Brooklyn's 2nd Birthday

Well...I'm behind...but since this blog is my way of documenting what we are doing, like a family journal, I'm going to try my best to catch up and stay on top of it better. Back in February we celebrated Brooklyn's 2nd birthday! I can't believe its been 2 years! What a great 2 years of joy, tears, and learning we have all had! I will document a few things about Brooklyn at the bottom so I can remember later in life! For now, here are some pictures of her little b'day party at the park.

Pintrest totally overwhelmed me this year with ideas of "cuteness" so I just chose one and went with it! This one was SO easy!

Thank you aunty Em for making our cupcakes cute!

We got a couple of Mr. Owl pinatas for the kiddos...we thought a HUGE storm was going to ruin the park option but we got lucky and it held out!

Aubs taking advantage of the swings

Yes Parker...you can have more snacks! :)

Brookie with her proud parents...little Amelia was sound asleep the whole party!

Brookie LOVES some b'day cake! She still talks about the cake she got at her b'day party and she gets so excited now when we go to a b'day party...b/c of the cake! haha...she's like her momma!

Sweet Conner...I can't believe he's almost 4...the years are flying by!

We helped Brooklyn figure out how to swing the bat at the pinata

Maybe a future softball player??

Lee III taking a swing

Fortunately the pinatas had strings we could pull to release all the candy since none of the kiddos could break it open!

We let Conner and Carter (the oldest kiddos) swing at the 2nd one while the little kids were collecting candy from the first one.

Brooklyn could have done this for hours!

The candy was a hit with Corrie!

Brooklyn got some really sweet gifts...but I just HAD to document this one...my sweet neighbor Ashley got Brooklyn a dress up set with some blinging jewelry and a purse, high heels, and a crown. I just love this picture of her starting to learn dress up and girly things, cracks me up! Thanks Ash!

Here are some things that Brooklyn is doing at 2 years old...

You weighed 32 pounds and was 37 inches tall

You go to school 2 days a week and love it - your teacher is Ms Leslie.

Favorite books are the Llama Llama books; Roly Poly Pangoline, Pouch!, Little Loon and Papa, Monster at the End of the Book, Goodnight Sleepy One, Jesus Storybook Bible, all her big sister books

Chicfila is still your favorite place to eat!

You LOVE cake and ice cream...so we have to limit it a lot!

You love to drink milk and you eat really well, lots of veggies and you do great with meat too - we are very thankful for this!

You have big feet! You wear size 8 shoes!

You wear mostly size 2T and some 3T just depending on the brand.
You wear size 5 diapers and are starting to take interest in the potty - yay!

You love Elle dog and have started chasing her some...which is a little scary!

You know all the ABC's and numbers and you are starting to learn what the letters say.

You LOVE singing - whether its ME singing or YOU singing, or us trying to sing together, you could sing all day - I love this! Your favorite songs are - twinkle twinkle little star, happy birthday to you, ABCs, the farmer and the dell, row row row your boat...etc...

You love to play outside and your favorite is the swing no matter if we are in our back yard or at the park.

Your favorite stuffed animal is your Jelly Dog.

Your favorite toys are your kitchen you got for Christmas, your Cozy Coupe you got for Christmas, your baby stroller, your picnic table, and your picnic basket set you got for Christmas

You really are full of life - you laugh, sing, talk, and play constantly. You make us laugh A LOT with what you do and what comes out of your mouth. You have a very sweet and obedient heart, you really try to do the things we ask you to do. When you don't want to you let us know but you usually get over it pretty quickly. You are starting to whine more, which is really hard to live with but we will get through it! I'm not sure but I'm assuming its because you are 2 yrs old and maybe b/c of the addition of baby sis. You do seem to love your baby sis very much but I know sharing the attention has been an adjustment for you. You like to offer Amelia toys to play with, you like to sing to her, and you pat her on the head a lot.

We love you pumpkin and never realized how awesome life would be with you! We are humbled and so thankful to be your parents on this Earth but know that you aren't ours, you belong to the Lord and we pray for your heart to turn to Him every day. We love you big girl!

God Makes Messy Things...

So, recently Brooklyn has said "God Makes Messy Things Beautiful"...b/c she's requesting a song from this http://www.slugsandbugs.com/ CD. If you have kids and you don't have this CD, I HIGHLY recommend it. It has AWESOME songs that aren't annoying for parents to listen to over and over again. Brad and Elena gave it to the girls for Christmas and we are enjoying it SO much. There are songs about going to the potty, about how God's adopted all of us, there is a song about Mexican food that cracks me up...anyway, HIGHLY recommend the CD.

