february with the littles

Nothing like some stickers on Daddy's shoe to keep a girl entertained, haha!  It is a serious challenge to pay attention at church with little ones, but thankfully Brooke is mostly self-sufficient when it comes to entertaining herself :)

My Mom sent Brooke a new Snow White dress (in a size up from her last one), and she was so excited to put it on.  I can tell that she feels so beautiful in her dresses, and I love seeing her happy smiles when she dresses up each day.

One day, while at Home Depot, I gave Colby a can of spray paint to hold because he was being super loud. About a minute later, I feel something slam against my foot and I almost swore (which is not something I ever do!). Colby had chucked the can straight to my foot, and I was in serious pain.  Brooke started questioning what was wrong, and when I mentioned that my foot was hurting, she reached down and started patting my foot.  I quickly told her to stop, and after I regained my composure, I hobbled to the front to check out. 

Since we were just going across the parking lot to Target, I didn't strap the kids in, and figured that it would be fine.  As I drove down the aisle, I look over to see Colby standing up, and trying to climb over the back of the head rest!  I shouted to Brooke to get out of her seat and grab Colby.  It was almost too funny not to laugh. He is seriously different than Brooke was at this age.  I parked the car, and opened the back to take a picture of these two.  Good thing I have Brooke to help me when I make parenting mistakes, haha!

This is Colby's new thing when he wants to be picked up...

He was really enjoying the sour cream with his flautas, haha!

Brooke continues to love dance, and I rarely have to threaten to cancel her classes (when she won't get dressed in the morning).  This particular morning, she wanted puppy to wear her cute leg warmers, then requested that I take a picture.

Sunday mornings have become a whole lot crazier now that we have church at 9am.  On the weeks that I have ward counsel, I leave the house at 6:50, and Kevin is left to get the kids up and ready.  I always lay out their clothes, and pack the bag, but it's hard to wake the kids up and get them moving in the morning.  One night, I braided Brooke's hair so that it would be wavy in the morning.  Her and her friend Charli were kind of coordinating, so Nikki took a picture of the girls together. She is so lucky to have so many older friends who adore her and offer to walk her to Primary each week.  (I still follow behind them because I am a control freak like that.) 

Colby didn't make it for Sunday pictures. 

Colby outgrew his baby carrier/car seat, so I told Brooke that we were going to order her a new seat so that Colby could have her current one.  Her immediate reaction was "I will NEVER give up on my car seat."  Hahaha!  She was pretty adamant, but once she saw the new car seat had aqua straps, she decided that she was okay with the change.

Another picture to document this princess phase. Her favorite game is to drop her shoes around the house, and ask me to come find "the missing princess."  She also likes to pretend that she is asleep and waiting for someone to come give her a kiss.

Colby can now reach door knobs, with or without the assistance of the stool.  Once he learns how to turn them, we are in serious trouble.

Playing at the play ground is getting a lot more fun as Colby grows up.  He can now hold his own on the teeter totter, which makes Sissy very happy.

One Saturday, we went on a family outing to get something to fix the lawnmower.  Brooke REALLY wanted to go into 7-11 with Kevin, and seeing them come out hand-in-hand made my heart happy.  She adores him, and loves to feel like his little sidekick.

Colby is also a big Daddy fan and kept shouting to him from the house as he watched Kevin mow the yard.

We arranged a play date with Auntie Mel Mel, and it was a lot of fun!  What started out as a quick story while I was dealing with Brooke's tantrum in the other room, turned into everyone crowded around Melanie as she read Peppa stories.  (About the tantrum:  Brooke did not want Kinley to see her new unicorn toy, and Kinley kept asking to see it.  I took Brookie in the other room to have a chat since I wasn't excited about a play date with constant fights.  We talked about sharing and the fact that she could play with her toy any time she wanted.  She finally agreed to let her see it, and the rest of the day went great.  I'm not sure why she was so darn stubborn at the beginning, but I'm proud of her for snapping out of it.)

That afternoon, we went for a walk to feed the ducks. There were signs of spring everywhere, which I was absolutely loving!

Brooke gathered about a zillion dandelions, and made the most beautiful bouquet of the weeds :)

a day with the young women

The last weekend in February was our annual YW basketball tournament.  We only had one practice this year based on our activity schedule, and availability of the gym.  These girls always seem to step up and do well, though. One of our girls (Emily) is on her school team, so she really helps hold our team together.  It was a round robin style tournament, and although we won our first game, the rest of the tournament was downhill from there.  We barely lost the second game, but the third game was the real kicker.  We have a Spanish ward in our Stake that is infamous for their aggressive style and constant fouling.  I don't think it's always intentional, but they are just more aggressive and in your face.  Our girls were really frustrated by the whole thing, and the fact that fouls weren't being called.  I was on the sidelines screaming a ton, but I think the girls learned a lot, and still had fun as a team.

