Snip-its

Last Friday Mrs. Denhart, the school principal, asked if anyone wanted to close chapel in prayer. Sean raised his hand & volunteered. His teacher, Mrs. Langlands, texted me and said, "Mrs. Denhart selected Sean to close chapel with prayer. You would have been so proud of him! You are raising a fine young man!". How cool is that? Sean & I have really been butting heads lately. He snaps at us a lot or gets an attitude. But, it's a phase. He doesn't always make good choices, but a lot of times he does. He's a good kid. He's smart & kind & loving & I guess outgoing. ;) I love him. Evie's current favorite song from church is "Boom-chaka-laka". During the song, they list the fruits of the spirit. It's not a part that Evie usually sings for me, so I had no idea she knew it. I started singing, "Love..." and she continued "joy, peace, patience, gentlemen...". :) Gentleness, gentlemen...whatever! She never ceases to amaze me. She knows a lot of songs and memorizes a lot of lyrics, but it blew me away when she started singing words like "patience". :) Ally Joy is officially walking! Our youngest walker. 10 1/2 months and even though she looks like Franken-baby when she walks, she's taking 8-10 steps at a time. I'd say that's walking! She's so smart too. Blows us a way with what she comprehends & tries to say. God is so good...

Poor Ally

Her life will be documented in 4 month increments! This is pitiful. But, although I've thought of just quitting all together, I'm not. So, at least something will be documented. We had an awesome time celebrating the holidays with family & friends. We hosted a trunk for New Baltimore's Trunk or Treat with our church. For late October, the weather was perfect. 40s & clear. Evie was Jo Jo & Sean was a doggie bag. We went to Uncle Mike's & Aunt Nicole's on Halloween. It was cold & rainy, but that didn't stop us (mostly Sean) from trick or treating. Ally & Evie were lady bugs & Sean was a doggy bag again. I guess the costume doesn't matter as much if you're a boy & you're older. :) Daddy started having back problems on 11/02 and after almost 2 weeks of ER, urgent care, & hospital visits he had surgery on 11/15. The hardest part of all of it was the time before the surgery. We are SO thankful for our parents. Each & every one of them. Without their help, I'm not sure what I would've done for those 2 weeks. Knowing the kids could be with them enabled me to be with Jason & we are so thankful for that! We loved having him home with us for 7 weeks, especially over Christmas & New Years. We celebrated Thanksgiving at Grandma & Puppa's & thanks to Aunt Mary's galbladder surgery, they were able to join us. Nolan & Ally got to enjoy some Thanksgiving side dish favorites for the first time. Broccoli bake, stuffing, sweet potatoes...mmmmm. Forget the turkey! We got to have 2 pizza parties with santa this year. One on 11/24 with Grandma & all of the cousins on mommy's side and one on 11/30 with Connor & Ella. Evie worried us, because at the VERY beginning, she wanted me to hold her & didn't want much to do with santa. But, that changed quick. She kept calling him "Christmas" and saying "Christmas says ho ho ho!". It's like they were old buddies. Ally wasn't having it at all. We had to trick her by getting pictures of the kids with santa behind them. We had Christmas parties with Aunt Pam & her family, Aunt Sally & her family and then we spent Christmas Eve with at Grandma & Puppa's where we got to see lots of family. Christmas day was the usual routine (well, not for Ally...it was her first!). We left cookies & carrots for Santa and his reindeer, along with a note. When we woke up, the kids were excited to see the empty plate & a reply