Clean bottom

As I was updating this blog, I hear Bo yell from his bathroom "Mom, I pooped." So I went walking in there and he was already in the playroom playing with his trains. I said, "do you need me to wipe your bottom?" and he said, "no, I already wiped it." So I said, "why don't you let me look at it to make sure your not dirty". He sat back on the toilet and I checked, and he was actually clean. I told him "Good job - you got it all" and his reply "I have the cleanest butt in the world."

Bo moved up to a big bed

Finally we moved Bo into a big boy bed. I was really sad to see the crib go, but we knew it was time. Towards the end, Bo wouldn't even sleep in his crib even though we'd taken the side off so it was more like a toddler bed. He would sleep on the floor next to the crib!

He actually did pretty good staying in his bed at first. He'd sleep in there all night and only had 1 or 2 accidents in the first few weeks. It seemed like it took forever to potty train him, but as soon as he made the decision to do it, he did it 100%. No diapers, no pull-ups at night, nothing. And he's done great! We are so proud of him!!

More pics from Bo's birthday

Bo's 3rd birthday!

Since I am updating today, everything will be out of order, but at least it's all on here. We had Bo's 3rd birthday at our house this year. He had a whole list of trains he wanted and the funny thing was, the train he wanted changed everyday. One day you'd say "Bo, what do you want for you birthday?" He's say "Gording (Gordon)". The next day it would be "Stepney" or "Henry" or whoever. We literally made a list and there about 30 trains on it!

Snow Day from February 2011

I think our kids are going to think snow is normal around here after the two winters we've had!

Home with strep

I am home today from work with strep throat. It hurts so bad - honestly, I can't remember a sore throat that was so painful. Anyway, I am going through a list of things I need to do and of course, updating the blog is one of them. Doesn't matter how I try, I can't seem to keep this thing updated.

So, here's what happened the last few months. First, Nanaw & Papaw moved to Murphy from Oklahoma! They moved into their new house on my birthday, March 3rd. They are less than 2 miles from us. We are so excited to have them so close.

Darla has started swimming two nights a week. She is really good at it! I get tired watching her. She graduated from Level 4 to Level 5 after her first 8 week session, so she's working on all her strokes. She's also taking dance and gymnastics - she's a very busy 7 yr old!

Bo is taking gymnastics on Monday mornings. He's in a class with Mia. Sometimes it goes good, sometimes he cries. You just never know how he's going to be that day. He also took a swim class, but he said the "water was too cold" and it probably is since they just kind of sit in the kids pool and take turns going around with their teachers. So we stopped swim lessons after 4 weeks.

I sold Miller right before Christmas. A girl from Utah bought him. It was a very hard decision to make, but now that he's 14, I knew if I was going to sell him, now was the time. I was obsessed about finding a new horse. I tried a couple and then found "Joni" online. She's 6 and really sweet. So far she's doing pretty good, but at this point, anything can happen!

Brent's headed to the car race this weekend, so it will just be me & the kids flying solo. I am sure we'll find ways to keep busy.

At the Barn

These were taken a couple of weeks ago. I can't even tell you how great Darla is riding. She has finally learned to loap on Barbie! I still remember the day Tony took off in a loap with me and what it felt like. I'm so proud of her.

"Fall has Fallen" as Brent said today

Today was the first day in a long time that it was nice outside and stayed below 80 degrees. It felt GREAT! I love cool weather. It also made me realize that another summer has gone by and all the fun things my kids have done/are doing and that I need to write about them.

Darla has started 2nd grade without a hitch. Her teacher is Mrs. Tillery. I asked Darla, "how long do you think it will take Mrs. Tillery to love you?". She answered "2 days". I think she was right. She was picked as Hound of the Week first this year! She was soo excited! After school, we're doing Hip Hop and gymnastics. No vollyeball this fall...Taylor didn't want to play so Darla wasn't set on playing either. She's definitely more into her friends right now and wants to have someone over to play or go play somewhere all the time. I can remember my friends from 2nd grade! Her Christmas list: an iphone, a real, real, very real, 6 week old white schnauzer puppy, and a laptop. I hope she has a backup plan for all those.

