Making Her Own Breakfast... At One Year Old

This was supposed to be a relaxed morning. We had plans to go to the gym and our friends were coming over for a playdate and lunch at 10:30. I had cleaned the house last night so we could just "chill" in the morning. Both kids had their morning milk and I had put out bowls and the cereal box for breakfast. Noticing they were playing contently with each other, I stepped into my bedroom to get dressed, quickly. The next thing I knew, Thomas came running in saying, "Mom! You've got to see this! Charlotte just put the whole bag of cereal upside down."

Funny, I thought, we have boxes of cereal - he must be confused. "No. Really mom." long pause, "You've got to come look." Okay, he thinks this is a big deal. So I walk in the kitchen and find:

• Charlotte sitting on the table.
• Charlotte with a box of NEW Trix cereal.
• Charlotte with an empty bag, that WAS in the box of new cereal.
• Charlotte scooping spilled cereal from the table into her bowl.
• Charlotte making her own breakfast!

Ahhh... Making her own breakfast... at one year old.

Grass, Trees, Shrubs, Flowers

The front of the house has been landscaped. Now we just need to keep it manicured... and alive. You can see we are on a corner lot and the name of our new street - Atwater Cove!

Happy Father's Day

Today we celebrated with the best daddy and husband!

My strength when I'm scared and my light when it's dark. Happy Father's Day Craig, I love you. Thank you for our beautiful family.

VBS Crocodile Dock

This was my third year teaching Vacation Bible School at our church, St. Catherine of Siena. Every year I volunteer to be the preschool crew leader. And... every year the previous preschool volunteers choose a new group. I guess it's just that I love the feeling of being in the classroom again - the older kids are moved around all morning in stations.

This year Thomas was old enough to be in my class! We had a blast! He surprised me and was so well behaved. I wasn't sure if mom being his "teacher" would be a problem, but he was awesome. Such a rule follower... just wish I had the same authority at home :)

For a new twist in my week, Charlotte wouldn't go in the nursery for the 4 hours I needed to be in my classroom every morning. So she spent the last three days in my room as a "preschooler." She also surprised me and was a great student. She followed Thomas around, but not in an annoying little sister way. She sat next to him during the bible story, during snack and the craft. Outside on the playground she played with me and had fun climbing up to the slide twenty times in a row.

Our theme was the Crocodile Dock for VBS this year. And to add to the excitement, I got laryngitis Tuesday. Overall, it was a fabulous week. But I'm glad I've got an entire year to "rest." Maybe next year I'll volunteer to be a kindergarten crew leader so Thomas and I can enjoy some more fun times together.

It Looks Like A Real House

The house looks beautiful! We can't believe everything is going so smoothly and falling into place. We feel very blessed and so fortunate.

Here are a few pictures from the inside... the kitchen, front foyer, fireplace and dining room.

Copy Cat

Thomas and Charlotte LOVE each other... and LOVE to copy cat each other. Really, I think it's the little one who likes to copy the big one :) She doesn't even watch tv yet, but sometimes likes to sit in front of it with her big brother.

First Ride

Charlotte and Anderson taking their first ride together.

Seems a little young, should we be worried?

Parker/Bird Family Gathering

This year we spent Mother's Day in Georgetown with Craig's family. It was a house full of the Parker/Bird's with Mim, Mam-ma, and Michael's family. The kids had a blast playing with their only cousin, Dante. We heard giggles everywhere :)

A Little Bit of Midland

We have a little bit of Midland, Michigan in our new house. It really is "Home Sweet Home."

Windows and Walls

We have windows and walls!

The walls, windows and roof are up! Last night we walked through the house. It was fun to imagine us living there. Only one slip up so far - there is a wall between the kitchen and the pantry. Not sure I would want to walk around through the living room and dining room every time I needed in the pantry :)

Here is a view of the back of the house. We're going to have a big backyard.

The Frame is Complete

The frame is now complete. It's a real house! So much fun to look at :) We took some pictures of the house from Nutty Brown road and you can see the roof top. The lot is on the corner of two cul-de-sac streets. Perfect for the kids.

Frame

The frame is going up. So far we can see the first floor. Here is a picture from the front. See our address is 101!

Craig is determined to drive by every other day... I just don't want the new neighbors to think we're psycho... yet.

Casarones

For Easter this year we celebrated at our house. Our little house. We hosted Todd, Caroline and their friend Mari. It was a tight fit around the table, but very cozy. After our brunch, Thomas had a surprise in store for our guests.

Out on the deck the fun began... Casarones! For those of you not familiar with casarones, they are colorful eggs filled with confetti. They are broken over the head for good luck. We had about four dozen eggs to play with this year. Everyone joined in on the fun, even Cole!

Easter Portrait

Our Family Easter Portrait

The start of our house! The first picture is from the back. The second picture is a view from the front... use your imagination :)

Bye Bye Vol Walker

It's official. We sold our house on Vol Walker Drive.

