Fall Blessings and Christmas Wishes

My little Monkey will soon be 18 months old. He has stolen mommy's heart.

My little Pigtail Pie is three years old and will captivate you with her eyes and smile. Her big heart will be ready to envelope any one who will pay her attention. (will smile for jellybeans...)

I am so humbled and blessed with a wonderful family that God has given me. I have so much that I am thankful for. I am making an early New Year's Resolution...to blog more in the upcoming year! I miss doing it.

From my house to yours with love, Merry Christmas.

Three times as nice...

My little Pigtail Pie will be turning 3 on Sunday. We will celebrate tomorrow with cake and balloons, a bounce house, twinkling lights, playing dress up, and lots of giggles, surrounded by many family and friends! It will be quite memorable and I will cherish the memories of her third birthday. In the midst of preparations for it, Jay has come down with fever and sore throat, Eli has diarrhea, and I am overwhelmed with trying to get everything ready! Tonight was spent bathing the kids, finishing up last minute cleaning yet to be done, and following Eli around as he went commando to air out his little bum which is quite red and rash-ravaged from the diarrhea. I have to say, I think he rather enjoyed the 'freedom', if you know what I mean. He was quite content to 'whiz' on my floor, and I was quite grateful for stained concrete! Haha! At one point point (ok, ok, several times, I have found myself wanting to selfishly yell at my husband and say, "Why did you have to get sick now!?" (real loving wife there, eh?) As if he can control it! Thankfully, I've not humiliated myself in saying that to him, but have left him pretty much to fend for himself unfortunately while I prep for the party. He's on antibiotics and should hopefully be feeling better in time to party. :-)

This one has been QUITE mommy's helper though! :-)

So, it's now after 11 p.m. at night, the kitchen's a wreck, the couch is full of party supplies waiting to be unpacked from their shopping sacks, goody bags are waiting to be assembled, and pretzel rods are waiting to be turned into princess wands (or knight swords, if you're a guy....). Instead of continuing to be overwhelmed, I've decided to think about what all this is about...WHO all this is for....it's for Jadyn. My...OUR Pigtail Pie. Jay and I have been watching her and amazed at how much she's blossoming and growing these days in knowledge and helpfulness (and talkativeness). I can't believe it's been three years since we held her in our arms for the very first time. What a blessing she is to us!!! I cannot imagine my life without this precious little girl. She warms my heart with her unconditional love for me, for others. She's always ready to give a hug (and always ready to receive one, too!) Her favorite things to do are to cuddle with mommy or daddy and spend time with us, to be our helper, to hop hop hop, giggle giggle giggle, take care/boss Eli around (ahem), play dress up, watch Sesame Street or Dora, learn about Jesus, and play outside. She loves to show off her skills, whether it's jumping ("Look how high I jump, mommy!"), coloring, sharing, eating her vegetables (yes, getting her to eat her vegetables is a skill). She never ceases to amaze me. She is a reflection of Jesus' unconditional love for His Children. She knows Jesus loves her. I am humbled and awe-struck with the task of teaching her the love of Christ. I fail at it many times, but am grateful that each day is a new day, and she is an eager learner. I am so blessed to be her mommy.

Happy 3rd Birthday, my little Pumpkin! I love you.....

videos

These are the videos I was trying to include in my last blog....

Eli scoots
http://picasaweb.google.com/shinnin1171/Jadyn2YrsEli1Yr#5506066117701700482

Eli laughing and talking
http://picasaweb.google.com/shinnin1171/Jadyn2YrsEli1Yr#5506067978790132850

Father/daughter dance
http://picasaweb.google.com/shinnin1171/Jadyn2YrsEli1Yr#5506122072921617122




Let's see if this works...
enjoy

Firing my writer...

