"Take Me Out to the Ballgame..."

Abby in a new dress and chillin' in the stroller. Don't think I see cheerleading in her future!

Too cute for words...

Hey Papa...my eye is on the ball and I am swingin' level!

It's outta here!

Taking the long way to home plate. What a goofball!

As a teacher, the neatest moments I have had teaching 1st graders is when they "get it" or read their first sentence in a book. Those are awesome and it is why I spent 7 years teaching 1st grade. One of the neatest things about being a mom (besides the hugs, kisses, snuggles, and I love you's) is when you see your child excited about something and proud of themselves when they do it well. I have to say though that the cool "mom moments" far surpass any of the teacher moments.

Max LOVES t-ball! He gets so excited on Tuesdays and Thursdays because he knows he has a game that night. John and I were so worried before he started that he would be too nervous/afraid to go out there but he does it and doesn't want it to end. He came home from his second practice with his jersey and hat and thought he was tough stuff :) After his second game we went out and bought him some cleats and you would have thought he signed a multi-million dollar contract with the pros! He is really good at hitting the ball (it has even gone into the outfield a few times) and he is getting better at his fielding. He has played short stop, second base, third base, and first base (they get moved around a bit to alleviate boredom I think). Let me tell you though...this boy can RUN! One of his coaches made a comment about how fast he is and I said that's because he started running about a week after he learned how to walk and that's all he's done for four years!

I am SO proud of him! Not just that he plays well but that he enjoys doing it and is making a lot of new friends as well. I love seeing his excitement when he talks about playing. He is growing up so fast. I pray that his enthusiasm continues as he grows up and even if he doesn't want to continue into baseball that he finds his passion and lives his life to its fullest potential. I want that for all of my kids.

By the way...Abby is still talking about playing flag football in the fall so we'll see. We have to get through swimming lessons first.!

Finally...some pictures...thanks Jackie :)

Max following Lucy through the tunnel

Abby playing follow the leader

Lucy chasing the ball through the tunnel

First of all, thanks to my wonderful friends Jackie and Michele who watched Max, Abby, and Lucy yesterday so I could go to a doctor's appt BY MYSELF! We stayed for awhile after I got back so the kids could play and Jackie took these pictures of them for me.

9 Months

Lucy turned 9 months old this past Monday (the 16th). She has now been out of my belly as long as she was in it :) Now of course this makes me realize that the 9 months on 9 months off theory about baby weight does not apply to me :( UGH! I NEED TO GET BACK TO WEIGHT WATCHERS!

Anywho, I took Lucy to her 9 month checkup and she is doing great. The doctor even told me I'm doing a great job with her...self-esteem boost for mommy...yeah! She weighed in at a whopping 18 lbs 4 oz. Her height/length is 26 1/2 in. I was a little nervous because that is what she measured at 6 months. Hmmm hasn't grown at all...doesn't sound right. I mentioned this to the nurse and when she came back she told me that she thinks Lucy may not have been measured correctly at her 6 month checkup. I instantly realized that it had been nursing students who were doing all that the last time so it is understandable...plus I have a very wiggly child :) So Lucy is in the 48th percentile for height and only the 20th for weight. I guess she'll be short and skinny like her "Mimi".

She now has two teeth on the bottom and can pull herself up to her feet in her crib pretty quickly (hasn't tried it outside of the crib yet...thank goodness). She now thinks it's funny to let go and fall on her bottom in the crib.

Sorry I haven't posted any pics in a while. The piece of garbage camera that I have decided to stop sucking the life out of the batteries after 5 pictures...it just died. Could not be revived. Of course it is still sitting on my kitchen counter just in case it decides to come back to life...not gonna happen Staci...get over it. My dad took pics at Max's t-ball game last Tuesday so I'll get them soon and post.

Gotta go, Abby's fussing...nothing new there...

