Not Me My Child Monday!

It's monday.. and normailly we see Not Me Monday! here... But our lovely friend MckMama decided to try something new this week. Hope over to her blog HERE to join in on the fun!

Did you almost die of embarrassment when your child walked in on you and your husband doing you-know-what? Want to scream bloody murder when your toddler colored on your floor with a Sharpie? Feel like a terrible mother when your kid used a swear word in front of your in-laws? Well don't! Mothers aren't perfect and neither are children, so today I thought we'd switch things up a little and do a Not my child! Monday!

So here we go....

It was not My child that decided this week to "get My own haircut!" This mommy is way more responsible than to leave a child alone with a pair of scissors unsupervised! And my child would never do something crazy like that. Nope! Not My Child!

My sweet adorable child certainly did not repeatedly reveal my beautiful turquoise bra and chest to the world while being carried around, in public. Why on earth would she want to do something like that! And this mommy would always be more reserved and conservative than to wear a loose fitting shirt that could be easily pulled down.

While visiting the doctor for our yearly checkup it was not my well mannered, obedient child who was screaming bloody murder when he found out he had to get his finger pricked. We play doctor at home all the time and are always jealous at our sisters frequent well baby checkups. How could this mom "lie" to her precious boy and tell him there were no shots this year, then restrain him and require multiple medical personnel to draw a little blood from his finger. Nope! Not my child!

At the store, while I was uploading and printing pictures, it was not my child who slipped a candy bar in his purse shoulder bag and then proceeded to show me his "treat" later asking to eat it. My child was brought up way better than to know how to steal!

Lastly, It was not my sweet, gentle child who decided to pick up rocks found in the playground mulch... and then throw them over then fence into a baby pool where other children were playing! Definately not my child!

You see...My children are sweet, obedient, and... perfect little angels!

(I'm sure you do not see those horns holding up their halo's!? LoL)

Growing with Leaps and Bounds...

This post is a bit overdue but life has been a bit crazy busy lately! I want to dedicate this post to my beautiful children who are growing with leaps and bounds...

Nathaniel just had a birthday... a milestone of sorts. He is 5 years old! 5!... that sounds so old! .. 4 was ok, still little.. but 5 just sounds so grown up and indendent. 5 means many things... especially changes for fall. Nathaniel will be attending Kindergarten at the end of August. (gasp!) I'm not ready for this...

So.. This is what Nathaniel has been up to this past year...

• He now knows his address, phone number, city and state and full name
• We finished our first season of T-ball with Summerville Little league as our first team sport!
• Nathaniel loves to ride his bike, play with blocks, and Love Hotwheel cars!
• Were doing much better with eating habits... eating most meats, lots of fruit, rice, and pasta's... just need to work on those veggies!
• Nathaniel's favorite food is Pizza! and favorite place to eat is Pizza Hut! (thanks to Daddy)
• He loves to help cook and always enjoys making crafts (and gifts for others!)
• We have moved out of a toddler bed and into a twin size bed!
• One of his favorite things to play with are small legos.. He will spend hours creating and recreating many things.
• We almost always use a "big boy" open cup unless were on the go...
• He weighs 39lbs and is 41" tall
• Nathaniel is just like his daddy and loves to curl up in front of the t.v to watch some Science Channel, DIY or National Geographic! (in addition to the normal cartoons we still love)
• He is also always up for a trip to Daddy's work so that he can help him fix cars. Our favorite part is going in to toolbox to get out a pair of gloves!

Elliana is 7 months

• She thoroughly enjoyed her first independance day! (fireworks and all!)
• take all of our naps and spend bedtime in our crib
• love to grab at things and is becoming more coordinated getting what we want... then getting it into our mouth!
• eating more and more Rice cereal and starting fruits and veggies.
• Elliana weighs around 16lbs but we won't go for another checkup till 9 months.
• She is still wearing 3-6 months clothing and size 2 diapers except we are too long for them now so our sleepers and pants need to be 6-9! We may be a tall girl (: enjoy

It's so exciting to watch them grow and learn each day... so many new things to discover and enjoy! They are truly growing with leaps and bounds!

