Taylie

I know that I am way behind on posting. Part of being behind is realizing that you are behind and how much you have to do to catch up, and it is overwhelming. What started it in the first place is realizing that my baby girl is 4! I have had a really hard time squaring with the idea that she is already 4. I mean, I can still count 3 years old as a toddler or even my baby still, but now she is a preschooler. A horribly independent preschooler who rarely needs me for anything more than filling up her sippy cup (because she tried that herself and found hot water, now she just leaves that to me) and zipping up her coat (mostly because I haven't let her try it herself). She is just growing so fast and it stinks. But let me tell you about my little baby girl...

• First of all, anybody who has met Tay knows that she just has this horribly cute personality that will pretty much make everyone love her, and they don't really have a say in it. It is like her own gravitational pull.
  
• She has this incredible zest for life that causes me headaches now and leaves me drop dead tired at the end of the day, but I honestly hope that she never looses it and is able to carry it with her the rest of her life.
  
• Taylie is incredibly curious and even though she seems to not be paying attention, seems to hear everything.
  
• Me and the Dr. are keeping a close eye on her for ADHD. It is either that or she is just really that busy....*sigh*
  
• She does an amazing job taking care of her brother, even when he is being a ginormous turd.
  
• She loves to help with e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. Sometimes it is great, I found that she has cleaned my room one day and made my bed because she "wubs me".
  
• She has started preschool and loves it. I am super surprised she hasn't been kicked out for non-conformity, she must have sucked the teachers into that force field I was telling you about...
• Taylie has also become very vocal about her feelings, which is great, until the 2456987th time in a day that I get told that I hurt her feelings for telling her that she can't eat marshmallows in her spaghetti.
• Taylie prefers things messy while Lucas prefers things clean, it makes life more interesting now that they are sharing a room... against her will. I think she does it to tick him off...(Have I mentioned that? I will post on it sometime)
• Taylie has made it very clear that she does not want the new baby to be a boy or a girl but that it better be a puppy she can play with. She is adamant about it being a dog. Still not sure how she will handle that disappointment. (I am sure you know I am pregnant. No? I will post on it sometime.)
• She occasionally thinks she is Taylor Swift
• I love her oh-so-much sometimes
  I can't even believe it

I would tell you that we had a way fun special day for her birthday, which we did, but I am sure to her it was just another day of the awesomeness which is her life. She actually ended up being sick the day of her birthday so she had to miss preschool. That was sad. Being able to open up presents right after breakfast made up for it. What can I say, Jake and I are huge suckers for that girl. Mostly me.

She got a pretty awesome painting set that came with 3 colors of paints, and brushes, and sponges, and a smock and some monster-huge painting paper. (Just because the paper is big doesn't help keep the paint off the table any better, just so you know...) Besides the paint being really smelly, like, worse than old old old man cologne it was very fun. They spent a good part of the morning painting. I figured we couldn't have too much fun ;) because there were still lots of presents coming later that day so I hid her Play-dough factory that she had gotten too. We play with it now numerous times a week. I can't wait till it gets forgotten about and dries up and ends up in my trash. I hate that smelly goopy gunk.

I have let the kids pick out their birthday cakes ever since their 2nd birthday and this year she picked out Nemo to be the theme of her cake. I thought it was totally cute until I realized that the toys on top are actually squirt guns. Stupid Walmart, you should give parents a warning about that type of thing!

Luke was super jealous that he couldn't have the toys, so in a pure Lucas-act of revenge, he got his Woody and Buzz toys from his cake two weeks before and put them on top of his personal piece of cake. Then he pointed out that he wasn't going to share. That is one of the best things about Taylie, she doesn't care!

He didn't want to eat any more because he didn't like being messy...

It must be wonderful to be Taylie :)

For the rest of the evening everybody came over and spoiled her rotten with tons of presents. She spent some time playing with her toys with everyone and pretty much just enjoying being the center of attention and being loved by everyone who wanted to love her! We had a very fun day and she loves to tell everybody that she is now "4 years older up" while she shows them 3 fingers. Good thing she still has another year of preschool. :)

Her stats at the 4 year check up:
Height: about 45" tall
Weight: 39-41 lbs

Luke

I meant to post this closer to your birthday, but I was a little busy trying to keep up with you!

