Christmas 2009

We had a very nice Christmas again this year. Christmas is just so much more magical with kids. And to add to that magic we had a white Christmas! Santa and his reindeer made their appearance, evidenced by the reindeer footprints and sleigh tracks in the snow. Santa ate all of his cookies and milk (which for me as a child was the absolute proof that Santa had been there), and the kids got lots of good stuff. The jolly old man brought the kids most of what they asked for, as well as a little kitchen complete with pots and pans and plastic food too big to fit on the plates! They were both very excited about it, and have already spent hours cooking, going grocery shopping and putting it all away.

Austin was very nervous this year about being on the nice list; he has been extra ornery to his little sister. He was very relieved when we went to see Santa (which went well by the way, Aubrey sat on his lap-briefly-and let them take a picture), because he got a card assuring Austin he was in fact on the "nice" list. Mommy and daddy have wondered a few times however!

Opening presents

We spent Christmas eve day baking 'candy cane cookies', which was a tradition in my house growing up. They are basically just sugar cookies, but to half of the dough red food coloring is added so that the 'white' dough and the 'red' dough can be rolled together and shaped into candy canes. The cookies themselves are not that great, and I have learned that Santa didn't really like eating them that much when I was little, and my mom didn't really like to make them that much, but on with tradition! I think Grandma had much more fun making them with the grand- kids instead!

Ummm...yummy!

Daddy and Austin spent a few hours outside on Christmas playing in the snow. We got quite a bit for Oklahoma, and they enjoyed playing football and making snowballs to throw at mommy when I went out to take pictures. They are both already on the naughty list for next year!

Look at all that snow!!

Making snowballs

Throwing snowballs

We had a great time with Grandma and Papa, and even got in some bowling, both at the alley and in the hallway. Austin loves to bowl with Papa (aka make Papa set up the pins so Austin can bowl). We were all sad to see them go home. But we made lots of memories to last until the next visit, which is never soon enough.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!!

Another Update

Oh forgive me for neglecting you dear blogging world. I know my few faithful followers are wondering when I was going to get around to posting again! Whew, this month has been busy/crazy/exhausting already! But there are only 4 more days until Christmas!!!

Austin's last day of school for the year (and Aubrey's last day of Mother's Day Out) was on Friday. They have two whole weeks off and are very excited, as am I-no getting up early to take Austin to school! Last week was crazy! Monday Austin (and Mommy) got to go on a Limo Ride to lunch! A few months ago the PTA was having a cookie dough fundraiser, and any student who sold 15 boxes of cookie dough got to go on a limo ride to lunch. Well, Austin (ahem...Mommy) sold 15 boxes to all of Mommy's friends at work (and a few boxes for herself to get to magic number 15), so he got to go, and I went to chaperon. He loved it, thought it was the coolest thing. I loved watching him love it, but there were about 20 screaming kids in our limo and I thought I was going to lose my mind!

Austin and his limo

Wednesday was the PTA luncheon for the teachers, which I was in charge of again this year. I had a lot of help getting volunteers to make the food, and help set up/clean up, but had to do most of the shopping and organizing. I was very glad when that day was over! Aubrey had her little Christmas program at her daycare on Thursday night. All of the kids got up and sang about 4 songs together, then it was over. She did very well; jingled her little bells and clapped for herself, but didn't really sing much. I think she was too busy watching all of the people. She had been practicing all week though, singing in the car and at home. I just love to hear her sing, she has the sweetest little voice. Austin had his Christmas party on Friday, so I got off early to go to that and help out. I took Aubrey with me, she loves going to Nahnie's school to see him! And we also made time to catch the children's play at our church about the birth of Jesus, which the kids enjoyed as well!

I have been working quite a bit more at work due to the other intake therapist quitting, so am picking up lots more intakes, which means a lot more paperwork (late nights and weekends). It is good and bad; the money is always nice, but I am not spending as much time with the kids and the house is a wreck. On the flip side, Brian is very slow right now at work, so he is able to be with the kids instead which is nice for all of them, and why the house is such a wreck!

