Festive

I have been obsessed lately with pictures and making them look awesome. I have to say that I am particularly proud of these. The first picture is of the ornament that William picked out this year. The second picture is my fave. It's of the Christmas Countdown that Carrie and I made that looks like the one from our childhood. My mom took hers apart as a pattern and we put them all together. It's the first time that I have ever worked with sequins and embroidery. I have been itching to get another project like this since I've finished it. Hence, messing with pictures I think...
Anyway, Merry Christmas!!

Writing

William wrote his name for the first time by himself today!!

One of Those Stories

I just got finished having one of the healthiest, longest laughs I have had in a WHILE. My husband makes me laugh on a daily basis, but nothing like this story that I am about to share. I'm sure some of you have already heard, but it's definitely one of those Christmas stories that needs to be told over and over every year. I just needed to record it somewhere as a reminder. What better place than on a blog??

With having Christmas with two separate families in two separate places, there is a lot of mailing and delivering and such. -I am already giggling just thinking about this story.- My mom told me that she was sending out Lily's gift, Matthew's gift, and my gift with someone else's package. The trouble was.. I don't remember who's package it was sent out with.

Today, I got a package from my sister, Jennifer, who I knew for sure was sending Lily's gift from Savannah. I open the package to find the game for Lily and two videos and an audio book about the Civil War. I was puzzled. Why would my parents give us stuff about the Civil War? Was there some kind of theme this year? I told Matthew what I had found and he was actually genuinely excited to watch the movies. All day today, Matthew's been telling people that my parents got us these things about the Civil War.

When we get home from running errands, Matthew calls my parents and leaves this ELABORATE message about these wonderful gifts. He was so excited to watch one of the movies while we wrap Christmas presents. On and On. As I was about to fold up the box, I saw the gift receipt. I pulled it out and it said under the videos and audio book the following greeting:

To: Nathan From: Kyle
Merry Christmas!

I couldn't help but BUST out laughing at the fact that Matthew called my parents and thanked them for a gift that they didn't buy and wasn't even ours! He made me call my parents in Tennessee to ask them to delete the message without listening. When I told my dad this, of course he wanted to listen to it.

After calling a few people just to tell them this story, we have all come to the conclusion that this story will not be forgotten.

Oh, my sweet Matthew. You've gotta love that man.

A Few of My Favorite Things

I'm so happy that Families are Forever.

A Great Gift

I have to admit that I'm a little ashamed at the fact that I let my kids open the only gift that was under our tree. That we got yesterday. But, if you know me, you know that I bust at the seams every year to open gifts. After a while of William asking and Lily just pretending she doesn't hear me and opening it anyway, I caved. Which, also if you know me, you know I'm a huge push over.

So, they open the gift bag to find these treasures from my sweet almost 94 year old Grandmother.

It's a Santa that has candy - and $20 that the crazy kids couldn't care less about - in the tummy. Grandmother taped over the plastic tummy cover so that the candy wouldn't fall out. Here's where the fun comes.

William and Lily tried and tried and tried to get the tape off to get to the wonderful double bubble gum that was trapped in Santa's stomach. Picking and picking. Pulling and pulling. Shaking and shaking.

Finally they gave in and let me help them. I picked the edge of the tape off so that they could pull it better and then they were open spreading the smell of sweet bubble gum through our apartment. William picked up his $20 and tossed it on the couch in Lily's direction. Lily picked it up and gave it right back to him. They both opened a piece of gum and started chewing.

I couldn't help but sit back and think of the twenty minutes of peace and quiet that I just had. So, here's to Grandmother, who unknowingly gave me one of the greatest gifts a worn out mom could ask for.

Further Proof...

...that my children are practically twins.

