The Haynes Family

Dance Party

2011-09-14T11:24:00.003-05:00

There's not a ton of stuff to report here, but thought I'd update the blog with a few new pics.

This was taken during "Dance Party..." (don't you just love the eyes??? ha)

Both kiddos "getting down."

Naptime.

E loves wearing her apron lately.

Cheese!

Emma's First Haircut

2011-09-05T14:19:00.007-05:00

Yep, you read that right. Emma has never had her hair cut. Until today...

Here's the before shot...

Elizabeth and I measured her hair and she cut off 8 1/2 inches so that we could donate her hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. What a fun thing to do for her first haircut, right!?!?
They are an organization similar to Locks of Love that makes wigs for women and children who have cancer. (We kept a little for her baby book too).

Checking our measurements...
...you know what they say...measure twice, cut once. :)

Emma was so excited to get to sit in the fancy chair and wear the special cape.

...During...

After!

She loves it. It makes her look so much older.

I'm sure this will be her first of many donations to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. :)
The pros for her short hairdo:

1. she loves it
2. it makes washing sooo much easier. She was starting to look a little Crystal Gale-ish.
3. it doesn't get caught up under her armpits anymore. ha
4. it's much cooler.
5. she doesn't cry b/c Caleb has stepped on it nearly as often.

The one big con...
All those sweet little ringlets of hers are gone. :( Oh well. At least we have Caleb's curls to enjoy for a few more weeks.

Below is a video of the first chop...

Vacation Part 2: "Tuc-son"

2011-09-05T13:30:00.009-05:00

Tuc-son is what Emma calls it, but part 2 of our vacation was spent in Tucson, AZ to visit our good friends, the Thompsons. Above, Emma and Ethan...

We always say that Emma will marry one of the Thompson boys...we don't care which one. They're all precious. I was interested to see if she had a special bond with one in particular. (The last visit, Ethan seemed to have won her heart). Above...looks like they are still pretty sweet to each other. :)

Our whole gang at the Desert Museum.

Ang and Nielle.

I think Angie needs to crop our kids out of this photo and use it as her Christmas card. All her boys are posing perfectly!!! My Mr. Tomato face was so proud to wear his new tennis shoes. :)

Uh, oh, wait a minute. Now Emma is holding Levi's hand.

Our Little Rascals (minus one) eating a snack so everyone stays happy in the hot outdoors.

The kiddos.

Emma with Lucas. Awww...

My boy.

Tucson had been getting a lot of rain lately, so the cacti had these gorgeous flowers on them. :)

Emma trying on bat ears at the museum.

Pool time!!! We hit the pool a lot while we were there. It was so refreshing to cool off at the end of a hot day.

Emma borrowed Lucas' goggles...HILARIOUS!!!!

Ethan and Levi being tossed by Adam and Greg...

After a good swim, Caleb decided he'd rather sunbathe and dip one foot in the water. He stayed so still for the longest time...

Caleb may take after Levi--liking to dress up. "Mr. Flair" loved to wear whatever was lying around.

Another pretty cactus w/ flowers.

At the zoo, we got to feed giraffes. Caleb hung onto me for dear life, and was not interested in the humongous head that was approaching him...

...Emma fed them, but the debate is still out as to whether or not it was an enjoyable experience for her or not.

Levi's 5th "Big Cat" birthday party!!! I just love how he's got his arm around Caleb and they're smiling like they are BFFs. Too cute.

"Dr. C."
This is what everyone called Caleb. He loved wearing a doctor's stethoscope around his neck all week.

Emma and Levi.
Their bond definitely grew on this trip...Levi has a passion for animals and dress up...both of which Emma can greatly appreciate...AND...

...Levi did her nails. (please enlarge photo). Paw print stickers!!! What more could a girl ask for?!?!? ha You should have seen her trying to eat her snack with them on. It's like when you buy a cheap set of fake nails and after putting them on, you're so afraid to touch anything because you're afraid one will pop off if you use your hands...

Balloons.
Kids love 'em. But by the end of the night, Angie and I were so ready to pop every single one. And we did. All we heard all afternoon was:
"He's got mine!"
"What color did he have?"
(and hearing this one 1,000 times after one would float up to the extremely high ceiling) "Oh no!!! Mommy! Daddy!!! Can you get that for me?"

Dr. C /Mr. Flair is at it again. I LOVE this photo.

On the ride home. Emma was thrilled to spend some extra time with Lucy...

...and Caleb and Truman got along just fine too.

Driving back to Texas.

Vacation Part 1: San Diego

2011-09-04T13:37:00.012-05:00

I am behind on blogging, so thought I'd post a ton of pics from vacation. We spent a few days at San Diego and it was the kiddos first time at the beach.

At LaJolla beach.

At first glance, Emma is not the outdoorsy type. She was having the hardest time even walking barefoot in the dry, loose sand, bless her soul. She didn't want to walk near the water, etc...
but by the end of it all, she told Daddy, "Daddy, come on! Let's go walk into the sunshine!!!" (the sun was setting). They walked out pretty far into the waves and got soaked. She loved it.

Seeing a Giant Panda for the first time...

The tram ride at the zoo.

Funny story:
This guy in the lion costume waved "hi" to Emma and she would have nothing to do with him. Deep down she wanted to like him, but she just couldn't work up the courage to come near him or even give him a high five. Caleb, on the other hand, took one look at the giant "lion stuffed animal" and stretched out his arms as wide as they could go (his way of asking for a hug). It was precious.

Um....someone was not too keen on sitting atop of the giant lion statue.

"Look!!!! I see elephants!!!!"

Making a sandcastle...

...it's hard work...

...especially when one of your helpers keeps eating the sand...

"pppppttttt"

"Why do I keep eating it even though I hate the way it tastes!?!?!"

"Yuck!!!!"

"How long before the gritty feeling goes away???"

Below is a video of Emma's first time in the ocean...

...and here's a video of the elephants at the zoo...

Tiny Feet in Big Shoes

2011-08-13T22:05:00.004-05:00

Emma invited us to come in her room and set on her "couch"...

...this was her couch. :)

Caleb has a MAJOR love for shoes. He especially loves everyone else's shoes.
He felt pretty spiffy wearing my tennis shoes.

After bible time a few nights ago, I sat down in the floor and asked Emma what she learned. (I ask her what she's learned every night). She came over beside me, and was mimicking how i was sitting. She wants to be just like Mommy. :)
Lots of mornings, she'll see what color shirt I'm wearing and ask to wear the same color. "Just like you, Mommy," she'll say.

After bible time, she went into picture-mode....

pretty girl.

Caleb and "Pink Pony."

Everyone agrees, Mallie is awesome.

Playtime!

Caleb decided he'd try Daddy's shoes on for size.

This morning, Emma and I went out with some friends for "girl time." We took a little shopping trip to Hobby Lobby and then ate lunch at a very girly restaurant in town. So. Much. Fun. I love watching how Emma gets the biggest kick out of doing big girl things. This pic was when we got home...she sat on the couch (mimicking Daddy this time) and wanted to tell him all about her morning. So sweet!

Sweet Sweet Time.
Caleb loves to be rocked, wrestled, twirled, etc...anything involving big movements. (It's due partly, I'm sure, to him having sensory issues... which also explains him still headbanging himself to sleep every night).
I said I'd never be one to rock my baby to sleep.
(see above pic)
This is yet another time when I've had to eat my words. ;)
I certainly don't do it every night, and thankfully, it's nothing I have to do...he will fall asleep on his own without rocking. But there's something pretty priceless about a rambunctious little boy melting in your arms and being completely still for a few minutes at the end of a busy day. So content. Not wanting to be anywhere else. The time is just as much as for me as it is for him. I love it.

Act One, Scene One

2011-08-04T11:17:00.003-05:00

Emma making her silly face..

Sitting together on the couch. awww.

Playing ball.

The other night after I put Emma to bed, she needed something, and decided THIS was how she was going to get my attention...(it went on for 20 minutes before she finally used the right word).

Both the bedrails are now off Emma's bed. She LOVES having a "big girl bed." I bought her a headboard the other day for $5 and you would have thought I had given her 1,000 stuffed animals. She was giddy to have a headboard of her own.

Emma has been interested in acting out bible stories, and doing little "plays" lately. Below, Adam and Emma acted out the story of David and Goliath. (the kids were playing on the non-bedrailed bed too, which make it all the more exciting).

....and, here is the story of Jesus making Fishers of Men...

"Is it Bath Night!?!?!?"

2011-07-28T21:30:00.005-05:00

Whoa!!! Caleb's hair has a mind of its own...
Every morning, it's always exciting to see what kind of hairdo we're going to start the day with.

Having fun with Daddy before bedtime...

New table and chairs!!!
We got this great hand me down table and chairs last week. Emma loves to use it during project time each day when Caleb goes down for a nap. Thank you Lauren!

Emma's blocks creation. She was so proud. :)

Emma's newest phobia...running water.
She cries when we wash dishes, wash our hands, brush her teeth, and takes a bath. This is EXHAUSTING for Adam and I (and I'm sure for Emma too). These pics were taken a few nights ago at the dinner table...she kept asking "Is it bath night?" When we said yes, she couldn't even finish her fajita...

(please enlarge the above photo. too funny)

This is her "I'm trying to cope...leave me alone" face.

Her fear started one day out of the blue. She did manage to tell us later that the water kept going "up up up" when Noah was on the boat and she didn't want it to go "up up up" again. We explained about the rainbow...God's promise, (a story she knows like the back of her hand) but it hasn't helped. Sigh. She's our weird little bird sometimes. You just never know what's going to send her into a frantic tailspin.

My newest sewing project...Emma's dress and hair bow.
This dress and bow started out as one of my skirts. I thought, "wow, that would make a really cute sundress for Emma" and decided to cut it up. It looks so precious on her, and she kept saying "Thank you Mommy for making me my pretty dress. I love it." That one comment made the effort completely worth it!

Midnight potty time.
Each night Emma gets pulled out of bed for a chance to potty before we go to sleep. She is always SOOOO out of it, as you can see from the photo. I love how she managed to flash the "peace" sign in her sleep. :)

Hanging Out

2011-07-20T09:00:00.008-05:00

Emma put her beloved Zaccheus (cat) in shackles or guillotine or something. I just had to take a pic...

Last week, Daddy was gone to summer camp to lead worship for the kiddos. We kind of go into "survival mode" when he's gone all week...but did manage to have some guitar time.

When he got home, she told Adam "Mommy taught me how to play the guitar."

"Shhh!!! What was that? Did somebody say 'vacation'?" --Caleb
(I think someone's a little excited)

Making birthday cake.
(she calls it her "pancakes" because she got pancakes when it was her birthday. ha ha)

Emma plays lots of random games. Here, she's lined all her favorite stuffed animals up in a row.

Another "game."
Here Caleb is amusing Emma and playing along with her "rules" as he sits quietly on a pillow...(he looks thrilled, doesn't he?)

...this was the "game." (she lined up all the pillows and put a stuffed animal on each one. Everybody had to have a pillow, including him!)

Look at that smile. Hilarious!

The joy of the tutu.
I pulled it out of the drawer the other day and Emma had a ball. She twirled around the floor and started dancing almost immediately.

Awwwww.

Last Friday we went to a swim day for the kiddos at church. Emma and Caleb had fun. Caleb wasn't too sure about the idea til he was able to hold a pool ring. Once he had something to hold onto, he was lovin' it.

Arm floaties...check.
Swim ring...check.
Another blue floatie to lay on...check.
Daddy hovering inches away...check.
Coast guard helicopter....on the way. ;)

The diving board.
Emma jumped off all by herself!!!!

