Four years ago Today!

Four years ago today at 7:15am  our little boy came into this world! I will never forget that moment. It was one of pure joy and terror combined into one emotion. We now had this little life in our hands that we were solely responsible. Were we going to be able to help him grow into a loving, christian, responsible and independent man? Could we do it? There were times when even at the age of 31 we did not seem like those adults. How would we do this? My mom always told me, “ you and your sister did not come with manuals”. The science behind parenting is just that...you learn everyday and hope and pray for the best. Over the past four years there have definitely been learning phases. When our daughter was born we felt more prepared. We were experts now, we had this parenting thing down! :) HA! That is a pretty funny statement when I look back. Parenting is a never ending learning process that takes much skill and patience. I think we will still be figuring it out for many years to come! I am actually taking a class at church, which starts this week called, “Parenting beyond your Capacity”. I was reading the first chapter last night and it got be thinking about what kind of parent am I? When your children are young you are their main influence. They look to us to watch how we treat people, our faith, our relationships with each other and that is how they learn. Once they get older, around Christian’s age they start developing other influences! People who are in their lives that they see regularly, ones they look to for answers besides their parents. Honestly, this scared me because I started thinking about who I want Christian to be influenced by right now. He is still so young but, branching out in his life more and more. He has many friends and they have parents etc...what is he going to learn? This class talks about combining family life and church life and the influences everyone involved can have on your children! Anyhow, my whole point to this rant is we love our son more than anything in this world. We want to be the best parents to him as possible and help him to become a wonderful person that everyone loves. I hope one day he can look back at this and know everything we did for him was because of that love. One day he will look back on his childhood, as I do, and think how blessed he was to have two parents who did the best they could to raise him right! With God, Love and Luck he will turn out perfect!




Now, I want to take a second to talk about Christian. This little boy is so full of life. His drive and zest for it is never ending. Now that he is getting older he has questions about everything. He is stubborn, assertive, high-strung to say the least and independent! Last night I was giving them dinner and I was trying to help with something. Christian looked at me and said, “ don’t worry about me, I got it”. Where did this come from? Brian and I just looked at each other and laughed. I look at him as my baby boy and he is not a baby at all! In fact, he gets so mad when I tell him that he will always be my baby. He says, “no I am a big boy, not a baby!”

He harasses his sister non stop and does not listen to a thing anyone tells him, hence the reason he is in trouble all the time. He loves to learn new things but, on his own accord. He is learning to write his name is school and he is so proud of what he has accomplished. Christian’s manners are impeccable away from our home! I only wish they would be a little better here but, I would not have it any other way. The teachers at school comment to me how sweet, loving and polite he is at all times! This makes me smile from ear to ear and lets us know, we are doing something good at home. I talked about how Christian can act up but, let me tell you about his tender heart. This little man is one of the most loving of our children. I do not think his heart is big enough to hold all the love he shares with his family and those around him. I have never been told I love you so much in my life. Everyday he tells me a million times, mommy I love you! I can feel my heart melt more each time. In the afternoons, after school he wants to me sit with him for quiet time and snuggle. Sometimes I have to stop and slow down and take a moment to snuggle him because one day he will not ask for it! There are always moments where I catch him hugging his sister and telling her he loves her too. He takes care of her when he thinks I am not watching. When she cries, he does things to make her smile again. He loves to dance, sing and play hard! There is a 100% behind everything he does, whether it is throwing a tantrum or giving a hug! He is our big boy! We love you Christian and hope you had the best 4th birthday ever!

Lets get to the fun stuff in the blog! The birthday party celebration! The party was the 28th, on a Saturday. He told me all his friends that he wanted to come and we sent out invitations. The theme was  Spiderman! There are phases of what he likes and it goes back in forth between Transformers and Spiderman. Once we settled on Spiderman, we got to work preparing. In late August it is HOT so, there is not much activity you can do besides something with water! It seems to be a reoccurring theme that we have a water slide every year for his birthday but, the kids always love it! We rented another big slide this year and everyone loved it, even the adults! The party started at 10:00am and the weather was perfect. In the morning, it felt really nice out but, got hotter as the day went on. We grilled hot dogs or should I say, Reed grilled hot dogs! Somewhere along the way, Reed has become our designated chef every year? Don’t know how that happened but, thanks Reed for always helping out when needed! The kids played for about an 2 hours on the water slide before we went inside to eat and do the cake! I bet there were some great naps that afternoon!

