Wild Thing

Valentine's Day has a special place in my heart.  Not only is it my and hubby's wedding anniversary but a designated day where you get to tell the people in your life how special they are to you?!  I'm in love.

I love to craft, and I've told hubby with all seriousness that in our forever home I need a crafting room, complete with white walls, a big huge butcher block table in the center and storage bins underneath.

These were made with kraft cardstock, letter stamps, red and black ink, red and white ribbon twine, and plastic safari animals (try Hobby Lobby, Target, or maybe even the dollar store).   Tie the animals to the cardstock by punching holes, threading the ribbon through and tying a bow.  Easy to make, and I have to say since we had a few "wild things" left over- Chloe and Yates haven't wanted to stop playing with them, even adding animal sounds to add to their animations.

Make sure you seal them with a kiss and a "roar!"

// XOXO //

Wild and Free

// Wild and Free //

I'm a Sucker...

 I'm a sucker... for this little Mama's boy.

He has a slight obsession with lollipops.  As in... wakes up in the morning asking for them and it continues throughout the day.  I'm a huge sucker for him, and anything that he wants.  Hubby calls me out on it all the time.  He's our last child and I constantly hold on to the fact that he's still my baby although I do realize he's growing up right before my eyes.

He will be two in just a little over a month, and there are so many things that make him sweetest little guy you'll ever meet...

He replies with "huh" when you ask him a question and his reply is yes.  He's really gotten really good at giving you the reply straight from his big ol' belly with emphasis on the first h of the "huh."

He loves "lunch."  Let's be clear, 'lunch'' does not mean lunch, lunch means food.  So when he wakes up for breakfast, it's "lunch," when he wants snack, it's "lunch," when he wants dinner it's "lunch."

Speaking of, recently his favorite "lunches" are sausage, pepperoni (with cheese that he picks off of pizza but does not eat any part of the crust), ranch with a side of carrots, syrup with a side of pancakes, and strawberry anything - yogurt, poptart, breakfast bar, or fruit snack.  He also loves popcorn and thinks anything in the microwave is going to come out as popcorn.

He still loves choo-choo's but he equally loves monster trucks, diggers and lawn mowers.  In fact, when Dada gets his lawn mower out he goes crazy and insists he needs to help him by screaming and crying until he gets to go outside.

He's rough.  As in, he plays rough, tackles and wrestles Chloe and Coach around all.the.time.  And that he has gotten honestly, all from genetics - because I assure you Mama, nor Chloe play rough, tackle or roll around on the floor all the time.

He has a thing for shoes.  He must have them on at all times unless he is sleeping, and has named his favorite pairs.  The ones with green laces he calls "football" (since everything green is, of course, related to Daddy's football team) and his crocs he calls "Dada" because Dada has the same pair of shoes.

He's a snuggler.  All I have to do when it is time for bed is to pat the pillow beside me and he scoots over as fast as his little bum can.  He presses his body so close and stays that way the whole night as he sleeps.  While it makes it hard to move and get comfortable at times, I love waking up to his little nose pressed close to mine and his eyelashes tickling my cheek.

Growing Up

I can't believe she really is three, and Yates turns two next month.  While things have gotten easier since they were younger, some things get harder.

A few things I miss about them being so little, and a few things I don't...

I miss...

1 // Naptime.  While Yates is a good sleeper, Chloe resists her naps, and has for quite some time.  There was a time when Yates was a newborn that Chloe still took both a morning and an afternoon nap, while Yates slept most of the day too. I watched a lot of Downton Abbey, and drank my coffee while it was still hot, and thought it was the hard life (and it was, at the time).

2 //  Quiet.  Babies can't argue, or insist on wearing their pajamas to school, or shoes to bed.  And they can't argue with one another about who had the book first. The car was a quiet place too, but now we discuss (and argue about) every plane, train and automobile we encounter as we drive down the road.

3 // Dinner.  When they were younger Chloe and Yates would eat earlier, and Mike and I would be able to actually eat (taste) our dinner later together, and without having to get up to get someone juice, an extra napkin, pick something up off the floor, pick a booger...

4 // Sleeping... with only one child in our bed.  Chloe has always slept in our bed.  From the time she came home from the hospital she has been in our bed at night.  Yates has been a great sleeper and has preferred his own bed, but now sleeps in our bed 5 out of 7 nights in our bed (he finally realized what he was missing).  So there are usually 5 "people" in our bed on any one given night- Chloe, Yates, Coach and of course Mama and Dada.

