Happy 16 months Mikey!

I just can't believe you are already 16 months! Time is flying by so quickly and I would love to freeze time and enjoy you as a baby longer. You are such a fun little boy. You enjoy singing and can carry your own tune. It's adorable! You also enjoy a rousing game of peek a boo and chasing your dad around. You enjoy Sesame Street and Elmo as well as Super Why. Your pretty mellow but when it's time to eat, it is TIME to eat! You will squeal really loud as if you had zero patience. Your favorite new food is hot dogs. Gag! It was a random feeding and you DEVOURED it. Your just like daddy! You also appreciate a great cheeseburger too.

You have all your teeth already, which is amazing to me. Your still sleeping like a pro. Napping three hours and going to bed by 8 and waking up by 7ish. Thank you for that! :) You are walking a lot faster but still have days where you walk like a newborn pony. Fingers crossed, but I think you are actually doing better being mommy's little shopping buddy. You don't seem to be trying to escape your seat as much.

You wear a size 12 months clothing, a size 5w shoe, and a size 3 diaper. You go to the Dr this Friday but my guess is you weigh about 22 lbs. I just adore you and am so happy to be your mommy. I love you!

Happy Halloween

What a fun Halloween this year. Emily really got it this year! She was pumped for trick or treating and knew just what to do. I think it is important to know that my kids are pretty much on a routine. It's the same for the most part daily. Michael takes a three hr nap and Emily sometimes takes a long nap too and sometimes doesn't. If she doesn't she is in bed around 7:30. Around 5pm without fail my little ones get cranky, eat dinner, get cleaned up, have a little play time and are in bed by 7:30-8. Michael is especially fond of his routine. So today should be no different right? WRONG! Today, of all days, he slept for maybe, mayyyybe 15-20 minutes. Fantastic! Of course Michael wanted no part in dressing up, going to a party, or trick or treating. I managed to get his costume on, get some pictures that are Highlarious! and get him to stroll for a little bit to trick or treat. The costume lasted maybe 5 minutes but at least it was on.







We went to our neighborhood Halloween party and it was so fun. Lots of food, a bouncy house, which Emily actually got in! PROGRESS! (She has refused any type of bouncy house up until today and she initiated it!) Here are a few pictures.







We went out to trick or treat at 6 because I knew Michael wouldn't make it any further. Our first house, our neighbor, gave Emily a bunch of bows. Bless her heart. I had told her she rings the bell, says trick or treat, and then she gets candy. First house she gets bows. Look at her expression. HA! I, on the other hand, wish all houses gave out bows! SCORE! We hit about fifteen houses then headed home so they could go to bed. Michael leaped into his crib and has been out since 7:15. Poor thing. Maybe next year will be better.






Jake was out with friends until 9:15 and came home with a pillowcase full of treats. What temptation! He had a blast!


A side note and vent: If you are a teen and you are trick or treating could you please give it some effort, ie, WEAR a costume! I had teens with regular clothes and they said they were: 1. Their name 2. a robber 3. a hobo 4. gangster 5. student....come on. One dum dum for you for lack of trying....your lucky you didn't get a chicken bullion cube...which I had out but felt too bad doing. Maybe next year. Even better, trick or treat for UNICEF. That's what I did in high school.

Ok, so Happy Halloween....go raid the stash!
:)

So let's catch up

So a lot of things have happened since my last posting. Really life is just so busy.
We celebrated Jake's 11th birthday on the 12th. It was low key since it was on a school day but still a great day. I went up to his school at lunch with a cookie cake and he was surprised and thrilled to have me there. I sure hope he feels that way as he gets older. We went out to eat at Fuddruckers, his favorite! Later that weekend we had a few friends go to Mountasia Fun Center for go karts, arcade, and mini golf. He had so much fun!


A week ago I met a long distance friend, Adriana, and her two sweet little girls, Olivia and Gaby downtown at Centennial Olympic Park and the CNN center. The girls were able to meet and more importantly we were able to finally meet and just talk. I just know that if we lived in the same city we would be good friends. Here is a picture of Michael and Gaby, only two weeks apart.