Bo is getting ready to turn 3 and that means I'm having a hard time dealing with all the changes I need to make. First, potty training. Bo has NO desire to teetee in the potty. He can do it, but he doesn't necessarily feel the need to do it. He's very content with his pull-up. This summer, a very familiar sight was me spraying him off with a water hose after he pooped in his pull-up in the pool. Happened almost every time we went swimming...seriously?!? Another change I need to make is the big boy bed. I have put this off as long as I can for 2 reasons. One, SLEEP. I need peaceful, uniterrupted, wonderful sleep and when your toddler is in a cage, I mean crib, you get it. Once they are loose, anything can happen. But, I know it's time. Luckily, he hasn't crawled out yet. I have actually talked myself into believing he LIKES his crib and gets a good night's sleep in there. The second reason, I don't want to put my crib away. I love that crib. I picked that crib out years before Darla was even born. I just knew that would be my babies' crib. It's a lot harder than I thought I would be to put it away. Maybe I can get Mugsy to sleep in it???

Bo is so funny. His hair is curlier than ever. He needs a haircut but I don't want to cut the curls off but yet I don't want it short on top/long in the back (aka a mullett) so I'm taking him to Lauren Tuesday to let her figure it out. He is obsessed with Thomas the Train. His birthday list is just a list of trains; that's it, no other toys, just trains. And the list changes daily depending on which trains he watches on TV that day. He answers almost every sentence with "uh-huh" but his voice goes up at the end. He also likes to "coughy" (copy) Darla which she can't stand. He speaks so cleary now that it almost makes me sad he doesn't have more words that are wrong. He's just too smart! Other favorite words... burella (umbrella), Egg-ward (Edward, one of the trains), To-vee (Toby), ba-sgetti, grey sprite (the spritezero bottle is white?), Supper Target. He used to always make this "cuh" sound - it's hard to explain. It's almost like the beginning of a laugh but he wasn't laughing; but he doesn't do it as much anymore. He seems to like his Older 2's class at school - mainly because when I drop him off they get to watch TV! He is supposed to be Buzz Lightyear for Halloween but also said he wants to be a "bampire" like Darla. Guess we'll see how that turns out!

7 years old!

What a fun weekend! Darla turned 7 on Friday. She always asks me if she can do anything she wants on her birthday and I say yes...so Friday morning she started off the day with an ice cream cone in bed. She had my cell phone and the home phone next to her waiting to take her birthday calls!

Darla had the whole day planned out. She went to Whistle Stop for a little bit, and then her Daddy picked her up and they went to eat pizza at Pizza Inn. She said she wanted to go to Baskin Robbins before AND after Pizza Inn, but I think after she had lunch she changed her mind.

After I got home, we headed to Build a Bear. Darla picked a blue bear with peace signs all over it and named her Prissy. Bo got a Zhu Zhu pet named Num Nums but he calls him Donuts. After Build A Bear we went to see Toy Story 3!! It was opening day and we knew it would be crowded so we got there pretty early. The movie was great and it was Bo's first trip to the movie theater. I don't think any other movie could have kept his attention but he just loves Woody (Dee-Dah as he used to call him) and Buzz. He got pretty restless during the last half hour but other than that he did pretty good.

On Saturday, Darla had her party at Thunderbird Roller Rink. Luckily Nanaw & Papaw got her skates for Christmas and they are nice enough to let her skate around their house, so Darla is getting pretty good on the skates. She had a bunch of friends from her class (NO BOYS!) and lots of family there. She got a new scooter, PJ's, a swimsuit, zhu zhu pets and accessories, a DS game, jewelry, her first pair of spurs & spur straps and an itouch! Bo really likes all the zhuzhu pets too and Darla has been VERY patient letting Bo play with her new stuff.

