Our Birthday!

Reese and Collin woke up and saw their balloons, cards and PRESENTS!!! I am all excited and sing to them "Happy Birthday" and remind them that they are now 4 years old. I then proceed to tell them they grew overnight and really look 4 years old today. They are so excited to be older AND taller!!! First they open their cards and find their crown and pirate hat (containing $100 each)--thank you Coco and Papa, how generous and unnecessary! Who knew they would insist on wearing their little hats ALL DAY??

I then try to talk them into going to get donuts, but they insist on oatmeal. I was really trying to get them to go with the whole "chocolate icing" and "sprinkles" descriptions, but they said they wanted oatmeal, so oatmeal it was! We then got dressed for our birthday outing. I wanted to coordinate them for their birthday, this might be the last birthday they allow me to do this. So, they wore their "batman" and "batgirl" shirts--they looked so cute!!!! Then, we were off.

We went to the mall because I wanted them to be able to pick out a couple of things from The Disney Store that they have had their eyes on. Since Coco and Papa had given them some money, I wanted them to be able to pick out a couple of goodies themselves.

After shopping and picking out their "piano" (keyboard), vacuumn, baseball set, buzz lightyear car and their Daisy duck and Mickey mouse--we headed to the cash register. They both wanted to "pay" with their own money, so they paid and we got our bags and headed to the carousel.



After our carousel ride, we grabbed lunch--Collin chose pizza and Reese chose a grilled cheese with tater tots.
Then dippin' dots for a treat afterwards.

We watched the ice skaters and played a little and then headed home.

After our nap, Daddy got home and they opened presents and boy were they counting down the minutes until Jeff got home. When he walked in the door, all they kept saying is "let's open presents, let's open presents!!!!"

After opening presents, we headed to Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Our waiter was an opera singer, so he brought them both a little scoop of ice cream with ALOT of whipped cream and a candle--they each got one! He sang the OPERA version of "Happy Birthday" which was beautiful but very loud and overwhelming....Reese hid under the table and Collin covered his ears. All I could do was laugh. Anyways, a wonderful birthday, but we were all very tired at the end of the day!!!!

Happy Birthday to Our Angels

Happy Birthday to Reese and Collin, our little rays of sunshine. It is such a joy to be your mother and I feel so blessed to have you both. I didn't know 4 short years ago, how much our lives would change, but it has changed in ways we never could have imagined!!

Reese, Reesie, Lovebug, Monkey, My Girl--
You are growing into such a beautiful little girl. I can't believe the difference a year makes. You have gone from being a toddler and have grown into a little person. You are such a little chatterbox (when you are comfortable) and you are so independent. This year has been a drastic change for me because you just "get it". I might have to explain things to you, but you actually understand. I am so proud of you in so many ways. You are giving, you are so good with babies and little ones, you are polite and so loving, not too mention really smart! Daddy and I laugh because he likes to throw out a lot of one-liners and you get them. We are so surprised when you giggle at him. You like to take care of Collin--you want to make sure he gets a snack and a drink and anything you think he may need. I love your little relationship and how you both look out for each other. This has been a wonderful year for you. You have blossomed and matured more than I thought possible, in just a year. Although you are a little self-concious, you overcame it and danced beautifully in your dance recital (we were so proud). You are a good listener and a rule follower (most of the time). You say "seriously", just like I do (so funny). You are so sweet and you like to cuddle--every morning you crawl into bed with me and say "I want to snuggle you". You are my beautiful angel. You are "my favorite girl in the whole world".
I love you TTHHIIIIIIISSSSSS much!!!!! Mommy

Collin, Collie-wollie, Angel-face, Monkey--
You are the most loving and affectionate little guy that I know. You love to engage adults and talk to them, most of the time starting your conversation with, "What's your name?" This seems to be the question of the year and definitely your way of communicating with someone you either don't know OR don't know very well. You have grown into a daddy's boy (sometimes) and yall dream about going camping and hunting together. You love your "daddy" time of swimming, fishing, playing outside and just hanging out together. This year was a transitional year for you, I think trying to figure out exactly how the world works and who is in charge. You definitely keep me on my toes, but I think you almost have it figured out (after several long months) that Mommy and Daddy are going to run the show, but we want you to have fun, just be safe and follow the rules while playing. You are so sweet and affectionate, you love to cuddle and snuggle and you LOVE to be held. You love books and your favorite thing to do is read. I am so proud to be your Mommy! You are so confident and can make friends with anybody. You are very empathetic, you are very concerned when someone cries or is sad--if Reese chooses Daddy you are always quick to say, I want MOMMY (for whatever it might me). You have come so far--just 2 short years ago, my biggest fear was you might have Cerebral Palsy--you are an active, thriving 4 year old and you absolutely AMAZE me!
I love you to the moon and back!!! Mommy

A Mom's Prayer on the First Day of School

I read this on FOL today and thought of my sister Amy and my dear friends who have little ones starting school today--and of my amazing teacher friends whom we trust our children with everyday (I used to be one and may be one again someday--what a huge job and such hard work).

A Mom's Prayer On the First Day (and every day) of School

Here we are again, Lord. Their backpacks are loaded and their faces are scrubbed and their lunch accounts are full.

And I know you'll walk with them, Lord. You always do. But a mom still has to ask.