Jake had his 5th grade recorder performance. It was actually really good. The chorus teacher used music from the 60's to today. It was so hard to get a decent picture. Here he is with his Nana.


Friday Michael woke up sick. I think he had some type of stomach bug because he had no appetite and was vomiting. Luckily it stopped around dinner time and he has been vomit free since. I just let him sleep and eat/drink little bits and he seems to be doing fine. We waited a couple of days and then hit the Berry Farm Patch for a little fall pumpkin fun.





Truly my life is just so go go go....there really isn't one day were we get to sleep in and just stay home. I am not complaining. I am grateful for the opportunity to be home and to have these special moments with my children. I am so grateful for new days, new beginnings, and the chance to always try again. Did I mention I got Michael's stomach bug? Yeah, fun times!

Pie in the Sky

This weekend was busy! On Saturday we had a garage sale in an attempt to sell our baby gear. No such luck! We did end up making $150 on clothes and toys though so it wasn't a total loss but boy was I tired after. Gus went with a coworker toward the end of the sale to the GT homecoming football game. Traitor! Whatever the Dawgs still won (finally) and he had a good time at the GT game which they also won. It was his first college football game experience and he LOVED it! Later that night after kids were sleeping I went to my neighbors and hung out with a few friends for a girl talk visit. It was nice not to have to get all dressed up and just relax.

Sunday was a pretty laid back day for the most part. Gus took Emily and Jake out to lunch and to the park while I stayed home and put Mikey down for his nap. I was able to get two and half bathrooms cleaned before they got home. Later that afternoon I ran some errands to Babies R Us and Marshalls and had a little alone mommy time. I just know I am not the only one who craves some moments of alone mommy time. A moment to think with out having to tend to anyone or anything. I didn't buy anything but I sure enjoyed just looking around. So last night we decided to go out to eat. My husband and I watch the show called, Man vs Food on the Travel channel. It's this great show where the host takes on eating challenges throughout the country. Well a few years ago he came to Atlanta and took the Carnivore challenge at the Big Pie in the Sky in Kennesaw. Here are the rules:

Two people have one hour to eat an 11 lb pizza that is loaded with toppings.

If you win you get $250 and your name on a plaque in the restaurant. Two teams have actually won it just this year for the first time.

We just went to check it out and eat pizza. It was GOOD! and CHEAP! I am pretty sure we will go again. The place was packed and there were lots of people who came in with cameras to capture the moment. I was not one of them. :( buuut here are some pics I did find so you can get an idea.

You can see a video of the first winners here:

She is just so dang smart!

That little Emily of mine...just a smartie! This is a total brag on my daughter post. I want to remember the remarkable things she says and does at this age.





So a few weeks ago I heard my little one sing Dr. Jean's "Days of the Week" song. I instantly began singing with her. She was excited that I knew it and I was thrilled that she knew it. It was one of those songs that I sang to my own kindergarten students just a few years ago. I am singing with her and we are looking at the calendar and she is pointing to the days of the week. I loved it. Then I asked her what day starts with the 'm" sound and she said Monday, what day begins with a 'w' and she said Wednesday, and what day has the 'th' sound and she said Thursday. By gosh my kid is a Mensa member. Man I sure hope I am not setting her bar too high. :)


So fast forward to today. I am in carpool and the teacher brings Emily to the car with this brown paper bag tied to her waist. I asked her teacher what is this and here is the conversation that commenced:

Me: Mrs. Mirla what is she wearing?

Mirla: Emily what are you?

Emily: A opossum

Mirla: What is this? (Points to bag)

Emily: A pouch

Mirla: What kind of animals have pouches?

Emily: Marsupials

Me floored and Mirla genuinely proud of Emily's recollection

WHAT!!!! My child is listening and learning about nocturnal animals this month.

So as I am strapping her into her carseat she tells me again, "Marsupials have pouches for their babies like opossums and kangaroos." Then she pulls out the cutest craft from her pouch. A baby opossum. A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!