Since this year the theme was Spiderman, I made his cake again. I love this tradition and it is one that I will do for as long as the kids will allow me. I love making their cakes! My mother did it for us and it was always so special that I want to do it for our children. I have to tell you, it means even more to me now because I know the time involved in decorating a cake! Every year seems to become more elaborate! Spiderman was not the easiest when it came to his lines but, my mom helped me figure it out! Thanks for being such the expert mom! The night before when we were decorating the cake, Christian kept telling me, “mom that is so cool”! He loved it!

When everyone was done eating, we all sang him Happy Birthday! It took him a few tries to blow out his candles but, he finally got it done! The smile on his face was just priceless. He loves being the center of attention...hum, I wonder which parent he gets that quality from??? After cake and ice cream they all went back out to play on the water slide. I think Christian was desperately wanting to open presents but, I like to make him wait until people leave. It just cuts back on the chaos and I can keep track of everything better! He is one loved little boy because I have never seen so many gifts. I think you can tell people not to get a gift but, it never works out that way! He had an absolute blast opening presents but, he did it in pieces. He opened a few after his friends left, he opened a few that night and then he saved some for his actual birthday!

I can not even began to remember everything but, here are a few things he got. My parents got him an Optimus Prime Transformer, some skates (which are hilarious) and a monogrammed Louisville slugger bat. Nene and Poppy got him this cool Y-bike. They are all the rage and help kids to learn balance, coordination and the ability to ride a bike sooner without training wheels. Heather got him a Super Why wand, spiderman puzzle and book. The Mizerany’s got him the Moon in my Room, which is really cool and hopefully will help him sleep in his room! Brian loves to build forts with the kids, so I bought him these attachable fabrics that help you make forts anywhere in the house. Among many other things, I think his favorite toy is from Uncle Reed and Melanie! Reed searches high and low to find the best toys. He got him this golf game that helps him improve his swing! Here is a video, it is pretty cool.

That night some friends came back over to play on the water slide. His best friend Elijah spent the night and we built a fort for them to sleep under. I think he had a great birthday because he kept asking when he could do it again!!! Happy Birthday to our Little, Big Boy! We love you!

Last Beach Trip of the Summer!

So August rolled around and our vacationing summer comes to an end at the Florida Beaches! I was worried that the oil would have ruined the beaches but, they were gorgeous! Besides the fact, that it was 110 degrees outside we had a great time! The heat has been draining me lately and honestly, I was not thrilled about going to the beach. We have already been for three weeks this year and going to the pool all the time. I am over the outdoor activities that come with summer time! There were TWO reasons that we sucked it up and went anyway! My sister Heather and my Aunt Punkin! I do not get to see them that often because traveling with children is not the easiest! So this was one of our chances to spend time with them! Brian followed us down to the beach and had worked his schedule out so he could stay a few nights. This way he could visit with everybody as well. We headed down on a Friday afternoon and got there around 3:00pm. Heather was asleep because she had been at a conference in Vancouver, Canada. There was no sleeping once our craziness entered the house! They woke her up and there was no stopping from that moment on!

The first night we were there we went to a putt putt golf place right there on the grounds where there place is located. This was nice because we just rode the golf cart over and some of us even walked. Henley has never seen a golf club, much less played so, needless to say, she loved it! Brian tried to help Christian with his putting but, this night he was more interested in running around stealing all the balls! I think someone was a little tired and delirious at the time! After that we all went back to the house and put the kids to bed and relaxed! It had been a long day and I was tired and it was HOT! The next few days would be filled with outside so, I wanted to be indoors as much as I could. 

