Princesa home 6 months and some Matthewspeak

It's hard to believe that our sweet princesa has been home for 6 months, but alas, today's the day! We've stayed home all day today to put up the Christmas tree, watch movies, work on Christmas cards, and watch the Bedlam football game (OU/OSU--it oughtta be a great game--may the best team win--that would be the Cowboys, if you're wondering!). She has played all day, wrestling with her critterboy brother and walking as far as her little legs will carry her! Here's a picture from the day we got home with her, and one from today, playing with bubba.

There's a tooth! Finally! Can you see it?

Since so much has been said about Miss Priss Pants lately, it's time to give the wild man his share of blog time. We'll start with his 3 year picture, which was taken a few weeks ago, nearly 6 months after his actual birthday. I LOVE this picture of him, although I'm sad that he looks so grown up. I'm not sure who took my baby boy and replaced him with this amazing little man!

What a handsome kid, huh?

The next picture was taken the day before Thanksgiving when I was letting him help me mix up the pumpkin pie filling. If you know me well, you know that I always think I can do things better, faster, and easier if I do them myself. As a mom, though, I know I'd be depriving my kids of the joys of being a kid if I didn't let them "help" me, so I grit my teeth and watch the messes happen. You'd be happy to know that it is getting much easier for me to accept non-perfection. I didn't even move the ornaments that he put on the tree all in one cluster, and don't get me started on the fact that they don't match the color scheme of the tree, but I digress . . . Personally, I think the pumpkin pie tasted better because my little guy stirred it up! He also helped with the dressing by crumbling the cornbread for me. He's so fun to work with, and didn't even really make a mess this time. Maybe we've finally turned that corner . . .

As the critterboy continues to grow his vocabulary, which is HUGE by the way, he comes up with the most hilarious things to day. For instance, when he is racing someone, he says "I'm going to beat them up!" meaning he's going to beat them. Similarly, when he is behind someone and wants to catch up, he says "I'm going to catch them up!" Yesterday, after being put in the car for the 8,000th time while we were shopping, he complained that his car seat straps were too tight (also for the 8,000th time!). Daddy-o had already gotten behind the wheel when the whining began, so he got out, opened the back door, and, not very nicely said "Jesus!" (he doesn't ever say this in frustration, so I'm not sure where it came from . . .) The wild man looked puzzled and said "I'm not Jesus daddy. I'm not Mary and Jesus." We just about died laughing. Daddy-o knows not to say that anymore, too, since the critterboy is not, in fact, Jesus. He talks pretty much non-stop (not sure where he gets that from--I'm very quiet--hee hee!), and amazes me with his 3 and a half year old wisdom.

We took him to see Madagascar 2 a few weeks ago and left sissy priss with grandma and grandpa for the afternoon. He kept asking where sissy is, and was worried that we'd lost her somewhere. When we went to pick her up, he said "Sissy! I'm so glad to see you!" Such a sweet bubba! When he knows he's just about to go to time out, or knows that he's worn out our patience, he will look at us sweetly and say "Mommy (or daddy)? I like you. You're my best friend!" Lately he's even started saying "I love you mommy" without me saying it to him first. Yes, he's finally starting to grow up.

I love these kids with all my heart. Even on the teething, no nap, whining, nutso days we have more often than not, I just love them so much!

Yesterday we had the pleasure of meeting Claudia and her "May 2005 baby" A yesterday afternoon. I "met" Claudia on a birth club message board in late 2005, and we've been reading each others blogs for quite awhile. Claudia's family lives not far from us, so she made the drive to visit while in town for Thanksgiving. We had a great visit, the kids played (not together, just in the same room!), and we all went to dinner. I love meeting blogger pals in person, and I'm so happy that she took time out from her visit with family to come see us. If you've never read her blog, you should bookmark it! Just click on her name above, or "Alabaster Mom" in my bloglist on the sidebar. Mark my words--she'll have her writing published someday! Claudia, you have a beautiful little girl--thanks again for allowing us the pleasure of finally meeting you! (I didn't ask if I could post the pics, but if she says it's okay, I'll add them later.)

