The Kids

The Kids

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Violet's 2nd Birthday

Violet's actual 2nd birthday was last Wednesday. We had a low-key family birthday with no presents (I know, gasp!) but we did have cupcakes! Pinterest has a lot of "pins" on Earth Day (April 22nd) which inspired me to make dirt cake. I wanted to make cupcakes so I just filled the cupcake muffins 1/2 full and put the topping on top. I loved dirt cake as a child so it reminded me a little bit of my childhood. I think one of my Mom's coworkers made it for one of my birthdays one year, ~10 years old! Wow! I can't believe I can remember that! Anyways, the kids loved them! And so did I!
Yummy dirt cupcakes!

Violet "oohing"

Digging in!

Literally digging in!

Violet's actual Happy Birthday!
Violet's Developmental Update:
I don't have her fun growth parameters yet as her 2nd year well baby visit is scheduled for next week along with Tim's 9 month visit. So more to come. But I'm sure she remains teeny tiny and might tip the scales at around 23 pounds. She still fits into 18-24 month clothes. Speaking of clothes, she loves pockets! If I put shorts on her without pockets, she wants to switch them! She is a girly girl to the core. Loves all things sparkly and shiny! She will finally let me fix her hair into cute little pigtails. She can run and climb as well as Ashton and will keep up with him as much as she can. She will usually tucker out earlier than him but she tries hard to keep up all day long! What else? She loves to color, sing songs, and dance! Her favorite songs are Twinkle, Twinkle (yes, I need to get that on video), Rock-a-By-Baby, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Old MacDonald. She sort of tries to sing her ABCs. She can (sort of) count to 10. She skips 4 and 6 but loves to finish off with 7, 8, 9, 10! And break through! She is trying to potty train herself. This Momma was not ready but Violet is telling me... literally! She will tell me "pee pee potty" which means she has already gone in her diaper or needs to go. On Day 1 of potty training (this Monday) she went on the potty all morning long. Then I put a diaper on her for nap and it was downhill from there. The next day she went every pair of panties we had, so we were done by noon. And today, I have yet to do the laundry, so we are on delay. But she has told me every time when she wants to go or has just gone and to change her diaper. Let's see... what else? She is definitely quite vocal. She copies just about everything we/I say and can frequently put together 4-6 word sentences. She is still a cuddly little girl and loves to give hugs and kisses. She has recently even started giving Tim kisses which is cute. Speaking of... she tolerates him quite well even when he is pulling her hair. She just grabs her hair and says "No babe." She is quickly perfecting her temper tantrums and if she is upset about something she will pick something up and throw it! She has also quickly learned the time-out spot and is much better than I remember Ashton being in there. She continues to be my good sleeper and will usually go to sleep around 7:30pm and up at 7:30am. She is trying to fight her naps but usually succumbs before 2pm. What else? She loves to climb and can climb anything at the park. She loves loves loves the swing in our front yard and can stay in there for as long as you will let her! She is scared of bugs but loves the play in the dirt and sand boxes! She is definitely a sweet little girl. I wonder how this will change as the years go on?! 

Thursday, April 12, 2012

A Real Mom

I read this blog post through Facebook: You're Children Want YOU. It's so true! Being a SAHM has made me want to aspire to be one of those SAHMs. You know those ones whose house is always perfect, works out all the time, and their children are always well kept. While I don't really want to be one of those women, I do want it all at the same time. In my real life, you can generally find me in yoga pants and a t-shirt without my hair washed on a regular basis... although I have showered and brushed my teeth and chosen to put what Ashton calls my PJs back on. My house is always a mess no matter how much I clean it. And my children... well, they always have a dripping nose, clothes are usually dirtied with either dirt and/or food, and will usually have some kind of leftovers on their faces! But all of that is surface deep. At the end of the day, I have wonderful, loving children who love to snuggle up close and be around me all the time! That's all that matters right?! And being a SAHM is a privilege. When the days get rough, all the kids are screaming and/or crying, no one is listening to me, many Moms out there have to work out of necessity. I have to remind myself that we are in a position to allow me to stay at home and be a Mommy to my children at their most precious time. Soon enough, they will all be in school, I will be at work full-time, and I will long for these days when all 3 kids are climbing over my lap fighting for the prime spot snuggled up next to me!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Happy Happy Easter

We enjoyed the rest of the day at the Godparent's house. It was such a beautiful day to enjoy outside with family and friends. The kids had a blast and fell asleep before bedtime at 7pm! Even Ashton!
Starting out with bubbles -- love Violet's little "Jackie-O" dress!

My kids made a bee-line for those bubble guns! The best $2.99 investment I have ever made!

Can Violet be eating more chocolate?!

My God-sister, Tryna, with her daughter, Shailyn

Tryna's awesome home-made cookies!

Sweet Emma giving Violet a little push on the swing

I love how Tim looks in awe of Shailyn! She just loves him!

Brothers...

Poor Tim! Headlocked with a nonchalant Ashton

Possibly my favorite picture of the day! Such a sweet bond!

In the running for best photo of the day!

Just a happy kid! He scored some candy too!

Violet's chocolately, cheesy look! Wardrobe change #2 because of a little spit-up/vomit incident!  She choked on a little potato and out came the chocolate too! Thankfully, Nina had a back-up dress because this Mommy didn't!

The little kids!

Godparents with the kids!

Between Church & Easter Celebrations

We had just a little over an hour between church and meeting up with the family! As I ran in to prepare my share of the pot luck, the kids played outside. Violet wore her "Jackie-O" outfit which I love but was quickly spotted with chocolate. It was such a beautiful day!
Violet hanging out in her "Jackie-O" dress & jacket. Ugh! Too bad chocolate got the best of it!

Tim not so sure of the swing!

Swinging!

Too much chocolate and not enough real food. Let the meltdowns begin!

Mommy & Violet!

Indoor Easter Egg Hunt

Our Easter egg hunt was inside this year. It wasn't terribly cold but it was a little wet from the sprinklers and a bit chilly. Matt hid all the eggs in the kid's room so it was easy. He also hid the baskets this year... a Besmer tradition!
Ashton quickly snagged a collection of eggs

Super excited!

Violet quickly caught onto what to do. You can see Ashton's green basket hidden under the fabric bin.

I found some!

Check out that bed hair!

Some more!
After a quick hunt, we were off for Easter church service! The day moved by quickly with lots of family and fun!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Just Some of Easter

For my parents who are likely dying to get some updated pictures of the kids, here are a few of my favorites at quick glance! 
Well, 2 out of 3 kids smiling isn't so bad! Kids ready in their Easter outfits for church!

Mommy gets a picture!

Super cute picture of Tim!

Our Family Picture!

The Garden is Growing plus a Compost!

I started some tomatoes, basil, and eggplant inside from seeds. The rest of the seeds I bought can be directly sowed into the ground. So we are waiting to fill in the dirt and the weather to warm up for the rest of the planting to begin!
Our tomatoes, basil, and eggplants all growing from seeds!

Ashton helping with our make shift compost! We used Parker's old food bin and just drilled holes into it!

Our first dump! Ashton is ready to top it off with some dirt.

Gathering more dirt from my side of the garden!

Our 2nd dump!


The pepper plants transplanted!