Warmed up to Santa

Well, we made 2 more visits with Santa since the last post. Elijah warmed up to the jolly old man quite quickly. A week after the previous visit, we went to the North Pole Express in Grapevine. Before we went on the train ride, we went to see Santa at Bass Pro Shop. Elijah walked right up! Of course, the candy cane bribe migh have helped! :) Nathan was being a stinker and refused to visit with Santa so this time, it was just Elijah.

Our final visit with Santa came a few days before Christmas. Our friend, Desiree Chapman (Just One Year Photography), hosted a Christmas celebration and took pictures of the kids with Santa. Elijah was leery at first, but he warmed up fast. And, you will notice...he isn't smiling a ton in these photos, but that's Elijah. He's very passive, and it just takes a lot to get him to smile.

Happy Holidays from the Lingenfelter Elves!

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/ag4in9CPg98tTLBH

*Can someone tell me how to put the video directly on here so that I don't have to do just the link???*

Santa Picture

We took the boys to meet Santa about 2 weeks ago when he arrived in Allen. We stood in the cold for hours to see him arrive on a firetruck. Elijah was ALLLLLL about that - chanting, "Santa, Santa, Santa!" while waiting and peaking under the railing to wave at him while we were in line. He and Nathan could hardly be kept back when it came time to see Santa. But, alas, when we got up there near him, this is what we got...

Happy 2nd Birthday, Elijah!

I'm a day late on this post - Elijah turned 2 yesterday. But, since I was up until 5 a.m. cleaning for his party today and then up again at 10 a.m. to get ready for his party...I'm just a bit slow! LOL

Sean took the day off yesterday to celebrate with the family. The morning started off with donuts for breakfast. Sean took the boys with him to pick out their favorite donuts...$13 and two boxes later...we had a box filled with donut holes - Elijah's favorite - and another box of an assorted dozen. They even threw in some sprinkled ones for the birthday boy! After getting dressed, we headed to The Zone, an indoor bounce house play area here in McKinney. We thought it would be a special treat, but the birthday boy wasn't as thrilled. He did get in, but he had to be holding on to Sean or I for dear life the whole time. Apparently, he does not like the instability under his feet that a bounce house offers. LOL

After that time of fun (we DID have fun; Elijah just wasn't thrilled), we went to Toys R Us to use Elijah's $3 off coupon that he got for being part of the Toys R Us birthday club. We went in and told them it was his birthday - he got a crown to wear and a mylar balloon. As we were walking through the store, we heard an announcement over the intercom, "We have a special guest in the store with us today. Elijah is turning 2; you will see him walking around with his crown and balloon." And, as we walked through the store, other customers wished our little man, "Happy Birthday!" It was so sweet. He wound up picking out a huge dinosaur from Animal Planet. It's the size of a stuffed animal, but plastic and soft inside. He slept with it last night! And hey, it was only $8 so we paid 5 bucks for it with the coupon. From there, we came home for a lunch of PB and banana sandwiches (which Daddy thinks is weird so he had PB and honey). Then, it was time for the boys' nap...during which time Daddy and I cleaned house some more for the party today.

After naps and a viewing of WALL-E (which Pawpaw Link sent Daddy for his birthday), we decided to take Elijah out to dinner. We thought about going to Chick-Fil-A for a change of pace, but Elijah doesn't like Chick-Fil-A. Yes, that' right...we cannot get him to eat CFA. The last time I took him there, he held the nugget in his mouth until he gagged on them and then spit them out. But, the one place where he will down all 4 nuggets....McDonald's. Yep, that's where we wound up! Pretty funny, huh? He climbed up into the play area, got stuck and Sean had to (he volunteered, really LOL) go get him because Nathan couldn't.

Once home, we gave the birthday boy a bath and got him snuggled in bed. But before that, he'd gotten birthday calls from both grandmas, Geoffrey the Giraffe from Toys R Us and Mickey Mouse (something Sean ordered online with some Disney points he had from movies). Elijah loved all his phone calls.

Today was his Elmo/Sesame Street birthday party. All of our family and close friends were here. We had Little Ceasar's pizza for lunch, then presents and an Elmo cake made by my best friend, Amber. While Elijah loved all the gifts (which he maticulously opened, as I mentioned earlier), the party was all about the Elmo CAKE for him! (He got all upset the other day when he requested an Elmo cake from Amber and she couldn't produce it right then. LOL) And the cake is all about the ICING! He was a blue mess by the end (blue and yellow trim/writing). I have some pics I need to upload and will post later. We had some cute crayon candles that Amber found, and Elijah was yelling, "Crayons!" Our friend then pointed out to his son that these were "special" crayons - we don't light real crayons or put them on cake. LOL And, Elijah sang "Happy Birthday" to himself when the rest of us sang; it was very cute.

I took these picture of the birthday boy a few weeks ago at a local park. We used the one of him with all 3 Sesame Street characters on his birthday invites...Enjoy!

My Guys

I am very behind in my blogging. Life just got really crazy for us there for a bit! We just finished Elijah's birthday party today, though, and I think we're just ready for Christmas and New Year's now...oh, and my 30th birthday (Ugh!).

I just had to take some time to brag on my guys, though. I am so proud of all 3 of them!