Just kidding! I have been terrible about posting blogs! Sorry to all my fans out there...all two of you. ;-)

Life around here...
Eli is 14 MONTHS TOMORROW!!! My little guy that's not so little (he is over 24 lbs, y'all) is sooooooo cute...and I'm not just saying that because I'm biased. It's the truth. Really. His blonde spikes and chubby cheeks will melt your heart. And if neither of those get ya, his adorable light brown eyes will! These days, you can find Eli cruisin' the joint...literally. He's really good about holding on to something (or someone) and walking around. What he's most famous for though, is his scoot. We like to call it his happy scoot. It's his preferred method of getting around. Whenever we go somewhere that he can get down on the floor, that's the first thing people comment on is his scoot. It's the funniest thing to them! To us, we are used to it, so it's always enjoyable to see people's reactions. Eli is also starting to increase his vocabulary little by little. He's learned: "Up, Ba-oon (balloon), bawwww! (ball - his most favorite toy ever), down, dada, momma", and who knows what else he'll decide he's ready to say tomorrow! He can nod yes and no. I've been trying to get him to talk more, but he looks at me and laughs like I'm some silly person for wanting him to say that word when I already know he wants it.


Our little princess is going to be THREE in THREE months! Yikes! I mean ~ Yeah!!! I really am excited! It's fun seeing her grow and develop her girly girl personality. She LOVES shoes! She sat in the kitchen floor (why there, I don't know, but hey...) for over 30 minutes last night buckling and unbuckling, putting on and taking off her newest pair of shoes....a bling bling pair of silver shoes for her growing feet. She loves to wear princess gowns, to dance and twirl, hop hop hop, and is the snacking queen! She probably asks for a snack about twenty times a day! Ok, maybe not twenty....but, realistically more like 12-15 times.....you'd think I hadn't just fed her lunch ten minutes ago when she declared she was no longer hungry when all that was left on her plate was the steamed broccoli covered in ketchup. (She eats ketchup like it's dessert, so I thought why not see if she'll eat it with broccoli.....turns out she only sucks the ketchup off the broccoli and then is full. Go figure!) Lately, she likes to refer to her father as "my daddy". "Mommy, where's my daddy?" "Mommy, I want to ride in my daddy's truck." "My daddy". ....I have yet to be referred to as 'my mommy'. She recently figured out that others call me Shannon. She's tried to call me 'Shannon' a few times, but THIS mommy is quick to point out that others call me Shannon, but Jadyn calls me Mommy. One time she kept calling for me ("Mommy"), but when I didn't respond within the first 3 times of her calling, she switched tactics, "Shannon". "It's mommy to you, Jadyn"..... She got my attention really quick with that one! I put down whatever I was distracted with and turned to look at whatever she was trying to show me!

I have video that I have spent the last day trying to get uploaded with this blog, but no success. So, here's the blog sans video...which is a shame, because it was some darn cute videos! :)

Love to you all!

It's been a year...

Since my little chunky monkey made his debut. Born June 16th, 2009, weighing in at 8 lbs 3.5 ozs, he has since more than tripled his weight. I took him for his one year appt yesterday and he weighed over 22 lbs!! He's now 2 feet 4 inches of crawling machine. The pediatrician said Eli is above the 90% for his head size and weight, but the 20% for his height. What does that mean? He's a big-headed chunky healthy boy! It also means he probably will not be very tall (like his mommy and daddy). He has a repertoire of words now: 'bu' (ball), 'buh-oon' (balloon-his most favorite words right now), 'no!' ([mental picture of his hand slapping down on table, lips forming an O]), 'uh-ooooh', 'dada', 'bye-bye', and 'yeah'! It's really cute to hear him talk. Did you notice a word NOT in that list? Yup, 'mama'. I have tried and TRIED to get him to say mama, but to no avail. I have fed him, changed his poopy diapers, cleaned up his vomit, and cleaned up his baby food-throwing messes. The LEAST he could do is humor me by saying 'mama'! Sigh. All in good time. All in good time. :) Enjoy some highlight pictures of his first year.







Dear Eli,

You are the son I've always wanted. You bring more joy to my life than I could ever express. Everyday, as I hold you close, I thank the Lord for giving you to me. You are a precious gift from Him. You bring joy to our family. Your daddy loves you and is so proud of his son! Your big sister adores you and loves to play with you and give you hugs and kisses! I pray that the Lord continues to show me how to teach you about His unending love for you and to teach you His Ways! I can't wait to see what He has in store for your life. He has BIG plans for you, my son. I am blessed and honored to be a part of your life.

All my love,
Mommy

p.s. Eli, it's pronounced..."Ma-ma!" Say it with me....'ma-ma!'

