Some Days You Gotta Dance!

Don't worry, Evan is not having a seizure. He is "Just Dancing". He has been begging me forever to video him and send it to his teacher. Well, I was a little worried that he might be disappointed when he actually saw himself on video. I thought he might realize that he didn't look quite as coordinated, graceful, and cool in real life as he feels like he does when he's dancing. He was thrilled with his performance, however. At one point toward the end, he said, "That's the part I have trouble with, but I got it this time!" Gotta love the confidence that goes along with being 5.

There was one part in the video he was disappointed in, however. At the end when I say, "Yay!". His response: Big eye roll and "Mooom, did you have to say that?!"

I guess your mom saying "yay" is so not cool in kindergarten. Geez! What was I thinking?

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Too cute not to share even though I hardly ever upload video anymore. I hope you enjoy your bedtime story as much as I do!

A Real, Live Toddler!

It's official! Chloe is a real, live toddler. She's toddling around and chasing her brother, feeding herself chicken noodles, and into EVERYTHING! She is definitely keeping me on my toes. I chase her all over the house all day long. It seems that she is attracted to danger like a magnet... the stairs, doors that are not fully closed, the fireplace, the hard countertops. We barely avoid a hundred catastrophes a day and we don't manage to avoid a handful more. She currently has a big bruise on her chin from hitting the coffee table on her way down and yesterday she hit her mouth on the hearth and busted her lip. At first I couldn't tell if it was her lip or her one precious top tooth that was bleeding! It would just be our luck to wait for 12 months for a tooth and then her knock it out. But, a Popsicle made it all better.


Here is a video of her feeding herself some chicken noodle and toddling through the house chasing after brother. Notice the near disasters in the video, LOL. Don't forget to stop the music so you can hear her calling for "bubba", it's hilarious!





And as I was cleaning her highchair up from the chicken noodle she was playing in the pantry. I didn't really think there was much she could do damage to in there until I heard a loud noise, came running, and found this.



And for the record, I did not pick every piece I could up and put it back in the box and do not plan to use it for dinner soon, rationalizing that the boiling water would take care of any germs. Who would do such a thing? ;).

Look Who's Walking!

I just watched my daughter walk across the room!

At first, I didn't even react because it took me a minute for it to sink in that she just took her first real steps! She just let go of the couch and took off. It seemed so natural, that at first I just sat there and watched her.

Then, all of a sudden, I squealed, "CHLOE! You're WALKING!" at which point I promptly scared her out of her pants and she sat down and started crying!

Of course, then I grabbed the video camera and she wasn't much into walking anymore. I got a few steps on camera, though. Now Evan can say "SHE'S WALKING!" instead of "SHE'S STANDING UP!" every five minutes, LOL.

(Oh, and don't forget to scroll down to the bottom of the page and pause the music player if you want to hear it, but it's really just a bunch of cheering, so it might not be that important :)

Pay no attention to the scary spider in the floor in this video. It's harmless, I promise.

Thursday at the Theatre

Grab your popcorn, sit back, settle in, and enjoy a little "theatre" this lovely Thursday... and don't forget to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and click PAUSE on the music player so you can hear the movie(s)! Yes, movies. Oh, come on, they're short and they are adorable!

We'll begin with a little pre-show snack... and a glimpse of little Miss Personality, the star of the short films we'll be watching today.I'd like you to pay close attention to her main form of communication.


FYI, the alarm you heard halfway through was a "key finder" that is on top of the fridge. Why we don't move it, I don't know, but it goes off a million times a day whenever the kids get loud. It's gotten to be kind of funny, we tell Evan it's an alarm to tell him he's too loud, LOL. The funny thing is: I don't know how you are supposed to activate it to locate your keys, but we can't seem to make any kind of sound that will set it off.... just the kids voices.

And now a little dinner theatre for your viewing enjoyment...