Today is Father's Day so this morning we gave Brent his presents and I tried to make a blackberry cobbler...it tasted good but it was pretty runny. If you put enough ice cream on it you couldn't tell!! I've got to work on my recipe. We went to swim at Granddad's and Bo has no fear of the water. He doesn't really like to wear his ring anymore, just his floaties. He also loves to go underwater which scares me to death. Today his new trick was jumping in by himself and he would hold out his hand and say "Don't catch me Mommy". He also liked to sit on a float in the pool and tell everyone "watch how I fall" and then fall off. I love that he tries new things and all, but he just doesn't need to grow up so fast!

the end of 1st Grade

Today was Darla's last day of 1st Grade. Ms. Garner has been so impressed with Darla's writing, so I thought I would share a couple of her writing assignments.

1-11-10:
Dear Mom,
Around Valentine's day will you take me to Academy to by a squishy heart pen please? I would pay you, help you cook, I would help you fold laundry to.
Your smart and only daughter,
Darla

5-24-10:
My Dance Recital
Last Friday I had a Hip-Hop dance recital. I had so much family there. I had to wait like an hour to get on stage. I wasn’t even nervous. Once I got on stage my Uncle Andy shouted…GO DARLA! Sometimes I can’t stand my Uncle Andy. He is so frustrating sometimes. (More like always) When I got off the stage I mean there was hugs and kisses and good jobs. And of course Uncle Andy was doing my dance and doing it very badly. I got 3 packs of flowers. We put all the real flowers in vases at home. I had a really great time at my dance recital.

The Baby Possum

This weekend the kids spent the night with Memaw. While they were there, Greta & Bella (the Schnauzer's) brought a baby possum in the house!!! Darla said she was freaking out and screamed and ran outside and of course Bo did exactly the same thing she did. It is sooo funny to hear Bo tell the story..."Baby Possum came in the house and it laid there and looked around and pooped." I can't even imagine what I would have done if I had been there or had a possum run in our house.

Darla is still playing volleyball with the Lucky Stars. We haven't won a game yet, but Darla is getting a lot better. She gets a dollar every time the ball goes over the net so she stays pretty motivated.

I hope I never, ever forget this...Brent was playing the "I've got your nose" game with Bo. Well, Bo did the same thing back to his Daddy but to hold his "nose" in his fingers, he sticks his pointer finger out and wiggles it up and down. I know it is really hard to describe and doesn't sound that funny, but trust me, it's hilarious!

Bo started saying "Darla" instead of "Da-wah" about 2 weeks ago; he even corrected Jakob at Easter last weekend. It is so bittersweet - I know he has to learn how to say his words the right way, but it's just another sign that he's growing up way too fast. I refuse to correct him on "Ay-yoe" (yellow) or "People" (purple). He loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Chuggington and Krypto-Dog...he's growing out of the Dora phase I think. And the big shocker is, he eats SALAD!!!

Volleyball?

I know I need to write about Christmas, the fact that it snowed (crazy!), and all the other great holiday things. But I just have to record that today, my daughter went to her very first volleyball practice! The only time I nearly failed a class was PE in 7th grade and it was because I couldn't serve the volleyball over the net. Let's hope Darla can change the family tree in this sport. She actually did great! After a few tries, she was even getting the ball over the net. Her first game is Saturday.

This is all Jodi's fault by the way...she called and told us there was one spot left on Taylor's team. Jodi told me that when a college signs Darla on a full scholarship, she can thank Jodi in her acceptance speech.

I'm just excited Darla is learning something new and getting to spend time with Taylor.

GO LUCKY STARS!

YAY Bo!

Tuesday night Brent and I went to the Mavericks game. Memaw drove down to watch the kids. On the way to the game, I got a call from a VERY excited Darla. "Mom, Bo poo pooed in the potty!!!" We have a little potty set up in his bathroom and Bo usually sits on it before his bath, but we haven't done too much potty training yet so I was extremely surprised when she called. Memaw said Bo came walking in his bedroom naked and holding a People magazine and said "I poo pooed". And yes he did! Darla asked me "Mom, do you want us to save it for you until you get home????????" I told her "no, that's okay. We'll see it the next time!" ha ha

Santa

Every year, we meet Jesse & Reese to see Santa. This year the plan was to go to the new Allen mall, but it's all outside and it was 40 degrees and raining, so our plan changed and we went to Bass Pro Shops.

