While Daddy's away...

...the kids will play!!
Chris was out of town for work last night, and, though I missed him desperately (especially once it got dark- I hate that!!), the kiddos kept me great company. There were plenty of popsicles and dancing and laughing and splashing in the tub- just a regular ole' party! These two are such terrific entertainment. They'll be happy and holding hands one minute, then crying and screaming at each other the next, then tickling each other and giggling again before you know it. I get such a kick out of watching them together.

Cade talking to Daddy on the phone. His phone conversations are just precious. They typically sound something like this- "Hey!", "Dood (good)", "Moe (no)", lots of gibberish and laughter here, "Da-doo (love you or thank you)", "Bye!". My doll baby. =)
His new fake smile. Cade, say cheese!! haha!

Dance party to DWTS. They are such a hoot!!

There were even some lifts thrown in there, but I didn't get them on camera- I was busy trying to not have a heart attack every time Ella tried to throw Cade over her shoulder. Pretty sure the conversation was something like this at this point- "No, Cade, do it this way. Watch me. I'm really good at this. You need to watch and I'll show you how you're supposed to dance." Yep, trouble. haha!

A normal weekend

Ahhhh, a "normal" weekend. I could definitely get used to that! Because I'm "weekend-option" at work, I get so few complete weekends off in a year's time. To have an actual Saturday, when I don't have to try to catch up on sleep from working Friday night, and two whole days to spend as we choose is just completely luxurious in my book!! Chris was also supposed to be working and attending activities for work both Saturday and Sunday, but his boss (thankfully!) told him to take it off. I had put in for vacation for Friday way back in the year, and though we had originally planned to spend the weekend traveling somewhere, it was so nice to hang out at home, fully rested, and not have much going on. I just can't even say enough how nice it was!! I'm pretty sure we could conquer the world if we had an actual weekend together every week!!
We spent a good portion of the day Saturday taking care of things around here, working in the yard, washing the truck, and just hanging out. Later that afternoon, we took the kids to the Liberty Township fall festival. There were bounce houses and games and carriage rides and food- the kids loved it and we had a blast! We headed home to naps and more hanging out and working around the house. Sunday was much of the same. It was a great, great weekend!! I cannot wait for another like it! Maybe mid-March??! =)

A visit with "Great-Grammy"

Last week, the kiddos and I traveled to Irvine, Kentucky, to see my mamaw. We hardly ever get to see her and it's a trip I have been wanting to make forever. Ella has only seen her a handful of times ever, and Cade maybe once or twice. So, when it happened to work out with our busy schedules and it was a time when my mom was already going to be down there, we packed up and jumped in the car. I'm so glad we did. We had such a great time! The kids were so excited to be there and loved running around exploring. For the most part, the grown-ups did little more than sit around, drinking coffee, laughing and talking. Mamaw loves to play checkers, so we did a lot of that, too (yep, you guessed it, Mamaw beat me everytime!!). Mamaw loved spending time with Ella and Cade. I don't think the smile ever left her face and I lost count of how many times she told me that I had the prettiest and smartest babies she'd ever seen. Quite the compliment coming from a woman with over fifty grandchildren!! And I'm sure she's never said that about any of the rest of them! =) Ella took to calling her Great-Grammy, "because you're Grammy's mommy, you know," and I've never seen Cade become such fast buddies with anyone- he hardly left her side! I'm so, so thankful we were able to share this time with her.

Cade playing checkers with Mamaw...

He loved running and giving her hugs, and you better believe she ate that up!

Ella taking her turn at checkers...

When we got home, I was excited to show Ella the quilt Mamaw made for me several years ago. I have showed it to her in the past, but she never quite understood who made it. I love that she can make that connection now. She is pretty darn proud to say, "Look at our special quilt, Mommy! Great-Grammy made it just for us!"

Preschool update

Ella is having sooo much fun at preschool! She comes out of there and just talks and talks and wants to tell me all about it. I love to hear about the day, especially from her point of view. There are two things she always mentions- how much fun she had on the playground and what she had for a snack. There are also two things her teacher always mentions to me- how good and helpful Ella was and how much hand sanitizer she uses. haha! Apparently, the teacher usually leaves the sanitizer down where the kids can reach and use it, but since Ella has started, she has had to keep it on a high shelf. Otherwise, Ella wants to do nothing but clean her hands and make sure the other kids are doing the same. Why does this not surprise me? =)
Today, her first words when she saw me were, "Hey, Mom, wait till you see my feet!" She couldn't wait to get home, rip off her socks and shoes, and show me this- She had painted her feet pink for a project and thought it was so funny. I'm so glad school is making her so happy and I'm just so proud of how well she's adjusting to the whole routine. Another thing's for sure, too- school is wearing her out!! This was her an hour after we got home today- completely wiped out!!

Just one reason I'm not excited about the prospect of all day kindergarten next year. =(

Anyways, I also want to say a little bit about Cade. He has turned into a completely different little boy since Ella started preschool. He and I are getting some precious one-on-one time. I had never before realized how little of that the two of us have had thus far in his life. Until now, it has always been me and both kiddos running around and doing everything together. I just didn't realize what Cade was missing out on. Me, too, for that matter. We've only had these few days together so far, and he is becoming such a big boy. His vocabulary has increased probably ten-fold in the last week. Chris and I just can't believe it. He points out so many things to me, calling them by name, and he tries to repeat everything I say. It always amuses me that he may not say a word the whole way to preschool (because someone else is usually dominating the conversation!!), and then as soon as Ella is inside and he and I are back in the truck, he doesn't stop talking until we pick her up. He's such a smart, little boy and has the sweetest personality, but that's not to say he doesn't have some spunk like his sister- I'm noticing he definitely likes to make up his own mind! He so enjoys being goofy and we spend a lot of time making each other laugh. I am just treasuring this special time I'm getting to learn all about him.