Mr. Yellow Floatie himself.
(still holding the pool ring)

At swim day, we also celebrated Jordan's birthday. Emma LOVES Jordan. She loves him so much, that often we have an imaginary Jordan at our house.

Below is a video of Emma jumping off the diving board with all her floaties on. :)

"Oh No They Didn't...!!!"

2011-07-08T21:03:00.009-05:00

...Oh yes we did!!!
Friday was "Cow Appreciation Day" at Chick-fil-a, and we drove to Lawton to the nearest one. If you dressed like a cow, you got a WHOLE FREE MEAL. How awesome is that?
The best part...all 4 of our outfits cost me just 29 cents (which was the cost for the cowbell for Emma's necklace. My little calf needed some "flair," right?). I used leftover aprons from Emma's party to make their costumes, and just painted spots on a few t-shirts we already had. Yes, I do have udders on my shirt (which were a pair of Emma's shorts, rubber-banded to make 4 udders). It was so much fun.

The most embarrassing part was the walk from our car to the restaurant. But once inside, the cow party started...

Cutest. Calf. Ever.
He kept his ears on the whole time.

Momma cow.

Daddy cow and Baby calf.
Daddy's ears would not stay on--his hair was too short. I'll have to revamp his ears for next year. (Caleb was holding onto his fancy new Chick-fil-a cow PEZ dispenser).

After the chick-fil-a party...
I have to say, the kids had so much fun. Chick-fil-a is the most family-friendly restaurant EVER. We walked in and the kids got stickers, a cow pez dispenser (Adam was SUPER excited about that...he loves PEZ), balloons, etc. Then, in their meal there was a book in each kids meal AND a card for free ice cream. AWESOME!

Funny story from the trip:
We sat near the front of the restaurant (only seats available), so everyone who walked in couldn't help but see our "cow" family of 4. We ate around 11:15 to beat the lunch rush, and most of the customers were not in cow attire (best guess was 15-20% were in costume). You could feel the eyes from people checking us out. Once they realized we weren't crazy, lots of people asked us what was going on. After we told them, they were totally wishing they, too, were sporting a cow costume. One in particular was this good ol' country boy, who I'd never peg as a "dresser-upper." He said in a thick, country draw, "Awwww, mmmaaaaan. I'm gonnna tell my girlllfriend. She loves Chick-fil-a. Maybe we'll come back for dinner with cow stuff on."

"That was fun!!!"
(he pulled his ears down as soon as we got in the car).

This little cow couldn't sleep standing up....

Spaghetti Night...
Have mercy!!!

This was the first time we've dumped the spaghetti out on Caleb's tray and let him feed himself...

"What?!?! You got a problem with my manners???" --Caleb

I know he was thinking, "can we do this every night? This may just be the funnest thing I've ever done..."

Check out that orange tray. It may never be white again.

Nom, nommm, nom. Gulp.
(grab another slimy handful).
Nom, nommm, nom...

Needless to say, the kids got a bath immediately after spaghetti night. Then, the bathtub got a good scrub down to remove the orange ring around the tub. ha ha

(Emma thought this "trick" was hilarious and asked me to take a pic of her).

Caleb decided to wear his green beans and scalloped potatoes instead of eat them. I wish I'd taken a photo of the floor. You would absolutely die. See that guilty look on his face????

I found the kids "playing" in the foyer a few days ago.
Emma had put her pink bow in Caleb's hair and was playing hair stylist. poor boy. sigh.
Now Emma's the one that looks guilty...

Happy 4th of July!!!

2011-07-03T17:38:00.008-05:00

Our July 4th weekend was a pretty quiet one. The city had banned fireworks since it's so dry here, so maybe next year Emma will get to try some sparklers or something. Here's a few pics.

Our spelling champion has done it again!!!
Isn't this awesome!?! She drew Ernie and "spelled it." I love that she's sounding out words on her own.

To celebrate the 4th, we brought out the kiddie pool. We thought it would be a very festive thing to do...but Caleb was NOT impressed.
I think it's safe to say we probably don't have the next Michael Phelps on our hands...

...Emma had a blast though!

Just a boy in his sandbox.
(he was a much happier camper once he got back on "land.")

When is he going to learn that sand does not taste good???

Watering the lawn.

Emma's New Easel!!!
Okay, so this is not the easel that I bought back on Black Friday when shopping with my sis-in-law at 5am for Emma. Adam and I got it out of the box just before her birthday, set it up and it was humongous. We just didn't have space for it in the office, and I didn't want to put it in her room, because, let's face it, easel-work is work that needs to be monitored closely, right?
Sooo....I returned the humongous easel and bought a dry erase board. It's magnetic, so she can use her letters on it to make words. Then we got a roll of paper and a curtain rod, and voila! An easel that is fully functional and takes up zero floor space. (And, when she gets older, it will be perfect for her to play "school" with too). She loves it!

Below are a few videos that are long overdue (the blog went through a phase where it was not letting anyone upload videos, but now the feature is working again).

Above: playing. When we peeked in Emma's room trying to see what all the fuss was about, we still couldn't figure it out. But something was evidently hilarious...

Our little superstar.
The therapist brought over these green steps...perfect when working with Caleb, and also perfect for Emma, who is convinced it is her stage. :)

Caleb's infamous smile. Makes us smile everytime he does this...

Happy Father's Day video. Daddy came home from praise band practice so we could all ride to church together. Emma had a message for him...

IHOP birthday video.

Driving Lessons

2011-07-01T09:15:00.005-05:00

Caleb and I having fun at dinnertime...

...he was getting tickled at me acting silly. :)

Miss Posey Posey. Sometimes she'll say "I love you camera!!!" ha ha

Smiling on command. I love this face!!!

Emma still loves to draw. This was one of her creations this past week...she drew everything by herself and then the N-O, and asked me how to spell the rest. (It's Noah and the ark w/ animals, if you are having a hard time deciphering the picture). She loves all the Bible stories too and we talk about them a lot. Last night she told me that "Zechariah and Elizabeth were going to have a baby. His name was going to be John. John told people about Jesus." No joke.

Playing on her very own laptop. Could Caleb get any cuter with those little curls??? I don't see how it's possible.

Wow...If you told me Emma would be driving at the age of 3, I'd have never believed you. Granted, she's not good at it yet, and has played "bumper cars" with our Camry a few times, as well as "off roaded" the thing and put it in the grass. This was her first day at it...

Caleb also got a turn and LOVED it. He's counting down the days til his little foot will reach the pedal.

Daddy gives her her first driving lesson. Dad gave me my first driving lesson out on a country KY road...I think it must be a Daddy/Daughter thing. I love her expression in this pic...mouth open, so excited!!!

Handsome boy.

Emma decided to make a "sun" with her books. Pretty creative, I thought!
I love that she walks around the house in her apron I made for her. She puts it on when she's "working."

Emma's 3rd B-day Weekend 3 of 3: Father's Day!!!

2011-06-21T00:11:00.004-05:00

Sunday was Father's Day and Emma gave Adam his first tie. It was made out of construction paper, colored on, and I had it laminated. It was the perfect bookmark size for his bible, but since it was a tie, I wrapped it up in a tie box. :)
He loved it. He loved it so much that he paper clipped it on and WORE IT to church and kept it on the whole service, as he led worship! What a proud Daddy. Emma was excited that he wore her little masterpiece and showed it off...

Happy Father's Day!!! We love you Daddy!

Emma's 3rd B-day Weekend 2 of 3: Cooking Party!!!

2011-06-19T23:35:00.018-05:00

Emma's cooking party was so much fun. I'm going to try to post these pics in some sort of order so our family can get a sense of what the party was like. Also, we took tons of photos...but I failed to get a group shot of the kiddos, and figured that most of the family would want to mainly see Emma and what she did, so she's in most of these photos. Nine of her friends from Sunday School came to the party and she had a blast having them all over to her house. Let's get the party started, shall we???...

When the kiddos came through the back gate, they were greeted by a girl with a basket of aprons for them.
(I made them from white t-shirts...no sewing necessary. Gotta love that).

Playing in the house.

Us with the birthday girl. Notice Caleb's little tomato face. He gets beet red when he's out in the sun. It wasn't a sunburn, don't worry. :)

I just had to make Caleb his own little apron to wear, and chef hat too. He was the cutest little thing you ever saw. His nickname "Flay" (aka, Bobby Flay) was very fitting today.

The face painting station was the first thing that the kiddos did. Carsen was awesome at painting whatever kind of fruit the kids wanted. She did a great job.

Painting a lemon.

Next up was "Chef Hat Design."
My friend Natasha's husband is a chef and was able to give me these awesome paper chef hats. I put everyone's name on them and the kids went to town decorating their hats. It also served as a party favor too.

Emma worked on her masterpiece...

This was another fun little thing I did...
I took every kiddo's picture behind Mr. Chef. :) We're going to print them out and give to each guest.

Even the adults couldn't resist. Ha ha! Awesome Scott!!!

With our little birthday girl.

Staying cool under the back porch. It was 100 degrees outside.

After making chef hats, it was time for "Cake Decorating 101" class.
Everyone got their own cupcake and were given a muffin tin pan full of toppings: chocolate chips, marshmallows, gummy bears, 4 kinds of sprinkles, etc. They also had their choice of using either chocolate or vanilla frosting. Let the fun (and mess!) begin...

...Emma chose chocolate frosting...

...it was so fun...

and she did a good job. (I'm pretty sure someone stepped in to help her).

She chose a simple topping on her cupcake. 1 marshmallow, 1 chocolate chip, and a few sprinkles. Perfect-o!!!

Getting ready to sing Happy Birthday.
It was too windy to light the candles, so we just improvised. ;)

"Happy Birthday to you!!!"

Kalli and Carsen!
I didn't plan on this, but everyone's aprons served as great bibs during the cooking class, ha!

Bean Bag toss.
This game was a huge hit. I painted a cake on a board, cut out some holes, and voila!!! Instant game. I'm going to paint the pink parts red and use it again for Caleb's bday. What boy doesn't like to throw, right?

See? Very popular game.

Emma showing Julie her prize. (Everyone got a prize).
We gave prizes for things like:
Most colorful chef hat
Best Cake Presentation
Longest Bean Bag throw
Fastest Arm in the Bean Bag toss

Jen and Scott. Jen was kind enough to help me take pics at the party. I was running around like crazy most of the time and was so thankful she had her camera and was able to snap away!!! Thank you Jen!!!

Aunt Alli and Jeremy.

Ahhh, watermelon.
So, Emma would NOT eat her cupcake (not a surprise. I knew that decorating would be the fun part for her). She also didn't want chocolate ice cream. She did love that watermelon though. When this photo was taken, the kiddos were all playing the bean bag toss game, and she just sat over by herself and chowed down happily. Too funny.

More watermelon...

Graham cracker!!!

Julie and I.

The party favors.
The tag says "Thank you for cooking up some fun with us today." inside the grocery bag sacks I had a piece of paper labeled "grocery list" with lines so the kids could fill in their items. Also in there was various fake food, a bag of fruit snacks, fruit chewy candy, eraser, stickers, etc.

The party was a huge success. The kids all had fun, and I had fun planning for it and buying the things I couldn't make. All in all, it was very budget friendly too...the whole party (favors, prizes, hats, aprons, cake, food, drinks, decorations, tablecloths...everything) only cost $25. Gotta love that!

After the party, Emma checked out Aunt Alli's I-Pad. She LOVES it and knows how to work the thing! It's unbelieveable. She had loaded a lot of kids games on there for her, but let me tell you...Emma loves that game 'Angry Birds." She's pretty good too!

Playing hide and go seek.
Where could she be?

Opening the apron I made for her. Priceless look...