Youngest first...Elijah turned 2 yesterday. I can't believe my "baby" is entering his 3rd year of life. Wow! How did THAT happen? His vocab has grown by leaps and bounds, as I mentioned. There are a few things that I still have to interpret, even to Daddy. LOL But, most of the time, he's pretty clear. His most recent accomplishment has been learning to catch a ball. He's been able to throw for a while, but catching has been troublesome. That is until righ before Thanksgiving when he caught a ball that Sean threw to him. What a big boy! I took him to the doctor the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and he's huge - most of you who have seen him in person already know this. He weighs 30 lbs. - over average - and is 37 inches tall (off the charts). I was told that he is the size of a 3 year old! Geez, son!!! Elijah is my little perfectionist...everything has to be lined up just right and perfect. When opening gifts today at his party, he maticulously took every.single.piece of paper off the gifts. Very organized about it. Actually quite funny to see in a 2 year old. LOL Here's a recent photo of my big boy...

Nathan is growing by leaps and bounds too. I have already mentioned how he is memorizing Scripture in his new "big boy" class at church. He already has 3 verses under his belt (since the end of Oct.) and is currently working on two verses for the church's Christmas program on 12/21 (Citipointe Church - meets at Clark High School in Plano, 10 a.m. - would love to have you join us). Just to tell you how amazing his memory is...my sis and brother-in-law got a Christmas Story ornament a few years ago. It's the scene of the boy with his tongue stuck on the poll. Nathan was over at their place 2 years ago when they got it (after I had Eijah and was rehospitalized; he was 2 at the time). We didn't make it over there last year during Christmas so it has been 2 years since he's seen this. Well, when we started talking about decorating for Christmas, he started talking about this ornament. We were all amazed that he remembered something that he saw once 2 years ago. Heck, I'm shocked he remembers anything from 2! My memories don't start until 3!!! Here's a current picture of my biggest "baby"...(shhhh! Don't tell him I said that! He IS 4, you know!)

This is Nathan and his best bud, Grant, at Sean's 30th birthday party last month...

And finally, THE BIG MAN! LOL Sorry, I meant to say the OLD MAN! Ha, ha! Love you, Babe! I have to give him a hard time because he turns the big 3-0 next Saturday. :) I just told him that he was entering his last week of his 20's, and he gave me that SHUT UP smile. Anyways....there is a point to me mentioning him...LOL Most of you know (or maybe you don't) that Sean is an engineer, but technically, he's an engineer-in-training. What's the difference, you ask?! Well, there is a process to become a professional engineer. First, you must receive a undergrad/grad degree in engineering (any kind). Sean received his bachelor of science in electrical engineering (his first job pursuit) from UTD in Dec. 2004. At the time, Sean had many years of experience (since high school) in CIVIL engineering - just a field that God opened the doors into in high school. While he was out of a job for 7 months in 2004 (fun times - I was expecting Nathan!), he pursued work in the electrical engineering field, but to no avail. The field was still recovering from 9/11 and was not interested in new hires. After getting a new job in the civil engineering field, he took the next step by taking his EIT (engineer in training) test in April 0f 2005. Once approved as an EIT, one must then work 4 years of apprenticeship under professional engineers. At the time, that seemed soooooo far away....BUT, coming this spring, Sean's 4 years will be fulfilled. It is then that he will complete his final step - taking the big exam to get his professional engineering license. It is then that he will be Sean Lingenfelter, PE. He ordered the books and registered/paid for the exam last week (his company is compensating). Even though it is still 6 months away...okay, 5 months...he is already super nervous. So, any prayers lifted this way for this matter are greatly appreciated. You should see the books he has - wowzers! I am just super proud of him for making it this far and for pursuing his dream. He would really love to be in land development someday, but until then, he is following where God leads. Doors are opening already for him with his position on the P&Z Committee. I am anxious to see what God has in store. Here's a new photo of the birthday boy that I somehow conned him into taking for his own surprise birthday party...

In general...Our finances are being stretched right now (our garage door broke this a.m. and Sean's insurance just went up at work), but as an old song says, "Things are looking right for a miracle. Ain't no reason I should get hysterical - open up the door; God, you've done before. Things are looking right for a miracle." And hey, what a better time for a miracle right here at Christmas. Things are definitely lining up for one! :)

He Knows His Name!

Tonight, Sean and I were quizzing Elijah on a few things before bed. At first, he kept telling us that his name was 4! This comes because Nathan always says he is 4 when people ask how old he is. So, that's what started this whole thing...we taught him that he is 2 years old...and we showed him how to do show that on his fingers.

Within the last week or so, Elijah began identifying himself by name. Now, when he sees himself in a photo, he says, "Jijah!" Until now, he has always looked at us with a blank stare when we show him pictures of himself. He used to get that same stare when someone would ask, "So, what's your name?" This weekend, I noticed that when we went through the, "Where's Mommy/Daddy/Nathan?" game, he could point to himself when I asked, "Where's Elijah?" So, tonight, I asked, "What's your name?" and he said, "Jijah!"

Oh, yes, it's becoming more and more apparent that he is no longer a baby. The closer his 2nd birthday gets, the worse it is!

Elijah's vocabulary

I'm not so sure that Elijah's vocabulary is always for the best! Tonight, I made macaroni and cheese for dinner with sandwiches. While the water was boiling for the mac and cheese, I sat down in the living room. Elijah noticed the box of mac and cheese on the counter, brought it to me and very seriously, almost sternly, said, "Mama, mac-roni! Hungry!" Great, now my 2 year old is getting on to ME!