NOT ME! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog at http://www.mycharmingkids.net/ to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. "I created Not Me! Monday for the purpose of confessing our shortcomings and imperfections to each other since, after all, we are all only human!" (MckMama's words) Every Monday, you can find more "Not Me! Monday" at her site.

While on my first solo road trip with the kids this week I did not become a pro at feeding by infant daughter a bottle or getting her toys, pacifier, blankie, etc... while driving! That would not be safe and I would never do such things! Not Me!!When almost home I also did not get so excited to be home that I looked down and caught myself going 90mph! That is so dangerous and I am a much better driver than that! (The cruise control was set for the proper speed limit at the point!..) Before leaving for my trip I did not leave a sink full of dishes... that would get gross! And after being so tired from driving all day to get home I certainly did not leave the sink full of dishes (that were still there!) until morning.. I'm not that lazy! Nope, Not me! After waiting weeks to hear about a job that I was hoping for I did not go away for a week right before starting and not bother arranging childcare for my children. I'm way more organized and on top of things that that! I would never wait till the last minute and have to ask a friend to watch the kids for me. Lastly I did not suprise a good friend who I haven't seen in 2 years, in the middle of church, causing her to scream out during service! (cause of course, we were not late getting there!) I would never be disrespectful like that.. at church! Not Me! We had a busy but great week visiting friends in Pa! I wish we could have seen more people and had more time to visit... but it was quick and sweet. Hope you all had a great week as well!

Happy Father's Day!

In honor of Father's Day I wanted to take the time to post about the most special "daddy" in our lives, my hubby (: Married for almost 8 years, together for 12.. I can truly say that I am blessed to have Jake in my life, and in my children's lives. Here are a few of things I appriciate most about him.
Jake LOVES his children. Nothing is more special to watch then the time this daddy spends with his children. After a long day of work, first thing in the morning or for an afternoon sprinkler play.. Jake is always excited to make the kids smile, laugh and has lots of fun with them. Daddy's favorite activity would have to be "tickle time" Nathaniel and him go at it like crazy... giggling and squealing like crazy. Ellie is finally getting old enough to start giggling and really enjoying this time with daddy as well.
Jake Loves to cook for us. This is an attribute that I appriciate so much. Even after a long day, Jake is often willing and eager to cook us some yummy grilled food or make his special breakfast meals. Nathaniel also enjoys helping daddy cook and this becomes a special time they share.
Jake is an incredibly hard worker! As the bread winner, Jake provides for this family. Every morning he is awake and out the door, giving his all to help us have the things we need. He strives to do above and beyond. More than just putting in his time, Jake desires to push himself to do well and excel. In the heat, when exhausted, when not feeling well, and when unmotivated Jake continues to be there and do what needs to be done. Jake also desires to learn and improve his skills whenever possible, attending school, taking tests and earning certifications to better himself.
This is only a few of the things I love and appriciate about my hubby, my children's daddy... and I feel blessed to have him in our lives! Thank you hunny for all you do for us. I love you and thank God for you! Happy Father's Day!!
For Father's Day we woke up and made breakfast and let daddy sleep in and relax. Nathaniel and Landon helped and had a great time! First they both got to crack and prepare the eggs to be scrambled.. adding cheese to make them yummy!

Landon helped his mommy to stir the batter for the pancakes...

and Nathaniel loved helping to flip them and watch for them to finish

We did a good job together! and it was Yummy!!

Later in the day we all packed up and went over to Aunt Lauren and Uncle Brant's house with Nana, Grandpop, lots of cousins and Aunts and Uncles for a delicious cookout meal. We spent lots of time chatting, visiting and hanging out together and then headed home... after making one last pit stop. The day ended with a special suprise that I blogged about HERE.

This day has taken on new meaning over the last 4 years now that we have children of our own but will always be a day with some sadness... Today is a day I especially miss my daddy. It has been 17 years since we spent a Father's Day with him and I hate that he is not here celebrating with us and spending time with his grandkids. This year my daddy is spending a special Father's Day with his grandson, Brayden... and I know that he is getting lots of Father's Day hugs and love! What a celebration it must be! I love you Daddy... and can't wait to see you again! Happy Father's Day!!