White Shoes and a Pink Dress

Potty training seems like it goes on forever in my house. Maybe that's because the kids are so close in age that by the time I get one done it's time to start rolling with the next one (that was not a reference to toilet paper!) Anyway, for some reason going #1 is not a problem once they get the hang of it. Abby was ready to do it before I was ready to start training her! The problem lies with the poop. Why some kids are terrified of pooping in the potty is beyond me. Yeah I know the psychological bit about it being a "part" of them and they are afraid of losing it. Give me a break. Both of them did it just fine on the potty the first three days of training then all of a sudden decided they would fight it. Personally I think it is purely a control issue:) The kids like to see us beg and plead and bribe. We even promised Max the biggest fire truck we could find if he would poop on the potty. Nope, nothing. He would say, amidst all the screaming and crying, "I don't need one".
Anyway, the purpose of this post... Abby was following the same path as Max. She would refuse to go on the potty or even sit there as I went to get a pull-up. I finally told her that when she turned three she would have to start going on the potty because I wasn't going to buy any more pull ups. Everytime I would change her dirty pull-up I would ask her when she was going to go on the potty and she would say, "When I 3". My mom decided to encourage her to maybe start a little early by telling her that when she starts going poop on the potty like a big girl she would take her shopping and buy her some new shoes and maybe even a new dress. Abby decided that they would be white shoes and the dress would be pink.
Well guess what? Abby must have had an early birthday because yesterday she pooped on the potty! We were at Max's Vacation Bible School and she told me she had to go. I told her I didn't have a pull-up and asked her if she wanted to sit on the potty (of course preparing myself for the fit about to happen) and she said, "okay!" After I picked my jaw up off the floor I took her thinking that any moment she would turn around and say she didn't really have to go. That little turkey sat on the potty and after a couple of minutes of talking and pushing she WENT! She was so proud of herself and I cried...over poop! She has decided she is a big girl now. We had to call daddy of course. When I told my mom she said when Abby keeps doing it she'll take her to buy her dress and shoes. She went one more time yesterday and then again this morning. After she went this morning the first words out of her mouth were..."I get white shoes and a pink dress!" Get out the debit card Nana...this girl is ready to shop! :)

Happy Father's Day

I hope all you dads out there had a wonderful Father's Day. Our day started with a trip to the beach. John has been itching to go since the weather got warm so we went. It was Lucy's first trip and I have to say that she absolutely loved it! As soon as her feet hit the water she was bouncing and when I sat her down she immediately started splashing. I told John he finally got his "beach baby". We stayed for about two hours then got home just in time for a big thunderstorm to roll through. So we basically hung out at home and cooked dinner. Unfortunately my dad had to work yesterday so they weren't able to come over for dinner. Wow! I just realized yesterday was my dad's 37th Father's Day. I feel old! Now I depressed myself so I'll go for now. My parents are coming for Max's ball game tomorrow night so I'll hopefully be able to get some pics of Max in his uniform. I'll also post about the t-ball jamboree. What a HOT day!

A New Milestone

I went to get Lucy up from her morning nap this morning and found something shocking when I walked in her room. She was sitting up! Don't get me wrong, she has been able to sit without support for awhile now but she has yet to go from laying down to sitting up on her own (not that I have seen anyway). So walking into her room and seeing her sitting up kinda brought tears to my eyes. However...even more shocking...after I put Lucy to bed tonight I was reading Abby a book in her bed and I heard Lucy crying like she had been hurt. I thought maybe she had tried to sit up again and had fallen over. Since John and Max were still at t-ball practice I went in to check on her. She had bypassed sitting up and was now STANDING IN HER CRIB! The screaming was due to the fact that she had realized once she got up she had no clue how to get down! She solved that by letting go and falling onto her bottom then her head (which made her even more mad). After picking her up and making a big deal out of her standing up I put her back to bed and left the room. Well, let's just say she repeated her new trick a couple of times and screamed for help each time! We may have seen the last of our easy bedtimes for Lucy!

Blog Makeover

Yes, it's the same blog but I was never really sure I liked the other template so I thought I'd try a new one for awhile.

Last but not least...Lucy Goosey

Papa took this at Max's birthday party. Ain't she a cutie!

Just chillin'

Singin' some tunes

Trying to keep Abby from taking her Cheerios!

Poor baby can't have a simple snack without the

vultures (Max and Abby) swooping in to take some.

Playing through...

Lucy is such a happy baby. I can't believe she will be 9 months old soon! Not to be too cliche, but where has the time gone? She has been doing so many new things lately. She isn't crawling yet but scoots like a champ. She is fast on her belly though. As soon as I put her on the floor she makes a beeline for the playroom if she knows Max and/or Abby is in there. Of course this means doing an immediate "floor check" for toys that she shouldn't have. As soon as that's done she's free to scoot around and play with the big toys. She loves being around her brother and sister. It dawned on me one day though that I should probably try to remove her from the room when one of them (usually Abby) is pitching a fit. You know...See No Evil, Hear No Evil... She watches them both like a hawk when they are in the room so I can see her taking it all in.

