Sunday

Yey! We survived another weekend:) This, is an accomplishment. In the past, weekends meant busy times and lots of field trips. Now? The week is so crazy and busy and full of everything, that the weekends mean quiet time. For Michael and me and anyway. The kids? Still need the stimulation...even though they both seem to enjoy sleeping in a little.

Yesterday was cleaning day. I had to scrub the house from top to bottom because two weeks means a ton of dirt. As I was cleaning, I heard the kiddos doing their 'sibling thing'. I thought Michael was going to lose it! But he kept it together and did a great job:) They seem to have figured out exactly which buttons to press on each other to DRIVE EACH OTHER CRAZY!!!! Or, all of us crazy for that matter. First, it will be Sadie stealing the one toy Skyler happens to be obsessed with at the moment and running with all of her might and screaming at the top of her lungs as Skyler goes booking after her to get his prized possession. Yelling at her. Overall? It is a very noisy experience. Which is funny for like a second. Once this is resolved? Skyler will steal Sadie's toy and perform some sort of torture on the particular doll he has stolen from her until she has completely lost it and is in a mess of tears. Every experience during the weekend seems to be like this. It's kind of funny and completely maddening the next minute. I think Michael is really excited to go back to work tomorrow:)

Seriously, every thing that happens in our house is like a surprise. We never know how anything is going to go down. Dinner tonight was surprisingly easy and pleasant. Everyone had great table manners...a surprise in itself! But then...it was time to clean up. You would have thought we were asking them to walk on sharp knives while holding their breath. Really? It was just picking up some blocks and bears. Once bath time started, Sadie decided she really really wanted to wear the hat that is for the beach and doesn't really fit her. I actually managed to wash her hair and put the hat back on before total melt down. Here are the pics to capture this experience:)

Yep, they still take take a bath together. It cuts the time in half and I'm hoping they don't become gender aware for a little bit. They may drive us CRAZY, but they are pretty darn cute and have a great time together.

Sadie and her hat...in the bath....

Catch up!

Where to begin....I have been really bad about keeping up with everything. But, it's been really crazy. Let's begin with Skyler. He loved school. And then all of a sudden, he didn't want to go. He cried....and had stomach aches....and did everything possible to make me feel like I was failing as a mom. What if I didn't make the right choice? What damage was this doing to him??? I didn't understand because he loved it for the first couple of weeks. He would get himself so upset that we had to stop a few times while driving to school for him to go potty....at one point, we cried together. It was painful. And then, he spent the weekend sick with a fever and a nasty cold. Kept him home last Monday, and then he has gone to school with a smile every day. Every night, he likes to talk about something special happening to him before he goes to sleep. Tonight, he wanted to talk about going to school. So, was he just not feeling well that week? Was he having some regression? Wishing he was home with me? Ah, who knows. Being a parent is pretty darn hard...making decisions and helping your child through difficult times...sometimes feels impossible. And he's only 4!!!

This past Saturday we were invited to our friend Dr. Chris' house. We love Dr. Chris and his girls. The kids had a fabulous time running around and being crazy. We ended the night walking to a little lake and feeding the fish. Everyone went to bed with a smile!

Here is a pic of the kids feeding them corn...not the best quality, but it was fun!

Sadie Turns 2!!!!!!!

Yey! Sadie turned 2:) I can't believe it! Time really flies and they seriously grow up so quickly. Sadie is 2 in every way. She is learning to assert herself...not always in ways that are 'appropriate'. She wants to do everything her brother does...he will say something, anything really, and soon after you should always expect a , "me too" from Sadie. I'm glad she has such a great role model, minus the potty talk:) She is sweet and funny and just so much fun to be around. Her facial expressions are way beyond her years and I can't wait to watch her continue to figure out who she is. We love you Sadie!!!!!!!!

Sadie had a rough start into her birthday. She had one sickness and then another. She had a terrible case of croup just days before her birthday. But somehow, it worked out for her and she was able to feel good and enjoy her big day. We had originally planned on a playground party. But, it rained....and rained....and poured....and rained some more for over a week beforehand. We had to think fast. SO, since our sweet Sadie is a dancing queen, we decided to move the party to our basement and the theme was a Disco Dance Party. We decorated that basement, bought a disco ball, borrowed a bubble machine, and bought some cheesy dance music from the 80's. And it was perfect. Seriously, it was great considering the last minute change! I could have probably planned a little better with the activities, but really, the kids didn't care. They were able to dance, eat, and play. And Sadie felt special. That's all that mattered! Here are some pics of her special day:)

I was trying to snag another pic of Skyler in his uniform. This is before school and he gets so excited~

Did I mention that it rained the week before? Every day? We broke out the rain boots. And they both insisted on continuing to wear them in the house (I of course cleaned them before that;) )

My little super star:)

Skyler. I love him. To pieces. But he had such a hard time letting Sadie have her special day. He wanted all of her toys, wanted to open them, take them....etc...etc. He spent a lot of time in his room. It was frustrating. Humph.... Here he is trying to share Sadie's present...

