The "Tail" of Two Pillow Pets

Hope and I enjoyed the rare opportunity to go to the mall by ourselves Saturday. It wasn't for the best of occasions... I had to do the dreaded maternity swim suit shopping. Not good for one's self confidence. Hope was very helpful though, insisting that every single one was beautiful and that I needed them all. After that, we walked to Hallmark and found they had Pillow Pets. Let me back up to say that Hope has asked me for a Pillow Pet every single day for the last 3 months. She sings the commercial, she wants to look at them online, she drools over her friends' Pillow Pets at school. She wanted the unicorn soooo bad. I had planned on ordering one and that being her big sister gift when Emmy comes. But, seeing it in person, she was just squealing she was so excited. Then she said, "Mommy, if you buy this for me, ALL my dreams will come true!" Sold. She does know how to word things so that I cannot say no. She carried it through the rest of the mall, just so beside herself excited.


We went home and Noah was asleep, but she gladly shared her story about finding the Pillow Pet and carrying it through the mall. John asked her if she dropped it on the floor and got it dirty at the mall. She said, "Well, it's machine washable!" Clearly, she has seen the commercial too many times.

Fast forward to Sunday morning. Noah woke up around six. He ate some breakfast, and then was playing in the living room quietly and watching a morning show. I went back to my room and laid down. He was back and forth between laying down with me (he loves a good snuggle!) and back to his toys. Then, he comes in with Hope's new Pillow Pet and in his deepest grumbly voice he says, "PILLOW PET?!" I wish I had it recorded because so much attitude was packed in those two words. It was like he was saying, You got HER a Pillow Pet and Not ME??? John and I both laughed so hard. I had no idea he even knew what one was. So began Noah's attachment to the purple unicorn. We got up and loaded up the car to go to Jennifer's lake condo for the day. Noah wouldn't let Hope touch the unicorn the whole way there. He held it, and bless her heart, I know it wasn't easy, but she let him. Then, every few minutes he would shoot her this look and grumble, "My Pillow Pet." Just to aggravate her. I couldn't help it, it made me laugh so hard. I had tears. I know it doesn't seem funny reading it, but coming from this sweet boy, it was cracking me up. I kept reassuring Hope that I knew it was hers and she tried her best to let it roll off her back.

Here is the only picture I took at the lake. Ooops.

So today, we were out with my mom and I told her the whole Pillow Pet drama. She said, "Well, we have to go to the mall and get him one." So, we did. We took him and let him choose between the two boyish ones they had, the dog and the panda. He could not decide. Mom put them both on the floor to see which one he picked up. He picked up both in one smooth motion. After several more minutes, I think we just ended up taking the one he was holding onto the tightest. The dog, or the "foof" (woof.)

Yes, he is pretty happy with his "foof" Pillow Pet, but he is happiest when he has both.

Emmy needs your help

Emmy

Baby Emmy is just about 10 weeks away from being here. She is so sad because she has no middle name. Okay, she probably isn't, but still. Our problem is that both Hope and Noah's names have tons of meaning for us. Hope is from Jer. 29:11, a scripture we hold dear, her middle name Louise was my grandmother's name, and my middle name as well. Noah's first name means peaceful one which is what we prayed for him, and Red is John's dad's initials. (Try to forget for just a minute that I tried to change his name to Charlie after he was born...) Emmy, however, is a name that we both just love. We have loved it since before Hope was born. We considered it for her, but we would have named her Emily and called her Emmy. Now, I am just a fan of naming her what we will call her. For her middle name, I am looking for some meaning. However, John's favorite middle name, Love, might be a bit much for me. I have a few I toss around, but none of them are "the one." Suggestions?

Oh, and my original thought of not naming her till we see her? Not happening. I need a name. If she is born and I think she is not an Emmy, we will change it then. Soooo... help me!

