Daddy-Daughter Time

Watching B and Cory play together is one of the sweetest things around.  She loves the extra attention for her daddy.  You just gotta learn to play by her rules. Trust me...there are lots of them.
(gotta love first born children)

Overdue Birthday Update

So June is close to being over and I still need to post a Bethany Birthday update. So here it goes:

Keeping up with my tradition of making birthday cakes, I made Bethany a Tinkerbell Cake. At first I attempted a Tangled Cake--with the tower and all. Yeah. That didn't work out for me. So when Bethany saw the pile of cake that was once a tower...she said, "That's ok Mama. You can make a Tinkerbell Cake instead." 

She got a kick out of eating Tinkerbell's head!

Then it was present time.  Which in our house is apparently universal present time and all person under the age of 12 get to open the presents.

And...apparently all persons gets to have equal opportunity to play with the said presents...

Even Daddies...

The kids even got these awesome couches/bed from their Grandma.  What a great gift idea. They love having their own seats.

This was the first year Bethany was able to have her own Birthday Party with her friends.  We decided to go with the classic venue of Chuck E. Cheese. Which, of course, brought back fond memories for Cory, as he used to be Chuck E. back in the day. 

The kiddos has a blast!

Even Owen had a couple friends there to play with!

Gorgeous Dancing Girl

Today is Bethany's 4th birthday.  She is been looking forward to her birthday since last August. Seriously. This girl has been waiting 10 long months just for one day to celebrate her!  I think it will be worth the wait!

Here are some gorgeous picture of our lil' 4 year old at her dance recital on Sunday. 
She has one great personality!

Dancing "Show Biz Kids" with her class.

Doing "A Ballet Lesson".  She's so graceful!

Twirling and Twirling!

Strike a Pose!

Daddy-Daughter Craziness

When I leave these two alone sometimes they create nothing but trouble. 

The other day when I stayed late at work this is what I came home to...their flippin' Bethany trick.

UP she goes...

And flipped back down.

Easter :::2011:::

Easter 2011 has come and gone. Overall, I would say it was a great success.

We are working extra hard for the kids to realize Easter is more than just bunnies, eggs and treats.  We want the kids to know the true purpose of Easter--the death and resurrection of Jesus. Yeah. Try explaining that to a three-year-old {Sorry--but we don't even bother trying w/ the 1-year-old}.  I think Bethany gets it. I mean..as much as a three-year-old can. She can tell us the story & it isn't regurgitation. She can actually have a conversation and ask questions about: sin, why we sin, does God sin, how does God feel when we sin, why Jesus had to die, and the meaning behind resurrection.  The part that kinda throws a wrench in the whole deal is the bunny and its blasted eggs. Yeah...she thinks the eggs are waiting for us in heaven. Ah..whatever works.

We did get the kiddos small lil' baskets and filled them up with a few goodies. We didn't emphasize the Bunny or anything...just that we are celebrating today and you happened to get goodies too, you know just in case eternal salvation wasn't good enough--now you have bubbles and jammies to take with you!

  We hid eggs in side the house after church.  The kids had a blast searching and searching for the eggs.

Bethany zipped through the house like an old pro at this game. She found tons of eggs.

Owen need a bit more guidance, as he would walk by an egg completely two or three times without realizing it.

Overall, it was a great Easter.  It seemed a little busy...but really all holidays seems a bit too busy now-a-days.  We have started to think outside the box in terms of holidays and busyness. With a lot of holidays it seems like we have so much on our plate: with things to do, places to go, traditions to follow, food to make, obligations to uphold...BUT we are thinking about toning down our holiday busyness and make sure we are focusing our attention on the true purpose of the holidays. Not worrying about all the running, cooking, prepping and whatnots that holidays typically bring. Then our kids can see the true purpose of whatever holiday we are celebrating and not fixate on the next item on our agenda. And as a secret-hidden bonus...we will be able to relax and enjoy the time with our family.