Go night night, Jadyn!

Hello world! It's been over 2 months since I last posted! I've 'written' many a blog in my head, and snapped several pictures that I knew would make a great blog. But, when it actually came down to it...it didn't happen, peoples.

Well, I'm here now and I'm finally writing...at least as much as I can in between a very affectionate cat who won't quit rubbing up against the computer keys and my hands, therefore causing all sorts of errors and functions to happen on the computer that I didn't intend. This cat also thinks she's part dog as she likes to lick your hands, your toes, your arms...most especially if you just put on lotion. I don't know why she likes lotion. Maybe it conditions her fur when she subsequently licks herself after licking the lotion off of my recently hydrated (and sanitized) hands. But enough about Squared...who is now content to sit NEXT to the computer.

I'm also having to frequently call out to Jadyn to "Go night night" during this blog-making, who was supposed to have fallen asleep for her nap a LONG time ago. She's taken to playing for long periods of time again, so nap-time and bed-time have been a struggle lately. Excuse me...brb...she's now CALLING me to her room! Oh the joys....

Speaking of Jadyn...we are STILL potty training. This has been going on since she was a mere 18 months old. She wasn't ready at the time that, so we ended up holding off for a few more months and tried closer to age 2. She's now almost 2 and A HALF! grrrr! She knows what to do and how to do it...we are just stuck in the 'when' to do it....catching herself BEFORE she 'goes'. She's wearing panties during the day when we are home. I constantly have to take her potty. She seldom initiates it herself. BUT, we are NOT giving up. I refuse to go back to diapers or invest in pull ups on a regular basis! Not when she knows and IS doing it. I'm having to remind myself to be patient with her and one of these days....sigh....one of these days, it will click in her precious little brain and diapers/pull ups will be just a memory.

Jadyn has promoted from her pack n play to a travel cot for when we are, well, traveling. She outgrew the pack n play (you know it's time to get rid of it when your child fills it from head to toe with no room to turn around). So, mommy got her a cot and a Disney princess sleeping bag to go with it. Jadyn LOVES them! She got to try out her new cot at Aunt Jenn's house last weekend when Eli had his surgery.

Speaking of Eli's surgery...last Friday, he had outpatient surgery. The doctors and staff called it this long 2-word phrase that simply means, they surgically dropped his testicle. Yes, my friends, I said it...testicle. It was too shy to come down on it's own, and we had been waiting since birth, giving it the opportunity to drop without force, but alas, it didn't happen. And due to that along with some other things at birth, Eli hadn't been circumsized yet either. So, on Friday, he went to sleep (sedation), and woke up a changed man - er, boy. The surgery went great and Eli came out of sedation with no problems (praise the Lord!). We were heading home by 10:30 that morning. He was VERY VERY sore for the first couple of days, but is healing quickly and doing great. The only problem has been with his breathing as a result of being intubated. He's back to his 'noisy' breathing, something we haven't heard in a long time with him (when he was 8 weeks old, Eli had a bronchioscopy done and we learned he has long voice box that 'flaps' when he breathes, thus making him a 'noisy breather'. He grew out of it, or rather, into it). Sunday morning, he seemed to be gasping for breath and 'working' to breathe, so we went to the ER, where they gave him a steriod and breathing treatment to help open up his airway. What happened was his already small airway had become inflamed/irritated from the intubation. He is doing better today...still noisy in his breathing, but better. At least, we know he's going to be ok. Through all of this, he is still his happy, cute self. Such a trooper! He's also crossed a milestone! The same day of his surgery, he officially became a crawler! I guess there's nothing like having your boy parts worked on to be the deal sealer of finally crawling. I can't blame him either. I wouldn't want to get around on my belly either when I had such an owie! So, now he is Mr. Mobile, which means it's time to get out Mr. Clean on a more frequent basis to mop the floors!

