Torn...

18 months. That's how old she is. It's killing me to see her growing up so fast. I just want to freeze time and keep her the way she is. Sure, sure, I love the milestones. Who doesn't love to see their kids climb and run and learn a new dance move? Or listen to them experiment with new words and read books back to you and all the funny little things they do. And yet, I still yearn for that tiny, sweet baby that would let me hold her and kiss her endlessly. And then I remember the most glorious word I've ever heard. It brings tears of joy to my eyes every time I hear it. NURSERY!!! Ahhhh, I just felt my entire body sigh with pleasure. One more time. Nursery. Can you feel your shoulders relax and the heavenly choirs sing? Oh, I can.

Now that I'm calm and in my happy place, I thought I'd post a few pictures of the little spitfire.

Sure, she looks all sweet and innocent in the tutu. I bought it because I like to pretend that she's a delicate little princess...



...but don't worry, it's just a clever ploy to lull you into a false sense of security because the next second you get this.



I adore this coat! Her grandmother made it and sent it for Christmas. Somehow she always manages to send just what I need without me ever having to tell her. She's just intuitive like that. Anyway, I tried getting a couple of shots, but I never did get one of Mia smiling, although she loves the coat.




I had to add this shot so I could show off the pom-pom buttons. (I guess that's what you'd call them-I don't really know.) Adorable coat. Adorable girl that won't slow down for the world. The one that screeches like a banshee whenever her brother takes her toy and sometimes just for the fun of it. The one who even now is pleading with her big blue eyes and sweet little voice for her mom to read her a book! And so, I'll just chant my magic word and take a time-out to read to my baby.

Holidays...

Yeah, okay. It's March. I know. Really I do. That still doesn't change the fact that I haven't posted my Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's, or St. Patrick's Day photos yet. Bet you thought you were never gonna see them. I did too.

Christmas.

In addition to the Santa Cookies we made last year, we decided it was high time that we made some gingerbread houses.
I'll be honest. We put the little kids to bed early so that we could actually do some decorating instead of candy policing. If you look closely, you'll notice that Denver's mansion wasn't decorated. He was too busy putting up interior walls and creating a toilet to actually decorate. While Denver was busy planning, I was really missing my mom and the rest of my family so I decided to make my gingerbread house into something extra special...


The GingerDome!!! I couldn't find the dragon that my mom wanted for scaring off deer, but I figured the friendly dinosaur Corbin had would be an acceptable substitute.


Our friend Laura joined us for the fun and I thought it only appropriate that we have a picture of her with her first gingerbread house. That girl's got promise-can't wait for next year!

On to Christmas morning. It was loud, messy and perfect. I have to admit that the loud part was almost entirely my fault. I thought it would be fun for the boys to get harmonicas and Denver's always wanted a jaw harp...Mia's new cell phone wasn't entirely quiet either. I loved every minute.






New Year's

We had some fantastic company for New Year's this year. Morgan, Charisse and Sam came to visit for the week between Christmas and New Year's. It was wonderful, and altogether too short of a visit. It was a lot of fun having them celebrate with us, and I wish I'd gotten more pictures but we were just too busy having fun...
...and eating all this delicious food!


Awwww, aren't they just the cutest couple...


Yeah. Ewww. I thought the same thing.



I think the boys had a great time with the video games. Corbin LOVES hanging out with the older boys. He also loves his "Aieeyah". That's Corbin's way of saying Alia, you know-his girlfriend. I don't have the pictures of them but they had so much fun that night, chasing each other and playing. They even kissed at midnight. Cute, cute, cute. Fun, fun, fun. Thank you Morgan & Charisse, Mike & Denise, for helping us bring in the new year with those we love.

Valentine's Day

To be honest, I don't really consider this a holiday. In fact, of all holidays, this is the worst. My husband treats me like a princess every day of the year, so this day is rather pointless. Except for the kids. I LOVE to do little Valentine's crafts and try to make things fun. I didn't have a lot of time this year but I did manage to make a special dinner...

A bloody heart!!! Okay, so it was meatloaf with pink mashed potatoes. I thought it was delicious and it's the only time you're gonna catch me eating a heart!

St. Patrick's Day

Corned beef and cabbage. Green, green, no green! Pinch. And something new this year...
Rainbow cupcakes, complete with clouds! And don't forget the gold!


Corbin was sneaky and managed to snag a cupcake before I'd frosted them. (He hid the evidence in the pantry but then took me right to it when I asked if he was the one that had taken a cupcake.) Still, I think the boys enjoyed them. I'll let you decide for yourself about Lil' Miss...



Pheww. Glad I got that done. Now, I'm only behind on all the cute, fun, everyday things that I need to post. One of these days...