A BLAST of a weekend!
We were able to venture up to Springdale for the weekend to visit family and to wish my big brother a happy birthday.
While we were in Springdale I surprised Andrew with a one night stay at James at the Mill. This cozy Inn has significant meaning to us simply because it’s where we stayed our honeymoon night. Needless to say Andrew was very surprised and loved his gift very much.
Later that night Andrew took me to Noodles for dinner and then we went to the movies to watch Dear John. Loved that movie by the way!
On Sunday we met up with our family to celebrate my older brother’s birthday. I won’t say how old he is because he’ll kill me. (38!)
Happy Birthday was sung, cake was eaten, and presents were opened. It was a great time with family.
Later that evening we all exchanged Valentines.
My sweet, sweet husband bent over backwards and got me some lovely diamond earrings. I LOVE them and I wear them all the time now.
Little princess got an adorable princess outfit from daddy and some dum dum suckers and a little outfit from me along with a card.
Valentines was definitely amazing this year. It was actually more then I ever expected and I enjoyed every minute of it.
I’m sure next Valentines will be very low key. I can almost guarantee that, which is fine with me. It’s just nice to splurge every once in a while right?
Our first snow in Texas
I mean it is pouring snow and I love every minute of it!
Of course the only reason I’m blogging about it is because this is Eden’s first snow. Let me tell you, she was loving every minute of it too.
After lunch we put on what snow clothes we had, because it never really snows here, so we don’t really have snow gear. We put the hat and gloves on and of course the coat and then Eden made her big début out in the snow.
Her first line of action was to scrape some snow off the car outside and taste it. She seemed to think it was good and continued to do that elsewhere.
I loved watching her venture out into the yard as she watched her every step in the snow.
She tired throwing it and laying in it, only after I said try laying down and making a snow angel. I should have been more specific.
Later on in the day after a much needed nap. We went outside again. This time Papa Lowe was here (He had just gotten back from a meeting in Long View) and it was a lot more fun.
Papa Lowe helped Eden make the start of a snowman, but that didn’t last long. Eden mostly wanted to step on it or throw snow on it. Oh my, she was so fun to watch. I’m just going to throw this in. (because I can and I’m biased) I really do enjoy having a little girl. She makes my life so much fun, not always easy because that would be asking to much, but lots and lots of fun with tons of precious moments thrown in.
Needles to say we all had a wonderful time. I truly enjoyed watching her face light up.
Have no fear, 22 months is here.
That’s what I say to myself when I see our little missy mess do big girl things or talk in big girl sentences.
I wish I would have written everything down she has said or done within this last month, because let me tell you, she’s a funny character.
I can only remember the most recent funnies though.
For instance: We are currently working on potty training, not hard core, but getting Eden used to the idea that your pee pee and poo poo goes in the potty not the diaper. So with that said, the other day Eden wanted to sit on her potty. It really makes Eden happy to sit on her potty, mainly because the potty plays a song when she sits on it. (Hi there big kid welcome back, you’re so smart you’re right on track, take your time and concentrate, going potty’s just so GREAT!) She usually sits on the potty long enough to start the song and then she gets up and dances.
Her new dance move is called the drive. She’ll say “drive mama drive!” (This move is done by your arms swinging out in front of you, up and down.) That’s the best explanation I can give you.
Needless to say she’s not really interested in sitting down on the potty to do her business.
So, after several tries of getting Eden to actually sit on the potty long enough to do something, I told her it was time to turn off the light. Eden then exclaimed, “NO mama potty train! POTTY TRAIN! So I said, “Are you going to sit on the potty and go pee?” “NO!” (This really meant yes.) So, I let her try one more time and guess what, nothing. That’s ok though. We’re not jumping off the potty train just yet. She’ll go when she feels comfortable enough. We will just have to keep doing the potty train dance until she decides to go.
Ok, one more potty story.