Jay's grandmother, Marge Sappington, passed away yesterday. She had been rapidly declining in health since her lung cancer came back and she was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor about 4-6 weeks ago. We had been planning to make a trip to Phoenix this summer so she could see her great grandkids at least one more time before she lost her cognitive abilities, but she was declining so fast that we made an emergency trip out there 2 weeks ago to see her. We are glad we did and got to spend 3 precious days with her. One thing about such times in our lives is that it brings families together. Even though the circumstances weren't ideal, we also got to spend time with family members we don't see on a regular basis. We got to be with Big Daddy ( who is James P Sappington II...Jay is James P Sappington IV) who is Meme's husband, Aunt Cal and Uncle Jim (thank you for giving us a place to stay), and I got to meet Aunt Karen for the first time (she was unable to make it to our wedding 4 years ago). I also loved to opportunity, even if it was so short, to see my grandma who also lives in Phoenix. We met her for breakfast (at 5 a.m....EARLY!!!), on our way out of town, heading back to Texas. It was a bittersweet visit, but we know Meme really enjoyed seeing us and her great grandkids. We will be heading out there again this week for the funeral. Meme was a Christian, and in that, we find comfort in knowing we will see her again one day when the Lord returns. Please pray for everyone who is not a Christian, that through this, they will come to know the Lord Jesus Christ, our risen Saviour. Please also pray for safe travels for everyone.

Well, this email is a mile long already. That's what happens when I don't update on a regular basis! Jadyn is FINALLY asleep! Eli has been asleep for awhile. Hmmmm...what to do, what to do....I could work on the MILE HIGH mound of laundry OR, I could take a nap....or I could take advantage of this 'me time' and finally brush my teeth and shower today........hmmm, choices, choices......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

"Mommy, I go potty!!!"

Yes, I hear those words alot these days. I've spent a good part of this week following Jadyn around saying, "OK, time to go potty." She's doing great about taking care of business on the potty. You should see her sticker chart! She has enough stickers on there to supply....well, I don't know what it could supply, but she definetely has earned a lot of stickers! We have already filled up the chart with pink stars that came with a potty book we bought when we started this process. We have since had to dispose of the book when, ironically, one of the cats peed on it while we were away on vacation. But, who needs a book when you've read it so many times you now have it memorized! And speaking of the chart that came with that book, what were the publishers thinking? Four rows of 10 stars would be enough to say a child is officially potty trained? Not! We have filled up the chart and are not fully potty trained. Yes, Jadyn does good about going on the potty, but she's also still really good about going in her pants and doesn't at all seemed bothered by a wet diaper, pull up, or panties! So, we are 'recycling' the chart and are now putting new pretty foil word stickers OVER the pink stars every time she goes potty. Jadyn loves it and doesn't seem to mind that she's covering up her previous accomplishments! :-)

Little Miss Pigtail Pie is becoming quite the independent. These days, she's taken to saying, "No, mommy, I do it!" She continues to amaze me with the sentences coming out of her mouth. Here are some of the things I hear from her these days:

• "I want suh-um, mommy! I want suh-um!"
• "I hungee, Mommy. I hungee."
• "Jadyn's cup. Jadyn's cup."
• "I pee pee in the potty!"
• "Eeee-Li!"
• "Eee-li wake. Eee-li wake, mommy."
• "Eee-li hungee, mommy. Eee-li hungee."
• "Go outside? Outside?"
• "Pay wid pay-dough? Pay wid pay-dough?" (Play with playdough)
• "Big girl bed? Big girl bed?"
• "No, no, No! (tone change) No thank you"

It's funny how she has to repeat everything she says twice. I guess she's concerned I won't understand it if she says it once. Or maybe, mommy repeats everything she says to Jadyn and that's where she learned it. Hmmmmmmm.

It's been a rather trying few days this week as Jadyn is learning and exerting her independence. She's testing boundaries and patience. Bed/Naptime have been battle grounds the past couple of days. She's not staying in bed and it's been a battle of the wills. Jay and I have been trying out different discipline methods to see which fits best for Jadyn and for us. Spanking seems to have lost its power. I've realized that I use it too much and am changing tactics up a bit. When it comes to going to bed, we do the same routine we always do, but now when she disobeys and gets out of her precious and oh-so-neat big girl bed, we pop out the pack n play in the middle of her room and put her in it with just a pillow and a blanket. No snugglies, no stuffed rabbits, no baby dolls, nothing of luxury. We then say good night again and leave her to wail her complaints out. Once she calms down from the injustice that's been served her, one of us goes back in. Her first words uttered tonight were, "Big girl bed?" I put her back in the 'big girl bed' with all her luxuries, and reminded her it's time to go night-night and no getting out of bed. I left the pack n play set up as a reminder. I didn't hear a peep after that, and upon a recent check on her, I found her to be sound asleep! Yes!

