I overheard Sydney talking with another 5 year old friend yesterday:
Sydney: I like your headband!
Friend: Thanks. My mom didn't want me to wear it today. But I whined a lot...then she said I could.
Fast forward to bed time. Sydney asked to finish watching a movie while she had a glass of water before bed. I told her no, it was bedtime, she needed to drink her water and then go brush her teeth. She wouldn't let it go, she kept asking and asking if she could please watch the movie. Tom finally took her to her room and asked why she kept asking after I had already given her an answer. She said that all day when I didn't give her an answer she wanted, if she kept asking, I would then change my mind. Guilty! My will-power was nil yesterday for some reason and I kept giving into her to get her to be quiet.
Lesson learned! These little kids know what's up! They are smarter than we give them credit for. Time for me to tighten up and stick with my first answer!
Random thoughts and pictures of our January
There's no real theme to this post. There were just several cute pictures this month that I wanted to share and new milestones for Austin that I wanted to be sure to record before I forget!
We were playing in the yard the other day when the kids decided to start jumping in piles of leaves. When daddy got home, this is what happened. :) This reminded me of the Trash Heap - any Fraggle Rock fans out there? :)
I attend a bible study at my church on Thursday mornings. This particular week they let Austin in the room with the big kids because they had brought in a lady to do some face painting. I thought that would mean a little soccer ball on his cheek or something, but she actually painted his entire face! I can't believe he let her, but he sure did look adorable!
Here's a shot of Tom and I from a recent date night. He's as bad as the kids, this was probably shot #10 before I could get a straight face from him!
A few weekends ago, our town was having their annual Pigfest. It's a big festival with what seemed like a hundred different BBQ vendors selling their yummy creations. Everyone was talking about going, so we decided to give it a try. The day started with a fight about what Sydney would wear to the pigfest...not a good way to begin. It turned out to be a little crazy to attend something like this with 2 kiddos (for us anyway), but we had some fun moments and really good food before we decided to call it quits. I pulled out my camo pants for the occasion...
Austin was soooo excited to see a real race car. He called it McQueen and would have been happy to spend the entire day there.
We found another one later on in the day. Austin kept feeding his kettle corn to it and continued to call it McQueen. (Notice his camo as well!)
Speaking of McQueen, Austin is OBSESSED with the movie Cars. He asks to watch it daily. When we do watch it, this is usually the scene...his blankie in his lap, a bottle in one hand, and twirling his hair with the other. It's adorable!
We have a whole box full of old match cars that used to be Tom's as a kid. Austin loves them! At any given time, you can find little cars in and under his crib, on most window ledges, on table tops and all over the floor. Again, adorable. :)
This is his face when I said "Austin, smile!"
Austin's vocabulary is really amazing us these days. He repeats almost everything we say. He recognizes and can point out the colors Yellow, Orange, and Purple. He walked up to us the other day with a grapefruit in one hand and an orange in the other. He held up the grapefruit and said "big", and then held up the orange and said "little". We were blown away! Some of his new words and phrases include night, night, orange, cry, milk, I ready, more apple juice please, and yes please.
That's all for now! Happy February everyone!
They're growing up...
Our picnic lunch on the front lawn...
I've had a realization this week, my kids are growing up so fast. I know all parents think this, but it's just such a crazy thing to experience first hand. It hit me the other day that in 2 very short months, Sydney will be turning 5! I still think of her as 2, maybe 3. But she's going to be 5! How is this possible? I have no idea. She can drive me absolutely bonkers sometimes...the main thing we fight about is clothes, what's she's going to wear. She's very particular about how things feel on her. If there's a bump in her sock, or her jeans are too tight or too big, or her shirt is too itchy, she'll want to change. I can't help but wonder what it's going to be like when she's a teenager considering the way I get into it with her over clothes at this age. Lord help me! Besides that, she's such a good kid. She's kind and considerate to her friends (although way too bossy in my opinion). She's so patient and understanding with Austin. Poor girl...he just wants to be with her and do what she's doing and play with the same toy all the time. He doesn't listen worth a dang, so she's the one that ends up having to give up the toy to him. Even when it obviously angers her to have to cater to him, she still does. And she gets just as excited as we do over his little victories...when he is actually the one to share, or he says a new word or phrase, or he learns a new skill. I've been researching kindergarten options for her, very scary for me. I just want to keep her sheltered and safe from all the bad things that are in the world. She has also requested to play soccer, so we're looking into signing her up for a spring season soon. Looking forward to the months ahead, I see nothing but change and new experiences for her. I have a feeling it's going to be emotional and amazing at the same time.