You sure have changed A LOT in this last year! You have gone from a little baby boy to an active little toddler. You are stubborn and a cuddle bug, loud and dramatic, loving and a beast all at the same time. I couldn't imagine you any other way. :)

You are a total sugar fiend and addicted to juice. We had to make you quit the habit and while you went through withdrawals you acted like a rabid wolverine, but you now have an intense relationship with strawberry milk.

Your sister is your best friend and you act as though you have never met anyone cooler in your short little life. You are now big enough that you do not take ANY crap from her at all. In the above picture, you decided to tackle her to the ground just because you can. The exact opposite of this behavior has also come out in you this year. You have a huge love of babies and anything that has to do with them. Aunt Becca brought over a baby doll for Taylie to play with and you stole it from her and have taken care of it ever since. You make sure she is tucked in bed every night with her blanket and love to push her in a stroller. You are a very sensitive little boy, but you are very much all boy!

Your newest task that you have decided to take on all by yourself is potty training!

You decided of your own free will to try and use the potty whenever you have to go. You are doing amazingly well! Today you tried underpants for the first time and was pretty bothered when you couldn't wear 2 pair at one time. The other pair ended up on your head and you have been as happy as a clam.

We love you and you add so much excitement to our family! We know that you will do something to make us laugh everyday. Whether you send Taylie to the corner (and she actually goes!) or hide in my room to scare me next time I happen to walk in, you constantly keep me on my toes. I love you my little Lukie Boo!

Luke's 2 year stats:

Height: 34.5 in
Weight: 36 lbs
Head: BIG!

Stanley

This is Stanley. Or better said, this is what Stanley used to look like. Taylie got him when she was 4 months old and he has been her special pal ever since.

Stanley has lived a very active life belonging to Taylie. He now looks like this:

I know, right? The poor thing. He has been on many adventures with the family and I am sure plenty of things have happened to him that I just care to not know about. The poor thing hasn't been washed in months, but I feel bad to push too hard because he looks like any day he may loose and arm, but I really want to try and get that permanent marker off his face.

I post this because I have been on a quest for several months now to find, not a replacement Stanley...okay I guess that is what it is. I mean, he is just so...anyway. I came super close to finding one at the IHop, but he was brown. Close, but not quite.

I had a huge breakthrough when I found the exact one I had been looking for! Thank you Amazon.com! Oh, but wait, they only wanted $68.95 for him! Um, what?! Yeah, thanks but no thanks.

So I post this out of desperation. If anybody comes across this cute little pink monkey who we call Stanley, would you PLEASE let me know!? I will pay for it and pay for it to be shipped if that is what it takes. I am wanting to keep this in the $10-15 range if possible. Still an outrageous price to pay just for a lovey, but you do what you gotta do.

Until a reasonable price can be found, my quest continues!

MY pre-school homework!

Having to do little projects like this for Taylie really is a HUGE reminder of how fast my little girl is growing up. For starters, she is in pre-school! That is craziness all in its own element and then when I have to do projects like this for her to take to school is makes me want to cry and get my little baby girl back. But then I think of how much fun it is to have her help me with these things and get to learn stuff about her.

Take a look at what we did this afternoon:

Up until 3 hours ago, I was under the impression that her favorite color was pink! Who knew it was red?! Certainly not me. I am super scared to see how fast the rest of these few short year will fly but I am excited to see the ways that she will change and evolve.

snow day

We finally got that snow that we have been hearing so much about. Nothing ever came of that huge blizzard that we were supposed to get, it rustled some leaves around, but that is about it. When we woke up to snow this morning, the kids were dying to go out immediately! We managed to get some breakfast in them and throw them into some warm clothes before they ran out in their jammies.

Taylie was all for exploring and seeing what she could and couldn't do in the snow:

Luke was outside for about 97 seconds before he fell down, started crying, and waving his hands around saying "eeeeewwwww!" He pretty much sat and cried most of the time, but didn't want to go inside.

He tried digging in the snow with a shovel a bit...

...but decided to go back to crying.

Taylie learned quick how to throw a snowball. I, of course, threw snow right back at her. It made Luke giggle as long as it was not tossed in his direction.

when I decided to try hiding behind Luke to avoid snowballs...

...Luke cried, but didn't want to go inside.
This pretty much shows the profound difference in my 2 kiddos

Luke bummed out after we went out back and played on the swings. I had to carry him for him to agree to go anywhere besides the front steps. We went out back and played on the swings and then he was ready to go in. Dad helped get him in and all warmed up while Taylie and I played for a bit longer.