Will You walk with them? Will You whisper to them what they need to hear, when I'm not there to whisper it?

Will You please, oh please, cover their school with the protection only You can give, and will You keep harm far away?

Will You make their minds strong and ready to learn? Will You help them understand that hard work honors the One who created them?

Will You guide their teachers, giving them patience and wisdom and creativity and more patience? Will You bless them for their efforts?

Will You love all those children there, the ones whose lunch accounts aren't full, the ones who feel alone?

Will You teach my children to be kind and unselfish and to love those who are different from them?

Will You point them back toward home just as soon as you can?

Lord, I give them to You today and everyday, trusting them to Your care.

Amen.

Dallas Zoo on Thursday

My friend Janis (and her mother "Grandma Chris") and I took the kids to the zoo on Thursday. The temperature started off really nice, but it ended up being really humid and hot. Finally around 2:30, we decided we had had enough fun and headed home. The kids had a great time, even though many of the animals weren't out. The had fun seeing the animals we did get to see, exploring all the animal tracks, running around together and riding the "roller coaster choo choo" (or monorail).

Birthday Bikes

Nana and Apa' gave Reese & Collin new bikes for their birthday--they absolutely LOVE them! After only a little practice, they are getting really good at riding them.

Look what we saw on our walk around the block tonight (firetruck , ambulance and police car). Very exciting stuff!

4th Birthday Party

Reese & Collin had their birthday party yesterday and they had such a wonderful time. We appreciated everyone being willing to switch from the original plan (which was swimming) to the new plan (which was cooking). I called "Young Chef's Academy" on Friday to see if they happened to have a spot open on Sunday (since the weather forecast was not good) and they were totally willing to accomodate us, even though they don't usually do parties on Sunday. The kids had a great time with their little cooking class, making pizza and eating cake---the girls who did the class were so good with the kids!

The stressful part of party planning--the invitation list--I always end up feeling like someone is going to get their feelings hurt. We are blessed with so many wonderful friends from school, playgroup and kids of friends of Jeff and myself--that it just seems like we can't invite everyone--and I hate that. So, we usually just try to stick with the kids that Reese and Collin see a few times a week and spend a lot of time with. Jeff always tells me people are probably glad they don't have to go to another party, so hopefully that is how people feel.

So proud of my little swimmers

Reese and Collin went to a swim party today (Happy Birthday Jonah!) and jumped off the big diving board, of the deep end of a HUGE public pool, and swam to the side of the pool all by themselves. Jeff was very close by and we were watching every move they made, but they were doing it ALL BY THEMSELVES!!! I am so proud of them. I still get very nervous because the is all so new, but they sure aren't and I guess that is what matters. Just a little brag from a proud mommy!
***Why does Collin's picture look like this--can anyone tell me??

Wireless Internet Down

Last week I went to my sister's to babysit since she had a girls night and Brian was out of town. I decided to take my laptop, so I could work on Reese/Collin's digital scrapbooks. I got their wireless info. and logged on. Well, now we are having trouble getting connected to our wireless service. I have been using the desktop to email and get online, but all of my pics, etc. are on my laptop. So, basically, technical difficulties have kept me from blogging. Hopefully we will have the wireless up and running in the next couple of days. One good thing that came out of this, I have BOTH Reese AND Collin's scrapbooks completed for their 3 year old year--YIPEE!!!! With a birthday soon, I will be starting on the 4 year old books--it is my goal to have both of their books completed by their birthday each year. I didn't think I was going to make it this year, but other than uploading and ordering, they books are completed--thanks to a long night of babysitting, not because of the kids (they were all in bed), but because Mom decided to stay out late--love you Amy!

3 years ago....my little angels

Click on the video below...

I came across some videos today and thought I would share a small snip of what my little monkey's were like 3 years ago. The video is from August 5, 2008---how time flies! They were so little and so sweet--I am glad I have videos so I can remember exactly what they were like. Remember, even though they were almost a year old, they were more like 8 or 9 month olds b/c they were so early--hard to believe they were hardly crawling! What little blessings!!!! (Please excuse the commentary)

Glen Rose

We headed to Glen Rose this weekend for my family reunion. On the way, we stopped at Dinosaur Valley State Park. The kids LOVED seeing a few life size dinosaurs and some dinosaur foot prints. We hiked, Jeff jumped in the river with them and they got to explore the wilderness. This was so much fun for Jeff and them, and a little nerve-racking for me. I am not used to this sort of thing. It is so hard for me to "let go", I just want to keep them safe and close at all times. I was afraid they would slip on the rocks in the river (water was only a couple of inches deep but it was very slippery), I was scared they would fall down the rock steps, and I wanted them holding mine or Jeff's hands at all times. Jeff eventually said, "Mitzi, let them have a little freedom to explore". I just started crying, because it is hard for me, really hard. I don't want them to get hurt and I just want to protect them. Jeff was right, so I tried to let go a little and you know what??? They ended up without any boo-boo's and all in one piece, so it worked out!

We then hung out with family for the rest of the weekend. I have to say, I really enjoy seeing my family at these reunions. People tend to think family reunions are a beating, but I enjoyed it. Everyone was amazed at how big Collin and Reese are and how much they have grown!!! We had a great weekend, but glad to be home.