Don't you hate it when a movie has a tragic ending? I much prefer happy endings. That is her typical reaction to the "N" word. I'm telling you, we only thought Evan is difficult. He was always a smiley, happy little ANGEL at this age! We are just beginning to "pay for our raising".

Driving Miss Chloe.... Don't you just hate trying to get in and out of those tight parking spaces? That's what this reminds me of.


If this is any indication of her driving/parking skills to come, we may be in trouble. But, she is getting closer to walking!

And now for your enjoyment, Chloe presents: Pat a Cake!

Chloe is already perfecting the extremely necessary skill for all women of multitasking as evidenced in this last show...

I don't know who she would learn to talk on the phone while carrying and comforting a baby around! I certainly would never be gabbing away on the phone while caring for my precious children. Who would do such a thing? She was really gabbing away on that phone and just patting that baby the whole time, but of course she was tired of it by the time we got the video camera out. Isn't that how it always goes?

We hope you've enjoyed this production of Thursday at the Theatre. I think it would make a nice weekly segment on a blog and would encourage the blogger to video more, which I am horrible at (I always have the other camera to my face). BUT....It most likely will not be a regular on my blog due to the time involved in retrieving video and downloading it, but it was a nice thought :).

I'm hopelessly behind on blogging and have TONS, no literally, TONS of pictures from the last few weeks. We've been having lots of fun: lots of outdoor fun in the sun, sand, and water, swimming, and zoo camp for Evan! I hope to get some postings by early next week, but right now we are in the middle of birthday party preparation!

We LOVE big birthdays around here! It's one of my favorite times of the year. I decided to do the kids' birthdays together because they were only 3 weeks apart and 2 big birthdays so close might push me over the edge and wipe out our bank account. And really, it is mostly our friends and family who come for right now, so the same people would be invited to both and I knew people wouldn't want to come to two parties 3 weeks apart. Last year we had probably around 50 people and around 10-15 kids in the backyard. It was so much fun, even though I was like 9 months pregnant. But, this year, it will be significantly smaller than in the past because apparently the first weekend in June EVERYONE goes to the beach (or moves, or has a newborn baby and a husband out of town, or has moved away, or has to work, or has a spouse whose birthday is that weekend, you get the drift... and you know who you are! We will miss you, wish you could be here.). Excuses, excuses! Is it really too much to ask that you postpone your vacation that you've had planned all year for my kids' birthday parties? I mean, geez! I know we will still have a blast though. It will be a much more intimate gathering. Maybe Chloe won't be as overwhelmed as Evan was.

Evan's first birthday....

I can't wait to post pictures of Chloe's First Birthday! I won't go into how I'm feeling about that, right now ;). Let's just say, since her birthday is not actually until the 14th, I'm not letting myself get emotional yet. I make a very good Scarlett O'Hara: "I won't think about that today. I'll think about that tomorrow."

I do hope Chloe will enjoy her cake a little more.I just can't stand to see a good cake go to waste!

Hey, it's my party and I'll cry if I want to!

Tops for the Week and a Special Announcement

A Big Announcement

Proudly announcing the arrival completion of...

The Impact of Looping on Reading Achievement in the Middle Grades

on April 6, 2009 at 2:04 a.m.

3 Chapters, 55 pages long.

Proud parent, Amanda R. __________ from Tennessee Technological University

delivered naturally at home, with absolutely no pain relief, by Dr. G.H. (whom I can't say I would personally recommend, she is very nice, but tends to overreact a bit causing undue stress to first-time moms).


That's right!!!! The main body of my paper is FINISHED! I still have to do the table of contents and abstract, and a bunch of proofreading, but if we were to stick with disgusting labor analogies, I would compare that to the delivery of the placenta..... the rest of it hurt so much and you're so excited it's over that you barely even notice. Sorry, I just couldn't resist one more disgusting labor analogy.

