Yet my children are growing up and changing like a seedling turning into a plant! And it is unstoppable and I need to take the time to document it... because I will forget... I know I say it's unforgettable... but so was my entire 557 days in the mission... and let's be honest I can't remember a lot of it.
So here is a harsh but catch up post.
Madison:
She has lost 4 teeth up to this point! Her top 2 fell out and she is very toothless in that area, and her bottom front two are coming in! She has her 6 year molars as well. She has a lot of teeth, but at the same time looks very toothless. :)
She has been enjoying school so much. Her teachers Ms. Kim and Ms. Jamie laugh at her and how "into" it she is. She loves rolling the dice to see which numbers to write down and promises she will come over from kindergarten and do it once she moves into next year.
They also love her outfits... and I cringe but deep down I love it too! It's hard not to wonder what others think though... ha ha ha! She definitely dresses to her own tune!
She has started reading! She loves sounding out her letters and loves being able to read her own stories... and then of course she still "reads" the big worded stories by telling it exactly how she thinks it should go. It has been very fun to see her vocabulary grow. I love how much she loves books. We recently got a Dickens stories book it has 5 or 6 Dickens stories all in one child friendly book so she has been going chapter by chapter and we get to use the ribbon book mark and that has made her SO happy!
She still loves playing outside with her friends. Kati and Colton live next door and are definitely her best buddies... and then Amelia and Maricela live really close too and they have a trampoline and sandbox that they let her play on. She loves loves loves going over to their house. We recently went to Amelia's first communion. It was good for Madi to support her friend and experience how other churches function. She was so amazed by Amelia's pretty dress. She looked very much like Cinderella... So pretty!
Here are some catch up Madi'isms.... I should make a book... maybe someday I will with all of them:
*She calls chicken nuggets "chicken nuts"
*"Why do you have such stinky breath? Did you eat a frog? Why does it smell like orange? Why did you eat an orange frog? UGH I hate it" all in a very rapid fire monologue.
* "How did you know that mom?" "Mom's know everything" "Fine! Then what does this mean? (raising her arms out in front of her and waving them all around in a crazy fashion) "I don't know what that means" "See! Mom's don't know everything!"
A little insight to who we have on our hands. She is a bundle of piss and vinegar and we are still battling the food issues. But with our healthier eating and by decreasing the amount of processed foods as well as limited dairy and gluten she is doing SO MUCH BETTER! :)
She still has nightmares and has moments of utter meltdowns... usually involving some sort of story of her mother dying in a fire :( Her meltdowns usually end with "running away" at some point and comes back knocking on the door happy... telling us Madison was running down the street but "starlight rainbow" has come to take her spot. Starlight usually also lost her mom and family.. usually in a dramatic fashion... but she is pretty happy about being in a house with a black cat just like hers back in star land.
We recently had a mommy/daughter date where we were going to go to the circus and then maybe get some dinner... well this mom right here thought I was so prepared... we got there 10 mins early only to find a string of sobbing children clutching their tickets with parents holding them while looking completely defeated. Turns out the circus is a big deal and it was sold out... and had been for like a half an hour... :( SO SAD.... well we turned it into a fun day with Madi being a super trooper and deciding it was okay and that we could do other stuff... So we went shopping and got the girl some high heels! What girl doesn't love new shoes... then we got her hair cut and went to lunch.... some delicious gluten free pizza! Totally a yummy treat! And then we went and got our nails painted and saw a movie. It was a totally awesome day and turned out so fun! After the movie we went to Scheels and rode the Ferris wheel wandered around and looked at some animals and played in the fun house. It was a long day... but such an awesome one. Definitely a memory maker....
Madison has also learned how to ride a bike! It really was just like one minute she decided she wanted to know how, brian helped her figure it out and then each time she just got better and better. She now rides her bike EVERYDAY and LOVES it... I think she feels the freedom and she is always asking to ride her bike...
Madison can be a real tease to Mason... but she can also be an awesome big sister who is protective, compassionate and empathetic.... The nice times are far and few between... but the nasty side seems to come more easily and frequently. I assume that is the normal way of siblings.... but the sweet moments melt my heart.
Mason is changing so fast into a little boy! He has some attitude developing as well and has learned what time outs are :) He is still very sweet and still cuddles and loves loves loves to copy Brian. They play a game where Brian stands right in front of Mason and they move their feet out wide and then in narrow... I bet Mason would do it for 30 mins straight!
Every night Brian gives Mason a bath and then while I'm bathing Madison I hear incredibly contagious giggles and laughter coming from Masons room. Mason has learned how to chase and pretend to tickle others... but really he is just asking to be tickled. He loves it.
I love when I read him stories and ask him to find something on the page he stretches out his arm and point towards the page and moves his arm around and around and then eventually lands on the object... like a bulls eye. Makes me smile everytime.
He LOVES to be outside. He would play outside by himself, with Madi or with Roxy all day long. He loves his strider bike, dirt, rocks, and BUGS.... So adorably cute.
He also pretends to "sleep" alot. When we get back from dropping Madison off, I come around to get him out of his car seat and he says "sweep" and then closes his eyes super tight and makes snoring noises. It's hilarious. Or he does it as the bath water has completely emptied from the tub and just lays on the floor of the tub wet and probably freezing in a cute little stink bug position making snoring noises.
Mason has picked up on working out. And he is definitely a reason I have started getting up at 5:30 to get my workout done with no children.... While he is adorable, he makes it so challenging and I end up taking more pictures than actually working out because he makes me laugh and I find it hilarious!
