Painting With Laughter

I recently saw that a friend of mine was starting painting classes and I couldn't wait to sign up! I am not the best painter by far but I don't mind giving it a try! I was even more excited to hear that my mom and brother Eli were going too! The trash talk started then! Ha!

This class was called Snow Buddies, here is what we were supposed to paint:

It was not hard at all and I did learn alot and some tricks on making things easier - like using a pencil and chalk on parts of it. I had so much fun - it was a nice break and just what I needed.

Mom working on her masterpiece

The master at work ;)

Family bonding :)

Painting Eli :)

Eli showing off his painting skills :)

I opted out of the Snow Buddies wording and went with my family name instead. I also opted out of the pink cheeks on the snowmen - what can I say, I am a rebel :)


I loved how everyone had the same tools and instructions but they all turned out different. I was very happy with my finished product. Nathan said it looked better than he thought it would - oh ye of little faith!

Eli's finished product

My work of art!

Mom's all finished!

Eli had already left to go to the razorback game, so it was just me and mom in our family finished picture!

Group shot minus 2 that were still painting and Eli who left already

The next class is a razorback but I can't go because I have Ryan's 4 month pictures that day (yes she is already 4 months, I know, crazy), but Belinda offers a make up class every few months and that is the one I plan to do! It would look awesome in Noah's room. The next one I plan to go to is this one

 - Aspen Trees - it looks intimidating, but I am going to give it a try!

If you are interested in a class contact Belinda Kendrick at 479-214-3526 or click here for the Painting with Laughter Facebook page!

Our New Years

We are officially old. We never even tried to make new year's eve plans. The thought never really crossed my mind. I guess kids will do that to you - as it should. Like I have said before, I feel guilty leaving them with people to go out, I should be there taking care of them and before I know it they are going to be out with their friends and I will wish I spent more time with them, even on new year's eve.

We were hosting the annual January birthday party at our house this year so we spent alot of Monday cleaning and organizing. We put away what little Christmas decorations I got out and made room for the 15 family members coming the next day (15 is not alot, but our house is small).

That night we went over to a hotel to swim with my brother. Ever since he was little he has gotten a hotel room on new years eve since his birthday is on January 1st. Noah loved it! He hasn't been swimming in a long time! He liked getting in the hot tub with Nathan while Ryan and I hung out and had girl talk on the side. Noah kept telling me there were sharks in the water trying to eat him - oh the imagination of a child, I love it!

My brother Eli and his daughter Savannah (who obviously loves having her picture taken)

Sweet Ryan just hanging out while Noah swims :)

Licking - just like he does his bathwater - GROSS!

Noah and Savannah

I did manage to stay up until midnight, but I watched the Hard Rock hotel guitar drop and fell asleep right after that. I didn't make it to the New York ball drop - no way I was staying up that late. No matter how late I stay up, my kids will be up at the same time the next morning!

I am not much on hosting parties at my house. It stresses me out and you don't get to visit and enjoy it because you are running around helping people. Every now and then I volunteer to take the burden off the rest of my family (since we celebrate everyones birthdays with a party every few months) and so that I am forced to give my house a good cleaning! The party went good - plenty of food (chili cook-off between me and my brother Eli -  I totally won) and Noah had more than enough toys to share with all the kids there and with the exception of him not wanting to share slinky dog (a current favorite of his) he did very well sharing all his stuff.

The January birthdays!

After the party we did nothing but watch cartoons and hang out together. It was a nice relaxing way to spend the first day of 2013. Back to work today - no rest for the weary ;)

See ya 2012!

What a year! I learned so many things this year - some good, some not so good, but - that's life.

I learned on January 13, 2012 that I was able to get pregnant without medical help! This was a big deal! I shortly after learned what morning all day sickness was about too! Both of these were new experiences to start the year off with!

I learned how strong I am through Ryan's delivery. That was a very scary experience and I look back and am amazed I was able to keep it together.

I learned how to care for two children this year. Honestly, this has been easier than I anticipated. But, it helps that Ryan is such a good adaptable baby and Nathan has been amazing to step up and help out more. I am fully expecting it to get harder though.

Unfortunately, my "real friend" list got shorter this year. I have lots of people I consider my friends, but the "real friends" list is very short - and for good reason. There are few people in this world I trust with very much. I am sort of a loaner in that way. I let my guard down a little too much this year and it, of course, came back to bite me. Lesson learned.

I did get to add one special person to my "real friend" list this year - congratulations - you know who you are :)

I learned alot of people like to read my blog. I love hearing that people enjoy it because I enjoy posting. I have had people I just know of tell me they read to family members. Who knew? HA! I love reading other peoples blogs also - it is such an awesome way to record memories and to look back and read how life was at certain times.