Lucy's main event came on Mother's Day. Our baby girl got baptized! She did a great job and didn't even cry. There was only one other baby getting baptized and she was so tiny she slept through most of it. Lucy however, being one of our children, talked and hammed it up through most of the service. The priest loved it. A cute little story...A few days before Lucy's baptism I was telling Max about our busy weekend (his b-day party was the day before Mother's Day). When I mentioned Lucy getting baptized he asked why babies get baptized. As I was thinking of the words I should use to explain this to a 5 year old he came up with his own answer that was better than any I could give. He said, "Oh I know. So they can become children of God."

Another important milestone was reached. Lucy has finally gotten her first tooth and the second one is on its way. Of course this means she wants to "chew" on anything and everything. The other night it was my chin. She tricked me into thinking she was going to give me a big sloppy kiss when in fact she worked my chin into her mouth and chomped until I felt her tooth go into the underside of my chin! She thought this was funny so proceeded to grab my face and dive in for another attack. I was laughing so hard I couldn't stop her so she kept doing it until she got her fill.

Eating has been hit and miss (literally). Sometimes I get the spoon in her mouth and other times she either smacks it on the way in or turns her head so I get her cheek. She has been starting on table foods so it is messier now. She doesn't care for peas (pureed or regular). She discovered cheese last night and loved it! I also gave her little bits of turkey off my sandwich today and she loved that as well. Banana bits are a little too sticky for her to handle but she'll eat it if I put it on a spoon. Cheerios are her favorite and Gerber Puffs run a very close second. She can sip water out of a soft spout sippy cup but likes to gum the spout a few times before she starts sucking.

Lucy has got the sweetest disposition and is developing a wonderful personality. I have said from the beginning that she has all the patience the other two never had (and still don't). She can miss a nap and still be smiling and laughing :) She has recenlty discovered Tai and Chi (our cats) and thinks they are the funniest things. She makes the cutest face that I can't get her to hold long enough to get a picture of it. She scrunches up her nose and squints her eyes. It cracks me up! Another funny thing she does is when she shakes her head no, she moves her whole body with her head. She has also discovered that making a fake coughing noise and blowing raspberries with her lips will get a laugh :) Silly girl.

This summer, Lucy's goal is to learn how to crawl, eat more table foods, and SAY MAMA! Everytime I ask her if she can say Mama she does her whole body NO!

Coming Soon...Lucy's post

Hang in there for my post!

Dear Sweet Little Abby

I love cake!

A sleeping child is a quiet child! Seriously, it's the only time she's quiet :)

What a cutie!

Abby and cousin Molly playing the piano at Nana/Papa's house.

Abby decorating her visor at her End of the Year class party.

Sweet Little Abby and her favorite past time...eating!

Who would have known what a precious little spitfire she was going to turn out to be! Abby has taken the Terrible Two's by storm and it shows no signs of letting up quite yet. She decided to give us a taste of it starting at 18 months and now that she's a little over a month away from her 3rd birthday we are patiently waiting for the seas to calm. She is a sweet beautiful little girl with a set of lungs that an opera singer would love to have! Of course she was tesing those lungs out from the moment she shot out into the world so why should we be surprised that she continues to exercise them:)

She is fiercely independent and extremely strong willed. She has inherited the shoe and purse gene that my mom and my sisters have but somehow skipped me. The girl changes shoes at least four times a day. She loves to play with her baby dolls (Hannah and Caleb) and take them for walks in her baby stroller with her Vera Bradley purse (thanks Mimi) hanging on her arm or over the stroller handle. She puts a pair of princess shoes on and tells me that she is heading off to Super Wal-Mart (still her favorite store) to buys formula and eggs. For the first two years of her life I was ceratin she would always be a tom boy but she is becoming a girly girl! Abby absolutely adores her baby sister and loves her brother (most of the time). She definitely loves to fuss at him and bug him to no end!