Oh...by the way...I owe you a huge apology. I managed not to get pictures of the awesome "Thank You Jesus" cookie cake that Bethany and I made.  This was the first year in ages I didn't make a bunny cake....but since I was failing to see the connection between the cross and a bunny; Bethany and I decided to change our focus.  Not only does this cookie cake taste amazing...but Bethany did a fantastic job of drawing three cross on it for us.  And Bethany's explanation of the crosses is one of the best explanations I've heard in a long time....  "One cross is for God {of course meaning Jesus} & two for the bad guys that did bad things.  God doesn't sin...just us.  God was born before us and He is good."

hehehe...Isn't she something...

What Every Princess Needs

So what does every princess need?

Well, besides a prince.  Or a couple of frogs to kiss.

Every princess needs a castle to call her own, of course!

This lil' princess has been wanting her room redone since her lil' brothers was finished over Winter Break.   After thinking a couple of months of what to do & working on the creative juices, we decided Spring Break would be the best time to do something.   With her new obsession being Tinker Bell and Princesses, this was a perfect fit!

I think it went over real well!  The only thing she was hesitant about is the new location of her bed. Now, she can't peep out in the hall to spy on us after she's gone to bed.

Perhaps that was done on purpose....but we'd never tell her!

Let, Let, Let all the Children

Bethany sang at church a couple of weeks ago. She loves the choir.   I just love her lil' shy girl facial expressions.

She's just too much!

there are times

There are times where motherhood is rather stressful. Having to work all day just to come home to clean, cook, discipline, and love. Don't even get me started on the impossibility to find times for the husband and myself. There are times where you run and run throughout the entire weekend and you are.just.worn.out!

But then you take a day off of work to help celebrate Valentine's Day at the 3 year old's preschool.   All those late night and exhausting days seemed to be worth it.  I mean...look at the outfit she puts together. Isn't see scrumptious!

But before preschool...it is time for McD's.

 

At the party I watch Bethany totally comfortable with where she's at.

 It was so much fun for me to see her at her school & to help host her party.  They had ice cream sundaes, made necklaces, hit the pinata and exchanged cards. 

It was so rewarding to see her in her preschool with all her friends.  After seeing her in her school, I am so grateful that we chose that preschool a year ago. It is a perfect fit for Bethany.   I can't wait until when Owen gets his chance to attend her school in a short 1 and 1/2 years!

1st child

Bethany's first-childness is certainly emerging recently.  She is a pleaser, rule-follower, advanced-learner, sibling-protector, and instigator all in one 38 lb, blue eyed, blond girl.  We aren't going to even bother mention her brother-correcting ways. Man...one would think there was three parents in this household...but I digress...

Bethany is becoming a nice lil' teacher to Owen.  She likes going up to her room w/ her brother in tow. They run up, flip the lights on and off a thousand times*, occasionally slam the doors* and then the lessons begin.  (* = both of which they've been instructed not to)

She likes to begin her lesson by putting a book on the chalk board (like Mrs. S), then she goes on to teach Owen the letter or number of the day. 

If you ever get the pleasure of being in her class, make sure you copy her techniques ex-act-ly.  If not...she will make you aware of your faulty ways.

However, she is a very eager and enthusiastic teacher.  Wouldn't you like to be a part of her classroom?

Baby Big-Girl Bethany,

Bethany,

Wow! Sweetie! I am not sure when you stopped being this lil' baby girl that I remember. But somehow this beautiful little girl has emerged from that once, bright-eyed, fussy, cuddley little baby.  Now, you are 3.5 years with an immense love for you God, family and school.

When I look at you it is hard to fathom where the time has gone.  You have grown so much lately. Since you have started preschool you have learned an incredible amount of information.  You can recite several pledges, Bible verses, and songs.  You know your alphabet by site for 80% of the letters (being able to write most of the letters you have been taught). You can even write your name and your brother's!  Your memory is remarkable.  You can tell many stories of things we have done even several months ago.  You recognize places and remember what we did there, even if we've been there only one time.

I am just so proud of the person you are becoming.  You are a very caring soul; giving your brother the very toy frog that you just earned from your preschool's treasure box.  While you aren't crazy adventurous, you don't mind egging your knows-no-boundaries brother to do you dirty work. You'd rather make sure to follow all the rules and be well aware of the situation at hand before you get to engrossed in any sort of activity.

