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Here is my disclaimer. Despite the fact that I am married to an incredible software development manager, our laptop sucks. It periodically decides not to cooperate with me. That is what's happening these days. You know what they say, if you are married to an auto mechanic, you'll have a car that won't run. If you are married to a plumber, you'll have problems with your pipes. You get the idea. I am married to a computer guy... of course we have computer problems.
SO.... no pics. Despite my tears... except for maybe one or two that I took with my phone. :) And a few that my friends have shared with me... heck... I might put this together through pieces of this and that, after all. :)
Bailey lost her first tooth on Thanksgiving. It was the front bottom left tooth. She bit an apple to get it loose enough. It was dangling there when she showed me, but I got a little sick to my stomach and flushed in the face when I thought about pulling it. So, Brad had to come to the rescue. He pulled it easily and she was thrilled. We put it under her pillow. The tooth fairy left her $5. She was so adorable and so excited about it all. She had been dying to lose her first tooth. I had heard about it for weeks. And, then, all of a sudden, it was loose. Within just a few days, she had wiggled it enough to pull. Now, of course, she is pushing and pulling on the other ones, waiting to pull the next one. :)
Speaking of Brad coming to the rescue, he apparently gets the Dad of the Year award for packing Sour Patch Kids in Bailey's lunch on Tuesday. Because of Jake's wonderful eye-in-the-nose endeavor, Brad was stuck with the task of packing Bailey's lunch and getting her to school. When I stopped in Bailey's class, amidst the fundraiser wrap up that afternoon, she waved really big and proclaimed, as if it were a miracle, "Mom! Dad packed me Sour Patch Kids in my lunch!!!!" Super Dad For Sure.
Jake went to preschool for two weeks straight without crying at drop off. We have no idea what happened. He just decided one day that he was going to stop being so difficult. He reminds me now, too, that he loves his teachers. I'm so relieved.
However, when you win one battle with Jake, you are going to lose another one. Jake is being increasingly difficult at home. I don't know what to do with him some days. He just repeats demands at me. For instance, today, he decided that he wanted to have orange juice. I told him I would give him juice once he cleaned up his toys. He refused to clean and then chanted repeatedly for at least 20 minutes, "I want orange juice." Seriously, I thought I would strangle him. This is happening more and more. My stubbornness is going to win out. I'm not going to deal with him being such a brat. There's no reason for it. :) Remind me of that when you see me giving in, please.
While I am complaining about Jake, I also need to recognize how much better he is doing at writing and drawing and basically just attempting to do these things. He's actually trying. Sometimes. Not always. More than before, which is really good. He and Brad actually colored his Gingerbread house a few days ago. I can't seem to get Jake to draw and color, but Brad can. Super Dad, again. :) I'm not complaining. I'm thrilled that he's taking the interest in trying it and that Dad is there to make it happen.
Bailey, on the other hand, is writing on everything. I found that she has held up her doll, Violet, to the wall and measured her. There is now a mark for Violet on the growth chart with the words (At birth, March 2009). LOL. Yes, I was aggravated at first. Then, I laughed so hard that there was no way I could say anything to her. That's incredibly adorable. And, no I have not scrubbed it off the wall. It's too cute to erase.
She also is enjoying writing on paper. And spelling is coming along. It's really not something that they are focusing on at school yet. They have site words that they need to recognize and spell, but they don't do other spelling words or anything yet. However, they write in their journals and other various things at school and they are working on sounding out and spelling words on their own. When I saw this:
I thought I would cry. It was so cute. It's a keeper, for sure. Here's the translation:
Dear Santa,
I want a Blizzard Maker and a Kinect and Dolly clothes and a American Girl doll.
Love Bailey. Please.
:) I can't begin to tell you my favorite parts... because it's all perfect. :) Well, except that she's got champagne taste on a beer budget. But oh well.... she got that one honest.
Jake tells me Merry Christmas almost every day. He's just a little excited about what's coming this year. He thinks he's getting everything in the toy store. Sadly, I think he's getting everything in the toy store, too.