Seriously, though, the 3 hours of pushing and vacuum extraction I endured after my epidural wore off with Evan were a piece of cake compared to this last week. I'd go through that again any day of the week if I could avoid ever having to write another one of these. Besides, the reward at the end of actual labor is infinitely more adorable.

P.S. I did not register, this being my third baby and all, but if you are just dying to get me a gift... wine and a day at the spa would always be appreciated!

____________________________________
Other Top Moments of the Week
(yes, I did manage to take a few pictures this week on breaks)

Matthew and Evan spent almost all day outside on Saturday, working and playing. Chloe joined them in between her naps while I worked on my paper. I did quit early on Saturday and we had a nice cookout with my mom and Lynn and Grandaddy Ben. It was a much needed and very nice break. I also went to sleep at 9:00 that night, aaahh!

Evan and Matthew played some baseball, Sunday evening. I just realized that Evan is wearing the same shirt... um, I'm not sure what that is all about. I don't think I had any part in dressing him this weekend.

The Lady in Red

I hate my flash on my camera! The flash makes the pictures look horrible, but without it the pictures turn out blurry! Oh well, I may hate the flash, but I love Chloe in this red bow, orange nose and all!


Apparently Chloe's feeling are not mutual.


Top Evan-isms of the Week

Matthew and Evan were fighting (big surprise) and Matthew said, "You mess with the bull, you get the horns!". Evan thought that was hilarious, but a few minutes later he put his own spin on it: "You mess with 'piderman, you get the 'pider!"

When Matthew was taking Evan up for his nap on Saturday, Evan said, "When we get upstairs, I'm going to have to teach you a lesson, mister!"

A Few Sweet Evan-isms

Evan was cuddling on the bed with me and Matthew was trying to get him to do something. He said, "I just love Mommy so much, I can't move!"

Evan wanted me to pretend to be Aunt May from Spiderman. He came running in and said, "The green goblin's after us!", I said, "Oh, no! Save me Spiderman!". He ran up and hugged me and said, "As long as I'm hugging you, I don't even care!"

A Farewell Message from Chloe from This Morning

(don't forget to pause the music at the very bottom of the page)

Aww.. Sugar, Sugar!

"Oh, honey..... aww sugar, sugar.....you are my candy girl...."

"...When I kissed your lips, I knew how sweet a kiss could be (knew how sweet a kiss could be)!"

Sing with me....

The Top Moment

This is the sequel to the Big Reveal and Other Top Moments post since it wouldn't let me upload my videos for some reason. Be sure to scroll on down and check it out as well.


Ok, there were two more top moments from last week...


First, Moving Right Along....

That's right! Chloe is officially crawling (forward), albeit, not very quickly, as of last week.

And this is last week's TOP MOMENT (be sure to pause the music player at the bottom of the blog page and turn your speakers up to hear this proud mommy moment)

Spooky Stories

Rolling!

Chloe is getting better, but she is still sneaky about it! This was a few days ago...

A New Friend

Chloe made a friend today! She spent a good 15 to 20 minutes playing with and talking to this friend all by herself (and that's alot for a 3 month old). Finally, she got the friend to talk back and her face is priceless!
(Remember, you can scroll all the way down to the bottom and pause the music player to hear better even though there's not that much to hear on this one).

A Laughing Matter

(You can scroll down to the bottom of the page and press pause on the music player to hear the video better :-)

So... Sorry!

Ugh! This has been Evan's phrase today and believe me when I say, he is not the least bit sorry. This would be the defiant, practically yelling at me, slightly sarcastic sorry, not the remorseful one. You know, like when you say sorry, but what you really mean is "So, get over it!" As in... "Mo-om, I TOLD you I NEEDED this water to water the flowers (as he dips water out of our fountain with his bucket after I just finished telling him he could not turn the water hose on b/c it was too cool to get wet, and of course gets himself all wet) so, Sorry!" or "I SAID I'm not hungry. No, I'm NOT eating my peas, so, Sorry! Now get my chocolate chips!" or "I TOLD you that I'm not tired, I'm not taking a nap, so, Sorry!" or how about, "Nope, there are too many toys, I'm NOT picking them up. So.. sorry!"The list could go on. Out right defiance, mingled with whining and crying... yeah, fun day. At least right now it's naptime! Whoot! I feel like doing a little jig. The bad thing is I do believe he has learned that phrase from me as in "No chocolate chips until the peas are gone, so, sorry!" or "I'm throwing whatever toys you don't pick up in the trash... so... sorry!"