So...the first song on the CD is "God Makes Messy Things Beautiful"...I love it. Its just a simple truth that God makes messy things beautiful when you put them in His hands. Its adorable and sweet and apparently Brooklyn likes it too b/c she requests it all the time. Mostly...when I'M A MESS!!! That is why it has hit me so hard lately...when I'm fluttering around trying to get both girls in the car with all the necessities and make sure we are sort of on time...I usually feel like a total mess by the time I jump in the car and get going. That is when Brooklyn requests it...when I've just jumped in the car after getting both girls, a stroller, a few bags, and sometimes a travel potty loaded up to go somewhere and I do feel like a mess. Thankfully, the Lord uses our children to remind us of the obvious...God does indeed make messy things beautiful! Thank you Lord!

Fabulous February Fun!

February is so much fun/busy for us every year. Within one week we have Brooklyn's birthday, Valentine's Day, and my birthday...poor Matt! :) Well, so far since we've been married he's pretty much gotten out of a lot of celebration b/c of med school and residency...he has some making up to do when he's done! This year was no exception...he has been on trauma for the past 6 weeks so all of February :( We were really sad when we got his schedule and knew he'd be preoccupied this month. After celebrating Brooklyn's birthday a little early with our B'ham friends, we headed off to Nashville for a week long visit with Bebe and Mister and the rest of the family.

Amelia made the rounds and got to see lots of family and Brooklyn got to celebrate her 2 year birthday with a bunch of different family members...she is still singing "happy birthday to Brookie".

I got to spend my b'day with my mom, sister, sister in law, and "cousin in law"...and it was a lot of fun. They made it really fun for me and I really appreciated it. I also got to spend Valentine's Day with my brother's family and my mom and dad. Brian, Rochelle and the boys came over and we cooked taco salad for my mom and dad. Its my favorite meal so of course I enjoyed eating it but mostly I enjoyed the company. Brian, Rochelle, and I cooked all of dinner while mom and dad played with our kids...oh to cook without a 2 yr old between my legs! It was a lot of fun.

Matt flew up to Nashville on Friday night when he got done with his crazy trauma week (b/c there are crazy cheap flights and we didn't want 2 cars to drive back). We got to celebrate my b'day dinner at Maggiano's...our favorite restaurant ever. It was a lot of fun, we really had a good night out just talking and spending some non-kid interrupted time together. Thanks to Bebe and Mister for babysitting!

Here are some pictures of our trip below...Little Amelia at about 2 1/2 months.

The whole fam had lunch out at Chuey's on Saturday to spend some time w/ Matt.
Brookie sporting her bell bottoms from aunty-Em and Aves

All the grandkids...make room for Sloan coming soon!

Brookie and Amelia on Valentine's Day 2012.

Valentine's dinner with Brian, Roch and the boys.

Sweet Amelia on my b'day morning...couldn't ask for a better gift!

Family picture once Matt got in town!

Bebe and Brookie...I think Brookie likes her more than me.

Happy B'day Brooklyn!

Today my first born turns 2!!!! So...I'm just getting older and older :) I'll do a 2 year post maybe tomorrow that will have more pics and details...for today this is all I have time for...birthday pancakes!!!

2 Months Already!

Our little peanut is already 2 months! I really think time just keeps going by faster...really, I think the Earth is rotating faster...anyone else feel dizzy?? :)

Here are some pics from our little photo shoot today in our 2 month onesie from Aunty Em...thanks again Aunty Em! We'll post tomorrow after our DR visit with 2 month stats! We love you little peanut!

This is my trusty assistant...yes, we still have a 100 pound dog in our little house and yes, its getting TIGHT!!!!

Locks of Love

No...we don't have 8 inches to cut off anyone's head in our household...I'm just emotional b/c we are cutting B's hair tomorrow for the first time. I know I'm way overdue for cutting my almost 2 year old's hair! I am not a very sentimental person (I keep telling my mom we need to do something with my wedding dress like cut it in pieces and make something useful out of it), but wow, cutting my baby's hair is not something I'm looking forward to! Tomorrow is the big day!!! I'm taking B to Alicia, my favorite stylist that I've ever gone to. She has made my hair look great every time I've gone to her over the past 10 years (I'm not claiming to have great hair, I just always leave pleased).

Take a look at these Justin Beiber locks...

They can easily be fashioned into really FUN piggie tails!!!

I can't believe how big Brooklyn looks in these pictures...and I can't believe I'm actually going through with this tomorrow. :( I'm going to miss her 2 year old split ends!!!

Saturday Night

**Warning - I realize nobody cares about the following story, nor is it "crazy" in the eyes of people who have 2 kids or more. I'm not trying to act like my life is crazy or like my kids are b/c I know for the most part we are pretty mellow. I just never want to forget this strange night**

It was surely a strange Saturday night for us! I know that pretty much anyone on earth that will read this won't care but I don't want to forget it b/c Matt and I were really kind of shocked at how strange it played out (in our minds). Last Saturday night we had a groupon to Mugshots in Vestavia and we were looking forward to eating out since we are trying to be very budget conscious since we spent to much for Christmas! Anyway...we got to Mugshots early so we wouldn't have to wait and unfortunately there was an hour wait...which is NOT do-able with children, so off we go.

