conversations with a 4-year-old

Maybe in January I'll get caught up on the last few months. In the meantime, I wanted to write down 2 little stories before I forget them.

One day the girls and I were walking through Target (pretty much a daily occurrence around here) and we were almost to the end of my shopping list.

Me: Ok girls, we're almost done. All I need are chips and salsa and we can check out.

Sarabeth: Do you NEED chips and salsa or do you WANT chips and salsa?

Me: (while trying not to laugh about being lectured by my 4-year-old on needs v wants) You're right, dear. I only want chips and salsa.

Another day the girls were sitting at the kitchen counter having a snack, and they start having a conversation about what they're going to be when they grow up.

Sarabeth: When I grow up I'm going to be a teacher.

Anabelle: Yes, you're going to be a teacher and I'm going to be a mommy.

Sarabeth: (speaking to me now) When I grow up I won't need a mommy.

Me: I'm a grown up and I still need my mommy. I talk to Nana almost every day!

Sarabeth: Well, I'll still LOVE you (as if to say I won't need you, but I guess I'll still love you!)

Fall

This time of year always proves to be busy. Partly because the weather is finally nice and we're trying to fit in as much "outside time" as possible (zoo, pumpkin patch, riding bikes, park, Forest Park train), partly because the holidays are on the horizon, but let's be honest- it's football season. And TCU is good this year. REALLY good! Our weekends revolve around whether or not there's a home game, are we or are we not taking the kids and if not, who's watching them. They've come to 2 games already and were very intimidated the first time by the crowds & noises. The first time was also a daddy-daughter outing, so Adelyn & I weren't there. The second time went much more smoothly (even though we only made it to halftime, but that beats leaving 4 minutes into the second quarter like they did the first game!) and the girls talk about them like they were the best days of their lives. We met up with our dear friends the Collettes for lunch before the BYU game. We first met each other in Waco when Sarabeth & their oldest daughter decided they were going to be fast friends at the ripe ol' age of 18 months. Pretty cute that 3 years later our families have collectively doubled in size and Sarabeth & Ava are still sweet friends!

Yes, Anabelle has crazy eyes. I tried to use the red eye reduction tool and this was the result. And yes, Adelyn is crying in the high chair because she just bumped her head on the table. We left the restaurant seconds after this was taken. I didn't even get any pics of their sweet 5 month old who was in her carseat!

Steph & me outside Blue Mesa.

Adelyn with our neighbor Janna at the game.

Daddy & his girls :)

Homestead Farm

I remember reading a story in the local Keller paper last year about a farm right here in the area owned by a TCU grad. I was intrigued but never looked into it. My friend Melissa, who's currently heading up our playgroup adventures, scheduled a trip to the farm a few weeks ago. We didn't know much about it, but knew we'd get to do a hayride, take a tour of the farm, and eat a picnic lunch there. It thankfully was on a morning that was cooler, and ended up being the perfect day. I've driven past it tons of times and never even noticed, and is less than 5 minutes from the house. After talking to the owner and his wife I learned it's a 14-acre working goat farm. It was charming and simple, and the kids had the time of their lives feeding goats, petting chickens, being followed by cows and horses on the hayride and playing with pumpkins in the farm stand. So fun!

Anabelle and my adorably pregnant friend Meagan

Sarabeth on the hayride

Petting the chicken

Yes, Adelyn was there too, just asleep in her stroller :)

Anabelle feeding the goats

Sarabeth feeding the goats

Stones & Muffins

This morning in the car on the way to school...

Anabelle: Can we have muffins after school today?

Me: Muffins? Um, maybe. Where do we get muffins?

Anabelle: You know, the big place where we go to get stones and muffins.

Me: You mean Starbucks where we've gotten scones before? (realizing we were at a stoplight in front of Starbucks)

Anabelle: Yeah, stones from Starbucks!