I think I am almost ready for Christmas. I am done shopping (except the grocery store, I have put that off as long as possible, and will be very annoyed when they don't have half of what I need!), my cards and packages are mailed, and I have most of the presents wrapped. We are going to see Santa today so Austin can get his requests in, hopefully nothing has changed or I take that back about being done with my shopping. I am sure Aubrey will have nothing to do with Santa, she is scared of everything right now, but maybe if big brother sits on his lap she will stand somewhere near them. We shall see. My parents are getting here tomorrow, so I will spend today cleaning up the house too!

I am ready and looking forward to a few days of just hanging out, eating, relaxing eating and enjoying being together. And remembering the true meaning of Christmas!!

Grabbing a fun drink after Austin's last day of school for the year!

Is my tongue blue?

Another Rare Moment

Awwww....

Don't be fooled, I am pretty sure this ended in a scream because Nahnie hugged "too long", and when Aubrey is done, she is done. But at least it lasted long enough for me to get a picture.

Decking the Halls

In keeping with my goal of staying ahead of the rush this year, I got my house cleaned, the Christmas decorations out, and the tree up and trimmed this past weekend. Whew! It looks like Christmas threw up in my house, and I love it.

Austin and Aubrey were such good little helpers too. They each enjoyed helping me decorate the tree, and the bottom half of the front of the tree was just spectacular. I had to wait until they were in bed to "tweak" things a bit (i.e. totally re-arrange the ornaments so that the rest of the tree was covered too and my OCD was satisfied as balance was restored to the world, I mean tree).

My little helpers.

Thirty Four Shopping Days Until Christmas...

Thanks to a good friend I have started Christmas shopping already. She has a two year old girl as well, a week older than Aubrey, and she and Aubrey adore each other even though they often don't get along very well. We met them through Austin's T-Ball, her son was on our team and we have all become good friends. She and I have "play dates" on most mornings that I am off so that our little girls (and us big girls) can hang out. We usually meet at McDonald's for some much needed coffee so the girls can play on the playground, but we decided that until Christmas we would do some Christmas shopping instead. It is always much more fun to shop with a friend!!!

Aubrey and her friend "shopping".

This is probably the earliest I have started shopping for Christmas in my life. Oh I may have picked up a random gift here and there throughout the year, thinking I am getting ahead of the game, but usually it is the middle of December and I am starting to panic about the whole shopping adventure before I actually start. And even though I have started very early this year (for me), I don't really have high hopes of getting it all done early and sitting back to watch/laugh/point at all of the other people out there on Christmas Eve finishing up their shopping. Because I know myself, and I will inevitably still be rushed and doing last minute stuff the day before Christmas. History has a tendency to repeat. Year after year. But wouldn't it be nice if it didn't...

My little shopping buddies.

Aubrey after a full day of shopping, trying to catch a little nap in the cart.

The Zoo

We love going to the zoo. Brian and I used to go all the time before we even had kids. We spent our honeymoon at our zoo because we didn't get to go anywhere 'tropical'. We are very fortunate to have a zoo so close that we can spend a day, a few hours or just go and have a picnic as often as we want to. We splurge and buy a zoo pass every year because we go so much. We usually pick 3-4 animals that we want to see that day (usually the gorillas, lions, giraffes and/or the sea lions-unless daddy goes, then we have to see the reptile house too), then hit the playground and head home.

Austin's favorite animal has always been the 'King Kongs'. He also has always really liked the giraffes, and his love of them has made me appreciate their beauty as well. Aubrey hasn't really picked a favorite yet, but due to her big brother's influence she is leaning towards the 'King Kongs' too. Austin and mommy spent many a day at the zoo before he started school, and Aubrey and I are trying to go as often as possible too. Last week we had our gorgeous fall weather, the weather that makes this time of year my favorite, so Aubrey and I headed to the zoo for the morning and a picnic.

