Daddy's Girl

This morning Tim decided that donuts would be an amazing idea for breakfast. I completely agreed, so he started out the door. As soon as Brenden realized he was leaving, he grabbed his shoes and shouted, "I wanna go, too!" Of course, that was no big deal and happens all the time. Brenden loves to be our helper. Plus, I think he really likes the one-on-one time, since it's so limited.

Not three seconds later, Lauren squealed, "I go, TOO!!!" She ran to her room and grabbed her sneakers, practically dancing back to the living room.

"Oh, sorry Lauren. I'm just taking Brenden today," Tim said with a sad face.

Lauren didn't cry, or really even whine. (I was SHOCKED, by the way.) She just repeated, "I go, too!" and started to put her shoes on.

Tim sighed...."Okay."

I stopped cleaning the oven and looked at him like he had lost his mind. Not because I don't think he can handle both kids, but because if the roles were reversed, Lauren was told she could go first and Brenden wanted to go, too, there is no way Tim would have taken Brenden.

Daddy's little girl has him wrapped quite tightly around her little finger.

Name That Tune

One night last week Brenden asked me to sing him a song that he had heard in the car. "The Take Me Home song!" he squealed, bouncing on his knees. I was at a complete loss and sat there with my mouth hanging open, totally stumped as to which song he meant. I finally asked him to sing it for me, which went something like this:

"Nah nah, nah nah nah, TAKE ME HOME! Nah nah, nah nah nah, TAKE ME HOME! Nah nah, nah nah nah, TAKE ME HOME! TAKE ME HOME! TAKE ME HOME! TAKE ME HOME! TAKE ME HOME!"

He smiled, very proud of himself. "That one, mommy!"

It did have a tune, but not one that I recognized. He sang it for me a few more times, slightly frustrated that I couldn't guess the song. I finally called Tim into his room to see if he could figure it out, but he was just as lost. We finally convinced Brenden to listen for it in the car and let me know which one it was. He agreed, but not without a frown.

Fast forward to a few days later. We're driving home from school and I'm flipping through the radio when, out of nowhere, Brenden yells, "TURN IT BACK! THAT WAS MY SONG!"

I was shocked he had remembered, but even more shocked to find out which song he was talking about.

Not exactly appropriate lyrics, but I'm not correcting him anytime soon. We'll go with "take me home" for now.

Wordless Wednesday - Family Tradition

From the top left: My grandpa Warehime, my grandpa Halter, Tim's grandpa Kelly, Tim's uncle Tom, Tim's dad, my dad.

Center: Tim

So blessed to know of all of these men who proudly served our country.

Oklahoma City - April 19, 1995

I was sitting in my English class, a shy 8th grader, when we were called to the library. I watched the television on the old school cart they had rolled in, terrified of what I was seeing. It may not be on the same scale as September 11th in terms of destruction and precious lives lost, but it was much closer to home, much more real, and just as devastating for the families and friends that lost loved ones.

We will never forget.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Lauren!

My sweet, crazy, absolutely amazing Lauren,

I know I thought you had changed so much your first year, but my goodness your second year showed me just what the word "change" means. Last year at this time you were almost ready to walk. Now you're running me ragged at every turn. Last year you were still struggling with your poor ears and had a knot on your neck that caused me numerous panic attacks. Now you are happy, healthy, and have been ear infection free thanks to those wonderful tubes. Last year you could babble, say a few words that were clear and knew several animal noises. Now you know your letters, colors, shapes and spend most of your waking hours singing one song or another. (Jesus Loves Me, including sign language, is your favorite right now.)

You may have started out quiet and serious, but that is completely gone now. You have no problem running up to new people and asking for their phone, or waving and saying hello to someone that forgot to smile at you at the store. You no longer cling to me, screaming if I'm out of sight or even act as though I'm leaving. Dropping you off at school no longer requires ear plugs. Instead, you start squealing for Ms. Kim when you see the sign for your school and run to your classroom without even a glance behind you.

Studious!