Where to go...we had no appetite for anything else, we just wanted our burgers...we decided on Tazikis because we knew they would have something healthy for Brooklyn and we love it. So we get there and eat and unfortunately my food wasn't great. I always get the same thing but for some reason it just didn't taste good (I think its b/c of the onions...pregnancy has left me with an aversion to onions which I use to love...boo). So Matt and I switch dinners and his also doesn't taste right to me (he ordered something that I have enjoyed for seriously 10 years...Friday special...and I didn't like it...boo). So I didn't like the food...not a huge deal, but Brooklyn absolutely threw a couple fits during dinner b/c we wouldn't give her "chips and cake" until she ate her chicken...of which she did not partake. So we had several discussions about eating her chicken or her pita bread before having chips and cake and it just wasn't happening, so she basically screamed the entire dinner (and we were glared at). Let me interject that B has stopped taking most of her naps, she may have like 2 a week. I think this is her dealing w/ the sister change but who knows...she obviously needs a nap b/c she's SO cranky if she doesn't nap. So this day she didn't nap so add that to the dinner fight and she was a mess by the time we left Tazikis...fun is beginning.

So, we had previously discussed going to Publix on the way home so I could run in for a few things while Matt circled in the car w/ the girls but after the Taziki experience I was tired and decided this wasn't a good idea. Matt was insistent that we go and it would be a quick trip and that way I wouldn't have to go w/ the girls...so we go. (Let me interject that Amelia was due for a bottle and B was way overdue for sleep)

So I run in Publix and come out really excited b/c one of the items I was buying was really expensive and it rang up the wrong price so I got it for free! *Side note* if you buy something at Publix and it rings the wrong price - TELL THEM! If you are right you get it free and the item I was buying was $40!!! :) So...I was coming out of Publix super excited and like smiling from ear to ear looking for Matt...AND HE WAS GONE. I'm talking I looked at every car driving around the parking lot and then every car that was parked (it was 7:15 at night so not a full lot) and he was nowhere. I thought...'ok Ashley he's not crazy...maybe he went to starbucks to get you a nice drink'...but I could see starbucks from where I was and no. So I walked around the parking lot and couldn't find him anywhere. I was also calling him and he wasn't answering so I started to panic. I was starting to think that I was going to be that girl on CNN who's husband disappeared with their kids and I was going to be wanted for their disappearance. I was really starting to go crazy and I dialed my sister...I wasn't sure what I was going to say though..."um...Matt is gone??" or maybe "come get me?" even though she was a state away?!?! What do you say when you walk out of Publix and your loving husband is gone? I don't know...anyway, I then caught a glimpse of the top of our car (I call it the space ship b/c its got a strange top) and start walking very fast towards it.

The closer I get the more I realize that no one is in the front two seats...so I'm like, "maybe that isn't our car"...then I see Brooklyn flailing in the back seat. When I open the door she is hysterically crying and Matt is in the back seat with both the girls. I think, 'oh wow...I barely fit between the two car seats so this must be bad'. So then I realize he's giving Amelia the bottle that was in the diaper bag and I start freaking out b/c I knew the water spilled out and who knows how much water was left for the formula...is that a big deal? I hope not b/c she was chugging away. In the meantime I'm receiving a hysterical Brooklyn from the back seat, and I mean hysterical. Matt said she had been like that since I got out of the car and she could hardly breathe. I seriously thought she was going to puke she was heaving so hard trying to breathe. He said that Amelia started screaming for her bottle and B started screaming in response so he had to pull over and cram himself between the two of them.

So we just sit in the parking lot for about 5 minutes and I realize in order to get home I'm going to have to get her back into her car seat. So I start trying to think of something I can bribe her with...and the only thing I could come up with was my Dr. Pepper...yes...I said Dr. Pepper. If you know me, you know I was desperate b/c B has never had any coke, tea, or sweet drink other than watered down juice. So, that works long enough for me to get her in the car seat but by the time we get out of the parking lot she is wailing again.

Thank the Lord I realize that B would probably calm down with watching YouTube on my phone...so that got us home. It was so sad! She was hiccuping and struggling to breathe the whole way home. Amelia had since calmed down due to her formula milkshake. Matt said we were only missing 1 oz so hopefully that doesn't do anything like cause your baby to grow an extra something.

So...we make it home, get our over-exhausted 2 yr old in bed and put Amelia down. We were really overwhelmed with how Brooklyn reacted to being so tired and maybe hungry? Who knows...so we go to bed thinking the strange night is over.

It pretty much was other than this...at 2:30 in the morning my phone rings. It says Matt is calling me...I automatically think, 'oh, he must have been called in and he's calling me to tell me he's on the way home'...but then I realize he wasn't on call. So I roll over and he's in the bed w/ me...so I say, "um...are you calling me?" and he is like, "WHAT?" in a very sleepy voice. So then I realize that somehow Elle (our dog) has managed to paw at Matt's phone enough to unlock it and call me. What? The dog can now call my cell phone? This is a very weird night...

The end.