Texas, here we come (again)

That's right, we are going to try to be Texans one more time. John has a new job, which is such a blessing, although it comes at a pretty crazy time in our lives! What most of you probably know, although I have always been hesitant to put on the blog is that John travels EVERY week. He leaves Monday mornings and gets home Thursday or Friday nights. He has been doing this for more than 3 years. It is the reason we moved back to Arkansas so that I can be near my family while he is away. Which has been wonderful. But, my kids need their daddy. It has really affected Hope this last year, and we always hoped that we would have a more stable situation for her and Noah (and now Emmy!) before she started kindergarten. Well, funny how those prayers get answered sometimes. We will be moving probably days before kindergarten starts for her. John's new company is being kind enough to let him work from Little Rock until the baby comes. Which means.... the days of me being a weekday single mom are OVER!!! Wahoo! So, while there are lots of mixed emotions, we are both confident that this is the right move for our family. I have kind of felt like John is just a weekend visitor, and I know it is extremely hard for John as well. And I feel like it is the hardest on the kids, especially Hope. She is so excited that her daddy will actually be at home to read her stories at night, not just on the computer. So, when is the big move? Good question. Emmy is due August 8th, and kindergarten starts on the 23rd, so somewhere in between there! Like I said, it's a busy time!

Angel Baby Collin

So very sad to hear of the loss of sweet little Collin Marsh today. I just don't understand. Please pray for his family. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/collinmarsh

TWO!!!

My boy is two. I just can't believe it. Here is what's up with Noah these days:

• He weighs 22.6 pounds. Below the 3rd percentile. He is still a runt. Actually, he even fell off of his curve this time. I feel like he might have lost a bit of weight this last week though while he has been sick. I have always thought Noah was quite a bit bigger than his runt sister, but I just looked back at her two year stats... she was 22.5 pounds!



• He is talking up a STORM. Just all of the sudden he strings things together. My favorite things he has said this month make me smile. When we were getting into the very hot car a couple of weeks ago, instead of saying his usual, "Hot, Mommy!" He said, "BIG Hot, Mommy." And another, when he was climbing onto my bed, his leg slipped between the mattress and the rail. He yelled out, "BIG STUCK!" Funny, funny.


• He is annoyed by his sister quite easily. She just wants to play with him, but it drives him batty for her to touch him or anything he perceives to be his.


• Still loves food. Almost any kind of food too. But no broccoli. I don't understand this. I LOVE broccoli. But my kids won't touch it. He is known to yell out his drive through requests while driving down the road. If you pass by the donut shop, McD's, or a pizza place, you can expect him to demand, "DONUTS!" "CHICKEN" or "PIZZA."


• Elevators are called "Push it"s. He wants to ride the "Push it" at school every before we go home. He also knows there is a "Push it" at the doctors office, and lets you know as soon as you pull into the parking lot.


• "AWDEEDOE" Took me a while to figure this one out. It means "Open the door."


• No longer takes a bottle. I know, people, I know. Way over due. But, he was so sweet to lay in my arms in my morning and take his bottle. He only wanted one in the morning. He has traded it in for a sippy cup of (WAY DILUTED) tea. Heaven forbid we run out of tea first thing in the a.m.


• Still hanging on the the pacifier. I know I need to eliminate it soon before the baby comes, but, well, we are going to Dallas soon, and I am not doing it before those 12 hours in the car.


• Has discovered Thomas the train. Brings back memories of sweet Keller and Clay. Happy that I have my own Thomas fan now.


• Still loves anything with buttons. He has more fake phones than most kids, but he loves loves loves them. He scored a Buzz Lightyear phone this week while we were waiting to check out at the grocery store. It has gone with us everywhere since.


• Has no clue that he has a baby sister coming in 3 months.


• Still sleeps like a champ (when he is not sick!) I really need to transition him to a bed before baby, but really, why am I messing with his awesome sleep habits? I don't know what to do. Although he is a climber, he has not yet attempted to scale the crib. And he really loves it. Help!

