Easter

We had a lovely Easter this year. On Saturday night we took the kids to Epcot to see the fireworks. They loved it--especially Liam, who kept yelling, "More fireworks! Fireworks go BOOM!" They have a show called Illuminations and the idea is that you are gathered around the fire with a storyteller. There are torches that are sometimes lit and sometimes not. Well at one point the barge in the middle of the lake was on fire, and we were pretty sure that was NOT supposed to happen! The kids were fascinated, though.

We also dyed eggs on Saturday. The girls especially loved the magic crayon and they wrote their names and drew pictures on some of the eggs.

Sunday morning, Emily and Bailey woke us bright and early (5:45!) because the Easter Bunny had left some "treasure" in Bailey's room! (The girls later confessed that E woke B up--she was just too excited to wait!) This year, the Easter Bunny did something a little different. He hid eggs as usual, but instead of being filled with candy, treats, or coins, each egg had a clue inside. He also left us this note:

Dear Emily, Bailey, and Liam,

Your Mommy and Daddy told me that they got you some candy, and NuNu told me that you were hoping for some toys, so this year I left you a special treasure hunt! First, you will need to collect the eggs I have hidden around the house. Inside those eggs are clues. The clues are written on different colored paper. Once you have all of the eggs, open them up and put the colored pages together. All of the clues in each color will lead you to a spot where I’ve hidden a gift for you.

Help each other and have fun!

Love,

the Easter Bunny

So, the kids worked together to find the eggs and unscramble the clues. Then they raced all over the house to find their treasures! Some of the spots were in the dryer, in Bailey's kitchen, in a drawer in Emily's room, in Liam's closet, and in the playroom! They each got some books, toys, and goodies.

We finished our day and our Spring Break vacation by enjoying a delicious lasagna at Mimi and Grandpa's house. It was a wonderful day that I am sure we'll remember for a long time.

Disney Days

We got Walt Disney World annual passes last month. So far we've been there just about every weekend! We went to Magic Kingdom first (of course!) and had a fun but COLD day checking out the new Fantasyland. It was very busy so we didn't get to do a lot of rides, but we enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere. Aunt Theresa and Uncle Matthew were able to meet us there and that was really special for us. The girls especially love spending time with them.

 

Here we are on the carousel!

The next weekend we went to Hollywood Studios. We were able to get there pretty close to park opening and we got to ride Toy Story Mania with minimal waiting. We were also able to see the Voyage of the Little Mermaid and the Disney Junior shows (the kids REALLY liked those). We met Mater and Lightning McQueen (Liam's favorite!) and saw the Muppets in 3D. Then we headed over to Epcot to see some things there. Emily and Daddy rode Mission: Space! and she loved it. We all did the Seas with Nemo and Friends and that was a hit, too.

Two weekends ago we went back to Epcot to see some more but it was packed--it was the first weekend of the flower and garden show and apparently that is a big draw! We did get to do Imagination and the boat ride in the Land. The girls were able to check "getting a Mickey ice cream bar" off their list of must-dos!

 

 

 

Yesterday we visited Animal Kingdom and we had a great time. We took the kids on a safari ride that was really good--we saw lots of animals up close, including a giraffe right next to our tour jeep! Liam was a riot. I kept pointing out all of the different animals and he was not very interested, but when another tour jeep came around the corner he jumped up and yelled, "Truck!" LOL. We also did the nature walk and we got to see a hippo swimming. We met Pooh, Eeyore, and Tigger! Mommy, Bailey, and Liam did the Triceratops Spin while Daddy and Emily rode Primeval Whirl. We also went over to Magic Kingdom and I guess because it was getting late and it was raining, the crowds were starting to thin out. We were able to ride Winnie-the-Pooh (which said it was a 20 minute wait but was really about 5 minutes), Peter Pan (said 55 minutes but was only about 15!!!), and the new Little Mermaid ride (said 20 minutes but that was only because it takes 20 minutes to walk through that queue, LOL!!). We also got to meet Ariel and when we left there, the fireworks show was in progress so we had a pretty good, uncrowded view. It poured on our way out and we were all soaked by the time we got to our car,  but it was still a pretty great day!

 

Adventures with Liam

Liam has been really fun and funny lately. I guess it is all part of being two and being adorable! He's starting to talk a lot more (and actually be understandable) and that makes for some fun conversations with him. And I definitely have to watch whatever I do because he imitates EVERYTHING!!

Last week when we took Bailey to pre-k, Liam wanted to use the potty there. For some reason he loves the bathroom at preschool and also the one at Walmart (ICK). Anyway, he goes into the girls' bathroom, stops, walks back to the door, looks at the picture, walks out, and goes into the boys' bathroom! So I follow him in there. I have to take his pants completely off or he can't sit on the toilet, so I do that but I leave his sneakers on. He pees and then goes to the side of the toilet to flush. I laughed so hard when I saw him trying to flush the toilet with his FOOT! He was naked from the waist down except for sneakers and the handle was at about his shoulder height, so it was  hilarious to watch him try to do that! Now I know he learned that from me because when we are in a particularly icky bathroom, I will flush with my foot. But for him to try it was just SO funny.

