Daddy Daughter Date

Just sent Conor and a very excited five year old off on a fancy date.

 They're going to see Snow White performed by Ballet Austin.  It was a surprise to Darby, we just told her yesterday. :)
She was bouncing off the walls yesterday in anticipation, then this afternoon as we were getting ready, she got very serious.  And nervous.  And wanted everything to be perfect.  Just perfect for her special date with her very favorite person.

She's in dance right now, but I think she likes the idea of dance more than dance itself.  If we ask her if she likes it, she'll say, "Kind of.  I like dance, but you have to stand still a lot and I'm not really a standing still kind of girl."  HA. I love her.
Excited they could have this time.  Such fun and sweet memories for our favorite kindergartener.

Just a February Afternoon...

...jumping on the tramp and looking at bugs

 wearing a blanket as a dress because it's fancy

 and wearing a blanket so we can be like our big sister...

Hours of fun on this dangerous contraption.  Hours and hours and hours.

Can we just take a moment and acknowledge that it is February and we're in short sleeves and tank tops.  I'm not sure I'll ever get over it.

Happy Valentine's Day

We had a great Valentine's Day here!  Full of absolutely zero crafting.  Bittersweet.  I'm learning a lot about cutting myself some slack lately but that's another post. :)

The day before, my friend Emily hosted a wonderful party for the preschool age neighborhood kids who weren't having parties at school.  Well, Kyler was having a party but he was home on Wednesday so he got to come. :)
You'll have to excuse the iphone photos but I had to take pictures of the table.  She's amazing and the kids looooved it.  I don't think Carson had a clue what was going on, except that it was a party and there was lots of candy involved. 
Important lesson of the day: It's okay that I'm terrible at giving my kids experiences like these.  Because I have amazing talented friends. ;)

 Those are marshmallows dipped in chocolate AND white chocolate/sprinkle dipped pretzels. Seriously. 

Yes.  Those are my boys with their hoods up.  I can't explain them.  I don't try to.

Darby and Kyler both had parties at school and all three kids came home on serious sugar highs. 

My sweet valentine woke up and made us french toast and brought me a HUGE triple-shot caramel macchiato (I must have seemed extra grumpy that morning.)  We spent the evening eating Chipotle and hanging out as a family.  Don't worry, Conor and I are going out on Saturday - I can't wait! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Truth in the Tinsel

I. Love. December.
When I was growing up one of my favorite thing about the Holidays was adding an "ornament" every day to a large felt advent tree that we had as we counted down the days until Christmas.  I love the idea of counting down, preparing our hearts, making space.

Last year we bought this(yes, I bought it, lots of ideas on pinterest for making one.  I'm just too lazy)

and every day was filled with a different fun activity or a place to serve.  I compiled a list in November and filled each little door with a slip of paper telling the kids what we'd be doing that day.  One day we shopped for toys for needy kids, one day we read a new Christmas book, or delivered meals, or attended a Christmas program, or made cookies...

This year when we pulled out the house, the kids couldn't wait to get started, and yesterday, on December 1st I realized I hadn't done a thing.  I'm a little disorganized this year.

So our first day I decided to use to introduce our "Truth in the Tinsel" advent.  If you haven't heard of this little e-book, it's an awesome way to tell kids about the story of Jesus as you lead up to Christmas.  Each day you read a Bible verse together, make an ornament, and talk about a piece of the Christmas story.  For example, yesterday the ornament was a candle because Jesus came to bring Light to the darkness(Isaiah(9:2-7).  We really wanted to try this last year, but the ornaments, though simple and created for kids, required a lot of supplies that I hadn't collected. Because I'm disorganized. (sensing a theme?).

BUT this year, they added something just for disorganized, barely holding it together moms like me.

 PRINTABLE ORNAMENTS!  So now, my kids color an ornament and we read scripture and talk about it and clothespin it onto some yarn (with clothespins I haven't bought yet. Surprised?)

We're having fun. :) 

Kyler's 'light'

Yard Sale

Just putting some preschoolers to work.  Learning how to clean a yard-sale purchase is a pretty important life-skill in this house.  Love having these little helpers around.

