Liam is Sitting Up

Last week we were at a friends birthday party.  Liam was able to sit unassisted for about 30 seconds.  He smiled and smiled then wobbled over.  I told Kimmie that he would catch on quickly, and he proved me right.  It has only been a week and when he is fussy, you can prop him up on the floor and he will be happy for quite a bit.  He can now sit there for several minutes.  He falls over when he tries to turn around to look behind him, or when he tries to grab something too far out of his reach.  He really does think he is quite smart when he does this.  I am usually sad when he learns how to do something new.  And I am sad for me, but I think this is a really good thing for him.  He can be quite unhappy at times.  He reminds me a lot of Kaytlynn at this age.  She just wasn't happy until she was able to do things herself.  She didn't want to cuddle.  She wanted to play.  I think Liam will be exactly the same.  He likes being independent...I think he will even be happier when he is able to crawl or walk.

He also has cut his 2 bottom teeth.  He was a biter from the time he was born.  People would always ask, "Is he teething?"  I always said no, because my girls were both over a year old when they got their teeth.  But he kept biting and biting and biting.  He bit toys, fingers, pacifiers, boobs, anything he could get near his mouth.  I then thought that we would never know when he was actually teething since he is always so grumpy and because he is always biting.  And that is exactly how it worked out.  Kaytlynn was letting him bite her finger in the car.  She said she felt a tooth.  Then she said she saw one.  I kept asking if she was being silly or funny.  I still doubted her after she said she was telling the truth since she is a little joker.  But when we got home...his little tooth was just coming through the gums.  Very pointy and sharp.  2 days later...he had his second tooth come through.  So he now has his 2 bottom teeth and they are about halfway up.  

We have a jumping toy that is shaped like a horse.  You sit in it and then jump off the floor.  It has bungee cords that make it go up and down and makes cowboy noises.  Liam has sat in it for quite some time, but this past week he has really gotten it down.  He thinks that he is a real Smarty McSmarty when he sits there and jumps.

We are one week away from school being out and boy are we all ready for it!

Mother's Day, Liam's Birth Announcement...And Merry Christmas to you :-)

  I had an amazing Mother's Day yesterday.  The older you get, the more you realize it really is the little things that make you feel special and loved.  Todd let me sleep until 10:30.  That time is unheard of since giving birth to my little Fonzi.  He is still getting up 3 and 4 times a night.  Those numbers paired with getting up at 6 am for work add up to one sleepy mommy.  It was a great present.  I made waffles for the girls while Todd slept for an hour or 2.  Todd asked me what I wanted the girls to get me.  He usually goes with them to pick out some jewelry.  I told him all that I wanted was something homemade...perhaps drawings, colored pages and a hand written card.  But the caveat was that it had to be time consuming.  Well planned and done with love.  They were completely up to the task.  I will attach pictures later, but they colored these mosaic coloring pages and wrote sweet notes to me on the back.  Delaney even wrote me a note in cursive for the first time.  They constantly asked if I needed something to eat or drink.  They didn't argue, or fuss.  It was truly lovely.  Todd is always so busy that he is always behind on his honey do's...so that was his present to me.  He went to the store to pick up groceries, sent off our Christmas cards and Liam's Birth Announcements, and picked those up, went to the mall to pick up a ring I had re-sized, and had the girls pick up around the house.  

I was planning on driving to Denton to surprise my mother and sister for Mother's Day, but my kids all have a small virus.  Nothing big, but the Dr. said they needed to stay home.  So thanks to technology and the fact we bought my mother an I-pad, we all spoke to one another for 3 hours on Facetime.  It was a great time spent talking about nothing specific and full of lots of giggles and laughter.  We don't get to do it often enough.  It was a winning kind of day.  I am so thankful to have these amazing people in my life.  It doesn't go over my head how blessed I am to have these wonderful relationships in my life.  I hope that each of them know how much I love them and what I am willing to do for them.  All I can say is God is so good to me.


So Liam is now 5 months old...almost 6, but lets not think about that sadness!...And you just read the fact that we just had the kids Christmas picture and Liam's birth announcement printed.  Sad, I know.  But I'm so tired that my tired is tired.  I've signed the back of the Christmas cards  "Merry Christmas in May from the mother of a newborn"  I am hoping it brings a smile to everyone and that they really do believe the old adage, "Better late than never".

