Tuesday, January 31, 2012

January 2012

January around here is birthday month.  We've got Brandon's mom on the 5th, Brandon on the 11th, Lily on the 18th and me on the 24th.

Brandon had to work late all during his birthday week, so we didn't have much time to celebrate, but Lily and I did manage to make him a pie.  We used the basic apple pie recipe from Joy of Cooking which is really simple and always turns out great.   I made it after breakfast and it only took around 30 minutes which was good since if I cook anything longer Ehren will start hanging onto my legs and crying.
Birthday pie (with pie bird so it stays pretty!)

January is also the month I started watching Winry (5 months old) during the day time.  It turns out that having three children is not as hard as I thought it would be!  Ehren has done much better than I thought he would.  He really seems interested in the baby although he does not have the motor skills to always be gentle so I have to watch him like a hawk if he can reach her.  He tries to give her toys, replace her pacifier or bottle, and pats her and hugs her.  He even will throw dirty diapers away for me.  It makes me realize how big he is getting compared to the little baby.  Nap time can get a little rocky with the little ones, but she is easier to get down to sleep than Ehren is.  I can usually wait until she's tired and then just put her down and presto - she's asleep.  LOVE that.  (Don't get me wrong - I love my difficult one too!)  Speaking of sleeping.... I am proud to announce that Ehren now will self sooth himself without resorting to letting him cry.  I can put him in his crib when he's tired (but awake) and he will fall asleep on his own.  I just lay down on the floor where he can't see me but he knows I'm there and its enough for him.  Sometimes he watches a crib toy that makes noise and other times he'll roll over and conk out without the toy.

Lily had a nice birthday and party.  She wanted to have a rainbow theme and invite family and her friends.  Since our house space is limited we opted to have her party at McDonalds.  Because I didn't make reservations soon enough the party was at 6:00 pm!  She had fun though and we got to see the family which is always nice.  McDonalds didn't allow outside food and drink so we made rainbow cupcakes and went out to eat at Fazolis with our adopted college students before services on Wednesday.  Not surprisingly, our little firecracker also had a blast at that "party."
Lily's girlfriends Anni and Louise

Cousin Wyatt

Snakey got covered in cakey

Our first batch of rainbow cupcakes (Thanks Pinterest)




Lily also started preschool this month on Tues-Thurs from 9:00 to 1:30.  I decided that she was becoming too bored just hanging out with me and needed some more mental stimulation.  I thought this was especially important since I would be devoting so much time to caring for the babies.  However, having her away for part of the day can be actually harder because when she's here Ehren wants to play with her and will mostly leave me alone to care for the baby.  He'd check in on me from time to time for reassurance and then go back to playing.  When its just me and the little babies, he's a lot more demanding for attention.

Lily loves preschool!  So far it has been exactly as I hoped.  The teacher also seems pleased with her behavior and knowledge.  Apparently Lily knows all her letters though I have not formally taught them to her. 

Ehren's separation anxiety is showing signs of tapering off.  As I mentioned earlier, he no longer must be put to sleep by physical contact with us, but has also survived bible class twice without us being there.  The first time was hard on him and I know he cried, but the second time was better and although he needed to be held periodically, he didn't become as upset.  So there's hope for the little Klingon yet!  I'm so glad he's making these steps because I know independence is an important part of growing up! 

For my birthday we didn't really do anything special since we had a gospel meeting that night with Tim Jennings.  It was an excellent meeting and very timely.  I was glad that I was able to worship on my birthday.  That day had been a little rough but I got a little knock on the door and was surprised to find a chocolate covered fruit bouquet with a balloon and a teddy bear from Anna.  That was a nice treat and made even better since all three kids were asleep and not awakened by the delivery.  I also got a most awesome card from Aly that wished me a Happy "29th" birthday from my "110 lb" friend.  That gave us a good laugh since this is my second "29th" birthday.  ;-) The Saturday after my birthday aunt Angie came over and watched the kids so Brandon and I could go out to eat lunch.  Ehren went down for a late nap and was still sleeping when we got back.  I was glad for that because he might have been upset if he knew we had gone.  Lily had Aunt Angie all to herself which she loved because Aunt Angie always brings books.

That pretty much brings you up to date on the happenings of January.  I've been so busy I haven't had much time for crafting anything except one little panda bear.  I'm also working on a quiet book for Ehren for services.  I've got one page almost finished and it has taking me a LOoooooong time.  Hopefully I can finish it before he outgrows the need for it!
Tolee's panda


Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Happy 4th Birthday to Lily!

Today is my dear sweet Lily's fourth birthday!



The other day I was filling out paperwork to enroll her in preschool and I was asked to describe her personality and I thought to myself.... That blank is not nearly big enough!  Brandon and I joked around that we would need to write a book to fully describe her.

I love her spunk and enthusiasm for life, her outgoing and friendly personality, her imagination, her decisiveness, her bravery (sometimes scary).  She's tough yet sweet and forgiving.  She loves to read, paint and color.  She plays hard and sleeps hard and she's like nobody else.  I'm so thankful that God gave her to us!  I pray every day that we can point her in the right direction because she will be able to do whatever she sets her mind on.

This determination can make life with her difficult right now, but I wouldn't change anything about her.  I love her so much!  Happy Birthday Lily!

Lily's birthday
One year
Second year
Third year
Fourth year - You have no idea how many photos we have of her making this face!!!

Monday, January 2, 2012

December 2011


December came and went pretty fast. Lily and I kept busy making Christmas presents. Ehren turned a year old! I've been counting my blessings. Brandon has a good job and we have two healthy and happy children and a loving family. 
Some of our Christmas ornaments we made with salt dough.  Yes.  That's a lobster.
Brandon gave me the OK for buying as much yarn as I want and I've been going WILD with the crocheting.  Its been so fun.  If you're looking for a hobby - try crochet.
Hot chocolate mix - we also made spiced tea

Hat for Winry - modeled by a big eyed cat/guinea pig creature

Ho-ho for Wyatt

Yoda for Micheal
Ehren had his well checkup 5 days before Christmas and picked up a virus at the Dr.'s office so he and I stayed home for Christmas while Brandon and Lily went to Lufkin. I was hoping E could get some rest and recover but it was very hard to get anything done because he didn't sleep soundly and whined all day long! He started feeling better after a couple of days and I was so glad!

For Christmas I learned that my sister and her husband are expecting another baby! I'm very excited because I just love babies and look forward to meeting him or her. My poor sister is as sick as she's ever been though. Makes me remember how bad I felt with E, but for her its worse because she's got to chase around Wyatt and vomit all day long - poor thing. Hopefully the nausea will pass soon.

I'm looking forward to January when I will start keeping Winry during the day and Lily will start preschool. I think she will really enjoy preschool and it will give her an opportunity to brush up on her social skills. That's all for now.  I plan on posting a new entry for Lily's birthday so stay tuned!