Austin, my not-so-little, not-so-baby baby. He is a MAJOR mamma's boy these days. He calls for me for everything he needs. Ma-i is my name. Even if I'm standing close enough to be touching, if he wants my attention, he yells "Ma-i!" at the top of his longs. It's actually more like "Maaaaaaaa-iiiiii!". And boy oh boy is he stubborn. If he doesn't get his way, he throws a fit...I mean a screaming, arching his back, hitting fit. It can be exhausting to say the least. But on the flip side, when he's sweet, it melts me. I've been fighting the whole clingy trend that has been going on, always trying to figure out a way to "get a break" from him and give Tom a turn. But I made a decision last week to try to embrace it while I can. I'm sure it won't last forever. So for now, when he wants to cuddle on my lap to watch Cars (for the 60th time!), I try to say yes. If he wants me to read to him and put him to bed, to carry him, to play play-doh, I try to put my to-do list aside and do it. Someone was telling me today that they were so sad that their youngest wasn't a baby anymore. I don't feel that way about Austin. I feel like his entire first 15 months or so were just a blur of sleepless nights and tears (his and mine). Now that he's entering the toddler stage, I feel like I'm picking up where we left off with Sydney when we got pregnant with him. I like not being as tied down and being able to do more things with him. I love that he is talking up a storm lately with new words and phrases like "I ok (he said after he fell down tonight), hot dog, apple juice, all done, I hungry, oh geez, sorry sissy (he says this a lot), Ma-i...eyes (this means he has sun in his eyes), candy, and Cars (he asks daily to watch Cars)." His laugh is contagious, and his smile will light up a room.
I am very blessed to be their Mommy. Sometimes I don't always feel that way, but I do know it and am grateful.
October 2010
I mentioned before that Austin was in quite a "mood" for most of September. Things started to get "interesting" with him after he started walking. All of a sudden he was always in Sydney's face....hitting her, throwing toys at her, pulling her hair, even biting her in the butt while she was laying on the couch watching TV. It was NOT a fun few months. For a while I was really worried there was something wrong with him...some kind of development or social issue that made him constantly cry and scream and bite at me and whoever was near him. As I'm writing this in December, he still has his moments, but most of the time he is so sweet and cute and sensitive with me and with Sydney now. I think it was just a faze he went through as he learned more independence and how to be gentle and to share with others.
Moving on to my recap of October...Another fun month! The highlights included a visit from John (Tom's brother), getting to meet his girlfriend Jenny for the first time, my first hog hunt, and of course, Halloween.
John and Jenny came in to town at the beginning of the month for his 20 year high school reunion. Jenny and I really hit it off. We were able to "bond" while going on a hog hunt with the guys (a first for both of us). It was actually pretty fun. We almost got run down by a herd of cattle in the dark and fog of the night. We got lost at least once, and we had to take shelter in the cab of the truck because the grove we were in was spraying chemicals that burned our throats. We did not see any hogs, but we still had fun.
Even after staying up all night in the cold....we still looked pretty good. :)
Our church had a Halloween Festival this year. It was in the middle of a very very hot day. So I simply dressed the kids as Clemson fans. Tom and I wore our Clemson gear as well. These made for good play clothes in the heat.
For Sydney's school party and for trick or treating, we decided to use her butterfly princess costume from last year. We (meaning Tom) sewed black spiders all over the dress to make her a Spider Princess. I even made her a spider hair clip to wear as well.
We went trick or treating with the Legg family from church...the girls had a lot of fun.