Will's Green Cast

I just thought that I would post up pictures of William in his cool green cast. This was before everyone signed it and it became the crazy mess it is now. William loves that people can sign his cast. And he mostly wants people to write "Will" on it. I think it's the one positive thing about him breaking his arm. We have an appointment to have it taken off a week from today (December 15) where they will saw it off his arm and "pull" the pins out of his elbow. I threw up in my mouth a little bit when the doctor told me that. My heart went out to William too. I have a feeling that next Tuesday will be no picnic in the park for him. The saw will scare him and the pulling of the pins will more than likely hurt him. I'll have to do some severe damage control.
I'll take more pictures of his cast before we get it taken off.

A Pinch of Salt

Recently, it seems like everyone is either expecting or just had a baby. Three of my sisters-in-law, a cousin, LOTS of friends, even the characters on the shows I watch regularly are expecting. Am I so happy for these great women? Of course I am. Having a baby is such a blessing!
Which is why every time I hear that someone else is expecting, my aura gets a darker shade of green! Not like the Hulk, but the other green monster called ENVY. Not to mention that every new baby is like a mini dagger to my uterus.
Yes, yes, I am finally coming out of the baby hungry closet.
Although Matthew and I have both talked and prayed about this extensively and have decided to wait a while longer, it's difficult to not want one NOW when others are expecting. When I'm feeling like this, I think I can relate to Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory -the classic with Gene Wilder. You know, "I want it NOW!" Do I want a Golden Egg? Sure! Preferably one with a baby inside.
After a little pity party, and a conversation with my Heavenly Father, I come back to reality. And honestly feel a little foolish. There is always something to learn in life. Heavenly Father loves us and He knows what is best for His children. Through this experience, I am learning to trust in the Lord. There's a time and place for everything and I need to have faith that I will be able to have the thing I want, in the Lord's time.

Side note: For all of you who are expecting, I AM sincerely happy for you! I just can't wait to be among the Sisterhood of the Pregnancy Pants.

A First Time for Everything

This past little bit has been pretty rough. William fell off the bed and broke his humerus bone - right above the elbow. Matthew and I took him to the hospital, thinking that it would be a minor fracture, maybe severely bruised, but the doctor came back with the x-rays saying that he needed surgery and as soon as possible. My heart stopped. It's a pretty crucial bone for little ones while they're growing, I have now found out. Since William is left handed and he broke his left arm, it was even more so needed. The doctor was saying things that would happen if we didn't get it done now. There are possibilities of his left arm being longer that his right. I don't really remember. I was still concentrating on the fact that my son needed surgery.

( William and his name tag. He was so excited to have a bracelet - made anklet- with his name on it.)

Now, I know that there are children out there with worse things happening. Parents who have children that need more care than William. But, for me, a broken arm was enough. We were transferred up to Primary Children's Hospital - without the ambulance we were offered - where we waited and waited from 1:00 am until 7:45 pm for a surgical room to be open. Those had to be some of the most difficult hours of my life.
As moms, I believe we were made to be ready to help our children. Usually first and foremost. This was the first time in my life that I felt completely helpless. My 3 year old had a broken arm, was starving, thirsty, and bored out of his mind. And I couldn't really do a thing to help. Yeah, I got him ice packs and told the nurse when he needed more Tylenol. Or tried to keep him occupied by watching movies or reading books. Mostly we just cuddled, which was my favorite part. But, I couldn't truly take the pain away.

As if that was bad enough, when it was finally our turn for Will's surgery, it hit me hard that I couldn't be there. I had no control over what happened to my son. My sleepless night and mom hormones kicked in as they wheeled him away - awake - and William realized we weren't coming with him.
On a positive note, William's surgery only took about a half hour. It went smoothly. It was all done by x-ray, so no incision was made, except for the two pins that were stuck into his arm. We were able to leave the hospital at 10:00 that night, which was a blessing!
William was such a brave boy. We are going in to get his hard cast next week! Until then, we are taking things slowly and carefully. And sometimes restlessly.