Goodnight my boy

When Noah Red wakes up tomorrow, he will be 2! What a blessing he is to our family! I have to be honest and say his last day as a one year old was not fun! He woke up so sick in the middle of the night with an episode that scared the bejeezes out of me. He was shaking and his temperature got very high very fast. Febrile seizure? Maybe. If it happens again, you will find us in the nearest ER. So, today started with a trip to the doctor complete with throat swabs and blood draws. Not a good start. They took blood from his sweet little finger, and of course he cried. The nurse put a bandaid on it, but he kept screaming and screaming and screaming. Just harder and harder. I finally asked him if he wanted me to take the bandaid off, and he cried, "OFF!" So, I took it off and set it in the window sill by where we were sitting. He stopped crying immediately. Then he kept pointing his finger at the bandaid and saying "NO Hurt!" He was so mad at that bandaid for hurting his "fergner."

Anyway, the rest of the day consisted of round the clock Motrin and Tylenol to keep his fever down (Just a little fever virus... he will be better for his party!) He just laid around and looked for his sissy all day. He would cry when I would say, "Noah, sissy is not here. She is at school." Very sad. He didn't eat dinner tonight, but did perk up to play with Sissy. She is standing behind me when I took these pictures, which explains the awesome grins I haven't been able to capture in a while. Don't worry, I made the mental note of remembering to ask her to help me get him to smile from now on!

Of course I got a little sad putting him to bed. I remembered sitting in that rocking chair each of the last 2 April 28ths, thanking God for my Noah Red. Tonight was no exception. Only tonight I realized that next April 28th, I won't be putting him to bed in that crib in that room. He will be sharing a room with Sissy, and his baby sissy will be sleeping in that bed. Whoah. One day at a time. :)

Baby Shopping

It was fun.

Disney Day 1 - Epcot

We rode the bus to Epcot this morning. Getting a bus was way less chaotic than imagined. Everyone is just a little bit more laid back at Disney, I think. We met the Steele's before the park opened so we could validate our tickets together. It was so fun to see them! Hope got a button when we checked in the Hotel that said "Happy Birthday Hope!" That was one of my very favorite things about the trip! EVERYWHERE we went, people said "Happy Birthday Hope!" She heard Happy Birthday literally hundreds of times while we were there. That is a pretty special 5th birthday if you ask me! Walking into Epcot was super magical. This was our first Birthday greeting. All the Disney cast members are out and high fiving and shaking hands. Even maintenance men and women, I mean everyone! So cool. I am sad to admit this, but Day 1 was the only day we made it to a park before it opened. I have no one to blame but the kids and my husband! All 3 were hard to wake all of the rest of the days! Not kidding! Anyway, there is definitely something special about walking in as the park is opening. In the rush to get to the rides, we passed Daisy Duck, who is probably Hope's favorite character. I just knew we would find her again... but, we didn't! Apparently she is rare to see! I didn't know!

Here are some pictures of the few hours we had with the Steele's before Austin got sick, bless his heart!

The first ride we all actually got on was Living with the Land. Hope loved every second. have you ridden it? It is hands down the longest, most boring ride in the history of the world, but my child? LOVED it. Here are Noah and I learning about agriculture...


Nemo was also a big favorite with Hope.


We walked through all the different countries, deciding what to eat for lunch. Guess where we landed? AMERICA. No shock there, right?


We enjoyed the walk along the way. We found Donald...

Played the drums....

(Definitely a highlight for Noah Red!)

And... We spotted our first PRINCESS!!!

People, it was like straight out of a Disney World commercial magical. There was no line, she was just standing there! Hope ran up, and Snow White was per.fect. Girl was awesome. I might have teared up, I'm just sayin'. Hope's Mimi made her an awesome autograph book, and Snow White loved finding her picture to sign by. She asked Hope who made it, and Hope told her, "Mimi." Snow White said, "Oh, is Mimi a Queen?" Hope loved that!

This little man was awesome on Day 1.

We went to watch Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Hope was nooooot pleased. We also watched Turtle talk with crush. I have a clip that I have got to learn how to get onto the computer. Crush talked to Hope! He said, "Who's that little dudette with the bright blond fur on her noggin?" They brought the mic to Hope, and she told him her name. Then he asked her to say, "Totally Sweet Dude!" She did. It was so fun.

