Where have I been lately?

I've been chasing after these two precious kiddos!!

Walking Machine

It took less than a week and a half for Dylan to go from a couple of steps, to walking all over the place! He's still working on his balance and when he gets too excited down he goes! But he's doing really good!!

Frosty the Snowman

My Suzy Homemaker moments are few and far between... However there have been a few in my life (particularly since become a mother) where I have done something for the sake of my kids and been extremely proud of my Suzy Homemaker moment... Today is one of those days! Ha!

Today I was in Hallmark looking for wrapping paper and saw cookie cutters to make Frosty the Snowman, and since Mackenzie loves Frosty and we like to make cookies together (most of the time slice and bake) I decided to get them.

As I expected she was totally pumped about the idea! We made the cookies while Dylan was napping this afternoon but had to wait to decorate them until after dinner. And here is how they turned out...

It was great Mommy/Mackenzie quality time which means it was $6.95 well spent!!

Big Boy Walking

Tuesday night Dylan took 2 steps while I had my hands underneath his arms just in case he wobbled... I didn't get too excited because I wasn't 100% sure whether it was momentum that actually caused him to take the steps or if it was his actual first steps! (No I'm not an overanalyzer at all... Ha!)

Wednesday when I went to pick up Dylan from Wanda's house, she said "I have something to tell you, but I'm afraid you'll get mad." I said, "He walked didn't he!" She said yep! He took two or three steps several times between their couch and chair and also between the couch and a side table. So at that point I knew it hadn't been "momentum" the night before! So I actually did get to see his first steps!! Whoo Hoo!!

Anyway, after we got home, I tried to get him to walk to Brian and vice versa... but no luck! I knew I had a secret weapon though... Mackenzie! After she got home from Cubbies I told her what happened at Wanda's and she was so proud she went over and gave Dylan hugs and said "Good job Dylan!!" Which prompted a "Be Gentle Mackenzie! He's a baby!" from me... I asked if she wanted to see if he'd walk to her and she said "YEAH!!" So after he stopped being distracted by his reflection in the stove he did it!! He took two steps to his Big Sister! She was soooo excited! Especially since she was the first one (as far as she knew!)

I tried to get it on the Flip, but couldn't quite catch it. Then Brian ended up with him and out of the blue he ended up walking a few steps to me as you can see in the video below. Enjoy some of my babies first steps!!

Light Up the Sky - Mackenzie's Version

If this doesn't bless your heart, I don't know what will!! It never ceases to make me smile and thank God for my blessings when Mackenzie starts seeing along to KLove when we're in the car. What's even more of a blessing is when she asks for a particular song. :)


Her new favorite is Light Up the Sky (Or Light of the Sky as she calls it...) by The Afters.

The snapping trips me out every time!!

Thankful

Thanksgiving may have been yesterday but in the midst of the turkey eating and kid chasing I didn't have time to post my Thanksgiving post, so here it is a day later! We should be thankful no matter what the day!

Here's a list... in no particular order (except for the first couple!)

1. I am thankful for a Heavenly Father who sent his son to die on the cross for my sins! I can't even begin to imagine the pain it must have caused Him to send his one and only son to die on the cross for all of us! It shows how much God loves us that he can make that sacrifice! As a mother, I can't even begin to comprehend it...

2. My amazing husband and the wonderful man he is! God blessed me so much when he placed me in his life! He's not only an amazing husband but an amazing father as well!! Every time I see him with our kids I love him more and more!! (Mushy I know...)

3. My healthy kids! They may be crazy, silly, goofy, scared of nothing and in Mackenzie's case likely to say anything at any moment but I am sooooo blessed to have my precious kiddos! God is good to us!

4. I am thankful for my angel baby who is in Heaven with our Heavenly Father! How can I be thankful for that? Easy... God knew what he was doing when he took our baby to Heaven (even though we don't) and as a result that baby will never have to deal with the pain of this world but always be able to bask in the love of our Heavenly Father and all our family members who have already gone to Heaven.

5. I am thankful that both Brian and I have good jobs! We may work for a company with never ending craziness but we have been blessed to be employed by a great company! Myself since graduating college and Brian for 3 1/2 years.

6. A house with heat and air.

7. Two cars that run.

8. A loving extended family (on both sides!)

9. A wonderful babysitter and her husband who love our kids when we can't be there during the day.

10. The fact that my stomach is full right now and will be again later tonight. There are too many people who aren't blessed enough to say that.

11. The sponsor child who's name I don't even know yet. We signed up for a sponsorchild from Haiti last week at the Building 429/Mike's Chair concert and I can't wait to learn more about them!