I wrote thank you notes on the back of Liam's birth announcements...so it was a 2 for one deal.  Everyone at work loved them.  They are almost as cute as he is!

To whom it may concern:

So I have been terrible with keeping up with this blog.  It is mainly for me to look back on and laugh, so I guess, I have just let myself down.  But I needed to make this post because I actually thought to do it, but its been so long that blogger changed some things (due to spring i s d changing its email and messing things up).  After a lot of anxiety on my part, and a lot of work on Todd, the amazing IT guy here at the house, I am off to the races.

So you know you might be an English teacher at heart when your daughter asks if my friend Stacy was married yet.  I said yes.  Kaytlynn looks at me with happy eyes and says " To whom?"  I gasped...with pride :-) My little rock star at the age of 10 strutting her stuff and not even knowing it!  How I love that girl.  

Its 11:00 and I'm off to watch an episode of Downton Abbey.   It is Todd's and my new show.

3 Years of No Blogging...

Sooooo much can happen in 3 years.  I'm pretty sad and disappointed I haven't blogged more.  A ton of things have come and gone in the past 3 years and due to not blogging, I know I won't remember most of them.  I plan on going back to highlight some things that have happened that I still remember, but I can only do so much.  Blogger changed and with that so did my account.  Todd set up a new email and then forgot which one it was.  I was blocked out.  He put off figuring out and telling me what the code was until last year.  He wrote all the info on a post it note and placed it on the wall in the study.  When we repainted that wall in the fall...we don't know what happened to the sticky note...so I was stuck in the same position of not knowing the account information I needed to know.  But now I am back on track...lets see how long I can keep it up.

A lot of things have stayed the same...

We are still in the same house in Spring.  

Todd is still working at DHL, though he is now in a new position as a Key Account Manager, working exclusively with Baker Oil.  

I am still working as a part time librarian and a full time homeschooler.

My girls are still the light of my life.

We still attend Spring Baptist Church and go to Denton to visit my parents when we can. Todd still drives his Toyota Corolla and wishes he could play golf more. I still read and cross stitch.  The girls still play their instruments.  They still love riding bikes in the cul-de-sac with the Crenshaws.  They still giggle and play with each other and are still each others best friend.  

But a lot has changed.  Anyone that knows me, knows I have a heck of a time with change.  

 We have repainted almost the entire house.  

Todd and I have now entered our 5th decade.  We both turned 40 last year and yes...we feel it :-)

I had to get a new car...and boy was it an escapade.

My parents retired.

My sister got really sick.

I lost a favorite cousin of mine,  Buddy Canady.

We've gone on some fun road trips and learned how to jet ski.

My Father in Law got an autoimmune disease.

 Kaytlynn is now 12, and Delaney is right behind her at 11.  In that amount of time...both kids have gone from being in single digits, to being tweens.  it has truly thrown us for a loop.  They text with friends on their I-Touches.  They have sleep overs.  They listen to music constantly...changing their "favorite songs" each month...and playing them over and over again on a loop until something new finally gets their attention.  They are now in gymnastics. They go to Cotillions and Sock Hops and chess club and keep us in the car more often than not with their social activities. And talk about cute boys...Well, Kaytlynn does.  Delaney just giggles.  But still ... How the hell did that happen?  They both became Christians to our delight and great joy!  And perhaps the biggest change of all... they both became big sisters!!! 

That's right.  Todd and I had our sweet son, Liam.  I can't type out the changes he has brought.  Well, I can and will write about some of them...but there just aren't enough words or time to tell of everything he has brought into our lives.  But we are so happy he is here.

So the changes have been good...and bad.  I will do my best to revisit some of them.  

Ill close by saying my goal is to write at least once a week!  Until then...

I 

I'm a Little Horse...

Todd told the girls to pick up some trash on the floor beneath the kitchen table. They get down there and quite quickly gets off task. Always the pretenders, you hear Delaney whisper to Kaytlynn...

"Kaytlynn, I am a little horse and they call me, ummm, they call me, .....Phantom because I can be quite scary.