 

Dear Husband

Dear Husband,
Please come back.  Seriously I think it every time you go out of town.  I don't know how people do this on their own.  Taking care of 3 littles without you is hard.  We're fine.  We're making it.  I'm not pulling my hair out yet.  But the house may not survive. 
When little boys don't nap and there's no daddy to take them outside to play so mommy can catch up.  This is what we end up with.

A very dirty house that I'm blogging about instead of cleaning because after finally getting them all tucked in I'm completely wiped.  We have also borrowed a guard dog for the weekend.  She's pretty ferocious.


Oh and your daughter is sleeping in your shirt.
We miss you!

for the 3 yr old

Sweet little man,
This post is three months late, but I figure you'd rather I write this three months late than skip it.  And trust me.  You are such a delight at 3 years old that you will want this post included in the way we remember you as a child, and you are also such a busy little guy that you will need this post as a warning because if your children take after you they will make you incredibly happy and proud and very very tired.

Kyler - how dearly loved you are.  You gave us a run for our money in your twos.  Quite literally, as you often took off running as fast as you could until you were halfway down the block before we caught up with you.  Often without pants on.  When you were caught you'd immediately turn, smile and come barreling toward us as though your cuteness would win us over and you could avoid discipline.  That tactic actually does work with many of the other adults in your life.  Because you are so dang cute.

Your memory is incredible.  It scares me actually.  You will reenact entire scenes from movies with your toys and will often quote lines from tv shows or movies you've seen if you can find a way to relate them to what's going on around you (you get that from your dad).  At three years old you can read dozens of words, not because you understand phonics or how words work, but just because you memorized them while we were teaching your sister.  And now it's impossible to read to you without interruption as you insist on pointing out every word you know.

We still often find you sleeping in peculiar places.  On your floor, under your mattress, under your bed, or most recently, in your laundry basket.  I think you just play hard.  Really hard. Until you crash.  

You are so funny.  I love how your vocabulary is growing and the craziest things come out of your mouth.  When you turned 3 you were just getting the hang of potty training, but putting your underwear and pants on was another story.  You'd often come walking out of the bathroom saying. "These in trouble. These in trouble" when you couldn't get your legs through the right parts of your clothes.  The other day you yelled to your dad that "My underwear is disobeying!  It's being disrespectful!!!"  Seriously, I love you.

You're in a superhero phase.  Anything with a cape and a mask and you're sold.  Your first words of the day are typically "Is my batman shirt dirty?"  if I try to put anything else on you.  At this point you have several superhero shirts that you rotate between, but the Batman shirt is your favorite.  We got you Batman rain boots for Christmas and you literally wear them almost every day.  I don't think you've ever seen a Batman cartoon or show, or any superhero show for that matter, but still you're obsessed.  I think Superhero obsession must be hidden in male genetic code.

You're afraid of car washes and I'm always afraid the workers are going to think I'm hurting you from the way you scream in terror when we drive through.  But you've recently started something new: you shut your eyes real tight while we go through and then after we're out you ask us if you were brave and we tell you that you were and you smile.  Now you ask to go to the car wash just so that you can prove to us how brave you are.

I love the way every time you see a flower or a weed or even a long piece of grass next to us you pick it up and say "This flower is for YOU."  But you've started pretending like you don't like kisses from me and pushing me away if I try in public.  But I steal them anyway and you giggle.  Because you're not allowed to be too old or too cool for Mommy's kisses yet.  

You are so busy little one.  Your mind never stops and you never stop and everyone who knows you comments on your 'energy.'  You are passionate.  Oh so passionate and you feel your emotions strongly.  You cry hard and you laugh hard.  Actually if you start laughing too hard we have to stop everything and make you stop laughing because you will literally laugh until you throw up.  You're persistent and when you get your mind set on something you are very slow to give up.  Hold on to that son, it exhausts your parents now, but that will be a strength that will serve you well when you are a grown man.  You are rough and tumble and always dirty and into something.  Just the way little boys should be.

We love you buddy.