Living Slow

Love this post from Ashley Campbell today... such a great reminder to slow down and live in the moment with our sweet babies while they're still home. 

http://ashleyannphotography.com/blog/2011/09/29/under-our-sycamore-tree/

A whole lotta nothin'

Jeesh, it's like I blink my eyes and a week has gone by since I blogged.  There has been nothing of real paramounce (is that even a word?  paramount-ness?  paramountenance?  paramountion?) going on with us.  Jason flew home last night from two days in Green Bay to meet with his team there.  I had some former Bible study friends over last night for dessert (former refers to the Bible study, not the friendship status).  It's always so good to catch up and reconnect when you're used to seeing certain friends on a regular basis. 

One of Hayden's front teeth has popped out, but the other isn't budging yet.  She's the cutest little snaggletooth ever.

I about bit it playing chase with the kids yesterday.  I remember spraying furniture spray on a rag while walking into the office last week, and I must've gotten some on the floor.  It's a miracle I stayed on my feet after hitting the slick spot.  And can I just say that my 4-year-old is fast?  I mean really fast.  I have to seriously run in order to not get tagged by her.  It also doesn't help that I'm laughing so hard I'm about to tinkle on myself.

I bought a pair of skinny jeans about a week ago.  Now let me just say that my body is not meant to wear skinny jeans.  Even when I'm at my skinniest, my thighs and butt aren't skinny.  Period.  BUT, with that being said, I have a new pair of boots that are begging to be paired with skinny jeans and a pretty tunic top, one that completely covers my thighs.  So all I need now is the top.  Hopefully I can sneak away this weekend for an hour or two alone. 

Carrots, the Chubby Bather, and Craftiness

A few mornings ago I prepared Hayden's food for breakfast.  I think it was carrots and mango.  I walked back over to the table, stirring her food, obviously deep in thought, because I put the first bite in Jax's mouth!  He and I both realized the mistake at the same time, me laughing, and him NOT laughing.  He immediately spit the mushy carrots out and began to cry.  I was still laughing at this point because I was in awe of my brain's low level of performance.  I hollered at Daddy to come help console him because I was no help at all.  Daddy made him feel better, I apologized, and later that day Jax said, "Mommy, we never, EVER put carrots in Jaxeypoo's mouth EVER again!"

Hayden has been taking baths like a big girl.  Here she is leaning over a little too far, showing off her booty and leg rolls, and ending up on her belly. 



Last week I got on a crafting kick.  Those of you who know me well know that's a funny statement because I'm not very crafty.  I'd much rather pay someone who knows what they're doing for a finished product that is good quality.  However, the tissue pom-poms were ridiculously easy, and then I decided to make a few headbands for Hayden.  Technically, I just made one of them (the blue flower), the white one is a flower that fell off of Emerson's tutu from her 2nd birthday.  So I repurposed it for Hayden, and she looks adorable in it!



The big birthday weekend

Em's party at Little Gym was so much fun on Saturday.  It was tough for me to decide to go ahead and book it because it's pretty expensive, but looking back on it, it was well worth it.  Besides bringing the tissue pom-poms to hang in the party room, I literally didn't lift a finger.  There were three girls in charge of the party, and they had the itinerary down to the minute.  All of Emerson's friends had a blast, and I actually got to mingle and talk to the adults!  That's usually unheard of at a four-year-old's party.

The fam came over Sunday night with another truckload of gifts.  Uncle Travis also came bearing birthday balloons!  I think she was totally blown away by the fact that she got to open presents two days in a row.  She opened her last gift and I suddenly realized I totally forgot about her gifts from us which were sitting on the top of the filing cabinet in the office, unwrapped.  Not my finest moment as a mommy!  Thankfully she didn't mind me putting them all behind my back and just presenting them one by one. 

Pics of the fun-filled weekend:

This next picture will be the one I remember the most from her fourth birthday because it represents the Emerson we all know and love.  She has a personality like no other.  Her joy is infectious and overflowing, and the world is her stage.  Her Daddy tells her daily how beautiful and brilliant she is, and I have no doubt she already believes it.  What a gift she is to us!

Em's first REAL haircut

It's amazing to me that she hasn't had an actual haircut yet.  Alas, my sweet child has the slowest-growing hair ever, and I've always just trimmed a few pieces here and there to keep it in check, so she really hasn't needed one until now.  Her hair was starting to look like an old-school Super Mario Brothers mushroom head, so today we went to see Tammy who does my hair.

We pulled into the parking lot, and Emerson said, "Mommy, it looks like a queen's castle!" 

Once inside, she kept saying, "Ohhh, it's so BEAUTIFUL!  Look at the stairs!  Look at the beautiful mirrors!" 

Her first stop was the shampoo bowl.  She immediately crossed her little legs and acted like she was a pro.  I was cracking up.  She was super excited that the shampoo and conditioner smelled so good. 

Next stop was Tammy's chair with a little booster seat.  Tammy explained to Emerson that she needed to hold still and sit very straight and tall. 

Very still.  And very serious. 



She is getting it blow-dried and even straightened! 

The finished product back in the car!  She said, "Daddy's not even going to know my name when he sees me!"  

* Her Little Gym birthday party today was a BLAST!  I'm worn out, and I didn't really even have to do anything.  As soon as I go through the 200+ pictures, I'll put a post together.  Family party is tomorrow... the tissue paper pom-poms are being hung in the dining room as we speak! 

Busy, Busy, Busy

Can I just say how exciting it is to have 80-degree weather?!  Here are scenes from our Labor Day weekend:

Go Sooners!


Emerson helping Uncle Travis open his birthday gifts.

The happy lil' Sooner girl minus her bow.  And me minus an earring.  Plus I LOVE how this picture highlights the melasma on my forehead.  I'm a little worried that it hasn't gone away by this point post-birth.  Oh well.. nothin' a laser of some sort can't take care of one of these days!  

Hayden doing her best snarly face.  Can you see her two bottom teeth?  And now she's working on the top two. 

Daddy swinging with the babes.

Daddy lookin' really hot while kicking the soccer ball. 



The view from my lap.  Oh, the rolls. 

The last few days I've been prepping for Emerson's birthday party this weekend.  Tissue pom-poms have invaded our dining room!

The poor little guy on the left is my first attempt.  He's a little pathetic, but it wasn't his fault.  I didn't realize I had bought tissue paper that was an exact square.  Didn't work.  I must say the rest were actually fun to make.  There are quite a few tutorials online, but this one was the one I went with.  Plus the blogger made me laugh, so all the better. 

http://nothingbutbonfires.com/2010/02/how-make-those-tissue-pompoms

Emerson had her first day of dance class this morning.  I, of course, didn't bring my camera and forgot to take a picture of her when we got home, so you'll just have to imagine her cuteness.  She is at Miss Shelly's this year due to it being way closer than our previous studio, and can I just say that I love Miss Shelly?  She personally came out into the lobby, welcomed and brought each and every little dancer dancer into the studio one by one, and let me just tell you it was a big deal.  Emerson talked about it all day.  I have no doubt it's gonna be a great year!