Adelyn, 9 months

Every month I say the same thing: How can my baby be so big already? This month is no exception. I'm actually a day early posting this as she'll be 9 months exactly tomorrow, but I have a few free minutes. The big girls are entertaining themselves playing "baby" (Sarabeth is covering Anabelle up with blankets and putting her to bed) and Adelyn is still napping. Here's what Adelyn is up to these days:

~crawling, mostly on her belly still, occasionally hands & knees

~walking holding onto our fingers (her most favorite activity lately- she cries when we stop!)

~eating small bites of most things, just had chicken for the first time last week and loved it

~looking at animals. Her favorites seem to be birds and dogs.

~sleeping ALL night! She went through a phase a few months ago of waking up around 3, we seem to be past it though.

~watching her big sisters, laughing at them, and eating their toys, papers, crayons, whatever they leave laying around.

Josh has gone to Houston every week for the last 7 weeks for work. We're used to him being down there once, sometimes twice a month. This was a lot for us to manage. It was hard on him, the girls, and me. I had to get creative juggling all 3 kids by myself. One night the girls were refusing to eat dinner and Adelyn was tired and ready for a bath. This was my improvisation...

I had to sneak a few pictures of the big girls in!

On a different note, it finally cooled off yesterday. Today it's 70, sunny, and beautiful. Windows are open, kids are happy, all I need now are some fall candles burning!

Stories: Sarabeth

We've been having more in-depth conversations with Sarabeth as she's getting older. She loves to ask why, ask how things work, find a reason/explanation for nearly everything. I have to remind myself that this is how she (all kids, really) learn. As much as I sometimes get annoyed at, "but why, mom?" I need to fulfill my responsibility as a parent to teach and encourage their curiosity.

Two funny little stories from the last few days...

Earlier today while driving in the car

Sarabeth: Mom? What will I do when I'm grown up?

Me: Whatever you want. What do you think you'd like to do when you're grown up?

Sarabeth: I'm going to think about that during nap. But will my name still be Sarabeth?

Yesterday afternoon I was reading to the girls out of their children's Bible. We recently started in the New Testament and got to the story of the angel appearing to the shepherds to tell them of the birth of Jesus. When the shepherd saw the angels, they were afraid and fell to their knees. After finishing the story, I asked the girls a few questions to see how much they comprehended.

Me: Sarabeth, why did the shepherds fall to their knees when they saw the angel?

Sarabeth: Because they had no bones!

We'll be re-reading that story.

The Best.

I love when I can look back on a specific day/weekend/week and it makes me smile, no matter my mood. We had one of those weekends. I don't want to forget a minute of it, so here goes.

Friday

Josh had been in Houston again the majority of the week. We got a lovely cool front and the temp in the morning was in the 70's, it was a little cloudy, but gorgeous. The girls & I spent part of the morning swinging out back, sidewalk chalk out front, talking to neighbors...it was wonderful. Josh was on the road heading back home and had the great idea to meet us at the zoo. We got there just before lunchtime, minutes before him. We had lunch, walked around, saw the giraffes (Anabelle's request) and the penguins (Sarabeth's request) and everything in between. We came home for naptime (pretty sure all 5 of us slept!) and the girls played with daddy when they woke up. They miss him so much when he's gone! The night before, Sarabeth had asked if we could have breakfast for dinner. I wasn't up to cooking with Josh out of town trying to hold down the fort by myself, so Friday night was the perfect time for that. We had omelets, bacon, scrambled eggs, hard boiled eggs, fruit...you name it. Delicious! No "breakfast for dinner" meal is complete without a trip to the ice cream store, right?! This one wasn't. So off to Blue Berries we went. Then home again, followed by a good bath and bed.

Saturday

Just as great of a day! Our family trip to the gym which we hadn't done in WAY too long was followed by pulling weeds out front, a little cleaning/straightening inside and out, and a handful of other things on our "to do" lists. I love productive mornings! They set the tone for the whole day. After lunch and putting the girls down for a nap, Josh and I got ready to head out to the TCU v Oregon Stage game at the Cowboy's stadium. We had a sitter lined up for the girls so we got to spend 7 whole hours together. To make it even sweeter, TCU decided to pull out an awesome win.

the ONLY picture I took all weekend that I was able to upload

Sunday

Went to church and enjoyed a great message from the youth pastor. I really enjoyed seeing the youth rise up in the church and put on such a powerful service. It gets me so excited for the day our girls are doing that! After church we went out to brunch and spent the rest of the day at home. Quality time speaks wonders to 4 year olds and 3 year olds!