Just wanted to share some pictures of our zoo trips past; I have so many more pictures of when Austin was little but they are all in print form and not on the computer. I guess I need to get a scanner...

Aubrey's first zoo trip, September 07. She slept through most of it.

Austin and Aubrey on their favorite statue, the huge gorilla.

Above: January 2008, below: March 2009.

It is hard to believe how much they both grew in just over a year...

Austin looking mean, September 2007

Aubrey and her King Kong, November 2009

Austin and Aubrey on the lion cub, March 2009.

Austin on the tiger, August 2008. Do you see a pattern here? We apparently like to pose with all of the statue animals...we do see the real ones while we are there too!

Aubrey with the tiger, November 2009.

Austin and Aubrey in our favorite swng, August 2009.

Austin on the Carosel, May 2008. Ironically, the zebra is the animal Aubrey chose to ride on when we went last week.

Hangin' on tightly...

Aubrey watching the sea lions swimming, she would oooh and aahhh when they swam in front of her. These are mommy's favorite.

All Hallows' Eve

Another Halloween over, another bag of goodies to eat. And another fun Halloween. My friend and I were again the witches of Oz, only we reversed roles so that I was the Good Witch Glinda, and she was the Wicked Witch of the West. We didn't have our entourage this year, as the kids wanted to do their own thing, but we still had fun and looked awesome. Because it is really all about us. Er, I mean the kids.

Last year, me as the wicked witch, my friend as Glinda.

This year, roles reversed. I think she makes a much better mean witch...

Austin and his little friend were both Bumblebee from the Transformers. They were both saying "cheese" when I asked them to pose for the picture, we thought that was pretty funny. Austin is the taller one.

Aubrey almost had to sit out Halloween this year. She has developed fear, and not just of the vacuum. Aunt Diane sent Brian a cool Rocky mask for Halloween, which is perfect since he is such a Rocky nut. He put it on and Aubrey went berserk, screaming and shaking and telling him to "take it off, I scared!". So we put it in our bedroom, and every time she went in there she would cry and say she is scared of the Rocky mask, even after we hid it and told her it was all gone. So Brian was not able to be Rocky this year. Aunt Diane also sent Aubrey a very cute little orange and black witch costume for Halloween, and sent me a matching witch outfit as well. I was so excited, we were going to be matching and be so cute. However, she wanted nothing to do with the dress or the hat, hers or mine. She wouldn't touch me when I had mine on and kept telling me to take it off, and she shouted "NO NO I scared!" any time we showed her outfit to her, let alone tried to get her to wear it. Thankfully, Aunt Diane (who spoils my kids, and me too if truth be told) sent her a backup costume-Little Red Riding Hood. Aubrey didn't really want anything to do with it either, until we told her it was an Elmo Dress. She then thought that it was okay and was almost excited to wear it, and looked adorable.

Trick or Treating was fun. Austin is an old pro, he doesn't get too scared anymore by the scary decorations or costumes. I worried about Aubrey of course, and wouldn't you know it the very first house we went to the people giving out candy had VERY scary masks on. Austin's friend turned around and left without getting any candy, Aubrey was too scared to move, and Austin got his candy and ran. Aubrey then found her voice and started crying/screaming "I scared!", and had to then be carried by dad from house to house and assured there were no 'spookies' handing out candy. She did overcome, and got the hang of trick or treating again. She would open her bag and say 'tick or tweet', and was very polite saying 'tank you' as she reached for daddy to carry her to the next house. Overall it was a successful venture, the kids had fun and got a lot of loot, and I have already packed on a few pounds helping them eat it. I am pretty sure Aubrey went to bed clutching her candy bag, with a chocolaty smile on her face. I am already scheming on costumes for next year, provided Aubrey will wear them...

"Tick or Tweet"

Little Red Riding Hood (aka Elmo) and her daddy.

