Conversationalists

     I had a moment of realization the other day.  Noah from a very early age has been very good with words.  But the other day he kind of caught me off guard.  Each day he comes home from school I greet him with a hug and ask him how his day was.  Normally he gives a quick response of good and goes on to find some toy to play with.  But one day last week after I asked him how his day was, he asked me how my day was with the daycare kids.  I was not quite expecting the question so I paused and then responded that it was good and told him a few of the things that we did during the day.  I don't know why it caught me so off guard, but it just seemed so mature.  Then the other day I had the opportunity to pick him up from school and was asking him about his day when he stopped and asked if I had a good day.  His ability to carry on a conversation and more importantly to think of me just made me realize of how much he is growing up.
     Mikayla can be quite the conversationalist too.  Actually, hers tends to be a little more one sided as the girl loves to talk.  But I realized this week too that she is maturing.  Since her friend moved to Colorado she has jumped at the opportunity to talk to her on the phone.  She grabs the phone and is quick to search for the number to dial.  If we would let her, she would happily talk into the night.  Over the weekend she was so excited when they were able to Skype.  I can already see the coversations we will have with her as a tween about her phone time.  For now I would love it if some one could find a way to slow these two from growing up so fast.

A Little Bit of Sadness

     Our neighbors moved recently.  It breaks my heart because I feel as though they were more than just neighbors.  When they moved in, I was so excited, finally a family with kids around my kids' age.  I quickly introduced myself and kids.  It didn't take long before there were playdates and barbeques.  We did birthday parties, sleepovers, and even a potty party.  Mikayla very quickly became best friends with the older girl and Noah wanted to take every opportunity to go over and play at their house.  So it saddens me that they will no longer be just across the street.  I'm not sure that kids are fully aware of what has happened.  They said their good-byes, and Mikayla even gave away a beloved toy.  But I don't think they will be completely aware until they want to go and play over at their house.  It may even take the first morning at the bus stop for Mikayla to realize that her friend will no longer be there.  All is not lost, they have our number and we have already planned to let the girls Skype.  Mike and I have also talked about possibly taking a trip out there to visit.  I have always wanted to go to Colorado...  Now we are just hoping that the house is filled with a family just as great as theirs.  Fingers crossed.

Gotta Watch Out For This One...

     Noah has some health issue in which he gets stomach virus-like symptoms every 6 to 8 weeks.  We have tried to figure it out, but still haven't narrowed it down.  It doesn't seem to be related to anything he eats and it seems to go just as fast as it comes.  We took him to the doctor once and they stated that it migh be acid reflux.  They prescribed some medicine for him, but since I wasn't completely sold on the whole acid reflux thing, I decided to opt out.  I had heard about something called cyclic vomitting syndrome, and it seems similar to that, but without being a doctor we can't say for sure.  So between episodes we wait for every little tummy ache he has, hoping that he will not end up getting sick.  He's a smart one though and has caught onto the fact that he gets extra attention when he is sick.  He also has figured out that we let him watch movies, which he loves, when he is not feeling well.  With this new-found awareness he decided the other day to pretend he was sick.  He said his tummy hurt and that we should call daddy so he could come home to take care of him.  I was a little suspicious, but went ahead and called Mike just to warn him.  After nap time he said it again, so I asked him if he really felt sick or if he was just missing his daddy.  He admitted to just missing his daddy, so we had a little talk about faking being sick, and I gave him the opportunity to talk to daddy on the phone.  Well, the next day he was home with me he was saying the same things.  This time there was no call to daddy and we went about the afternoon as usual.  That night though he was complaining about his forehead hurting.  We were trying to just get him to finish dinner before we reassessed.  Well, he didn't make it through dinner.  I gave him some Ibuprofen and he went upstairs and fell asleep in our bed...at 6:30.  Um, yea I would definitely say he was exhausted.  He slept all night, with the exception of coming into our room to tell us he was feeling better, until 7:00 the next morning.  When he woke up he tried the whole sick thing again, but after breakfast he forgot all about it and went off to preschool.  I can already tell we are going to have to keep a close eye on him for when he wants to play hookie.  The boy has it down at 3.