Here are a few more pics to hold you over until next time!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have so much to be thankful for this year. Here goes my "short list", since the full list would take days to share:

• My beautiful children. What an amazing blessing it is to have all of us under the same roof today. My wild man and princesa mean so much to me, and I can't imagine my life without either of them.
• My wonderful husband, who listens when I babble and ramble, comforts me when I'm sad, and loves me even though I can be a real pain in the tushie! He is my best friend, and I am so lucky to have him in my life. By the way, this is our 15th Thanksgiving together!
• God. My faith and patience have been tested beyond measure in the last year or so, and both have grown stronger. We are finally finding a church that we'll likely call home, and I can't wait to grow closer to Him and find more ways to serve Him as we continue on this path.
• My sweet princesa's birthmom. Without her I wouldn't have this amazing, strong willed, beautiful baby girl to call my daughter.
• Our jobs, even though there are always days that we'd both rather be at home. We are so blessed to have a job at all, and the fact that we are both able to provide for our family is priceless.
• Our wonderful friends, old and new. In the last year I have met so many people that have touched my life, and have renewed friendships with many who are far away. For the first time in many years, I can say that my cup runneth over with friends, and I couldn't be happier about that!

The list could go on and on. Right now we're all still in our jammies, but the turkey is in the oven and the house is already starting to fill with the smell of yummy things to come. In a few hours we'll be joined by a few other family members for a wonderful (I hope!) meal and fellowship. Like all our gatherings, it will probably be loud, with lots of people talking at the same time! Tonight we'll put up the Christmas tree and let the kids help. What a wonderful year it's been for our family. Blessings to all--Happy Thanksgiving!

Birthday bash pictures, as promised!

Here's the scoop on the big bash that celebrated la princesa's first birthday:As is tradition in our house, the guest of honor refused to nap. Pretty much everytime we have something planned, one or both kids refuses sleep. It was a rough start to the day, to say the least. I actually dreaded the party time of 4:00pm, since I could smell a disaster waiting to happen. But, here's one way my kids are different--my sweet birthday princess was all smiles and giggles once the guests started to arrive, 30 minutes early--yikes! I had actually just put on a bra for the first time all day about 15 minutes before people started ringing the doorbell, and I still didn't have makeup on, princesa dressed, etc.

Seriously, she was the best birthday girl EVER! She sat still to open the mountain of presents (um, yeah, too much stuff, but all very much appreciated!), worked the room with her adorableness, and didn't freak out about her cake (which I made, by the way!). She didn't get overwhelmed at all. I was one happy mama. We crammed 22 people in our house for this shindig--I'm still not sure how! Here are the pictures that tell the rest of the story:

Gimme that bow! (No applause neccesary, but I made her shirt AND hairbows--I said no applause . . .) :)

I don't get what all the fuss is about, so I'll just lounge in mommy's lap while she does all the work.

More stuff? For little ol' me?

How many kids fit around the busy box, you ask? That would be five . . .

Mommy, la princesa, and Grandma

The family

Yep, I made the cakes! Not my best work, but pretty anyway.

Birthday bubba sneaking some icing before the "cake segment" began

"So I'm SUPPOSED to grab this and stick it in my mouth? No way--I'll just touch it, thank you."

Mommy's sleepy little birthday girl after all the fun.

It was a great birthday. Our last guests left at almost 8pm, so it was a fun filled day (and evening!). It was great to see some of our far-away friends and family that we miss so much, and great to be in the company of new friends and close family as well. A day to remember, to be sure!

FFF - For crying out loud!

The theme of this week's Fav Foto Friday is "for crying out loud"! We all take pics of our kids with their sweet smiling faces, but rarely to we think to catch their crocodile tears! Here's one from just the other day--I was trying to get a cute picture of la princesa in her new outfit from Nana, but she wasn't about to show me that amazing smile. As a matter of fact, this is the more common theme in our house these days--whatever mommy wants, the kids do just the opposite! She's so beautiful, even hiding behind those big 'ole tears, though, isn't she?

For more Fav Foto Friday pics, click HERE . I promise to get pics from the big birthday bash up this weekend, so don't give up on me!

Referral-versary

One year ago today we saw the sweet face of the baby girl who was to become our daughter for the very first time. We knew we were getting close to the big day, but didn't know just when the call would come. On the afternoon of November 20, 2007, we got the long awaited call from our coordinator, Tonya that we had a baby girl. She was 6 days old, healthy, and beautiful! I was determined that Mark and I would open the pictures at the same time, but gosh, it seemed like it took forever for my computer at work to let them through the email system! Finally, several long minutes later, we laid eyes on our beautiful girl. It was an indescribable feeling. I wanted to cry, but I was just so happy that I couldn't wipe the smile from my face!

Obviously this day one year ago changed many lives forever. The weeks and months that followed both crept and flew by. The days we waited seemed so long at the time, but looking back, it was no time at all. This is just one of many days that are forever etched in my memory. A day I'll always look back on as one of the happiest days of my life. Happy one year referral-versary, Miss Priss Pants! I love you!