12. Diet Coke with Vanilla!!!

13. Antibiotics that will help my baby boy's ear infection feel better!

14. The fact that my sweet girl LOVES listening to KLove all the time!! (I'll post a video of her singing one day soon!)

15. A great preschool with great teachers and staff who love my daughter and are teaching her to be the smart girl she is!

16. The Arkansas/LSU tickets Brian and I have for tomorrow's game!! WOOOOOOOOOO PIG SOOIE!!!

17. Christmas time, its a great time of year all about family but the most important reason is because its when Jesus was born!

18. Technology... I love new gadgets!!

19. The fact I can keep my list going and going...

Bottom line:

I am Thankful!

Game Night!!

Mackenzie informed me on Monday, that Monday night is game night! Every Monday! I said ok baby! And thought to myself, now I have a bargaining chip at dinner time! (I HATE dinner time in my house... that and bedtime are such a fight!)

On another note, my sweet girl is totally in a stage where she HATES to have her picture taken! So I was totally pumped when I got these precious pics of us playing Chutes and Ladders a week or so ago.

I could just eat him up!!!

Lindsey the Ladybug Pillow Pet

A while back I blogged about Mackenzie's desire for a Pillow Pet. At the same time I also mentioned that we weren't going to buy her one, but she had to do extra chores to earn the money for it. We were trying to teach her the value of earning the money and chores.Well about a week and a half ago (yeah I'm late) she earned all her stickers and as a result the $ she needed to get her Pillow Pet.

Then go figure... Our Wal-Mart didn't have any Ladybug Pillow Pets!! (Since then I've discovered 3 or 4 other places in town with them... but that didn't help me then!) But our wonderful babysitter Wanda knew we were looking for one and had one of the other kids mom's get one out of town. Thank you Wanda and Allison!! So that night we picked it up from Wanda's and gave it to Mackenzie when she got home from Cubbies at church. As you can tell from the pictures she was a little bit excited...

 

Oh and did I forget to mention when I asked her what her name was, she said "I don't know!" Then she said, "I'm just kidding! Her name is Lindsey!" She thought it was the funniest thing in the wordl to name her Pillow Pet after me. Silly girl!!

Family, Christmas Cards, and Free Stuff

I don't know about you guys, but those are three of my favorite things! And guess what! I have the opportunity to roll all 3 of those things into one great package this year! (and so do you!)

One of my favorite sites to order cool cards, stationary, photobooks etc is shutterfly.com. I have ordered Christmas cards, Dylan's birth announcements, thank you notes, photo books, and more from this site over the years. They always seem to have new cool designs that fit my design aesthetic. (If I have one... Ha!)

This year they are giving away 50 free cards to bloggers just for talking about it on your blog. So why not?!?!

Every Christmas I LOVE to get Christmas cards! I love seeing the families of my friends, especially the ones I don't get to see on a consistent basis. And I'll admit, I always pick the "cutest" ones and display them in a prime spot on my fridge! (I'll never tell where that spot is in case you happen to be involved in Crazy Kennebeck Land in real life!)

This year I can't wait to do our Christmas cards, because we get to showcase our new addition, ok not new any more... but new since our last Christmas card! (The fact that he was a teeny tiny growing human being in the last pic doesn't count since nobody could see him!) I don't know what picture we're going to use yet, and if it will be a lucky shot I catch or if it will be a shot that a "real" photographer will take, but I do know where I'm going to get my cards!!

Now comes the hard part... Which one to pick???

OH MY GOODNESS!! I wonder what I'd have to do to get my kids to look up like this? This baby is precious but mine are GORGEOUS!! (Yes I'm biased!)

If I can't pick out just one pic, this would be a great one. And it says Merry Christmas! I refuse to get a card that doesn't say Merry Christmas! I just can't take Christ out of Christmas especially on my Christmas cards!

I love this one!! It's so cute and different!

How can you go wrong with a black and white card?



The message on this one says it all!

Man, now I don't know if I'm going to be able to sleep... I won't be able to stop looking or playing out all the options in my head! Check 'em out to see which one you like!

Shutterfly, how I love you, but even more so when you give me free stuff!!

Trials and Tribulations for a picture

The ridiculousness I went thru to get this picture almost made it worth it! ALMOST! Everytime I look at this pic, I again feel the extreme frustration (and maybe even tears of frustration) all over again. The joys of a 4 yr old who doesn't want her picture taken... But hey its still a memory isn't it?

And after looking at this face how can I not smile?

Stomach Bug 2010

In case you're wondering, we all survived. We all had it. It was fun. SARCASM. Some had it worse than others and in different ways than others.

If you know somebody with it run screaming the other way!!!