Things They Say Thursday--January 12th

     This edition of the things they say comes in the written form.  Mikayla's first day back to school after Winter break she was given an assignment for her wish for 2012.  I will let the photo of the assignment speak for itself.

Those d's are actually b's {we're working on that}, and she is missing
an i and l for family, but you get the idea.

     She could write down anything that she wanted for the year and she chooses a baby for our family.  So sweet!  For now she will have to settle with the new little one we have for the daycare {which Noah keeps referring to as ours}. 

She's a Rock Star

     Yes, she is.  And my little rock star turned 7.  How is it possible that Mikayla is already 7?  It does not seem that long ago that I was changing her diapers and stroking her forehead to help her get to sleep.  But she really is growing up, and is most definitely exhibiting her own style and personality.  Every chance she gets she reminds me of just how old she is.  So this year I completely left the theme for her party up to her.  She decided she wanted a rock star themed birthday party.  The girl loves to sing and dance and with her recent love for all things peace sign, it was a perfect fit.  We found some invitations online from Shutterfly.  Lately I had been creating our own, but this was a nice change of pace as all I had to was input the party info. and we were all set.  We happened to find the plates and napkins on the cheap at Target.  Then while I was searching online I found that Party City had two different lines of girls rock star party decorations.  It was a big score for us when we actually found it in the store.  I also found some create-your-own rock star bracelets at Target and peace signs that the kids could decorate with glitter paint.  We also played a few rounds of freeze dance and gave the girls the opportunity to sing with their own microphones.  I was so busy helping the girls with each of the activities that I didn't take any pictures {bummer}.  The decorations were kept pretty simple.  I hot-glued ribbon around some cds and then we hung them up from the ceiling.  We also used the birthday banner that I created last year for Mikayla.  Then it was just the rock star balloons that were anchored by a vase filled with rock candy.  After the decorations, all that was left was the cake.  I found this guitar cake template on the Betty Crocker website.  I love the taste of a homemade cake and this was my first attempt at a cut cake.  I would say it turned out just okay.   Overall the party was a success.  The girls had a lot of fun and each went home with a goody bag filled with lipgloss, a pencil, their bracelet, peace sign, a rock candy, and candy from the pinata.  Happy Birthday, Mikayla!

Balloons, banner and cds.  The owls are from the daycare. 
And I wish we could have done something with that light.

Cake, plates and napkin.

Rock candy vase.

Cake.

Inspiration for the cake.  As a side note:  Who would have thought you could do a pinata
in January in Kansas and not freeze your bums off?

Birthday girl hitting the pinata.

Watch out for this one with a bat.  He was fierce.

Blowing out the candles.

Things They Say Thursday--January 5th

     This one is from a few weeks ago, but I just love it.  As we were leaving the rehearsal dinner for my brother's wedding we happened to be following a few Packers fans who were in town for the game.  They were chanting "Go Pack, go!"  They had only said it once when Noah chimes in and says, "Go Pack, go!"  He kept saying all the way to the car.  I don't think they noticed as they were trying to swindle the cheesy corn recipe, but I did.  It was very cute.  I love my little Packers fan! 

One of Those Three Year Olds

     You know the ones.  The ones you hear about knowing more about their parent's iPhones, iPads, etc. than their parents.  Yep, those ones.  Well, I never thought I would be a parent of one of them.  But the other day Noah picks up my phone and says he wants to play a game.  He proceeds to unlock my phone, click on the Application buttons, and scroll the pages until he finds his matching games.  Let this be a lesson in imitation...they are watching us.  I don't let my kids play games that often on my phone, but he has definitely seen me do it enough to know exactly how to get to his game.  Guess there is always a password protector, if he decides to visit more than just Memory.

Welcome 2012

     Here's to giving 2011 the big ole boot and welcoming in 2012!  Not that 2011 was all bad, but I am definitely hoping that 2012 will be a better, shining year.  And I know most people call them the resolutions, but I prefer to call them goals.  With hopes of sticking to them, here is my list for 2012:
1.  Be a better wife, mother, and woman.
2.  Declutter my house and life.
3.  Take time just for me.
4.  Read more.
5.  Find a hobby.
6.  Do more crafts.
My list really could go on, but these are definitely the main things that I want to focus on in the coming year.