from santa. Sean & Evie got bunk beds this year from us & Sean was promised special presents if he slept in his own bed, in his room for the week leading up to Christmas. He did, so he got his own tv & a light saber room light. That boy has an awesome set up!! Grandma & Puppa came over to see the kids open presents. We followed that with breakfast at Grandpa Larry's & Grandma Sue's with them, Grandpa Jim & Uncle Scott. We went home, took naps & finished the day with presents with Grandpa Jim & dinner at Big Jack's BBQ. :) Christmas wasn't over yet. We celebrated after Christmas with Aunt Susie & her family & then on New Year's eve with mommy's family because Aunt Mary, Uncle Scott & Nolan were able to be here then. Without a doubt, our family is loved, cared for & blessed! Sean... Sean is doing great in school. I love his teacher, because I know she cares about him & she communicates with me. Sean still loves making his friends laugh, but he mangages to stay on "ready to learn" each day. The other day he was on "excellent effort", which he was VERY proud of. :) His teacher told me she can trust Sean in all different situations & she wishes she had 10 more Seans in her class. :) He's gotten a little sassy, snappy & attitudinal, which I never thought my sweet little boy would get. We're working on that and as long as that side shows with us & not other adults, I guess we can deal with it. If I hear of him snapping at or getting an attitude with his teacher or another adult, I may have to beat him. ;) I am so proud of Sean for how well he's doing with sleeping all night in his bed, well, some nights. I wasn't sure how the transition would go, but he's done so well. We leave a night light on & soft music playing. As always, Sean likes to stay busy all the time. Naps are not an option, down time of any kind is not an option, etc. He got to go to his first Monster Truck Jam on 01/12/13 with Daddy, Grandpa Jim & Connor. He loved it. He likes to stay busy! He lost his first tooth on 12/15/12 & it was LONG overdue. The tooth fairy did not disappoint either. She left him $3 that night & he was super excited. He has another loose tooth that should fall out any time now. We know he's about to lose a tooth, because the adult tooth gets impatient & starts coming in behind the baby one. :) He's doing really well in karate. We've seen a real improvement in his coordination & running. His gym teacher had him demonstrate how to do push-ups & told the rest of the class to watch. He was so proud! He scored at the National Physical Award level which means that he performed above the 50th percentile on all 5 activities tested. We recently had to gather some pictures for a time line project at school. I loved looking at little baby Seany pictures, because he's growing up so fast. Evie... This little girl keeps us laughing all the time. She's so smart & so funny & so stinkin' cute. She often makes you feel good when you give her something or do something for her because she'll say, "Thank you, this is the best ____ EVER!!!". I love listening to her pray. For awhile, her prayer was about loading the van after a Christmas party & would go something like, "Dear God, thank you for everything we packed in the van and everything we put in the van so it not be stinky. Amen!". :) Recently, after a trip to Kroger with Daddy, it became a list of things they bought at the "supermarket". You just never know what's going to come out of her mouth next. Yesterday she told me that her life was making her angry. She's always called me "mumma" or "mommy" but lately, it's been "momma" with almost a southern twang. Who knows... If Evie likes what I've made to eat, she'll say, "This is a great