He's also become very good at saying, "No!" and "Stop!" Hmmmm....wonder why that is! LOL

My brother-in-law thinks it is HILARIOUS that he doesn't always get the t-r part of truck out correctly. :) But, it's FROG that comes out sounding really bad with a K at the end and the inability to pronounce the f-r at the beginning. LOL

Tonight, we found him playing with letter magnets in Nathan's room. When we asked him what he was doing, he said, "P, H, E..." (just started naming random letters)

This little man is most certainly growing into a toddler. He's not my baby anymore!

Memory Verses

As I mentioned before, Nathan has moved up to Children's Church at church. They have a memory verse every week. The first week, we got right to work, and Nathan had it memorized by Wednesday - Matt. 7:11: "So surely your heavenly father will give good things to those who ask Him." Last week, I completely forgot about it until mid-week, but he was SURE to remind me! :) It took a bit of last minute work, but he got it to0 - Matt. 8:8: "Lord, I am not good enough for you to come into my house. Command that my servant be healed, and he will be healed." I am so proud of my little man! He is showing some of the big kids - and adults - that it can be done.

Fast forward to tonight...like most kids, Nathan tends to get up a few times after we actually get him to bed. So, when he got up tonight, I was frustrated with him and told him to get back to bed while I put ice in his cup (don't ask - his daddy started him on this). On the way back to bed, he yelled, "but I know my memory verse!" I guess that good was supposed to outweigh the bad. I couldn't help but chuckle. He's a mess sometimes!

He Rocks!!!!

I have had a rough week (Mon. and Tues. were rough at least), and it all started on Monday when I had to change out of my jeans because they were too uncomfortable - hurting my abdomen because they were too tight. I was almost in tears. Anyways, I won't go through allllll the other issues, but that was the one that set things off. I was so depressed and told Sean that I was having a "fat and frumpy day." OK, then I had to explain what "frumpy" meant because my husband had NEVER heard that word. He still acts like it's something I made up!

So, last night, he asked me if I was still being...what was it?! Frumpy??? I just laughed - "yeah, sorta." I later went to shower after we got the boys to bed and saw a note with some clothes on the bed..."I love you. Hope this helps 'un-frumpatize' you." (Yeah, now HE'S making up words.) There was a CUUUUTE silk tank - purple and blue pattern with empire waist - and a pair of jeans a size up from my others (all from my favorite store - New York & Co). And guess what?! It all fit!!!!

So, yeah, he rocks! We also spent some time tonight praying together, which helped a lot as well. He's the best! It's almost like he knows me - like we've been together for almost 15 years or something.

Facebook

If anyone even reads this blog...

I now have a Facebook page so if you do, look me up - Krisinda Lingenfelter. :)

Santa and Deuce

While eating lunch the other day, Nathan was watching Deuce, and it dawned on him....

"Mama, Deuce will get to see Santa and all the reindeer."

"Yep, that's true, Nathan."

"And Santa will bring Deuce something too!"

"Yeah, I guess he will."

So, now we have to add doggie toys/snacks to Santa's list! LOL

Ms. Paper

I babysit/teach at First Baptist Church Frisco on the first and third Wednesdays of the month. I teach the early 2's so Elijah is in my class. Nathan has his own class. I knew the name of one of his teachers from orientation, but I hadn't actually met the other one. Nathan INSISTED that her name was Ms. Paper, even though I knew that probably wasn't quite right.

Well, he was close...her name is Ms. Paige!!!!

Gotcha!

Tonight, we surprised Sean for his 30th birthday - which is not really until next month (right before Christmas). I had the party at Randy White's BBQ in Frisco, and it was perfect! The room was roped off, nice and big, with TV's playing football in the corners and sports memorabilia on the walls. Sean thought that we were going to have dinner there with our best friends, but he saw the rest of our friends and family when we walked in. He was so surprised, and I'm so glad that we pulled it off.

While people waited for us to arrive, they filled out a "Who Knows You Best" game about Sean. He gave the correct answers after dinner; I think everyone enjoyed that (at least I THINK they did - LOL).

Amber made an awesome cake that was shaped like a Cowboys' jersey (Dallas Cowboys was the theme) with the name "Lingenfelter" and number "30" on the back. It was a spice cake with her yummy butter cream icing, and it was YUM-MY!

Thanks to all who attended and help make this day so special. As always, I will post photos soon. I did not get very many at all tonight, but I hope that others did!!! :)

Camping and Such

This weekend, Sean and Nathan went on a campout with the men at our church. I hear that they had a blast. All of you moms will appreciate this one...I got a call Saturday morning, and the other voice on the end of the phone said, "Hi, Mommy!" What a way to start the day! :) And THEN, I heard, "I pee-peed on a tree!" Oh, great! I proceeded to tell him that he could ONLY do that on campouts...after he told me that he wanted to do it when he got home!!!

While they were gone, Elijah and I spent some fun Mommy and me time together. Well, we didn't really spend time together on Friday. I had actually planned to take my best friend out for fondue (she'd never had it!) for her birthday on Friday night long before the other campout was ever planned. Two other great friends of ours watched Amber's two boys and Elijah so that we could go out (thanks, Carol and Carin). We went to The Melting Pot in Addison. Can I just say, "Yum!" I forgot how much I love that place!!! Fondue is some of my favorite food. We did the Big Night Out - a splurge, for sure. However, after further debate, Amber and I both agreed that next time, we can do the cheese fondue and dessert and totally skip the meat! :) Of course, we can probably go more often if we skip the meat because that's the most expensive part. LOL Anyways, we had a great time and had lots of laughs...which was something we both needed!