Happy 1st Birthday Princesa!

Happy First Birthday my beautiful girl! I can’t begin to describe how much you’ve changed my life. It seems as if you’ve always been with me, if only in my heart. You’re the perfect daughter for your daddy-o and me, and the greatest little sister to your big bro. I love having you in my life, sweet girl, and I hope you love being here just as much.

What a year it’s been! Here are the latest, greatest happenings in the life of the world’s newest one year old:

This little wild woman is standing alone quite a bit, and will “cruise” around anything she can pull up on. And, she took her first tiny steps alone last night! Woo hoo! There's no stopping her now! She has a fiery temper if she doesn’t get what she wants, but is also the sweetest little snuggle bunny. She loves to play peek-a-boo and make all kinds of silly noises with her mouth. She says dada pretty often, and will occasionally say mama, but it’s more like mamamamamama, but it counts in my book! She still loves to pull every book off the shelf and sit in the pile of them while she analyzes every page. She loves to play in bubba’s room, since that’s where all the fun boy toys are. She is as rough and tumble as her big brother, and often wrestles him (and mommy and daddy!) to the ground in a fit of giggles. She has one volume: LOUD! J Still no teeth, but just as before, it doesn’t stop this little eater from packing away the food! She moved up to the “creeper” room at daycare, and has amazing teachers who dote on her all day long. They love to fix her hair, and they say they are always excited to see what she’ll be wearing every day, especially the hair bows! It’s been so wonderful to watch her grow and progress these last six months (can you believe she’s been home for 6 months on the 29th of this month?!). She is truly a gift from God and I consider our family blessed beyond words to have her part of the fun.

Today, with all of the happiness and sheer joy I feel to have been chosen to raise such an amazing, beautiful, smart, and perfect baby girl, I know that my sweet baby’s birth mom is feeling something far less joyful. I pray that she can feel, across the miles, just how much her baby girl is loved and find peace and happiness in that. It’s bittersweet, really. I can’t begin to imagine what memories this day holds for her first mom. I think about her often, but especially today. I will be forever grateful to her for creating this amazing baby girl I call my daughter.

Feliz cumpleanos mi amor. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us this year!

Pictures!

There aren't many new happenings to report, so I thought I'd overload you with pics of my precious kiddos! We had our first professional pics done over the weekend and for the most part, they turned out great! It's definitely more challenging to keep two kids interested in the camera than it was with just one, but surprisingly we got a few keepers of them together and the whole family too!

And a few random cutenesses . . . .

Hmm, I wonder what's in my daycare bag?

Let me get a closer look . . .

Maybe if I get IN the bag I can find the good stuff!

My little mohawk man

My bathing beauty! The spike of hair I had created on top of that sweet head had fallen over by the time I got the camera--bummer! She looked like Cindylu-hoo!


I can't believe my baby girl will be ONE on Friday! The big b-day bash is Saturday afternoon, so lots more pics to come in a few days.

Can it really be November?

I know I say this alot, but time flies! We hope everyone had a great October and a Happy Halloween!

We started the big "Trick or Treat" night out with a stop and our fav chicken joint, Chick-Fil-A. We're super cheapskates, and they were giving all kids in costume a free kids meal, so we HAD to go! Critterboy was Iron Man, and an adorable one at that. It made me remember the day of my ultrasound when we heard them say, "well, it's most likely a boy, but he's not letting us get a good look." I was so sad that day. I just knew were going to have a girl and hadn't even begun to look at anything blue. Well, fast forward almost 4 years and I can't imagine NOT having this little guy with the awesome muscle chested costume. I mean seriously, princess dresses and girly stuff are pretty, but there's not much cuter than a little guy in a muscle chest superhero jumpsuit! Check him out!

The baby girl of the house was a poodle. Not my first choice of costume, but I was convinced it would be cold like last year (um, no, try 80 degrees!), so I nixed the 50's girl idea (I even had the felt and the poodle applique all ready to make the skirt :( ). We happened to be at Old Navy the day their costumes were all marked down to $5.00, and being the super cheapskates we are, decided on the poodle costume. Here's the deal--this girl looks so adorable in anything she wears, now including a poodle costume. I just felt so bad for her because it was so hot and we had to keep taking the top on and off to put her in her car seat. Anyway, this little pink poodle just couldn't be tamed, even though she didn't feel well!