She looks adorable in it!

Emma loved the special book that Aunt La La made for her. Thank you for putting so much time and effort into a precious gift. She loves it and wants to look at it all the time, Aunt La La!!!

We gave Emma a girly "bug catcher" that came with these big fake bugs, ladybugs, crickets, etc. Caleb was in heaven, putting them in, out, back in. Back out. You get the idea.

"I love presents!!!"---Emma

We got her "The Jesus Storybook Bible." It's an amazing kids bible. She may be a little young for it still because the stories are a little longer than what she's used to, but it's a great one. The pics are awesome and she is very excited about having a new one to read.

Emma's 3rd B-day Weekend 1 of 3: Actual Birthday

2011-06-19T22:27:00.009-05:00

Caleb started smiling on command...hilarious! He sticks his chin out (so he's got an underbite) and squints his eyes a lot. I have to say, it looks somewhat painful, but it is incredibly cute. ha

The birthday girl.
What a grown up little 3 year old. She was wearing the crown from Aunt Brenda and Uncle Terry's card.

With Mommy.

Funny story: A few months ago, we happened to go to IHOP for Daddy's birthday. She got pancakes, which is something I've never made for her at home (I don't know why, but we end up eating oatmeal most mornings). Since that day, she's been asking "When it's my birthday, I get pancakes?..."
"Sure!" we said.
And that, folks, is how traditions are born. This night, it was Emma's turn to get those pancakes again.

"Daddy, I want that bite!!!"

Our waitress found out it was her birthday (not really 'found out'---more like informed. Emma told her immediately upon entering the restaurant), and brought her a sundae. She ate the cherry and whipped cream, but didn't like ice cream (that's just crazy talk).

Funny Story: She had to potty during dinner, so off we went to the bathroom. The toilet had one of those flushers that is motion sensored, and so after she was done, she was a little sad when she didn't get the satisfaction of flushing her pee pee. "It's a fancy flusher," I said. "You should tell Daddy about it." (I said this just to keep her mind occupied as we washed hands and talked about how you don't touch anything in public bathrooms. Once out of the bathroom, she ran right up to our waitress and the manager and said "That potty has a fancy flusher!!!!" They roared with laughter. Next on her list of people to tell were a couple eating their dinner in a booth...then finally, we made it to our own booth where she told Daddy.

Another funny story: Emma doesn't eat sugar, except for the natural sugars in fruit, etc. But at her IHOP dinner, she had 5 pancakes, strawberry fruit topping with whipped cream, my apple cinnamon topping with whipped cream, her sundae whipped cream and cherry. By the time we left, she was seriously bouncing all over the booths at the entrance while we were checking out. I've never seen her like that. Up. Down. Off. On. Run. Wave hands madly. Hop back on. Then, just when she couldn't contain herself anymore, she exclaimed, "I want to JUMP....ALL AROUND!!!" Adam and I lost it. too funny!!!

"Mirror Mirror on the Wall, who's the fairest of them all?" --Ava
Emma got this vanity on her bday (from Miss Brenda and Carsen). Carsen had used it when she was little and they brought it over to see if Emma might like it. Oh. My. Word. It has a hairdryer, nail polish, 2 lipsticks (plastic, of course), vanity lights and the thing talks. It says things like "it's time to get ready!---that's a pretty pink lipstick," and makes a cool little hair dryer sound when you take it out of the holder. Emma was in HEAVEN. She's such a girly girl, and this gift was p-e-r-f-e-c-t.

"I'll admit it. I chewed on her pink lipstick. Shhhh."

At the vanity.

Unrelated topic...
I have been meaning to post about our little furry friend for a while. See that flat part on our tree? He lays down on that part every day, oftentimes with an arm hanging down or something. It's as if he's saying "it's too hot to move." It was over 105 every day last week. ugh.

Caleb says: I love youuuuuuuuuuuuu Ava!!!!! Come here and let me grab that tail!!!!
Emma says: Gimme my comb, Caleb!
Ava says: Watch it mister. You touch me again and we're gonna have a problem.

I have some videos I need to post...but they'll have to wait til later.

What's it for you?

2011-06-14T15:14:00.004-05:00

Do you have something in your home that makes you happy every time you see/use it? Something that makes you feel the most “like yourself”-- that represents you, in a way, or says a lot about who you are? No matter how trivial or silly you think it may be, I’m sure there’s got to be something…

For me, that object is a little red paintbrush.

I bought it my senior year of college at the MSU bookstore on the 2^nd floor of the Curris Center. It went with me to an art class where I learned how to be a better artist. It assisted me in painting the beautiful imperfections of my classmates (everybody drew/painted everybody). A crooked smile. Bangs that didn’t want to cooperate after a windy walk to class. Eyebrows that could’ve use a waxing, or faint laugh lines that were already beginning to form-- all things you notice when you take the time to really stop and see someone. To search their face. These things weren’t “ugly”…they were what made people who they were. Each unique and beautiful. I learned from that class how good it is when I really take the time to see someone else, and get out of my own comfy, self-centered bubble of life. And I’m thankful my paintbrush helped me slow down and capture every lovely detail.

Now that many years have passed and we’re in our first home, my little red paintbrush sits proudly in our craft room in a tin can with other supplies on a shelf. It’s alert and ready for use at a moments notice. Over the years, it has helped me paint countless craft projects for loved ones, myself, and now, my kiddos. It was used to paint whiskers on Emma when she was a cat for her first Halloween. And just this week I used it to paint signs for her upcoming 3rd birthday party. Since I’m now a mom and housewife, the projects aren’t always as glamorous as they perhaps once were. I don’t exactly have lots of extra time to sit and paint portraits much anymore, but the little paintbrush still gets plenty of use. It’s just used differently. Like, every year I use it to painstakingly seal the grout on our tile floors. It touches up wall paint that gets nicked off every now and then…you get the idea.

I love it. It’s weird that I’ve had something so random for 12 years, but at this point, I don’t think I’ll ever intentionally get rid of it. It makes me reflect on the past chapters of my life, how my life has changed over the years, and gets me excited about the chapters of my life that are yet to come. I may not know all the details of what I will do, or how I will be used, but my “Great Artist” does. God knows what’s ahead for each of us. So, for now, all I have to do is sit on my shelf, alert and ready for use at a moments notice, and be willing and eager to be used however He can use me. Just like my paintbrush. And that just makes me smile.

Gone Fishing

2011-06-11T21:33:00.005-05:00

The kids were all smiles at snack time.

In Emma's baby book, I have a page where she is able to print her name at various ages, as well as print her ABC's. On Thursday, she got to write her first entry in her baby book. LOVE it. I cherish it already, and can't wait for her to watch the video we took of her writing it someday when she's grown. She has certainly done her letters better before, but there was a lot of pressure here...she got to use an ink pen (which is a very special treat for her). ha

We have a couple from church in the hospital, and Emma made them a get well card. She cut all the pieces and drew the stem, and then glued each piece. Daddy helped her put them on the paper to make a flower.

Here's the inside...
(isn't this the cutest thing you've ever seen?!?!?)

This morning, we got up and went fishing with our friends Scott and Jenifer, and their girls Kalli and Alyssa. It was Emma's first time to fish, and she got to use Kalli's pink Barbie pole. Awesome.

The girls were excited to fish together!!!

Well, I ended up catching 3 fish!!! (I have no idea how). And it was with the Barbie pole, no less! ha ha
Here is a picture of the the first one...

Funny Story: All of us were fishing with minnows, and Emma seemed to think that "fishing" was reeling in that minnow on her hook, over and over. She was so excited each time, because, of course, each time she had "caught" a fish. She had no idea it was the same, dying minnow, whose body was stuck on a hook and being dragged all over the pond. hilarious. So, when I caught that big-daddy catfish, she was shocked. Stunned, really. She couldn't believe her eyes. "I don't like it!!!" she exclaimed. Then, it started flopping around, like all fish-out-of-water do, and forget it...she was all done with that fish. But once we got a minnow back on, she was good to go another round.

Caleb was looking cool in Daddy's sunglasses.
Scott took Emma for her first ride on a 4-wheeler. It was short and sweet. She was not a fan.
Hmph. Maybe Caleb will be our little daredevil.

Here fishy, fishy, fishy...

Caleb didn't fish, but loved being outside and doing "boy" things.

Favorite picture of the Day.
Caleb and Emma couldn't get enough of the minnow bucket. They loved peering into it and watching all of them swim around. It was too cute for words.

Fort Haynes

2011-06-07T20:36:00.008-05:00

Well, 3 out of 4 looking ain't bad...

Emma and Daddy were playing peek-a-boo with Caleb.
(if you ever need him to come to you ASAP, just hide your eyes. works every time).

Playing in the floor.

Fort Haynes.
I ran a few errands over the weekend and came home to a humongous fort in the living room. Emma was especially proud of it. She was very hospitable and invited me in...

...naturally, I accepted the invite.

Me and my girl. And "pink pony."

Caleb was bouncing up and down on this car. It was all fun and games til he fell off...

Last night.

Below is a video of "fort time." Giddyness. Pure giddyness. I love how once I get in the fort, Emma says "nice to meet you!" to me as Daddy is describing the fort's amenities. She is a trip!

Summer is Here!!!

2011-05-30T21:19:00.005-05:00

We've been getting outside more often lately, despite the few days we had 110 degree weather. Summertime better "simmer down." Nevertheless, the kids love being outside. Emma is a little model. Here's one of her classic poses. :)

Doesn't this hat make Caleb look so handsome!?!? I feel like a cool theme song from some 70's show should play everytime he wears it. He's so stylin'-- he should be walking around with background music playing. The best part...he LOVES the hat. Sometimes, he'll take it off and then get to doing something else...then forget he took it off. He spends the next 5 minutes or so walking around, tilting his head back in hopes to see the brim of his hat. It's hilarious to watch.

Who needs it to be wintertime to go sledding?
At our house, you can go in the summer without snow... or clothes.

Caleb isn't much into reading books, but he loves to open and close them and turn the pages.

Emma was hiding under the blanket, and Caleb was playing peek a boo with her. They are now at the age where they can play together. They play chase, peek a boo, etc. I love watching their bond get stronger.

Last week, Emma and I went for a "girl time" walk around the cul-de-sac while Caleb was napping. She was ecstatic...see that bunny she's holding? That's "Stroller Bunny." Yes, that is his name. He stays in the stroller. This was Stroller Bunny's first outing outside the stroller. I love the look on Emma's face. She was SO happy to take him for a walk. (Oh, see the boo-boo on her arm? She fell outside when she was throwing a tantrum. Not cool. All that fuss just because she didn't want me to wash her feet off before coming inside).

It was a very windy day...

Posing again

Ahhhh....
I can't take it...she is growing up way too fast. Those of you who follow the blog regularly might remember a similar pic to this one when Emma was around 20 months old (I think). It's all happening too fast.
Sunday at church the Seniors who recently graduated from Wichita Falls got recognized and they put pictures up on the projector screen of all of them. It was a collage that had both recent and old pictures. One of the girls had a picture of her with her Daddy when she was little. He was holding her upside down and her hair was so long and just the color of Emma's. When I saw that, I started crying. Right there in the middle of church-- not during a song, or a poignant part of the sermon, but during a Senior Recognition, and for a girl I didn't know. I could somehow feel the pride that those parents must have been feeling, with a little bit of heartache mixed in that their "baby" is now grown up and entering the real world. Gosh, motherhood has made me a total softy. It won't be long before I've got a photo of Emma walking down the sidewalk in her cap and gown...

Sometimes Emma gets into "model mode." It comes out of nowhere, but always gives us a good laugh. These pictures were "all her"--I didn't tell her to do any of this...

or this...