I have to re-do Jake's room and get him a big boy bed. If you have one you want to give us, please let me know. In all seriousness, if you have a bed for sale, please let me know. Or if you have any superhero stuff you want to get rid of, we are apparently designing his room to be a combination of Batman, Spiderman, Buzz Lightyear, Iron Man, Hulk, etc. etc. etc. I am going to have to be very creative here. I think I can handle it. I think. Any suggestions? Send them my way. :) I had already written this part prior to our kids' great playdate at Jackson and Carson's house. After Jake saw Jackson's room, he reminded me that he hates his room and that he IS NOT a baby. :)
Compliments of Dawn - here is a pic of our great little rotten children during their playdate:
I have the most beautiful ballerina daughter in the world. Our experience with the Nutcracker this year was fabulous. I guess it really helped that I was a beaming mommy of the prettiest honey fairy ever. Of course I am not biased! How could you suggest that?! :) It was a lot of fun to see Bailey up there... to watch her getting nervous and excited all at the same time. I will never forget the feeling I had at the pit of my stomach when I heard the music start on her portion. I thought I might puke. I was so proud when she came out (even though she looked a little lost - hehe). But, she did it. I can't thank our wonderful friends and family enough for being there for her (and us). Jake spent the entire performance asleep in my parents' laps... he completed the evening by peeing all over himself and my mom. Poor little guy was completely embarrassed... I felt horrible for him (and my mom!). All in all, it was a great evening.
I am super-extremely-sad that my laptop is holding photos from this performance. Photos that I can't get to in order to post. Damn computers.
Thank God for friends... and again, compliments of Dawn, here are a couple of our honey fairy. More will come, Lord willing. :)
Cooking family dinner for Christmas was fun. It was hard work, but I really enjoyed having everyone at the house and eating a great dinner together. Notice I said great dinner. :) Yes, I used many recipes of the Pioneer Woman, and I pulled it off. Yum. I'm hungry just thinking about it.
Cold weather. It has been here and more is coming. Christmas is so close. And, it occurred to me this morning that we had yet to complete one of our family traditions... Southern Lights at the Kentucky Horse Park... and (GASP) the kids had not seen Santa for their annual photo.
We made it happen tonight, after a busy day. We had finished up some last minute details shopping. Bailey, Jake, and I shared lunch at Applebee's (where, I will have you know, kids eat free on Wednesdays!!!!). Brad had a work luncheon to go to, so we justified it easily. :) Anyway, we made a point to take the kids to Southern Lights tonight, despite the freezing temperatures. It was worth it. We thought we'd crack up when Jake asked where Peter Pan was. He remembered him from last year... he even described the lights and the crocodile and Captain Hook. It amazes me what they recall from year to year that you completely forget about. Bailey told us that Santa's beard was fake. She decided that he is one of Santa's helpers. This kid is way too smart. I don't know how we will keep it all going for years to come. Maybe we should go ahead and take her to Disney before she completely loses interest in all things fantasy. But, then again, I don't think taking another mortgage on our house is in the plans. lol.
We have had a completely full and wonderful December. I've stressed over the smallest of things... and still am in some ways... and have spent some of the most fun and incredible times with family and friends. It's only beginning... the next few days will bring some of the most wonderful, magical times for our kids. I can't wait. Well, actually, I can. I need to do a few things, first. :) Who can wait to see this though?
It's been so hectic that I've only run once since Thanksgiving. But that didn't stop me from pulling the trigger and registering for a half marathon in April. Do you know how insane I feel? Do you know how much I wanted to throw up when I hit the register button? I was talking to Bailey about it at lunch today, because, yes, we are at that point in life where I can actually talk to her about these things, and I said that I hadn't run in a long time and that I really needed to. She was so cute when she swallowed her food, held her hands up in the air, shook her head from side to side, and said, "Well, mom, then, you just need to go run. We can hang out with dad." :) God, I love my kids.
As I re-read this post, my OCD, right-sided brain is suffering. I can't stand that this is so completely out of chronological order and that I'm writing things in such an unorganized manner. However, I am leaving it. It really does seem to have some sense of chaos, which is really what I've felt like lately. Everything has been sporadic... chaotic... December. That's what I'm going to start calling these times. December. It's now an adjective. When I feel stressed, I'm now saying, "I feel December."
:)
Merry Christmas. Hug your loved ones. Don't stress about the little things. Who cares if the shirt fits or is the wrong color. Remember that it's all about loving your family, spending time with them, and remembering why we are all so blessed.
John 3:16.
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