Nursing Home visit...

As a child, I loved going to this sad little nursing home in Porter. We would go for lots of reasons...with my mom and as a church. My favorite was handing out Halloween candy in our costumes.

The girls are in choir and they have visited a local nursing home twice to sing with the church children's choir. They love doing it.

Today, I took the girls to a nursing home in Conroe. Kaytlynn's violin teacher got her students together to perform for everyone. It was Kaytlynn's first time to perform before an audience. She played Angels We Have Heard On High. She was so nervous but did such a good job! I was so proud of her but more importantly, she was proud of herself! Kaytlynn has become so shy lately that you never know how she is going to respond, but she just glowed. I am so thankful we have been blessed enough to put her in violin! Hoping it pulls her out of her shell.

Delaney also got to play her piano for her first time in front of an audience. She played Silent Night. She is really starting to do a great job! Same as Kaytlynn...glad this will give her a chance to shine :-)

Kaytlynn's Humor...

I hate the girls growing, but each year they grow more into who they will be. Kaytlynn...will be funny. She absolutely loves corny jokes! Her 2 newest that she loves to share.

"They need to come up with a new HAM. They can call it Abraham!

"What is a hip hop person's favorite city. TokYO. Get it....YO...I like Tokyo...hehehe"

Music Lessons...

I have signed the girls up for music lessons. They are soooo excited. Kaytlynn has wanted to play the violin for a good year now and Delaney has wanted to play the piano. I have put it off for 2 reasons....a little bit because of money, but mainly, because I wanted to see if their desire would wear off. It didn't so they will start taking them at a place called 7 acre woods on Saturdays as soon as we get all of their books in that we have ordered.

The moment I knew I needed a violin, I called my friend Howie. He runs a music store in Porter and we were in choir together back in high school. He is the most talented musician I've ever known...playing anything that you can blow or strum. We went by his place and bought a 1/4 sized violin. Kaytlynn has thought it was the neatest thing since sliced bread!

Delaney and Kaytlynn outside Andrew's Music in Porter

Kaytlynn being fitted for the right size violin

Howie and Kaytlynn after our purchase! She was truly walking on sunshine!

Fancy Restaurants ...

We don't take the girls out to eat often. They get really excited when life gets too busy and we go to Denny's for Kids Eat Free! Evidently, when my kids went to stay at my sister's house, they got to have the honor of going to CiCi's Pizza. For those of you that are not familiar with CiCi's Pizza, it is a buffet pizza joint where you get all you can eat bread, pizza, and dessert for 5 bucks. In other words...its a dive.

They had been asking us to take them all week. I had told the girls that I didn't know where a Cici's Pizza was and that was the truth...but I hadn't actually been looking for one either. My mom needed to go to Walgreen's for something and Delaney chose to go with her. Lo and Behold...CiCi's was practically right next door. Clueless Delaney found it...how she can find that and not her hair brush or shoes, Ill never know. But find it she did. She then preceded to tell us that we needed to go. That we could go to a Fancy place and eat Fancy food and have great time. So we did. Both girls had a great time while my mom and I chit chatted. Delaney ate 4 plates full of food! And to top it off, there was a balloonist there, so we left with a sword for Kaytlynn and a Butterfly for Delaney. Don't you just love how simple things delight children. I wish it did the same for me...Life would be so much easier!

We ate Fancy...cause that's how we roll :-)

I'm a Bad Blogger!

I can not believe that I have not blogged in 3 months! I guess summer came and I got busy thinking of other things. I am going to try to not do this again...but who knows. I want to remember this part of my life so much because I enjoy where my kids are right now...but between homeschooling the girls, being a librarian, wife and mother...I get busy living it, rather than writing about it.

My mom just left after staying 5 days with us. That HAS to be a new record. She just got back from helping her sister, Aunt Barbara, out after having surgery on her neck.

It was a good visit...full of lots of swimming. My mom is WAYYY better at being nice than I am. I don't take them swimming near as often as I want to...mainly because I am sooo tired the next day. My mom takes them swimming every night whether we are at her house or mine, unless it rains. She says it makes her feel refreshed. I don't know what that is about, but I want some "refreshment" too.

