Taylor is 3!!

My sweet Taylor is 3!!!  She turned 3 last Sunday, and we had a fun day of celebrating.

Taylor's birthday party was Sunday afternoon at a local frozen yogurt joint.  She had several of her friends there, including cousins and Sydney's BFF.  Grandmom, Dee-Dad, Aunt Kendall and Uncle Matthew also came.  Taylor was so excited that, after all our counting down, her big day was actually here!

This picture pretty much sums up her birthday party.

Grandmom and Dee-Dad coloring Dora.  Young at heart! ;)

Taylor's friends from school!

A little blurry, but me and my little man!

That is quite the concoction. 

Taylor snuggling up to Mr. Tim.

Madeline and Kerrigan.

 

That night, Taylor opened a couple of presents from me and Stephen.  And we all enjoyed another cupcake. 

 

I love Sydney's face here.  She viewed all of Taylor's presents as her own!

Happy birthday to my sweet 3 year-old!!!



 

 

Thanksgiving Break!

This has been suuuuuch a nice break.  Typically, my breaks from school are me trying to get everything done that I put off for months because I don't have the time/energy to do them, with my social life coming in second.  This time, it was more like my social life came first, and my to-do list has been pathetically ignored.  I guess I keep thinking... 3 more weeks!... until the next break. :)

Anyways, the break isn't totally over, and we have some fun weekend plans to look forward to- but, I wanted to talk about my week so far!

Last Friday, some friends of mine in the neighborhood and I did a girls' craft night.  I worked on an advent calendar.  Here is how it turned out:

There's a bible verse for every day, starting December 1.

 

Saturday, Stephen took Sydney to the GT game, while I took Taylor and Parker up to my mom's church.  Every year, they have this holiday bazaar where they sell all these awesome homemade holiday items.  They also serve soup and cornbread for lunch.  My mom, dad, sister, and her girls were all there.  Lots of fun!

Sunday, we went to church and hung out most of the day. 

Parker, post-church.  I am a sucker for sweater vests on toddlers.

That night, our friends who live in the Vinings area hosted their annual pre-Thanksgiving meal.  We brought the kiddos and headed into town- it was a really great time.  There were probably about 30 adults and 25 kids! 

Monday, I took the kiddos to daycare in the morning.  I went out and completed all of my Christmas shopping (woot woot!) and then picked up the girls.  We went and got Taylor's haircut.  She was so excited about it (her hair desperately needed it!) but completely melted down when the lady pulled out the scissors.  She cried the entire time, lollipop and mommy's lap and all.  Thankfully, the end result is precious! 

one side cut, one side not.

 

Cut and died brown?  What a difference the angle of the camera makes!  PS- the right side is more like her real hair color... not sure where all that red came from!

 

 

so cute!

 

Tuesday, I did some grocery shopping, and I stopped by the Alzheimer's Center where Sydney's class went on a field trip.  Sydney was surprised/excited to see me, but became really clingy and whiney.  I think she wanted me to take her home with me. 

Can you find Sydney?  Think green!

 

I didn't take her home, though- I went and met my former boss for lunch.  It was great to see her!   I shopped a little bit more before getting the kiddos.  This day was rainy and soooooo cold, so we hunkered down inside the house the rest of the day.

Wednesday, I met my BFFs Erica and Ashley for brunch in Dunwoody!  Ashley is in town from California, so it was a fantastic reunion.  We ate brunch and then I went back to her mom's house for a bit before heading back home.  Later that day, I took Sydney with Raegan and her mom to see the 3-D movie Frozen.  It was pretty good.  Sydney hadn't seen a full-length movie since she was 2.5 (which was a disaster).  This one was better, though she started getting a little restless about halfway through.

 

Thursday, we woke up to Mr. Elf's return!  He had written a letter (thanks, Pinterest!) and had found his first hiding spot.  The girls were SO excited. 

 

 

We headed to my parents' house later that morning for our Thanksgiving meal.  The girls got to hang out in the awesome playhouse my dad built for the grandkids.  We ate a delicious meal (thanks, Mom!) and hung out for a little while.  Parker had a blast exploring a new place.  Taylor and Parker slept the entire hour drive home.  When we got home, we all hung out together and had leftovers from lunch again for dinner.  It was a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I have so unbelievably much to be thankful for!

 

Today (Friday), I decided to try to go to Kohl's this morning.  I had $20 free towards any purchase that expired at 1 PM today, so I thought it would be worth it.  Both girls begged to go with me, and I was feeling froggy.  Note  to self for next year- if they beg to come with me on Black Friday again, the answer is NO!  They were aggravating each other, and Taylor kept crying and clinging onto me.  The line at Kohl's was wrapped around the entire inside.  There definitely wasn't anything I needed that badly!  Luckily, we ran into a girl who babysat for us all the time before going to college, so I gladly gave her the $20 to use. 