Hope's favorite things of the day when asked:

1.Seeing Donald and Snow White

2. Taking a picture in a sharks mouth

3. The pixie dust on the ground at night

This was the scene in our hotel room that night...

Life is good!

Disney World Day Zero - Travel Day (and how to do Disney on the cheap!)

Yes, my friends, the time is here. The time to share some Disney stories. Yes, we went in November, and yes, now it is April. My Bad.

Traveling with two young children is a scary thought. Our trip was noooo exception. I am not an organized person. I am just not. That said, I knew that Disney World would not be enjoyable is there wasn't SOME planning and organization involved. I did a ton of research before our trip. A TON. We were doing Disney on the cheap. I have had several people ask me how we did it so cheap, so here is my story... We were asked by our friend's, the Steele's, if we might want to go the same week as them and enjoy some very discounted, totally awesome, military park tickets. It worked out so well that we could make that week work. They were super nice to include us. You know we love you, Steeles! Sadly, our time with them was very limited due to little Austin getting very sick with H1N1. Our plane tickets were paid for with John's many frequent flyer miles, so that was a huge cost taken out of the equation. Then, for the hotel. I knew we really wanted to stay at a Disney resort, and knew that the Value resorts were probably the best route for us. Someone told me to pick Pop Century, because it was the newest, and it has it's own bus route. I was really excited when I booked our preferred room (closer to the main building and dining and buses!) for $89 per night. Then, one night doing some late night research, I found a code for $59 per night. I called and asked if I could apply it to our room. I did, and it saved us almost $300 dollars. WooHoo! Do your research! By staying on Disney Property, we didn't need any additional transportation. They picked us up at the airport and took us to whichever park we needed to get to. We did not choose to do the meal plan. I think if our kids were younger, it would have been a smart choice, but as young as they are, I shared my meals with Hope, and John shared his with Noah. It was plenty of food. And was much cheaper than the meal plan would have been for us. We did splurge on two meals. The first was Cinderella's Breakfast. And it was worth every penny. I would have even paid more. The second was the Tusker House dinner. Not our kind of food, so I was pretty bummed we spent that much money. Oh well, live and learn.

Back to travel day... So, I was feeling pretty organized. Bags packed, lists gone over, good night's sleep. I cleaned up the Joovy stroller and set it by the car. My mom came and picked us up to take us to the airport. John packed her car up. So, we get to the airport in plenty of time, feeling pretty good, I get in the back to get the stroller.... and.... IT. IS. NOT. THERE. To say I lost it a little bit would be a fair statement. Disney world without a double stroller? No sir. No thank you. I am very aware that you can rent strollers there, but also (because of all the research, people!) I knew they were not made for wiggly 18 month olds who you need to keep contained, not to mention nap, in the stroller. My mom, bless her heart, drove back to our house in an effort to get the stroller, but, she just missed us. We were sitting on the plane, and they wouldn't let her get it to us. Dang good airport security! I was so upset. I didn't want to spend the money that this was going to cost us, not to mention the lay over and getting to our hotel without a stroller with bags and small kiddos. There were tears, people. Ridiculous, I know. But the Disney trip was not going well at this point (5 minutes into it!) John promised it would be ok, so I did relax. Wasn't much else I could do at that point! Then, Noah flipped out. All but thirty minutes there. After we got to Disney, I sent this email and picture to a few people:

"Before everything went wrong. Noah made it here, but we aren't sure we are going to bring him back. He screamed all but 30 minutes. " Of course I was kidding.

Here are Daddy and Hope on the plane:

The only peaceful 30 minutes on the plane. Please notice that by this point, I have "the crazy eyes!"