One final event in October was a trip with some ladies from church to a farm for at-risk teen girls. All these girls are sent to "the farm" for a minimum of a year to straighten out their lives. It was hard to believe any of the girls had issues. They were all so sweet and so great with all of our kids. They took us on a tour of the farm - which is beautiful - and we ended the night with dessert and pumpkin decorating. I was honestly surprised by how well the evening went and how much of an impact those girls made on me. What a blessing.
September 2010
As I am writing this, it is December 30th. I was doing pretty good about staying caught up with my personal blog and photo albums until October hit. That's when my business gets super busy, so all personal projects come to a griding halt around that time every year. I'm sad that the last entry on this blog was at the end of the summer. We had such a busy fall with lots of activities. So I'm just going to recap each month of the rest of 2010.
In September we were given tickets to see Toy Story 3 on Ice. Several of our friends from church also had tickets, so Sydney and I were able to go and we all sat together. It was so much fun watching her reaction to a show like this...her first.
For Labor Day weekend, my parents were able to come down for a visit. We drove over to the Disney Marketplace and had lunch at the TRex Cafe. So fun! I had seen online that a lot of the dinasours they have on display there move every 20 minutes or so. Well, Sydney had watched the promo video so many times, she knew that too. But when we got there, nothing was moving. So she said something to the waiter about it. He went to check and sure enough, there was something wrong and they fixed it right away.
The day Grandma and Papa left, we decided to take the kids to the Aquarium for the first time. It was soooo crowded, and Austin was in quite the mood (as he often was during that month). The kids had fun once we got to the water park. But Tom and I on the other hand...well, we grabbed a snapshot that expressed our feelings about the outing.
"Who's idea was this?!"
Another event in September included the birth of a litter of 7 puppies (the little white puppy, Snowball, didn't make it past the first week unfortunately). Tom and I were also able to get away for a weekend at the beach. I had one photoshoot while we were there, but the rest of our time was spent relaxing, relaxing, and a little bit more relaxing!
Sydney update - 4 1/2 years old
Sydney never ceases to amaze me these days. First of all she definitely had a growth spurt this summer. Everything is getting too short and too small. She is so articulate, and polite, and thoughtful. She is an incredible big sister, and such a sweet little girl to spend time with. Now don't get me wrong, we have had our moments this summer! Like the time she threw such a fit that lasted so long - Tom put her in the corner and then threw water in her face. That may sound harsh, but trust me, it was the only thing that could be done to snap her out of the tantrum (he learned that trick from Grandmama Dot who did the same thing to his Uncle Barry as a child!). But her "bad" times seem to last for a week or two, and then don't come back for a couple of months. So I really can't complain.
Before we went on vacation in June, Sydney was all about riding her little bike outside. Then being away for 3 weeks I guess broke her of her obsession. Once we got back, she took up drawing. First it was just a bunch of circles, which turned into an ice cream cone or a snow man. Then I started showing her how to draw other things like spiders, butterflies, bicycles. She learned to draw a little stick person of herself, and cotton candy and flowers in pots. She is getting more and more creative and loves to just sit at her little desk and draw, or draw on the portable writing pads in the car. I am so proud of her and am always amazed at what she comes up with. She also learned to write her name this summer. It was something I never thought to teach her until I heard another mom talking about it. I only had to show her once and she knew it.
Also my sister got engaged recently and Sydney is going to be in the wedding with me as a flower girl. She is beyond excited. She has been obsessed with weddings and brides for the past year. So the other day she decided to practice her flower girl skills in our den. She got dressed up in her favorite blankie and princess shoes and was ready to go!
Sydney started preschool last week. I was really torn about this decision. At the end of last school year, I couldn't wait for her to start 5 mornings a week. But then we had such a fun summer together. The thought of her not being around in the mornings at all made me really sad. I started questioning whether we made the right decision, if I was rushing her into school too fast, if I should keep her home this last year before she HAS to go to kindergarden.... I prayed that God would give me a sign that we made the right choice. Well, He answered my prayers! We found a great little school that is 4 mintues from our house. The convenience is unbelievable after driving 25 minutes each way to her old school. She LOVES LOVES LOVES it! Every day when I pick her up, she gets upset because she's not ready to leave yet. She asks to stay for lunch and for the afternoon class. She told me she has so much fun and loves having other kids to play with and that school is more fun than being at home. This attitude may not last, but for now, it's what this momma needed to hear to put all my doubts to rest.
