Twenty-Ten

TWENTY CHEERS/JEERS about Two Thousand TEN

1 . CHEER: It was cold! We had at least 3 snows and got to build our first snowman.

2. CHEER: The boys turned 2! We had a FUN Elmo-Chic party with the best cake from our dear friend, Lindi.

3. JEER:My precious MeeMaw was given 6 months to live in March after determining she had cancer.

4.CHEER: Spring Break 2010

Time with MeeMaw, a trip to the Houston Zoo, and Houston Livestock and Rodeo

5. CHEER: Michael and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary April 12th. I have been with Michael 10 1/2 years. Wow, a whole decade.

6. CHEER: I turned 25. Again. ;)

7. CHEER: Michael graduated from ACU with his Masters of Divinity! YEA! What a big day! We are so proud of him and the 80+ hours of HARD course work he did to get there.

8. CHEER: In May, my knee was finally up to working out. Boy, I missed working out.

9. JEER: Yes, It is June. We. Are. Still. In. School. I think I can. I think I can.

10. CHEER: Swimming with friends. Both boys are very skittish about the water. Note to self: Hire a babysitter to swim with you next time.

11. CHEER: Family Visit trip to Houston in June. Saw all the family including MeeMaw. Each time is hard because every time we see her, we think it is the last.

12. CHEER: Michael and I have our first trip away from the boys in 2 1/2 years. We went to San Francisco and the Wine Country. FAB-U-LOUS!

13. CHEER: The boys move to the downstairs part of their school to the Downstairs 2s class. Some how they grew up! I was a little tearful.

14. CHEER: In August, I began my 8th year of teaching. WOW! It seems like yesterday I was a little 21 year old with my first Kindergarten class.

15. CHEER/JEER: After climbing out of the crib 3 nights in a row, we brought in the toddler beds. Michael built them and they are so cute. I just have to paint them. I have been saying that for 6 months.

16. CHEER: We started another semester of Kindermusik. In 6 months, they had changed so much and really enjoyed going. They love building letters out of the rhythm sticks and hula hoop time.

17.CHEER: I asked Dylan what he wanted to be for Halloween. "A Donut!" So I said, "Who wants to be a policeman?" Halloween 2010 brought a Donut and a Policeman. I had a lot of fun making the donut!

18. JEER: The days of sleeping through the night are over. Night terrors, bad dreams, and who knows what else has made nighttime very difficult for Michael and me. We are very tired.

19. JEER: Getting close to the 2 year mark of infertility. Lots of heartache and blood work. Finally, the blood work shows I have a hypothyroid. Began meds and more waiting and unanswered questions. UPDATE: Now maybe not hypothyroid...more tests....

20. CHEER:We sat with Santa this year. We told him what we wanted and Santa Came! He brought a basketball goal, chair, and grill for Brody! Dylan was a good boy, too and got a tool bench, tool box, and chair.

TwentyTen had lots of jeers and cheers.

I know that TwentyEleven already has some heartbreaks ahead that I am not ready for. It has some big challenges, too. Potty training being one of those. There will be some changes I am sure. I just continue to TRUST in Him as he continues make our path straight.

Home Bound

Well, I took the plunge right into potty training. I. WAS. NOT. READY. But it was time to at lease give it a go. After a week of cleaning up 2 times the pee and 2 times the poop and having close to 50 pairs of undies...we are slowly making progress.

Dylan went to school and went in the school restroom! We were very excited for him!

I just might be a day away from losing my mind, though.

Can they build it?

YES, THEY CAN!

Dylan the Tool MAN

Handy Brody!

The boys really enjoyed "helping" Daddy change the spark plugs on the truck. They got to use real tools.

They love their Daddy and want to be just like him when they grow up.

(Or Tim the Tool Man!)

One more step

towards independence!

PRE-MISSION

The jump to the beds happened faster than I expected as the jumping OUT of the bed became a dangerous and exhausting ordeal. (Imagine 2 little 2 1/2 year olds in a room, by themselves, for long extended amounts of time. Yes...diapers, clothes, toys, books, everything was everywhere!)

PREPARATION

So it was time to switch it up.

Michael made these FABULOUS little farmhouse beds.

(I still have to paint them.)

TEST MISSIONS

Challenge 1: Lots of getting up,

Challenge 2: talking x 2

Challenge 3: needing me to pat them to sleep

TROUBLESHOOTING

Rollie-Pollie:

Last night Dylan cried out "stuck, stuck, stuck." He had rolled off and rolled under the bed until he got stuck. This happened before when we went to cover them up and Dylan was missing! He had rolled under Brody's bed and was sleeping under it. Or they both roll to the middle and land on the cushy pillow pallet or each other. Last night we went to cover them up and these 2 were cuddle mates!

INDEPENDENCE

Each nighttime mission is a SUCCESS now! They can

*read a clock

* stay in bed and fall asleep

BLAST OFF!

They love their beds and love the responsibility!