South Carolina Aquarium

Yesterday, we packed all the kids up and headed to the Aquarium. Our friends Jessica and her son Landon are visiting from Pennsylvannia and we knew the kids would enjoy it. We started at the "touch tank" where the boys got to be up close and personal with starfish, hermit crabs, sea eneminnies, stingray, horseshoe crabs, and other under water creatures. They loved this!
We saw MANY different fish! This huge blowfish was a favorite as well as all the brightly colored and large fish we saw.

Jellyfish are always an awesome sight to see... such amazing

creatures they are.

Even Ellie enjoyed looking at all the big tanks and checking out the pretty fish from her front row seat!

By the time we headed home the boys were wiped out! Within minutes they were both sound asleep! .. what a day! ...

So glad we were able to go and have such a fun time!

NOT ME! Monday

It's Monday again!... Man, do the weeks fly by...

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog at http://www.mycharmingkids.net/ to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. "I created Not Me! Monday for the purpose of confessing our shortcomings and imperfections to each other since, after all, we are all only human!" (MckMama's words) Every Monday, you can find more "Not Me! Monday" at her site.This week after taking my son to the playroom at McDonalds to stop driving me insane! release some energy (since it was raining outside), I did not get suckered into having dinner there. We are broke and (suposed to ) NOT be eating out as much! Then when I went to order my husband and I's food I did not completely forget to order my son something! (oops!) Nope! Not Me!After hearing that April's Mom, B, was in labor I did not turn on my twitter updates back on my cell so that I would not miss a thing, and did not visit/refresh her blog about 1000 times to check for updates on sweet April Rose... did not tell my extended family all about them, making them so curious they began asking me for further updates all weekend! Nope! Not me!When I decided to put together a photo album of my son, I realized that I do not really have any printed pictures now that we live in this digital era... So I definately did not spend ALL day at Walgreens and CVS looking through and printing pictures to use.... (I have 2 small children and many other things to do with my time than that!)...and knowing that I do not take a million lot of pictures I certainly did not end up printing 800! Who takes THAT many pictures of someone under 2?! Nope! Not Me!
After a long, draining weekend I woke up feeling like one of those days I did not want to get out from under the covers... I did not convince my son to climb in bed with me watching cartoons so I could continue to snooze....and after a few hours of trying to entertain and settle my extremely hyper son playing, then needing some quiet "me" time I did not put both kids in their rooms to rest so I could check on my blogs and write this post! Nope! Not me! Hope you all had a great week! What have you Not been up to?

Six Months

Elliana is 6 months old today! I can't believe how big my baby girl is getting! I absolutely LOVE this phase.. personalities really start to show and there is so much interaction. Ellie is learning new things every day and brings joy to our lives in so many ways. We love you baby girl!

Here are some of the things you have been up to...

• You LOVE your jumperoo... you have mastered the art of jumping and have such a blast playing in this.


• Anything and everything that comes near you.. is grabbed! You are doing so well holding onto things, playing with toys... and love to grab mommy's hair!


• You have actually started taking a new pacifier! You don;t use it much.. but it helps to soothe you when it's time to sleep.


• You also love your silky taggie blankie. We have started taking this everywhere as it seems to be a constant source of entertainment and comfort.


• Your now rolling all over the place and scooting your way around somehow. You play nicely on the floor with all your toys for tummy time (until you decide to roll to your back)


• Feet and toes are still some of our favorite things to hold onto, play with and even attempt to eat!


• You are almost sitting up on your own! You get excited and wobble over but will hold yourself up with your arms/hands for a few seconds and try to sit up.


• You have descovered how to squeal! (loudly!) and do it often! We also love to hear you babble and coo ( I think you enjoy hearing yourself!)


• Your doing much better sleeping in your crib, even for naps! Mommy has been able to lay you down awake a few times and you have settled yourself down and gone to sleep on your own.


• Were moving into size 2 diapers, beginning some more foods (though your not sure about any of these new flavors yet!)


• You still love your cereal and eat a larger portion twice a day now.


• You absolutely LOVE your big brother! It doesn't matter what he says, or what silly thing he does... you always smile and laugh at him! (more than anyone else!) It's soo cute!

We love you so very much Elliana and thank God every day for you!!