We met Stephen and Parker at Walmart and did our grocery shopping for the week.  Stephen made a gourmet lunch, we all got to play together, I ironed 35 different articles of clothing (hello, wardrobe!), Stephen did some work around the house, we all ate dinner together.  Stephen is now at his old high school's playoff game (they're playing in Tucker) and the girls are in bed watching The Wizard of Oz. 

What a great week.  I feel so relaxed and rejuvenated for the upcoming work week!  I can make it 3 weeks!

14 months!

Parker's had an up and down month... having fun walking and exploring, but he's had some sicknesses, too!  Poor little guy.  Here are his accomplishments:

• He has gotten this walking thing down to a science!  He was walking a bit bow-legged at first, almost like he was just trying his best to stay balanced.  Now he's getting to be a little pro at walking.
• Pointing!
• He does the cutest thing- when Stephen or I walk into a room, he gets a huge smile on his face and lifts both arms up, for us to pick him up!
• Celebrated his 2nd Halloween!
• He's so funny when he gets close to the stairs when we don't have the gate up.  He knows he's not supposed to go up them on his own.  He'll walk over there and stop in front of them, then look at us.  Then he will giggle and race towards the stairs and just laugh and laugh as we pick him up and take him away.
• He is talking more now.  He's saying "mama" and "dada" often, and "no" and "no-no" (he even shakes his finger when he says that!)
• Blowing kisses.
• Giving high-fives.
• He knows where his nose is.
• He had double ear infections and the stomach bug this month! :(
• One of his molars has popped through, and two more are about to break the gums.
• He picks up the phone and puts it up to his ear, and he'll pick up a brush and "brush" his hair.

Sydney @ 5

I should have done this closer to her birthday, but I wanted to let you know all about Sydney at 5.

• Sydney is a combination of sweetness, sensitivity, sass, whine, and smartness:
• If she doesn't get her way, she will whine.  If we play a "race" game and she loses, she will say, "No!  Whoever doesn't win, wins."  Sometimes she has her mind set on something, and if it doesn't work out the way she thinks it should, she gets upset.
• On the flip side, this girl is so silly and has the best, most contagious laugh!  She will sometimes get into those fits where she can't control her laughter.
• In regards to her sass, she picks out her own outfits.  She always wants to wet her hair, brush it, put gel in it, and wear a headband and/or big bow that matches her outfit.  Some mornings she will cry because her hair isn't "perfect".  (I hate to tell her this, but with curly hair, it rarely is!)
• Sydney is so smart.  She does so well on her school work.  She is doing well at reading, but I can tell she's still not very confident.  If I open a book and she knows the first 2-3 words, she will begin to read.  If she doesn't, she'll think about the words for a few seconds and then say, "No, you read it!"  She loves those Brain Quest games and logical questions.  She also loves puzzles and playing games on the computer.
• She plays it off like she's a big girl, but secretly, if I put on Dora or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for Taylor, or even Sesame Street for Parker, she loves to watch those shows.
• She is all about pop music and singing all the words.  (though it's hilarious, I'll turn the radio so it can just be heard in the back and I can clearly hear her belt out the words she thinks are being said!).  Her favorite music is Christian, by singers like Toby Mac, Mandisa, Mercy Me, and Chris Tomlin.  She also loves that "What Does the Fox Say?" song and "Royals" by Lorde.
• Sydney's very best friend is Raegan, and she is also very good friends with Savannah.  They both go to our church, and Raegan goes to Sydney's school.  Raegan and Sydney are going to be split up next year, so it'll be very interesting to see how she responds to that.
• Sydney says she is going to marry a boy named Conner in her class.  He is the cutest, sweetest boy, so I'd be okay with that.  Stephen, however, is not so thrilled that she is already talking about marriage.
• Sydney loves playing outside.  That girl is a speedy runner!
• She's a very picky eater.
• She can tie her shoes and put her hair in ponytails/pigtails.
• She definitely repeats words and phrases that she hears.  She uses words like "hilarious" and "awesome" that I use a lot.  She says things like, "Taylor, don't do that or you will crack your head open and we'll have to go to the hospital!" which I say on a daily basis.  It's funny to hear my words in a 5 year-old's voice!
• Right now, when you ask Sydney what she wants to be when she grows up, she will tell you that she wants to be a cleaning lady. :)
• 5 year old stats:  43 1/4 inches tall, 41.8 pounds.  Size 5T clothes, size 10 shoe.  

Here come the holidays!

Oh, boy... my favorite season of the year... Christmas Time!  Yes, I am THAT person... I stayed home with a sick Parker back on 11/13 and got the whole house decorated.  This holiday only comes once a year, right? 

Here are some pics of our decorations, as well as some Turkey Day festivities!

Parker can't get enough of the tree!

Taylor likes to re-hang the ornaments Parker pulls off.

 

 Sydney's class had a Thanksgiving party today at school!  I wasn't able to go, but another mom and her teacher sent me these pictures.

Sydney's K-5 class!

BFFs.