Saturday was really the day that Elijah and I spent together. Did I tell you that this kid's vocab has exploded?! Yeah, I guess I mentioned that. Well, the "quiet weekend" that I thought we'd have turned into something quite loud. He really does have a voice when big brother isn't talking all.the.time. "Mama, tootie-ta -tootie-ta-tootie-ta-ta pease!" Tootie-ta is a song that the boys like on a Jack Hartman CD that we have. I just could not believe that my 23 month old was requesting it!!!

On Saturday morning, I took Elijah for his 2 year photos. They're adorable, and I promise to post them when I get them via email. I'll post Nathan's then too - just realized I never posted them. And, if you ever need some awesome studio portraits, I suggest Target! They have done a great job on my boys this year. They are very reasonable too.

We had to pick up a few groceries after pictures, and Elijah did well since I brought his lunch along to keep him occupied. However, as we were checking out, he decided he wanted out of the cart and tried to stand up. When I asked him what he was doing, he looked at me in annoyance and said, "Done!" This is similar to his "Stuck!" when he's in his carseat. Did I mention he's becoming vocal??? LOL

After pictures and a bit of grocery shopping at Target, we had to go to Willow Bend Mall to pick up a birthday gift for a dear friend. So, newly independent, we did it without a stroller! Elijah did well - although I carried him through much of our walk through Saks. :) After getting the gift, we went to take a peak at Santa as I knew he had arrived at the mall that day. Of course, he was at lunch when we first got there but was due back at any moment. So, we waited...and what better way to pass the minutes with a toddler than to ride the escalator up and down! As soon as we got up, we saw that Santa was going down. So, we raced over to go down and say HI to Santa before leaving. As soon as we got to the bottom of the escalator, Elijah started saying "No!" very adamantly. But, as I explained that Santa was nice and our friend, he relaxed. We went to the fenced area in front of Santa where Elijah waved and blew kisses to him. It was so sweet. We plan to visit Santa and his reindeer later this month when they arrive here in Allen.

We then headed towards the house, and Elijah took a nap in the car on the way home. He stayed asleep at home, but we didn't stay long so his nap was cut short. We met my mom and sister at a local church where my MOPS group was holding a children's carnival. Elijah went dressed a Elmo - will try to post a picture of that soon too. He was so cute! His favorite games were those that involved balls. LOL

We stopped at Dollar Tree on the way to my mom's house to pick up items for a shoebox we are filling for Operation Christmas Child with our MOPS group. Yet again, Elijah decided he was too big for the cart. So, he walked alongside me as I pushed the cart, and he did quite well - esp. considering how busy the store was. He found a small outside/bouncy ball and carried it around happy as a lark. He followed me when I said, "Come on" and stopped when I told him to. Hmmmm...I wonder if he could teach his brother and Deuce a few of the obedience tricks.

We then met my mom, sister and future sister-in-law for dinner at Chick-Fil-A. That's when Elijah showed them his distaste for CFA nuggets - I do not KNOW what is wrong with this child. He likes McDonald's nuggets and not CFA?! He doesn't know what's good! It was there that he showed them his new trick - holding food in his mouth until it is mush, gagging on it and having to spit it out. And he thinks we haven't figured this one out???

From there, we went to a local Christian bookstore that was having a big sale Saturday only. We got some CD's for $8 each!!! We then closed the evening at my mom's house before returning home to meet Daddy and Nate (who was asked about ALL weekend..."Mommy - Nate?!") before bed.

We had a great weekend, and I hope to have pics soon. It's too late to edit them tonight, but maybe tomorrow. A friend got some of Sean and Nathan at the campout too so I'm hoping to get copies of those as well. Oh, and I found out something new about my Nikon point and shoot (the friend from church has a similar one)...I can take pictures in black and white, sepia, vivid color, etc. I've had this camera for 5 months now and didn't know that. I guess I should check out my camera more!!!

Time is Flying By - This is LOOOONG!!!

Lots of thoughts and things to blog...I hope I can keep all of my thoughts straight. Thanks in advance if you read the whole thing!

Let me begin by saying how amazed I am that I have a four year old. While the thought of this somewhat jars me awake, the idea of having a FIVE year old next year completely blows my mind. I mean, seriously, it was just the other day that I found out that I was pregnant with our first child, wasn't it? Now, he's four, are you serious??? Four has proven to be quite interesting so far. It all started on his birthday...the tantrums. People call it the "terrible twos" - really?! I seriously think that four has been harder for us, and we're only two weeks in! I am not sure why tantrums and tears seem so much easier than talking it out, but in the mind of my four year old, it does. I am constantly having to remind him to use his words and tell me what's wrong. And then, to deal with the situation. Learning that life ISN'T fair and that things don't ALWAYS go like we want them to is a very tough lesson to learn!!! Heck, sometimes even I don't always understand it or like it! (that's when God reminds me that He's in control and He sees the big picture I cannot see) There are times when Nathan does use his words, and it's all I can do not to laugh because he is so passionate about everything. He often says, "I'm grumpy" or "I'm mad," but they're said with such gusto and conviction, it's just downright hilarious.