The kids were so excited - they ran all over looking at the reindeer, the fish, and BO was obsessed with this little puppet sticking out of Santa's shop and kept saying "stuck", "stuck". I wasn't sure how Bo would do with Santa this year because last year he screamed! I think it helped that Santa had a big bowl of candy canes next to him. In fact, if you look at this picture, I think it sums up my kids pretty well. Bo is focused on the candy, Darla is reading her list to Santa. She has organized her list this year and marked who's getting her what...Santa, Mom, Dad, Granddad, etc. If any kid deserves to be at the top of Santa's "good" list - it's my sweet Darla!!

A few things on Darla's list this year: Barbie Pet Vet Station, white tiger cub, Penelope Puppy, Pet Vet DS game, some other Barbie/vet puppy, Barbie & 3 Musketeers DVD, Harry Potter DVDs. She needs to add her two front teeth to that list!! She is really into animals more than dolls and even told us that she wants to be a dentist or a vet when she grows up.

On Bo's list - a train table, basketball goal, t-ball set, toys, and clothes. Darla likes to add things (that SHE likes too) to Bo's list when catalogs come in the mail.

After Santa, we went next door to Primo's to eat. Jesse & Darla sat at their own table while Bo & Reese were stuck with me & Cortney. After we ate, I realized I couldn't find our picture with Santa, so we went back inside BPS and luckily someone had turned it in.

A few of my FAVORITE things Bo is saying right now: "Steam up" - stand up. "People" is purple. "Doora" for Dora. "See-tan Claus" - Santa. "Icicle" - popsicle.

Happy Birthday Bo

Today my baby turned 2. It's such a cliche, but it's so true - they grow up soo fast! As soon as Bo woke up, we loaded up in the car and went to get "no-nuts" and sausage rolls because they are his favorite. He ate them in his chair while watching "Doo-Ra" and then we had to get dressed to go to Drew's party.

We had fun at Drew's - Granddad fed Bo a ton of chocolate cake and ice cream which kept his sugar high from the "no-nuts" going!! We left Darla there to play with Presley and then I get an email from Granddad that says "Tooth Fairy coming tonight".
I open it to see Darla's other front tooth is gone!!! We couldn't believe it! So she is officially toothless on the top.

We had Bo's party at Peter Piper Pizza. Daddy missed most of the OU game while we were at the party - poor planning on my part. Papaw definitely earned a gold star for coming to the party and missing the game!!! The kids had so much fun...Bo was running around crazy the whole time. I think they all ran out of tokens in the first 2 minutes, but luckily Uncle Andy & Nana kept everyone's cups full! Last year he cried really hard when we sang, but this year, he was so cute. He sat real still and made his "I'm trying not to smile face" where he cuts his eyes over to the side but then he started grinning ear to ear. And he even blew out both candles all by himself! He sat there and at his piece of cake for about 20 minutes - it was definitely the quietest/stillest moment of the day. Nanaw spent most of the party chasing him around, so I'm sure she was happy for the break too!!

We came home and opened presents - he got lots of good toys and clothes. Memaw gave him a card with her voice recorded in it and so did we, so he played with those things for almost a half hour. I think he was pooping his pants while he played with them which also explained why he was being so still, but it was so much fun to watch him open those and then sing with the songs.

Bo is such a funny little boy - tonight he and I laughed and laughed while he was in the bathtub just because he started laughing which made me laugh and then he'd get going. He is so busy - he hardly ever slows down. He hasn't been taking naps lately, and I really don't know how he gets through the whole day without being exhausted. He makes his Daddy & I tired, that's for sure! He loves to watch Dora right now - he gets up in our bed (which he calls "Bo's bed") and gets in my spot under the covers. It's pretty cute.

He can definitely say anything, and I do mean anything so you have to be very careful these days about what you say around him. He loves Darla so much - he will do anything she does or asks him to do. But he can be mean to her - hitting and pushing. He's really quick to say "Sorry Dar-wah". He went to Timeout this week @ school. When Brent went to pick him up he was sitting in the chair and started crying when he saw his Daddy, so he knows when he's doing right/wrong. At Amy's Tueday night, Anna came over to me and said "Bo just hit me." I said "Bo, no-no hit Anna" and he came walking towards me with his head and shoulders down showing how sorry he was. It was so funny - I was trying to keep a straight face.

