Valentine's Day

I'm a fan of Valentine's Day. I'm surprised how many people I see on Facebook dissing the day, particularly from those that are happily hitched (I can understand the bitter feelings it can cause for those unattached). I saw several statuses this year (and last) saying that our spouses should treat us every day like it's Valentine's Day. Yes, I think we should treat our spouse as a king or queen daily, but this special day gives us a chance to do something unique for our lov-a. I love the day full of love!

The week before Valentine's Day, we went to our playgroup party and passed out Valentines. I took these cute pictures of my kiddos:

And made these:

(Don't worry, the suckers we handed out were wrapped and untouched. When I finally got around to snapping these quickly, I had one sucker that found it's way into Stone's mouth).

We had a fabulous day that started out with red velvet crepes, ended with a date, and fun things in between.

I LOVE my lov-a and my babes. LIFE IS GOOD.

My babes

I'm due for an update, but I really don't have anything specific to report! Last week was a busy week, and this week is catching right up to it. We had a Valentine's Day party with our playgroup, I had Activity Day with the young girls in our church, Cliff and I both spoke in church yesterday, I prepared and taught Sharing Time for primary yesterday, Cliff taught the men in church yesterday, and Stone gave a talk in primary yesterday.

These kiddos are becoming the best of friends. They always have had a sweet (and sometimes cranky) bond. They have their moments when they get angry at each other (like Stone throwing a tub of Aquaphor at Emerson's head, causing a significant bump {but not quite as big as his recent goose egg}...it was not a happy hour at our home--sad baby, disciplined boy, upset mama). But most of the time, they chase each other around happily, Stone gives Emerson piggy back rides (which is hilarious to watch), and they sneak snacks out of the pantry together. Their relationship often reminds me of my relationship with my brother, Jordan (but instead of sneaking snacks, we'd stir up some muffin mix with the candy berries in it, and eat it straight from the bowl...and instead of chucking a tub at my head, we have an incident that I will refer to as "you can doooo it!").

I love these kiddos. They make me a happy mama.

Do you recognize the cape? He wore it in a picture with Emerson here. It was from his Superman Halloween courtesy of my mom.

Emerson V. 2.0

Emerson Rose turned TWO today.

She remains a cuddle bug. She's still sweet as can be. In the last month or so, she has become a daddy's girl 100% {she will just call for him throughout the house, saying, "DADDY!! I WUV YEEEEW (yeeeew=east Texas accent on "you"--HOORAY). She's picking up more words each day. She is binky free. She barely dropped her 2nd nap one month ago (can you believe that?!). She is attempting potty training all by herself (seriously, she's done her major business twice without me even prompting her to...I DO plan to jump on board ASAP). She has a MAJOR sweet tooth. She loves loves loves cheese. She's my little dancer, and when Stone dances next to her, she pushes him, and says, "NO!"...she wants the dance floor all to herself. She gets into my makeup, perfume, shoes, and jewelry on a DAILY BASIS.

This girl makes us HAPPY.

***

The day started out COLD. At lunch time, we were in winter coats walking through a cold drizzle. By 4pm, it had warmed up significantly, and we ran outside to do a quick birthday photo shoot.

We attempted some family portraits a couple months ago. This dress was the inspiration for our 20s/30s family themed pictures (which I think I only posted one up). I didn't feel like I got enough, so I knew this was one of her birthday portrait outfits.

My great grandmother Rowberry (so, Emerson's great-great-grandmother), made this dress for my mom. My mom wore it, I wore it, and now Emerson has worn it. It's BEAUTIFUL and will forever remain in the family.

Before the weather warmed up, I thought we were going to be stuck inside for her birthday portraits (I HAVE to take birthday portraits ON their birthdays). Despite my love for outdoor photography, I was pleased with what we got. The cute 2 piece Mexican outfit definitely helps with the cute factor.

I must say, though, hopefully this girl will remain as modest as she was today. She HATED that her belly was exposed. I had to bribe her with fruit snacks to keep her top as it is meant to be. She kept pulling it down trying to cover her belly. I do hope to do something with the top so that she can actually wear it outside a photo shoot. Cliff loves that she was so modest. We hope that sticks.

I got this 2 piece in Cozumel last month.

I ADORE her crossed feet below.

Throughout the day, she got to open gifts. We went to lunch, to dinner, had birthday cake, and celebrated this sweet girl ALL DAY LONG. Stone was even extra sweet to her today because he realized how special the day was for her.