My girl amazes me with her vast vocabulary, knowledge, and skills. If I had to give her a kindergarten preassessment now, at 3, I am pretty sure she would pass it. She knows her name, can read it, and spell it. She knows her letters and their sounds, colors, numbers, and shapes including sphere. She knows her positional words, and has great pre reader skills. I really think if I took the time every night she would be reading in a year. We read for pleasure now but maybe I should consider teaching her how to read. She has great articulation so something for me to obsess about and consider.

I hate that she misses the cut off for kindergarten by three days! Hate it. I know she will be more than ready at five and hate to make her wait till six. What can ya do? Oh well. I am just grateful that she loves school, loves learning, and I pray that she will always feel that way. I am so happy that she has had such a great start at her preschool with the four teachers that she has had so far. She is indeed a blessed little girl.

Mom's Club

Normally Wednesdays are my only days where I don't HAVE to leave my house unless I want to. It is normally my day at home to get things done around the house. Today would have been the same except today I began a women's bible study for moms. I went with a friend from Emily's school. Our girls have been together in the same class for two years and are sweet friends. Ella's mom, Kim, had made mention of this study group a few times and when I asked her about it she sent me the info and told me to come. I am so glad I did. The group is being lead by a veteran mom of six. Her stories were great and she had a real way about her incorporating scripture and true life trying to raise children in a Christian home. I really enjoyed it and listening to others give their testimonies. The last time I did a formal bible study outside or religious education was in sixth grade in Alabama. Believe it or not they used to lead a bible study before school at a public school. That would never happen today! I loved it then and hope to have the same feelings this time. Not only did I enjoy it but Emily loved going to her own class, and even Michael liked the nursery. Let's hope it stays that way. While I am giving up my only free day I know that I will get so much more than if I had stayed home and cleaned. I do that everyday anyways.

The Weekend Update-It's Fall Y'all

So this weekend was bitter. Not even bitter sweet...well maybe a little. Friday evening we went out to eat and walked around the mall a little. They have a soft play scape for little kids to play and burn off steam while parents rest from shopping. Emily has played in there before and really likes it but this was Michael's first time now that he is toddling. He LOVED it! I looked in our diaper bag a boo the camera wasn't in there. But trust me he was precious! He was so happy to walk around with other kids and play. He just smiled and smiled. Later that night after the two tiny ones went to bed we played board games with the older two. Guessure was hysterical. They essential act out the word on the card and the other person has to guess before time is up. Jake was so funny. He did "propose" for porpoise. Ahahah! We laughed a lot during that game. Jonathan is really good at it. We also played trivial pursuit too. Jonathan won that game also. Our usual game is UNO but we didn't even get to it before it was already midnight. We had to call it a night. Here are some pics of the boys being boys.




Saturday was my bitter sad day! Jonathan went back to his dad's house and I cried. I starting crying the night before. Cried pretty much off and on all day Saturday too. To top it off the dawgs lost. Love the team but they are sucking this year. Sunday was a better day. Took the kids to church and the homily was amazing. Just what I needed to hear. I felt like everyone was looking at me as I sat there a cried. It is amazing how God knows exactly what you need to hear when you need to hear it. I hope I can always hear Him even when he whispers.
This morning was busy! Jake has testing all week so I am waking him up earlier so he can sulk, eat a better than normal breakfast, and be ready for testing first thing. Michael decided he wanted to get up too and woke up at 6:30 roaring to go. We had a moms fellowship breakfast at Emily's school this morning so Emily went to childcare with all her friends from her class, and Michael went to nursery. We had to leave early because Emily had ballet. When I got her she cried. She didn't want to leave her friends or school. I hope she always loves school. She was fine by the time we got to ballet. She did ballet feet, walked on her tip toes, did little leaps, danced with ribbon and pony sticks. They also do a devotional with the girls. Her class is at a church here and I really love this church. It's huge but so warm and inviting. She loves ballet there. Thank goodness. I am glad to get a girly girl with all these boys in the house. When class is over she normally gets a sticker or a stamp. She loves when she gets a stamp. Here is her stamp from today.

Looking forward to some mexican food tonight with the moms in Emily's preschool class. It's always nice to have a little mom time. :) Here are some more pictures from the weekend. Enjoy.