...too cute...

...hee hee!!!

Just a swinging...

All that fun, and summer's only begun...

Emma looks great in a ponytail. She loves 'returning the favor' and fixing our hair. She was workin' on giving Daddy a ponytail.

Showing off the ponytail.

Saying goodbye to Daddy after lunchtime.
(Our neighbors probably think we're crazy. I promise, they do wear clothes most of the time).

Caleb's favorite thing...climbing in the laundry basket. He's definitely a climber...
the other day I was cooking dinner and I looked over and saw him ON THE HEARTH. How in the world did he get up there? I almost had a heart attack. Emma was never a climber. Just getting that girl to climb up 3 steps to go down the slide was a major feat for the longest time.

Chillin' in the laundry basket. He really needs to learn how to fold.

Bert and Ernie keeps on getting better and better. Daddy drew the circle and oval, and Emma did the rest. (she can draw and oval and circle too but was having a "moment" where she was convinced she needed help. She calls it 'help'...I call it 'attention.' ha)

Let's Just Poop in Our Panties

2011-05-24T15:17:00.004-05:00

The Strong-Willed Child.

I could write a book filled with examples, but need to find a book that has all the answers. Dobson's book seemed to give insight on Emma's personality, but I need someone to tell me what's gonna "fix" this headstrong not-gonna-obey attitude of hers. Everyone tells me how great it is when a strong willed child grows up, but that dealing with them when they're young is not enjoyable at times (to put it in the nicest way possible). I suppose she doesn't need "fixing," per se, but she does need to learn how to function as a moral child in this world, with appropriate reactions to things she faces daily.

Emma is giving us a run for our money these days. Adam and I have turned out to be pretty strict parents, I guess, and expect our kids to do the things we've taught them to do. I'm amazed at what children are able to learn at such a young age. Caleb has already learned not to walk into the kitchen and he obeys 90% of the time. Amazing, right?

It's not just about keeping the rules. But understanding "why" we even have rules in the first place. "Mommy and Daddy's rules keep you safe" is something that we have ingrained in Emma's brain. Along with that is "We want to honor Mommy and Daddy and that honors God." "God wants us to love other people and share with them." and the list goes on and on. But lately the (dare I say it) Terrible Threes are beginning to rear their ugly head, weeks early. The more Emma refuses to obey, the more we've had to crack down on giving her trouble, or timeout, or whatever consequence seems appropriate at the time.

How has she chosen to repay us for all the discipline, you ask? Read the title of this post. She has been completely potty trained for months, and now this? Sigh. I have tried EVERYTHING in this world I know to do...positive reinforcement, fruit snacks, rewards, and negative consequences-making her clean out her big girl panties herself (which she thought was so fun to get to do...grrr), spankings, withholding treats, etc. You name it, I've tried it. I've even tried doing "nothing," and just cleaning up the mess and not saying anything. She is not your average almost-3 year old. My most recent experiment has been to load up on the "fun times" and give her tons of praise and attention (in hopes that she was pooping to get attention). We went for a walk yesterday, just her and I. We have had special project times, "learning" time, book time, you name it. I've been trying to not give trouble as much and have forced myself to let some things go. Not ignoring, but just talking to her about things rather than spanking as often.

While she's definitely enjoying the praise, she is still not going in the potty. This morning during one of our talks, she told me that she simply "likes pushing poop out in her big girl panties." So, today, after cleaning poop out of 2 pairs of big girl panties before 10 am, I'd had it. I did what some other moms had suggested: stuck her in the tub, cleaned her off, and then gave her a cold shower. Unlike cleaning out her panties the day before, she did not think this was fun. Not one bit. She was kicking and screaming the whole time, but hopefully we are getting somewhere.

Soon after the first shower, she pooped in the potty (giving the tub/shower the stink-eye the whole time and mouthing to herself how that shower was "not good for me." Then, later today, she pooped in her panties again which resulted in another shower. She's beginning to talk about how she does not want another shower and we've talked about what she needs to do to not get one.

I've got my fingers crossed.

I'm writing this blog post so that I will remember these moments and never forget them. So that one day when, Lord willing, she grows up to be a wonderful, strong-willed "Proverbs 31" lady I'll be able to reflect back on moments like these and be able to say about the hard times "It was completely worth it. I couldn't be more proud."

A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
¹² She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
¹³ She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
¹⁵ She gets up while it is still night;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her female servants.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
²² She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
²³ Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹ “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
³¹ Honor her for all that her hands have done,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
-Proverbs 31:10-31

Crafting with Dani

2011-05-22T23:29:00.001-05:00

I finally finished a project I started last year: making 25 ornaments for our Jesse Tree. We started this family tradition last Christmas, but used coloring pages instead of ornaments since I didn't have them ready yet. You can imagine, many of them had to be homemade...I mean, you can't exactly buy The Ten Commandments at Wal-Mart. :) Here are a few of my favorite ornaments...

Noah's Ark.

Lamb.
(This was a wooden back massager til I got a hold of it).

Jonah's big fish.
(I made this out of felt).

This is the scripture for Day 1 of our devotions. I decided to make it a banner which will go at the top of our tree. I thought it was pretty neat how later in this same passage, the Bible says (v. 10) "In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious."

David's slingshot.

King David's crown.
(Okay, I didn't make this one, but you have no idea how hard it was to find a "manly" crown. Everytime I'd find one I'd be so girly and princessy).

Elijah's Altar.
I just love how they all turned out. It feels great when you finally finish a big project you've been working on for a while too.

Adam and I were JUST talking about how it probably isn't necessary to have 2 bedrails on Emma's queen bed. Um... we were mistaken. This is how Emma was sleeping just a few nights ago. ha ha!

Happy Birthday Daddy! We love you!

Emma's Homemade 3rd Birthday Gift from Mommy: an apron!

I was trying to decide between making her a doll and an apron, but since she's going to be having a cooking party, the apron seemed to be the obvious choice. I had a lot of fun making this one. I finished it just a few hours ago- it was fairly easy and fast to make. I am pretty happy with the way it turned out-- I just can't wait til she gets to open it and try it on!

I am so behind on blogging...Last Friday, I had a gum graft done and currently have something like 30 stitches in my mouth. It was NOT fun. Worse than when I got 4 wisdom teeth cut out in college and worse than when I had 8 teeth pulled/cut out when I was in the 5th grade. (Hmmm...Either I'm getting wimpier, or the ranking is because I was awake for the whole thing and will have to deal with issues for 3 months while I heal up). It's been hard to talk and eat, and still hurts to laugh and smile (something hard not to do when when you live with Adam and two hilarious children), but it's getting better.

In the Sandbox

2011-05-09T23:11:00.005-05:00

It's been a little while since my last post, so get ready for an overload of pics... Emma is all ready to go with her bag and head lamp.

Caleb is walking around everywhere.

E had just drawn a frog. This pic cracks me up...the look on her face makes me smile!!!

A few weekends ago, Emma, Brenda, Becky, Carsen and I went to the butterfly museum and out for a girls lunch. See the cat in the background sitting in the wheelchair? Her name is Bluebell and Emma was more in love with that cat than anything else. She pushed her around in the wheelchair, wanted to just stay there and pet her. Forget doing anything else!!! Hilarious!

They had little crafts and fun things to do while we were there...

Carsen helped Emma make a butterfly feeder. We are currently using ours for a birdfeeder.

I love this pic. It was taken in the front display window of Georgeann's Craft Mall (the place we went to for lunch). Emma saw a "Bed" and made herself right at home. The mall has a little restaurant in the back called the Silver Lining. Good food, and we all had a good time!

Wearing Daddy's hat. Does it get much cuter than this???

Last week we went to another one of Carsen's volleyball games. When I told her we were going to go, Emma immediately put on her "volleyball socks." (At the first game, all the girls on Carsen's team wore really tall tube socks). I think Emma wanted to fit in. She's SO observant...a few days ago she told Daddy, "I LOVE your new shoes!!!" when he wore his flip flops for the first time this summer.

Our friend Natasha handed down to us one of those Sit and Spin Zebras. Caleb is not quite heavy enough to weigh the zebra down so he'll then be able to spin...but he still has a blast rocking back and forth on it.

The Caterpillar Rocker.
I think he's saying, "Mommy, can you please tell Daddy and Emma that I am not comfortable holding the green handlebars on this thing? They keep trying to take my hands off these red antennas, but they work just fine!"

Emma and Lucy are out for the count.
(I love how Emma decided to roll one pant leg up before falling asleep).

We're officially off formula and have moved to sippy cups. Here is a pic of how Caleb drinks...WITH NO HANDS. He will not hold that cup for anything. But bless him, he gets the job done, one way or another.

This might not win a spelling bee, but "TDL" is Emma's first attempt at spelling "Turtle." Daddy drew this, and then the next time he looked over, she had written TDL...and also put something in the turtle's mouth. Guess he was hungry. ;)

The Green Turtle Sandbox.
I remember playing in one of these as a kid at Miss Rose's. I'm so happy to have one for the kiddos (thank you Brenda!). These pics were taken a few days ago...it was their first time in the sandbox...

Caleb immediately tried to eat the sand. Despite my best efforts to stop him, he continued to do so, until he finally realized that it didn't taste so good.

Busy at work.

Here's Caleb trying to feed Daddy some sand. He was very determined to get him to try a bite.

After getting all gritty and dirty, it was time to go inside and take a bath. But not before getting a good hose down. (The tub was still a sandy mess!).

This is one of my favorite photos of the day. The light was gorgeous outside and Emma was having a ball.

Walking on Sunshine!!!

2011-04-27T22:19:00.002-05:00

As of yesterday, April 26th, Caleb is WALKING!!! Woo-hoo! The above video is from this afternoon. He's so cute when he's toddling around. Yesterday, right when he woke up, I told Adam, "he looks different today...just like a little boy-- instead of a baby." And it's funny that later that same day, he started walking around just like a little boy.
A few things to notice...when Emma imitates his walk, she walks on her heels. It's hilarious. She's been wanting her "turn to walk," so, often she and Caleb will take turns. At the end, you can see her lovely cheerleader moves. Wildcats #1!!!!

This other video is just a fun one that shows what happens when Daddy comes home most days. We all get in the floor and have some family time before the rush of making dinner, etc. Today, Caleb was especially giddy. I think he was on cloud nine from all his walking success. You can see him go to hug Adam. I tell you...he is SO cuddly these days. He gives hugs to everyone--it's pretty much my favorite thing about him at this current "stage" of his life. Well, the hugs, and all the adorable smiles he gives us!

Our Easter Weekend!!!

2011-04-23T21:40:00.012-05:00

We had a great Easter Weekend. On Friday, we took a family trip to the park.
Emma wanted to push Caleb in the stroller...it was a wild ride for him. :) Hang on!!!

She loved feeding the ducks. As she threw in each piece of bread, she said to them, "Don't forget to pray, Ducks!!!!"

With Daddy.

Emma in a big girl swing! She was very brave!

Saturday afternoon, we had a little Easter Egg Hunt in the backyard. This was before...

...during...She really had a ball...
...Caleb managed to find a few eggs too.

...and after. Just look at that full basket!!!

Bringing them back inside and opening each one was a special treat. Our kids don't eat sweets, so I had to get creative when stuffing the eggs. I packed 24 mini eggs with either raisins, cheerios, or cashews, and gave Emma a jar to dump the contents into to make her own little "trail mix."

The larger eggs were stuffed with stickers or seeds-- We are going to plant our own veggies this year!!! More on that later...

Raisins for the trail mix.

Caleb is thinking, "Awww, if I'd only known about this glorious trail mix, I might have tried a little harder to find more eggs."