The other day I had changed her diaper and decided to let her sit on the potty just to see if she would go. Well nothing happened and Eden was apparently done trying. So she decided to run tippy toed into the living room naked squealing at the top of her lungs. She thinks this is the funniest thing to do. Her favorite place to hide is underneath our couch pillows. For an almost two year old, she hides herself pretty well. In the mean time, I was trying to get dinner started, so I just let her play in the living room bare bo-bo (not because I didn’t try putting clothes and a diaper on her, Missy mess would rather sport her birthday suite any day.) telling her that if she needed to pee pee let me know and we would sit on the potty. Well, my cooking was getting pretty intense (I think I was browning some meat, I mean come on) so I didn’t quite have my eye on her (Shame on me). So here little Eden comes trotting into the kitchen and in her little voice says, “mama mess.” Needless to say Eden had an accident on the floor. Poor thing. I felt like a horrible mom for not watching her. I immediately put a diaper and some clothes on her and then cleaned up the small mess. I just hope that little incident didn’t make her feel bad. I worry about those little things.
Now for the no fear part, because believe you me, Eden has no fear… at least not yet.
Andrew and Eden love to play on the floor. It’s so funny to watch them interact.
A few of Eden’s favorite games to play on the floor are:
* Giddy up horse. (You know the classic crawl on daddies back while he’s on all fours.)
* Tumble over daddy, laugh really hard, and then do it again.
* Run in circles until you fall on the ground.
* Hide and seek
* And Stretch. This isn’t really a floor thing and she will only do it with Andrew, maybe because she knows I’m not strong. HA! We have a chin up bar in the doorway and every time she remembers it’s there she wants to stretch. She actually can do a couple of chin ups with little help… pretty impressive if you ask me.
Another thing I’m pretty proud of her for is climbing. We frequent Chik-Fil-A quite a bit, so every chance we get; we let Eden play on the indoor playground. At first, Eden wasn’t so sure about the huge play area and would sit and watch all the kids climbing and sliding. Well now, after all that watching (and stretching) she now has the strength and courage to climb up in the play area, crawl through the tunnels and slide down the slide all by herself. It’s so funny what makes moms happy.
(I didn't want to mislead people into thinking that Texarkana Chik-Fil-A has a huge play area like the one in the pictures below. HAHA! These pictures were of her climbing at a place called Mintons Sport Plex.)
(Me climbing up to rescue her)
Now for something ugly followed by something sweet, because I have to end on a good note.
Eden has a vibrant, spunky, exuberant personality. She can also be reserved at times but more often then not she’s on the go and doesn’t stop unless it’s for a nack, aka snack without the s, or a dink (drink)
Our little princess likes to be heard. She also gets really excited when she sees other kids running around acting silly and feels like she can jump in with the same enthusiasm or maybe even more.
A couple of Wednesday nights ago I dropped Eden off at her bible class. It was singing night, which tends to go a little long some nights. Unfortunately, that is what happened. Eden had not had her nap that day, which was red flag number one. (Red flag number two was singing night going a little long.) Once the last prayer was led, I bolted out the door to get Eden from class. I actually had a funny feeling in my belly which was weird. I rounded the corner where her classroom was and I saw her sneaky self bolt out the door through a crowd of parents headed in the other direction. All the while she was screaming at the top of her lungs. After finally catching her, we walked back to her classroom to grab her things. At that point her teacher informs me that she had to be put in time out. Was I shocked? I’m sure my face looked like it did, actually more embarrassed then shocked. The teacher proceeded to tell me that Eden pushed someone in class and so she had to sit in time out. Oh no, I exclaimed. I’m so sorry she did that. I thanked her for putting her in time out and said sorry another several times and then left feeling like a horrible mom because my kid pushed another child. Eden I had a little talk on the way to the car. I explained that pushing, hitting, and screaming are all ugly and it hurts people’s feelings when you do them. She seemed to understand but was very cranky due to the fact that she had had no nap that day.
That wasn’t the first time she pushed and I know it won’t be the last. It’s so hard though as a mom to hear about those things or to actually witness your child doing them. I really don’t know where she learned the pushing from, but it’s my job as a mom to help her unlearn it.
