Big day!

After Joel woke us up this morning by popping up next to Adam in our room, we decided that a trip to the "big bed" store would be in order this fine Sunday. So off we all went to pick out Joel's big bed. He and Daddy took the crib down and got the bed set up while Alyssa and I were at a movie and it was absolutely adorable how excited/proud was to show off his big bed when we got home. I ran out to Target and found some great deals on new bedding, then Joel and I got the bed all "dressed up" while Daddy and Alyssa were at the park.

Breaking in the bed ... 1 little monkey Joel jumping on the bed!

Ready for the big boy

Reading books

Out like a light ...

after a few excursions out to the hallway to check out what Mommy and Daddy were up to, of course! Overall it didn't go too badly - so far, but its only 9:30. :) I think it helped that he has slept in a big bed at Grandma and Poppa's with Alyssa a few times. He has been such a fantastic sleeper going down around 8PM and waking up around 8 or 8:30 AM and then taking a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. I hope his sleep habits transition into the big bed with him!

And for anyone who is wondering, I have broken down in tears several times today as I think about my big guy. Sitting here tonight it seems so weird to me that for the first time in almost 5 years there is not a crib set up somewhere in my house.

Vacation - Colorado '09

The Friday before Memorial Day Alyssa, my parents, and I flew to Colorado for my niece's high school graduation. We had a great trip. Alyssa was a fantastic traveler and enjoyed her first plane ride. She kept asking me why we were going so slow, which I realized it does kind of seem like if you don't "know" how quickly you're flying. And she had a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that the "other plane" that she could see out the window was actually the wing of our plane. And it was cute how concerned she was about our suitcase when we checked it at the airport.


It was a weekend full of tension due to a couple ex-wive's and people who normally wouldn't want to be anywhere near each other. But everyone was on their best behavior for the most part and I was so glad that I could be there to see Brandy graduate. Glad and very, very proud. She has turned into such a wonderful, thoughtful and caring young lady. And I have a new reason to be thankful for my iPod - put a few cartoons/kid shows on that thing and its a great way to entertain a 4 year old while waiting for airplanes and at boring graduation ceremonies!


I also got to have coffee one morning with a friend of mine from high school that I've recently reconnected with. We had a great time catching up and it was fun to be "high school" Christi for a couple hours. He is one of the very few people in my life who doesn't know me as Adam's wife or Alyssa and Joel's mom ... I'm just Christi.


A highlight for me was that I got to take Alyssa (along with my mom and youngest niece) to "Santa's Workshop/North Pole" which is just outside of Colorado Springs nestled towards the bottom of Pikes Peak. Its a place that my parents took me when I was just a little older than Alyssa and I have fond memories of it. Alyssa had a great time riding the rides; the first time she's really be to an amusement park type place. She was nervous about seeing Santa at his house and didn't want much to do with feeding the deer, but she was very excited about riding the ferris wheel with her cousin Anna and I. I don't think she understood why I wouldn't let her wave at Grandma as she was trying to take a picture while we were at the top of the ferris wheel, though. :)


Other highlights of the trip were our visit to "Territory Days" in Old Colorado City (at least until it started pouring rain) and for Alyssa ~ jumping on the trampoline, playing airhockey, and finishing up a long day in the hot tub. Uncle Mark's house is almost like a resort!

Out of the mouths of (my) babes ...

One of Joel's newest/cutest things he'll say is "pretty please" - although it comes out "pea peas?" I'm not entirely sure where he picked it up, but he uses it without prompting (most of the time) and its absolutely adorable.

A couple weeks ago we were getting into the car after attending my goddaughter, Janika's, first birthday party. Alyssa had been eating these first birthday mints that Angie had found somewhere all afternoon and I happened to unwrap another one for her and one for Joel as we were all getting settled into the car. Then from the backseat I heard:

"You suck Joel!"