I was home from the tournament by about 1, then had to head to the Stake Dance that evening since our ward was hosting.  The YW were in charge of the decorations, and the YM were in charge of buying the refreshments.  About 15 minutes before I left my house, the YM President's wife stopped by my house with all the refreshments because she said her husband was sick.  I was trying to be understanding, but I couldn't believe that he would dump all that on me at the last minute.  My biggest concern was that she only brought over 2 trays of cookies.  That was definitely not enough, so I began rummaging through my pantry and fridge for something else to bring.  I brought a bunch of fruit, but as Kevin and I drove to the building, I could feel myself getting sick.  All of a sudden, I have nervous stomach issues.  I was freaking out because he was also supposed to be bringing the ladder to hang the decorations, and what if none of the youth showed up to help? I would be totally on my own.  Kevin would be in his meetings, so he couldn't help me either.  I texted the YM President and asked him to please find a replacement because I was worried about everything getting done in time when we had only given ourselves an hour to set up.

Well, long story short, I walked into the gym to find one of my YW there ready to help, a few more showed up, and then 5 or 6 kids from other wards stopped into the gym and asked if we needed help. Seriously, those kids saved me!  I love that instead of just hanging out with their friends, they offered to help. We found a ladder, and everything came together so smoothly.  I also made a super cute heart banner that was along the stage, but I didn't get a picture I guess.

Some of my cute helpers...

A few people helped get the fruit ready, and we were ready to go by 7 PM when the dance started.  By 7:45, both trays of cookies were gone (I knew that was never going to be enough), so Kevin went to the store to buy a bunch of stuff. He had been pretty mad on the way to the church because he thought it was a punk move to drop everything on me like that.  Kevin tried to tell me that I just needed to let it fail if there wasn't enough food.  But that makes me look bad, and I hate looking unprepared and like I don't have it all together.  Our Bishop ended up hanging out in the kitchen with me to help and because I was the only one there representing our ward.  Actually, another YM leader ended up coming about 7:15, but he made a comment like "It looks like you have everything done", and I didn't see him the rest of the night.

In the end, it was a great night.  I tried to not complain (although this post is full of complaints!) because seriously Heavenly Father made sure that I had enough youth to help, Kevin was there to assist me, and my stomach issues went away.  That's a lot of things to be grateful for :)

The next morning, I had church meetings, so Kevin was bringing the kids to church.  By 9:30, they still weren't there, so I texted Kevin to make sure everything was okay.  He texted back "diarrhea".  I laughed to myself and asked if it was him or Brooke, haha.  He said it was him, but that he was feeling better and was on his way.  Once at church, we took Brooke to primary, and Kevin said that he had made a mistake in drinking water on the way to church.  His stomach was upset again, and he needed to go back home.  He took Colby, and when Brooke and I got home later, him and Colby were fast asleep.  He woke up hours later, threw up, and was feeling miserable.  I (somewhat jokingly) told him that's what he got for saying that the YW President was a punk for being sick.  I started feeling yucky a few hours later, which was really bad timing since Kevin was dead in bed, I had the missionaries coming for dinner, and I also had BYD that night.  It seriously was a crazy day, but I survived!  The BYD was at the Bishop's house (our neighbor), so Joanna watched the kids for me while I was downstairs at the BYD.

just when I thought I was caught up...

I connect my phone to the computer and realize that I have 100+ new pictures!  Maybe if I took fewer pictures, it would take me less time to blog?  Or maybe I will just have to be more selective about what I blog about?  Until I make that call, here are the last few pictures from February. 

We met our play group at the Arlington library for story time and the librarian was fabulous!  I wasn't expecting Colby to sit still, and he was seriously so attentive the entire time she read the stories.  

Brooke loves her little group of fiends, and I love this picture of Elias looking over at his friends :)  He really has such a tender heart.  After the library, we headed to CFA for lunch.

While Colby napped that afternoon, I wanted to work on this blog.  I set up an "office station" for Brooke, and she was content to sit there with me for the next hour and a half.

I had to document Colby's love for his mashed potatoes!  He was eating them by the handful, then began rubbing them all over his face. When they're good, you just can't get enough, right??