Monday

I slept in a little after a looooonnnngg night of being up with all 3 kids. They must have planned it. They were all up at different times, all for different reasons. Once I woke up I hit the ground running, though. We went over to see Josh's brother and his family who just moved into a new place. The girls got some time to play with their only in-town cousins while the grown ups talked. From there, we had lunch with friends of ours from Houston who we hadn't seen in at least 3 years. Even though it had been so long since we'd seen each other, we talked like it was just yesterday. They have two daughters, the younger of which we had never met. Their oldest, Sarabeth & Anabelle were practically best friends by the time lunch was over. After getting home and taking naps (except for me...grocery store!) we had 2 families over for dinner/football. Grilling, visiting, eating, kids running around all over, football game on in the background...perfect way to spend Labor Day.

I wasn't ready for the weekend to end, especially because that meant Josh was headed back down to Houston. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to make memories like these with our girls, and hope it makes them smile as much as it does me.

Back to School!

All I have to say is it's about time. I love my children dearly, but they were as ready as I was for today to come. This post doesn't need much explanation except for this: Anabelle slightly clung to my leg but quickly went into her classroom to paint with watercolors. Didn't look back. Sarabeth didn't even say bye as she went into her room. I tried to tell her to have a great day but she was already busy finding her name tag and playing. Also didn't look back. I guess I'd rather have it that way than peeling them off of me. Last year was similar with Sarabeth and I was a little hurt that she didn't need mom to walk her in, coddle her, reassure her. This year it showed me how much she's grown and how truly independent she is. I'm so proud of them both!

Making up for lost time

Since I took a blogging hiatus this summer I figured I'd get moving now that fall is on the way. Although you wouldn't know it by today's 99 degree temperature and ridiculous humidity. It is still August for a few more hours, after all.

We debated putting the girls in an activity this fall. I don't want to be one of those moms who over-programs my kids, especially at this age. On the other hand, I want to expose them to as many different things as possible so they can figure out what they like and what they're good at. I also wanted to avoid signing them up for something just because other parents were doing the same. We talked about it a lot, trying to find a healthy balance, and decided to put them in gymnastics. I took gymnastics as a kid and thought the girls would really enjoy it. They were SO excited (mostly because they got to wear leotards) even though they didn't really know what to expect. I'll continue to post on their progress, but here are a few pics of them on their first day.

Anabelle was dressed & ready a good hour and a half before it was time to go, as you can tell by Adelyn still eating her breakfast in her pj's in the background.

Ready for the gym.

Waiting for Ms. Amy to spot them on the bar.

Sarabeth hanging on the bar (sorry for the blurry photo- I was taking pictures with a camera phone one-handed with an 8 month old on my lap)

Anabelle hanging on the bar.

So...it's been a while.

It's been a wonderful summer, but I think we're all ready to see it come to an end. We've been going nonstop all summer long visiting family, seeing friends, swimming, more visiting family, and mostly trying to stay cool in this miserable Texas heat. A lot has happened since my last post and I'll most likely forget something, but here are the highlights. Thank goodness for pictures, because that's how I remember what we've been up to! (As long as I remember my camera...)

Here goes...

Lauren came through with the boys last month on their way back to Oklahoma City from Austin. We got to spend a lot of time with them this summer, which made it even sadder to see them go. The kids really got to know each other and played like siblings (good and bad!) They drove up to Pennsylvania a few days after they left here, so we tried to get a picture of all 5 kids. This was as close as we got.

The camera doesn't get pulled out nearly as much as I'd like to snap everyday in action, but sometimes I manage. This has turned into Adelyn & Josh's nightly routine. Love it!