The girls are also big into Go Fish right now. Except, when they don't have the card you are asking for they say "Gold Fish". So we played several games of Go Fish this past week.

Kaytlynn's First Pinewood Derby

Kaytlynn is in AWANA at Spring Baptist and each year the T and T kids (ages 8-12) have a Pinewood Derby race. The kids are basically given a block of wood, 4 separate wheels and told to shape it into a car. You hope in the end that your car either makes it first to the finish line, looks really good, or both :-) Kaytlynn is really into Star Wars, so that is the theme she used for her car. Todd searched all over the internet and I grabbed a few books on the cars for ideas. She did everything herself that she possibly could....right down to using the drill! Todds dad used his saw to cut it in the shape she chose. For design she chose black with sparkly glitter. She cut out her favorite star wars pictures and adhered them, and the end result looked really good. She competed against about 40 cars. There are 4 lanes on the ramp and they give your car a turn on each lane...she won all 4 heats! Then the top 4 cars race again and she won that too. We have been calling her speed racer ever since. She was able to bring Kayla Green to the race and Delaney, Kaytlynn and Kayla were so excited with each race that they would hold hands, scream and jump up and down. It was a great night. I think Kaytlynn's favorite thing about it was that she received her 1st trophy and she is quick to tell people that too! Love my baby girl and so proud of and for her.

Delaney's Daughters...

When Delaney was little she would tell people she was going to have a pink baby and her name would be Cocoa Calypso.

Delaney has grown and matured. Now she knows that she isn't pregnant yet...but that she will be one day. She knows she won't have a pink baby and she knows Cocoa Calypso is not a great name. She chose 2 much more appropriate names for when she has 2 daughters. Betty White and Josephina.

Here is to hoping for a very open minded future husband.

Mexican Delaney...

Delaney has decided she wants to be a Mexican when she gets older. I tried to explain what a Mexican was; she didn't get it :-) I asked if she knew any Mexicans. The obvious ones would be Mrs. Carmen or Chris Gonzales, but no. She chose Mrs. Kim. Blue eyed, strawberry red haired, Irish skinned Kimmie.

Each day she asks if her outfit looks Mexican, she lives on tortillas, and now wants the American Girl doll Josephina.

Its one of those times where the age old Motto "you can be ANYTHING you want to be" just ISN'T true.

Spring Break...San Antonio

For Spring Break we headed over to San Antonio. Todd took the week off, so it really was a nice little vacation. We stayed with Cousin Buddy and Nancy. They have a house that is less than 30 minutes from Fiesta Texas, Sea World and most other S.A. attractions, so its free and convenient. Their pool is larger than most the ones at most hotels isn't bad in the kids eyes either!

The first night there we played spades. We always try to play a few games when we go to visit. They play with domino cards. Ive never seen them anywhere but there, but they work out quite nicely with Buddy's shaking hands. I am not used to using them...and I set them up to far from the edge, so that the people on my left and right have a perfect view of my hand.

We took the girls to Natural Bridge Caverns. They had never been to the cave and it had been a good 20 years since I had. It is as cool as I remember it. We enjoyed looking at the stalagmites and stalactites. ...A cool way to remember which is which...a stalagmite MIGHT reach the ceiling. A stalactite has to hold on TIGHT to the ceiling or it will fall.

We went to Fiesta Texas the next 2 evenings. We like to go in the evenings because it is cooler, less crowded and is so pretty with all the lights. The girls favorite ride is still the swings. It seems like yesterday that they were babies on the swings and they would go to sleep riding it! They also really enjoyed the musical shows. I am sure we will go back a couple more times because we bought season passes.

The girls also wanted to go eat at the Magic Time Machine. We had Ace Ventura as our waiter and he did an EXCELLENT job. The food and fun there is hard to beat.

Kaytlynn and Delaney felt the need to swim twice while we were there too. The water was in the 50s, so they didn't last that long, but had a ball while we were there.

Todd did some honey-dos around the house, and I am so grateful that he was willing and able to do them. Most guys wouldn't find it alluring to replace lights, fix doors, and put stuff up in the attic on their precious vacation time, but he did it with a smile and they truly appreciated the jobs being done.

We got home and needed a vacation from our vacation, but it was definitely worth it.