Okay everyone...when I take a pic, THIS is what I often get...
Mr. Innocent and Miss Not-gonna Share. (She didn't want Caleb to get her sandbox toys).
Please enlarge this photo so you can see the complete look of selfishness on my daughter's face. I promise, 'sharing' is something that we DO work on daily. Sigh.

...And then in steps Daddy....He gets a smiley happy pic of the duo...
Mr. Innocent and Miss Everything Is-Fine
(sure it is Emma).

This was the 2nd time we've ever had Caleb in shoes. He wasn't too fond of them and kept hiking his leg high in the air as if to show me, "Mommy, these can NOT be normal. Can you help me?" He sure did look mighty sweet wearing them.

We did a little yardwork in the afternoon... Emma loved helping...

Saturday afternoon, we also bought and planted Caleb's tree.
Remember when Emma turned 1 year old and we planted a Bradford Pear tree for her??? We bought Caleb an Oklahoma Redbud. It was TINY compared to Emma's tree when we bought it, but still so cute.

We planted it in the front yard, beside Emma's. I should say, Adam planted it, and Emma "helped." So no matter where we may be in the future, we can always drive by their first home and see our kiddos trees. It'll be so fun to watch them grow through the years.
We also bought a few more bushes to plant in the front yard too.

"See everyone? I'm one. And this is my very own redbud tree. And this is my awesome Daddy who is planting it for me." -- Caleb

Stats:
Caleb: 28 inches tall
Caleb's tree: 57 inches tall

Easter Sunday. Caleb looked mighty dapper in his button up and khakis... looks like he should be doing an advertisement for Baby Gap.

...and Emma was cute as a button in her pink dress with adorable smocking.

Family photo. We were very matchy-matchy today.
At church, Emma told everyone she saw"Happy Easter! Jesus is alive!" And I mean EVERYONE. She is so sweet. Then after church was over, she and about 6 other kiddos went in the front foyer and Emma had them sitting in a circle singing Jesus Loves Me and then another song with silly motions. It was a sight that brought tears to my eyes...she was the youngest of them all and was leading them in songs about Jesus. Makes me wonder how God is going to use her in the future.

After lunch, we colored a few eggs. Emma had fun...she loves "cooking" in the kitchen. (I have no idea why she and Daddy are tilting their heads like this. Funny though!)

The finished eggs...we got out the paintbrush and let her paint one special egg.

The non-easter basket... (I used a tupperware box)...
Caleb got some sunglasses (doesn't he look so sweet?), but most of the stuff was for Emma because he just had a birthday and got everything we needed to get for him: first bible, tree, etc. Emma was pretty excited about the goodies. She got Sunday shoes, stickers, a sticker album, and a watering can and gardening tools. She of course wanted to go out and use them immediately. You can only imagine her excitement when she learned that the seed packets which she opened in her eggs yesterday weren't just "pretty pictures with veggies I like" on them, but a PROJECT for her to do. So, outside we all went.

We got right to work on planting her veggie garden. We planted tomatoes, zucchini, lettuce, cucumber, carrots, and peppers. I have a feeling she's going to want to water it or tend to it every day to check on the progress. I'm just hoping her thumb is greener than mine and Adam's. :) Guess we'll have to wait and see...

Daddy gave her a little lesson on how we plant the seeds, but God is the one who makes them grow. Please God, make at least 1 of the 6 things grow for her!!!

Using her new watering can.

We came back inside, and she wanted to add a few special touches to her eggs. Shortly after this, I deviled them all. :) She ate two for dinner.

We also had corn on the cob for dinner too...I LOVE to watch her eat it. She's hilarious...

"I'm a happy boy with a full belly!"-- Caleb

We put Emma to bed and she immediately started crying. I went to see what was the matter and she reminded me that we "forgot to open the present from Granna and Grandpa." (I had told her we'd do it after dinner and then completely forgot about it). So, out of bed she went and got to open her purse and chick. Her memory is amazing. If you tell her something, you'd better be prepared to follow through!!!

We had a great, busy Easter weekend because we were together as a family. But most of all because we were able to freely celebrate Jesus...the one who gave His life for us. And to quote Emma, she'd want everyone reading this blog to know today especially,
"Happy Easter...Jesus is ALIVE!!!"

Friday Photo Overload!!!

2011-04-21T22:23:00.009-05:00

Bluebonnets. The Texas State Flower. It was only natural to take some pics of the kiddos in a nice pretty field of them...

Family Pic. I know, Caleb isn't looking...need to photoshop this one...

Emma was looking at a ladybug.

Outside the other day...Caleb was blowing me kisses. :)

And Emma was giving Daddy kisses.

Giving Daddy a hug. :)

Aunt Alli gave Emma this cookie set...you can "cut" the cookie dough apart and each one velcros onto the cookie sheet. Then, you can place the icing on top. This may go down as one of the best presents ever. She LOVES it. I mean, give a kid a fake wooden knife and tell her to cut something, and you've got an instant winner, right!?!? Thank you Aunt Alli!!!

The other night at the dinner table, things were getting a little bit crazy...

...and stew was everywhere...

...but a messy face didn't stop the fun...

...and lots of laughs...

...and the little man joined in on the fun as well...

(not sure if you can see it in this pic or not, but he had carrots in his eyelashes!)

Emma had all her stuffed animals sitting on the couch in a row, and then Mallie plopped down. Emma was not happy about it because that meant that Rufus had no where to sit. (Jackie, notice Emma's shirt. This is one that you got for Molly that she wouldn't wear. Emma looks precious in it!!!)

Emma and I went to Carsen's volleyball game the other night. Emma had a blast and was a great little cheerleader.

On Wednesday, we went to a park with a few friends to feed the ducks and play... so fun!

Emma with her buds Rowan and Garrett.

She was a real brave girl when she fed the ducks. She'd get right to the edge of the water and throw the bread in the water...I was a little afraid she might fall in. The geese didn't phase her one bit (she used to be frightened of them). After she fed them...

...she'd giggle and come back to get more bread. So cute!

Having fun.

After feeding the ducks, we went to a park to play for a little while.

"Um, Rowan? Don't you think this is a little backwards? In all the movies I've seen, the guy is always pushing the girl in the swing..." --Emma

Emma had her doll bed out in the living room and Mallie decided to take a little nap in it. So cute! At first, Emma wanted her to get out "right now!" so that Panda could take a nap in it, but...
...she soon realized how fun it could be to have a "live" animal to "mommy." Before you knew it, Mallie had a blanket on and a little teddy bear to sleep with. She played right along, bless her.

NEW TEETH!!! Caleb now has 9 teeth...he finally got the front bottom one that has kept his grin lopsided for a while, and also got his first molar on the upper left side.

Preparing for Easter. We have been doing "Resurrection Eggs" and Emma can pretty much tell you the easter story now. I highly recommend them to everyone with young kids. She drew this today---I had to help her with the "S" and "N", but she did everything else.

Yes, I know it's not Christmas...
I thought I'd post about our little holiday tradition. For Christmas, I decided to make a holiday placemat using our handprints. I am going to continue the tradition for the major holidays we celebrate, and will be fun to watch how the kids handprints grow over time. I got them laminated at Mardels for .25 each. Below is our one for Easter this year...

We had Caleb's 1 year pics taken tonight...but that'll have to be in another post. Hope you enjoyed the photos and have a great weekend!

Caleb's First Birthday Party!!!

2011-04-18T11:03:00.010-05:00

Our "Little Engine That Could" party!!!
On Saturday, we celebrated Caleb's first birthday. It was so much fun and I had a lot of fun planning for it. First, a few pics of the decorations...

The Train.
The front car was the cake, which had a smoke stack "smash" cupcake for Caleb. It was a chocolate cake with vanilla icing, and was decorated with oreos for the wheels, hershey bars for the windows, an ice cream cone for the front, and chocolate chips and sprinkles for fun. I am NOT a cake maker or decorator, but it was still fun and easy to do.

The rest of the train cars.
I decorated the table with a wooden train track and had a few little trains around it. Then in the train cars, I had the rest of the snacks...chcolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies, candy and suckers, Grandmother's fruit salad recipe, and crackers, goldfish and cheese. There was one decoration car too...more on that later...

The little red caboose...

Another view.

Everyone knows in the book, the Little Engine that could gets up the hill by believing in himself and repeatedly saying "I think I can, I think I can!" So, I taped these thought clouds on the suckers to stick with the theme. All the train cars were covered with scrapbook paper which I will reuse when I scrapbook his party so everything will coordinate.
Notice the clouds on the table...
All the guests chose a cloud and wrote a message to Caleb, or a wish for him, since he's too young to make one on his own. When done, they placed it in the decoration train car in a yellow block. I will scrapbook each one. (I did this for Emma's first birthday and it was my favorite part...I enjoy going back in her baby book and reading the handwritten messages they wrote to her as well as having a memory of everyone who was at her party). Emma even wrote on a cloud...she wrote "Caleb." :) precious!!

And now for the birthday boy...

He kept trying to grab the candle when we sang to him. :)

The first thing he did was grab the cake with his right hand (notice all the icing on it). He didn't like that and didn't know what to make of the sticky mess, so that forced him to eat with his left hand (which he never does). He dove right in. LOVED the cupcake.

Adam said, "He's you and Emma is me!" because he scarfed down his cake, just like I'd do. We definitely have a big sweet tooth. Emma, on the other hand WOULD NOT EAT HER CAKE, and tried to spit out her bite. I told her to not spit it out, and that if she swallowed that one bite, she would not have to eat any more of it. Just like her Daddy, she'd just as soon have fruit salad instead.

With the birthday boy!

Miss Nosy-Rosy Ava...
Carsen brought Emma a gift to the party (how sweet!) and Ava decided to look in the bag. She got her head stuck in the handle. Hilarious!!!

What's going on in this picture...
Caleb is standing!!! (he did take 3-4 steps on his own shortly after this). Also, Emma was writing a "note" for Caleb. The boys in the background were full from cake, and Mallie could have cared less about the whole party....she was asleep on the back of the couch the whole time.

"It's my party and I'll cry if I want to!"
He was tired of us all trying to encourage him to walk....and just tired I think. :) Yep, the clock says 2:00...that's his naptime!

His conductor outfit...

All in all, it was a great party! Everyone seemed to have a great time and we just still can't believe that the past year has flown by.

Below, a video of us singing and Caleb getting his first bite of cake!!!

Before the Party...

2011-04-17T15:53:00.007-05:00

Ahhh, to have a nice camera for a few days....such a special treat for us!!! We borrowed our friend, Jeremy's camera for a few days and had a fun time playing with it and finding out what it would/could do. Maybe someday we'll have one of our own!!! :)

Our gorgeous little girl...

The sweetest little one year old!

Playing on Emma's bed.

In the middle of playtime, Emma decided we needed to do some "ek-kercises." "Do them with me Mommy!" she said. So we did some quick crunches. ;) I guess she wanted to look her best for her photo shoot.

Oh how I love you. I can't believe a year ago you arrived in our lives...

...you are a blessing to our lives.

Um...okay, so it wrong for me to be jealous of my two year old's gorgeous locks? She has amazing hair. She still has had NO haircut ever...I guess now we're waiting for her 3rd bday since it's just around the corner. Although when it arrives we may chicken out again and put it off a few months.
Another thought we've had is to let it keep growing and let her first haircut be a donation to pantenebeautifullengths.com Similar to the Locks of Love organization in purpose, but they only require 8" of hair instead of 10." What a neat and special first-haircut that would be, right!?!? Still deciding...

Cuddling with her new pony...
...and getting a kiss from her.

This photo is magical. One of my absolute favorites!

