Good Neighbors and the Blessing of Family

Last night my parents (and Steve) came over to our house to help with our front and back yard. My dad and Landon built a really nice ramp (not quite finished they are going to build it right to the stairs so that you won't have to step up onto it) for FREE! My dad scrounged around his wood supply and his store's throw outs to put it together. It is really nice. I am so excited because now Emily can walk up it safely. My mom was a saint and helped weed around the rose bushes and weed the grow boxes in the backyard. Someone, at sometime, had put a lot of work into building grow boxes and plant the rose bushes but they have been neglected for a little while. It is looking so nice. My dad and Landon also designed a fence to build around the back porch so that Emily can be outside without being able to run away.

The importance of the fence was shown last night as Emily disappeared. Yeah, she was with my mom and I in the front yard and then she was gone. I looked up to the front of the property where my landlords kids playtoys are but she wasn't there. So silly me, I assumed she was in the backyard with her dad and papa. When I went to check 10 min later she wasn't there. I was slightly freaking out! As I raced to the front yard I could see our next door neighbor (who's house is at the front of their acre property) coming into Nicki's yard and calling to me. There was Emily. She had seen the neighbor's kids playing on their fort/swingset and had gone to join them. I hadn't officially met them yet. I recognized them all because their oldest Isaac goes to the elementary school I teach at. He is in kindergarten. His sister Ella is almost 3. Their mom Laurie was coming to let me know that Emily was at her house and that it was okay that she was there. Nevertheless I went up and spent the next half hour with all of them. I wanted to introduce my self and apologize. She just laughed and said her son Isaac is alot like Emily, very social. She said Emily just walked up and said, "I Emmy." Emily had a blast with them. It is really nice to have kids for her to play with. Now she has Carissa at the front of yard and Isaac and Ella next door. The only problem will be to teach Emily when it is okay to go over. Actually when it was time to go, Emily just walked into their house and then told Isaac to come with her. Yeah, gonna have to work on that.
(We figured out that Emily had gone to the side of our property and ran as fast as she could up to the neighbors. That may sound silly but you haven't seen Emily run. If she gets more than two feet in front of me, I have to go in a dead run to catch her.)

Collin's 2 month check up

Collin is 8 weeks today. Oh how time flies by.... We went to see the doctor today and the results are:

He weighs 10 lbs 8 oz
(That is a total of four pounds since birth)

Length is 22 inches
(Grew 2 inches in the last 4 weeks)

And a clean bill of health!

The doctor says that he is impressed with his head control and how well he sits up.

Yeah Collin!

Emily, the budding artist

On our way home from Strongstart yesterday Emily was crying that she hadn't been able to paint. We had been there for two hours but she was too busy playing everywhere else. This happens almost everytime. So I pulled out my craft paint, a paint brush, a handful of computer paper and we headed out onto the back porch. I forgot to take her clothes off until I saw the paint on them. Just a little though and I am hoping it will come out because they are cute. I am looking at making an easel for her for the summer. She just loves to paint. Enjoy!

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Home Sweet Home

So I will admit. It is my pride that has kept me from posting any pictures of our house. :) I've had some requests to know what the house and yard look like. Generally it is so falling apart we could be the site for a horror movie. You know the houses set far back from anything that are falling apart. Our landlord's daughters informed me that they think it looks like the house from Jeepers Creepers. Never seen the movie so I can't confirm that or not. :) But since it is spring, and the swamp that is our yard during the winter has receded, I have decided that I am going to do some yard work and make it look nicer. Supposedly our landlords are redoing the roof, windows and siding. I am not holding my breath but I can at least make the yard look welcoming. :) As I started working on the front area I found out that under the grass is a sidewalk up to our front door. Its pretty useless in the winter because the front yard is buried under an inch of water. (The backyard is more like 2 inches, hence the lovely skunk cabbage growing in the back yard.) But I love that I was able to uncover the sidewalk. I started taking pictures before I finished uncovering the side walk. I discovered that under the high grass is a miniture rose bush plus a couple of other flowering plants and some pretty ground cover. It is going to take some work but I am enjoying it. I try to spend a couple of hours a day because the weather is so beautiful right now. The kids come outside with me. Emily runs around while Collin is in his swing. My dad is coming over tonight to make a nicer ramp, and to put up a chain link fence around our porch. That way Emily can go outside to play while I make dinner. I will post pictures once I am done. But for now here is a look at our home (which we absolutely love!) I've included pictures of the skunk cabbage and footprints from our frequent visitors (raccoons and bears).

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Sibling Relations

As I watch my kids interact I am reminded about what it was like to have my siblings in my life growing up. Emily adores her brother. At times she is a little rough, and she can also get upset with him but overall she loves him more than anything. She is always checking up on him and saying, "Whatcha doing Coyin?" Then she gives him a hug and a kiss. I wasn't the best sibling growing up but I loved all of my brothers and sisters more than anything. We tormented each other, sometimes were a little rough on each other but at the end of the day we loved each other. I just wanted to thank my siblings for the good and bad times and especially for always being there when I needed them.

BabySteals.com

My cousin Janice introduced me to a wonderful site. It is called BabySteals.com. There are incredible things out there for babies and toddlers but the price is usually more than a rational person will spend. This website has these things at really great prices. It changes daily. Check it out by clicking HERE.

Their motto is:

BabySteals.com
Where mommies get quality, name brand baby and maternity products
at the best prices on the web. One deal at a time until it's sold out!

Nykki's Crafts

My friend Nykki has started selling some very cute crafts to try and raise some money to help pay for her children's medical bills. I purchased the family home evening kit and really enjoy it. The other crafts are really cute as well.

Click here and check out some really great homemade crafts that make great gifts!

Hannah Montana the Movie

I will admit I quite enjoy teeny bopper movies. I love going and reveling in the fun loving attitude of the movies! They make cute romance movies, simple plot line that just lets me escape the reality of day to day life. I will also publicly admit I like Hannah Montana. I also enjoy listening to Miley Cyrus sing. If you want to make fun go right ahead! :) Tonight I took my two darling children plus Amy and Serena (11 and 13 year old in our branch) to see the new movie. I loved it! I highly recommend it to anyone who likes to watch movies to escape reality (especially in teen romance movies). Plus a cute cowboy (who is way to young for me), I don't think you can go wrong with a romance with a cute cowboy. Naomi - if you are reading this you need to go and see this movie. You will fall in love! :) Emily enjoyed it until half way through when she started to fall asleep. Then she just wanted to leave. Serena was a saint and looked after her because at that moment Collin decided he needed to eat. The nice thing about going to a movie where the majority of people there are parents with 4-13 year olds is that they don't look twice when a kid cries. I wasn't the only one having to go out more than once. :) So if you are looking for a really good teeny bopper movie I recommend this one!

Collin's Blessing Day

Today was a perfect day. The only thing that would have made it better was for Landon's family and my sisters to be here to share the day with us. Collin only woke up once during the night and slept in until 8:30 am. Here is hoping it happens again tonight. The blessing was beautiful. Here are some of the photos that I took to remember this wonderful day.

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Playing with Cousins

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