That's all I have to say about that...

Now I'm off to finish up my 2nd can of Lysol in less than 48 hours and to finish putting clean sheets on every bed in the house.

Battle Weary but Still Kickin'

Mini Me

Need I say more?

Ladybug and Dragon

For Halloween I had a Ladybug and a Dragon!! I must say they were the cutest kids I saw all night!!

I just love these kiddos!!!

My little ladybug!

 

My Happy Smilin' Dragon! He didn't get upset with his costume once! 

This ladybug's eyes kill me everytime!!

I just want to pinch those cheeks!!

 On Sunday night we had our Fall Festival at church. There were games Mackenzie got to play, and after each game she got candy. There was a hayride and face painitng too. We had a blast!

Mackenzie got her face painted by some of the girls in our youh group. She sat there so still and sweet while they painted her face.

She loved the ladybug she got!

Pumpkin Golf!

Bowling

Life is so tough when you're a dragon chillin' at the Fall Festival!

How precious!!!

Grace Undeserved

Over the last few weeks since life has calmed down considerably in our house I've been convicted about my quick temper at times, the frustration I easily give in to, or the aggravation I let take over my reactions. All of these are a result of the insanity that has been our lives the last 6 months or so (and of course my sin nature), but I am still in charge of my reaction. And my reaction hasn't been the appropriate response alot of the times lately.

While being convicted about my reactions I've recently read a couple of blog posts that brought my conviction into a different light. My friend Ashley talks about grace in light of some behavioral stuff going on with her 4 1/2 yr old (just like we've recently been thru) and also by one of my favorite bloggers MckMama talked about it in her reactions to her kids as well. So at least I'm not alone! And thank goodness for other Mommies helping me with perspective.

Grace is something that God so freely gives to all of us. None of us deserve it. Yet all of us receive his endless mercy and amazing grace. (Cue the hymn...) I can only imagine how much like me, when in those moments where I'm doing something I shouldn't (for the 1,000 time) that God is thinking "Seriously, Lindsey???" Followed by an immediate silent "UGH!!" in His head. Oh but wait, that's me when I get frustrated, aggravated, or short tempered with my kids, my husband or even my job.

But who am I to not give grace freely in any of those situations when God gives me His neverending grace in ALL situations, no matter what is going on, no matter who is around, no matter what I did, no matter what he expected me to do or say, NO MATTER!

So as I go thru my daily life I'm challenging myself to remember the grace that God in his unfathomable love so freely gives me. (Disclaimer: Until the last few days) I think I've been doing much better in relation to my precious kiddos (namely the one who realizes there is such a thing as right and wrong) and hopefully even with my husband. However I know I really need to be more conscious of it as I go thru my daily life at work.

Again God is challenging me to keep His grace at the front of my mind as a challenge in my daily life. And as a testament to that, he used a co-worker today to remind me about grace. After I told him how ironic that was he mentioned it, he said "You're Catholic friend has your back!" So I got a good giggle and even more importantly a good reminder of keeping his grace and mercy at the front of my mind.

Abba Father, I can not thank you enough for your undeserved grace and unending mercy.

My Sweet Baby Girl

Because of Mackenzie's love of the camera these days I haven't had much to post in the way of pictures of my sweet girl... These days this is all I can get out of her when I try to take a picture these days...

Occasionally I get one eye... And I consider that a win. Ha!

On a good choices/bad choices update: As of this morning she was so proud... "Mommy, I have something really important to tell you! My name has never ever ever even been on the board this week!!"  Good job baby! I'm soooo proud of you! "Oh Mommy, I have something else really important to tell you! I haven't even been bossy one day this week either!!" Good job baby! You're making such good choices! We're so proud of you!


Thank you Father for helping us to make the right choices as we parent our kiddo thru this rough patch!

Red Hiney

My poor baby boy has a problem... He has a REALLY red hiney!! (The pics don't do it justice... couldn't exactly photograph the worst part.) This kid is a super pooper! But when he's cutting teeth it's EVEN WORSE! I've literally gotten a text message from Wanda at 2 in the afternoon saying that he has already pooped 5 times! I mean the boy eats but really where does he get all the poop from?? Ok so I got sidetracked, sorry!

Anyway, his hiney is so red that I wanted to let him to try to air out a little bit. So tonight after dinner and his nap I let him run around without a diaper for about 45 minutes. And guess what?!?! We survived the whole time without him peeing everywhere! SCORE!!

I think that naked baby hineys are sooooo cute!! So here are some precious cute pics of his naked hiney! (On a side note... it's much easier to take pictures of naked baby girl hineys, because you don't have to be conscious of "other things" getting in the pics.)