Time Out

For time out with Aidan we lock him in his bedroom because,well, he doesn't sit still, won't stay where he's put, and doesn't really care unless he's completely isolated from the family. So, yeah, this is what works for us. Anyway, here's a moment I captured today that made me laugh. Nora was wondering what all that racket was about and why there were little hands sticking out from under the door. So cute!

Look Mom!

"This is my wedding fress and I'm getting married."

(he took apart a whole package of quilt batting)

Little Moocher

It is no lie that Nora LOVES food. This is how I catch her a lot of days....trying to steal food off of Aidan's plate or get his cup. And, yes, I do dress my children, but by the end of the day, they have usually stripped for some reason or another.

So He Says....

Me: "I need to go fix our lunches."
Aidan: "Oh, cause they're broken?"

"Mama, your hair looks silly." (as I'm fixing it)

Aidan: "Sumpin hurts."'
Me: "What hurts?"
Aidan: "My feelings." (We found out just 2 days later he had a severe ear infection).

I"m thirsty with lots of ice!" (Aidan says this several times a day--basically he wants us to put some ice in his cup)

To Fatherhood

Seth,

I knew from the beginning you were going to be a great Dad. You love our kids so much and you never fail to let them know. They think you are pretty cool. And I do too.

Krista

Beach Day

We went to Charleston/Isle of Palms Beach last Saturday for a day trip with some friends. It was a fun time.

Somehow I only got pictures of Nora because Aidan was in the water almost the entire time we were there.

9 months

Dear Nora,

9 months have come and gone so fast that I am afraid to blink and miss anything. Serioulsy, fast.

You are still the BEST baby. You are so content, easygoing, and just tons of fun. I never ever get tired of watching you.

You weighed in at 18 lbs. 12 oz. and were 29 in. long at your 9 month checkup today. You were also diagnosed with yet another ear infection. This makes 4 in just 3 months. Yikes! You have been quite the little trooper.

The biggest news for this month is that you are FINALLY SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT...as in, at least 7-8 hours straight. I cannot tell you how much this pleases me and makes my life so much more enjoyable. You have started putting yourself to sleep more and have developed a love for flannel receiving blankets to snuggle with. You still sleep in your pack n' play every night, in the kitchen. :)

You now have 6 teeth. Yes, 6. They just popped through one after the other. And, you have quite the adorable toothy grin. Love it! With those teeth, you are eating more and more foods. I have now started giving you table food and you love trying new things. You had spaghetti, chicken and rice soup, and grilled chicken recently and you were all for it. You definitely love to eat and you will put up a fuss if someone is eating around you and not offering to share. You still are a breastfed only baby. That is, you will not take a bottle or sippy cup well and you don't really want anything other than mama's milk. You nurse about 5-6 times a day still so I am not sure if weaning is in the near future or not. I really have enjoyed nursing you though and am not in a hurry to stop except for the fact that I would be free to leave you for longer periods of time.

You are getting to be an expert crawler and pull up on everything. You are definitely cruising now and have started exploring more and more. You know the bathroom is off limits, so whenever someone forgets to close the door, you take off like a rocket and try to get inside. You also enjoy opening cupboards and playing under the table. I think you will be walking in a few months, but it is hard to tell because you seem pretty content to crawl everywhere.

You have the cutest personality. You are full of laughter and silly grins. You have the best scrunchy nose smile and you love to laugh at your brother the most. You are a cuddler and love to snuggle with Mommy or Daddy. You really love your Daddy and get excited when he comes home and cry when he leaves. You are happy in the church nursery and always full of smiles for strangers. You babble and play and enjoy life. Speaking of playing...you are great at playing and entertaining yourself. You just love toys and talking to baby dolls and such. It is so fun to watch you play.

You love the beach and the pool. You enjoy splashing in the water and playing in the sand. You are one of those go with the flow babies that enjoys doing all sorts of activities, which is great because we are always doing something to keep your brother busy.

Nora, your presence brings such joy to our whole family. Everyone loves you and you have been a great little sister. You continue to amaze us and bless us in so many ways. I can't imagine life without you in it!

Love,

Mama

Hopscotch and my morning coffee

During Nora's nap, Aidan and I went downstairs with some chalk to draw and play hopscotch (something he has been asking to do).

I took this with me

We had lots of fun. And when the baby girl woke up we headed to the pool for an hour-we also did this yesterday. 

Summer Days

After joining Pinterest (an AMAZING site that lets you "pin" ideas on different boards, follow, get inspired, and whatnot) I happened upon 100 days of summer by Amy Clark. If you have no idea whatsoever about Pinterest, you either need to run the other direction or get an invite from me to join. Love it!

Anyway, Amy "pinned" 100 different activities to do during the summer and completely inspired me to have a special something for each of our days...especially since Aidan will be going to preschool in the fall and we've been having "summer" for the last 3 years and 2 months of his life.