I tend to want her to catch on to things the first time or in a day or two. I have to remind myself to be patient and it may take more than one time. The pack n play seems to be working though, and she seems to be getting the message. As for other discipline issues during the day, we still use spanking some, but also use time outs as well. She's learned that time outs aren't fun places to be. But, no matter what, she's always quick to say, "Hug? Hug?" when it's over. My sensitive little girl...melts my heart to see her cry in sadness! Parenting sure pulls at the heart strings!!!

Well, this post took me only 2.5 days to write. :-) I'm hoping to post some more sooner. More stories to share, like Jadyn's not the only one getting bigger around here. Eli and his oh-my-those-are-some-big-cheeks has now been officially promoted tonight to a bigger carseat (still rear-facing, though). Good times, good times! :)

Uh, yeah...we are still here.

Hi! Remember me? I know, I know...it's been FOREVER since I've blogged! Sheesh, you'd think that as a stay at home mom, I'd be blogging daily with all the extra time I now have! But, I find (rather frustatingly) that it's now over 7 months since I've had my son and I'm still trying to find the balance of full-time mommy and wife, aspiring blogger, and barbie-body seeker. :-) Anddddddddd, this is where you say, "Hello, Shannon? Get real. Not everyone can be an aspiring blogger...". Haha, you thought I was gonna say 'have a barbie body', didn't you? :)

Ok, well, I really am trying to find the balance and it's still a MAJOR work in progress. Now that Eli is old enough, I'm trying to work up the nerve to go to the gym during the day (you know, that place where we donate to monthly that has all that work out equipment in it?). I don't know why I'm being such a sissy, but I keep holding off until Jay and I can go together with the kids so I don't have to go the first time by myself. I know, I know...quit being a ninny and just go. Got it.
As a family, we are all doing well. The holidays and birthdays flew by in a blur and now things are SORT of winding down. We are now finding about a couple nights a week where we AREN'T doing something or going somewhere. We got to welcome into the world some new friends this past week. Our friends, the Delgados and the Chadwicks, now have new members of their families and we were priveleged to meet the little ones and spend time with the familes! Welcome baby Judah and baby Aubrey! We enjoyed a fast-paced trip to Phoenix a couple of weeks ago to see family. Relatives got to meet Eli for the first time and see how big Jadyn has grown! We enjoyed seeing everyone and look forward to our next trip there!


Little Miss Pigtail Pie has promoted in the toddler world to a toddler bed. She absolutely LOVES it!! The first night, mommy and daddy made about 12-13 trips into her room to put her back in bed and tell her to stay there and no playing, but since then, it's been pretty smooth sailing! The second night, we put her down and she stayed down and went right to sleep! I was so impressed with my big girl! We are also back to working on potty training. It's a work in progress, but we are chipping away at it. I knew it was time to get back to it when she started telling me when she pooped and was trying to assist in taking off her diaper. So, yeah...pull ups and frequent potty visits with sticker rewards it is. She loves the stickers and she loves to sit on the potty! Two plusses!

Eli is HUGE! He is 7 months old, 20 lbs, and wearing 12 month shirts and clothes! He's outgrown his car seat pretty much, so we are having to shop for the next step up. He'll be rear-facing still for atleast 5 more months, but poor guy is wedged into the car seat he has now! He's also the same size diaper as his 2 year old sister. Yup, my 2 yr old and 7 month old wear size 4 diapers. At least it makes for packing the diaper bag easier...only one size diaper to pack! No more rustling around for the right size diaper for the kid you are changing. Well, so Jadyn's mostly in pullups now, but still. If we need a diaper for her, we just grab one of his! How crazy is that!? :) Eli is a pro at sitting up on his own now. You can sit him down and he'll be content for a long time playing. He's recently taken to rolling over more frequently, but still is not an avid roller just yet. We're getting the ball 'rolling' on that though, by putting him on tummy time more.

And that's the gist of it. Now you know...we are alive and kicking and havin' a good ole time! :)