Walking

(From sometime in mid-June)

Something happened last week that I am not sure I was really prepared for- Sabrina started walking and life in this house will never be the same. At first, I was really excited for her to start walking. Those first few steps were so exciting, and the look she had on her face every time she fell on her butt was absolutely priceless. I have to admit I encouraged all this walking and even rewarded her with fruit snacks when she would take more than two steps in a row. Now it has been nearly a week since I have seen her crawl and I am wondering why the heck I thought it was a good idea for her to start walking. Now it is getting hard to keep up with her and she is finding more things to get into. Plus, when we leave the house to go to the store she thinks it is her right to get out of the cart and walk around. Now I also have to make sure that I put shoes on her feet, but she hates wearing the shoes and then end up getting taken off and ultimately thrown at me. She is still trying to master the art of walking in shoes, and can not seem to quite catch the hang of it. The end result? A frustrated little girl because I insist she wear shoes in order to walk when we are out of the house, and a frustrated mom because the little girl just will not wear her shoes (plus getting hit in the face with a shoe is not all that fun after the millionth time or so). Sabrina will no longer sit still because she would rather be walking (like at the movie theater where mom only got to see twenty minutes of the movie and then spent the rest of the time wandering up and down the hallway with a very curious baby). I do not remember the transition from baby to toddler being this difficult with Ben, but maybe I am selectively forgetting how hard this particular milestone has been for me. I am saying goodbye to my baby and hello to a big girl and I am not entirely sure I am ready for that transition, but it is too late now!

Sharing is Caring

This little moment was one of my favorites from this past week. Every summer Ben insists that I buy a case of Otter Pops and pretty much every day without fail he asks if he can have one. Usually I insist that he eat them outside, but this last week was cold, wet, and rainy so eating outside was not exactly an option. The other criteria is that he can only eat the Otter Pop while Sabrina is napping (a one year old with an Otter Pop just doesn't sound like a fun time to this mommy). As luck would have it, she refused to nap this one particular day, and the end result was the two of them sitting on a towel sharing an Otter Pop. I do have to say that they did an awesome job! Ben was really great at sharing (four licks for him, one for Sabrina), and Sabrina didn't get too messy considering brother was holding the coveted treat. I loved the way that they shared and saw a glimpse into a (hopefully) near future where they are able to play and share together!

One is FUN!

As I mentioned, Sabrina turned one last month and I threw her a Lalaloopsy themed party. For those of you that know me well, know that I LOVE Lalaloopsy. In fact, it is bordering on an obsession. This wouldn't be a problem if they were not so darn cute (and if Brook wasn't an enabler- but seriously every time we walk into a store and I see a cute Lalaloopsy he makes me put it in the cart). Anyway, I spent about a month planning this party. I wanted everything to be perfect- the food, the activities, and the decorations. This meant spending more time than I already do on Pinterest and getting amazing ideas for the party.

First thing I did was make an adorable wreath for my door (which is still hanging there to this day). I love the idea of having something special on the front porch, but balloons just are not my thing. I like people to know there is a party without screaming "HEY HERE IS THE PARTY!" The wreath turned out great and I got a lot of compliments on it (and it has also inspired me to make some for other major holidays).

Next, I had to figure out what to serve as far as food. Luckily for me a lot of the Lalaloopsy dolls have food names already; Peanut Big Top, Toffee Cocoa Cuddles, Mango Tiki Wiki... You get the idea. The food was pretty easy I just had to think of all of the yummy food that I could make that matched the names. Then I made adorable little food labels to go with everything and then I was set... Well almost.

My next challenge came in the form of cake pops. I love the look of cake pops and decided that is what I was going to do instead of cake for Bean's party. After reading what I thought was plenty of blogs, I got online and ordered a cake pop pan to make things easier (which I am sure it did). After baking all of the little cake balls it was time to frost them. I thought this step would be easy peasy... I mean I read all the blogs after all, right? WRONG! This was not easy and in fact I never did end up getting them frosted. Instead I took the candy coating and a piping bag and piped stripes onto the cake pops. I thought they looked horrible, but everyone said they were good (Thank you to all my friends for protecting my ego) . So if there is anyone out there who would like to teach me the right way to frost these little buggers I would still love to learn (I still have the pan and all).

