Santa's Coming!

Amelia's excitement is almost contagious as she talks about Santa's impending arrival.

Tonight was Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa Yerington's. It was the first year that we were able to attend, so it was a fun night. Amelia got two cute books and a Fancy Nancy doll that she calls Dolly. Which I find amusing, because Dolly is what Grandma Yerington always called all of us girls when we were little. :)

Here is Dolly. She has pajamas with hearts, green slippers, and has panties on, which Amelia says is her "Pull-Up for nighttime." :)

Thomas got a dump truck with big Lego blocks in it, and a soft little stuffed kitty cat. He will have a blast with both.

Thomas and his best buddy, Grandpa Yerington.

And more evidence of my pathetic parenting abilities. So unprepared for Amelia to be so excited about Santa this year. Didn't have any time to do the grocery shopping yet this week, so Santa got skim milk and Girl Scout shortbread cookies, and the reindeer got Multi-Grain Cheerios. So sad. Amelia was still excited though, so I guess that's what counts. Hope Santa Claus likes shortbread cookies. :)

Meeting With Santa

We went to the Annual Yerington Christmas Party on Sunday and the kids got to meet with Santa. Amelia was so excited when she saw him walk in that she RAN right over to him and started talking to him.

Amelia LOVES Santa. She doesn't have even the slightest fear of him. She sat right down on his lap and proceeded to tell him about how she desperately wants a lightsaber for Christmas. :)

She was so excited to walk away with her candy cane too.

Thomas wasn't so sure about the experience. He willingly walked right over to him and sat in his lap. But he spent the whole time like this picture--just staring up at him trying to decide if he wanted to cry. He never did cry, although his lip did come out at the end. As soon as I picked him up he gave Santa a big smile.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Look Who's Walking!

He's getting much braver than this now. He's actually starting to get brave enough to just walk away from the furniture without thinking about it. He still thinks crawling is better because he can get there faster that way, but he's working on it.

A Visitor

Check out this beauty that came to visit the other day. He stayed perched on the new fence for several hours, surveying his territory I guess. Five bald eagles also came to visit on Monday and swooped around the back yard for awhile. Didn't get a chance to take their picture, they were too fast. Makes me enjoy living by the river in the winter time.

Happy 1st Birthday, Baby Boy!

My dearest, sweet little boy--

Whenever I used to think about having children, I NEVER wanted a boy. Boys were a mystery to me. They always seemed smelly and ornery and just too darn busy for me. Girls just seemed easier, maybe because I am one. Now that you are in my life, I can't imagine not having a little silly boy.

You were the ultimate surprise. Daddy and I knew that we wanted to have another baby, we just weren't ready for it right then. I wasn't mentally ready for another 9 months of diabetes and who knew what else. We weren't financially ready yet. I took two pregnancy tests and still didn't quite believe that it was true. Daddy had to practically peel me off the walls that Sunday when we found out you were going to be a part of our lives.

You were a challenge right from the start. The diabetes kicked in at 11 weeks and I had to endure another 28 weeks of insulin injections, finger sticks, and countless doctor's appointments from that day on. My blood pressure got pretty high the last month of the pregnancy for some unknown reason. Your favorite position was head down with you feet pushing straight out my left side right under my ribs, which was quite uncomfortable. During the 2o week ultrasound you didn't want to cooperate. In fact, you were laying so funny the nurse couldn't even get any of the information she needed until we got you to move. You were laying breech with both feet up over your head. After a few minutes on my side, you rolled around and she was able to get what she needed. It was just a little taste of what an independent child you would be.

You have also been in quite a hurry right from the get go. Last year on the Friday right after Thanksgiving, you woke me up with some rather strong contractions. Daddy and Nana were getting ready to leave for Black Friday sales and I was going to stay home with your sister. I told them to go on and go, they were just going to be in town anyway. The contractions eventually subsided, but you were certainly being persistent. The next day we had to go the hospital for fetal monitoring because of the diabetes. Since it was a holiday the doctor's office was closed so we had to do it at the hospital. While we were there, my blood pressure was still high so they were just going to admit me. We were able to convince them to let us come back the next day after we'd made all the necessary preparations.

We went back the next day at 7:00 am and they hooked me up to the pitocin for a few hours to get you to drop into place. At noon, they broke my water, and barely two hours later, you were making your speedy arrival. In fact you were so speedy, I almost didn't make it back to the bed before you came out. You were quite possibly the easiest labor ever--two hours of contractions, and two pushes and my life would never be the same.

You have been the biggest joy and the biggest challenge. You were a challenge to get to sleep for the first six months. You are going to be a big challenge to break from your beloved pacifier. We will tell you "no" and you will shake your head right along with us, and smile and keep doing it. You cry like we broke your heart sometimes when we tell you know.

You are an incredibly sweet baby. You love to snuggle. You love to play with me. Your smile brightens even my worst day. I don't look forward to the day when you decide you are too cool for hugs and kisses from me. I wish I could freeze time for just a little while so I could hold onto this time.

