Thanksgiving has come and gone for this year. I must say this was one of the best I have had! My husband was home this year so I decided I would do an impromtu Thanksgiving meal, just for us. Yes, just the four of us! So, we had ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, rolls, pecan pie, and pumpkin cake. I felt like I had been in the kitchen for two days (well, I actually had) and everything was over in about 10 minutes! But, it was worth the effort. I was so grateful when I looked around the table and saw my husband and 2 kids all stuffing their faces! It still seems a bit surreal to know that I have my own family now. WOW! We also took a road trip to Alabama to celebrate Thanksgiving with my parents, my brother and his family, and some good friends of ours. Another fabulous traditional turkey meal! Goodbye Thanksgiving 2010 and thank you!

Fall is Falling!

I love this time of the year! Cooler weather, change of colors, and the excitement of the holiday season just around the corner. Benjamin and Alexis have been taking advantage of plenty of outdoor time. Benjamin asked every night for "his pile"...of leaves, that is. Alexis enjoyed picking them up and throwing them. Course, she is in to picking things up and throwing them into a hole of some sort. Trash can, bathtub, even the toilet...yikes! We enjoyed an outing to the pumpkin patch, pumpkinfest, the zoo, and of course trick-or-treating at Uncle Mark's. This year, Benjamin was a little scared of all the "spooks" that come out when it's dark. Have no idea where that came from but it made Halloween truly a spooky night! Alexis just goes with the flow. As long as there is something going on, she is there. She tries to do everything her brother does and gets very mad if she can't! Temper tantrums have begun! So now we look forward to Thanksgiving....aka...hunting season!

From the Mouth of.......Benjamin

You know, my son can absolutely crack me up at times. Every day he says something so "left field" but funny. I wonder at times where he comes up with his sayings but I guess that is part of being a unique individual. Alexis is now my little curious bug. She is forever opening cabinets, drawers, etc and pulling items out (soon to be thrown in the trash by her!). Of course, she happened to come across some Kotex pads stuffed in my bathroom cabinet. Me, being too tired at that time to pick everything up, left them on the counter. Benjamin wanders in while I'm in the bathroom (of course, I cannot be alone for 5 sec.), holds one up in the air, and asks, "Mommy, whose diaper is this??" Oh my.....

She's Walking!

So the day finally arrived! To me, it is one of my favorite milestones. When you see your child take those first steps. What a joy! The look of amazement and accomplishment on their little faces is unforgettable. After a couple of weeks of walking while holding on to someone's hand, Mike and I set up shop on the floor a few feet apart and let go! One or two little steps turned into three or four and then off she went! Benjamin was so excited. He kept shouting, "Look at Alexis, she's doing it!" and "YEAH Alexis!". Those first few days watching her was so comical...she kept one hand up in the air as if she were still holding someone's hand! Now, a couple of weeks later, and she is unstoppable! She loves her newfound skill and has put it to good use. Exploring anywhere and everywhere!

Alexis

So I have been reflecting on the last couple of months...wow, right?! It truly is amazing to me how much one tiny human being can accomplish in such a short time. At her 12 month check-up, she had not mastered much of anything in terms of the "norm" for her age. In fact, she had just figured out how to go from a laying position to a sitting position. Within the span of 2 short months, she figured out how to crawl (the Alexis way!), pull-up, cruise, and walk with assistance. She is also starting to build a vocabulary. Granted, this consists of only a few words, but somehow I seem to know what she wants (or doesn't want!). Her two favorite words are "up" and "night night". Which sounds like "aaaaaaaaappp"....visual being mouth wide open....and "ni na". Then there is the pointing.....she points at everything and grunts. So, we walk around the house pointing, grunting, pointing, grunting. This is such a great time! I could literally watch her for hours on end, playing, exploring, laughing. And I can hardly wait to see what happens next!

My boy....

is 4 going on 14. You know how they say kids are like sponges...they absorb all sorts of knowledge. Well, preschool has proven this to be true. My son can count to 20 in Spanish and English, he's beginning to sound out words, starting to recognize and read words. He's also decided screaming is the new talking, throwing fits can be done for the sheer joy of it, hitting his sister or anyone else within distance when he is mad is acceptable, and of course, when we say no he says yes. I love the influence of other children that preschool brings! Back to the going on 14 part...when I used to ask him what he was doing, he would sweetly respond the truthful answer (even if he was doing something he wasn't supposed to!). These days he shouts, "NOTHING!!!!!". Before, when I would call his name he would say, "Yes, Mommy??" Now, its, "WHAT??????" Oh boy, what is he going to be like when he really is 14??!! Finally, my favorite is when we are not doing something he likes he tells us, "I am not happy with you right now!" God love my little 14 year old!