Another adventure this past week was a trip to Publix. Most kids look forward to going to Publix because they get a cookie. Liam can't have the cookies because of his food allergies, so he gets a balloon. He starts getting excited as we near the registers because he knows his balloon is coming. He knows he has to ask nicely to get one and he is pretty good about saying, "Purple balloon, please" (he always asks for purple but he doesn't care what color he gets). This past week we got our balloon as usual and then went to the car. I loaded the bags, put Liam in and buckled him in, pressed the button to close the automatic door, and walked around to my seat. About halfway there, I hear a "POP!" I open the door and there's the baby holding the string with a dead balloon, crying, "balloon pop!" He had the biggest, cutest, most pathetic pout I've ever seen. So I go back around the car, get the baby out, and go back into Publix. He's still carrying the dead balloon and crying, "Balloon pop! Balloon pop!" As soon as we walked in, the manager came over and said, "Oh, no! What happened to your balloon?" And Liam replies, "Balloon pop!" So the manager went over to get him another balloon. Meanwhile Liam is telling everyone who walks by "balloon pop" in a tearful voice. It was so sad and so cute at the same time.

Finally, vacuuming with Liam is like an extreme sport. I have to vacuum every two or three days because the kids bring home so much MULCH from the playground that it just gets everywhere. Liam likes to "help" so he follows me around with the corn popper. He likes to race ahead of me into a room, then anticipate my move and "vacuum" that spot first before I can get to it! He'll crash his vacuum into mine, too. It's hilarious. It's also really helpful because I know exactly what he's doing while I'm cleaning.

He is definitely in the terrible/terrific twos!

Bailey's reading trophy!

Bailey finished the 100 Lessons book and earned her trophy and her Kindle Fire! We are so proud of her and her great reading skills!

Poop Picasso (and the crappy day)

Yesterday was sort of an adventure for me. I had an appointment to get my oil changed at 9:15. I told the service advisor I needed to pick my kids up at noon and she said it was no problem because the service would take no longer than an hour and a half. I walked over to Target with Liam and we shopped and had a snack. Around 10:15 we headed back to Toyota and waited in their kids' playroom, which has toys and Disney Junior on tv. I noticed that Mickey Mouse was on. Then Jake and the Neverland Pirates came on, and then another Mickey--and I realized, hey, I've been here for a while! SO I went to check on the status of my car and it was already 11:25! They promised me it was almost done, but I didn't get out of there until 11:47! I got to Bailey and Derrick's school at 11:58! Talk about cutting it close!!

Anyway, by the time we got home, Liam and I were both tired and hungry, so I made lunch and put him in for a nap. Only he didn't go to sleep--he pooped. Not only did he poop, but he took his diaper off and then smeared the poop EVERYWHERE. I mean, on the walls, on the door, on himself, all over the carpet--it was a royal mess! So I had to put him in the tub, start a load of wash, wipe up all of the poop and then shampoo the carpet! It was definitely NOT the quiet, restful afternoon I'd had in mind! Of course he didn't get to nap before we had to go to the bus stop, either, so he was a real joy! I told Will that he needed to take me out to dinner or at least order a pizza, because I'd had a truly CRAPPY day (with literal crap!!). LOL. I am sure I will laugh about this someday.

Heads or Toes?

Emily and Bailey were trying to decide whether to play with Barbies in the bathtub or play with PlayDoh. They were having trouble coming to an agreement, so Emily said, "I know what we can do. We can do a coin toss! Do you want to be heads or toes?" LOL :)

Bailey is becoming a SUPER reader!

Here are two videos of her reading lessons 73 and 74 in the 100 Lessons book

Lesson 73: http://youtu.be/Xq7mXy7FkYw

Lesson 74:

 

We have been working on this book for a while now. She lost interest for a couple months but now we're back on course. Daddy has promised her a Kindle Fire when she finishes the book! I'm really proud of the great progress she has made.

Donuts! (Doughnuts?)

Here he is, our little race car driver in his Cozy Coupe! Look out, toes!!

http://youtu.be/ce-u9ja5dqw

 

 

Happy January

I was very glad when the kids went back to school on January 9th--2 1/2 weeks off was a LOT! :) We FINALLY got our van back on January 12. It took 75 days to be repaired! We were all very excited about getting our own car back.

Emily and Bailey are both doing well in school. Emily continues to read at a 2nd grade level and can read 3rd grade books with minimal struggling. Bailey is about halfway through the 100 lesons reading book. Daddy said when she finishes the book, he will buy her a Kindle Fire. She is reading very well--I think her fluency is even better than Emily's was at this age.

Liam is really starting to master the potty. We have had lots of successful days where he is able to stay dry all day! He's still pooping in his diaper, though. I remember that was a struggle with the girls, too. But according to the pediatrician he is way ahead. Apparently the average age for boys to be potty trained is 39 months!

We registered Bailey for kindergarten. She doesn't want to go, LOL. She wants to stay in her school because she loves it so much.