You know as a mom I have learned a lot of things and one thing I have learned that I try to stick to is consistency. Being consistent in everyday activities, prayer life, discipline, loving gestures, as well as many other things; will help Eden have a greater appreciation for the love we have for her. Parenthood has definitely been rewarding, but at times exhausting due to all the no no’s, time-outs, and occasional spanking (which we have learned does not faze her and probably hurts me more then it does her), I mean, my goodness, the journey started only a year ago. We’ve got a long trek ahead of us. I know though with God’s help, a husband and wife support system, and friends and families encouraging words we can get through any situation.
Now for something sweet:
The other night I was getting Eden ready for bed. She was being so sweet giving me lots of hugs and kisses. She even wanted me to rock her for a little bit which she usually just wants to be put down. Well, after rocking her for a little bit I put her in bed tucked her in and said, “I love you sweetheart.” She answered back quickly, “I wuv ooh too mama.”
Those words just melted my heart. You know what, maybe we are doing something right.
Sinking roots and bearing fruit with perseverance
Inevitably though, life throws us curve balls; a Christian friend betrays you, someone you respect commits adultery, people around you start to gossip or bicker. All of these things make it easy for you to join in as well. It is easy to follow the crowd and give into temptation. We as Christians are full of faults just like anyone else, and it can become easy to forget who we are and where we came from.
In times like that where we lose sight of our goal, become discouraged from seeing hypocrisy in others and even in ourselves, we must persevere. The world tells us to disengage, and simply find another flock, activity, or group. It is easy to fall in line with the next group that comes along and that fulfills “our” needs. It would seem very simple to just give up and stop pursing relationships with others, but that’s not part of Gods plan for us as Christians. God wants us to persevere and keep building relationships in spite of difficulties or obstacles Satan puts in our path. That’s why it’s so important for me to sink my roots into a church instead of taking the path of self-protection and choosing not to be a part of one despite betrayals and hardships; because I believe the “church” is good soil and by listening to God’s word, retaining them, and using them to allow me to persevere, I then may produce a fruitful crop.
Because clothes are a must...
Starting as of now, I will be selling Castles and Crowns clothing to the Texarkana AR/TX and surrounding areas as well as the Springdale, AR area.
Have you heard of them?
Well, let me just tell you, their clothing is precious!
(This picture is from the Castles and Crowns website)
Castles and Crowns offer Smocked, Appliquéd, and Monogramable Clothing for girls and boys from sizes 6 months – 8 youth.
The Spring/Summer 2010 line started January 15th and orders are already streaming in.
Please, do yourself a favor and mosey on over to Castles and Crowns website and check out their adorable clothes.
If you see anything you like (I know you will) leave me a comment. I would love for you to host a trunk show for me. One of the best incentives about being a host is earning 10% of your party total in Castles Cash (clothing credit) to go toward that beautiful smocked dress for your sweet princess, or that cute little bubble bay sun suite for your playful little boy this summer.
If you don’t want to host a show that’s fine too I would love for you to come to a party. You can also order online at castlesandcrowns.com.
Can’t wait to hear from you!
What a weekend!
Sooo…
I guess I’ll start with this past weekend and then play catch-up.
So here it goes.
Last Friday I was so excited about attending our church’s girls night out. We all met at Olive Garden for some yummy Italian. It was so nice to visit with everyone. It was definitely a great opportunity to get to know some sweet ladies I didn’t know very well.
Well, after a full night of fun. Andrew and I packed the family up and we headed to Northwest Arkansas for a fun family visit but more importantly to see our new little niece.
I couldn’t wait to get my hands on that sweet little girl. There is just something about holding a little baby that just melts my heart.
I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. Take a look for yourself.
As you can see we all enjoyed this sweet little girl and can’t wait to see how much she has grown the next time we hold her.
What's a post without a few silly pictures.
Well, we made it back to Texarkana and I’m working on a huge pile of laundry I’ve put off, (Boo!) and thinking about making a list of things I need to get done.
Can’t believe how quickly this month has flown by.
Two more months and our precious baby princess (that’s what Eden likes to call herself “baby princess”) will be two.
I better start planning her party now. (tears!)