The house that we loved and grew our family in is no longer ours. It was a good house and served us well.

We bought this as our second house after two years of marriage. We were so excited and thought we were on top of the world. It was in a nice neighborhood, had a great backyard and plenty of space for the new baby coming in 7 months.

We have wonderful memories of Vol Walker. Both of our babies were born in this house. We hosted numerous parties and holidays. And we put a lot of love and attention into it.

Putting the For Sale sign on the lawn was bitter sweet. Yes, we were ready to move on, but this was home. Receiving the contracts was exciting. Closing was a piece of cake. No big emotions. I thought that selling the house would be harder on my emotions. We stayed in the house another two weeks after the closing to move out on our own time. Our last few days there were stressful. We were so tired of moving and cleaning the house. We were ready to be done!

It was the last trip that was difficult. As Craig and I exited the driveway in separate cars it really hit me. This wasn't our house anymore. We would never come back. I didn't want to drive away. I wasn't ready. Parked in front of the house, I cried.

We'll miss you Vol Walker. You'll always have a special place in our hearts.

My Baby is FOUR

Mom: "Thomas, I don't want you to grow up."

Thomas: "But Mom... I have to grow up."
Mom makes a sad face.

Thomas: "Don't worry mom. I'll always be your little boy."

SO TRUE.

3 1/2 year-old's Thoughts on Mom

My three and 1/2 year old's thoughts on his mom.....

1. What is something mom always says to you? No

2. What makes mom happy? When I follow the rules

3. What makes mom sad? When I don’t follow the rules

4. How does your mom make you laugh? Doing silly faces

5. What was your mom like as a child? She cried when daddy put her to bed

6. How old is your mom? Like 11

7. How tall is your mom? Like as high as Todd Oosterhouse

8. What is her favorite thing to do? Clean up

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Clean up

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Tickle!

11. What is your mom really good at? Tickle

12. What is your mom not very good at? Leaving me alone.

13. What does your mom do for her job? Whatever she says.

14. What is your mom's favorite food? Spaghetti

15. What makes you proud of your mom? Follow the rules.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Alicia

17. What do you and your mom do together? Love each other.

18. How are you and your mom the same? We love each other.

19. How are you and your mom different? We have different skins. I have better skin.

20. How do you know your mom loves you? Because she gives me hugs.

21. What does your mom like most about your dad? Charlotte and me.

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? Chick-fil-a

Mardi Gras in New Orleans

"Throw me some beads, Mister!"

This year we drove to New Orleans for Mardi Gras with the kids. It was a very different experience from my last trip to Mardi Gras as a senior in college...

We really went to visit Shannon, Justin and their two beautiful kids, but why not go during Mardi Gras? Shannon was my college roommate and is fortunate enough to be from New Orleans. As a bonus, my sister Catherine and her husband Mike were also visiting from Chicago. They were participating in the Endymion Ball after the Endymion parade. We got to visit some of our favorite people in the Big Easy.

It was definitely a family event. The parades were kid-friendly - no nakedness - and pure entertainment. Thomas loved sitting high above heads in a homemade ladder seat. They continuously shouted, "Throw me some beads, Mister!" Over the long weekend we got to experience parades, beads, the french quarter, gumbo, po-boys, fried catfish, and beignets at cafe du monde. We were exhausted, but can't wait to go back!

February Pictures

Today we were playing outside when I grabbed the camera. I was trying to take a few pictures for a Valentine's Day card. It was more difficult than I had imagined, but we came up with a few. Here are my favorites.

25 Random Things About Me

1. I was born in Midland, Michigan and am the oldest of 5.
2. I talk to my mom every day.
3. My first teaching job was Special Education, but my favorite was Kindergarten.
4. I went in to labor 4 different times with my son and not at all with my daughter.
5. My dad IS Santa Claus.
6. I don't always have things together, but try to make people think I do.
7. I would rather eat out than cook, but always have a stocked kitchen.
8. My favorite meal is pizza with homemade cupcakes for dessert.
9. I am looking forward to tomorrow.
10. I used to be scared of boats and had a fear of drowning, until I met my husband who was living on a boat.
11. I fell in love with my husband almost immediately.
12. I would love to have my pre-baby body back... even though it was far from perfect.
13. My favorite vacations are at the beach on sunny days without any plans.
14. I worry a lot about what other people think.
15. I love a clean house and the feeling of walking in when the housekeeper has just left.
16. It takes a while for me to feel comfortable around new people. I like to sit in the back and work my way up.
17. I grew up with many pets - dogs, cats, ducks, rabbits, fish, iguanas, hamsters, a horse and reindeer.
18. I lived on an island for two years.
19. My family is very important to me and I would do anything for them.
20. I have a strong Faith.
21. My sister and her husband live down the street. I hate it when she talks about moving back to Michigan.
22. I can always find an excuse to NOT work out.
23. I don't like to sweat.
24. My uncle married my parents and me. He also baptized me and my children.
25. My husband & kids are my world. I believe I am very blessed!