I am trying to stop and remember every single moment that I can right now. This is the best age and Brent & I say all the time how we just want to enjoy it and take it all in. It goes by so fast!

Darla had a great week. She was selected for another "Hunt Hound Award" for Outstanding Behavior. They pick 2 students in each class each 6 weeks. She now has two dog tags for her collection - she got the same award in Kindergarten. She's doing such a great job in Ms. Garner's class, but we aren't really that surprised!! She & her Daddy went to Pumpkin Math Day on Friday and Brent said it was a lot of fun. They had to weigh, measure, count seeds, etc from their pumpkin. I think Brent made up a new Hunt Elementary song about the crossing guard to go with his "Mr. G-W" song.

Bo - we are so proud of you. You are such a sweet, good boy and we love you so much. Happy 2nd Birthday!!!

A Lot to Catch Up on

I am feeling a little like the worst mom ever tonight. Maybe it's because I'm working Mon-Wed this week so I'm off my normal schedule, but Bo's 2nd birhtday is in a couple of weeks and I don't have anything planned. No invitations, no party details, nothing. And it's Oct 5th and we still don't have Halloween costumes...I know that sounds like I have time, but every year we have our costumes by now.

And then I looked to see I haven't written an entry in over a month! Where does the time go? Darla lost one of her front teeth a few weeks ago. She went to Nanaw's for the weekend and I got a picture on my phone with the tooth missing. It wasn't even that loose so I was SHOCKED to see it gone! Nanaw said Bo kept trying to pull one of his teeth out so he could look like his sister. He will do ANYTHING she is doing. Luckily, she's always setting a great example so that can be a very good thing.

Darla was chosen as Star Student of her class last week. We made a poster about her and then she got to take her favorite book and toy to class. The kids all made her a book on the last day and I have to tell you, it's the funniest thing that she's ever brought home! To see what the kids wrote about her is just too much. For example "Darla, Galushins (congratulations) on being Star Student" or "I hope you aren't sick. I hope you don't have a fever. I hope you don't get sick?!?!?" I will keep it forever!

Bo has grown up so much in the last month. He can say ANYTHING now and repeats everything we say. It's so funny to see him use words/sentences the correct way. Like last night Darla took off running to the playroom and said "Bo, come on." And he took off after and said "OK, I'm coming". He also got a haircut this month and likes to pat his head and say "Haircut". He can tell you that Nanny & Papaw live in "Homak" (Oklahoma) and I love to hear him say the names of the kids in his class "Caro-wine, Brody, Camin (Camryn), Heidi, Miss Doora (Miss Vera)".

We also got rid of the bottle last weekend. I know it should have happened months ago but it didn't. Oh well. Bo has really been good about it. Last weekend on Sunday night he asked for juice at bedtime so I gave it to him and we haven't looked back. I hid all the bottles and when he asked for one I just said "we don't have any" and I know he didn't really believe me but he went along with it. He loves cranapple juice right now which is very confusing becuase he'll say [very clearly] "apple juice" but he wants cranapple, not apple so it can be quite a battle if you don't know what he wants. Even at the grocery store while your checking out, he'll see the juice and then say "apple juice" about 50 times.

I forgot just how much fun this age is where they do something new every single day and you actually SEE your kids learning/growing right in front of your eyes.

Monday was the first day of 1st Grade. We were really excited for Darla and this new chapter in her life. I feel like 1st grade is going to challenge her more than Kindergarten.

The morning started off pretty easy - the alarm went off at 6:30 and I woke Darla up at 6:45. Let me insert here how I wake her up...I walk in the room, turn on her TV, pat her on the back and say "Darla, time to get up". Unlike my childhood where my dad would walk in the room, turn on every light and say "Up and at 'em...let me see your feet on the floor." I swore I wouldn't do that to my child and so far, promise kept. Or, I would hear my mom's houseshoes coming down the tile hallway and I knew when the sound stopped she was on the carpet which meant she was almost to my room so I would jump out of bed right as she got there!