Our one and only sweetie

We were leaving a restaurant the other night and the kids and I were waiting right outside the door while Chris paid. A woman went through the door, smiled at Ella, and said, "Excuse me, Sweetie. I don't want to get your fingers in the door."
Ella watched her walk away, turned to me, and, in complete seriousness, asked, "Mom, how'd she know my name was Sweetie?"
I love her. =)

Cade's first haircut

Cade's hair has been a little wild for a while now. Illustration...
I kind of loved it though. I mean, he's a baby! He should be able to have crazy baby hair and get away with it. His daddy, on the other hand, just couldn't stand it. He kept saying it was too out of control and he had a mullet (which he absolutely did not). Anyways, yesterday, while Big Sis was at preschool, I decided to put a stop to the criticism and took Cade to get his first real haircut. Seeing him in the chair kind of made me more emotional than dropping Ella off at school! He is getting sooo big!

He was looking at the hairdresser like, "Hey, what do you think you're doing, Lady?!"

He actually sat so still. I was really impressed! Granted, it didn't take more than 7-8 minutes to cut his hair, plus he got to drive a race car and watch Barney the whole time, but still I was impressed.

Ta-Da!! The finished product. It's still pretty long on top, but all tapered up in the back. He looks like a regular little boy now instead of a baby. Sigh... It is pretty cute though. =)

For the rest of the day, every time I would ask him, "Cade, where's your hair? Where'd it go?", he would touch his hair, then put his arms out to the side and say, "Where go?" Too cute.

Ella appreciated it, too. When she got in the car and saw his hair, she said, "Wow, Bubby, that looks so great. I mean, that's a really, really great haircut." haha! She's a mess. And yes, in case you're wondering, his daddy was pretty happy about it, too. =)

First day of preschool

Tuesday was Ella's first official day of preschool and, boy, was she excited!! She has been counting down the days for the last three weeks and just couldn't believe that the day was finally here! She had picked out her "special school outfit" Monday night. She chose to wear her "Happiness is being at the beach" shirt, because she said it makes her happy to think about vacation. =) She's a sweetie. Doesn't she look so big?
I love this one! It just captures her excitement perfectly. I will always, always remember this morning and the happy twinkle in her eyes!

She was so proud to hang her backpack underneath Ella D. (there is an Ella P. in her class, too).

She ran and washed her hands, found her name tag in no time, and then, kind of quietly, she asked, "Is this when you have to leave, Mommy?" I told her it was and asked her if she was going to be okay. She gave me a nervous, little grin, nodded, and said, "Yeah, I'm going to have fun. Come back and pick me up in a little while, okay?" =) Precious, little girl.

Her first day was a big success. She loved it and is looking forward to going back. This is what she told me, in her own words, about her first day.

* We played on the playground and I rode the tire swing. I kicked the purple ball so hard that it went over the fence and now it's stuck on the bench! I don't even know how they're going to get it back.

* We had these little crackers for a snack. I think they had cheese on them. And I drank some water from a little cup.

* There was one, little boy who got in trouble, because he wasn't listening. The teacher looked and him and said 'Sit down!'

* I worked on my gingerbread man, but I didn't get to finish him. Then there was a big barrel of jellybeans and we each got to take a scoop and we could only take eight.

* The teacher told me that these were butterfly legs (sitting cross-legged) and I thought that was so cute. Little butterfly legs.

Labor Day

We spent Labor Day at home, trying to not labor as much as humanly possible. What a rare day it is when Chris and I are both home and there is nothing pressing to do. We enjoyed it so much! The day started with our big girl waking up to some gorgeous flowers in honor of her starting preschool this week.
After some delicious apple pancakes, we drank coffee, read the newspaper, and tried to decide what to do with our day. Even Cade got in on the planning. =)

We goofed off around the house for a while...

(Insert here a quick, unexpected trip to the ER because Ella's heart had been racing all morning and it just made me too nervous. The doctors switched her asthma medication and she's as good as new.)
And had a yummy late lunch at Bravo...

Then we stopped at the park to spend some time enjoying the sunshine...

This little guy makes us laugh all day long! He is so determined! Just look at that face!

It was a great day filled with family time, smiles all around, hugs, & kisses- the things I love most!!

Jaime's blog

YAAAYYYY! Finally!! My best friend, Jaime, who I LOVE and adore, and who lives so, so far away, and who is expecting twins (!) in February, has FINALLY started a blog. Check it out at the side- Beautiful Chaos. I am so excited!

Party time!

Last Saturday afternoon, we headed to Jason and Carla's for a housewarming/ birthday party. It was an all-in-one birthday party for Lexi, Carson, April, Carla, Mom, and Sherry, plus a good day to celebrate the fact that Jason and Carla are officially moved into their new home. Really it was just a bunch of good reasons to get together and hang out and have fun! Ella was so excited to get there...
The birthday boy couldn't wait to open presents. Looks like there's a new sheriff in town!
A new wheelbarrow! The perfect gift for the little guy who loves to haul dirt!Then it was Lexi's turn to soak up the limelight...

She couldn't wait to try out her new strobe light. Cade went crazy over those balloons...

Little Laila was just worn out from all the excitement. =)

Can you guess who's bossing who here?!

Handcuffed and headed to jail!

Happy birthday to all of you!

Jason and his girls...

Me and my sweet hubby...Cade and Laila rocked out while the bigger kids played outside...

The night ended with lots of balloon fun! These kiddos were wild!

Thanks for sharing your beautiful, new home with us, Jason and Carla! We had such a fun time!