Nathan is growing well; still a bit on the skinnier side. He only weighs 34 lbs. He's 40 inches tall - about 75th percentile. (I think these numbers will mean nothing once his almost 2 year old brother goes for his check up in a few weeks. E-man is HUGE!) He did great on all the doctor's tests - hearing, vision, fine motor, blood pressure, etc. Because he turned four, Nathan got to move up to children's church - instead of the nursery area - at our church. He was so excited. He calls this "Daddy's class" since Sean works in there. He has been wanting to go to "Daddy's class" for over a year now! LOL Just to brag on my little man...in children's church, they have memory verses each week. This week, their verse is Matthew 7:11: "So surely your heavenly father will give good things to those who ask Him." We started working on this Tuesday afternoon, and by Wednesday evening, Nathan could say the whole thing by himself! My mom is trying to get him to say it in front of the whole church on Sunday. I'll try to videotape it if he does!

Elijah will be two on December 5th...wow, that means he turned 23 months yesterday. Wow! 23 months ago, I almost lost my life to the undetected uterine infection. I praise God daily for bringing me through that and for restoring my full health! I know that our next baby will be a testimony of God's great healing power. Anyways, back to Elijah...he does not look like he's only 23 months. Most people look at me in shock when I tell them that he is not even 2 yet. He is the size of a 3 year old. I promise, I am not exaggerating or just bragging here - he is huge! His best friend is 4 months older than he is...and Elijah TOWERS over him!!! Tonight, we were at the movies and in line by another couple who also had a little guy. Turns out, their little man will turn 3 in December. Um, yeah, well, he and Elijah were the same size...and Elijah will turn 2 in December. We're preparing for a fun Sesame Street/Elmo birthday party for him so be looking for those pictures coming next month.

Elijah's vocabulary has exploded! Sean and I were talking about writing down words he can say (as we did with Nathan around this age), and then we realized that he repeats everything. He says everything! Of course, some is only understandable to us..."drink" comes out "rink," and "pop-porn" is not a naughty show - "popcorn.":) We are full blown potty training! We have been in Pull-Ups for several months now, and I decided last week that it was time to move to underwear. Elijah hadn't been keeping the Pull-Ups dry, but my thinking is that he doesn't do this because he doesn't have to. Pull-Ups are just diapers sorta made like underwear - probably not much difference. While wetting the Pull-Ups used to bother Nathan, Elijah is soooo much more passive, he doesn't really mind. So, earlier this week - I think it was Tues. - I decided we'd just go cold turkey with underwear. Several of the moms on my mommy board (www.dallasareamoms.com) have done this with great success. Well, by Tues. night, I felt like a definite failure in this area. He had wet at least 5-6 pairs of underwear (which are a size 4 b/c Nathan's old 2-3T's look like Speedos on him). The ONLY positive thing from this attempt was a protest from him when I tried to put Pull-Ups on him when he went outside to play with Deuce. Fast forward to today...I put him in undies, and we only had 1 accident all day (okay, it was only about 4-5 hours but still a HUGE improvement from the other day). We're going to keep this practice up and hopefully get this potty training done soon. Save me some money not having to buy those diapers! Then, I can spend more on the food to feed this kid!!!

We have had a fun, but busy week. Of course, Tuesday was election day, and although we already voted (on Nate's birthday - 10/28), many places were giving out free food. Sean picked up a free Starbucks coffee on the way home from work - I don't drink coffee so he didn't get me any. After dinner, we all got into the van and headed to the Ben and Jerry's here in McKinney for a free ice cream. Nathan got strawberry on a cone (which broke and wound up in a cup - and he will tell you about this if you ask), Elijah got strawberry-banana yogurt in a cup (he tasted everyone else's too - "Bite!"), and I got chunky monkey (don't remember what Sean got). That was a special treat since we rarely go OUT for ice cream (why? when you can get Blue Bell at home) AND we rarely let them have it that late at night!!!

I babysit for First Baptist Church of Frisco for their MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group on the first and third Wednesday of the month. The church is 5 min. fom Sean's work so we always meet him there. AND he works in Frisco Square, which also includes the Frisco Library. So, we eat lunch outside at the tables at the library and then go inside the library to read and check out books. It's also neat because my friend (Jaclyn) is a children's librarian there. Nathan always likes to go see my "friend." LOL So, this week was our Frisco Wednesday. But, we didn't get to see Jaclyn because she went into work late that day. :(

I have a subscription to a parents' magazine called Cookie Magazine. It definitely keeps me up to date on the latest styles and trends for kids. ('cause you guys know I need all the help I can get in this area; now, if I just had the money to keep up with the Joneses) Well, last week, I got an email from the magazine about an advanced screening they were having tonight at North Park Mall for Madagascar 2. Completely free! Nathan has been looking forward to this movie all summer so he was pumped that we were going. Sean and I were pumped that all 4 of us were going to the movies for FREE! Elijah was excited but not sure why - he just knew that we kept talking about a movie and popcorn. (He loves popcorn.) We left as soon as Sean got in from work and arrived about an hour before the show. We were about the 5th-6th family in line and got fairly decent seats - clients of Cookie were there too so it was pretty crowded by the time we got in. The boys LOVED it. Elijah danced every time music came on - he is such a lover of music and the arts. LOL It was a very cute movie! What's so ironic is that Nathan's first "real" movie was Madagascar. I took him when I was about 4 months pregnant with Elijah. They were showing it at the summer movie club here at the local theater. Tonight's viewing of Madagascar 2 was Elijah's first "real" movie! (Sean had to take him out at Ratatouille - our first attempt with him. That was a year ago.) Kinda cool. :)