And just so you know, it's not all been bad. Here we are swinging on our playground. Chloe is wedged in there with a million towels, LOL, and Evan just started pumping his legs today. He's still a little too stiff to really get himself going (won't lean back and shift his weight enough), but it's definitely a start.

Yes, I know. Aren't they sweet? Isn't life just perfect? Could anything possibly be better than spending a gorgeous fall morning pushing your kids on the swings? Nope, not much. But, I do believe if you look really closely at the one of Evan by himself I believe you might see the snot left over from the humongous fit he threw when he saw me put Chloe in HIS swing! :-)

Ahh, yeah, there it is... wiping the snot away after I finally broke his spirit and convinced him to get on the big boy swing... because "Chloe is swinging in this swing, you have to share, so sorry!"

And I wonder why I seem to be losing brain cells at an alarming rate. I mean honestly, I just typed and retyped closely three times and I'm still gonna have to spell check it! I was once an AWESOME speller. Matthew says it is because I'm almost 30. He swears that's when it started for him. I think it's the kids.

(Note: I have not totally lost it, I did get closely right, but I misspelled humongous, apparently in TN it sounds more like humungous. Yikes, but now I have to check again, does misspelled have a double s in there?)

Yep, misspelled has a double s, and now Evan is awake.... so, SORRY! And, Matthew, it looks like the house is not getting cleaned today.. so, SORRY!"

Lullaby and Goodnight

Evan likes to sing his favorite songs to Chloe when she starts getting sleepy. I question the appropriateness of his songs sometimes (yes, that is Tom Petty he's singing), but they seem to work! (Sorry about the poor filming skills).

I love to watch Chloe sleep. She is so adorable and I love seeing all the little faces she makes while she sleeps as well. Just like Evan, she loves to be swaddled (in his blue and green blankets), but she sometimes works her little hands up near her face and it is so precious! I'd say at least one day a week I snuggle with her on the couch or in the bed while she sleeps during Evan's naptime (and Matthew wonders why the house is a mess). I can't help it, I know it won't be long that I'll be able to just snuggle and watch her and breathe in her smell. It's the little details like how she looks when she smiles in her sleep that I really want to store away in my memory.

Two Months Old

Chloe was two months old on Thursday. She went for her two month checkup yesterday. She weighed 10 pounds 15.5 oz which is the 54% and was 23 3/8 inches long which is the 82% (I guess she is going to be tall, too). Her head was 38 cm which is the 32%. Dr. Blevins said she was doing great! She is growing well and is doing all the right things developmentally.. smiling, cooing, reaching for things, batting objects, recognizes mommy and daddy's face, etc. Dr. Blevins always goes on and on about how beautiful she is (which we agree of course), but I'm sure he says that to all the new mommies, ha! She had to have her first round of immunizations yesterday. She got three injections and an oral vaccine for the rotavirus. She is well on her way to being protected against pneumococcal disease, polio, Hib, diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis, and had her second dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. She cried alot when she got the shots. It is actually the hardest and longest she has ever cried in her life because she is such a good baby. Bless her heart, I almost cried too when she finally calmed down and I laid her on the table to dress her and she tried her best to smile at me through her tears. Of course it broke my heart, but I do feel strongly that it is important to protect her. She tolerated the vaccines well. She ran a very low grade temperature last night and her legs were very sore, but we gave her a warm bath and this morning she seems to be feeling much better. I've included a little video of her "talking" to me from Thursday.