So grown up...

I know how fast children grow up. Remember I have a 13 year old! Look how handsome he is!

It was different with Draven. Draven and I grew up together. We were kids together. At that time it seemed like we would both be young forever. Now he is a teenager and I am a thirty something mother of two. I find my thirties to be the best time of my life and I think that Draven is enjoying the beginning of his teen years. Now Lillie on the other hand... it seems like yesterday when we were checking to see if she really was small enough to fit in a shoebox. She was.

We had Sooner Start come out today. She confirmed what we already knew. Our child is a genius. She even used that word "genius." Ok, so maybe she was humoring us a bit. But, she did say that Lillie was tracking at a 12 month level. Wow! According to Sooner Start she should be measuring around 9 months when you factor in her tough beginnings. She just looked so grown up today. Lillie is up to 18 1/2 pounds! Not only does she look like a one year old (a small one year old) she is almost the size of one. Today she wore "real" jeans, a hoodie, and shoes. Kid clothes, not baby clothes. We went shopping together and she actually wanted toys. Luckily she wanted the toys that I bought her for Christmas. She took steps towards Kim during Sooner Start. Kim (with Sooner Start) thinks she will be walking within a month easily. Lillie gets excited about things and knows what she likes. She finally has a personality and it is pretty darn cute. She loves her kitty kitties, snow globes, and her big brother is the funniest person she knows. Tonight I was rocking her after her bath and I didn't want to put her to bed. I feel like I need to hold on to her as long as I can. I guess we all grow up. It just happens way to fast.

I'm back...

Yes the strike is over. I would of posted sooner but I had a lot going on. Friday Chris and I had a date night. We had two Christmas parties to go to. The first one was a neighborhood party and the second was a party at a friend's house from church. The second party was a blast. There were tons of people there and we made some new friends. My sister watched our kids that night so we could stay out late and sleep in. We got home around 1am and tried to watch a movie. It had subtitles so I quickly feel asleep. I was hoping to sleep through the night since Lillie wasn't home. Didn't quite work out. I woke up every couple of hours out of habit. I was very restless. The next morning I picked up the kids and got ready to take my sister's kids for the night. Of course I don't have any pictures of Chris and I dressed up on our date night. But, I have pictures of the sleepover. Draven and Brooke did so well together and Kate and Lillie had fun as well. We started off with a walk to feed the ducks at OU medical. No ducks. We came back home and Kate and Uncle Mouse cooked dinner. The kids decided to watch Meet Dave (no, I do not recommend this movie. It is B-A-D!) Everyone slept so well that night and woke up in great moods. We had a big breakfast and story time. That was about it. All very simple, no big plans, we just hung out and had a great time.

I AM ON STRIKE!

I know people read my blog. At least they say they do. It is pretty depressing when you post a cute video and not one comment. So here's the challenge. No more posts until I receive 10 comments (no duplicate users.) For those of you out there that don't have a user name to post a comment... figure it out. It is pretty darn easy. I think all you have to do is come up with a user name and pass word. It's not brain surgery folks. Let me know you are reading and maybe I will be more inspired. If I know people are reading I will work harder on my posts, promise. My first recruit is my husband. The man refuses to get an email address ever since cox suspended his account. He wouldn't update his password with letters and numbers. Now he will have to get a new address so he can post comments about his cute kids and wife!
Yes, this may sound a lot like begging... because it is.

Lillie says da da...

Lillie started saying Da Da around Thanksgiving. The trick is to catch her saying it on camera. I have the rare footage here.

Catch up time again...

