Loralai's 2nd Birthday

Eating some pizza before cake and presents.

I wanted Drew to smile because when he doesn't smile in pictures he looks mad! So he has a friendly wave for the camera too.

Loralai wanted to play the games, but didn't want to use her tokens, she wanted to save those. So she was happy to just pretend play. She spent most of her time in the toddler playground which doesn't cost anything.

Finishing up opening the gifts.

We celebrated Loralai's birthday a little early this year. Her actual birthday is December 29, but we wanted to have a party for her and her friend, Warrick, who is the same age as Loralai and in her class at church. We went to Chuck E. Cheese and just had a few close friends over to keep it small but enough to make it feel like a party. Loralai had an ice cream cake (chocolate and vanilla) since ice cream is one of her favorite foods right now. We made sure to NOT sit near the stage since the robot Chuck E. Cheese makes both Loralai and Warrick scream and cry. We sang "Happy Birthday" and Loralai knew to blow out her candle. She got some good gifts: a baby doll that you can change outfits and hair bows, big box of bath toys, tinkerbell dress up outfit, tea set, Dumbo stuffed animal, and two Hi-5 dance DVDs. I can't believe she is already two!

Some Thanksgiving Pictures

These are a few pictures taken over the Thanksgiving holiday. I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted to, so some of my cousins' kids didn't make it into the pictures. We had Thanksgiving with my parents, brother, aunt and uncle, and my cousins Lori and Kelly and their families. Below is Tyler on the tree swing at my aunt's house in Alabama.

Tyler is talking football with his cousin Drake in the picture below.

Loralai goes for a ride with another of my cousins children, Kasey.

This is a picture of Tyler and Tyler. Both five and one of my cousins kids. They got along really well and my Tyler is already asking when he can see them again.

When we got back home, we put the tree up the following day. It was chaotic at times, I just let the kids put the ornaments wherever they want to, and I did see a few toys in the tree, they also wanted to surround the tree with toys they already have like it was Christmas day.

Loralai - 22 months

Loralai is growing so fast and in one and a half months she will turn two! I can't believe it, time is going by so fast. My little baby girl isn't going to be a baby much longer. I want to update the list of her favorite things, as this list seems to change monthly.

LORALAI'S FAVORITE THINGS

FOOD:If she had it her way, the world would be made of candy. Since we don't let her eat candy all the time, her favorite foods are ice cream, sour cream, ketchup, chocolate, and marshmallows. She really can't eat those foods all the time either, so her favorite REAL food is chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, bologna, applesauce, and avocados.

MUSIC: She LOVES the kids pop group Hi-5. She knows some of the words and tries to sing along with the music sometimes. They have choreographed dance moves and she even knows some of those. The group I would say is a mix between N-Sync and ABBA. She also loves ABBA and The Wiggles

MOVIES: The only movie she will watch all the way through is DUMBO. She loves this movie. She stands up during the scene where Dumbo's mom is being taken to solitary confinement and shouts, "NO, NO!!!" During the scene where Dumbo visits his mom in solitary and Dumbo's mom sings "Baby Mine", Loralai stands up with a doll and rocks the doll back and forth and sings along. Very cute!

TV: Spongebob Squarepants, The Wiggles, Elmo's World, and Veggie Tales, and most of all Hi-5. She laughs out loud during Spongebob, it's funny to see her mouth fall open and her little nose crinkle and a huge cackle come out!

BOOKS: She likes to read the nursery rhyme collection book. She also likes How Do I Love You?, From Head to Toe, and The Icky Sticky Frog.

WORDS: Favorite phrases: "One more" (pronounced "mun-mo") - said with her index finger up in the air. "Don't do that", "Me, me, mine", "Jewelry", "No, your Jewelry", "Shoes", "No, your shoes", "My Ta-ta (Tyler)", "Mommy, now!", "Please (peez) Da-da".

I can't get it out of my head!

Tyler since birth has always been a very curious little boy. He has a question about everything and is always thinking. A few days ago Tyler had been home from school for a couple of hours and he started asking me about God and how much God knows. Here is the conversation:

T: Does God know everything I do and say?

Me: Yes, God is all-powerful. He knows everything we are doing now and everything we are going to do. We make choices, but God knows what we are going to choose.

T: What if I change my mind?

Me: God knows that you changed your mind.

T: HAPPY!.....I thought that in my mind to say it, and shouted it....did God know that?

Me: Yes

T: HAP.....66!....Ha, ha...I tricked God! I thought to say HAPPY in my mind, then I stopped and said 66.

Me: Hate to break it to you Tyler, but God knew you were going to say that.

About an hour had gone by and Tyler went to his room to put a puzzle together. I was in the living room with Loralai. Tyler walked out and was really close to tears. His little voice was cracking, and this is the next conversation:

T: Mom, I have a bad thought in my head and I can't get it out.