Tomorrow is another exciting day. We have a birthday party to attend around lunchtime for one of Nathan's best friends. Then, after Sean gets off from work, he and Nathan are going camping with the men from our church. Nathan CANNOT wait! I hope it's all he's dreaming of! LOL In the meantime, I am taking my best friend out for fondue tomorrow night to celebrate her birthday, which was earlier in the week. We have friends who are watching her two boys and Elijah for us. On Saturday, Elijah and I have a busy day planned - his 2 year pictures, a carnival with our MOPS group, groceries and dinner with Mawmaw/Chee Chee (possibly Megan = my future SIL). We're having dinner out with our other best friends on Sunday. So, yes, we're staying busy, busy here, but having loads of fun. Hmmmm...I wonder if that's why time is flying by...you know it flies by when you're having fun. (although I'm beginning to think that it's flying by because I'm getting old!)

Costumes

Let me preface this post by saying that we do not celebrate Halloween. However, our boys had a couple of costumes that we decided to let them wear on Friday since it was the one day that they could get away with it. :)

Ninja Nate and Incredibles Elijah - Elijah is giving me his mean face here! I LOVE how the boys are holding hands in this picture; they are starting to do that quite a bit.

These are their ninja poses!

Nathan's Party...and my hair!

Let me begin by introducing myself...my name is Mommy, and although I am an amateur photographer, I am first and foremost Mommy. Therefore, I did not get many pictures (or many good ones) from Nathan's birthday party. I only have 3 to share right now, but I figured I better share them now before it got to be too late. I still cannot believe that my "baby" is 4!!!

I love this face Nathan makes because it's the same face my dad, grandpa and brother make. It's the way they hold their mouth - as if they're trying NOT to smile!!!

He was mesmerized by his pirate ship cake and those candles! (Cake pictures are on my other camera and not yet uploaded.)

One of my friends from my mommy board online (Nicole from Dallas Area Moms) made this for Nathan for his birthday. There was a bandana made out of the same pirate material, but it didn't stay on.

Let's start with Nathan...I thought he was past this scrunched up nose phase, but apparently when you're ready to be done with pictures and get back to playing, this is the face you get! And then there's me...that's my new haircut. LOL Kinda boring, isn't it? I took in pictures of Jenny McCarthy and other stars, but the bob looked so much cuter on them. I'll go for a trim in Dec. and will probably get a few layers cut into it then.

Pumpkin Patch

I am still working on editing pictures, but I have enough to give you an idea of things so here you go before I get too far behind. LOL


October 17th - Big Orange Pumpkin Farm, Celina, TX

This was Elijah's first pumpkin patch, and he LOVED it. He is fascinated by pumpkins now, as Nathan was at this age. He points them out EVERYWHERE - yes, his vocabulary has exploded!!!

I LOVE this photo of Nathan...remember this photo in the next post...he gives me a great smile when he's cooperating!!! Did he REALLY just turn 4? Where did my baby go???

This one probably needs a little bit more editing, but I'm really liking its potential.

Elijah was prompt to pick his pumpkin, and it was just the right size.

Nathan, on the other hand, needed just the right pumpkin, and it took him FOREVER!!!

Today's Events

I know I haven't posted in a while...I have been a crazy cleaning fool for about two weeks now. My house somehow had turned into a disaster zone, and Nathan's 4th birthday party is tomorrow! So, I/we have been doing Fall Cleaning!!!

Did have a set back on Tuesday when we all had a touch of a stomach bug. The boys and I threw up once, but Sean spent all morning hugging the toilet. Of course, that was not only a day where I didn't get much done, but all of the cleaning supplies and bowls used just added to my mess to clean. Ugh! So glad that's behind us!!!

I AM going to get my hair cut this afternoon so I should have pics of that to post soon. (along with tons of pirate birthday party pics) I am going to do a bob and am looking online for pics and ideas. Still not sure about my bangs as of yet, but I'll figure out something (I hope).

We are headed to Sam's for party food. We're meeting our best friends there for lunch too. How sad is that?! LOL Will update more later.

Elijah's New Trick

As I awoke this morning, I heard Elijah yelling...probably, "Mommy! Out!" which is what he normally yells. I got off the phone, threw on some clothes (since Deuce was neutered yesterday, is being kenneled inside and would need to be put outside to potty) and headed to get my little man. As I opened the door, my mind did a spin because there stood Elijah on the floor next to his crib. "Hi!" was the greeting I received. He had his 2 blankets, Monkey (lovey with monkey head on it) and his water cup. At 22 1/2 months, he has discovered how to climb out of his crib. Now, he just has to master the door knob and he'll be waking ME up. :) We plan to do either a trundle bed or a bunk bed for he and Nathan around Christmas. It's DEFINITELY time!!!

Fun at Rough Riders' Stadium

On Saturday, Sean planned to take the boys to the local minor league park where they had a little pumpkin patch set up, face painting, food, drinks, etc. Sounded like lots of fun, but I had to stay here and clean since we have SOMEONE'S 4th birthday party in less than 2 weeks. Well, when they arrived, all of the pumpkins were gone. They apparently sold out within the first 30 minutes. Pretty crazy, huh? Luckily, Daddy has connections and was able to get the boys out on the field, in the dugout, locker room, etc. Their own private tour! They had a blast, and N still talks about running the bases.