That's about it around here!

Happy Holidays!

With all the craziness of the holidays and kids being out of school, I kind of let the blog get away from me for a while. We've had a lot going on!

Bailey was in a Thanksgiving program at school and she did a great job. Unfortunately whoever lined the kids up did so without respect to height, and we couldn't see her very well. We did get a picture of her after the show:

On December 1, Emily turned 7. She also lost a tooth! Daddy was in New Jersey at the time so she spent the night at Mimi and Grandpa's house. She had a ball with them. Of course, the next weekend Bailey wanted to have a sleepover with Mimi, too! We actually had her sleep over two weeks later, because the next day was Emily and Liam's birthday party at Ace Gym. Here are some photos of that event--it was really something! Kids were doing flips and jumping into the foam blocks. Emily got to go on a special bungee swing that looked SUPER fun. And there were TONS of presents!

We had some very exciting adventures with NuNu the Elf this year. Some of his more creative spots included hanging from the ceiling fan and climbing the Christmas tree! The girls were very excited to look for him each morning. Liam didn't really "get" the whole elf-on-the-shelf thing this year.

We were also able to enjoy a few more visits to Sea World. They converted the Wild Arctic ride to the Polar Express Experience. We really enjoyed seeing the train and going on the "ride." We even got to meet Santa! We also did a family snow globe picture, which was cool--they actually have a huge inflatable snow globe that you can go inside for a photo. There was plastic "snow" on the floor and the kids thought that was great. They also had bubble snow in the kids' section that was very exciting, too.

Santa was very good to us this year. Some special gifts were a Bucky the Pirate Ship play tent for all 3 kids, a rollercoaster for Liam, LOTS of princess dolls, movies, and stories for the girls, and even some gifts for Mommy and Daddy. It was a very special holiday.

Finally, we rang in the new year with Grandma, Grandpa Buddy, Mimi, Grandpa, and the Hinsons. We had lots of snacks and the girls actually stayed up until midnight! All in all, 2012 was a pretty good year and we are looking forward to a wonderful 2013!

Car accident

Last weekend, the kids and I were involved in a fairly serious car accident.

We are all fine. The van is not.

We were on our way to the zoo and were waiting at a red light on the access road to get onto the 417 N ramp. The light changed to green. Of course I hesitated a couple seconds before going--you just never know if someone is going to try to squeak through the light, right? But after two or three seconds, I proceeded into the intersection. That is when a lady in a white Kia came racing through the red light and right into my car! It was absolutely terrifying. Of course the baby started screaming--he wasn't hurt, just scared--and I was crying because my air bag deployed and my car was wrecked. Is there a worse noise than two cars colliding? That horrible sound haunts me. Emily and Bailey were totally fine; in fact, Bailey didn't even know what had happened! Luckily they were in tv trance because they were watching a Barbie movie. The pediatrician said that was actually probably a blessing because they were so relaxed, they didn't get whiplash or injuries.

At the scene of the crash, the paramedics and state troopers told me my car was likely totaled. We waited most of the week to hear from the insurance companies but we found out on Thursday that the van could be fixed and they will be doing that. It is going to take the rest of the month (!!!) to be repaired. I'm upset because it seems like a no-win situation. We'd either have our car totaled, which means the past 14 months of payments are pretty much a wash, or we'd get it fixed and it would never be worth anything any more. And I am concerned that it will never be the same--or as safe--after being repaired. So we are in car limbo until it is fixed and we can decide what we are going to do. I did get a rental van to use in the meantime and it is working out okay. The whole situation is just upsetting because I didn't do anything wrong or risky at all! I am so thankful for my wonderful husband who has been dealing with all of the insurance company representatives, repair shop people, and basically the whole mess so that I don't have to. He is the best. And I am truly thankful that my babies and I are all fine, because really this could have turned out a LOT worse for us.

Halloween

We had a ball trick-or-treating this year. The kids were super excited and they looked absolutely adorable in their costumes. Liam was a riot because he didn't know what trick-or-treating was all about, but he sure figured it out quick! He got some candy in his pumpkin, looked at it, looked at us, and then held his pumpkin out again for more! And he got it, too--probably because he's just so adorable! Here are some pictures of our group this year!

Liam's First Haircut!

I've been meaning to get Liam's hair cut for a while now. He's got some crazy curls going on in the back and while they look cute sometimes, sometimes they just look like a giant mess. So I decided to take him over to "Cool Cuts 4 Kids" to get his first haircut. I decided to go with them because I wanted someone who had lots of experience with squirmy little kids. He did pretty well--of course he was quite fidgety but he didn't get upset at all, which was a huge improvement over his big sister Bailey (who absolutely flipped out over HER first haircut). He loved sitting in the fire engine and watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while getting his hair done. He even got a lollipop (or as he says, "pop") just for sitting there so he was pretty happy about that! Here are a few shots:

He wouldn't cooperate for a front-facing shot but I will try to get one soon! I think he looks adorable--and so much older! He is really getting to be a big boy.