My prayer for you as you grow is that you will grow up to be a strong man. A man of faith, and morals, and a man who treats a woman with respect. I want you to be a man who will lead your household as God has ordained a man to be. I pray that you will find a woman who loves you and respects you as well, and that you will be blessed in everything you do. I pray that you will be a leader and not a follower, and that you will follow your moral compass through life. You will have hurts and struggles, and I wish I could keep those from you, but I know that God will use those trials and tribulations to form you into the best man you can be.

Thomas Richard, you are my baby and my sweet little man. I am so blessed to have you in my life. You brighten my days and will cause me many sleepless nights in the future. I told your daddy when I was pregnant with you that "God must have big plans for this little guy, otherwise all this trouble and stress wouldn't be worth it." I think I was right about God having big plans for you. But I was wrong--you were totally worth it.

Love,
Mommy

He's Created a Monster

John and Amelia have systematically watched all 6 Star Wars episodes over the last two weeks. Her most recent conversations have consisted of some of the following phrases:

"Anakin is Darth Vadar now. He's a BAD GUY! He says....(insert funny breathing sound here)"
"Where's Yoda?" ("He's not in this movie.") "Ohhhhh...."
"R2D2 is so FUNNY!!!"
"Where's Amidala? Oh yeah, she died."
"I love Princess Alaya (Leia). She's so nice. She misses her mommy Amidala."
"I want a purple lightsaber for Christmas!"
"Daddy I want to watch Star Wars episode 3." (AGAIN)
"Obi-Wan is my favorite." (Or Princess Leia, or Amidala, or Yoda, or R2D2 or the Storm Troopers, depending on which day or which movie.)

The Storm Troopers really confuse her. At the start of Episode 3 they were good guys. Then they become bad guys. So she says she wants to be a Storm Trooper so she can fight the bad guys, but then gets really confused when we remind her that the Storm Troopers ARE the bad guys.

I think she's inheriting her Daddy's obsession.

Oh, and whenever the movie comes on and the theme starts, Thomas starts dancing. :)

Grandma Jean

I just love the sweetness and innocence of a child, and how everything makes sense to them. If they want something, they think it will just happen.

Now that Amelia is able to make connections as to who people are, we've been talking a lot about Grandma Jean. Since she and I will never be able to know her, we rely on stories that John tells us. Two years ago I made a "Grandma Jean book" for John, Julie and their father with pictures that I found and had John and Julie write a letter about their favorite memories of her. It was a labor of love for me, and I hope they enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it. Anyway, we "read" the book for the first time tonight, and she really enjoyed looking at the Grandma Jean pictures from childhood to adulthood.

When I took her up to bed tonight, she climbed up into bed, told me all kinds of stories, and when I went to leave the room she looked over at her Grandma Jean picture. She said as she has done for the last few nights, "What's that?" "That's Grandma Jean. Your name is Amelia Jean, and her name is Grandma Jean, that's where you got your name." But tonight she said, "Mommy, I just want my Grandmommy Jean." I said, "Honey, we all wish she was here." Maybe we'll never know her in person, but we'll know her through stories and pictures.

From the Mouths of Babes Part 2

While playing with her dress-up clothes yesterday, Amelia was surprised when she turned around and Thomas was pulling all of her clothes out of the box for her. Her response: "MOMMY! Thomas wants to be a fairy!"

In the car driving home last night she says, "Mommy, you sing the naptime song?" "What song is that, honey?" (thinking she means "Lullabye" or something). "You sing it for me." "How does it go?" "You change your mind like a girl changes clothes....." (singing Katy Perry's "Hot N Cold"). So I got out the iPod and played it for her. I think she knows the song from the Wii "Just Dance" game that they get to play at Kathy's house, probably before naptime.

Last night before bed, she was sitting next to me in the big chair, snuggling up and hanging all over me. She snuggled herself up to me and looked right up at me saying, "Mommy, you my big best friend." "Thank you sweetie, I love you too."

Amelia is getting a little confused right now with the words "have," "need," and "want." A lot of conversations go like this:

"Mommy, can I need milk-o?" "Mommy, can I want fruit snacks?"
"Well, you can need and want them all you want, but the real question is, can you HAVE them?"

Fall Photo Shoot

Awhile back I took the kids for a fall photo shoot at a farm. Ranae at PhotoFROG did a spectacular job once again.

Look at this cute little guy! Love the hat. :)

He kept babbling throughout the shoot, so we got lots of pictures of him talking.

This little cutie wasn't terribly cooperative, so we were lucky to get some really cute pictures of her.

Little Miss Big Girl--she's three you know. She'll tell you daily.

They are just so silly.

That kid needs to grow some hair. And his sister told him the other day, "Thomas need to get some teef!"

I think this one is my favorite. Another successful photo shoot.