Little Caleb, you are sooo close to walking. Just let go of my fingers and BELIEVE you can do it!!!
Please answer the following question:
In the above photo, Emma was,

A) hopping
B) standing there in this position for a long time doing fancy leg, flamingo, or who knows what
C) trying to ruin a perfectly good photo op because she knew Daddy was taking a pic of Caleb and not her.

Answer: B, with probably a little bit of C as well. :) it was too funny!!!

And since we had a nice camera for a few days, we figured we'd snap a few quick pics of our feline family too...

One Year Old!!!

2011-04-14T17:36:00.004-05:00

"Hello folks! I'm ONE year old!!! Hard to believe, right? My birthday was a good one, I must say. My party will be this weekend and we'll post more photos after that. I am able to stand on my own now and have taken just a few steps, but they are few and far between. I still prefer to get around everywhere by crawling and will only take a step if I'm forced to (like, when suddenly the hands I was holding "disappear" for some strange reason). I thought you'd enjoy a few pictures of my birthday day. Love you all!!!"--Caleb

cheesing at Daddy.

This is his best puppy dog face...melts your heart, right?

We went outside to snap a few quick pics and enjoy the afternoon breeze.

A good one of Caleb...
...and one of Emma. We'll have to photoshop these later.

Our first "Party"

2011-04-11T13:25:00.002-05:00

The word "Party" in the Haynes House has 2 definitions:
1. word meaning to celebrate an event, such as a birthday party.
2. word meaning a late night snack. Originating from James and Kaye Haynes, who often provided "party" for Adam and Amanda when they were little.

Above is a pic of Emma's first "Party." On Friday night, we let her stay up a little late to watch the video from the church musical last weekend. We ate super size soft warm pretzels. Yummy!!!

OUT.
(after the party). ha

Story time!

This was last Sunday at church in the sanctuary. It was all decorated for the musical. Emma even had a "shine" shirt to match mine and Adam's. :) Caleb wore Emma's old tee that said "I'm with the Band."

Caleb's room, after dark.

Truman: "Don't worry, Caleb. I'll keep the night watch. You go to bed."
Caleb: zzzzzzzzz
Truman: "Um....psst....Caleb? Do you ever get the feeling that we are being watched?"

(Truman is Caleb's stuffed animal dog).

The other day Emma wanted Caleb to "push her" in the car. He had a blast. (excuse the chapped face...he'd been drooling in his bed. Where is that tooth? I wish it'd hurry up and come in.)

My newest sewing project: Train Conductor Hat.
Every year for Emma's birthday, I sew her something. A little keepsake she can have "from Mom, with love." :) I was feeling a little guilty that Caleb's birthday is on Wednesday and I hadn't sewed him anything yet. Since we're having a "The Little Engine that Could" party, I figured our little train conductor needed to have a hat. I went through my stash of fabric and found some old jean scraps. They were perfect! I found a tutorial online, and after a little time, voila!! All done. And I must say, he looks simply adorable in it.

Park-o-rama

2011-04-04T17:45:00.005-05:00

A few new little updates: Caleb started eating finger foods! Woo-hoo!!!! He's still kind of picky, but we're now able to make it through a meal with out any tears. Here, he was all smiles, playing a game with Daddy.

"What!?!?!? All done with dinner???"
He learned his first sign-language word last week: MORE!!!

Capturing a pic of him feeding himself. :)

Angie, doesn't this pic above kind of look like Ethan/Lucas? Usually it's Levi, but here it was the other two. :)

Smiley happy boy!!! I'm still trying to decide if those are dimples on his cheeks or not. :)

We went to the park over the weekend. The weather was AWESOME. It was Caleb's first time in the swing. He LOVED it. Oh my goodness...here's a lot of pics of him enjoying himself. I just couldn't narrow them down any more than this...

Both the kiddos on the swing...

We had gone to Sonic before we went to the park got an ice cream cone. Emma and Daddy had a plan where she could take a bite as she swung forward.

Emma going down the slide. She was so brave and wanted to do every one.
Funny Story: There were a lot of kids there, and there was another little girl named Emma. Sometimes she'd hear someone yell "Emma?!?!?" and Emma would look around, raise those eyebrows and yell "WHAT!!?!?!?!?" It was so funny.

Caleb enjoyed watching is sister climb around.

Daddy and Emma before going down the tunnel slide.

Weeeeee! Look closer...we realized (when we were walking back to the van to come home, no less) that Emma had her pants unbuttoned AND unzipped the entire time we were there. Oh well. That's what happens when a 2 year old goes potty by herself...

Going down the slide by herself...

Mark it down folks!!!!!!!! Emma was getting "dirty!"
She watched another little girl pick up sand and put a pile up on the cement block. Emma watched her for a long time and finally said "I want to put this up here like she does," and then dove right in. We were shocked. Emma HATES getting dirty, everything associated with dirty/yucky, etc... In fact, as soon as we arrived at the park and went into the sandy part, she felt the sand in her shoes and it almost kept her from wanting to play. She wouldn't walk anywhere. We had to talk her through it an explain that we could clean her feet off later. That did the trick!

Monday Monday

2011-03-28T20:59:00.003-05:00

Playing ball.
Here's a MAJOR update on Caleb: he decided he'd start eating non-pureed foods today. Right out of the blue...he ate turkey, cheese and cucumber for lunch. We were all shocked. He's still in major rebellion of lots of foods, but we're happy for the 3 new foods he decided he'd eat today.

Meet Cow.
Emma decided that Bunny (our last toilet paper roll craft) needed a new friend. So we made cow a few days ago. She loves him and was so proud of him. His head will bend down so that he can eat grass, which she loves to do. Next, she's decided we need to make a kitty. Stay tuned for that. ;) We'll have a whole Haynes farm before too long. E-I-E-I-O!!!

Emma loves my shoes...

...and Daddy's.

Daddy brought home his fancy mic the other day and recorded Emma singing Jesus Loves Me.

Looking cute in her jammies.

Emma drew Queen Esther today.

The video below is from the other day. Emma drew all these people and had unique names for them all. Sometimes, the girl talks in Japanese. She's also talented enough to sing songs in Japanese too. The other day when Adam recorded her singing Jesus Loves Me, she added a few lines in Japanese too. I'm telling you, it sounds REAL...she even had Aunt Alli fooled; she actually thought we were teaching Emma the language. Too funny!

Doo-Wop, Doo- Wop

2011-03-21T19:59:00.003-05:00

Here's Emma showing off how she can draw her letters. The first line was mine, and she did the rest! She's getting so good at it...we made it all the way to "R" the other day, and most of the letters looked how they were supposed to (except for the G and the J).

Bright eyed and bushy tailed!!! Caleb has had strep throat but was finally on some meds when we took this pic, and feeling much better. He's still running a fever, but is a much happier boy. The doc also put him back on his acid reflux meds...we shall see if that helps his eating issues...

...and eating issues he has!!! He's still not a fan of finger food (unless its something sweet, like fruit). Guess he may have his Mommy's sweet tooth. Here he was refusing to eat his dinner. Yes, that IS a hot dog...I know, I know. You're probably thinking "what in the world are you doing giving him a hot dog if he's got texture issues??? I was experimenting with all kinds of textures and new foods thinking he's just got to like something. I'm glad I did too...today he actually shocked us all and ate part of a toasted turkey and cheese sandwich, cut up in little bites (he will not touch turkey or cheese otherwise).

He and I went outside over the weekend and captured this sweet little pic. Be on the lookout...it's going on his 1 year birthday invite. We're going to have a "The Little Engine That Could" party. We figured, Caleb has been through a LOT his first year, and he's proven time and time again...He's our Little Engine that Could. All this means for the party is I'll display that book as part of the decorations and I'll make a train cake. You know me...I'm not really into themed stuff.

And, the works are already in full force for Emma's 3rd birthday party too. It's not til June, but there was NO question what kind of party we should have this year...Emma loves to "cook" in her kitchen, so...(see above pic)...we're going to have a "cooking" party!!!! Part of my plans are to make cupcakes and let the kids be the chefs and decorate their own cupcakes with icing, sprinkles, chocolate chips, marshmallows...basically anything that will go on a cupcake. (This also makes it easier for me too...I won't have to put icing on or decorate them myself!!! It's a win-win!) We'll be having cute games, prizes and I'm going to make aprons for all the kiddos. You can see why I'm starting on her party plans NOW. I'm so excited about both of their parties. They're going to be fun! :)

Looking mighty sweet, little Flay.

Emma's latest afternoon-family-fun: putting on a concert for Daddy, Mommy, and Caleb. She grabs all the pillows and puts them in a big circle in the living room floor, then gets in the middle (I suppose it's her "stage"), grabs her microphone and sings her little heart out for all of us. Here, she was singing to a devoted fan, who LOVES to be serenaded to. He looks in awe of his "rockstar" sister, huh?!?! I'm pretty sure he's thinking 'Whoa...maybe one day I'll be able to walk and dance around and be as cool as you. You're awesome. Can I have your autograph?'

Below: here is a video of one of her concerts...

Here's a video of the other day when Emma lost her sticker and was looking for it.

S is for Smile

2011-03-15T18:12:00.002-05:00

Just a few recent pics...

Emma talking on her phone.

Please click on and enlarge the above photo...Emma was a MESS!!! She put her jammies top on herself...but backwards, put her headlamp on her head(check out the wild hair) and sat in the floor to help Daddy organize his sock drawer.

This was Sunday before church. Emma looked precious, as always. It was the first time for her to wear these tights with multi-colored hearts on them. When I put them on her, I got a surprise...they have a huge pink heart on the back. I didn't tell her about it, because I knew if I did she'd lift up her skirt to show all her friends once we arrived at church.

Sunday naptime...even the cats couldn't resist the power that Sunday nap seems to have on the Haynes house. Check out Ava's leg, all hiked up on Mallie.

Eleven Months Old!!!

2011-03-14T14:38:00.000-05:00

"Hello everyone! Another month and I am still as cute as ever. I have been having some adjustments to life lately...Mommy has taken my bottle away and now gives me my formula in a sippy cup. I don't like it, but it's my only option right now. The only way I will drink it is if she or Daddy feeds me as if I'm drinking from a bottle, in the layed back position. I will not touch my cup yet and do it myself, and only prefer to bother Emma's cup if she leaves hers laying around.

"Mommy has also limited my homemade pureed food, which I had really grown accustomed to. She has replaced it with "real" bite sized food, which I don't like very much. I pretty much hate it, if I'm being honest, but like I said...when it's your only option, I have had to learn to deal with it. Mommy says "tough love"--whatever that means.

"I don't really have any new words I've learned, although sometimes Mommy swears that I am saying "Ava" or "Emma." I can say those two plain as day, but only I know if I truly know the meanings of those words, and I'm going to keep them guessing as to whether or not I do. I have a speech therapist I see once a week and will also be getting a new PT to work on my neck.

"I have waved once (2 weeks ago) but then haven't done it since then. I am perfectly happy crawling from place to place for now but will cruise along furniture and stand up and play in Emma's kitchen for a long time. Her room is really fun to play in! There's so many things to chew on!!!

"Gonna go for now. Love to you all!"
Until next month--Caleb

Made To Worship

2011-03-13T21:20:00.003-05:00

Just in case you've ever doubted that God created us to worship Him... Although she is now just dancing, this shows a heart that will hopefully one day truly worship Jesus as Savior. We played this song the other night and she just went at it. Talk about making a dad tear up. :)

Thankful Thursday

2011-03-10T14:02:00.004-06:00

This morning Miss Brenda picked Emma up and took her to play at her house, which meant that I got some much needed one-on-one time with Caleb. Usually Thursdays are my "Thundering Thursdays" where I get tons of housework done, but this morning I put it aside and spent the entire time playing with him. We played in his room for the first time ever, and got out some toys that typically get taken away from him when we drag them out. He had a ball. I was so thankful that Brenda invited Emma over. :) It helped us all, I think. So, I renamed today "Thankful Thursday."