Everything ends in "y" or "ie" to him... Milky, blankie, workie, forky and so on! It is really funny and I'm not really sure where it comes from... But we are working on that.
He still loves to eat and will pork out on just about anything. He often eats more than Madison and will steal food off her plate.... or ours... or Roxy's. :( Yes he has eaten dog food.... and unfortunately found it yummy! bleh!
He calls Roxy "swaxie" Getting closer to the "rrr" sound I guess.
We had our first (of what I assume will be many) trip to the ER... In all honesty it could have been avoided had I calmed myself and taken a deep breath... but I saw a lot of blood and my mind went straight to cut tendons and severed nerves so I wrapped his hand up in a dish towel and ran to the car and told brian to get Madi and follow.
I had left a knife I was using to cut up an apple on the counter, I got distracted with something and had cut up half the apple but still had half left... well in my distracted state Mason got a chair pulled it up to the counter and grabbed the knife and tried to cut a slice... or at least that's what I assume. The knife was stuck into the apple and I think he must have grabbed it to pull it out and it just sliced right through the area in between his thumb and first finger.
I felt SO bad... I went to check him into the ER and I was sobbing and he was just very sober. No tears... just me in a total state of madness trying to explain what had happened but not doing a very good job between huge sobs... I'm embarrassed of my behavior to be honest... looking back it makes me laugh.
I had checked the cut like seconds after wrapping the dish towel around it and it was still bleeding a lot so I just assumed it was really deep. By the time we got to the ER and had him checked in (notice they checked him in and we sat in the waiting room... obviously not real serious and everyone but mom knew) I took a peek at it and by then it had stopped bleeding and it was only then I realized perhaps I was over reacting.
The RN took us back and took his vitals and checked it out and we had a laugh about how perhaps I over reacted... then he asked me what happened and I started to sob again.... I don't know if I have ever felt like a worse mom... I have many moments where I know I could have done better but this was the one that took the cake. Completely a bad move on my part and it happened fast making me realize how much better I needed to be.
Long story... I know... and it isn't even exciting. It was deep enough to leave a pretty good mark, but it wasn't nearly as deep as I had initially thought. Basically they super glued him shut, wrapped it up in gauze and our hour stay at the ER was billed for $800 or in that range... crazy right!?! Okay so it might have been 70 mins... tops. Fortunately we have good insurance that covered everything but our co-pay but good heavens.... It was a learning adventure for sure.... Mason milked his owie for weeks!! He is such a boy... it is kind of funny. He would see it and remember and then look to me for a kiss to make it all better... It was sweet... but a sting of a reminder.
Grateful it turned out how it did... and I learned my lesson, and unfortunately I'm sure we will have many more trips... but hopefully I can calm myself a little next time.
Brian and I will celebrate our 7th anniversary in a few days. Crazy how we started and where we are now. From Gillette, WY to Williston, ND to Hardin, MT.... it has been an adventure and I am very grateful my hubby has supported me on all of my adventures and continues to be a support to my PRN PTA job, my beachbody journey and I will forever be grateful that he supports my pursuits. I'm excited for where we will be in a year! I think it could be amazing. :) Actually I know it will be!
My hubby has supported me on my beachbody journey and I will forever be grateful for that. It is turning into such a great motivating, inspirational journey for me and has led me to so many doors!
Working out has definitely become a passion and I love how I feel! I feel healthy, and strong. It has helped my confidence and helped me encourage my family to eat better and exercise. My kiddos are eating better than they ever have and Brian too. :) It has been uplifting and I am a better person because I started it. That has made me happy. :)
This was really long. Hopefully I can do better about staying up to date. :) Got the majority out of the way.... Here are some super fun pics from the last little while to help you get caught up on my growing children as well!! :) My family is awesome don't you think?!
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| A rose from Daddy for Valentines Day |
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| Mischief at its best |
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| Cardboard boxes are amazing toys... and Brian made this one a winner! |
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| My roxy walking buddy |
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| Madi loves to go ride... We have a little track we go play on.. it is a lot of fun... just our size. |
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| Some of my favorite pictures of us |
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| Look at that hair!! |
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| Sleeping babies are still so precious |
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| I can't leave out our Roxy! Always the life of the party! |
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| Here is a "not impressed you called the eggs a muffin" look ;) |
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| Ahhh Wyssa is on a mission!! Craziness... |
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| Easter egg dyeing adventure |
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| Tumeric, purple cabbage, beets, purple onion skins |
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| Such a funny boy |
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| Sunroofs are super entertaining while waiting for dad to finish shopping |
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| Dressed for the rainy day |
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| The park |
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| Wouldn't take her helmet off to eat the sandwich! Ha ha |
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| She was looking for worms |
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| How does she not make you smile? |
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| Church |
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| Mutual |
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| Garden starting! |
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| Getting ready for some yummy goodies in our tiny garden |
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| Trying some flowers from seeds... I hope to have good news for you! |
Many many many many people say... "they grow up too fast, so enjoy it" We do try to enjoy it... and they do grow up fast... but I think human nature is to look to the next stage. I love the stage we are in right now and I do enjoy it.... I'm sure I don't fully appreciate it and I probably won't until this stage is long gone... but I'm trying. :) It's nice to be reminded of how awesome my family is. This post is for me and in 10 years to look back and see where we came from....
The sobbing faces and angry moments aren't included... it seems I don't take pictures of those! Ha ha I wonder how many pictures I would have if I did?!!? It might be impressive.. Ha ha
But we will try to remember and do better to enjoy the journey for life is a journey not a destination.... right?
