Summer Wardrobe

My kids love to run around in their underwear or nothing at all! How nice to be so carefree...




Underwear and boots... the latest fashion.

Naked dining...

Naked art...

Multi-tasking...

Naked swimming...

Naked swimming again...

Lightning McQueen hat with BuzzLightyear undies... quite the fashion ensemble...

Naked shucking corn...

Naked vaccuuming...

Naked Maid...

Naked dinnertime...

Naked maestro!

Sandy and Katie Mae

Katie and Sandy were our first babies. I got Katie Mae in 1996 and Judd got Sandy in 1999. They greeted our children when they came home from the hospital. In the last few years, they were getting old and grumpy. Regardless, Conner and Belyn loved them. Every dog is either a "Sandy" or "Katie Mae". Well, Sandy and Katie both died this summer. The kids didn't really notice their absence. About a month with no dogs, Conner said one afternoon, "Where's the dogs?" He said it several times and Belyn started asking too. Judd just told them they were not here. They accepted this answer with no more questions.

Our pets now consist of two fish, two snails, and a frog. One of our snails, "Ivory", died. So, Conner and I flushed it down the toilet. He said, "That snail is dead." I told him yes it was. I don't know what he understands about death.

Today I told him we were going to go the pet store before his speech therapy. He was so excited and said, "We are going to see Sandy and Katie at the pet store?!" I said, "No, sweetie, Sandy and Katie are not at the pet store. They are gone. They just aren't here." He said, "Oh, Sandy and Katie are dead." I was surprised of this understanding. We had never used the word "dead" when the dogs came up in conversation. So I said, "Yes, Sandy and Katie are dead." He said, "Oh." And that was it.

We drove to Odessa and stopped at PetSmart. His face lit up and he said, "We are at the pet store to get a new Sandy and Katie Mae!" It just broke my heart. I told him no that we were just getting a new snail.

So, we bought a snail, frog, and two ghost shrimp. We were checking out and I asked him if we needed anything else. He asked so sweetly, "You need a puppy, Mommy?" I said, "No, I'm okay, I don't need a puppy today." And that was that.

Conner's New Glasses

Isn't he handsome? We just picked up his new glasses. He loves to pose for the camera.

Growing up!

It hurts!

Conner is sick. He sounds terribly hoarse and he is running fever. I have to give him a breathing treatment in the wee hours of the morning. It was a rough night. Conner slept very late, which I was very happy about. He was still lying around after he woke up and I went to assess the situation. I asked him what hurt. He said that his back and tummy feels bad. I still don't know what to believe when I ask my 4 year old questions like these. So, I asked him if his eyes, nose, mouth, ears, toes, and hair hurt too. He said yes! He opened his mouth for me to check. He told me he had a throat in there. Yes, he did have a throat and it was very red! So, I'm getting some medicine drawn up and he comes to me and tells me that his underwear feels bad too! Judd and I just chuckle. I say, "Wow! Your underwear feels bad too? That's a lot!" He said, "There's a lot of stuff that feels bad on me Mommy." Well, the Tylenol that I gave him worked. He spent the rest of the day bouncing around, even while running a fever. I'm not sure about his underwear, but they seemed fine to me!!

Belly Buttons

When I was a very little girl, I called my belly button a "belly butt". Belly buttons are a child's fascination. Well, my little girl calls it a "belly bunt". Not much different than me. Conner calls his a "belly button", but I was informed tonight that he has three! He got into some ants this weekend and I was pointing to them on his stomach. Then I pointed to his nipple and asked if that was an ant bite. He said no, it was his belly button. Then he said that he had three belly buttons. Crazy kid. I guess we need to talk about nipples.

Daddy and Belyn Time

Judd and Belyn were having some face time this morning. She was in his lap facing him and pointing out things on his face. "Daddy's beart (beard)", "Daddy's eyebrowns", etc... Then she looked at him and said, "You have beart in your nose." Kids say the darndest things!! She might have to buy Judd a special Christmas gift this year!!

Belyn's First Bra

My girly girl watches everything I do. She likes to put on makeup, brush her hair, wipe and diaper her babies, and wear bras! She found a pink one (it's a little too big!) tonight and put it on and told Conner "I have a pink one." Then Conner said, (every mother- of- a- son's nightmare), "I want to wear one too!" I told him that those were for girls.

The Ugliest Baby!

This morning, Conner and I were looking at videos of him when he was a baby. It was difficult for him to grasp the concept that it was him and not some other kid. He saw a picture of himself and said, "Mommy! That is the uggyist baby I ever saw!" I said, "That was you when you were a baby. Are you ugly?" He told me no. He cracks me up!!!

My Strong-Willed Child

When I am frustrated with Conner's stubbornness and defiance, I remind myself that that strong will made him a fighter. He wouldn't have survived without it. Thank you God for my strong-will child!! He was a little fighter even in the NICU...

Speech Therapy

Conner's speech therapy starts tomorrow. I am so glad. He will start going twice a week at 5 in the evening. I was thrilled when I found out they take late appointments. We will be busy when school starts, but we will be able to fit it all in. This therapy is much needed. I hope we will start to see some results soon.

I love this video of Conner testing out his voice. This was his first "talking". He still likes to scream and hear himself scream- as many of you know!

You Raise Me Up

"You Raise Me Up" by Selah has been Conner's favorite song for a while. He can really belt it out in the car. We noticed recently that he also knows all the verses. Well, Belyn has picked up the chorus as well. We sing it in the car all the time. She asks me to sing it at night and she will sing with me. It's so stinkin cute! Twice now she has wanted to sing it with Conner before bed and we do and then it's bedtime. Twice now she has screamed, "I want to sing 'You Raise Me Up'!" over and over and over again. Poor thing screamed it for about 30 minutes tonight. I tried several times to get video of them singing it together, but no luck yet. Maybe one of these days...

I just found this on my hard drive. How funny!

Purpose for this blog

Life is busy... too busy sometimes. I get caught up in it all. I forget to enjoy the little things... cute stuff my kids say and do. They are constantly cracking me up. I want to remember their childhood. They are growing up so fast and I want to keep record of this "whiles they're young." I want my family to be able to keep up with what is going on in my life, in my kids lives... since we are miles apart. I may not keep up with this very well, who knows?