So once again I have to cram a bunch of stuff in one big post. I don't feel like blogging too much. Chris is putting Lillie to bed and Draven is in the shower. I don't won't to miss out on my "me time" by blogging. I guess that is really the only time I get to blog. Before I forget I want to do a few Lillie updates. She is finally eating better. She will eat just about anything, but still not sleeping worth a flip. I think it is easier to just bring her in bed with us then get up 5 times a night. Yes, we are really getting up 4-5 times a night with her. We stopped getting her out of her crib and just pat her on the back and till her to go back to sleep. The crying last for about an hour (with us checking on her every 5-10 minutes) then she sleeps for another hour or less and we are at it again. I took a nap with her today in my bed. That went well. I think that when she wakes up tonight I will bring her in our bed. I know it is a bad habit, but nothing is worse than feeling tired all the time. It is catching up to us both. On a happier note... Lillie is officially saying "da da." I have to take some credit. I knew that was easier than ma ma so I have been coaching her. She has it down but acts shy when I ask her to do it in front of people. Ok... on to the holidays and photos. It has been so long I don't remember details. Hopefully the pictures will help.

This was Lillie's first Thanksgiving. Chris and I agreed that it would be easier for us to do dinners with our families separately than to rush around and try to do both. I got the kids. Here's a picture of Brooke and Draven showing Kate and Lillie how to do our family tradition. The two youngest have to make what we call "the baby job pies." It is pudding in a graham cracker pie crust with cool whip. Yum! This is Kate's second year and Lillie's first.


Me kissing my baby.

Lillie loved her baby job pie. Notice the snot mixed in with the pudding. Nice.

Since we didn't get to spend Thanksgiving together as a complete family we spend Friday together. We went shopping, then to Bass Pro for a Santa visit. Lillie was not a fan, but she did ask for her barn and animals.

The huge bear was much less frightening than Santa.

After Bass Pro we went down the canal to view the Christmas lights and see the Christmas tree. It was a perfect beginning to the Christmas season.



Yesterday we spent the day putting up our Christmas decorations. Turned out really well. I will post with pictures soon.

Welcome Home Hazel!

Today Auntie Lo and Uncle Al brought home their new baby girl. I wanted to share the news earlier but decided to wait till she was home. Lillie and I got the call about 2pm today that we could come home over and meet her. Lillie was excited to meet her bbff (baby best friend forever.) I was so excited to hold a new soft and snuggley baby. She is just so precious! She seemed to be taking in all of her new surroundings. She didn't fuss a bit, but wouldn't sleep. She couldn't keep her eyes off her Mommy and Daddy. I feel so lucky that I got to meet her and luck forward to many walks in the park with her and her mommy.
Hazel and her Daddy.

Cute little Hazel. She is just so sweet!

I wasn't sure if I wanted to cry or laugh. I was so excited and happy. There is nothing better than holding a new baby. Of course, except for holding my old baby.

Lillie checking out Hazel. I think she was glad that she was smaller than her. She is a tiny new baby. Lillie looks big for the first time in her life.

Mommy and baby. She loves looking at her Mommy.

Us girls.

Tagged?

Ok, Honestly I have no idea what this means. I do know that I am supposed to write 6random facts about myself. That sounds easy enough.
1. I always follow the rules. Even the littlest rule breaking makes me a nervous wreck. If I am to stand behind the yellow line, I do it. If it says "No Parking," well then... I won't park. I even drive the speed limit, make a complete stop at stop signs, and always use my turn signal (even in my drive way.) No matter how silly the rule I always follow it because I hate to get in trouble. Deep down I am a Goodie Two Shoes.
2. I am always on time. I hate to be late and even showing up somewhere on time is late to me. I am too early most of the time and have to drive around before I show up places. I get that from my father.
3. I hate mustard. I love all food and don't think of myself as a picky eater, but I hate mustard!
4. I started smoking when I was 16 years old. I quit in June of 2007 when I found out I was pregnant with Lillie. It was the best thing I ever did and I am so proud of myself!
5. I would like to move to another country for a few years so my children can experience other cultures like their father did when he was young. I think it makes for a well rounded person.
6. I got married when I was 18 and divorced at 23. Soon after I met Chris. He actually did my divorce because the lawyer I hired was incompetent and expensive. Till this day I wonder why someone didn't try to talk me out of getting married. I was a stupid kid.
The end.