Layla Grace

All I can think about tonight is Layla Grace. Her life story has touched me so deeply, and tonight I feel so much grief for her family and friends. I can only say that I am thankful to Layla and her parents for reminding me of what a special privilege it is that the Lord has entrusted me with two of his children. I feel ashamed for every time I have lost my patience and for every moment that I have taken them for granted. My deepest desire is to be the type of parent that God is to us all. Impossible, but definitely something to strive for. This is an awesome responsibility, and I pray that I never forget to cherish every. single. moment. God bless us all, and may Layla Grace rest comfortably in the arms of our Father.

Cuties in Ketchup

Yesterday was the perfect day for lunch on the patio. Sunny, breezy and beautiful. So, after the Y we went straight to the backyard and played, listened to music and the kids enjoyed their lunch of chicken nuggets and "cutie" oranges. Noah will not eat any type of meat unless there is ketchup involved. Penelope decided she wanted ketchup, so I put a little squirt on her plate. She then proceeded to dip her little cutie orange slices into the ketchup and devour them one by one. And it. was. just. perfect.

Where's the dignity??

Okay, so life is about balance, right? There are the moments that you just can't wait to blog about. And then there are moments like today, when Noah pooped in his Lightning McQueen underwear. In an effort to have as little contact with the poop as possible, I positioned him in front of the toilet so I could just pull the underwear down and dump the poop directly in. Nice and neat, right? Well, that plan backfired on me. Or should I say, backsplashed. Directly onto my face. Yep. Life is good. I won't be posting a picture of this. You can thank me later.

An Early Visit

Family Portraits

Okay so now that our Christmas cards have been delivered, I can post the link to our family portrait sneak peek. Laura worked her magic in spite of two pint-sized subjects who were not taking direction very well. And that's putting it mildly! Check them out at Studio Bloom Photography Blog. Thanks again, Laura!

November/December Catch-up...

Wow. November and December have literally gone by in a blur. Not that I'm making excuses for neglecting the blog, just sayin...

Thanksgiving was wonderful, made especially sweeter by a visit from Miss Nyla, Paulie and Yvette from New York. The kids are growing, learning and changing with each passing day. Penelope is picking up more words constantly. One of her favorites is "baby" which sounds more like "baybay." She loves to pick up any kind of doll or toy and hug it tight while she rocks it. She is sweet as honey. She's really into giving kisses, and even makes the "Muah" sound when she puckers up. She watches and mimics a lot of what big brother is doing, including sitting on the potty and turning her face away from us when we try to feed her. She much prefers feeding herself and is quite skilled with her utensils, thank-you-very-much!

Mr. Big Boy Underpants Noah is now only wearing diapers at night...!!! It's still a work in progress and he still fights me on it daily, but at this point I'm grateful for any small victory. I just have to breathe, and remember he's three... :) Noah loves Spongebob and pretty much all superheros... Wolverine, Hulk and Batman top the list. His favorite play activities now are either playing superheros, or pretending that we're running away from sharks. Boys will be boys!'

Noah's pronunciation of Penelope's name has really evolved. First it was "Ah-pee," and then it becamse "En-uh-pee" and now he has shortened it to "Enna" which I think is a cute little nickname. I wonder if it will stick?

We are really looking forward to Christmas as we do every year. This is the first year that Noah actually understands about the holiday. He loves pointing out Christmas trees and lights wherever we go. He sort of gets the whole Santa thing, and definitely understands about the gifts under the tree. Penelope is just happy to take ornaments off the tree every day. I find them EVERYWHERE.

Well that's November and December in a nutshell. I am not going to make any promises, but I will try to get another post in before year-end. Merry Christmas!


Miss Sassy Pants.
Pucker up, buttercup!

And one for you...Tandem bike riding.

The world's tiniest snowman on our Texas Blizzard day. He enjoyed the snow so much!

I found her just like this in the a.m. Houdini #2 in the making?

Striking a pose on Thanksgiving Day.

Can I get some help here? Anyone?

Fun with boxes.

His new friend, Lizard. This had to be the most chilled out lizard I ever met. It was perfectly content just hanging out on Noah's hand. He was crushed when it was time to let Lizard "go home to his mommy and daddy."

Better late than never! As promised, here are snaps of my oh-so-adorable sea creatures on Halloween. Penny the Octopus and Shark Noah.

The Latest and Greatest

A couple of birthday parties...

Even superheroes need some play time.

He decided to take his nap in this spot...

Snack Time!!!

Penelope's first steps.

Just me, my Radio Flyer and the open road.

Peek-a-boo!

Happy birthday to Penelope!

Okay, so October has officially been a month of transformation and growth! The kids and I joined Aunt Gail, Uncle Bill and Aunt Donna for a lovely, relaxing vacation in Cape Hatteras during the last week of September. It was the best of times. We enjoyed it so much and I feel like I came home with different kids. I just love the milestones that have been reached by both of them. Goodness!

We celebrated Penelope's first birthday on September 24th. She took her first steps in Hatteras, but it was just over a week ago that she actually understood. One night, she just started walking around the room and was so excited that she didn't want to stop. It's so new that I am still a little surprised to see her walking into a room with that proud smile on her face. I am so excited for her. It is amazing to see the wonders of life through the eyes of my children.

Noah has lost all traces of shyness and is now in full preschooler mode. He is very social, never hesitating to speak to people everywhere we go. He loves making friends at the park. It's cool to see the change in him and I'm proud of him for having the confidence to be as friendly as he is.

This next thing, I'm SUPER excited about. It is something I have dreamed of, prayed for and lost pretty much all hope that it would ever happen. I even blogged about it prematurely (my version of the MISSION ACCOMPLISHED banner). But tonight, dear readers, NOAH USED THE POTTY!!!!!!! And I mean he really used it. Not just a few drops. And he was very excited. I know, I've already used the word "excited" like, a million times in this post. But seriously, it is all so exciting! There is no turning back this time. No relapsing. We are potty training! Oh, sorry. Potty learning. Must remember the PC term. :)

We went to Dewberry Farm yesterday and picked out pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. I wish I had photos to post but unfortunately we didn't realize our camera battery was dead until it was too late. I will, however, post one last photo of the pumpkins that we came home with. I can honestly say it's the best collection of pumpkins we've had so far. We are looking forward to Halloween this weekend, and I'll be sure to post pics of my munchkins in their costumes. I won't reveal what they are, but I promise it's going to be way cute. Stay tuned!