With early church, Kevin and I always try to get Brooke to take a Sunday nap with us. She likes the idea, and gets all cozy in our bed, then says "I think I've had enough sleep" after about 5 minutes.

I ended up going to play with Brooke, but she made sure to tuck her baby in before she left the bed.  This is how I found Kevin 2 hours later, haha!

And that, my friends, is officially the end of my "February with the littles" pictures.  I can see the light at the end of the "getting caught up" tunnel!!

boater life

On February 18th, we went on our first boat outing of the season.  We were having beautiful weather in February, so you better believe that Kevin was anxious to get to the lake. I really love springtime at the lake because you aren't sweating to death, and can actually enjoy just relaxing on the water. Since Jerry was still recovering from his foot issues, him and Bev had to stay home, so it was just the four of us. Since the boat had been in the garage all winter, this meant that I had to either help back the trailer down the ramp, or drive the boat off of the trailer. I opted for driving the boat because I am pretty awful at doing the trailer, haha. Driving the boat doesn't make me too nervous, except for the fact that I would have the kids with me. I was just hoping that Colby would be content to just sit in his life jacket, which he was.  Driving the boat back on (at the end of the day), was way more stressful because Colby was loud and we had a group of on-lookers who were fishing off the dock.  In the end, it worked out, but my blood pressure was definitely elevated!

Colby was all about turning the steering wheel, and trying to grab at the throttle.

He really has grown into the life jacket, which made it really nice because he could move around and felt more freedom than last summer.

The water was the calmest I have ever seen at Lake Grapevine, so Kevin decided to wake surf. The water was still pretty cold, but nothing a little wet suit couldn't manage. I was driving, and I started out holding Colby, but he just wanted to turn around and watch Daddy.  I set him on the floor, and he could balance himself and kept shouting "Dada" and waving his whole arm at his Daddy. It was seriously my favorite part of the whole outing. I ended up taking a video because it was so adorable, but I promise I was still paying attention to driving :)

Brooke told us that she wanted to splash in the water, but Kevin told her it was probably too cold for her.  I told her to go feel the water, and if she wanted, she could totally get in. If she was feeling brave, I wanted to let her do it!  She put her toes in, and decided that she did, indeed, wanted to get in. We made a quick outfit change, and she had a blast.  She wanted to jump in with me holding her hands, so I basically dipped her in the water over and over, and although it totally took her breath away, she was smiling from ear to ear. I love this girl so much :)  Can you see the joy on her face?

As we were getting ready to leave, Brooke climbed in the bow, held out her arms, and declared, "I love boating THIS much".  We love that she enjoys boating as much as we do, and hopefully one day, we will have a boat at our marina so that we can enjoy the family time even more!

preschool tours

Who knew that finding a preschool was such a big deal?  Or maybe I just made it a really big deal :/ I had been asking around for months, trying to get recommendations, and hearing people's feedback about where their kids attended school. I started a list on my phone to keep track of schools.  Then I created a spreadsheet to track all the info I was collecting. Maybe it was all a bit much, but I wanted to make a good choice, and I was nervous about sending my little girl to school for the first time.  A few of my ward friends wanted me to send them the spreadsheet because we were hoping to get all our kids at the same school.  

I narrowed it down to two schools based on schedule (I only wanted her to attend 2 days a week), no nap time (since she hasn't napped for over a year), and price.  I then set up tours.  The first place, Matthew Road Baptist church, told me to come any day between 9:30 and 1:30. Brooke and I picked a day, and I tried to prepare her for the experience.  She picked out a special dress to wear, we showed up, and the director wasn't there to give us a tour.  I was kind of frustrated since that was our plan for the morning, but I left her a message and waited to hear back.  She never called back, so the next week, we just tried to show up again.  This time she was there, but she had her assistant give us a tour.  The school looked great, and it actually offers a kind of hybrid homeschool program where the kids go to school a few days a week, and then do packets of work on the other days.  Over all, it was a positive experience, and I liked certain safety measures they had, like magnetic locks on each door so that only those with keys could get access to all doors, etc.  The school is also only 11 minutes from my house, which was a major selling point in my book! 

The second school we toured was Little Hearts.  A friend in my ward recommended the place since her sister (and all her sister's friends) have kids there.  I had emailed with the director a few times, and she was so friendly.  She emailed me the day before our scheduled to let me know that she would actually be out sick, but that another woman (Lisa) would be giving our tour.  I appreciated that she went above and beyond to let me know ahead of time.  When we showed up, Lisa gave both Brooke and I big hugs.  She made Brooke feel so comfortable, and when we stopped in a few of the rooms, one of the teachers offered to let Brooke join in the circle activity.  I didn't think Brooke would leave my side, but she went right over and sat next to a few girls.  That was a testament to me that she felt comfortable there.  It was just a really positive experience, and when we left, Brooke said, "I want to go to Little Hearts.  They were so kind to me." 