We made it to the hotel, and we were ALL completely frazzled. Our bags didn't get picked up by the hotel, we lugged them and babies (WITH NO STROLLER) through the Orlando airport to our hotel bus. First step, buy a stroller. They sold umbrella strollers in the hotel gift shop. I do not even want to tell you what an umbrella stroller costs in a Disney hotel gift shop. Not to mention two. But, the problem was solved:

We ate and got back to the room to settle down. John was wise enough to go to the poolside bar and bring me back one of these. It helped.

Thankfully, things were just absolutely perfect after Day Zero.

Hope's Peter Rabbit Play

The day finally came! Thursday was Hope's Senior Play! Her school has put on the most precious Peter Rabbit play every year for a very long time! Julia was Cottontail Rabbit when she was 5, and Riley and Clara were both Mopsy Rabbit back in their day. Hope was Cottontail, and man was she cute! I cannot even tell you guys how hard their teachers work on this play. They are just so wonderful. All three of my nieces wore this same costume that Mimi made for Julia. The tail needed a facelift, so Mimi "Hope-ified" it with lots of sparkles! Hope did her part perfectly and loved every minute of it! (So did I!) I am so happy everything went so well, despite our house being broken into earlier that day, and Noah getting sick at the end of the play (into Aa Aa and Zeke's camera bag, I might add...sorry!) John and I were just so proud of that silly girl!

Hope and Zeb





Mama Rabbit,
Cottontail,
Flopsy,
Mopsy,
and Peter

Dump Everything!

I am up way. too. late... but, for good reason. I have been working really hard on these invitations! I cannot believe my baby is turning 2! Wow! What do you think?

Tomorrow is a big day for our family... Hope's theatrical debut! Ha! She will play the role of Cottontail Rabbit in her school's Peter Rabbit play. We are all pumped! Should be a great night!

Our Easter 2010

Happy Easter! We had a great day with family enjoying our favorite traditions. There were also some new aspects as well. For one, this was the first Sunday since Hope was born that I haven't worked at a church in some capacity or another. It was strange to not have a million responsibilities running through my head. (I mean, of course, outside my little family!) I even had time to make the green bean casserole and some cookies before we left for church. It was crazy! We went to my sisters' church which was fun to be with the whole Sullivan crew. This meant we walked to and from church after we all met at Mama Bee and Paw Paw's house. How cute are all the cousins lined up? (including Rosalie and Zeb!)

Hope was so very proud of her dress this year. It was extra twirly. Isn't the bandaid lovely?

Most of the cousins... (Miss you, Wade!)

After church, we went out to Nenny's house for our annual festivities. John won the egg contest with his "Eggs-ercise." it was a dumbell, and was pretty cute. Just for the record, I didn't enter this year (I was so sick yesterday. Blah) so, pretty sure I would have kicked his tail once again had I taken the chance.

Comparing the loot

Noah is a terrible Easter Egg hunter. After his first hunt, he figured out that good things are inside those eggs, so this is egg hunting Noah style (no basket needed.) First you find the closest egg. Open it. Stop and eat whatever is in the egg. Throw the empty egg on the ground. Find the next closest egg and repeat the process. This morning, Hope just took his basket and filled it for him after we told her she had enough!

Fun day worshiping our God and spending time with our family. We are blessed!

Sweet Dreams

Mom and I just ordered the baby's bedding! I have never ordered baby bedding before, my mom has made both Hope's and Noah's, but I know it is not her favorite task! I was on ebay the other day and just typed in "Emmy" just to see what popped up. (On a side note, I do this ALL the time with Hope and Noah to see what kid books pop up, or monogrammed outfits, etc. I was playing around with the possible baby names to see what popped up with their names. It's fun, try it.) Anyway, when I typed Emmy, several Pottery Barn bedding items popped up. So, I went directly to Pottery Barn hoping to see the whole collection. The best thing ever happened... it was all on clearance! Wahoo. I have always loved the pink and orange combo, and you know we love monkeys around here. Mom looked at it and loved it too (Possibly because it meant she wouldn't have to spend hours at the sewing machine again!) Anyway, I am just excited. It's the first big purchase for the baby girl.