After all was said and done though it was a great day. Bean loved having all of the attention on her and loved opening up all of her presents. She got spoiled, just as every princess should on their first birthday. I think the thing she loved most of all was the special attention that her big brother gave her that day. Every time he saw her he would say "Happy Birthday" in his most enthusiastic preschooler voice, and give her a big hug and kiss. This mommy wants to believe that this was his way of showing his sister how much he loves her, but deep down I have a sneaking suspicion it was all so he could get on her good side so she wouldn't put up too much of a fuss when he wanted to "share" all of her new toys. Oh well, it was adorable and I had a blast watching them get along for a day.

I can not believe Bean has been mine for a year. This year has gone by so fast! She is really turning into the cutest little girl, and I have a feeling that the next few years are going to be a major adventure for us, but I can't wait!

So Here's the Deal...

Hello my loyal reader (hi Mom!)... Sorry I have taken quite the hiatus from the blogging world, but in my defense (again) life has been more than a little bit crazy the last few months. First off, I was in school. One more class down, and all of my time from January to April was taken up with reading, writing, and taking care of kids. I know I am not the only full time mom who is also a part time student, but I just have to say that it is one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. My house did not get cleaned for months and I feel like I am now finally getting caught up with everything. Spring cleaning around here is in full swing- just in time for summer.

In much more interesting news both of my kids are now older. Sabrina turned one in April and I had so much fun throwing her a big Lalaloopsy birthday party. I feel that this momentous occasion should have a post of its own, so look for that later. Here is a little picture of the birthday princess to keep you happy until then.

(By the way... a special thank you to Aunt Mim for the AWESOME tutu)

Ben also had his birthday yesterday, and let me say I can not believe how fast these last four years have gone by. He has gone from a little baby to a big boy that loves superheroes and being just like his dad (which it is honestly insane how much he is just like his dad). His favorite present came in the form of a Spiderman webshooter (also) from his aunt Mim that shoots water. My house is now constantly soaked, but I am so glad he is having fun. He loves learning and can not wait to go to preschool in the fall (something that I am still trying to cope with). I don't know when he grew up, but it feels like I blinked and he was all of the sudden a kid.

Ben also got to play indoor soccer this year, which when you are three means standing around looking adorable, standing in the goal doing nothing, and most of all aimlessly wandering around the "field".

My babies are growing up so fast, and there are definitely days that I wish I could slow down time and make them stay little forever. On the other hand, I am so excited for the adventure ahead... They can grow up, but only a little.

Teeth, Trips, and Twenty Two Feet

A lot has happened in the time since my last blog post. We have been super busy with our annual trip to Washington, snow days, and a first for Sabrina!

I should start with our annual trip to Washington to visit my fabulous in laws. I have to say, that as rare as it is, I love my in laws. I do not think that I could get any luckier. I have a mother in law that is literally like a second mother to me, and loves my kids just about as much as I do! My father in law is also an amazing person, who is always there with a joke and always manages to put a smile on my face. I see so much of my husband in these two people, and it is great to spend time with them. The great thing about this trip is that Sabrina got to meet her Grandpa for the first time, as well as three uncles, one aunt, and one Great Grandma and Great Grandpa. I unfortunately was bad about taking pictures and only managed to get some of Sabrina meeting Grandpa for the first time.

I think it is pretty safe to say that it was love at first sight for both parties! We had a great week with family (that even included Mom and Dad getting to have an evening alone WITH NO KIDS!!!) 

Also big news in our neck of the woods, was a massive snow storm that hit about a week before Thanksgiving. I was less than thrilled about it, because I hate driving in the snow. Ben, on the other hand could not have been more thrilled to get to play in all the snow, and when asked how much snow there was he replied with a sweet "about twenty two feet". He was able to build his first snow man (with Daddy's help) and even got to watch the puppy try and chase the snow flakes

 The biggest news of all comes in the form of a little bitty tooth! That's right people, Sabrina got her first tooth just last week. It took her long enough and I have been swearing that it was coming in for about three months now. I know it is only one tooth and she still has so many more to go, but it is a start and as soon as she gets a few more she can start eating fabulous foods like spaghetti and pizza. For now we stick with the mushed up stuff and yogurt melts. She is growing up so fast and it seems like she has a new trick every day, between crawling and standing up on  furniture I feel like I can not keep up. It also comes as no surprise that she is just as stubborn as her Mom and Dad and will not let me look at the tooth for more that a nano second let alone take a picture of it, so there is no picture of the tooth (yet)!