Our first candy stop was a trunk or treat at a church, which oddly enough now occupies the building that was once a home improvement store where the hubby and I met almost 15 years ago when we both worked there. The little guy had been practicing his "Trick or Treat . . . . thank you!" and did great with it. They had about 50 cars all decked out with decorations. Oh yeah, and handfuls of candy. Yes, handfuls. Every car just loaded us up--I had to tell them, "just one please!" about a hundred times. Then, my picky little critterboy decided he would ask all the people if they had tootsie rolls. Yeah, just give him tootsie rolls and put that Snickers in my pumpkin bucket! Darn that Weight Watchers leader for telling us that every fun size candy bar is 2 points. That's crazy! How am I supposed to get my candy fix when I only get 23 points per day?? hee hee On our way out, we saw our friends the Garcia's! It was great to see them again. Their kids were adorable in their costumes, especially Jenna!

Then we were off to the home of one of daddy-o's co-workers who we visit every year on H-day. We scored tons more candy and fun from them and their neighbors, then finally headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house for more loot. I'm glad the wild man can't read, because I'd hate for him to know that we've hidden most of the candy he worked so hard for. He may or may not ever see it again. It's a good thing he can't spell, too, because I spelled P-A-N-T-R-Y to daddy-o about five thousand times when trying to tell him where I was putting it!

Oh yeah, I need to back up a bit. Last weekend we all came down with colds. We took both youngin's to the doctor on Monday. Antibiotic for the little man and nothing for sissy priss since there wasn't anything really wrong other than a cold. Then Tuesday, I drug myself to the doctor, and sure enough, another sinus infection. One steriod shot to the hiney and a z-pack later, I'm doing alot better. Daddy-o, who is hacking up a lung as I type this, still hasn't made an appointment for himself. Anyway, Wednesday as I was shuttling the youngin's to daycare, I felt kind of loopy. I hadn't slept well and didn't feel quite right, and I'm convinced it was the steroid shot that made me all out of whack. So I'm driving along and look over at the passenger seat, for reasons I have yet to remember, and a split second later I looked up and I was running off the road headed straight for a reflector post that marks a small creek that runs under the road. Yep, I hit it. Yep, I over-corrected and thank the good Lord there wasn't a car in the oncoming lane. Yep, I said a profanity--I'm not proud of that at all--I think about that alot when I have close calls like that. I wouldn't ever want my last words to be a profanity, you know? Why can't I say a peaceful prayer or something when things like that happen? Okay, so everything seemed fine, but I pulled over to take a look at the damage. Surprisingly there wasn't really anything visible in the early morning light, so I went on my merry way.

I called hubby later in the day to tell him what had happened, and told him I'd rather him pick the kids up from school since I still didn't feel quite right. On the way home I noticed that everytime I would hit a bump it felt like I was about to lose control. At that point, I knew there was more damage than met the eye. Try almost $2000 worth of damage all together. Yikes! When I do something, I never do it halfway, you know! My dear husband took care of everything about getting it fixed, and spent basically the rest of the week dealing with estimates, insurance claims, buying new tires, etc. You see, when I saw the place I hit in the daylight, I realized that I had nearly gone off a small ravine and rolled my car. The damage underneath (basically it tore the rear shock and strut loose) was done by the concrete bridge that my passenger side tires were all the way off of. It all happened so fast, but I'm more sure than ever that God was watching over us Wednesday morning. I consider us very blessed that no one was hurt and that the damage wasn't worse. Thank you Lord, for always being with me, even when I'm distracted.

So please, please, pay attention to the road. With little ones it's so hard to always be looking and aware of your surroundings. And in my case, it had nothing to do with them needing something from the backseat like usual--it was just plain and simple distraction.

On to November--another crazy month! We have something going on pretty much every weekend. Miss Priss Pants turns ONE on the 14th! I can't believe it! Party plans are made (shut up Hollie--I really just decided how the table would be laid out last week!) and invitations are being mailed on Monday. This month starts the "One Year Ago Today" for many of our milestones with the adoption of our sweet baby girl. Get ready for lots of posts with that title in the coming weeks! The inlaws are coming for either the big b-day party or Thanksgiving, so we'll have houseguests part of the month. Then, after T-day, I'm hoping to meet up with blogging buddy Alabaster Mom, who will be in town for Turkey Day (week!) with her family. I can't wait! Then, of course, Christmas shopping begins. If you're wondering, we're pretty much done with shopping for the kids. "Santa" put their stuff in safe keeping last week! I hope all my loyal fans (I mean readers!) are well. Keep praying for sweet Abby and sweet Bella as they keep fighting leukemia. (click on their names to read all about them and their amazing families) I can't get those sweet girls off my mind. Have a great weekend! I'll leave you with some random cuteness--enjoy!

My bedlam brood! Go Cowboys and Sooners!