5 // A clean house. Before when I only had one toddler things weren't quite so difficult to pick up.  The messes weren't so big and there weren't so many toys. The toys were also much smaller and didn't require so many pieces with each one. Now puzzle pieces and hot wheel cars can usually be found in at least 15 different places around our house, and in shoes as we are getting dressed in the mornings.


I don't miss...

1 // Naptime.  Because I get to spend more one-on-one time with Chloe.  And she is always so happy during this time when she doesn't have to compete with Yates's attention.  I also get to spy on Yates and watch him sleep. I love the way he always sleeps in the same position every time, with his blue blanket and his hands folded behind his head.

2 // Quiet.  Now we can have conversations and their personality shines.  They constantly make me laugh and my day even better than I could ever have imagined.  Chloe usually sings at some point while we are in the car together and hearing her sing "Jesus Loves Me" is the most magical thing I've ever heard.

3 // Dinner.  Because having dinner together as a family is priceless, and we can have conversations about what we have done that day and say our dinner prayer together.

4 // Sleeping.  It is overrated, or so I'd like to think.  And waking up snuggled next to my babies warm and cozy is the best way to start my day.

5 // A clean house. My house is now filled with toys, toys, toys.  Which leads to happiness, giggles, and... happiness. So I've learned to accept the fact that I might find cars in shoes, and lipstick on walls, but I will also find two happy children... and that my friends, is what makes me truly happy.

Chloe is THREE.. Time to Par-TEA!

// Chloe's Tea Party //

Teacup cupcakes (recipe below)

Fairy shortbread cookies (shortbread cookies with sprinkles baked in)

Pink (white chocolate) covered marshmallows with coconut and sprinkles

Peanut Butter and Honey tea sandwiches in shapes of hearts, flowers and stars

Pink cupcakes, with pink sprinkles

Tea (apple juice) in Great-Granny's china

Teacup lollipops

// Before tea, Chloe's friends decorated hats to wear with flowers from the table. They also had pearls and gloves to wear while drinking their tea (and take home as party favors). //

To make Teacup cupcakes:

Ice cream cake cones

Cake mix

Icing (pink and white)

Pink sprinkles

Shortbread cookie (or sugar cookie) for the "saucer"

White chocolate covered pretzels

1 // Bake your choice of cake mix in ice cream cake cones as directed on package.  It is helpful if you put the ice cream cones in muffin tins to keep them upright and only fill the cones halfway to the top so the batter doesn't overflow while it bakes.

2 // Once the cupcakes in ice cream cones have cooled, cut off bottoms and cut off excess from the top so the cake is level with the cone.

3 // Use icing to adhere the bottom of the cone to the shortbread cookie.

4 // Use icing to adhere the ends of the white chocolate covered pretzel to the side of the cone so it looks like the handle of the teacup.

5 //   Ice the top of the cone with either pink or white icing.  Sprinkle the top with pink sprinkles.

Chloe is THREE!

My dearest baby girl,

You are three.  You have always been such a good and sweet girl, but yet strong willed and stubborn.  Most of the time you are easy to please but you are a bit of a perfectionist and opinionated on much more than most three year olds.  You love all things pink and sparkly and insist on freshly painted nails. (Your nails look better than mine most of the time.)  You love, love, love unicorns.  You have a collection now that will rival most.  I find it very endearing that you have picked something to love out of the ordinary, but yet still very girly and feminine, just like you.  You stay busy and don't like to nap most days now.  I blame that on me, as I am always feeling antsy, like something needs to be done so you ask often, "What are we doing now?" because you don't want to miss anything.  You also have a southern accent that everyone picks up on.  You say "I'm tirrrrrred" emphasizing the "r" like you were born in the backwoods of Florida.  (Actually your Daddy was, so maybe that is where it comes from.)  You love your "little brother Yates," which is how you introduce him to everyone and it is very apparent you are proud of him and the fact that you have a little brother- one that is so close in age to you that people often mistake the two of you for twins.  You and Yates are inseparable and while you love time alone with Mommy or Daddy on special days you worry about what Yates is doing, or where he is.  You and your little brother play together well, but he irritates you because he doesn't follow "your rules."  You love to play with legos, but you very strategically place them in towers and he just wants to push them down.  You are a rule follower.  You love to sing but you don't want people to sing with you.  (You love to hear yourself sing, and nobody can sing the way you can... trust me.)  You have an insatiable sweet tooth and have found that licking the icing is the best part of the cake.  You also love ice cream, with sprinkles, because that makes the ice cream pretty.  I love you so much my baby girl and while it seems as though it were yesterday that my water broke on New Years day three years ago and you were born the next day, I have loved watching you grow into a beautiful little girl.

I love you to the moon and back... and even farther... much, much farther.
Mama