I can hear the ocean, Mommy!

At the dentist a couple weeks ago, they had lots of sea shells around to look at.  Taylor and I were putting the conch shells up to our ears and listening to the "ocean".  She was absolutely amazed at the sound! 

She comes up to me tonight with a big rock to her ear, " I can hear the ocean, Mommy!!!"  and she says it with complete and total amazment!  I just love little ones :) 

Blake's first flag football practice

Today, after church, we headed to Blake's first football practice.  His coach was absolutely awesome!  He taught the kids some great starter points and had them doing some really cool, age-appropriate, drills. 

first practice throws to Dad

following the leader !!!

This is how to grab the ball!

HE CAUGHT IT !!

All I wanna do is "lose" my two front teeth

Blake lost one upper front tooth weeks ago and has kept the tooth in a safe little jewelry box.  He has mixed feelings about whether he wants to give up the tooth to the tooth fairy for some cash, or save it as a keepsake!  

As the second front tooth got more and more wiggly...he decided that he would put both of the front teeth under his pillow at the same time to see what the tooth fairy might leave since it's his "two" front teeth together!!!!  HMMMMmmm...I wonder how much $$$ she should leave for both of them??!?!?!

He has babied this wiggly tooth for a couple weeks and tonight, it was finally too loose for him to eat his dinner, so he went around sucking his spit in, making terrible whistling noise, until I just chased him down, and grabbed it out with a paper towel...he said that wiggled it, but then we sent him to the mirror and he noticed that it was gone!!  YAY!  He's one happy camper to get it out!

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Taylor Ann & the Terrible (oops...i mean TERRIFIC) two's

Now that Taylor turned three, I am continually looking back over this past year of the two's.  I absolutely love them!  I know my close friends and family might think I've hated them, I do complain about the craziness that this two year old has added to my life, but that's because that's exactly how she acts when I'm on the phone with them!  She does have these certain things that drive me CRAZY...like demanding Christmas music within 3 seconds of getting in the truck.  I buckle her up, start to get in my seat, and right before my door even gets closed, I count backwards in my head....3-  2--- 1--"Mommy, turn on Kismas Muzic.....YAY!!!"   I refuse to do it without a "please", and a "thank you", but even with the polite words added by her as an afterthought, I want to say NO and turn on my jams for once...why don't i?  Why let a tiny princess girl in the backseat rule what I listen to??  Well, I could turn on my music, but when her cries for Krismas Muzic are louder than my song, I just get more upset that I can't hear it!!  So Jingle Bells, jingle bells...all the way....lol!   She follows me around claiming to be "hungie" right after a meal, she insists upon dressing herself, even though we have to be out the door in 2 minutes, and pulling that skirt up by herself takes at least 5!!  I can ask her to do something and she says "I just can't", but then as soon as Blake offers to do it, she demands to be the one to DO IT!!  How can something so sweet and tiny be SOOO unbearable?  I guess the same way that this little stinker mighty girl can melt my heart with a wink of her eye, or a "tank you, Mommy"  just for fixing her breakfast, and I can't forget the little high-pitched squeaky voice that belts out EVERY single word of Every one of the Christmas songs that she has demanded!  I drive and smile the whole way, how could I complain about that?!?  The way she lays her head on my shoulder and rubs my back, the way she yells "Mommmmmy!!!" with her arms open wide for an embrace, when I walk in the door after being gone for a whole 15 minutes!  I look at her and love her more than I could have ever imagined.  I am so worried that she is growing up way too fast...

 

NOW   I'M   "FREE"   (three)

Taylor's Tea Party

Today is the day before my Taylor Ann turns three years old.  She got to have two little friends over for a "Max & Ruby" tea party!  I have been so excited, because this is the fun part of having a girl...pink, pink, pink!  I loved being able to invite Taylor's two "first" friends, and it just so happens that their mamas are a couple of "my" best buds, too!!!

Being on a very strict budget, I almost cancelled it, but then I realized that since her birthday is right after Valentine's Day....I got ALL the decor and much of the snacks for 75% off regular price!  I will write about how fun it was to do this party with a tiny budget on my Money Saving Blog !  PLUS, the main decoration was a hand-painted poster of Taylor's Favorite T.V. friends,  MAX & RUBY, from my dear friend Karen !! 

Thanks Karen!!!

We started out with some free play for the girls, then rounded them up for snacks.  We had pigs-in-a-blanket, strawberries & grapes, strawberry jam sammies, vanilla goldfish that took dips in pink icing, and all sorts of little "pink" goodies.  Then we moved them right along to the strawberry "Max & Ruby" cake with pink ice cream.  Taylor tried so hard to blow out her three candles, but wasn't quite windy enough...thank goodness she has friends to help out! 

All she wanted from me for her bday was a Max & Ruby cake...she got it!!

Next, we let the girls open presents and goody bags.  Taylor got a Dora puzzle and a Fur-Real puppy from Gracie. She has been doctoring it all day, it looks and sounds so real! LOL!  She got a hand-made Max & Ruby coloring book (thoughtful and must have taken forever to make!!), a Max & Ruby sticker book, and a golden dog from Katie...she is coloring right now with her new crayons!! 

Later, after everyone had left, I was cleaning and Taylor comes up to me and says, "Mommy, I really really loved my birthday...tank you for my party!"   Seriously????  I just stopped in the middle of what i was doing and grabbed her up and hugged her... for a long time....I just love this little girl.
                                               Happy Tea Party, Taylor Ann !!! 

Taking time to "just" play

I was busy cleaning upstairs when I hear Taylor just playing away...all by herself, talking, chit-chatting, and having a great time.  She was playing with little animals pretending to doctor them and help them find their Mamas...babies kept getting lost and she would "help" them all feel better and find the way home and back to Mama...I just love her and her sweet ways!  Blake would have been destroying something, but I guess that's why they call him a "boy"!! 

Anyways, I finished up the laundry and then decided to join Taylor in some playtime...we started off singing songs with motions then we decided to play Little People.  She had to be the dog (always something with animals) and I was the veterinarian that works at the firehouse?!?!?  Don't ask, because she WILL have the answer and it will be LONG...lol!!  We played for about 45 minutes which is forever for busy-body me!!  Lately, I'm paying attention to how fast she is growing up and trying my best to take time to play and enjoy...we had the best time and even though she was upset when I stopped playing, she got over it quickly, and returned to playing.  WILL play again later today because, I "promised" !!

Time out for a movie and a good cry

Monday, I could tell that it was the first day back to school after a prolonged "snow day" vacation...it was difficult for us to wake up, get ready, and get to school on time.  By the time Taylor and I headed to pick Blake up, we were both exhausted and cranky...Blake was no different. 

I thought the kids might be coming down with a cold or something, because of how emotional and moody they both were...Billy is busy with the boat show, so I decided to skip making dinner and just order a pizza.  We had our pizza and all three settled in our big comfy chair to watch "Where the Red Fern Grows".  It was on TV and was my favorite book ever!!

I know this might not seem like a BIG deal...easy dinner and movie with the kids, BUT....for us, it is!!  I cannot tell you the last time I watched a movie with them...I always plan to, but the movie barely begins and I run around to clean, do dishes, fold the last load of laundry, check my email, answer the phone...etc...  This time, I literally sat with one kid on each side of me...my arms were around them (i couldn't even wipe my own tears from this heart-wrenching movie), and we all "watched"...the WHOLE movie!!  We all cried, talked about the events afterwards and then cuddled up in bed together and was asleep by 8pm!  That was an easy early night that we all needed!