Tomorrow

Tomorrow you will be born, Slade Michael. Tomorrow I will share you with the world. I am so sad and excited about this all at once. Knowing you will be born tomorrow is so surreal.

Your brother and sister cannot wait to meet you! They love you so much already! We all do. Our world will change so much with your entrance.

I can't wait to meet you! I love you, Gracie, and Ryker with all my heart.

SMS

You will be born in only a few weeks.
Your brother and sister already adore you.
Your mom and dad wished and hoped for you.
We all anxiously await your arrival and wonder who you will look like.

I'm going to treasure the last few weeks of just you and me.

Happy 4th Birthday, Ryker!

Last night I kissed a 3-year-old goodnight.

Tonight I kissed my 4-year-old goodnight.

Little Bubba you have captured me and your daddy's hearts.

You are so sweet, honest, and sensitive.

You are so fun, active, and silly.

You love baseball, basketball, football, and soccer.

You love to play with horses and watch western movies with your dad.

You love your sister so much.

Yet you fight with her all.day.long.

Your best buddies are your dad, Caleb W., and Lincoln.

But you also adore your uncles - Waid, Marcus, Tyler, Mitch, and Chad.

You are my little negotiator.

You love babies.

You love to hunt.

And you love your mommy.

I love you Ryker. More than you will ever know.

You're RUINING my life!!!

Oh dear, did my 5-year-old just say that to me... I closed her bedroom door, laughed a little, and called her father to inform him. What I wanted to do was tell her a thing or two, but, luckily, I refrained. She has a way of pushing my buttons. I am the adult, though, and will try to stay in control.

I found a cool website which tells you your color personality based on the day you were born. I have to say, Gracie's is spot on: Your quirky personality makes you irristible and pulls people toward you. Your unusual take on life makes you stand out and be noticed. This can make you feel special or at times a little separate from others. Courageous in your expression, you can do well in the performing arts or any other field that allows you to be distinct. *You have a style all your own.* Your personal color embraces your indiviuality yet supports the value of you finding your place within your human family. ROAN ROUGE - Reflective, Intense, Unique. This is so Gracie.

And my color personality: Grapeade - Resourceful, Talented, Playful. You know how to get what you want and pursue your ambitions in a relentless manner. Although you may appear playful and easygoing, you take your interests seriously. You are resourseful and will work long and hard to accomplish your aims. People find you attractive and charismatic.

This is very interesting to me because Gracie and I are alike in so many ways, but the differences in our personalities can be frustrating because we sometimes don't understand each other. Oh, I love my little diva.

funnies

I must write all these down before I forget.



From the girl: "I sing just like the girl on this song." Referring to her favorite Taylor Swift song. Telling her friend, Camryn. Although, in her opinion, Camryn did not sound like the girl.



"Mom, I'm afraid the fever is coming back." The fever being her sickness from the last two days. Poor girl was so sick. Mid-puking, "Mom, make it stop. It's yucky. Please! I don't like it!"



"Mom, I want some of your yummy lotion." Victoria's Secret lotion of course.



From the country boy: "Oday, I will watch the owympics wit you after I watch my horsey movie."



He runs around shooting guns all.day.long.



"If you don't let me ______ then I won't may-ee (marry) you." This one works a little better on Gracie than me. Or "If you don't let me ______ then I won't be your mommy." funny boy. And the newest, "If you don't let me _____ then I won't let you make my hair spiky." And he tells Coleton he won't be his best buddy.

My Gracie Girl is 5

What I've taught Gracie in 5 years = What Gracie has taught me in 5 years

Be nice to others. = But don't forget to stand up for what you believe in.

Changing your clothes all day long is not acceptable. = If you like your outfit that's all that's important, not what others think.

Love your brother. = And make up easily when you fight.

Use your manners. = But sing a lot and giggle a lot.

Obey the rules. = But still strive to be yourself.

Be kind to others. = And it's ok to ask someone to be your friend.

Eat healthy foods. = But still enjoy chocolate.

Life is busy. = Take time to snuggle.

Clean up your messes. = Creativity is messy.

Try new things. = Be brave.

Daddy loves you. = It only takes a smile and a kiss to get your way with Daddy.

Gracie is so excited to be 5 today! She has picked her birthday dinner - corn, baked beans, sweet bread, and crab wontons. (we may need to add a protein in there) She's thrilled because I made her homemade brownies for her birthday. I can't wait to see her blow out 5 candles!

I love you Gracie. So much. I look into your eyes and see so much honesty, hope, and love. I'm lucky to be your mom. You are my little friend all day long.

Almost 5!

My kids are growing up so fast. I just updated my profile to say that Gracie is 5 and Ryker is 3. (yeah, it's been awhile) And Ryker's obsession has changed from Go Diego Go to horses. I guess he gets into one thing and sticks with it more than I realized...

Technically, Gracie isn't 5 until tomorrow. I just had to blog today because I cannot believe it! She is, of course, so excited, but I'm a little sad. She loves getting older and learning new things. Today she told me that 2 plus 2 plus 1 is 5. (she's a little into the number 5...) Tomorrow she gets to dress up for preschool (it's sports day) and bring brownies for treats. The girl loves brownies!