Here she is driving to her first day...
A quick picture with Mommy in the parking lot...
All lined up to go into her new classroom. She never cries, or looks back, or gets upset. She just says "Bye Mommy!" and walks on in. This is a HUGE change from last year where the teacher would have to pry her little fingers off of my arm and drag her away kicking and screaming and crying. Praise God!
We are fam-il-y!
Now that Austin is older, and Sydney has matured a lot this summer, they seem to be getting along and actually play together and having fun together. They make each other laugh...and cry still. But things are finally starting to feel like a new normal. Austin loves spending time with Tom just as much as me now. Sydney is still a Daddy's girl, but she also wants "girl time" with me. It's really nice. We splurged and took the kids to Denny's last week - it was kids eat free night! I put a new outfit on Austin and realized Tom had an almost identical outfit to match. So the boys were twins that night...go Tigers!
Like father like daughter - I tried to get a sweet picture of Sydney and I, and she gave me this face. :)
Austin enjoyed sharing his grapes with Daddy. :)
Tom and I had a "wow" moment that night..."Wow, this is our little family, it's always going to be the 4 of us. WE did this!". :)
And here's proof that the kids are getting along a little better these days, they curled up together to watch a movie. It didn't last long, but it was cute for a moment!
One more...Austin can climb onto the kitchen chairs now (great!). So this morning I let him eat his breakfast next to Sissy.
I love my family!
Gymboree time!
This summer I decided to beat the heat and stay indoors with the kids, so we joined Gymboree. It's a great place for kids to play in air conditioning. We participated in the family classes where they learn, explore, climb and play, and sing songs. We also attended family music class and Sydney joined in on the art classes. We had soooo much fun! I can't wait for next summer to do it again! We made some new friends, and Daddy got to join us on Saturdays.
I was really sad when we stopped going last week, but it was also kinda nice to have the freedom to do other things during the school year, and not feel like we HAVE to be at every class. We also have memberships to the children's museum and the zoo, so we won't be lacking in things to do this year!
Another Austin update!
Here we are, one week shy of Austin turning 16 months old, and I thought it would be a great time for another update. It really is amazing how fast they change and grow these first couple of years. He says so many words now...juice, ice, bye-bye, water, kitty, puppy, and keys. He LOVES seeing big heavy equipment like bulldozers and dump trucks when we're driving around. He calls them "Vroom-vrooms". He is also starting to point out big yellow school buses...which Sydney was obsessed with at this age too. Maybe it's just the color yellow. Who knows, it's cute!
He is quite the little helper around the house. He loves to fill up the cat's food bowl, helps me put laundry in the washer and dryer, helps unload the dishwasher and start the dishwasher. He LOVES putting things in the trash can when we ask him to. Sometimes he puts things in the trash that we don't ask him to as well. Many times I have found an entire stack of new diapers in his trash bucket.
He decided to give up his morning nap the week Sydney started school every morning...of course! But I had a little realization that week, this is finally my opportunity to spend real quality time with just him and me. We can go to the library, feed the ducks, go to the park, do all these fun things that I used to do with Sydney all the time when she was little. For the first time I'm really bonding with just him, and it's kinda nice! Anyway, here are some recent pictures of our little man....
Here's a picture of Austin sitting on his little dump truck watching the men across the street mow our neighbor's yard.
This one is for my Grandma - she bought him this outfit and he wore it to church the other day. So handsome!
I got these two when he was playing peek-a-boo with me at the edge of my desk one morning.
Such a sweet face...
I took these because I was trying to capture his awesome shaggy curls...or wings as we call them. I had to trim his bangs right after this, but we love his blond shagginess and hope to keep this look for a while!