Belated Hallowen Pics

I can't believe that Halloween had already come and gone! It's crazy to me how fast this year has flown by! Halloween was a busy busy day, but it was fun. William dressed up as Thomas the Tank Engine. We got the costume from Carrie's sister in law. Will absolutely loved it. Lily dressed up as Tinkerbell. Carrie and I made the majority of her costume because I wasn't really satisfied with anything that was in my price range in the stores. I had so much fun with this project and I'm sort of sad that it's over. In case you haven't noticed, Carrie was a huge part of our Halloween costumes! I couldn't have had these awesome costumes without her. Thank you Carrie for everything!

Carrie brought Raven and Tessa over to take pictures before we both went to grandparent's houses for trick or treating. We had fun taking a lot of pictures. These kids are so hilarious together.

Then we went to Grandma Townsend's house for trick or treating. It was a fun year for us because William had a blast running from house to house. It brought back memories of being a kid and being so excited to go trick or treating, getting a huge pillowcase full of candy, and then bringing it home to sort through. Will was so excited and it's the first year he would go up to the door by himself. When did he get so independent??

Lily was excited to get candy, but she got so tired easily. About halfway through the neighborhood, she started riding on Matthew's shoulders. I think she had fun though. It was great to go trick or treating with the Townsend's. With so many couples and children, we had a huge party walking around the neighborhood. It was great. Happy Belated Halloween!!

Imitation

Last night, the kid's bedroom was a wreck. Usually, we try to have William and Lily pick up their toys before they go to bed. Matthew was going to change Lily's pull up before he enforced our usual rule and he sat down on a piece of Will's train tracks. Not just a little piece of a track. It resembles a huge block with plastic fences on the top of it (it's meant for a bridge). "OUCH!" he shrieked. Matthew pulled the thing out from under him and tossed it to the side.

William thought that this was hilarious. So, he proceeded to imitate Matthew. He kept sitting -carefully, I might add- on the track and yelling/laughing "OUCH!" and then he would laugh hysterically. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take pictures. I was laughing so hard at Will doing this!

Heavenly Car Services

Our topic of discussion today was death. Why? We were watching the Lion King and William asked what was wrong with Mufasa.
Me: He went to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

William: But he's just sleeping.

Me: No, he's not just sleeping. He passed away. That's what we say when someone goes to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus. He passed away. His body is still there, but his Spirit is with Jesus.

William: Oh... He fell down and then he got in a car to go see Jesus.

Me: (trying not to laugh) well... sure.

You've got to love the logic of a child.

Curiosity Killed the Parent

As I have stated in before posts, William is like a sponge ready to absorb information. He is asking questions and remembers every detail of the answer that you give him and brings it up again at a later time. For instance, he has a running list of things that we need to get at the store, which he'll bring up everyday until we go to the grocery store. I swear, this kid remembers everything!
Lately he's been curious about anatomy... I have decided to handle this by calling everything what it's really called. No substitute names. We have had a wide range of questions and discussions. From what it is to why doesn't Lily have one to boys have this and girls have that to what is inappropriate to do. We talk about it everyday. Anytime he changes underwear or goes to the bathroom.. there it is! We need to discuss! I'm sorry to say too that if he knows you, we've talked about whether you're a boy or a girl and what you have and what you don't have.
Is this normal? Have I just totally created a monster by answering his questions? Does every kid do this or is it just boys? Or just my boy? If it is normal, when does it stop? Does it ever stop?
It's not all he talks about, but it is pretty much a daily topic... right up there with our ever increasing grocery list.

A Piece of Info

Lily went to the bathroom today!!! In the Toilet!!! It was very convenient since we ran out of diapers yesterday... But... After 3+ years of buying diapers, is there actually an end in sight?? Two children toilet trained?? 2 for 2?? I'm hoping that this new fad sticks with Lily. It sure would be nice!! Princess underwear, here we come!!