Halloween

My promise to be a better blogger was foiled. But, I promise it was not my fault! The last two weeks have been so insanely busy. Not only have we still been busy getting the new house put together, we have also had our fair share of crisis. First I ended up in the hospital for an allergic reaction. Then, on the day of the first snow, the kids and I were rear ended on the freeway. I knew eventually I would become victim to the bad drivers that seem to only show themselves when the weather is bad, but I was hoping that my turn would not come for a few more years. Thankfully everyone is fine, and I am pretty sure my car will make it too.

In other news, yesterday was Halloween and the kids got to go trick-or-treating at Dad's off ice (one of my favorite Halloween traditions). Not only do the kids get more candy than they know what to do with, but they get to collect it in a climate controlled, well lit environment and I don't have to worry about losing them in a crowd of kids all dressed the same. All in all I would be very sad if Brook ever went and worked somewhere that trick-or-treating was not a Halloween staple.

Benjamin decided that he wanted to be Batman, and after searching high and low for a a Batman costume for a three year old (apparently all three year old's want to be Spiderman or Optimus Prime), we finally settled on a pair of black pants (which Ben described as the softest pants on the planet, and fought me tooth and nail when I had to take them off), a shirt with a Batman logo, and a cape and mask that he already had. All in all it was a cute costume, especially when paired with him saying "I'm Batman" in his best Christian Bale voice.

Bean didn't really get a say in her costume, but didn't protest too much when I put her in the cutest elephant costume I have ever seen (thank you Costco)! She didn't collect candy, but seemed to really like Brook carrying her around his office (probably because she got to smile and flirt with everyone who passed). She wasn't even scared of all of the costumes (including her dad, who had decided to shave and had a "mask" of sorts). Her first Halloween was good to her.

After we got home from office trick-or-treating we toyed with the idea of going around the neighborhood, but after we got our first trick or treater we decided against it. Ben had more fun opening the door and seeing other kids in their costumes and handing out candy than he did getting candy for himself. He became the official "candy handeroutter" and yelled "Happy Halloween" as loud as he could to each kid who knocked on our door. He finally passed out from excitement and candy overload at about 9:30, and after the third high schooler in jeans and a t-shirt that knocked on our door asking for candy, Brook and I turned in for the night.  It was a great day, and a great reminder of how much I love Halloween. Maybe next year I will even get around to decorating.

Oh and just on a side note, this is from an  impromptu photo shoot in the living room yesterday and I just had to share! 

I'm Baaack!

Well, just like I knew that I would, I have been a bad blogger. I have always tried to keep journals and diaries from the time I was little, and every journal and diary is filled with one or two pages of my great wisdom, and the rest is left blank. Good intentions, bad follow through. I will try to be better about blogging and have spent the whole days thinking of all the fabulous things that I could blog about...

It has been a very hectic couple of months (in my defense). We purchased and moved into our new house, and are busy unpacking boxes, painting, and my favorite (not) taking down wallpaper. I have decided that whoever writes the publicity campaigns for all the wallpaper removers out there that are supposed to make the process easy, need to be formally punished for being big fat liars. It is not easy and painless, it is hard and painful. It took an entire day for three people to get wallpaper off the walls of one bedroom in the house, and took another full day to get the glue residue off the walls and prep them for the actual paint. Needless to say, I am not looking forward to taking down the wallpaper in the two other rooms that have it, and have been finding myself thinking "Is this floral wallpaper in my bathroom really that bad? Am I really sure I can't live with it for another twenty years?" (By the way it really is that bad, and I really can't live with it for the next twenty years). A word of advice: if you are thinking of putting up wallpaper in your house, please think of the poor people who have to take it down!

In other news... Ben has been working really hard on potty training! As any other mom who has ever had to potty train a child knows, this is not just an accomplishment for him, but one for me as well. I feel like every time he successfully goes in the potty and I reward him, I keep looking around for my reward too! I mean I am the one that asks him twelve times in one hour if he needs to go to the potty, I am the one that has to clean up the mess when he does not make it in time, and I am the one that barely sleeps at night because I am waiting for the screams saying that he has wet the bed (I am even prepared with my emergency sheets at the ready). WHERE IS MY TREAT? I guess I can say that my treat is that I only have one child still in diapers and I don't have to buy two sets of diapers anymore. (I guess I will just have to take that money I am saving and buy myself a treat- I hear a pair of shoes off in the distance calling my name).

Well, this little note to say that I had indeed not fallen off the face of the planet has turned into a little bit longer rambling on my life. New pictures of the kids and the house to follow!

Until next time...