You love singing.  Being a member of the SunBeam Choir is a perfect fit for you.  You really love God and seeming to understand exactly who God is. Dancing is your other activity.  I am certainly impressed that you are demonstrating something that resembles rhythm...you certainly didn't inherit that from me. 

Dear, sweet Bethany....I love you very much. Thank you for allowing me to be your mom...it is certainly one of the greatest honors I could ever imagine!

Love,

Mom

Bethany There was a Lil' Baby

This weekend, Bethany and the whole Sunbeams choir at church treated the 9:30 service with an awesome performance of "There was a Little Baby". Bethany did fantastic, as usual. Here is a video of her performance.

If this doesn't plaster a freakishly large smile on your face...I am not sure if anything ever could.

Simple Parenting Mistake Solved

Parenting Mistake # 2,423,424.667:

 We put up all the Christmas decorations, the Christmas tree and sat on Santa's lap all on the same day with the 1 year old and the 3 year old (who still struggles w/ the concept of time...as indicated by the fact that every day in the past is considered yesterday).  The result of these activities: Bethany thought the next day was Christmas & when it turned out NOT to be Christmas, she thought the next day was Christmas. This went on for a few days until.....

Solution to Mistake #  2,423,424.667:

 Along with the wooden nativity scene advent calendar, I made a large and colorful paper-chain to count down the days until Christmas.  We started with 24 days left & after bath time Bethany gets to tear one piece off at a time.  She knows once she gets to rip the last one, the next day will be Jesus's birthday.  She loves getting to rip one off each day & counting the remaining links.

And sometimes, while she does that, Owen "gets" to eat some non-edible candle decorations, sigh.

God is Bigger than Big!

That is right!  God is bigger than big.
He's stronger than strong.
He's mightier than mighty;
LOUDER THAN THIS SONG!!!!!

Man, reading that is something.
But want to know what is better than just reading those words on a blog?
Well, you need to listen to a good 2 dozen kids singing/yelling those words during worship service. 

Bethany joined the Sunbeams choir at church this fall. She is loving it!
It is so exciting to see her learning about God and loving God!

While I don't know how much she understand about God, Jesus, Adam/Eve, Jonah, etc.  She does know that God is Large and in charge.  Throughout our conversations she knows that God is the reason for everything. If I try to scientifically explain something to her, like, why people get bigger as they get older...she often corrects me and says, "We get bigger because God wants us to." 

Now...sometimes God comes up in a conversation in non-conventional ways.  

See the example:

Me: Bethany! Stop drinking the bath water! That is disgusting! Why are you doing that?

Bethany: Because God told me.

It is super cute, though, when she does something "naughty".  For example sometimes she says silly things like, "I'm going to hit you."  She then says "sorry" to me and God.  Now that...that is pretty cute. I don't know where she got that idea from. But isn't it sweet?

Bee's Advice

Have a problem? Well, I have the perfect girl to help you out...

Upon noticing a  lovely  Scooby Doo band-aid on my leg the following conversation took place:

B: Momma! What happened? (points to band-aid on my leg).
M: I was bleeding, so I put a band-aid on it.
B: What did you do?
M:  I hurt myself in the shower.  (I fell victim to my razor, again)
B: Momma, never take a shower again, okay? Then you'll won't bweed.

Luckily, for you all I won't follow her "wise" advise!

Step aside Dora...

Dear Dora,

Hola!  I just wanted to let you know that it is time.  Dora, it is time for you to step aside...
there is a NEW EXPLORER in town

She comes complete with her map & her own monkey-like side-kick.

This new explorer isn't afraid of traveling ahead, looking out for all the crazy villians out there.

Nope. She certainly wouldn't be afraid of a pile of wood...

Now Dora, there is no need to feel threatened by this one. He gets so distracted by simple leaves.

 

and still needs his Momma to drag him about...



But Dora...that other lil' girl...she's gunning for your job! Watch Out!