Teaching 'Em Young

William is blooming with wisdom these days. He's steadily getting to the point where we can have an actual conversation and I'm loving it. Although he is moving forward, we still have our minor roadblocks where I have to figure out what he's meaning when he says something. For instance, instead of "How old are you?" he asks, "What's your number?" Which, I think, is absolutely adorable and creative for a three year old to come up with. Well, here's a great story starring my very own William Rigdon.
Our balcony at our apartment is right beside the main entrance to our building. With our screen door open, it would be physically impossible for someone to enter or exit our building from that door without us knowing. We could be like the building security guards because we have that much access. So, one day, William and Lily are playing on the balcony. When they are out there, they speak to anything and everyone they see. This particular day, I hear both of them talking to the woman who parks right next to us in the covered parking. The conversation went something like this:

Will and Lily: Hi!!

Woman: Oh, Hi there! How are you?

Will: Good. Hey! What's your number??


Either the woman was too shocked to answer, or she had gotten in her car because there was no response. It occurred to me at that moment that it might not be cute and creative to other people that he says that... It could sound like we are parents who have trained our son to ask for ladies' numbers.

Random

Alright, ladies and gentlemen, here is the last of my recent pictures that I wanted to post. These are just random pictures, but I love 'em! Above is Raven, Tessa, William, and Lily all watching a movie on my bed.


William and Lily on our new "porch".

Identical butt twins.

William - pre-haircut - showing off his blue tongue from a fruit roll up.

William stuck between a rock and a hard place. Or between Lily's crib and the window. Just to resolve the questions that are probably in your head looking at this picture: yes, he did this to himself and no, he's not crying, he's laughing.

Random signs are cause for random pictures...

Click it or ticket, Eve.

Super William all clad in his uniform of Mickey Mouse underwear and a Thomas T-shirt!

Who Does That???

Lily is the most random and hilarious child I have ever met. This post is dedicated to her. I had too many pictures of her doing weird and funny things that I couldn't resist sharing them. Honestly, who does half the stuff she does?




She looks innocent enough, right?

Who has a breakdown in the bathtub?

What two year old applies eyeliner on her own eyes?

Who dances around with a red feather boa?

Who makes faces like these??

Who Sleeps like this?

Who rides on a stuffed unicorn naked??

Oh, that's right, my daughter does all that! What can I say? The girl makes me laugh. As much as she drives me crazy, she makes me laugh probably twice as much. And at least I won't ever have the problem of trying to remember who tried to put my eyeliner on or who rode on a stuffed unicorn naked. I'm still not over that one.

When I was growing up, if something ever happened that was weird or something that no one wanted to admit to doing, we always blamed it on the imaginary brother Roy. Well, we probably won't ever have to make up an imaginary sibling for our family. Roy=Lily. Poor Girl.

Two Birds with One Stone

My sister, Carrie, and I spend practically everyday together. Which means that we do a lot of the same things. Which means that those of you who read both of our blogs would get a repeat of information and activities that we do. SO, we decided to make a blog called "two birds with one stone", seeing as we are killing two birds with one stone. We just started to do like a preschool kind of thing together, so we'll be posting some activities and crafts, and such that we're doing with our kiddies. We both have a picture link on our blogs (the birdhouses). Or if you wanted to add it on to your list, the address is birdflippinfun.blogspot.com. Feel free to look and Enjoy!!

Grilling in the Mountains with Edward Cullen

This past summer, we went up into the mountains to grill a couple of times. There is nothing like grilling in the mountains. It's so much fun! This one particular time we went was a day that Matthew got off of work early, so we decided to go late in the afternoon/early evening for dinner. It was so secluded! No one was there. It was absolutely gorgeous. On one side, we had lush green trees and green just covering the mountain. On the other side, there were stones set up as stairs that led down to a creek - which Will loved throwing stuff into. (And yes mom and dad, this was the time William had to call to tell you that he threw a hot dog in the water, laughing hysterically.)






















So, I was taking pictures of everyone and I took one of Matt Gray and found that the sun reflected weird on his shirt and my camera picked it up like he was shining. We thought it was pretty funny, thinking that he sparkles like Edward Cullen from Twilight. After that, Matt proceeded to pose for them. I think he got the disgusted, self-loathing look down perfectly!

Lurking through the trees.