My heart skipped a beat as my head whipped around to look at Adam to see if he had heard what I had heard. And I wondered where on earth Alyssa had learned that and what Joel had done to deserve such a response. I breathed MUCH easier, though, when that line was followed by:

"Don't chew, suck!"

She was just watching out for her little brother ... making sure that he knew the ropes of proper mint eating.

Alyssa's Dance Recital

Last weekend marked the end of Alyssa's second year of dance with the spring recital. I'm still not overly impressed with the studio we have her at because I'm not seeing a lot of "technique" being learned, but she has a great time jumping around, tiptoeing, stomping, clapping, etc with her friends, so that's what matters, right?

I was so proud of her while watching her do her dances. I took all my pictures during dress rehearsal Friday night, so Saturday night for the actual performance I could just watch. I think too often I get so caught up in trying to capture moments on camera that I forget to actually watch what the kids are doing. It warmed my heart to see her up on stage, doing what she was supposed to be doing (for the most part) and just watching her face light up because she was having so much fun.

Her ballet routine was a song called "Bake Sale" that was actually "sung" by Minnie Mouse ~ lots of "this is for the bake sale, Mickey, please don't touch!" lines and the girls had a great time wagging their fingers.

Tap routine was a song called "Fiesta" and Alyssa's favorite part was that she got to count to 4 in Spanish. :) I would guess that she would say that this one was her favorite ... maybe just because tap shoes make a lot more noise than ballet slippers!

Then and Now

Alyssa on her first day of preschool

Alyssa on her last day of preschool

Maybe its just me, but I can't get over how much older she looks in the second picture. I'm a nerd to dress her the same, I know, but I love being able to compare the two!

29 years

Today is my 29th birthday.

Unlike some people, I welcome the end of my 20s. I have a small list of things I want to accomplish in the next year that I've been referring to as my "20s bucket list" (aka things I want to do before my 20s "kick the bucket) that I'm looking forward to. Most of all that I want to run (okay, maybe jog) a 5K. I'm leaning towards the Susan Komen Race for the Cure in October, but after sharing this with my friend Paula, she suggested that we do one together either when she comes to visit me here or when I go out there ... heck, maybe I'll do 2! I never thought that I would ever, ever, ever be the type of person who wanted to do an organized athletic event, but I really hope to do it. Along with that I hope that I will end my 20s on a healthy note. I want to have made exercise a daily part of life for me and my family and finally reach a healthy weight/BMI.

As I sit here tonight I'm slightly in awe of all the birthday wishes, calls, e-mails, messages, etc that I've received today. I am really, really blessed to have such amazing friends and family - I have a wonderful support system in my life.

I'm thankful that I'm at this point in my life with a husband who I love more today than the day I married him (even if, or maybe because, he bought me RAM* for my computer for my birthday and installed it in my computer several weeks ago without me knowing/realizing). I'm thankful that I have two perfect-for-me children. They are far from traditional perfection, but I wouldn't know what to do without them. I'm thankful that I have the friends that I have. People who I can count on for anything, any time. And I'm thankful for the woman who brought me into this world 29 years ago today who after through all we've been through, good and bad, I now consider one of my best friends. Since becoming a mom myself I think of my mom differently every year on my birthday. I realize that this day is not just about me, but its about her, too. And I'm thankful for her.

To those of you who are reading this who reached out via phone, e-mail, card, gift, cheesecake, or facebook and helped this be such a wonderful birthday ... thank you from the bottom of my heart. I expected my day to be very ordinary, but it turned out pretty darn extraordinary.

* Adam and the kids also got me an iHome docking station for my iPod, gift certificate to LL Bean for a toiletry bag that I'd been lusting after, new earphones for my iPod, and Mario Kart for the Wii ... it wasn't all RAM. And Chinese food and a GIANT chocolate cake. Adam did very well. ;)

The clothesline

Good for the environment and hours of entertainment for the kids ... its a win-win situation!