The mornings were filled with beach and pool time! The beach had to be early because in the afternoon the seaweed got really bad! The locals told us it was because of the solvent they put in the water to dissolve the oil. The solvent would sink down to the bottom of the ocean and kill all the seaweed, causing it to come up and onto the beach! Whatever the case, it was yucky and the kids would not tolerate it for a second! Once we came off the beach it was directly to the pool for more play! My parents, Brian, Heather and Punkin would take Christian to the pool and I would take Henley up for a nap! I really enjoyed this because I never get any quite time for myself...EVER! I really do not think I spent to much time outside this trip because by the time we got out, it was time to go back up for a nap! This gave me plenty of opportunity to do other things. I got to go shopping at the outlets with no children, exercise and just run an errand by myself or with my sister! This was very enjoyable! Thanks to my parents and Punkin who would watch the kiddos free of charge!! :)





































































We went out to dinner a few times but, we tried to eat in too. I am not a fan of going out with the kids because it just gets to crazy at a restaurant. They eat and then they want to play...they are kids so, what do you expect? Last time we were down there we went to this restaurant called Fudpuckers. The food is absolutely horrendous but, they have live alligators the kids can feed! Now that is a great source of entertainment for them! We went and did that again this time and the kids loved it! The alligators were not biting because I think they were stuffed to the guild! They had been eating all day and just lounging around now! Brian and Christian had their picture taken holding one of the alligators and that was really cool or at least that is what I was told!! :)

The days were filled up with the pool, beach etc...My parents place is right across from Baytowne Wharf! This such a fun place for the kids to play. They have a huge playground and tons of child friendly things to do. We had snow cones one day, ice cream one night and just played over there in the park after dinner! I think the snow cones were a hit because the kids had red mouths from the cherry flavoring! Following a snow cone I think they were on a sugar high that lasted a good while! We took pictures of the kids in this huge chair which, we had done last year! It was fun to look back and see how much they have changed!

One big surprise was cousins Bill and Bonnie came down for the weekend. I have not seen them in four years and they have never met our children. Bonnie was a preschool teacher forever and the kids really took to her. The creative ideas she plays with the kids and the ideas she has with teaching them are amazing! I need her to email me weekly with a planned schedule! I wish that I had a photogenic memory so I could have remembered it all! They were awesome and it was wonderful getting to visit with them! We hated to see everybody leave and one by one they got on airplanes and headed out! We had a great time visiting with you all and look forward to many  more vacations together! Thanks to my parents for letting us bring a little chaos to their vacation! We love you all!

Big Girl Fun!

While we were down at the beach we decided to paint Henley's fingernails and toenails for the first time! There has been a on going fascination with color on my toes, so we decided it was time. She was so excited at first but, the novelty wore off quickly! We got two feet and one hand done and that was it! She loved having her nails filed by Aunt Heather! My sister is a pro at nails and has Always been anal to say the least about her own nails. Once we were finished she ran around and showed each person in the house and was so proud of the pink color on her toes! It was short lived though because it all came off her nails within the day! Her toes are still pink and she loves it! What a big girl we have! She might play like a boy but, she is all girl at heart! Here are some pictures!

Tiny Dancer!

This past Tuesday August 17th, Henley started her first dance class! I have to tell you that this is one of the reasons I love having a little girl! I started dance when I was three and absolutely loved it my whole life! I was on the dance team in middle school and high school and it was always a huge part of my life! Anyhow, now I can pass this on to my little girl. I knew from an early age that she loved music. When she hears music she likes, her little head just bobs and she shakes her body. Thank goodness she gets her rhythm  from mommy...has anyone ever seen her daddy dance? :) Sometimes I play music at night when we are cooking dinner and the kids and I will dance around! I love to watch them learn how they can move to the music and shake their money makers! Brian, of course has taught them his infamous “linebacker move”! Many of you know what I am talking about but, for those who do not, it is basically shaking your behind in the air! I have to say, it makes me laugh so hard every time they attempt it like their daddy. So their love for dance has evolved!

