the perfect partner in this world of parenting and that you extend me such grace as I try to figure out who I am as a mother. Thank you for working so hard so that I can be home with Westie and Lily and enduring the "simple" life that that entails (i.e. taping Friday Night Lights on VHS when 90% of of Americans have cable with DVR). This is an exhausting chapter of our lives, but I know that decades from now when our children have left the house we will look back on this time and miss it terribly. It is such a paradox, but in the most chaotic time in my life, I have more peace than I've ever known. Thank you for continuing to lead me down the paths of God's peace.

I'll leave you with a couple of quotes from our recent days of parenting that make me smile (if not almost pee my pants)

Weston (making his cow speak to the donkey): "What's up donk?"

You (before bed one night in reference to Weston's picky attitude about eating): "Do you think kids starving in other countries whine about being hungry?"

With much love from your proud wife :)

Here's a picture of Weston decorating your Father's Day card. He tried to convince me to draw a cow on it, but I refused.

Banana Smoothie

2010-06-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

Weston has not been much for baking with me lately, but he will endure the short time it takes to make a "shnoovie". Here's a new one we tried yesterday. And actually, it's a good one to keep in your back pocket for fall/winter when berries are not in season.

Banana Smoothie

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup crushed ice
1 Tbsp. honey (lightly sweetens, increase according to your sweet tooth)
nutmeg
1 large banana, frozen and sliced (note: freeze with peel off)
1 cup Greek yogurt (we used Trader Joe's Whole Milk European style yogurt)

Blend everything except yogurt until smooth. Add yogurt just until blended.

Then enjoy with your favorite tot.

Liar, Liar Pants on Fire

2010-06-10T18:37:00.000-07:00

As previously told, Lily had quite the little virus two weeks ago that ended in an ear infection. Four days in to the antibiotics she was still refusing to sleep in her crib, waking up every 45 minutes and generally just wanting to be held.

I waited through the weekend and called our pediatrician first thing on Monday morning. I was SURE that she was resistant to the antibiotic and that the infection was not clearing up...what else could be going on?

The verdict? Her ears looked perfect. As did everything else. "Nothing should be bothering her at this point." says Dr. Schmandt.

After keeping me up at all hours of the night and wearing you on me like white on rice, all I have to say to you Lily is "Liar, liar pants on fire!"

"Who me?"

Fun at the Farm

2010-06-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

My talented and dear friend Erin took our pictures at a very fun little farm several weeks ago.

Much to Weston's dismay there were no cows. But it didn't keep him from asking where they were...about every two minutes. Lo and behold, we will find some cows this summer. How dare I take him to a "farm" that had such an obvious oversight?! Nonetheless, his time there was not all for naught since he discovered the TRUE sound a rooster makes. He no longer says a rooster goes "cock-a-doodle-doo", he gives the real life "er,er,er,er,errrrrrrr".

Here are a few of my favorite shots...

I'm not sure if she has any slots left, but check out this blog post for more info on Erin's next farm shoot at the end of this month. You too could master the call of the rooster and land a few sweet pics to boot.

The Gardener

2010-05-28T18:22:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for an attractive gardener who likes to work in minimal clothing, look no further...

He's big on watering. Mainly the same place over and over again until it floods, but he's really cheap. And the cuteness far outweighs his shoddy work.

Since I have a hard time keeping anything of the plant variety alive, I'm putting all my hope in this little guy. I think my begonias will thank me.

Wonder Woman Goes Down

2010-05-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

In Lily's short 15 weeks of life, she has scaled quite a few obstacles. Starting with a serious blood infection and then managing to avoid the cold virus, ear infection, pink eye and nasty stomach virus that have gone through our household. I was beginning to think that she, again, was fighting the warfare of disease when Weston got croup (I think) last week. But at last Wonder Woman has gone down and here she is...

Oh that sad tiny face! She is breaking my heart. She can barely breathe and I've had to feed her breastmilk through a syringe some of the time. Her fever keeps coming back. Her little cry says, "I feel like junk and I don't know why!"

Well Wonder Woman, at least you still have your good looks.