Mom Code

Last night we went to Meet the Teacher at the boys' MDO program.

The boys are now in the Downstairs Twos.

And for some strange and odd reason I was the one with butterflies last night.

Maybe it was being downstairs with the "big kids."

Maybe it was Brody's look and leg cling right as we walked in.

Maybe it was seeing the list of birthdays and realizing we were the youngest in the class.

Maybe it was not previously knowing the sweet ladies that will love on my boys this year.

OR...

Maybe it was the PANIC I had seeing that all the kids had monogrammed sleeping mats that rolled up, pillows that attached, and we had the trusty Kindermat from last year. Yes, our pillowcase covers are monogrammed with their name. But it is a pillowcase. Not a fancy, roll-up mat.

Isn't their some sort of code, like a MOM CODE, where you let the new moms to the downstairs know about the in's and out's to MDO.

BUT, REALLY...

It is my little babies are growing up, becoming more independent, and are ready for new experiences; Big Kid Learning Experiences.

Meet the Teacher Night

Back to School

And Back to Blogging.

Well, I am going to try.

I always get excited when you open that new box of crayons.

Each crayon is freshly wrapped, in perfect order, and arranged in simple perfection!

The whiff of new crayons...the scent of a new beginning.

As many crayon boxes are being opened for the first time, I am going to try this again!

It is no secret I love order. And control. Hello...I am a teacher. Seriously, no lie-I had the 96crayon set when I was a girl. I appreciated order and organization so much that I numbered each crayon all the way to 96 and the corresponding space in the case. This was to insure that the rainbow of color was restored to its proper order when ever I used my crayons. 45 had to go back in 45 slot!

It seems like lately that life has my crayons all out of order. Unfortunately, I can't put just put it all in numerical number.

With each new school year brings a new beginning. I am looking forward to some new and unknown and some predictable routines.

When I was a classroom teacher, I always began the year with my students doing a self portrait. It is a great way to measure growth and to visually see the changes that are happening during the year.

So this entry can be my marker for my self portrait. I am looking forward to watching the growth and change my path takes this year.

In honor of the self portrait, these pics are my little guys' pictures they drew the other day.

(Note: They drew this all by themselves while I was cooking dinner! I was so impressed with what they came up with all on their own! They are just 2.5 years old. I am sure this is normal, but I am just being a proud mommy. So go with me.)

Dylan drew a head with 2 eyes and a nose, a body, and a shoe.

Brody drew his head and knowing Brody's art he drew his eyes on top of his head, (the double circles) a body, and shoes.

Missing: a large assortments of colorful eggs

Young Childrens World

Egg Hunt

Daddy & Dylan Daddy & Brody

Easter is a busy day in our house. So...I didn't get a picture with the whole family. Just a really bad pic with me and the boys. They got Easter baskets in the morning complete with some of their favorites: Thomas Fire Truck Trains, Flashcards, Books, Egg Chalk, puzzles, Elmo and "Cars" eggs full of fruit snacks, and Ernie and Oscar stuffed friends. Ernie and Oscar haven't left their sides since!

We had a couple of hunts that day, but I only got pics of our family hunt.

Brody is saying "cheese." :)

BREAK me off a piece of that SPRING BREAK bar!

still catching up from March :)

We took a couple of days and went to Houston for a little Spring Break fun!

Lions, Tigers, Bears, OH MY!

We used our Abilene Zoo Pass and got into the Houston Zoo for FREE! But to get IN to the zoo, was quite a task. It was the BUSIEST I have ever seen it. ALL the parking in Herman Park was full. Not just by the zoo-EVERYWHERE. We parked in the hospital garage (right before they sent someone over to regulate that) and were able to walk across the street and go in the back entrance-no line!

They had a GREAT time! We LOVE animals right now.

ROCKIN' RODEO

Our favorite part of the Rodeo-riding the bus!

Dylan was SO VERY excited to see the tractors! That is a natural, pure JOY smile on his face!

They both had a corn dog (a special occasion thing) and then LOVED Mommy's corn.

This was my favorite part! This mock farm takes you from beginning to end in the farming process.

We planted "seeds" and got to get a pepper. At the end, you "sell" your food at the farmers' market and get "money" to buy a snack. They bought Rice Krispy Treats-the perfect snack.

The Blackeyed Peas were all sold out...and I was SO DISAPPOINTED. SO DISAPPOINTED.

It was still a lot of fun, though.

Spring Break always gives me just a taste of summer and now I am SO ready for summer!

123 Sesame Street

Can you tell me how to get to

2nd BIRTHDAY PARTY?

COME AND PLAY!

HOOPER'S STORE

IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS!

Come and get some yummy treats.

Today's fun brought to you by the letters B and D!

La, La, La, La

ELMO'S WORLD

Let them eat cake!

Everyone needs a best friend like Dorothy.

They LOVE ELMO! While I typically cringe at the character themed parties, I embraced their love and decided on an Elmo-Chic party.

It was the perfect day!