And just a regular snack time for the girls, although I had a motive for taking this picture. Now when they reject vegetables, I can pull this picture out and show them that even they thought veggies can be yummy!!

We had a fun visit from John & Susan when they came to DFW just before John's birthday. They stayed for dinner and we made John a birthday "cake" which, if I do say so myself, was delicious. Want the recipe? There isn't really one. Just make a plain white cake, crumble it and layer it with berries & whipped cream. Delicious!!

Last weekend was very special to us. We were able to dedicate Adelyn at church. Dedication is the public act of acknowledging your child is a child of God, you pledge to raise her in the ways of the Lord, and pray for the day she chooses herself to be baptized. We were so happy to have both our parents there for the event. My parents drove down for the day (didn't get home until midnight!) just to be there for it. We love that the girls' grandparents are so invested in their lives and make sacrifices to be there for them!

This was as close to a family pic as we got

Me & my girl

cutie patooties!

The girls with Nina & Nana

And last but certainly not least, Adelyn turned 8 months on Saturday (the day of her dedication!) She is changing and growing every day and is full of life. She's sitting up, rolls all over the place but doesn't seem very interested in crawling yet, and eats soft finger foods. She has recently found her voice and loves to squeal, especially when I'm not getting her food fast enough. Just in the last few nights she's started sleeping all night again. We went through a 3am phase for a while, and I'm blaming it on teeth. She's gotten her bottom 2 teeth and I'm convinced the other bottom 2 are about to come in also. Just have to wait and see!

I tried to get some good pictures of her today, but she was not in a very smiley mood. Good thing she's absolutely beautiful whether or not she's smiling! If only she had big brown eyes...

Adelyn 6 1/2 Months

I love this age. Adelyn has started getting her own little personality and we learn more about each other every day. She already has an opinion about many things...she doesn't like formula, only wants homemade baby food (I started doing this and it's really easy, but now she doesn't like the store bought kind), wants to be held most of the time she's awake. She also loves to smile & laugh, sleeps all night (most nights), doesn't have any teeth yet. Pictures of her at this age still remind me of Anabelle when she was little, mostly because of the big brown eyes. She's such a delight and has been the perfect addition to our family!

Birthdays, Father's Day, Fourth of July & Family

I've been struggling to find time to be on the computer lately, which I guess comes with the territory. I never did an official birthday post for Anabelle's 3rd birthday since we celebrated it at the beach, nor did I do anything for Father's Day. I'm playing catch-up today.

We celebrated Anabelle's 3rd birthday with my family at the beach, and again at Nina's after we got home. I can still hardly believe she's already three years old. Over the past few months she's grown up SO much. There's no trace of toddler left in her. She's turned into a beautiful, spunky, kind-hearted preschooler. I love watching Sarabeth & her play together (especially when they don't know I'm watching.) Their favorite game to play is "mother." One is the mother, the other is the daughter. A little scary at times seeing myself impersonated by a 3 year old, but also precious seeing MY baby being imaginative, creative, and tender. Anabelle, we love you!

If it's in a Tinkerbell bag is HAS to be good

At home opening a present from John & Susan

Celebrating with her cousins at Nina & Papa's house

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We had a great Father's Day weekend this year. As his present, the girls & I sent him off Sunday to play golf with a few of his buddies. While they were gone their wives & I prepared a steak dinner for them, so they came home to the US open, cold beer, and a home cooked meal. It was pretty fantastic (if I do say so myself!) The best part seeing Josh and is 3 (3!!) daughters. He's such an amazing husband and dad and is only getting better with age. The girls absolutely adore their daddy and each have their own relationship with him. Adelyn can't help but to smile at him, Sarabeth needs him more than anyone when she's hurt, and Anabelle loves to cuddle up on the couch with him. Of course, there's more to each relationship than that, but I only have so much time while everyone is napping :) We love you!