Another First

Austin lost his first tooth today. His two front bottom teeth have been quite loose for a while now, but he refused to let either his daddy or I pull/touch/look at them up until today. One of them was so loose it was hanging on by its side, and was almost laying over across the other one. I somehow bribed convinced him to let me try once to get it out, and it didn't take much of a tug and out it came. He almost passed out. He got dizzy and woozy and scared, and then tasted some blood became almost hysterical. But, after some water and rinsing and looking in the mirror, he soon got over it and was very excited to go to bed and put it under his pillow. He woke me up (too early) this morning, excited to show me his discovery. The tooth fairy had been there,evidenced not only by the tooth being gone and a surprise left in its place, but also by the "fairy dust" (aka glitter) she left all over his bed. The surprise was a shiny silver dollar. Not just any silver dollar, but one he needed in one of his coin books. I wonder how she (he) knew?

Snaggle tooth, before he let mommy pull it out.

No more tooth, won't be long before the one right next to it is gone too. He has decided that one needs to come out on its own, without any help from mommy.

Race For The Cure

This weekend was our annual Race for the Cure walk. When we got up it was 38 degrees outside. I definitely had second thoughts about going. But we are stupid dedicated, and so I put 3-4 layers on each of the kids, a few layers on myself, grabbed some bananas and out the door we went. For a cold day, there were still tens of thousands of people walking. And by mile two I was warmed up enough to take off my outer layer. I am pretty sure the kids were sweating too, Aubrey threw off the blankets mid race. We had a good time, and got to go for our greasy burger and beer afterward, then home for a long nap. Ah tradition...

Naptime

Not a lot of sleeping going on here...

State Fair 2009

We went to the State Fair last weekend. Poor daddy got to spend his 41st Birthday riding rides and eating yummy fair food. I know, hard life...

Austin (and daddy) had a good time riding rides and going through the spooky/fun houses. Austin's favorite ride was the log ride. They did this one twice.


Aubrey slept through most of the fair. She and mommy waited patiently while Austin and daddy had their fun. Maybe next year Aubrey will be tall enough to do some of the rides. This year I did ride one ride; I did a roller coaster with daddy instead of the ride which plummets to your death, which was a lot of fun. We do like the state fair. The food is yummy, the beer is yummy, the people are fun to watch, and there is a level of fear that keeps everyone on their toes. State fair=good times.

Here are the kids at the petting zoo, petting a goat. They both had a great time petting all of the animals. Rest assured knowing I was waiting with antibacterial gel at the end...

Things I Have Learned From My Kids

I have learned that...

• sticky kisses are the sweetest kind.
• saying please and thank you are very important.
• you are never too old for play doh or bubbles.
• saying mommy 150 times can make a mommy give in to any demand.
• a little jelly/pizza sauce/chocolate milk on my shirt is a fashion statement.
• when he says "I didn't touch her!", it doesn't mean he didn't torment her in some way.
• hesitation in answering usually equals a lie.
• there is so much more to taking a walk than just walking.
• vacuums are scary. So is the dark.
• monsters are real. But they are no match for mommy's monster spray.
• you can function on .2 hours of sleep a night, but not for very long.
• there is no better sound than the giggles from a child.
• a few scribbles on paper to you, is a masterpiece to me.
• dressing up in costumes isn't just for pretend, you really become that person.
• you can live for days on cereal and mac and cheese.
• the most peaceful sleep is with a baby on your chest, a two year old cuddled up in your arms, a six year old snoring lightly beside you.
• hugs from a child can mend your heart.
• forgiveness is easier when you are 6.
• I am not perfect.
• I don't have to be perfect for my kids to love me.

Waiting...

10 Years

Dear Brian,

It is hard to believe that we have been married 10 years today. It seems like just yesterday I was walking down that isle, looking at the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with, scared and excited and absolutely sure there was no one else in the world for me. We have shared so many memories in our 14 years together (has it only been 14? The first year felt like three because we went through so much, but the next two years only felt like two because we were apart, but then the 4th year felt like a year and a half...).