This video cracks me up. She tried to throw a snowball at me, and as I try to run away, she scolds me.

I also love the part where she gets hair in her mouth! So funny!

Finding pre-formed snowballs made by the snowplow. What a cheater.

After she got a bit of snow down the back of her collar, she decided that she was done :)

We came in a had hot showers and then I made hot chocolate, which was a huge hit. Imagine how awesome I would be if I put marshmallows in them...I would be their hero!

We had a really fun morning and a relaxing afternoon! I love being able to play with my kiddos and that they still enjoy having me around.

Let it snow!

I have changed my background early for 2 reasons:
1) We are getting a MAJOR blizzard this afternoon
and
2)I am just way stoked for Christmas!

Hope y'all dig it.

Happy 2nd Birthday Lucas!

On Friday the 19th my little baby turned 2! I cannot believe how fast the last 2 years have gone. Sometimes, it felt like it would last forever, but for the most part, he has been a happy little boy.

So, look at this picture and see if you can guess why he is SO happy?

Answer: He snooped in my closet and found his birthday present 2 days early
That is bound to make anybody happy, right?

Jacob got to do the honors of setting it up while the kids were trying to crawl through it because they were so excited to play in it. (you will totally notice a theme running through his birthday this year...)

This is what they spent most of Wednesday doing:

this picture with the 2 little booties sticking out is one of my favorites!

The cake (do you see the pattern yet?)

The day of his birthday we went and partied at Grandma Brooks' house. Luke really wanted pizza for his birthday dinner so Grandma made him homemade pizza! It was so yummy and he inhaled 2 full pieces.

While the pizza was cooking, Grandma gave him his birthday present which is:

Cowboy boots that look just like Woody's from Toy Story, but they are slippers! Then, to spoil him even further, she stuffed a pack of M&Ms in one boot and some balloons in the other. So pretty much his two favorite things stuffed in the cutest little boots ever.
(do you see the theme yet? It is right there...)

He tried to blow up his own balloon and it was hilarious!

Homemade Pizza!

My little squishy boy with his birthday cake

I was so impressed when he was able to blow out his own candle without spitting on it! To this day, Taylie has still not figured out how to blow out a candle.

and this funny face is what he pulled when everybody started singing "Happy Birthday!" to Luke. It kind of freaked him out. :)

He thought it was a much better idea to use Buzz Lightyear to scrap the frosting off his cake and eat it that way then to use a fork.

After the festivities, we went home and he put on the boots and spent the rest of the night playing with the Buzz Lightyear space ship that Grandpa and Grandma S. got him for his birthday! He has a wonderful birthday and it even carried over to the next day. Grandpa Jon and Grandma Karen came over Saturday evening to visit him and they brought him a Tricycle!
I will post some more pictures when I get them.

So, that is my birthday boy. All grown up at the age of 2.

I think he is going to be one of those kids who is just an old soul. He is a very serious boy who is not into may frivolous things. He has those times where he likes to play and giggle hard, but overall he is...serious. That is really the only way to put it! Very careful about everything and loves his little routines and pretty much likes to do the same thing in any given situation. He totally cracks me up!

I love my little Lukie bear! He goes in for his 2 year check next week and I will post more about his little personality then!

Kidism

(after the 4th time Taylie has emerged from her room during rest time, which included waking me up twice)...
Me: "If you come out again I am taking your toys away for the rest of the day!"
(63 seconds later)...
Taylie: "Mom, I want-"
Me: "Okay, I am going to pack up your toys right now!"
(4 minutes later)
Taylie: "Mom, thanks for cleaning my room. Now I don't have to do it!"


This is one of those lessons I do not think will be making much of an impact.

I heart SpaceBags!

I love them!

I have always wanted to try them, but not willing to spend the money in case they didn't work. After testimonials from 2 of my best friends (including the phrase "the medium sized ones are crap!") I tried them. I fell in love with my newest organizational tool.

Here is a Jumbo size bag that claims to hold 2 queen sized comforters and 4 pillows. I took two of my biggest King sized comforters and crammed them in, zipped it up and sucked out the air.

Before:

After:

*cue angels singing*

My closets are in for a brand new makeover! If anyone wants to know what to get me for Christmas, go for SpaceBags.

that's my boy!

He never fails to make my jaw drop!