Monday we went to the zoo. It was hot. We spent most of our time in the birdhouse and aquarium. And, since very few others decided to brave the heat, I could let Aidan run wild without worrying about losing him. That's the upside to 95 degree weather.

Tuesday was library day. Oh library day, you make my heart smile.

Aidan loves reading books (or being read to shall I say). So, I love getting huge stacks of new books to read with him. Can I also say that I have currently checked out about 8 different craft/sewing/crochet books that are putting my creative juices on overdrive?

Today, I woke up with an aching back, little sleep (even though ironically the kids both slept through the night-something that hasn't happened in awhile), and a crummy attitude. So, we went, on a whim, to Panera for breakfast. Seth got me a gift card there for my b-day and I had expected to slowly spend it on as many chai tea lattes as I could, but I was nice and included my little ones on our outing this morning.

Aidan had a blast eating his chocolate chip bagel (a lesser treat than his desired cinnamon roll, but a little more manageable than the amount of sugar he would have consumed)

Oh, and see the unruly hair above? I promptly put him in the bathtub, gave him a sucker, and snipped away at it when we got home from breakfast. He is looking fresh and trim now.

After lunch we went to the mall to play and on a walk when Daddy got home. Then the kids got a bath and went to bed...

The baby LOVES her bath. She screams if you take her out when she is not ready. I think it is hilarious.

And for a completely random addition to this long post....

Love this pic of me and Aidan on Memorial Day weekend. We stopped to listen to some music at a local park.

The baby girl was not the best model for some of my new hat creations. Love this one, but couldn't get her to sit still for a picture. 

Caught the little miss playing happily between the couch and wall. This is her face upon discovery. {I had a sheet draped over the couch while Aidan had pink eye (which no else got...PTL!)}

Now to go enjoy some ice cream with fresh strawberries and peaches...at10 pm. :)

This baby loves her Daddy

So, Nora used to be a Mama's girl all the way, but recently she has really been loving on her Daddy. She loves to cuddle with Seth (as seen above) She also goes to bed better if he puts her down. She just wants me for the milk and then she wants to love on her Daddy. I think this is a little unfair, but very sweet.

I have to laugh

So my post yesterday sounds like cake compared to the day I had today. I think the Lord was preparing me for it in some way by sending a little calm before the storm.

Aidan was nothing but NAUGHTY all morning, the kids woke early, Nora was cranky, and we just couldn't seem to get anything accomplished. Aidan was having some weird eye discharge and then didn't really nap, so I made a Dr. appt. for him. We went after naps and found out that he has a severe ear infection and pink eye. So, eye drops and yucky antibiotics. Nora is already on an antibiotic for her double ear infection and I am praying that she doesn't catch the pink eye. I sanitized everything I could think of when we got home and seriously thanked the Lord for our small apartment. :) Now the key will be keeping them separated for the next 24 hours.

We have plans to go to Charleston/the beach with friends on Saturday and a date night planned (with childcare lined up) on Sunday, so I am hoping that things clear up so that we can still keep our plans.

A glimmer of sunshine...

Life has been challenging, I'm not going to lie. But I keep catching these small glimmers of sunshine in my days.

I am grateful, blessed, hopeful, and living with expectation for great things. And that makes all the difference.

I got a full 6 hour stretch of sleep last night, and I woke feeling so refreshed this morning. I didn't even make any coffee.

I enjoyed my kids, colored with Aidan, had little conversations...

When it became apparent that Nora was on a morning nap strike we loaded up in the car and went downtown to Earth Fare (the nearest natural foods store). We slowly browsed, picked up some goodies, and listened to a young man playing the violin. Aidan danced to the music, Nora smiled at all the customers. We picked out a cookie to share and sat and enjoyed the music some more. I gave Aidan a dollar to put in the jar for the young violinist. He beamed and told me, "He said thank you!" We loaded up and drove to Target. Nora finally slept on the way. We browsed some more, playing in the toy aisles before picking up a few items on my list. The kids were sweet and happy. Aidan was super talkative (a norm for him), but it was delightful in every way to me. When we got home Aidan went down for his nap and Nora giggled and played and fussed and fought sleep until just a few minutes ago.

Today I am just really enjoying my kids.

I think sleep really helps. And knowing that the Lord is on my side. I have nothing to fear.

Memorial Day Weekend

Well, we didn't do much in fact.

I had plans for grilling, and swimming, and going to the zoo, but I caught a cold from Nora and was a little bit on the exhausted side.

We did go to a park in Lexington and the kids got to enjoy some time swinging. It was incredibly hot and we didn't stay long. Instead, we ended up eating at Subway and getting popsicles from Wal-mart. As we drove along the dam on the way home, the sun was setting and we could see sailboats on the water. It was beautiful.