Playing with Noah's Ark...it's funny--Emma really liked the lion best and I think he does too.

"All these toys to myself!?!?! Unbelievable!"

He crawled around everywhere and was excited to explore his own room.

"See everyone? This is MY room!"
I love this pic. Such a cutie pie.

Funny Story: Last night while cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, Emma said "Mommy?" I didn't answer because I was preoccupied with picking up, so she waited a sec, then said "...Danielle?" The look on my face must have been pretty shocking, because she said it again. When I looked up, I actually was looking for someone else to be standing in our living room, thinking that somehow I must have left the front door open or something. After further investigation, I also learned that she knows Daddy's name too. The only thing Adam and I could figure out was that she overheard our names when we met Caleb's new PT yesterday. But she never questioned us about it...she just "sat" on the new info and pulled it out at the appropriate time. I tell ya--she surprises us everyday!!!

A few new things she's learned lately:
1. her phone number
2. her birthday
3. "He made everything beautiful...Ecclesiastes 3:11"

4. sometimes her poo poo looks like the little acorns that we find when we go on our walks. (hey, she's two...she's comparing everything these days!!!)

Below are a few videos. The first is random...Emma put on Daddy's backpack and thought it was hilarious that it "bonked" her legs when she walked. At the end of the video...I had to include a little clip of me sucking the snot out of Caleb's nose with a bulb syringe. Now, we all know he's "opinionated" about various things, and one would think he wouldn't like this...but for some reason it is gobs of fun and very funny to him.

The next one is long overdue...Aunt Manda sent a few little gifts for the kiddos a few weeks ago. Caleb got to open his (a Big Bird puppet) and Emma had to wait til the next day b/c she had not been obeying well the day it arrived in the mail. So, this is a video of her getting to open her gift. She loved them all, but was most impressed that she had a "Big Bird" to play with like Caleb. :)

This last one was from this morning, after Emma got back from Miss Brenda's house. We had been outside talking to our neighbor, and Emma overheard that our other neighbor, Miss Barbara, was at the doctor because she had broken her arm a few weeks ago and was getting a check up. The info stuck... It's kind of a long video, but let's you be able to hear all the talking she's been doing lately. :) When I watched this happen today, my mind fast-forwarded 14 years, and I saw her as a 16 year old, gabbing to her friends on the phone while laying on the couch. Sigh. I know that day will be here all too soon, so for now, I'll just watch this video again. :)

Food Wars

2011-03-09T14:56:00.003-06:00

Emma and Caleb both have been having issues with food lately. Emma will sit down for dinner and after one bite will say "I'm all full" (words she learned from her cousins over Christmas vacation). Not cool. Yesterday I made her sit at the table til she ate a banana. It took 2.5 hours. In the Haynes house...you eat what you are given or you don't eat. But Emma has proven to be stubborn. I thought Adam and I were stubborn in our own ways, but golly, I think she has us both beat by a mile. We have mealtime, and if she doesn't eat what we give her, we put it in the fridge and offer it to her next time...but yesterday she didn't eat lunch, so it was given to her at snack, and then again at dinner. She still wouldn't eat it, so we put her to bed. NOW THAT IS STUBBORN.

I think she's been seeing the attention that Caleb has been getting lately at his mealtimes and is craving attention too. He has been having some eating issues too...not wanting to eat food if its lumpy, or finger foods, etc. And, let me remind everyone that he'll be 11 months next week. Finger foods should be no big deal at this point. Also not cool. One of my college friends is a therapist for children and works with them on speech, feeding, etc... She said that this isn't uncommon for kiddos who have had a hard time with acid reflux, and it may or may not get better. She suggested us getting a speech therapist who specializes in feeding at his 1 year b-day if he's not better. Time will tell.
He already has a speech therapist and at this point, she says its to early to tell if it's a real disorder or if its just his temperment.

Its been a hard week. I know kids are kids and there's always "something" that could use improvement...but with Caleb, we've had a concern about something from the moment he arrived...acid reflux...torticollis...speech delays...and now, possibly food issues????!?!? Top that with a 2.5 year old who is refusing to eat, and this mommy needs a break!!! Yesterday I darted out the door as soon as Daddy came home to go get a "drink" (aka a Route 44 Cherry Limeade from Sonic). If anyone ever needs an idea of a present to get me...feel free to send me a Sonic gift card, as I'm sure we're going to have many more days like yesterday.

So, now for the fun stuff...Pictures!!! Above...Emma got a "present"--an empty container of Baby Magic Baby Wash. She has LOVED this thing and all her babies, Elmo, etc. are squeaky clean.

The rest are pics of Caleb...

...he was having fun playing with this ball.

He hasn't gotten any new teeth yet...and still has that uneven, precious little grin!!! Oh, see the huge bruise on his head? That's from his Head-banging in his crib. Niiice.

Craft Time!!! Emma and I made a bunny the other day. She got REALLY into it and now wants to make a whole zoo of animals. She says next will be a "cow." I find that kid craft projects are so funny. I spend the time cutting everything out and essentially making the craft minus gluing it on. later we painstakingly glue on each piece and talk about all the parts of the bunny, making sure they are all represented (she was VERY concerned that our bunny didn't have a belly and back feet). Then, we watch the clock til Bunny dries. When he does, something inevitably gets ripped off the second she (or her brother) touches it and he must be repaired ASAP. Our bunny has already had an ear and arm ripped off, and repaired. Oh well. Somehow, it's still worth it--she IS her mommy's daughter and loves to craft.

FUNNY STORY: Emma looked out the window the other day and said, "THERE's NANA!!!!! (very convincingly, I might add). I walked over to the window, halfway expecting to find a strange woman who resembled Nana walking through the backyard (even though we keep the gates locked, etc). When I peeked out, she said "There she is!!!!! Nana is going down the slide!!!!" It was then that I realized her BIG imagination was hard at work. Picturing my 86 year old Nana going down Emma's plastic slide was an image that kept me chuckling for the rest of the day. Weeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

Last Week

2011-02-27T23:29:00.005-06:00

Due to a few bouts of sickness last week, I didn't get any posts up. Adam had a bug...and Caleb had either roseola or parvo virus (not sure which). We are hoping this week is better. :) Above...today after church Emma decided to "shop," she said. I guess this was her cart. Looks more like she's mowing the lawn to me. And no, this was not her Sunday church outfit. She had taken her jumper off before potty time. ha

Smiley boy! Don't remember if I posted this pic in an earlier post or not, but it's a cute one! I think I might have. Oh well.

Riding on the car. He's not too coordinated at it yet, but he'll sit for a while and smile before falling off.

Their first sibling bath ever!!! With Mr. Fussy-Pants (aka. Caleb) last week, one morning I needed a "project" for them that was halfway productive. You know, one where I could contain them somewhere without running round like banshees and/or getting into something. I needed to get them cleaned off anyways, so, morning bathtime happened. And they had fun!

The weather was so gorgeous that Emma and I had drawing time outside one afternoon while Caleb napped. She thought it was pretty fun, but found the big, fat chalks difficult to do her more detailed drawing, since it was harder to hold.

But honestly, what 2 year old wouldn't love to scribble and mark up something!?!? Please notice her flared-out left hand. Hilarious!

Adam and I got to enjoy a special treat this past week. Chris Tomlin, Christy Nockels, and Louie Giglio came to Wichita Falls!!! We had a blast at the concert and were so thankful to Miss Brenda for coming over to stay with the kiddos so that we could both go. Above is a pic of Chris Tomlin...he is known as "Uncle Chris" in our house. Emma LOVES his music.

Getting thrown up in the air by Daddy...

...it's so much fun that Emma wanted a turn. Look at that hair!!!

Below is a video of something I've mentioned before and I finally got it on film. When Caleb is falling asleep, or sometimes in the middle of a nap even, he rams his head into the corner of his crib. HARD. From the living room you'd swear that the crib was going to break or collapse at any given moment. Adam and I joke that he's hammering or building a clubhouse in there, it's so loud!!!
...I asked his new therapist about it and she thought it was probably his weird little way of winding down before drifting off into la-la land. I'm glad it works for Caleb, but am 100% sure it would never work for me. Can you say migraine!?!?!? Enjoy!!!

Emma's First Visit to the Dentist

2011-02-17T22:41:00.010-06:00

First a few pictures of our little boy...

I love this pic...he looks to sweet, just like a little angel with his hands folded together as he waits for dinner.

Caleb's little head/neck issues are still there... I'm so ready for it to be better.

This pic shows a great view of his lop-sided grin...he's got one less tooth on the bottom than the top.

NOW FOR THE BIG NEWS...Emma went with Daddy to the dentist today... I'm handing over the keyboard so he can type all about it (I was home with Caleb so I didn't go). Here's Adam:

Well...once again I am reminded that my little girl is growing up...oh so quickly. She went with me to the dentist yesterday, and we were going to have her sit in the big chair and let the dentist count her teeth...at least. She sat there patiently as Daddy got his teeth cleaned and when it was her turn, well, we were all amazed.

She sat down all by herself in the chair. She let the hygienist put on her blue "bib." She then let her, not only check and count her teeth, but she also let her CLEAN her teeth with the normal toothpaste and swirly brush--the kind they use on adults!! She just sat there with her mouth open like she was supposed to. They rinsed her teeth and everything. Then they pulled out the floss....no problem!! The dentist came in and she talked with him like they had been lifelong friends. Then he checked her teeth again and her gums. None of us could believe Emma was behaving like such a big girl. It was like it was just another day. Of course my pride swelled to about 10x it's normal size from how well she was doing.

Getting ready...

Miss Lacey polished and flossed all 20 teeth.

Emma and Dr. Jackson. She talked about him all the way home. Apparently, he loved her just as much as she loved him...he was so taken with her that he offered to babysit if we ever needed a babysitter. :)

"See what I got?!?!?!"

Below: A video of all the fun at the dentist...enjoy!!!

Valentine's Day & a Little Ditty

2011-02-14T15:03:00.009-06:00

Caleb and Truman.

Meet "Melba."

Melba is my grandmother's name (Emma's Nana). I often wish Nana could be here in TX to watch Emma play...she definitely reminds me of how Nana was when I was growing up and hanging out at her house on 16th Street. And since Nana is in KY and can't be here for playtime, I thought I'd list a few reasons why Adam and I have affectionately called her "Melba" more times than we can count.

1. She loves to cook, both in her play kitchen and in the real kitchen with me. She can whip up a meal in no time. That is just like Nana. She could bring out 10 or so "Tuppers" (aka, Tupperware) filled with all sorts of yummy food from the fridge at mealtime.

2. She loves to clean. I mean LOVES it. There is a strange bond between Emma and a cleaning rag that I will never begin to understand. According to "my little Melba," something in this house could always use a little cleaning. Give her a dust rag and watch out!!! She's unstoppable.
I can't remember a time when I was over at Nana's house where something wasn't considered "filthy," she'd say. This was her opinion...to me it looked clean as a whistle. :)

3. She's always painting her fingernails. Ever since I gave Emma that bottle as her big girl gift a few weeks ago, she keeps painting her fingernails. They've been painted blue, magenta, yellow...every color of the rainbow. While Nana usually prefers to stick to the more sensible colors of clear or pink, she always has the most gorgeous nails you've ever seen.

We miss you Nana and wish you lived closer so you could come over and watch the 2-year-old version of yourself!!! It's pretty cute. :)

Emma thought Mallie needed a friend to sleep with.