There are not a lot of dance studios close to our house. I was told of two places that were the better options for Henley to take dance. I looked into both of them and really was not sure which I liked more. It really came down to schedule and what worked best for us. Luckily, a new studio opened up right in our back yard! I was ecstatic because the timing worked out perfect for us. This studio is wonderful and actually reminds me of the dance studio that I took dance from when I was a little girl. Henley will have a dance recital later this year with a sweet little costume. The recital will be held on a stage at a local high school and is supposed to be a big show! I know she is only two years old so, I am not expecting much from her this year. However, I can not wait for the years to come. I always loved dressing up in my costumes and performing when I was little. It was such a big deal! I hope that Henley loves dance as much as I did growing up! The one thing that concerns me is the costumes. I want to make sure that they are for little girls and not too provocative, especially as she gets older!

The first day started out pretty good. Henley is taking a combination class of ballet and tap. I knew from the beginning, once those tap shoes went on, they were never coming off! I was right!!! They had pre-ordered her shoes and they were at the studio when we got there on Tuesday. The ballet shoes were not in yet, so they only had tap! I think she had a smile from ear to ear the minute they pulled them out of the box!

SO Excited to get my tap shoes!

They make noise!

Once I showed her how they made noise...WOW, she was in love! Those shoes did not come off her feet for a solid two hours!!! Even when she was crying because I left her in class alone she would not take them off! :) She cried pretty much the whole class but, I knew she would eventually stop or so I  hoped. I knew this would be an adjustment because she is not a fan of strangers and I was right! I even tried staying in the class with her but, she was very weary of her new teacher. The music would sometimes get her going and then all the sudden she would stop, look around and start crying again! Oh boy, this was going to get interesting! Not that she is going to be doing entire routines but, she would never have any fun or learn anything if she cries the whole time? That is the main idea for me, is for her to have FUN! Hopefully, as the weeks go by she will get used to the class. I want her to relax and enjoy her dancing time! There is a little girl from church who is also in her class at school and they have dance together. I hope that this will help her adjust by seeing a familiar face each week...we will see?

I am really looking forward to watching her become our little ballerina. After all she is a girl...she should twirl around occaisonally not just play with trucks, trains and cars!

First Day of New School!

This year in our neighborhood Liberty Park, a new Primrose School opened. Brian and I decided to enroll the kids. It was not only out of pure convenience but, as luck would have it, it is a highly accredited program with an amazing curriculum. I am really looking forward to seeing what the kids learn this year, especially Chrisitan! The school has a hands on based learning program which I think will truly benefit Christian the most. The fact that he will be learning so much but, having fun at the same time is a great concept! Some of the things he does during the day are in the morning they do the Pledge of allegiance, calendar, weather, phonics/reading,writing, dramatic play, computers, music, math and science. It makes me tired just thinking about it all but, I am excited for him and how much fun he will have doing it all! The schedule is similar for Henley but, not so intense. I believe there is a lot more focus of language development, art, music dramatic play, books and lots of socialization skills.

I was not sure how Christian’s reaction would be to his first day because he has to wear a uniform! It saves me a lot of trouble of fighting in the morning with him over his outfits...even though Henley is probably worse than him. All we have to worry about is wearing a red, blue or a white shirt. So far so good and there have not been any issues. Henley can wear whatever she wants because the uniform does not start till Pre-K.

The first day was not so terrible. Henley cried for a few moments but, then it was over. I checked in with her a little later and she was playing contently. She is the only child in her room part time, so she has not idea how lucky she truly is! :) When I came to get her, three other kids had complete meltdowns and I felt so bad for them. One little boy even asked me where his mommy was...so sad. She had a good day and I am curious to see how the next day goes. Christian had a great time and told me about everything he did and all the new friends he made. I asked his teacher who all these kids were in the class and she laughed because half the names he told me did not exist? Go figure...he either made them up because he could not remember or he just flat made them up? Either way he made a few new friends and had a great time! I pick him up after lunch and he know that, so today he had a little meltdown when I was not there right after he ate. The kids who are there all day have quiet time after lunch and he refused to lay down because I was supposed to be there to get them! It amazes me what they remember you telling them. I never would have guessed he would have gotten so upset over that?

He is hysterical because all three buttons on his shirt have
to be buttoned? Do not know where this comes from but, it drives Brian
crazy...I think he is precious!

So far so good and everyone seems happy. I am looking forward to what the next few months will bring and to watch what they learn. There are already songs being sung in my house that I have never heard! I guess that is a good start!