You are my best friend, the one person who knows each and every flaw I have, and loves me anyway. You are such a huge part of who I am today, and I honestly don't know what I would do without you. I know we get lost in the days and the schedules and the bills and the kids, but I hope you know how very much you mean to me. I could not have picked a better father for my children, and I am thankful daily for you and your relationship with our kids. You are a wonderful father, and a wonderful husband.

Here is to the next 10 years, may they be as wonderful as the first.

I love you Brian Miller, Happy Anniversary.

Update

Since I haven't been on here for awhile, I thought I would just give you a little update on the Millers. We have been busy as usual. Austin is adjusting nicely to 1st grade, as I knew he would, and we are all getting back into the swing of a school schedule. He loves his teacher and so do I, he is making new friends, and has found all of his old ones too. I still try to pry details of his day out of him, getting only who he played with at recess and an "I don't remember" to any other questions asked. At least he remembers the important stuff! Aubrey is adjusting to being back in Mother's Day Out, and likes her new teachers as well. One of them is a big Red Sox AND Steelers fan, so we can't go wrong there! She goes three days a week, for 5 hours a day while I work. Brian takes off early two of those afternoons to get the kids, so I can work a full day. I now have two full days off and one half day which is wonderful (instead of one full and three half days, because even if I only had to work half a day, the whole day was ruined!). Aubrey and I have big plans to spend beautiful fall days at the zoo/park waiting on Nahnie to get out of school.

We had a busy Labor Day weekend full of cleaning (finally!!!) and playing. We started the weekend fun early by going to our last baseball game of the season on Thursday night. We got free tickets to the Oklahoma Redhawks (triple A of Texas Rangers) who were playing their last game at home this year, and it also just happened to be Thirsty Thursday ($1 beer, yea!). Both of the kids got to see Rowdy the Redhawk (team mascot) and both got a ball from an umpire after the game. So glad they both got one, cuts down on the fighting and screaming! After the game we got to pet the horses out in front of the stadium while they were waiting to take people for a ride.

After a lot of cleaning on Saturday, we spent a much deserved Sunday afternoon swimming at our Red Sox friend's house, then went to a free outdoor concert in the park with the Oklahoma Philharmonic. It was a lot of fun, with fireworks after. The boys were very excited to see the fireworks, especially since they were rained out on the 4th of July. Aubrey however, clung to mommy, not wanting to watch but not being able to look away, crying and screaming "I scared!!". Much is her same reaction to the vacuum, which is my excuse for not using it very often...

Austin holding Aubrey's hand on the way to the car after church. What a sweet big brother.

I love this picture.

6 Years Old!

Dear Austin,
Happy Birthday to my little man! Today you are 6, you now need to use two hands to show people how old you are! You seem to have grown up so much in just one short year. Your likes are very much the same although you have added a few new ones. Your favorite thing in the whole world is still baseball. You would play it day and night and have adapted the front room to play the "Austin Version" of baseball where you pretty much win all the time because you make up the rules as you go along! You still like dinosaurs, but are not quite as obsessed as you used to be. You are now very much into Transformers, which is pretty neat as they were around when I was a kid. That has become your new favorite movie although you love to watch The Sandlot over and over as well. You and daddy are still reading the Three Investigator Books every night before bed, and you still like Scooby Doo. You really love to swim, and learned to swim this summer. You love to show off your skills by doing cannonballs or going down the slide and swimming to the other end of the pool.

You are such a smart little guy. You love school, and love to learn. You have a great imagination, and you ask very intuitive (and hard) questions about anything. You are a great little artist and love to draw, mostly pictures for your daddy. You have gotten into coins like your daddy, and enjoy going through them and filling your books. You and daddy have joined the local coin club, and you like to pick out which of your coins you want to take for show and tell. You are their youngest member.