Me: Oh, Tyler it's okay...that happens sometimes, what is it.

T: I can't get the word "idiot" out of my head and God knows.

Me: Tyler, that's okay, just don't call anyone that. It's okay, it will pop in your head sometimes but just don't say it.

T: Okay, because I was thinking how much of an idiot Loralai can be, but I won't tell her that.

Loralai was just sitting there playing with her dolls, I don't know where that came from!

Halloween pictures

There aren't as many good pictures as I was hoping for, but we did get a few. The evening started off with me trying to hold Loralai down and put her witch costume on. She was not happy about it, normally she loves dressing up but for some reason she didn't want to dress up on Halloween night. I'm pretty sure part of that was because we wanted her to do it, it wasn't her idea.


Trying to get Loralai dressed, we turned around for a quick picture. She was't happy about that either!

Before we went trick or treating, we got a quick shot of the kids sitting on the curb. We just have to take what we can get since Loralai is at an age where sitting down doesn't last very long! She was ready to go!

This is the only picture I have of her with her hat almost on her head. She didn't want to wear the hat, but would sometimes put it over her head like this to show people where the hat was supposed to go but it never made it all the way to her head. She also had tights to go with the costume, but we made a deal that if she put the costume on, she wouldn't have to wear the tights. The socks and shoes didn't last all night either!

We went to the grocery store by our house because they had stuff for the kids to do. She is excited because she is about to decorate cookies. Drew is wearing a halloween tie, which is hilarious to me because he hates seasonal ties but Tyler begged him to wear it, so he did. Drew took it off after the grocery store.

Tyler is a scary knight. Their papa (my dad) bought the costumes for them this year when they were up visiting. We went to the grocery store, then the mall, and last our neighborhood for trick or treating. They got a lot of good candy, Tyler got a pack of candy cigarettes-which I didn't even know were still made. Tyler put the candy cigarette up to his mouth and said, "Gimme all your money and get out of town". I don't know where he got that, I guess he thinks that smokers like to steal money.

Tyler's Halloween "Hoedown"

For Tyler's kindergarten class the halloween party was a farm theme. We had four stations set up for the kids: crafts (decorating little pumpkins and face painting), games (bean bag toss, ring throw), biscuits and make your own butter out of cream was the third station, and the last station was a farmers breakfast (eggs and bacon - one of the parents cooked for the kids and the kids could special order their eggs). It went really well, and pretty smooth. There were a lot of moms and one dad made it to help! I thought I was going to be at the butter station, but I ended up being at the crafts station and I also did the face painting. So the face art work was pretty basic to say the least.


Tyler's face painting request: a black widow spider (this has become a recent obsession of his, poisonous insects)

Tyler and his group eating a farmer's breakfast with is wonderful, fabulous teacher, Mrs. Hobgood.

They could wear their costumes today if they wanted to, he is a knight but we had to leave the mask at home.

Tyler's pumpkin after he added the decoration.

Decorating pumpkins, eating candy corn, painting, saying cheese for the millionth time...

More pictures from Washington Farms...

Here are some more pictures from Washington Farms. Below are a couple of pics from the corn pit.

Loralai is laying down like she saw Tyler do earlier. She wants him to bury her legs in the corn.

Tyler in his cow for the cow train ride.

Loralai and I in our cow car during the cow train ride.

Washington Farms

This Saturday we went to Washington Farms with some families from church. There was tons of activities for the kids to do like a petting zoo, bike races, duck races, pig races, corn maze, pumpkin patch, and a pit filled with corn the kids could play in like sand. That was actually Tyler and Loralai's favorite, the corn pit. Below are some pictures from our afternoon.

Thomas Jefferson

Drew and I were watching a clip from David Letterman on you tube tonight. It was the show that had John McCain as a guest. Tyler was watching it with us and he asked, "Is that Thomas Jefferson?" I told him it was John McCain. He said, "Oh, I thought this was the re-run with Thomas Jefferson, that was a good one."

Wicked

Drew and I were able to see Wicked Thursday night. I have been wanting to see this show for years, and we were finally able to do it. It came to Dallas after we moved, then it never came to Indianapolis, but now we are in Atlanta and we saw it on its second night. We went with our friends Mike and Cheryl and had such a good time. The crowd was great too, they were really into it, so it was a good night to go. Cheryl told me the theater that we were in (Fox Theater) was where Gone With the Wind premiered years ago....so even better! It is the nicest theater I have ever been in. I bought a shirt for me that says "Green for Good" and one for Loralai that says, "Green Babies Rule". They were way too expensive, but I had to splurge just this once. It was a fun night, I'm glad we got to do it!

Loralai 21 months

How Old Is God?