The Pumpkin Patch

Last Friday we took the kiddos to the pumpkin patch. You can't see him very well in the picture, but there is a big bull in that barn and Amelia thought he was pretty cool.

They had a good variety of little pumpkins, big pumpkins, gourds, and squash to choose from.

After much cajoling we were able to get one good (well, decent) picture of the two together with their pumpkins. Thomas is making his usual photo face.

Thanks to one of the sweet workers, Amelia was allowed to pet a baby chick. She wanted to go back again and again to pet the little cutie, but it was time to go. Overall, a success.

First Haircut

It has been a year of firsts for our big girl. New baby brother, potty training, new big girl bed, and now her first haircut. She was a little unsure what to expect at first. When we told her she would be getting her hair cut she thought it would "hurt." You can see her anxiety in the first picture.

When the hair washing started, she was put at ease. She loved this part, but didn't sit still very well and ended up getting her cape soaked with water.

She spent the entire haircut watching it in the mirror. Probably making sure she would like the new style. :) (The new style is pretty much the same as the old style, just evened up.)

And the finished product! She was so cute when Sara asked her, "Do you want me to put some stuff in it to make it smell good?" "YES!!!" She sat still as a statue while Sara styled it. She did a surprisingly good job.

This little bald guy doesn't have enough hair yet to cut! He just sat back and looked cute. :)

The New Bed

Here it is, the new "big girl bed." It was a total surprise to her.

She says it is "so AWESOME!" Thomas loves it too.

She loves her new Tinkerbell bedding too.

She was so excited though she did NOT want to go to sleep.

Farmer Tom

Maybe it's the bare feet. Maybe it's the trashy white onesie. But somehow when I put this outfit together in my head it didn't seem as redneck as it turned out in real life. Instead of looking adorable in overalls, Thomas looks like Redneck Farmer Tom.

Amelia's First Dance Recital

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

How Can This Be Comfortable???

Dancing Queen

Amelia's first dance recital was Saturday. The pictures that were taken turned out quite blurry, and for whatever reason I've been unable to get the video of her performance to upload to the blog. So I guess we'll settle for a cute picture of her at dance practice for now.

I was concerned about how she would do. On the way to the community center I said, "Are you going to have fun dancing today?" She kept saying, "I just NOT going to dance today." Once we got there though and she saw all of her friends, she just took off with them.

At 1:00 we were all allowed to go in and sit down (they kept everyone out of the hall while the kids were practicing). We watched a few other performances first, then it was time for the little ballet dancers. It was so cute when they all trotted down the aisle to the front of the room, some holding hands, all of them waving at their parents. Amelia brought up the rear of course because she was so busy looking around at everyone and cheesing it up. She was so cute doing her dance, just off in her own little world. She is the youngest in the class and you can tell because her movements are still a little jerky compared to the older kids, but she did so well. She had such a good time. I really wish I could get the stupid video to load up because I laugh every time I watch it. My baby girl is growing up. *sigh*

Conversations with a 3 year old

It's quite interesting listening to a 3 year old learning to use descriptive words and trying to put full sentences together. You get sentences like this:

"Mommy, it's too hot today."

"I'm too bigger now."

"I can't eat my noodles, Mommy, they too very hot."

"We go to see the ducks? They're really like animals! The park is really like the backyard."

"Oh no, I touch the bucket, it's too burny! Ouch!"

"I just not go pee-pee in the potty."

And my favorite--when getting dressed today she noticed her Dora snow boots on the shelf next to her. When I reminded her that those were for winter time and that it was summer out, her response was, "No, it's just really Winter...."

Happy 5th Anniversary to Us

February 14, 2005 I had my first date with John. We went to Diamond Dave's because it was the only decent place we could think of that wouldn't be packed on Valentine's Day. The food was good, but the company was better. Six short months later, I was standing in the wings of the church preparing to walk down the aisle and become his wife. I'd never been more in love and more sure of a decision in my life. Today, five years later, I'm just as sure of my decision as I was that day, but today I am more in love than I was on that hot August day. We have crammed a lot of life and experiences in those five years. We've weathered a lot of storms, we've walked through some valleys, we've danced on some mountain tops, and we've learned some valuable lessons. We've experienced the joys of childbirth and the frustrations of parenting. We've known overwhelming, crushing debt, and the sense of accomplishment in working hard to pay it off. We've loved passionately and fought passionately. He is the love of my life, and there aren't words to express how much he means to me, and I could never do enough to show him how much I love him. Happy Anniversary, Love. 5 years down, forever to go. I'm looking forward to the next adventure.

Big Boy

This big boy LOVES real green beans and bananas. He just loves being big enough to feed himself now.

Laughing at Daddy playing "Peek A Boo" with him.

And look who is standing up now!

He's so strong, pulling himself up with ease and crawling so fast. I give it a month and he'll be walking.

He's so sweet. We got so lucky to have such an easy baby.

I asked him to say "Mama" but I think it came out "Nana." Not sure how that's fair.