In the dugout - future stars! (Yes, Elijah got eaten by mosquitos the other day.)


Dreaming...


What a sly little look!


Running the bases, but um, son - I think you're going the wrong way!


LOVE this shot!


I think they're ALL dreaming now. :)


Our dog's namesake!!! LOL :)

State Fair of Texas

Last week, we went to the Texas State Fair with one of my best friends, Amber, and her two boys who are Nathan and Elijah's best friends. The kids all had a blast. Us "old folks" had fun, but boy were we worn out. :)


Nathan and Grant waiting for the dog show to begin - with Elijah amazingly large in the foreground. LOL


Nathan, Elijah and Sean waiting for the dog show.


Sean dreaming

This is great - Elijah dancing to the music at the dog show (K-9's in Flight, I think). Tell me if you can watch it without bobbing/dancing yourself. It's contagious - beware!!!

HAIR HELP

OK, I don't know how many of you read this, but if you do, I need some help (ladies!).

I need a hair cut...and I don't know how to get it cut!!! I've had the swing cut where it's shorter in the back and longer in the front/sides. However, I thought it was too short. I've thought about doing the whole bob thing with it longer in the front...but, is that cut still in? Also, I don't know WHAT to do with my bangs! I've had them straight across my forehead, but I have a cowlick up front that makes it part anyways. I don't know that it looks good parted to the side because I have a big forehead. So, what should I do??? I want to keep it no shorter than my chin (I have a long face and found that this looks best). Any ideas? Celeb photos or something? I have been told that I have a lot of hair, but it's very fine. Translation...seems thin b/c so fine, no body (limp). Layering seems to help with the body in my hair...

H E L P!!!

Here are some pics of me to help...

See how the bangs still tend to part?

Straight from the hairdresser - a bit shorter than I like, but like the cut (Make sense?)

Boy Funnies

OK, I do have these cute quotes from the boys to share with everyone...

Both occurred today as we were getting Nathan's 4 year portraits done at Target. On the way there, Nathan told me, "Mama, my heart burns." Thinking that there could be something seriously wrong with my almost 4 year old, I ask him what he means. "Yeah, I think Jesus is trying to get out or something." Oh, brother...where does he come up with this stuff?

While waiting to view the portraits, my mom decided to treat the boys to popcorn. The lady behind the counter noticed our dilemma of 2 boys and 1 bag of popcorn so she actually threw in a 3/4 bag of popcorn for Elijah so that everyone had their own bag. :) (I thought that was something nice that you rarely see these days.) Anyways, my mom had Elijah in a cart, and I was pushing Nathan. Mom reached over to eat some of Elijah's popcorn, and he yelled, "Heyyy!" OK, it was much funnier coming from the voice of a 22 month old!

They do keep me on my toes, but that's what makes life exciting! I love these two angels so much. They are really such good, sweet boys. Oh, and Nathan could be a model - he hammed it UP for those photos!!! I paid extra to get them on email so I'll have to post some on here when I get them.

Happy Fall Y'all!

I know I haven't updated in a while, and the reason is because there really isn't much going on right now. We went to the Oktoberfest festival here in McKinney last weekend (see photos below)...very crowded. The boys enjoyed winning prizes on a toy walk (like a cake walk), getting balloons and listening to the music. Other than that, we haven't done anything real exciting. We are WAITING for fall to arrive. We are so done with these upper 80 and 90 degree temps (well, at least I am!). The boys are having a blast with Deuce - they go out almost every day before nap and spend an hour outside playing with him. So, I guess he's doing them some good! I promise there will be more to update soon. In the next 12 weeks...until the end of the year...I have 3 birthdays in my immediate family (Sean and the boys) - not to mention my dad's and a couple other family members. This all on top of Thanksgiving and Christmas. :) I promise...more to come soon. In the meantime...

HAPPY FALL Y'ALL!

Happy Anniversary!!!

This is a belated anniversary wish for my parents. On Wednesday, they celebrated 37 years of marriage, and I think that is something to be acknowledged. In today's society, very few couples see this benchmark. I am proud to say that my parents are some of the few! I know they've had many good times and many struggles over the years...but if you ask them what has kept them together, they will tell you that a strong foundation in Jesus keeps them steady and their love strong (even when the emotions aren't there).

Mom and Dad - Happy Belated Anniversary! Thank you for living a life of example for many of us couples to follow. I love you both dearly!

Highs and Lows

I have been a member of a local MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group for going on 3 years now. We meet at a local church and enjoy sharing our lives together...the good, the bad AND the ugly. One "tradition" this church has is to start the meetings by doing highs and lows. You basically either go around in a small group or with a partner and tell about your recent/weekly highs (good things that have happened) and lows (the not-so-good things). Well, this thread is kinda like that - my highs and lows. Luckily, there are way more highs than lows! :)

I guess the ONLY low recently came last week...I had spent all day last Wed. (9/10) catching up on laundry and was pretty well caught up. I had even started going through the boys' clothes for fall and began washing them. Doesn't exactly sound like a low, does it? I was finishing a final load for the evening around 11 p.m. when we started hearing a noise that sounded what I can only describe as that similar to a garbage disposal. Sure enough, my washing machine had given out. After reluctantly calling a handyman help service (after much of my prodding), Sean figured out what appeared to be the problem (broken cupling). However, after talking with them, Sean was convinced that this was a project he did not want to delve into. I drug my feet for several days - seeing no reason to get a new dryer when he could buy the part for this one for $30. Seeing as I was getting nowhere, though, I finally gave in...