She opened this gift and loved it. "For me???" Yes my sweet girl, for you:)

Yep...another one we couldn't keep him away from!

She loved this simple ice cream toy.

My Dad gave Sadie roses on her birthday. She points to them every day and tells me they are beautiful roses from Papa. He gave Sadie her very first bouquet of flowers when she was born.

Getting their groove on before the guests arrived!

Party time!!! Pictures aren't the greatest in the basement but they capture what was happening at the party:) It was pretty dark to see the disco lights, I was using a flash.

My disco diva:)

And her friend Addie

Freeze Dance! Obviously, not all of them froze...

Skyler's friend Izzy from last year's school. Sadie loves her:) We all love her!

Savoring his cupcake!

Decorating Addie...

Checking out her dress up earrings. She looked so darn cute!

We were trying to decompress from the party with a little outside time.

My kiddos love their Nana and Papa!

Love her.

Love him.

Yep, here is just one of the zillion facial expressions she has. She's such a trip.

We decided to run them outside to get some more energy out after dinner. Love these play times.

My friend Jenn makes these super cute shirts. Sadie loved hers and was hugging herself. So I told her to put her hands up so I can see her shirt. She took my request very seriously:)

Happy Happy Happy Birthday to my Sweet Sadie who had a mine of her own when she shot out two years ago and continues to prove that she knows what she wants each day. We love you so much my sweet girl!!!!!!

NJ August Vacation, First Day of School, Randoms....

I know I've mentioned it before, but our trip to NJ was fantastic. We spent almost two weeks having a lot of fun with Nana and Papa, taking field trips, and catching up with friends. And one in particular that seriously has the capability of lifting me out of any funk and making my cheeks and stomach muscles ache from laughing so hard. The older I get, the more I realize that it is SO hard to find friends where you can be completely yourself without any judgement and laugh more in two hours than you have in months. Needless to say, it's a trip we will remember for a while. Here are some pics!

Nana and Papa bought Sadie this little tutu in Sea Isle. It's a little blurry but she had some major moves going on in her dress!

They love to 'play' the piano.

Sadie getting ready to ride the train in Van Saun park for the FIRST time. She loved it:)

Skyler was really excited for the ride.

A perk? Military gets to ride the train and carousel for free! They loved it:)

A local farm stand near my parents has animals you can feed. It's a really fun way to spend the late afternoon with the kids.

Love Skyler's face in this one...

Ok, Fosterfields in Morristown? AWESOME FIELD TRIP!!! It's a historical working farm...they reinact everything a farm should be doing back in the 1800's. We all loved it and I can't wait to go back! We learned how they washed their clothes, collected eggs, made butter, milked cows, used their horses, gardened for vegetables, raised chickens and pigs, and had a ride in a horse drawn wagon. SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!

Sadie found the ONE puddle on the way to the farm.

Checking out the chicken coop. Skyler and I actually went in and saw the hens laying eggs. I was trying to be brave for Skyler but was completely freaked out by the chickens flying into the coop and pecking at each other. Skyler was much braver than I was, and he felt a freshly laid egg.

They learned how to wash clothes in a bin with a wash board.

Skyler's turn:)

They were hanging their laundry to dry.

Skyler's favorite part? The water pump! We literally left him there and told him, "goodbye, we're leaving!" and he said, "ok". That plan backfired:)

They milked a pretend cow...utters and everything. It was a bucket filled with water, but the kids loved it.

I just really love this picture....

She's so little!

Ok, how could I possible mess up these pictures for Skyler's first day of pre-school??? They were awful!!! I guess I was nervous and did it too fast. But, here is a pic of Skyler in his uniform before he left for the first day.

Of course, Sadie wanted to be just like Skyler. We found her a bag so she didn't feel left out. She kept telling us it was her turn to go to school. Not yet baby! I have you for another year!

Fun time with Daddy! They made him do this until he cried mercy:)