Until said children decide to sit *inside* the fitted sheet and pull the whole line down.

And for anyone who cares ... this was taken about 10 minutes before Alyssa decided to show off how she can turn the hose on by herself and proceeded to soak all the sheets again. *sigh* Do they make baby proofing something-or-others for hoses?

Goose!

Joel was playing outside Friday afternoon with Alyssa and Braden from across the street when he face planted onto our cement patio. I heard his head hit the concrete before I saw him fall. It took me about 30 seconds to get up, grab him and sit back down then pull him away from me so that I could survey the damage and already a golfball sized lump had appeared on his forehead. Made my stomach turn to see it. Sherry, our friend/neighbor across the street, decided that from here on out she's going to call him "Goose" - we decided it would be a pretty cool nickname to have in 15 years when we're watching him go off to prom. :) The pictures don't do it justice, but I had to document it for an "ouch" scrapbooking page. Thanks for the idea, Angie!

in good spirits ... making faces as mommy was trying to take pictures.

Cuteness 4-1 ... the Alyssa edition

Cuteness 4-1 ... the Joel edition

New school

Since we moved into our "new" house almost 3 years ago I've been very excited about the fact that they are building a brand new elementary school just a couple blocks away. We've had fun watching the buildings being built (its going to be an entire "campus" with a public library and community center along with the school) and watching all the progress. Almost every time we drive past Alyssa points out her "pink school". (The insulation they used was pink, so before they put up the outside walls, it looked like it was going to be a pink school ... I think she may be disappointed when she realizes that its going to be brick) This morning I was reading a thread on my October mom's board where one of the moms commented that it was much hard than expected when they took their oldest to school. To the school where they had walked by hundreds of times and she had told her son that that was where he was going to go to school someday. And then suddenly someday was there and off he went.

That got me to thinking about being at our house without Alyssa (or heaven-forbid without Joel ... I got through the first day of preschool because I still had Joel to clutch on to, I don't even want to *think* about leaving him at school) and being able to look out the windows and see the big-bad-monster school that has snatched my babies away from me. I wonder how difficult it would be to transfer them somewhere else ...

Must not think of this ... still a year and a half away ...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Actually, I just wanted an excuse to show off the beautiful daffodils that my handsome hubby bought me, but they are flanked by my some of my St Patrick's day decor, so I'm making it work. :) And offering a sneak preview of the new paint color in the entry way for anyone who cares!

So giving ...

This weekend while grocery shopping I picked up a new box of "cookies" for Alyssa and Joel. They're actually mini ritz crackers with frosting stuff in the middle. So tonight Alyssa was looking for a bedtime snack, so I pulled them out and let her try them. I told her that she could have more if she wanted, but that she needed to share them with Joel. About 5 minutes later she told me that she was being a very good sharer ... she licked the frosting out of the middle and then Joel's job was to eat the crackers.

Nice.

The crocuses are coming! The crocuses are coming!!!

With promises of a high of 64 today, I looked out the front door and longingly imagined our front yard filled with its rainbow of tulips, daffodils and other random flowers that I can't remember the names for. But I didn't expect to see the best "news" I've gotten in a long time ... my crocuses are coming up!!! The first little harbinger of spring, I've been anxiously awaiting my little orange beauties to pop their head out of the ground and they're coming! They are just tiny little shoots of green so far, but maybe this there is hope for this LOOONNNGG winter to come to an end before we all go crazy.

Dear World:

Would it be easier to keep my house clean if it were smaller because it would take less time to clean? Or would it be even worse then because we have so much stuff that we wouldn't have room for everything and there would just constantly be "stuff" without a place that would be messing the house up?

Signed,
Wondering on 150th St.

PS - I got the kids' rooms cleaned (picked up, vacuumed, dusted, windows washed, and febreezed - because it smells like dog after we vacuum) and the kids' bathroom cleaned this morning while Alyssa was a pre-school. Felt SO great. Until I walked around the corner to see the rest of the house in all its glorious chaos. I can't remember the last time my entire house was picked up. If ever. Maybe when we walked through it for the first time when we were house shopping.