I learned that I picked a good one with Nathan. He has really stepped up this year and helped me in alot of ways. He has really made me feel loved. He is quite the man and I love that we laugh every day.

I learned that help is ok. I still do not like asking for it and probably never will - makes me feel too vulnerable. But, knowing it is there is awesome.

I learned that I am allergic to penicillin. Apparently highly allergic. (sorry, no picture here - not going to post that for everyone to see).

I learned that good things come to those who wait - congratulations Cassie :)

I learned a little about being a better Christian. I say I only learned a little because I am only acting on a little of it. I can do more and try when I can. I love to do random acts of kindness and give all I can. I can do more and plan to try to do more.

I learned this year (and every day) how amazing my kids are. Don't get me wrong - Noah is no angel and the odds are if you have seen him lately he was throwing a fit, but he is still amazing nonetheless. I prayed for that boy for years before God chose me to be his momma. He makes me belly laugh everyday and smile by just thinking about him. I am so glad God didn't take Ryan from me. Nathan said God didn't want us to be sad so he saved her. Whatever the reason, I am eternally grateful. I kiss each of my blessings on the head after they fall asleep each night and whisper "I love you more than anything". I am so blessed.

I can't wait to see what 2013 brings! It better be good if it is going to top all this!

EAT HAT!!

Noah is really taking off with talking! I wanted to document a few of our favorites so I don't forget them. When I picked him up Sunday from his class at church, his teacher even commented that he talks alot now (he gets that from his momma). I love that there is a short list of people who understand a majority of what he is saying, it is like our own special group. He is pretty clear on alot of things, but there are certain words and phrases that only Nathan and I understand and can decipher. Sometimes Nathan will even ask me to come tell him what he is saying because he can't understand it.

If you are around Noah at all, the odds are you will hear him say "eat hat" at least once. It is something I have gotten used to explaining. Noah has a bath toy that is Goofy and for some reason Disney decided he didn't need a hat on. So, that confused Noah and he was always saying "hat? hat? hat? hat?" over and over to us, until finally Nathan told him to stop saying "hat" and if he said it again he was going to get him (aka: wrestle and tickle him). So, he would then go find Goofy and take it to Nathan and say "hat" just to get on Nathan's nerves (he got that from his momma too). Now, on to the eat part. When Noah would ever get in trouble or in time out he would say "eat" and hope that he could get out of it by saying he was hungry. So, I would scold him for something and his reply would be "eat" every time. I told him to stop saying "eat" every time he was in trouble (hoping to avoid a habit of him eating his troubles away). Well, he caught on that it was a no-no, so what does our genius child do - puts it together into "eat hat" which he says all the time to get Nathan to wrestle him or if he gets in trouble. It has multiple meanings depending on the situation. When Nathan walks in the door from work, he will run over to him and say "eat hat" and they wrestle - so it means come and get me. When I spank his hand for dumping bath water in the floor or throwing toys he says "eat hat" and gives me a mean look like he is telling me off. He even said it once and threw himself down on the ground after a spanking I gave him - meaning he was ticked off. It is so hard not to laugh when he says it but I do find myself saying "no you eat hat" when he says it in a mean way. This has got to look crazy to people who don't know what is going on.

He refers  to alot of things as "this". He sees a toy on tv he wants "momma this, this momma" meaning I want this momma. I will ask him what he is doing when he is playing ball with his cousin - "play ball with this momma" meaning this as his cousin. It cracks us up - everything is a this! Every night when I put him to bed he says "blue snake in toy box momma" and I tell him I will go look for it because he has never had a blue snake and we have looked for whatever he is talking about for a month now and there is nothing! So, I just say "momma will look for it" and leave.

Some things Noah says are just weird like he calls juice "muice". Then there are funny things he does like replace the c with a d when saying "click" (singing the click the camera song on Diego) - so he sounds like he is being dirty. He calls Diego "O" and he will say "watch O" and then when it starts "O on" - it is so cute! He is really starting to repeat things too. In order to keep him "regular" I give him one pureed fruit pouch a day. Well, one day I jokingly called them a "poop bag" one day and of course he decided to repeat me! So he now calls them "boob bags" (he calls poop "boop"). We really have to watch what we say!