I feel like we have been so busy lately...we are always getting ready to go somewhere or do something. Tyler has been riding the bus home from school for the past two weeks now. I still take him in the mornings (he has granted me that request) but I wait for him outside our house. I made the mistake of walking to the bus stop to meet him with cookies his first day off the bus and he was so embarassed. So now I have been ordered to stay at the house and he will walk to me. The bus stop is only four houses down from ours, so I can still see him get off the bus. Loralai is usually taking her nap during this time, but wakes up shortly after Tyler walks into the house.

Today when he got off the bus he had a question ready for me. Tyler asked me, "How old is God?". I said, "Were y'all talking about this on the bus?". Tyler says, "No, I've just been thinking about it for awhile now, is he like the biggest number ever?" I thought about it before I answered and then I said, "Okay Tyler, my answer might seem confusing. If it is, just tell me and I'll think of a way to explain it better. You know how you have a birthday? That is how we know how many years you are. God doesn't have a birthday. The reason he doesn't is because he has always existed. God IS the beginning, the middle, and the end. I know this must sound so confusing, do you need me to explain it differently?". He just sighed really big and sat down on the couch and put his face in his hands. I started worrying that he was really overwhelmed by this information so I asked, "Oh, Tyler, what's the matter? Tell me what is upsetting you." He said, "I just wish we had Kung Fu Panda. If we did I'd watch it everyday!". Then he hopped up and started doing karate. I think I lost him when I said, "Okay Tyler, my answer might seem confusing."

Soccer

Tyler just played in his first soccer game this past week and said he had fun. The picture above was taken at his first practice. Most of the time was spent just trying to get through to the kids that their hands are not supposed to touch the ball.
Loralai watched from the sidelines and ate ice to keep busy. She kicked the ball some on the sidelines, but mostly just watched and emptied my purse over and over again.
This is Tyler at his first game. They are a little confused because we were telling them to get in there and get the ball from the other team. The first years of their life are spent telling them not to take things from other kids, now we are telling them to not only take the ball, but use your feet and not your hands and kick it away from the other team. Each team plays only three kids so that there isn't too much confusion on the field, so only six kids total on the field. Tyler scored a goal at his first game, he was pretty excited once he realized what he had done. The kids were pretty confused the whole time, it was funny to watch. Tyler loves drama, so he fell down about twenty times during the game, rolling around on the ground. There would be no kids around or ball, he'd be running and then just fall and then stand up and shake his head and say, "Whew!". Then he'd look out at the parents and see me and drew and smile big, like he had been caught faking.

Just a day in the life

This is Tyler's swim class (he's the white kid on the right). His classes are over now, but as usual I'm late posting them. He was able to hold his breath under water for about 10 seconds and float on his back.
He is starting soccer now, which he asked to do. He always wants to be doing something, we don't make him...it's his choice! When I was five all I wanted to do was play and watch TV, but Tyler likes to keep active, so that's good.


This is how Loralai likes to sleep for naps...face down with her head inbetween two pillows.
Loralai loves dressing up now, always has something for dress up. If she doesn't have her dress up clothes on, she is never without a purse, phone, and baby. I took her to storytime at the library today and she had a good time. It took a little bit for her to pay attention, she was much too interested in taking all of the contents out of my purse, which is starting to drive me crazy. I now have to only take what I absolutely need wherever I go and leave the purse at home, because she is becoming obsessive over my purse and I'm losing patience. Loralai has also started fake burping. She will drink milk, then make a burping sound and cover her mouth and giggle. I can tell it's fake, but she thinks it's hilarious. It is pretty funny, today at the library she was doing it, but it is becoming more of a habit. She just takes a drink from her sippy cup and then fake burps and goes on about her business. Like it is just something everyone does when they are done drinking.

Kindergarten

Tyler has now been a kindergartner for two weeks now! He really likes it and is getting used to the long hours. Last year, he was in preschool and it was only Tuesday and Thursday from 9am-1pm. Now he is in school Monday through Friday. I take him around 7:45-8:00am and pick him up at 2:45pm. He really wants to ride the bus, but our house is so close to the school it is just so easy for me to take him and pick him up. Plus, I'm not that ready yet for him to ride the bus. I know kids do it everyday and it is totally fine, but I love taking him and picking him up. So I'm trying to convince him to wait to ride the bus in first grade, but I might have to cave in and let him start after Christmas if he is persistant.
At the end of every week the teacher sends home a progress report to let you know how your child is doing in school. On Friday of Tyler's second week he had an "x" next to "Listens well and follows directions". So I asked Tyler what it was for and he said he didn't come in from the playground when he was supposed to and had to lose one of his coins. I could tell he was sad about it, so I didn't punish him anymore....I feel like the teacher taking his coin was enough. The following Monday was parent/teacher night so we went and after it was over Tyler's teacher came over to us and told us what happened. She said Tyler and another little boy were playing on the rock wall in the playground and in their own world. She blew the whistle three times and eventually sent the teacher's aide out to get them. Tyler said he didn't even hear the whistle and he was really sad and about to cry. He kept saying, "But I'm sorry". After he had to move his coin, he went up to the teacher and said, "My mom forgot to change my batteries, I couldn't hear very good". He has used this one on me before, but this was new to the teacher. Anyway, she thought it was so funny and wanted to let us know. I really like his teacher and the teaching assistant. There is also only 17 kids in the class, which is nice. I signed up to help every week for the "cooking craft". I am really excited about it and I told Tyler. He said, "Every week? You don't have to come every week, mom. Just let the real teachers handle it." I will have to make sure to not call him "baby" and "sugar", then he really won't want me coming.

