Through the Eyes of a Child

Livi's impression of me.

Growing Up Has Perks

When we sold our house in 2005, we had a massive garage sale. I got rid of all my maternity clothes, all of Emma and Landon's clothes, toys, car seats, cribs, strollers and everything else they had outgrown. We were so done having kids.

Fast forward to March of 2006 when we moved into our new home. We have four bedrooms upstairs and we only occupied three. What to do with that extra room? I thought of a few ways to use it, but every night I kept having dreams about it being a nursery. There's no way I can have another baby. I already got my little girl (if you knew my family history on girls, you'd know that was quite the feat) and a perfect little boy. Plus, I was 29 and I wanted to be done having kids by the time I was 30.

Oh yea, and I already sold EVERYTHING.

A month passed and the room stayed empty. I focused my efforts on decorating all the other rooms. Finally, the first part of April, I approached Jeremy about having another baby. He was opposed to it, only because we had already made this decision and with Emma being 3 years old, we were finally out of diapers and able to travel and be more independent...blah, blah, blah.

Okay, fine.

Wait-

He continued with..."but"...

What's that? But what??????

He went on to tell me that as the Mom who would have to carry the baby, and be the primary care taker, it was a decision he would leave up to me.

It took me about a month, but I made up my mind. We would try for three months. That's it. That would still accomplish my goal of having all my kids by the time I was 30. I approached Jeremy with my plan, and he was all for it. I think he figured there is no way we could get pregnant in that short amount of time, and that just guaranteed him a fabulous three months!

So, as Murphy would have it- I got pregnant that same month.

Now I'm getting to the point of this story ;)

I had to buy everything all over again. I hated it. I hated knowing that everything I purchased would be used for such a short amount of time, and then it's just money out the door. I started saving Landon and Emma's clothes, but she was three and he was five, so I knew they wouldn't get used for quite some time. Meanwhile, I bought new clothes every 2-3 months as she outgrew them. Money out the window.

A few days ago, I noticed Livi had another growth spurt and could no longer fit into size 2 (welcome to my world sista). As I went online to do a round of shopping, it hit me that I had Emma's old clothes stashed away. Has it really been that long already?

I got the clothes and tried them on her- and they fit! I couldn't believe how much there was...I never have to buy clothes for Livi again. You have no idea how happy that makes me!

Here is her winter collection. Luckily Emma loved Elmo and Dora at this age, so some of the shirts are still relevant.
Here is her summer stash. I had so many memories of Emma when I was going through these clothes. I can't wait for the weather to warm up so I can see my little cutie in these outfits.

The Conclusion of Emma

Today was jam-packed with fun!

We started the day with Emma's final birthday party with her friends. We rented out a gymnasium and so the kids could just go wild. They had such a blast. Ten six year olds. Wow.

Landon had his Jr. Jazz basketball game and then pictures afterward.

Then we went out to Chili's.

When we got home we put Livi down for a nap and the four of us enjoyed a family movie night with popcorn and candy.

After that, Landon and Jeremy went to see "Mall Cop".

Now I have 14 whole days until Livi's birthday. What am I going to do with all that free time!

Birthday Celebration

Last night we celebrated Emma's birthday. Each year the kids get to choose whatever restaurant they want, and then they get one present to open from all of us.

Emma chose the Mayan. The last time we were there was in October for Landon's birthday. I was fine with the choice because we've been having some 'volume control' issues with Livi and I knew it would entertain her, as well as drown her out. We took a few pictures while waiting to be seated.


Anyway, I guess it changed owners since our last visit and everything was just horrible. So we decided to leave our table and go across the street to Joe's Crab Shack. It was great. The kids had a playground to run around on and they really made Emma feel special by singing to her with a princess tiara. When they started dancing, Livi had to get down and bust a move- she never turns down a good beat. Definitely the perfect place to spend some good family birthday fun.



Now we have just have to get through her party with her friends on Saturday, and that will conclude the 'Week of Emma'.

I heart her.

Sir Landon

Landon's school has a monthly assembly where one student gets to become a "Challenger Knight". The school called and asked us to come to the assembly, but not to tell Landon about it. I was bummed that I couldn't go, but luckily Jeremy could. He took these pictures with his phone, so they aren't the best quality, but I was happy to get whatever I could.

Landon is such a smart and humble kid. He's so good to his friends and loves to be a good student. He came home the other day and said that a girl (to remain nameless- Abbigail) was copying off his paper every time they took a test. He didn't want to tell the teacher because he didn't want to be a tattle-tale, but also felt bad for her that she didn't know the answers.

I'm so proud of the child he is, and the young man he is becoming!

Six Years Old Today

Happy Birthday Miss Emma.

Wow, six years old!

You are an amazing, talented, sensitive,
beautiful, smart, and funny girl.

We are so lucky to know you!

Here are some things about Emma:

She loves to cuddle
She changes outfits several times a day, depending on the event.
Jeremy wanted to name her Ava. I won.
She is the best big sister to Livi.
We are working on being a better sister to Landon.
Her favorite color is pink.
She loves desserts.
She loves school.
Her best friend (today) is Maloreigh.
She wants a cat.
She has a beautiful smile.
She loves to clean.
She is a great friend.

The Week of Emma

This is Emma's Birthday Week. She is turning six on Wednesday, so we decided to do something fun this weekend. We dropped Livi off at the Woods (thanks!) and then went to the live show, Walking With the Dinosaurs. We knew it would be a little loud and scary for Livi, and it was also nice to give our undivided attention to Landon and Emma. It was a great show. The dinosaurs were very realistic and huge! It was very educational as well as entertaining.



Then it was back to Brent and Cheryl's to pick up Livi. Grandpa and Grandma were there, so we decided to stick around to enjoy some good company, as well as Robintino's, Wii Fit, and a present for Emma.




The Week of Emma continues...

My Little Comedian

Yesterday:
Mom: Landon, quit throwing the magnets at the fridge-you're going to hurt it.

Landon: I didn't know the fridge had feelings.


Today:
Landon: Are you making Obama coffee Mom?

Mom: Yup, and it's so good!

Landon: Is there McCain coffee?

Mom: Yes, but I didn't buy it.

Landon: Yea, it's probably too old.

New Neighbors

Living next door to an abandoned house concerns me for various reasons. Some of which being that it decreases our home value, there are weeds creeping into my yard, and the unknown of who will end up living there.

Well, for the last few days, I've noticed some new residents living there so we decided to spy on them.

Here's what I can tell so far:


They keep to themselves...


They always seem nervous...


They sit around a lot...


They eat a lot...


And they are very hairy...

Utes!!

Jeremy and Landon had the awesome opportunity to go to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl. It was a long journey, taking them three airlines, and an entire day to get there. Landon takes it so personally when he goes to a game and they lose, so for his sake, I was hoping for a win.

Thankfully they not only pulled out a win, but completely ran over the Crimson Tide. It was so fun watching it at home knowing my boys were having the time of their lives. In fact, Livi even got into the action...

They were only home for two days from California before they had to fly out again, so by the time they got home, they were completely exhausted...but they had a blast!

Loving Conversations

Emma: Mom, Landon says he's being a zebra, but he doesn't sound like one. What sound does a zebra make?

Mom: I don't know, I guess it's like half horse and half sheep.

Emma: Well he sounds like half-idiot.