And I almost forgot the first shots of the day with her Birthday Girl ensemble. She wore these wings and headband (and carried her wand) everywhere she went today, starting with our daily trip to the gym.

I can't believe it's been two years since we brought her home from the hospital. Didn't I JUST give birth to this girl? It feels like yesterday. We feel so blessed to have this girl in our home. WE LOVE YOU, EMERSON ROSE!

I Heart Tuesday Nights

Tuesday is my favorite week night.

We pop up some of this with some Whoppers or M&Ms (or make some yummy treat)...

...cuddle up, and catch up on our shows.

Unless it's on Netflix, we hardly watch TV during the week. We are just too busy to sit down at an exact time (or sit down at all), and we don't have a DVR. By Tuesday night, all of our shows from the previous week are online, and we have a little marathon. It's actually quite fabulous, because when one show leaves us hanging miserably, we have another show to watch before curiosity kills us.

We put our kids to bed a little early, grab a treat, head on upstairs to my new iMac which I am in love with, cuddle up, and press play. Also, Wednesday is also our "day off". I don't teach any fitness classes in the morning, so we sleep in after having a late night.

I HEART TUESDAY NIGHTS.

THIS is a goose egg

Remember when Stone split his lip open? Or when he split his forehead open?

Well, this one wins.

We were at the gym last Wednesday. I was running on the treadmill, and Stone was playing in a racquetball court with his "teacher" and some friends. He was racing one friend FULL SPEED, and not watching what was ahead of him. Full force, he ran STRAIGHT into the glass wall. It was so loud and startled me, that I practically fell off the treadmill as I turned around to see the commotion. Stone ran out to me crying and immediately, the large goose egg had already formed.

After 10 minutes, he was over it. As soon as I got a hold of Cliff, I was the one to loose it. Stone said, "Mama. Why are you crying???" ha! I think I had every reason to be a little freaked out at the size of this thing. Plus, 3 other ladies were insisting I get to the ER, so I was a little panicked.

We started at Urgent Care since it's next door to the gym, but they suggested I go straight to the ER. Which again...freaked me out a little.

We headed to the ER, and the doctor was hardly concerned. He said OUT is good, IN is bad. OUT is swelling, IN can be fracture. He warned us Stone would very likely develop black eyes as the blood drained from his goose egg.

Saturday rolled around, and he was still fine. Just after breakfast, his first black eye started to form. When I told him, he first said, "OH NO! I don't want to loose my green eyes!"

Twenty minutes later, the next black eye started to develop. This time he said, "I need to see this in the mirror." As he walked over to the mirror, he shouted, "WHOA!!! THIS IS SO AWESOME!"

THAT is the definition of All Boy.

So this morning, I took a picture of his black eyes, both of which have mellowed out dramatically. Not much to show off now.

Until next time... Because we all know there will be a next time.

Safety Scissors to the Hair

The other day, I caught this sweet girl....


...attempting to cut her hair. I knew the day would come. I hear it's most moms' nightmare to find their daughter with stubby bangs. But I was surprised she even knew what to do. LUCKILY, they were dull, "safety" scissors from her art kit, and no damage was done.

THEN (and I really should have figured this out the moment I had caught her in action), the next day, I was combing my kids hair, and this crazy boy...

...says, "MOMMY. I tried cutting Emmy's hair with my safety scissors the other day [yes, he calls them safety scissors...].

And before I could get a word out, he quickly said, "BUT MOM. Don't you worry. I was SOOOOO careful. It was SOOOOO soft. She didn't even cry!"

And that, my friends, is how Emerson learned to cut her hair.

SO thankful they were "safety" scissors. Trust me, they both got a BIG "NO, NO".

And I know BFF, Shannon, or cousin, Matt, is saying "Pay back!"

That's a "dam" Pepperoni Pizza!

The other day, I was at the grocery store, and had bought a fresh pizza to take to a friend's home for a little lunch and power wheel action with our kiddos (thanks for the fun, Julie!).

While in line, Stone pointed to the pepperoni, and said (as I understood), "MOM. That's a damn pepperoni pizza."

"Excuse me? What did you say?" I sincerely asked. I wasn't sure if I heard correctly.

"I said, that's a damn pepperoni pizza."

"WHAT? Where have you heard that word?"

"A DAM PEPPERONI PIZZA. You know, like beavers build a DAM. Dams are STRONG. It's a STRONG pepperoni pizza. Like on Wild Kratts. THAT'S WHAT I SAID."

This kid remembers everything he hears, and obviously he heard this in a different context other than Wild Kratts. It's getting harder every day to shield him. But it makes for a good laugh.