Which leads us to the highs...We finally went shopping on Friday night, but I didn't wind up with a washing machine then. (although we had already been shopping Thurs. night and I picked out what I wanted) But, I digress...on Friday night, we actually bought a new dishwasher!!! While I hated spending the money (I never like spending large amounts like that), I was STOKED to get a new dishwasher. The one we have barely works...I have to pretty well clean the dishes before I put them in, and then sometimes it leave a powdery substance on the dishes. I have oftentimes had to rewash the same dishes twice, this after I already handwash them before putting them in! Needless to say, this 15 year old dishwasher had ran its course. As of Wednesday, it will be put to rest...and I'll be getting my new Whirlpool!!! Wahoo! I might actually do dishes then, who knows?!

Sean finally did buy me a new washing machine after having gone over 3 days without one. He and Nathan went to Lowe's on Saturday for the children's building workshop (they made a pirate ship - right up Nate's alley). Afterwards, Sean bought my washer and dryer, and they delivered them Sunday morning before church. (who knew that they delivered on Sunday and at 8 a.m.) The only problem is that they brought/ordered the wrong dryer. We bought one of the upper end GE Profiles, and they brought us the one just beneath it. So, I am using this "borrowed" dryer for 2 weeks until mine comes in. Ugh! I didn't really need a new dryer, but Sean wanted to get a new one after hearing several people comment about dryers that went out after the washer did. We held on to our old dryer and are giving it to a good friend of ours who was in need of one.

The other bit of news indirectly affects us. As most of you know, my Pawpaw Taylor has been living with my parents since May (when he was found unconscious in his home). After having a pacemaker inserted and several rounds of therapy, he was finally ready to go home to his house near Bonham. My dad found a lady who comes in and cooks his meals for him and cleans...helps him prepare for bed...the stuff he can't do on his own. So, as of last Wednesday, my parents have their house back to themselves (and my brother, Sam). Mom is back to her joyful self again; she was quite stressed with my grandpa there. So, that is definitely good news.

On one final note...the boys have their very first cousin on the way. Sean and I will become an uncle and aunt for the first time in April! We can't wait. :) Sean never had any cousins growing up except for some that lived off so I am happy that my boys will finally get to experience this unique relationship. I don't have a ton of cousins, but there are 4 older cousins on my mom's side and 3 younger ones on Dad's side.

It's late and I'm off to bed...I think you are all caught up on us now! :)

New Family Member

As an update to a previous thread, I wanted to let you know that we have a new family member. On Sept. 4th, Sean found these pictures online of a free puppy in the area. We all fell in love and scheduled to meet the owners on Sept. 6th.



As it turns out, we all did fall in love with this little puppy when we met him. We brought him home a little over a week ago, and he has fallen right in the groove of things. Yes, he is an outside dog, but he will do just fine. He doesn't yelp at night and often sits comfy in his makeshift doghouse (the boys' outdoor playhouse) while we await his real doghouse, to be delivered later this week. He was born on July 11th so he is about 9 1/2 weeks right now. He is a Sheltie/Cocker Spaniel/American Eskimo mix. We have named him Deuce.

Background on his name: Sean wanted a cool name for the dog (which he's been trying to convince me to get for over a year now) so he and I started brainstorming once we made plans to meet the owners. I had come up with the name Oakley, and Sean thought it was great. The morning we were to meet our future puppy, I asked Nathan if he liked the name we had picked out. His response?! "I like it, but we are going to call him Deuce." With that, he walked out of the room. Well, okay, then. And why would my almost-4-year-old son want to call a dog, "Deuce?" Those who know us well know that we are a baseball-loving family. Of course, we're partial to the home teams. :) So, we root for the Texas Rangers and really enjoy the family-friendly games with their minor league team, Frisco Rough Riders. We have been taking Nathan to the Rough Riders' games since he was just a little tot. Well, the Rough Riders' mascot is a prairie dog named Deuce. So, there ya' have it! Probably best, though, because Elijah can say Deuce really well; I'd be curious to see how Oakley came out!

The boys LOVE the dog. They now spend more time outside than they ever did. Elijah is a bit skiddish around him, but he is doing better. Deuce is just a puppy and loves to jump on you. Well, for a little tot like Elijah, that means that Deuce is jumping up to his face. He has knocked Elijah down a few times and pulled on his clothing. So, you can definitely see why the poor thing has a tendency to be less than thrilled around the puppy. But, he is getting better; he spent an hour outside with Nathan ("Nate") and Deuce today.

Here are a few more pictures of our new love...

Long Awaited Pics

OK, I finally got the pictures from Elijah's surgery edited and uploaded onto the laptop. So I thought I'd share a few.Looking a lot like my dad here, I think

Playing with Daddy's hat while waiting on the surgery to begin

I love this shot of my monkey man!!!

Elijah LOVED riding in the wagon so I spent 90% of our time in the hospital pulling him around the halls.

Does he LOOK like he just had surgery?

Breakfast the next morning

One last ride in the wagon while waiting on Daddy and Nate