Daddy & his girls

The whole crew

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I went up to OKC with the girls last Tuesday to spend some time with my parents, Lauren & Matt and the boys leading up to July 4th. We always seem to be up there for some kind of occasion...birthday, baby shower, wedding...and there's never enough time to just visit. I wanted to see old friends and give the girls a chance to play with Lucas without having an agenda for a few days. I got a night out to have dinner with Elizabeth (lovingly referred to as Aunt Elizabeth now) who's one of my oldest childhood friends, as well as see another friend Sarah Saturday afternoon. I took the girls to see my grandparents Wednesday morning the day before my Grandma had cataract surgery (which went great!) but I forgot my camera, so, no pictures. Way to go me. Friday afternoon we went swimming and got rained on, another morning we rode the canal boat in Bricktown and let the kids play in the fountains. The culmination was my parent's annual 4th of July barbeque which was inside for the 2nd year in a row due to rain. The good news is the food was better than ever, and the rain stopped in time for fireworks. We put the girls in PJ's and loaded them in the car (all except for Adelyn who was fast asleep in bed) and drove downtown. They weren't nearly as fascinated as I thought they'd be, but enjoyed it nonetheless.

We're happy to be home but miss being with family, especially Lauren, Matt, Lucas & Jonah who are moving to Pennsylvania sometime next month. We're going to miss you!!

I made sure to get a pic while everyone was still clean & happy!

Nana & the girls

The Beach!

Like many other families, we had reservations to be in Gulf Shores, AL at the beach last week. For obvious reasons, that was no longer going to turn out to be the vacation we originally intended. About a month ago we (us, my parents, Lauren & Matt) decided to cancel and find another (and less oily) beach. After lots of searching we found a great spot in Isle of Palms, SC. I know, I'd never heard of it before either. My biggest hesitation was the length of the drive. Gulf Shores would have been about 12-13 hours. Isle of Palms was 20. The thought of that with 3 kiddos made my head spin. We decided to just go for it though and I'm so glad we did. I won't go into too much detail because I could write all day about the things we saw/did. Instead I'll list the highlights of the trip. And, of course, post a ton of pictures :)

~surviving the 20 hour drive there

~celebrating Lucas' 3rd birthday

~seeing the girls in the ocean for the first time

~spending time with family

~celebrating Anabelle's 3rd birthday

~pool time

~date night in Charleston, complete with seafood & grits

~Monopoly with Lauren & Matt

~the Charleston Aquarium

~beach, beach beach!

~seeing dolphins right off shore

~finding sand dollars, coquinas, crabs, jellyfish

~beach pics with the family

~surviving the 20 hour drive home

Adelyn 4 1/2 months

I really thought I'd be able to document each child growing up in the same way. What I mean by that is I chose to ignore or disagree with people who said, "By the third child, you'll be lucky to get pictures of them at all!" While I still don't agree, I certainly understand better what they mean now. It's just the nature of having more than one child. With each baby, there's more to do than spend an entire day watching them, holding them, attending to their every need. I've tried my hardest to continue taking pictures of all the girls but I'm a little behind.

Adelyn turned 4 months on April 28. She's getting her own little personality and it makes us adore her more everyday. She's rolling over, eating cereal (which she's not really a fan of), sweet potatoes, and her favorite so far is carrots. She's taking naps in her crib better than before but still cries herself to sleep most of the time (like right NOW!) Sarabeth & Anabelle are still very attentive and loving, and are even starting to be protective. For example we went to dinner the other night with our next door neighbors and left all 5 kids at their house with a sitter. She texted us not long after we left with a funny little story- Apparently their boys were "petting" Adelyn (something Sarabeth still frequently asks to do herself.) When Sarabeth saw them, she said, "She's a baby, NOT a dog!" I cracked up laughing because that's the very thing I tell her when she asks to pet the baby. At least I know she's listening to me, right?!

Starting to enjoy tummy time more now that her neck is stronger

Her darling bloomers (thanks Sara & Jared!)

First taste of cereal

Big brown eyes!

Thanks to drool/spit-up, her poor neck & collar are always wet.