Stressful Morning

This is an old picture but I love it, she was 5 months old in this photo.

Yesterday morning (Sunday), I woke up with a migraine headache. I opened my eyes from sleep and the sunlight peeking around the shutters was too much light for me. So I managed to get the kids dressed with my eyes barely open and Drew and Tyler went to church. The plan was for Loralai to stay home with me and watch TV while I laid on the couch. On this particular morning, Loralai was not interested in the TV. So after Drew and Tyler left for church, I put on several different shows including the Wiggles, Boobah, Teletubbies, Curious George, and Super Why!, all of which she will watch on occasion except for the morning I have a migraine. I don't get migraines often...in fact I can count on one hand the amount of migraines I have had in my entire life. They are awful! I was nauseous too from the pain. Okay, so I laid down and she played around me for a little while, but she was pulling on my hair, my arms, my legs trying to get me up. So I felt like I could probably drive to the mall and let her play in the little play area that she loves and I could just sit and watch from the bench in the play area.

So I get in the car and realize that we have just a little gas left in the tank. So I drive to the gas station and try to roll the windows down. I accidentally pushed the lock button instead and then shut the door and I realized that Loralai was locked in the van! No windows open and it is hot, but thankfully the sun was hidden behind clouds. I started to panic, I was so upset and I felt bad and Loralai knew something was wrong and she started crying "Mommy, mommy!! Out! Out!" So there was this teenage boy at the next pump over and I borrow his phone to call Drew first, but of course he doesn't answer because he is probably in the middle of a sermon at that point. So I give the kid his phone back and run into the gas station. I am full blown panic mode now. I run in and just yell, "I just locked my baby girl in the car! Somebody tell me what to do!" Immediately a man hands me his phone, tells me to call 911 and I do. So I was told by the operator they would send a fire truck out. Loralai has now been in the car for almost 5 minutes with no air from the air conditioner or outside. I run back to the car and she is looking at me saying, "Hot! hot!!" and crying and reaching for me. So I have not managed to stay calm yet, but I decide now would be a good time. So I say, "Hey Loralai, lets sing some songs you like!" So I start with "If your happy and you know it clap your hands" Then I move on to "Jesus Loves Me". She starts saying ,"Queen, Queen!" So I start singing "Dancing Queen" and she is claping and moving. Then another guy pulls up next to me and he can tell I'm crying and singing Dancing Queen and knows something isn't right. I am crying and I asked him if he had a hammer so I could break in the window and get Loralai out. He told me no, but at that moment the firetruck pulls up, opens the window in about 15 seconds, and I get Loralai out. She was only in the car about 15 minutes, but it felt like forever! Loralai was of course fine, and when I got her cooled off and gave her some water, it was like nothing happened. I just freaked out and lost my mind, I kept thinking the worst!

I am so thankful to all the helpful people who were at the gas station. I had so many people offer help. I had a much different experience when I lost Tyler at the Barnes and Nobles in Indianapolis. I screamed for help and NO ONE helped. The firemen that opened my door were wonderful and did a great job reassuring me and keeping me calm. After writing this down, it is amazing how I freaked out over something so minor, I'm sure the firemen must have thought I was a little dramatic. I'm sure the migraine had something to do with it!

Loralai at the hotel on our vacation. In the middle of changing her doll's diaper she wanted to sample her baby's toy bottle.

Kool-Aid Stand

Tyler has been asking to set up a kool-aid stand for a couple of weeks now, but I was afraid it was too hot, so I kept telling him to wait until it cooled off. I then realized that it could be a couple of months before it cooled off, so I lathered them up in sunscreen and we set up our kool-aid stand. We had sugar free cherry kool-aid, Dora and Diego cups, and ice in the cooler.
Thirty minutes into selling the kool-aid, Tyler was getting bored and hot.
Drew came out to offer support, while Loralai and I watch from the window. He ended up making $3.50, which he was very happy about. He asked me if he could buy a baseball stadium. He happily settled for three toys from the dollar store instead.