What's wrong with this conversation?

Me: Alyssa, you've already had 3 fruit snacks today, you're not having anymore.
Alyssa: (while holding fruit snack) I'm just going to take this upstairs to my room to look at it.
Me: If you eat that you're going to be in very big trouble.
Alyssa: I'm just so hungry!
Me: I'm going to go upstairs to change my clothes and then I'll find you something to eat.
Alyssa: NO!
Me: You have three choices: You can eat that fruit snack and get in very big trouble, you can eat nothing, or you can wait 2 minutes for me to find you something to eat.

Guess who is in very big trouble and proud of it. At least she admitted to me that she ate the fruit snack, right?

I probably shouldn't have even given her the option of getting into very big trouble.

The "after" shots

Per requests ... pictures of Alyssa's handiwork.

Haircuts

Alyssa and Joel have an appointment with Ms. Sharon on Tuesday to have their hair cut, but evidently Alyssa thought that they needed them asap. As in tonight. So she took matters into her own hands. I don't think she cut anything but her bangs and Joel's bangs; thankfully I didn't see any place that looked like she had cut her sides/back.

I know its basically a rite of passage for a kid and that almost everyone has done it/will do it, but I didn't realize how stressful it would be on me as a parent. I wonder now if we punished her appropriately, if I handled the situation correctly (or to the best of my ability), etc. As I was putting her to bed she told me that she didn't want to go to preschool or swimming lessons tomorrow, so I think she's embarrassed by what she did. Which on one hand I'm glad that she realizes that she did something wrong and realizes that there are consequences to her actions and I hope that she's just embarrassed because she did something wrong, not because she looks silly. Because that's not a pressure that I want my 4 year old to feel.

It makes me sad to have to punish her because this went beyond the "naughty corner" in our (or at least my) parenting book and I'm not used to dealing with those situations. She didn't seem overly upset by her punishment (straight to bed about 40 minutes early, no books/cuddle time with mommy), so I feel like maybe it fit the "crime" because I think she knew better than to argue. I keep telling myself that if I were being *too* hard on her there would have been a lot more tears and carrying on rather than just acceptance.

She did ask me why Joel was getting to watch "Olivia" all by himself because "his hair is short, too!". I told her that he didn't cut his own hair, or his little brother's hair, for that matter and she muttered "I shouldn't have cut Joel's hair" before rolling over and going to sleep. I wonder if I would have reacted that same way if she would have just cut her own hair.

Everything but the kitchen sink

This morning as I was getting Alyssa out of the car to take her into preschool I caught a glimpse of a white piece of paper in her bucket that I hadn't seen before. My heart sank as I read "Attention Parents ... " and then the note proceeded to instruct us that it was "things that go" week and requesting that each child bring a vehicle-type toy to preschool on Friday (today). Whoops! But then I realized what I was standing next to. My very own "has everything in it but the kitchen sink" backseat bonanza! A little bit of digging around and ta-da ... one toy train!

It seems like almost daily I curse the state of my backseat and its 12 inches of trash, clothes, toys, etc, but today it came in handy.

Reminded me of the time last summer that we met the Kleffmans/Kleffmen at McDonald's to learn that we had to provide socks for our kids to be able to play in the play place. A little digging around in the backseat and presto ... 2 pairs of socks!

My excuse ...

I guess it hasn't really been *that* long since I've blogged, but it feels like forever.

I blame the cult that is "Twilight" (and the rest of the series). I've become infatuated with the books, the movie, searching Youtube for film clips and the internet for interviews/news, etc. I think I need a 12 step program.

So that's my excuse. I blame Paula for insisting that she needed to overnight the first book to me after she read it. She's such a bad influence. ;)