Abby finished her first year of preschool on Wednesday, May 21st. She loved her teachers and really enjoyed doing all the fun activities and playing with all of her friends. I am really hoping that she will have at least most of them in her 3 year old class next year. It took her at least half the year to stop crying when I would drop her off but once she went back after Christmas she was good to go.

When John and the kids went out on the boat he said she didn't want to go out in the water but she was sitting on the boat with her bathing suit and sunglasses on looking like a little princess :) She is still terrified of airplanes flying overhead.

Abby is anxiously awaiting her third birthday. More importantly, her party. She has told me she wants me to make a princess castle cake for her party. I should have gone to school for architecture. I am working on the plans for it and I can only hope it turns out halfway decent. One important thing that we are planning for her third birthday is to get rid of the pull-ups. She has been given until then to start going #2 on the potty. Whenever I change her pull-up (she only gets them for #2 and at night) I ask her when she's going to go on the potty and she assures me when she turns 3. She also reminds me that when she goes #2 on the potty Nana is going to buy her white shoes and a pink dress! Forget using candy as a bribe...buy this girl some shoes :)

Abby is still taking an afternoon nap which is causing her to take a little longer to go to sleep at night. It is a trade off though because without a nap she is not fit to be around in the late afternoons! It is funny to listen to her in bed at night because she'll just start talking about anything and everything. A lot of times she'll bust out in song before she falls asleep. Most of the songs are ones she learned at school and of course she only remembers one line of each song so it is the same thing over and over like a stuck needle on a record player (if you remember record pplayers you are showing your age). One night she kept singing over and over..."Say to the Lord I love You!" Another night she yelled out "Everybody going on a bear hunt!" Hey, as long as she's in bed I'm not complaining.

This summer Abby will be taking swimming lessons and of course going to Indiana. She won't be able to do Vacation Bible School until next summer because they don't offer it for two year olds.

Max

Max and his cousin Jack at Max's birthday party. Takin' a break from sweatin'

The cake I made for Max's birthday party. You can see that Jeff Gordon won (Max's favorite driver) and Tony Stewart was a close second. The other two cars are in the pit:)

Max at his class party. What a ham!

Leaping into the kiddie pool!

The beach cake I made for Max's class party. The sand is crushed vanilla wafers. We put the candles in because we found out it was one of the teacher's birthday that day.

After the show. Our little performer.

When you last joined us, Max had turned 5 and had a super duper Nascar birthday party. Since then our baby boy played the part of a piece of coral in his school's adaptation of A House for Hermit Crab. He did great. Prior to the show Mommy, Daddy, and Lucy attended his class's Parents Day Party (Abby was at her class party so John and I were switching back and forth) where we were given a big notebook of Max's work from the year. It was amazing to see how much he progressed from the beginning of the year! This was all on Wednesday, May 21st. He had his last official day at school on Thursday then Friday we went to his class party at the house of one of his classmates. They had a slip and slide, kiddie pool, and water guns for the kids to have fun with. We had some goodies to eat and I made a "Beach" cake for dessert. A great time was had by all.

I took the kids to lunch at Five Guys (Max's last day of school choice). When we got home I got them packed up and we headed up to Nana/Papa's house to wait for Daddy to get off work because Max and Abby were going to Charlotte with Daddy for the long Memorial Day weekend. I know, you're thinking, "Wow, Staci got some time to relax and chill!". Not quite. My weekend was filled with taking care of Lucy, shampooing my carpets, laundry, cleaning out my car...yada, yada, yada! But I digress...

John and the kids got to go out on a boat on Lake Norman on Saturday and Max actually went out on an innertube behind the boat!!!!! I know, my son who doesn't like to get his head wet at the pool risked life and limb to go out on an innertube in water he can't stand up in! I'm sure pigs flew and hot places froze over that day. I should have bought a lottery ticket.

Max's summer will be consumed with t-ball, Vacation Bible school (for 1 week), and our trip to Indiana to visit my grandparents and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins. Before we know it he will be starting Kindergarten! His first day is August 19th. I think he is excited about going to his new school but he was sad when he had his last day at preschool. He says he will miss it.

About t-ball, he had his first practice last night and did great. John and I weren't sure if he would be shy about it or join right in like he did with flag football. Much to our surprise/relief he went right out on the field and did everything they asked and had a great time :) Can't wait to see him in his uniform.