I loved that she felt loved, and they seemed like a pretty tight knit group of teachers and staff. They are a Christian school, so they follow the Wee Learn curriculum, which is Bible based.  They also have a Christian-based PE class they do every week, but I'm not really sure what that entails, haha.  All student go to chapel on Tuesdays, and they incorporate spiritual; as well as academic.  Although we are teaching Brooke at home, and she gets instruction in Primary, I don't think a little church with school is bad. 

These pictures were before and after our tour at Little Hearts.  I really feel that Brooke will love the school environment, but I am having a hard time letting go.  It will be 10 hours a week that I don't know exactly what is being taught and what she is picking up from other students.  I know this is something that all parents go through, so I just have to trust that I am teaching her what's right, and that she will be brave and confident in doing what she knows is right. I hope that she will always communicate her feelings with me.  I want to know if she ever feels scared, lonely, or afraid, and when she feels happy, proud, and special.  She is growing up so much!!

day of love

On a recent shopping trip to Target, Brooke and I found the cutest bubble necklaces shaped like hearts.  I asked Brooke if she wanted to give valentines to her "dance girls", and I was not surprised that she was in love with the idea.  I printed some tags to attach to the necklaces, and asked Brooke if we should type her name, or if she would like to write it.  She assured me that she wanted to write it with marker, but I should have known better, haha.  She still needs a lot of help writing her name, and after one or two tags, she was burnt out.  We still had 8 to go, so it was a long process.  Towards the end, she kept saying "let's do team work", as in, I help her write her name.  They turned out pretty cute though, and her friends at dance loved them. She passed them out the Friday before Valentine's Day, and a few other friends passed out cards as well. Her dance teachers wrote her a cute note that said " Dear Brooke, Your smile lights up our room! Love, Miss Emily and Grace."

We Facetimed with my parents the night before the big day so the kids could open their gifts from them.  We would be at mutual the next night, so this was our best chance.  Brooke LOVED her new cookie set, and Colby loved his new sound puzzle (once I added the batteries, haha).

When I came downstairs from getting Brooke to sleep, Kevin had two bouquets of flowers with cards set up on the counter. I had reminded him earlier in the week to get his little valentine some flowers, but I wasn't expecting them the night before.  He said that he wanted them there for when she woke up in the morning.  And so that I could enjoy my flowers all day :)  It was very thoughtful, and I knew that Brooke would feel so special.

Before the kids woke up, I blew up some balloons and scattered them all over the loft. I had ordered Brooke a new umbrella to replace the one she broke a month ago.  I also bought her a huge drawing pad, and picked up some new princess crowns ("from Colby").  Brooke picked out a kickboard for Colby, and I bought him a few new t-shirts.

Colby was my assistant while I made cheesecake and cookies.  Brooke had left the stool over by the sink, and when I turned around to get ingredients out, he climbed to the top and was messing with the dirty dishes.  He had never done that before, so I was totally surprised.  He is still wobbly when standing, so I was nervous!  I moved the stool to where I was working, and kept a close eye on him.

Sometimes I can't get enough of his cuteness!  I took a few more pictures before getting him down for his nap.

I bought Brooke a new outfit for Valentine's Day, but then we left it in Austin on our recent trip.  So, since she wanted to dress up anyway, I let her wear the Aurora costume since it was the perfect shade of pink.   She even let me curl her hair!  I think it was her idea to stand by "her castle".

We decided to drive up to Grandma and Papa's house to deliver our valentine gifts.  Melanie met us there, and the girls loved that extra time together. 

Papa had been in the hospital the whole week before, so he was happy to have his grandkids over for a visit.

Looking at these pictures reminds me what a busy day we had!  I went to the grocery store in the morning, made cookies to take to Flower Mound, made a cheesecake for Kevin (his favorite), spent time in Flower Mound, then drove through Culver's for dinner before heading to mutual where I was in charge of the joint YM/YW activity.  It makes me tired just thinking about that day, haha.

Thankfully, it was a pretty low key activity (making statues out of recyclables and telling stories about them), so it worked out well.  One of my newer Beehives (Mckenna) is such a huge help to me when I have the kids with me.  They both love her, and are content to hang with her when I'm preoccupied!