With Daddy!

"Caleb, I cooked for you. You like it???"

Awww.

Look...
...at that...
...sweet boy.

Funny story: We gave Emma and Caleb some fake food for Valentine's Day to use in the play kitchen. (Did they NEED more fake food? No. Even the chewed-in-half fake hamburger we have (thank you, Caleb) didn't warrant such a purchase. BUT after watching Emma almost lose her marbles, concerned because she couldn't find the tomatoes a few days ago... searching high and low for them, we thought it might be an appropriate gift to ensure that our daughter stays sane in the future (and that our son has a new plastic hamburger to destroy). It was as if Emma put out an APB for those tomatoes. No one could rest til the tomatoes had been found. So, $2 well spent, in my opinion).

Below: A video for you...Emma wanted to serenade us the other day. She pulled out all the stops and rattled off a few songs right in a row. Enjoy!

Ten Months Old!!!

2011-02-14T14:29:00.002-06:00

"Well, well, well... here I am again, reporting to you all I've been up to over the past month. I am still cruising around furniture fast in an attempt to get whatever Emma is playing with. She's pretty fast too, and also really good at moving whatever I've had my eye on. I'll have to work on getting even faster over the next few weeks. I stood up for a few seconds while not holding onto anything...I've done this a few times now. Mommy says I do a real good job til I realize no one's got me, and then I freak out.

"My teeth count is holding steady at 7...so I have the most adorable, asymmetrical smile right now. (Sidenote: All the ladies, young and old, seem to really dig it). Here's a new development- My temper has been flaring up at night sometimes... I lay in the corner of my crib on my tummy and rock back and forth, banging my head into the crib bars over and over while moaning. Mommy says this goes on and on throughout the night. Even I don't know why I'm doing it and have wondered if I might be turning into the Incredible Hulk or something. There's no rhyme or reason for my outbursts...some nights I'm quiet as a mouse. Apparently it is "highly frowned upon" when it occurs at 3 or 5am, so I'll try to do better.

"I have earned myself a few new nicknames... if I'm in a good mood and happy, they call me "Flay." (after Bobby Flay...the blonde, curly-headed, blue-eyed chef). If I'm angry...they call me "Badge." (this is for Badger, one of the most ill-tempered animals in existence. Apparently this nickname started back in my early days of acid reflux, and stuck).

"Mommy and Daddy can't quite get a handle on my hair...some days it's straight as an arrow on top, and other days it's pretty poofy. Especially in the back. Time will tell whether or not I inherited the curly-headed gene.

"Gonna go for now. It's naptime and this little Flay must go get his rest. Love to you all! Until next month!" --Caleb

A Day of Mourning

2011-02-05T15:14:00.002-06:00

Wow…nothing like following a day of joy with a day of sorrow. After the wonderful day helping Emma build her first snowman, today I had the honor of walking my daughter through her first loss. When the sunshine came out today, her “love” began to melt. Even though we had prepped her as much as we could, nothing could have prepared her for watching her beloved “fall over.”

This afternoon, she sat at the table eating her lunch while keeping a watchful eye on her friend. We watched her snowman lose her hat…then a button eye…and then, with a deep sorrow, she cried out, “Oh, snowman fall down!” She wept for her friend.

As she cried, I held her and again tried to explain that snowmen were not meant to last forever. I reminded her that we knew this would happen…sometime. Well, sometime was now “now” and all I could do was hold her. She kept asking “Why she fall down?” I told her that God made snow to be light and fluffy so it could blanket back yards, so little girls could throw snowballs and build snowmen. But He also made it fragile, so it would melt when it was warm. That is what makes snow…snow. It melts. Just as God gave us the snow to build her snowman, He also gave us the warmth of the sun that made it melt. He gives to us freely…and takes away as He chooses. He gave us a short time to enjoy her new “friend.”

I assured her it’s okay to be sad, as long as we remember that God loved us enough to let us have the snowman in the first place. I let Emma know she could look at her as much or as little as she wanted, and if she wanted, I would look with her. So numerous times this afternoon, she would grab my finger and say, “Daddy, we go look at snowman fall down.” And we would go look.

I couldn’t help be thankful…for this time with my daughter, as well as for a God who speaks even in the little things--the mourning of a snowman. First of all, just as I sought to comfort my daughter, we, too, have a heavenly Father--the God of all comfort--who desires to comfort us in times of loss. Secondly, we are not created to last forever. God has graciously and lovingly given us each day, and in His sovereignty has numbered them according to His will. We have but one chance to live this life and to love those around us--TODAY--because in the end…we all melt.

Snow Day #4

2011-02-04T16:05:00.017-06:00

Today it finally warmed up some and made for a great snowman day. The temperature wasn't biting and the snow started sticking together. Emma and I just HAD to venture out to play in it AGAIN!!! This time...with a purpose.

Getting ready for the big event.

This is Emma's attempt at her own snow angel.

Emma hopped right in with helping Daddy gather snow.

But once she bent over, she couldn't stand back up again because of all her layers of clothing.

Daddy had to teach her the ropes of building a truly great snowman.

But once she got the hang of it, she was a natural.

She even streamlined the process, by getting her little wagon to help carry the snow. She is her daddy's daughter.

Here is the final product.

After they built their snowman, Mommy asked her, "What are you going to name your snowman?" Emma decided she would affectionately name her...."Daddy." Gotta love it.

And even though a picture says a thousand words...a video says so much more. So here you go. :)

Snow Day #2!!!

2011-02-02T21:05:00.005-06:00

Another day of the 4 of us stuck in the house...awesome! We are having such a good time. AND the church office, schools, etc, are closed again tomorrow (Thursday) too, so we'll have another day together.

Caleb has been konking out while we eat dinner at night instead of pouting at us. He bounces himself to sleep in his Johnny Jump Up. It's hilarious to watch.

Emma and I during "learning" time. She's getting really good at her sounds. Instead of calling them flash cards, she'll say, "I want to do my Christmas cards!!!"

Today Adam, Emma and I went outside to play. We stuck Caleb in the Pack n Play indoors so it would be safe for him to play and we kept peeking through the window to check on him. The first thing Emma wanted to do was make snowballs...

...then we moved onto snow angels. Daddy's, Emma's, and Mommy's. :)

"My taxi service is sure to meet your transportation needs...even in a snowstorm!"

snowball fight!!!

Who says you can't slide in the middle of winter!?!?

Daddy wanted to build Emma a snowman. It is currently sitting outside our kitchen window on the ledge so Emma can enjoy it while she's eating. He's such a good Daddy!

Dinnertime Tales

2011-02-01T20:49:00.002-06:00

Emma asked to hear a "story" during dinner. Now, Adam's stories tend to be a little confusing for her (a dog named "cat," living in a town called "castle,"--you get the picture). so before he started I reminded him to make it a good one. He proceeded to tell a beautiful, grandiose tale about a firefly and grasshopper. After he had finished, he looked at me and said, "Beat that one, Mommy!" So, not to be outdone, I immediately accepted the challenge.

The rest of dinner was spent with us attempting to one-up the other one's previous story. Emma was taken aback at how fun, exciting, and animated our dinnertime talk could be all of a sudden. Lots of times we just talk about grown up things which I'm sure bore her to no end, yet she chimes into the conversation when she can. But tonight, we talked about the adventures of a firefly, grasshopper, canary and cricket. I wish everyone could have seen her face...eyes wide-eyed, ears hanging on every word. So funny. And all because we were trying to "win." (which, by the way, I totally won). ha ha

Snow Day!!!

2011-02-01T10:53:00.006-06:00

All winter, I have been hoping for one good snow, and boy, did we get one last night!!! The weathermen were talking about things like "thunder-ice, thunder snow," etc...things we have never heard of before. About 8pm last night it all started, and since we didn't know how bad it would be, Adam and I made a mad dash out to the garage and shoved everything to the walls so that we could get both cars in the garage (a feat that has NEVER been done since we have had our home).

This morning, we woke up to a beautiful snow...I'm not sure how many inches, but we had some 6" areas in the backyard. As soon as Emma saw it, she got so excited and said "Thank you God for my special surprise!" After breakfast it took us 45 MINUTES (how is that possible?) to get all 4 of us bundled up so we could go out and play (Daddy is home today due to the weather). We had a blast!
Possibly two of the cutest snow-bunnies I have ever seen!!!

Miss "Surefoot" was wobbling around everywhere...there were parts that were up to her knees. She just stood there and said "Mommy...Daddy, I need help! Pick me up!!!"

Emma learned how to make snowballs with Daddy.

"And here we have our next model, Caleb, who is sporting the new line of snowgear for the winter 2011 season. Comfort meets performance in this light blue puff-suit. Paired with a fleece hat and mittens in royal blue, you are sure to get noticed as you ski the slopes in style."

Instead of bounding in the snow, Emma chose to ride in the car. It's not as "dirty" that way. What are we going to do with this girl!?!?

Eating snow...

Throwing a snowball!

Below is a video of us playing in the snow...hope you enjoy!!!

Vrooom!!!!

2011-01-30T18:59:00.004-06:00

Well, lookie here at what Caleb started doing today (Sunday). We brought this out of the closet and it was as if he had been doing it for a few months now. He was an instant pro. His only issue was that he kept veering to the left so he'd kind of drive in a half-circle. Hope you enjoy!

H is for Home

2011-01-29T20:48:00.002-06:00

Caleb has really been enjoying "walking" around lately. He gets so excited and takes off as fast as his little legs will take him. :)

"This is SO fun Daddy!!!"

Emma was tickling Caleb. I'm pretty sure she got a bigger kick out of it than he did. Oh, and check out her new jammies~guitar jammies!!!! She loves them.

Little cutie. He's been sick for a few days now... not sure what is going on but he's not really eating much at all. Hope he gets over the bug soon. Even though he feels bad, he still is the sweetest little thing and doesn't complain hardly at all.

Big girl time!
They wanted to watch a show (Word World is the current favorite). Emma insisted on holding Caleb during the show...

Another new favorite show is "The Letter Factory." This has been great for our "learning" time...the show explains what sound each letter of the alphabet makes and sings a little ditty with each letter. Now Emma walks around the house and says random things like: "Mommy, B is for Breakfast!" or "C is for carrot!"

Funny Story: The other night I realized just how messed up and hard to learn our English language truly is. She and I were taking a shower, and she was saying things like "T is for toes! L is for leg!" and so I chimed in and started saying some letters and words too. "Yes Emma, that's right! And E is for eye!" I said without thinking.
"E is for I?" she asked.
"Yes! E is for eye!" I replied.
She looked up at me, trying to make sense of what I said. The look was kind of like what a dog does when he cocks his head sideways and perks up his ears all confused-like... I could just see the wheels turning in her mind and she was trying so hard to "get it." Oh well...we'll have to save the continuation of that lesson for another day.

Big girl gift: KEYS!!!
I decided I wanted to do a few "big girl gifts" for Emma to really show her that becoming a big girl and "lady" as we call it sometimes is a process, and there is no going back. (to diapers!) I am trying to show her she is changing into a new phase of her life. ;) And a little encouragement along the way can't hurt, right?
Her first big girl gift was the fragrance foam bottle which she loved. This week, I went to Lowe's and got a few free keys from the "messed up keys" box and bought a keychain that Caleb could not choke on. She has loved those keys SO much.
I have one more big girl gift planned for this next week and then we'll be done with those. I bring the gifts out so sporadically that she won't miss them...I do, however, need to wean her off the fruit snacks she gets for going to the potty. She has eaten more sugar in the 2 weeks of potty training from those fruit snacks than she's had her whole life. :)