Darla got up, dressed pretty quickly, had cinnamon rolls and then started on her hair. We washed & dried it the night before but she wanted it super straight so we ironed it for the first day. We were all supposed to walk her to school but Bo was still asleep so Daddy decided to hang back with him. I wasn't about to let this day go without following her in the school to take pictures!

A few quick pics at the house and off we went. When we got there, Darla marched straight to the 1st Grade Hall and then walked that long hallway to Ms. Garner's room. She put her backpack in her locker and then to her desk. She was such a good sport about letting me take pictures while she put her stuff away. She sat down and started coloring a "welcome to first grade" picture and then I said, "Darla, can I get a picture of you & Ms. Garner". Darla gave me a "NOT NOW MOM" look, but luckily Ms. Garner (LOVE HER) understood the importance of this moment to me and said "Sure...come on Darla" so I got the pic. I know my days of getting these kind of pictures are limited, so I'm so grateful I got to sneak 'em in one more year!!!

When we went to pick her up that afternoon Brent asked - "how was 1st grade? Is it like Kindergarten?" Darla's response "No, it's not anything like Kindergarten. It's totally different."

And that was pretty much it. She's a first grader now. 6 years old and growing up too fast. This year wasn't as hard for me because I'm more excited for her than anything. I felt like Kindergarten was fun, but I think this year's she's going to learn so much.

I have to share Ms. Garner's note home today (Thursday - 4th day of school):
Darla is just precious. She loves learning. She has a thirst for knowledge that keeps her engaged all day. She is a model student and a lot of fun to work with.

Meet the Teacher

We met Darla's 1st grade teacher, Ms. Garner, on Friday night. I'd heard great things about her like she is the 1st grade coordinator and she got Teacher of the Year last year. I couldn't have been more excited when I met her. She seems like the most perfect 1st grade teacher EVER. I just wanted to sit down at a desk and be her student. Darla really seemed to like her too. And she's excited about some of the friends in her class so I think it's going to be a good year.

Brent told me a funny Darla story. This morning they went to McDonalds to get us breakfast. On the way back, they drove by the house across Murphy Rd that has all the baby horses. Brent said he asked Darla if she wanted one. Darla's mind started turning and she said they should find out if they have a daughter and if they did, then she would trade 2 of her baby dolls that she doesn't play with anymore for one of those little colts. She was NOT willing to let go of her Webkinz though!

I can't believe the summer is almost over. Today was our final "Swim Club" at Coco's house. We look forward to it every single Tuesday and I'm so sad that it's over. I have to say I love Swim Club so much because I get to spend a few hours each week with everyone and their kids. It's such a great time to see the kids' personalities and I always learn so much. Like today, Peyton told Amber & I that she no longer lives in Texas. I asked if she lives in Oklahoma or Louisiana and she said "no, we live in Muh-Kinney".

It's also so much fun to see the kids growing up right in front of us. Anna started off the summer very timid and by week 3 she was swimming all over the place and jumping off into the deep end. Mia and Bo defintely grew as swimmers this year - as of today, they both were pretty independent in their Swimmies. Mia didn't really like sharing her little jump ledge & towel with Bo, but she was a good sport! And then, poor Amy (but Amy it was all your fault), I think today every single girl (sorry Bo) mastered the cheer stunt. Jesse did one of the best toe touches EVER off the wall today, and Reese managed to keep her swim suit on most of the summer. Darla stayed in character most of the time (kitten, dolphin, unicorn, you name it) but was always my extra pair of eyes to keep a close watch on her little brother.

I just hope that when all the kids are teenagers they'll still hang out with us at Swim Club...

Cheer Camp

Darla did a Cheer Camp at Whistle Stop this summer. We went to watch the Pep Rally last week. Let's just say it was very entertaining but I'm not sure if the girls learned much this summer! Darla's favorite chant was "We're number one, can't be number two, we're gonna beat the whoopee out of you." I don't think the teacher has won many awards on creativity.