You make friends easily but are very loyal to your best friend Kaehler, who shares your love of baseball, swimming and transformers. You are kind hearted, caring and sensitive. I worry about you being too "nice" to your friends, you tend to do things you don't want to so you won't hurt your friends' feelings. I worry that you will get yours hurt instead.

You love your sister and love to give her hugs and kisses, most of the time when she doesn't want them. You can be so patient and wonderful with her, reading her stories or doing puzzles with her, or just playing. You can also be very ornery to her and seem to enjoy making her scream. But she loves you very much, and she misses you when you are in school.

I am still so very proud of the little man you are becoming. You are an amazing person, already at 6, and I thank God every day for you. You have taught me so much already, about how to slow down and just enjoy life, about how to be a better mom, and how to be a better person. Happy Birthday Austin, I love you so much!

End of Summer

Austin started 1st grade today. Summer is officially over. Aubrey and I just got back from dropping him off, and getting out of the car Aubrey asked "Where is Nahnie?". When I told her he is at school, she asked if she could go be with him, "peeese?". Thankfully an episode of Elmo is making her forget she is sad about Nahnie.

Summer has gone by way too fast, like I knew it would. We had a wonderful time this summer though, full of baseball, swimming, the zoo, bowling, the library, and hanging out with family and friends. It seems like we were hardly home at all, (and it shows, the house is a wreck!), but that was my goal. And although I am sad it is over, I am also excited for this school year and all it will bring too. Before I know it, summer will be here again. Wish I knew how to slow down time...

My big 1st grader, what a handsome little man.

Pretty Girl

Brian has taught Aubrey how to pose for pictures. He tells her to "be pretty girl", and she will cross one leg over the other, put her hands on her knee, cock her head to one side and say 'cheeeeeese'. It is pretty darn cute. Although now it is hard to get the camera out without her sitting down and "striking a pose".

This is about as girly as my little girl has gotten.

We bought her the crown/earrings/ring set for her birthday because she showed some interest in it at the store, but after she opened it she really didn't want anything to do with it other than to put it all on other people. But on this day I (or rather Nahnie) got her to put it all on and take some pictures. She and Nahnie had gotten into my make up right before this, and Austin was very generous with the amount of powder they applied to her face. And to her shirt.

After we washed her face a little. Much better.

My little princess...

Happy Birthday To My Little 2 Year Old

My little Aubrey,

Today you turned two. And what a two year old you are! You are such an independent little girl already, very head strong and brave. You have no fear...except when the vacuum is out! You know what you want (most of the time) and will settle for nothing less. You have already mastered the "terrible twos", I can only imagine what is in store for me this year. You are saying so many words now and I can understand you most of the time, but we often have to ask Austin what it is you are wanting because for some reason he just knows. You call your big brother Nahnie, so much so that we have all started to call him that too. You love your big brother, and he can make you laugh like no other. And you love to do whatever it is he is doing, but only when you want him to do it. You have mastered the 'scream' to get him in trouble. You follow him everywhere, and love to be around him, even when he is teasing you and making you cry.

You love "Melmo", and will ask for "melmo on" several times a day. Your favorite movie is Rocky; you will watch it until the theme music starts and then jump off of your daddy's lap and race around the house with your arms in the air. You love your books, and will bring them out in piles and demand to read a story. You also love puzzles, and are getting really good at them, especially the Cookie Monster one. You are learning your ABC's and can count to 9, and you love to sing. Your favorite song is Wheels on the Bus, but you also like Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and the ABC song. You love to cuddle with mommy, but are becoming somewhat of a daddy's girl too. You love to brush your teeth, without anyone's help saying "Aubrey do!" You don't like to go night night, but when you are falling asleep you will pick at your top lip. You really don't like new people, and are leery of those you first meet. You don't like to share your toys or your mommy with anyone.

I only have to look at you and your brother to know what is really important in life when I am getting too caught up in the everyday stress of bills, chores, bills, work etc. You keep me grounded. You are such a blessing in our lives, and I love you more and more every day.