He has really started reenacting the shows he watches too. I swear every animal on Diego ends up getting stuck in a net, so if anything ever gets stuck he says "stuck net!" - his shoe gets stuck, he can't get a chip out of the bag, Nathan is holding him down to tickle him - all occasions where he yells "stuck net, stuck net!" Noah is obsessed with The Lion King right now. He loves to wrestle/fight so he reenacts the fight scenes between the lions all the time. I cannot count how many times a day I see a stuffed animal hanging off the couch and another one on the couch holding onto it and Noah saying "help me Scar, help me! Oh, Dada Lion fall down, red boo boos!" It is so funny to watch.

This kid seriously has me belly laughing every day! I can't wait until he can start telling me stories and how his day went. At least I know that of anyone, I will be the one who is able to understand what he is saying :)

Our Christmas 2012

We always start our Christmas celebrating out on Christmas Eve morning with brunch at my mom's house. We do all our gift exchanging and eat awesome breakfast foods. I finally got my new camera (mine broke 3 months ago and I have been patiently waiting on Santa and using a loaner until I got mine), Noah got a knight costume and Ryan got an exersaucer and mobile.

Ryan on Christmas Eve

Ready for presents!

Cheese momma - now new toys :)

Dad kept Ryan occupied during the party at my moms

Noah brushing slinky dogs hair with the dog hair brush he found :)

Enjoying some marshmallows :)

Ryan was partied out!

 

From there we went home for naps and to get ready for Nathan's grandparents Christmas. We went out there for dinner. We only buy for the kids there so Ryan and Noah both got lots of new goodies! Then we had to hurry home because Santa still had a few toys to put together!

Daddy Santa fell asleep and didn't get the plasma car together. So, we had to do some last minute assembly Christmas morning. Noah is still in his crib and woke up just as we were getting finished. I have a feeling next year he may be in his big boy bed and we will have to get it all ready the night before. I didn't want the cats messing with anything so I kept it in our room, but that won't work for much longer!

It took Noah a minute to figure out what was going on - he was watching Mickey's Christmas Carol on tv - then he finally saw the tree and said "yay, new toys!" It was priceless. He claimed them all "Noah's" and jumped right on his stick horse and took off. He also got a little dyson vacuum that really works, books, and puzzles, and a truck that hauls cows. He was so excited about it all! We did just enough not to overwhelm him and he played with everything the first day. Ryan is at the age where she is very clueless and needs nothing yet. So, she got a few stocking stuffers and that was it. I bought her some new outfits that I had already washed and put away.

Santa Came!

He knew exactly what to do with his gifts this year!

The cuddleupet he wanted from tv!

Ryan's first Christmas!

Nathan and I decided not to exchange gifts this year - or so he said. I thought I was being sneaky and got him stuff for a stocking. Then, he goes and buys me a shirt I wanted and a giftcard! I felt really bad! He said he didn't need anything and not to worry about it - he had all he needed with me and the kids! Very sweet (almost like he is up to something!)! But, nothing I can do about it now! I won't fall for that again and he will get a nice Valentine's gift!

 Great Grandma Bobbie was so excited because Ryan let her hold her without crying, finally!

Noah playing in Great Grandmas toy boxes - I played with that same castle every time I was at Grandmas!

Noah wrestling Papa Vallie - they do this every time they see each other!

After we opened all the presents we went to my Grandmas for lunch and stopped by my moms to see what Santa put in the kids stocking, then my dad came over to give Noah his gifts from him. It sounds exhausting when I type it out, but it all seemed to go so smoothly and drama free. It was a nice holiday! It even snowed some. We haven't got to play in it yet and I am not sure we will. I am back at work today and the kids are at the babysitters. But, at this age, I worry about them getting sick in the cold anyway. There are many more snowy winters to come! Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Ryan Maelynn is 3 Months!

She is a quarter of the way to one already! I knew it was going to go by fast, and since she is such a good baby, it is going by even faster! Ryan has adapted right into our family perfectly and I do not know what I did to deserve such a good baby!

* She weighs around 12.5 pounds and is 23 inches long! She is still nursing when she is with me (even though I had to only bottle feed her for awhile due to her having an ear infection and being on penicillin which I am allergic to) and she takes 5 oz. bottles every 3 hours with her sitter.

* She is still an amazing sleeper! We are on a regular schedule now of her going to sleep around 10:00 and sleeping until 8:00 the next morning. That is 10 hours in a row! She is still in her nap nanny beside our bed until Santa bring her a video monitor and we get it all set up in her room.

* She is still in 0-3 month clothing now, but can easily fit in the 3-6 month. I am trying not to buy anything new since they grow so fast, but I get really tired of her wearing the same things over and over - she could care less though!

* She is still in size one diapers - I am going to try to keep them as long as I can so I can get more diapers for the money.

* She is very happy all the time and will sit and watch tv or watch Noah play - she is the most content baby ever!

She is finally bigger than Pinky!