Christmas dinner." She finds ways to atagonize her brother. I wish he could just turn it off, but no, they usually end up bickering. The other day I heard Evie scream from the back seat. I asked what was wrong & she said, "Sean was looking at me". To which he replied, "Well, you looked at me first!". Really? Already?!?! Of course her spunk & stubborness has it's downfalls, but I'm hoping we can nurture & direct these qualities in her because they have great potential!! Speaking of stubborn, we've been working on potty training since just after Christmas. Some rewards or incentives worked briefly, but usually by mid-day, she was over it and would start going in her diaper/pull-up the rest of the day. For example, we made a sticker chart & she LOVED getting stickers for going on the potty, for a few hours. After that, she'd say, "That's ok, I don't need anymore stickers." But, over the last 2 weeks, something clicked & she's doing great. We average one accident a day. She's doing great! Evie got to go to Elmo Live with me, Aunt Annette & Ella on 02/01. She loved the idea of it. We had lots of fun getting ready for it and spending all the money her grandparents sent her with. But, after the first half of the show, she was done. Maybe we'll try a matinee some time. She also got to go to the Princess Ball on 02/16. After a rocky start - waking up from a really short nap in the car, walking in a blizzard & standing in line for an hour - we had a blast. She loved the show & meeting the princesses. Definitely worth it! Looking forward to going next year. Ally... 4 months is way too long to go with out an update when you're only 10 months old! In November, at 6 months, she had her first tooth on the bottom & a 2nd popped up right next to it almost immediately. No more teeth yet, but I really love that "rugrat" smile she has with just the two teeth. She started with saying "mumma" and "dadda" around 6 months and now, she tries to say everything. We joke that she says dadda when she's happy & mumma when she's mad. She says "grandpa", "puppa", "spongebob", "puppy", "bubba", "baby". They sound very similar, but she'll see spongebob on tv, point to it & say, "spongebob". She'll see grandpa or puppa walking up to the house and she'll point out the window & say "grandpa" or "puppa". She waves to herself (or Nolan) and says "hi beh-beh". Last night while doing face time with grandma, she tried to say "grandma". We say, where's Elmo? She looks for the Elmo balloon Evie got & tries to say "Elmo". She does more & thank you in sign language. Her "more" is the cutest thing ever. She takes her little index finger & points to the inside of her other hand. Amazing. She's been crawling since the fall, our youngest crawler. Her crawl is almost a cross between Sean & Evie's. She crawls with her butt in the air, using her hands & feet. She has great balance & can stand without using something to pull herself up. She usually goes to a stand from her signature "sumo" squat. She's taken a step here & there, but no walking yet. She loves to eat, mostly big kid food. No more of that baby stuff. Although a nice warm bubba seems to take all her cares away. She's very stubborn & does what she has to do to get her way. I seem to bring out the whine in her more than anybody. She loves Sean & Evie, but Seany makes her SO happy. Evie & her bicker & usually seem to want the same things. It's only the beginning... We have so much to look forward to in the next 2 months. We're going to see Veggie Tales Live on 03/23. Easter is 03/31. Ally & Nolan's 1st Birthday party is 04/13 and we're going to Disney World on 04/20!!! We are so blessed as a family. So thankful for everything & each other. :)