We have decided to put Noah and Hope in a room together for at least the first year. Baby will have her own room. We are buying white bunkbeds for Hope and Noah that will eventually unbunk for twin beds for Hope and baby whenever we move them in together. Now, any tips on how to declutter the mass of toys so that we can actually fit two kids in the same room would be greatly appreciated!

Terrrrrrrible

I have really, honestly enjoyed all the stages of Noah's sweet life. It has just seemed to get better and better. However, I am having a little trouble warming up to the monster stage he is currently in. Every.thing. I do (or don't do) results in a growling, "NO MOMMY!" Seriously, where is that sweet boy? If I ask him if he would like a drink it's "NO MOMMY." I have made an extra effort to respond to him as sweetly and calmly as I possibly can to try to coax the real Noah Red back out. This only seems to aggrivate him even more. I might even get a "STOPIT!" He screams, hits, kicks even when I am trying to do something for him that he really wants.
Sweet, right? He is certainly asserting his independence whenever possible. Diaper changes, eating, riding in the car, baths, EVERYTHNG has become a huge battle. He has also becom pretty aggressive towards Hope. He has shoved her to the ground on more than one occasion, and cannot stand for her to hug him. This is just crazy to me as he has always been so loving to her. She has cried saying, "He doesn't like me anymore!" This monster stage has not been fun for any of us. Can I just pray that he will come out of this before, oh, I don't know, AUGUST 8th!

Love Bug

Isn't she lovely? We think so. Does she have a name? Not officially. Will I officially name her before we see her face? Probably not. Do we have some ideas? Yes. Will I share them? Some of them are Emmy, Annie, Merit. Do we have a favorite? At the moment, yes. But, it may change. Do I want opinions? Sure, but know that opinions don't phase me because I would totally name a boy Rock even though most of you thought it was awful! Actually, it kinda made me want to name a boy Rock even more! I'm funny like that. But, I guess you don't have to worry about me naming the baby Rock, at least for now! Ha! (Someone get my sister some water because she just fainted when she read that sentence.)

Our sweet love bug even waved to her big sister during the ultasound.

The kids and I just got back from Branson with my family where the littlest one scored lots of tiny pink clothing. So much fun.

It's A(nother)...

GIRL!!!!

We are over the moon excited about this soon to be new addition. Most importantly, she is perfect. Measuring a little big, but I have suspected my due date was a tad off anyway. Hope has said from day one that she knew this baby was a girl. Now, I am sure that was just 5 year old girl wishful thinking, but still, she couldn't even talk about it being a boy. We had a very long talk last night about how we would not be sad if we found out it was a boy. She put on a brave face, but right before the ultrasound lady told us what it was, she was really nervous! Then, when she said (actually, I said it first! There was no mistaking it!) you could not wipe the smile off of her face! Then she proceeded to jump up and down so much, that Mimi had to remove her from the room! It was a cute reaction for sure. Poor Noah has no idea what he is in for! As far as what did I think the baby was, well, I am 0 for 3. I thought this baby was for sure a boy, just as I thought that about Hope. I was also pretty sure Noah was a girl. John flipped last night and said he thought it was a girl. Now I can continue to say that Noah is the sweetest boy on the planet.

We continued our tradition of going to the Toggery after the ultrasound to buy the coming home outfit. My mom is always so sweet to buy the babies' first outfits. Let me tell you that this little miss will be well decked out on her way home from the hospital. I will try to put up a picture later.

Once upon a time

Once Upon A Time...

We went to Disney World for the most fabulous vacation ever.

We accomplished amazing feats....

Made a lot of silly faces...

Met some magical friends...

Discovered some amazing things....

And one day... I might just tell you about it all!

Funny Boy

Makes me laugh all. the. time. I don't remember what was happening when I took this, but just now going through pictures, I laughed out loud when I saw this. He is truly the sweetest boy on the planet, buuuuut... we are seeing this face more often these days. Oh yes, terrible twos are on the horizon my friends.

(And it can't be good that I totally think he looks just like me in this picture, can it?)