We signed Gracie up for basketball last night at the GVR recreation center. We just happened to be in the gym when practice started and they had one open spot on the team. Gracie was in her black boots with heels, but jumped right in! Ryker would love to join in, but isn't old enough. He said, "Mommy, I too little to play?" He gets to play on the sideslines, though, so I think it will be fun for him too.

Christmas!

We had such a fun-filled Christmas! The kids got so many fun toys and cool clothes. Ryker now has enough horses for all the neighborhood kids and daycare kids to each have a horse to play with. He's in heaven. And he has enough guns for our family to have a gun fight. Gracie got 2 babies and 2 strollers, which is great because she can share with Camryn now. She really loves her Leapster game from Mimi and Pops. And now she has scarves! So she doesn't have to steal mine. :) She's such a fashionista. It's funny the way she's always so interested in Ryker's gifts, though. He couldn't care less about hers... Anytime someone asks Gracie about Christmas she says she "got the best gifts EVER!"

My little rakers

YES! I have little rakers! I dread fall because I hate raking. You can never rake them all and it's never-ending. But now, I will never rake alone. love it.

Circus!

Pre-Circus Faces (how can you not smile?!?) :)

We had fun at the circus!

Halloween

The whole trick-or-treating group!

Baseball player and princess

Monkey and princess

Preschool group at the zoo

We did three Halloweens. The first one was a trip to the zoo with Gracie and Ryker's preschool classes. Ryker was the only one to dress up. Appropriate, as a monkey. The second was a birthday party/Halloween party for Sasha, a little girl in Gracie's preschool class. The last one was Halloween night when we went over to Joy and Rod's for a Halloween party and trick-or-treating. Gracie was a princess both nights. Ryker was a monkey the first night and a baseball player the second night.

HORSES!!!

Ryker and Henry (the pet turkey!)


Ryker and Chris

Gracie and Hootie. She even galloped with Hootie!

Cutie Pie

Ryker. Loves. Horses.

Maybe because we drive by a horse stable near our house almost daily and there's another horse stable by his preschool. We're not sure how or why it happened but he loves them. He's gotten to go to Chris and Monica's a few times to ride horses. He still won't ride by himself like Gracie does, but he's happy to just be out on the farm looking and petting the horses. He also loves riding the tractor and Chris and Monica's. Luckily, Chris and Ryker are buddies and Chris lets us visit often.

Marriage and Fighting

I'm actually not referring to Coleton and I. Gracie and Ryker get married almost every day. It's very cute because Gracie likes to get "fancy" and Ryker gets "handsome." Ryker does threaten not to marry her "evah adin" when he is mad at her. (which is quite often) Now that we have Camryn in daycare every day Ryker can be quite busy getting married. He often hurts Gracie's feelings by marrying Camryn and not Gracie. Tears.



So if they're not getting married, they're fighting. One night I couldn't take it anymore. They were separated for the night from 6-8pm. My hope was they would realize it's much more fun to be together than apart and be grateful for each other. I know, pry too advanced for a 3.5 year-old and almost 5 year-old. So they took separate baths, almost had separate dinners (Coleton convinced me family dinner would be good), and separate bedtime routines. I don't think this helped them at all, but, for the night, it helped my sanity. I know they love each other so much, but emotions run high sometimes. I'm trying to let them work out more fights on their own, which works about 25% of the time. These days Gracie is convinced a little sister would make her life so much easier. She's sugggested trading in Ryker for a sister. I'm trying to explain to her it doesn't work that way.

Funny Ryker

This boy cracks me up. Which is maybe why he gets away with more than he should. Hmmm. Oh well, like father like son, right?

It's been so dry lately than I've been getting bloody noses. Gross. So Ryker noticed and said, "Mommy, you have bloody nose? I not want you to die!" When I told Coleton this story he pointed out that Ryker has been watching so many cowboy movies (horsey movie shows is what he calls them) and blood equals dying in those movies.

Ryker has a tendancy to wait until the very last moment to go potty. So when he grabs himself you know we're at emergency status. He grabbed himself the other day so I asked if he needed to go to the bathroom. He said no and grabbed himself again. When I asked him why he was doing that he said, "Puz Daddy does it."

New Computer!

Yep, I'm updating on my new, delivered by the FedEx man, Dell laptop. My Christmas (and all of next year) gift from my Coleton. I can't wait to start uploading pictures, blog more, and check all my favorite blogs more. Merry Christmas to me!

A post with no pics...

So I really, really need a computer that is less than 10 years old. Then I could post more! (that's my logic and i'm sticking to it.) I can't upload pics on this computer so I wait until Mal is here with her laptop and bug her to let me use it. I know, sad story, right? So my blog hasn't been updated in forever!!!

Gracie is loving her new class - gymnastics! She is so cute out there doing her handstands and cartwheels! We go on Monday afternoons for an hour and fifteen minutes and she's doing so great. What I am most proud of her for is her perseverance. She keeps on trying, even when it's tough for her. Plus, her teacher is marvelous with kids. Gracie loves Miss Margaret and tells her so when we leave.