Ooops I did it again...

I always think I'm going to update this regularly. I really do have the best of intentions. Before I know it, 2 months have gone by & that really is too long to wait, especially with a baby. Our Pennsylvania trip was awesome. We enjoyed our yearly visit with family & even got to see my friend Cathy & her boys for a day. All of the kids got along & I enjoyed catching up with her. She lives too far away. :( Sue's Uncle Frankie passed away this past Saturday morning, so our visit with them has even more sentimental value now. Our thoughts & prayers are with Aunt Mary & their boys. Sean & Evie had a great time at Living Treasures & Idlewild. They're at the perfect ages for a vacation like that. Evie loved feeding the kangaroos & telling the piggies to stay far away from the wolves. Ally did remarkably well for a 4 month old on vacation. She hated driving, but we found that she did great if I sat in the back with her. If only we had known that on the way there! Sean started 1st grade on 09/04. Daddy just went to the first parent teacher conference last week & Mrs. Langlands said Sean is a wonderful boy. Surprise! ;) He's doing great & reading at an above average level. He's at a level H and needs to be at an L for 2nd grade. So, to be that high this early in the school year is a great thing! We need to work on keeping the sillies out of class & writing our "p"s, "q"s, "b"s & "d"s without transposing them. We celebrated Sean's 6th birthday on 09/12. His teacher put together a book of notes from his classmates for his birthday. Most of the notes said, "you're funny" or "you're a clown". He loves making his friends laugh! Hmmm, sounds familiar... Sean started karate on 10/03. We make it a family thing when we practice his exercises & techniques then we usually end with dancing to Kung Fu Fighting! HI-YA! :) We're working on paying attention, because his head is in the clouds sometimes. Sean loves his sisters & Ally just lights up when he walks in the room. Evie adores Sean & wants to do everything he does, but she also likes to aggravate him. So, he needs to work on not responding to everything she does & says. A lot easier said than done, I'm sure. Evie, Evie, Evie. My brilliant & beautiful & stubborn Evie. Cute & sassy as can be. I don't think I will ever meet any one like her. She is constantly blowing our minds with what she's capable of comprehending & retaining. She came with me to Sean's 6 year wellness check up. The doctor looked down at her and said (as if he was talking to a 2 year old, you know, in that "baby" voice) "Evie, can you tell me if you're a boy or a girl?". Evie looked insulted. She also seemed a little concerned that the doctor didn't know and therefore had to ask her. She very slowly (so he'd understand) told him that she was a girl, Seany was a boy, mommy was a girl & daddy was a boy. That story just really sums up Evie. She looks & sometimes acts like she's 2, but her comprehension & ability to express herself is far beyond that. This is great, but it can also be very frustrating as a parent. She's really not interested in potty training, even though I believe she understands it. At Jungle Java the other day I told her to sit down so I could put on her shoes. She had pooped and didn't want to sit in it, so she said, "I can't sit down. Can I just give you my foot like this while I stand?". Amazing... She throws tantrums & has a hard time controlling her emotions sometimes. I have to say over & over again in my head, "she's 2, she's 2". She loves "reading" books and being read to. It's awesome that Sean's a good reader, because I love listening to him read her books. Ally Joy Joy is a great baby. Her best quality is still that she sleeps from approximately 8:30-7. Yay! I wish she'd just get teeth already, because I know they're bothering her. She drools & chews on her hands & feet. She's rolls from her belly to her back, but not her back to belly yet. She's starting to do really good with sitting up on her own. I still sit by her to make sure she doesn't fall back or over. She's currently on antibiotics for her first ear infection. :( I was really hoping this wouldn't be an issue. Hopefully this is a one time deal. Ally eats solids, but would much rather drink a bottle. She just started "eating" apples in those netted feeders & she has her own cup to start chewing on/drinking from. She's quite the faker & a little bit manipulative. Some one else will be holding her & she'll be just fine. I walk into the room & she starts whining. Faker baker. I love that she loves me though. We called her Ally Joy Joy & Ally-phant. Daddy calls her Frankenbaby because she has a big, square head. Nice... Ally loves watching Sean & Evie & I know she just wants to take off after them. She loves when we turn the music up loud & dance in the kitchen together. I do too. :) Next up... Halloween, then Thanksgiving and before you know it CHRISTMAS. Wow...

4 more days!!