4th of July

I guess you can say we started the holiday weekend on Thursday when the kids and I went to Bama for an overnight visit at Grams' house (according to Benjamin it is Grams house...not Papa and Grams but just Grams!) Benjamin delved right into the task of opening the and closing the garage doors, making sure all the potty's still flushed and weren't loud, and checking the fans and lights around the house. The big decisions for him revolved around which potty he was going to use...he has them named by the bathroom color...purple potty, blue potty, pink potty, or yellow potty. Such big decisions! Alexis was thrilled to have new ground to cover on her little Disney ride-on. And she wasted no time in scooting/crawling to all the new territories! She even managed to "ride" into the blue potty and pull out all the toilet paper from the roll. Such a princess. Of course, her big brother came to the rescue, picked up the paper, put it in the blue potty, flushed, and reminded her it was not loud! We also spent some time on the "beach" splashing in the river water. Benjamin threw rocks and threw rocks, and oh, threw rocks! Alexis had fun splashing water and watching the rock throwing. The only thing she did not like were the waves that came up from the boats going by. Oh well.....we had plenty of fun, sun, pictures, and great food!

Saturday, we were lucky enough to have some friends over for dinner and fireworks. Ava and Benjamin had a great time playing together and enjoyed sparklers once they realized they were not loud. When the "big" fireworks started they doned headphones for the noise and were entranced. That is, until our neighbor made a scene about how we were spooking her horses....another story for another day!

Sunday, the actual holiday, I spent working. But we were able to get in some bottle rockets later that evening and Benjamin saw some of the neighbors big fireworks so that was fun.

All in all, what a great time we had celebrating our freedom. As always, my thoughts were on all those fighting for us today so we can have weekends like this. God Bless America!

Benjamin-isms

* Hey, how'd that happen?

* Yessiree Bob

* I'll get/fix/do it, no problem!

* Last time...one more time...

* Gee

* That wasn't supposed to happen

Father's Day 2010

So the day, and really the weekend, started out as normal. Spur of the moment, I decided to see if my parents were up for a road trip to join us for dinner. Thanks to ultra hot weather and no other plans, they accepted. To make things better, my mother-in-law agreed to come as well. A big family dinner....great! In the bustle of cooking, occupying the kids, cleaning up, etc I was hit with a tremendous wave of emotion. For as long as I can remember, we spent this day honoring my Dad. But this year, it really hit home that I have 2 special men in my life and so do my kids. For me, my Dad has been a constant in my life for 36 years. Always there with love and support no matter what. Then I found my soulmate...the man who began to know me as the woman I am now. The man who has given me two beautiful children and our own family. The fact that we are now starting our legacy and are carving the way for our kids is overwhelming. To see Benjamin and Alexis with the two "Dads" made the day so special. There are really no words to describe it. My hope is that the kids will one day realize what I know now......love and family are more important that anything else!

Alexis

So my little angel has found her wheels. No, she is not walking. Actually she is not even crawling. She gets on her tummy and scoots herself forward using her arms and flailing her legs. Quite a sight to see, I must add! Guess I will have to dust off the video camera and capture some of these moments. But, her technique is working. She manages to come into the kitchen, open all the cabinets and empty them for me. And no, the babyproofing has not been put in place. This is our second child remember?

Benjamin

Summer brings with it a host of fun things. Water, outside play, and bugs. So bugs are supposed to be a little boys dream, right? Not mine. He is terrified of bugs, unless they they are dead. To which he usually says..."hey look...that one is upside down and not moving!" And then there are wasps....lots of them in our next of the woods. These little creatures cause quite a ruckus. We hear a shrill scream followed by "Ahhhhhhh....a WAPS SS SS SS" Yes, that is spelled correctly and followed by a couple of extra s's!

So here I am, four years late for Benjamin and 1 year late for Alexis. Since the pages of the baby books are less than half filled, I am finally biting the bullet and starting a blog. My hopes are to chronicle the special moments of my kids. My Mom and and I have always said we could write a book of the stories, places, events, and comedies we have come across over the years. Well, this may not be a book but hopefully a journal we can savor for years to come. I introduce you to lives of Mike, Amy, Benjamin, Alexis, and Pepper Bradley!