Gracie has also started preschool at Beck Rec Center, which is a different preschool from last year. I'm impressed with the teachers and the preschool program and the program. I just wish that since we're only going two days/week, that the program was longer than 2.5 hours. Gracie loves school, she just hates separating from me. So once I get her there, I want to keep her there a little longer. :) Thus, my dilemma about 1/2 day vs. full day kindergarten next year. I think I've already talked to everyone I know and almost every stranger I've run into about this so I won't go any further. But it will be a big decision. As will what school to send her to next year. Sigh. Bittersweet. I love watching my little G growing into a little girl. She is beginning to really think about things and take care of her brother and the daycare kids.

Ryker has grown up in so many ways since April! He is a non-diaper wearing, non-pacifier sucking preschool boy!!! Wow! Not that it's been easy to get to this point... The potty training was fairly simple and he's done really great with it. Letting go of the pacifier, however, was not in any way easy. He lost his beloved "roro" one day. Coleton and I had discussed that it was almost time for him to give it up. So the night he lost it, we decided it was a sign from the heavens. Or something like that. That first night I laid in bed with him and tickled his back. He fell asleep pretty quickly. I settled in for a rough night thinking that he might wake up often crying for his roro. He didn't. But he did wake up early. I found the roro the next morning when I was getting his clothes. In an attempt to put it on his dresser, it fell in one of his drawers. I hid it away, but have considered, oh so many times, getting it out. Because the next week was just awful. He begged for it every night, "All I want is my wowo. Dats all." It broke my heart. I had to send Coleton up many nights because it made me so sad. I made Mom vow to never let me give another child a pacifier.

So in this process he has given up naps because he has to be really tired at night to fall asleep with no roro. Talk about some rough days. And early mornings. I don't think I realize how long he laid in there in the morning, content to just have his roro and lovey. Sometimes he fell back asleep. He was just in heaven. And I feel guilty for taking it away. It was such a comfort to him. But I know logically that it was time. He looks and sounds so silly walking around with it in the morning. He knew he was supposed to give it to me when he woke up, but the battle was prolonging and getting vicious. We still sometimes have rough nights, but it's getting better. He's sleeping later in the mornings. Ryker and Gracie are so happy after 12 hours of sleep. It almost makes no nap times worth it. Now they have quiet time in their rooms for an hour, which is going pretty well. Sometimes Ryker falls asleep under his bed or behind his bed. Maybe that makes it seem like he's still not taking a nap in his mind. If only I could post those pics...

Ryker and his buddy, Lincoln, are also in preschool at Beck. They are only there for 2 hours, 2 days/week. They are sad and serious at drop-off, but very happy at pick-up. I think they're both doing great!

Whoa, I just thought about how I'm going to be one busy van driver next year. Kindergarten drop-off and preschool drop-off. It might be that long until I post again... Hopefully not. :)

That's what my talkin' bout!

Ryker is potty-trained! Woot Woot! I've been waiting to post this, just hoping we don't go back to diapers, but my little boy is doing amazing! I've been saying that I just didn't think he was ready, but he has definitely proved me wrong. I think the main reason for his success is that he wants to be a big boy so badly - he loves wearing his "unders" and he's so proud of himself when he goes on the toilet.

It all began the weekend my parents were in town. Ryker said something Dad didn't understand and Coleton interpreted it as Ryker saying, "I'm looking for somewhere to poop." Coleton suggested he try the toilet. We figured it'd be the same as the other times we suggested he use the toilet, but this time he really went! We all made a big fuss about it and I let him start wearing his unders the next few days. He loves going to the bathroom with Daddy and loves all the celebrating. He's only had a few accidents over the past couple weeks and lets me know when he has to go. That's been the best part - I haven't even had to stay on top of it, he knows when he has to go. Which is so crazy to me because we've tried going to the potty so many times and he just hasn't been able to do it. It just clicked. I've been dreading potty-training little Ryker and, it turns out, the kid pretty much trained himself. That's what my talkin' bout!

Happy Gracie, Grumpy Ryker

All ready for preschool.  She looked so cute I wanted to snap a few pics.

Ryker insisted on having his picture taken.  But then was mad when I took his picture.  Hmph.

I just had to capture these shots of him.  He is frustrated sometimes because he doesn't know what he wants.  The same thing as his sister or not?  Thus, the tears and yelling at Mommy.  His two phrases right now are, "My sad from you!"  and "Mommy, you say no to evything!"  He's sad from me every time I tell him no or put him in timeout.  And the day I told him no to Dora and a popcicle is when he pulled out the second phrase.  Oh, I love you, little Ryker, but sometimes I don't know what to do with you.

Blowing Bubbles

As you can see, it takes a lot of concentration.

Unfortunately, she choked whenever the camera came out, but she did blow a few bubbles.  She was so proud of herself and it's so cute to see how hard she was trying.

Griff, Tara, Mitch, Pops, and Mimi visit

At the Elephant Bar-lots of entertainment for Griff