Only 4 more days until our first Pennsylvania trip as a family of 5!! We are all so excited. I love the countdown. Evie & Sean love to talk about vacation at bedtime. We talk about all the fun stuff we'll do & see. Now I just have to survive the packing!! Right before the school year ended, Sean got a flyer home about Spring Hill day camp. I'd heard good things about Spring Hill & we were thinking about registering him. Then, Susie called me & said she got an employee discount & could use it for Sean. I registered him that day. Last week he attended his first Spring Hill camp & I can guarantee it won't be his last! He had the best time. He tried activities I never thought he would (rock climbing, flying squirrel, trampoline/bungee, giant water slide). He met amazing camp counselors who he enjoyed & admired. He looked forward to each day & was so sad when it ended. :( On the last day, parents were invited to join them for the closing rallies. We got to see Sean sing songs & recite the memory verse with his group. Sean was awarded the camper award of "dependability". #1 because he was always right by Frank's side & #2 because they could always depend on him to do what he was told. :) We then went to a big rally where all the campers sang & danced. It was awesome. I cried almost the whole time. Needless to say, Sean's already pre-registered for next year! Evie, Evie, Evie. When Evie does something naughty or makes a bad choice & you ask her why she did it, her answer is always "nuffing". "Evie, why did you bite/hit Sean?", "nuffing". "Evie, why did you color on my wall?", "nuffing". I wonder what she means by that. Maybe it's, "I don't have a good reason, I just did it. I'm impulsive, I'm 2!!!". Another fun little Evie saying is "don't talk a me". When you hear her say this, it means she's about to do something she knows she's not suppose to, but she doesn't want you to tell her no. If you tell her no, she may go to some one else, tell them not to talk to you and then ask him/her for the same thing you just said no to. Her latest is when you ask a question she can't answer right away, she says, "uh, my can't fink right now". Or, I've heard her say, "whew, that was a close one" a few times lately. She's SO smart. She's also been super loving lately. I never get tired of hearing, "my weally, weally need you mom" or "my wuv you so much". Yesterday we were sitting in the recliner together playing Angry Birds and when my bird knocked over the wall Evie said, "my so proud of you!". :) We're thinking Ally Joy is starting to teethe. She had a couple very crabby, very needy days last week. She always has her hands in her mouth & she's usually what we call "slimy" from drool. She loves being held on your side with her arm over your shoulder. This is the best position to look around & be entertained. She loves watching & smiling at her brother & sister. The other day Sean made her laugh by saying, "aahhhh boo" & jumping in her face. It made her jump, but it made her crack up too. She's getting pretty tall & chunky. We're going to have to figure out other sleeping arrangements soon as she's getting too big for her bassinet/rocker. Ugh... Figuring out where Ally will sleep next is not the only challenge we'll face after vacation. Evie's almost ready to start potty training & Sean starts 1st grade on 09/04. I hope the next 2 weeks go very slowly!

Hello!

I've been a slacker since Ally arrived, but my plan is to post regularly. I always start with that plan. But, I really want the kids to have this to look at when they're older. It's nice for me to go back & read them too. Sean graduated Kindergarten in May with a performance that blew all of our minds. He, along with his class, recited the books of the bible, the presidents, Eph 6:10-18, the 10 commandments & a few other songs & poems. Wow... He had his first season of tee ball & played for the St. Clair Shores Pirates. He's an AMAZING swimmer & we're thinking about getting him lessons to work on technique. Swimming just may be his "thing". He's going to Spring Hill day camp at the school next week, Monday-Friday. He starts 1st grade on 09/04. Slow down summer!!! Evie Loretta is like NO other 2 year old I know. When you're around her, you can't help but feel happy, proud & sometimes VERY frustrated! We were somewhere the other day & she looked at a woman & said, "Hi, I'm Evie, what's your name?". She's fearless, stubborn & quite the performer. She's an entertainer, almost always talking, singing and dancing. We're working on removing "no" from her vocabulary. As always, she adores her brother. They bicker a lot, but both of them can't stand to see the other one hurting or in trouble. And, they're both amazing older siblings to Ally. :) Ally Joy joined us on 04/20/12. She's been such a good baby. No belly issues; the best burper ever! She started sleeping 7-8 hours at 5 weeks & now she sleeps from 8:30 or 9:00 until 8:00 the next morning usually. She loves watching Sean & Evie. She's very smiley & just recently started laughing. We're working on tummy time & see some rolling in the near future. She always has her fists in her mouth, even after she's just finished a bubba. I went back to work the second week of June & the kids are with Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry the days I work. They have their own system there & have adjusted wonderfully. Grandpa Jim picks them up to go swimming or to the park or to our house to play wii. They love having Paige there too. We just finished a trip up to St. Ignace for Nolan's dedication. We loved spending the weekend with them & Grandma & Puppa. I wish every weekend could be like the last (minus the driving!). As always, if the kids aren't with us, they're with their grandparents. They spend as much time with them as they do with us. This is great on so many levels. I love watching my kids light up when they see their grandparents. They love each one of them so much. My grandfathers passed away when I was young, but I had a special bond with my grandmas & I treasure the memories. I'm so thankful my children are making memories with their grandparents that they can treasure always too. :) We leave for Pennsylvania in 15 days!!! Can't wait!!!! :)