I knew you'd be stubborn and impatient (from the very beginning!) but oh my goodness you are ornery! You love to rile your brother up any chance you get and have no problems fighting back when he does something you don't like. While I'm teaching your brother to just ignore you when you're acting that way, I'm trying to teach you that your brother screaming and crying is not the funniest thing you've ever seen.

Red Dorothy slippers and mud on your face. Trouble!

That's not to say you don't absolutely adore Brenden. He's one of your favorite people and you are finally big enough to run and play and keep up with him. If he's jumping off of the stairs onto a pillow you are right there with him. If he decides to roll around in the mud, you're not far behind. You love to cheer him on when he's doing his "tricks" and are always there to make sure he's okay.

Your empathy and willingness to share always surprises me. If one of your toys falls down you scoop them up, hug them close and ask if they're okay. You rock your baby to sleep, "change" her diaper, and give her kisses and hugs before she "takes a nap". If someone is crying or hurt, be it a friend, your brother, or even me, you're always there to comfort them and offer a toy to make them smile. I hope you hold onto that caring and nurturing part of your personality forever.

Lauren, you are one of the smartest, funniest, most inquisitive, bravest, most stubborn little girls I've ever met. The words do not exist to fully explain just how fantastic I think you are, how much I love you, and how very lucky I feel to be your mommy.

Happy Birthday, my sunshine,

Love Always,

Mommy

Elmo!!!

I'm not sure which of us saw the advertisement first, but Tim and I agreed that Elmo Live! would be a great time for both of the kids. We convinced our friends Bre and Jake to go with us, as well as their son Andrew, and we talked it up for weeks! Brenden asked several times if Elmo was in town yet and Lauren watched many episodes of Elmo's World so she could sing along. Finally, the day arrived!

After a yummy, early dinner (which we almost ruined by going to the wrong location. Sorry Bre and Jake!) we headed over to the BOK Center. While waiting outside Brenden made a new friend and was amazed to find out that he has a prosthetic leg. The little boy had no problem showing it to us and his family was so nice about it. We had a very long talk with him after about what was appropriate to ask. Hopefully a little of it stuck.

Eventually we made it inside and made a beeline for the the play area outside the show. Not long after, music started playing and Murray came out to perform. I thought the kids would have a blast dancing around and sing along. Boy was I wrong! Brenden immediately hid behind me and eventually pulled me away repeating, "I don't like those guys!" Even after I explained it was just a fun costume, he was not having it. Lauren wasn't quite as scared, but she made Tim hold her the entire time she watched and didn't smile once.

Hello, big fluffy red guy that is WAY bigger than I expected!

Abby, and her fun button, were a hit, though!

I was not looking forward to the actual show, especially after they finally showed interest in something but that something was just a frozen strawberry lemonade.

Can you feel the excitement?

Eventually it was time to head to our seats. The lights went down, the music started, and I don't think Brenden blinked even once until the intermission. He did lean over to me, with his eyes still firmly fixed on the stage to tell me that he "liked those guys now" and asked where Murray was hiding because he was ready to see him, now. Lauren actually stood up and bounced around, which is what she does when she watches Elmo at home, too. By the end of the show, they were hooked. Brenden beamed up at me and said, "That was AMAZING!" Lauren hugged Tim around the neck and squealed, "Elmo was AWESOME!"

So what was their favorite part of the show?

Brenden: "The kid with the cool leg! Can I have a cool leg like that???" (Sorry buddy, I think you'll thank me later for not letting you get a prosthetic leg. Although I think it's awesome that you thought he was cool!)

Lauren: "Purple!! Um...and PINK!" (Yep, exactly what I expected.)

Step Away From the Clippers

One morning not long ago I woke up to find our dog, Romeo, in a very...strange...dilemma. When I let him out to do his business he immediately squatted and looked as though he was having issues, which he most definitely was having. I'm not sure what he got into, maybe cat food or something "shared" with him from our dinner table, but it was firmly stuck right below his tail and was absolutely disgusting. I decided that coffee was needed to deal with something that gross and then, in the haze of feeding the kids and cleaning the house, I completely forgot he was outside, waiting for my help. (Bad, pet parent, bad!)

By the time I remembered, it was even worse. A good lesson for me in getting things done in a timely matter! The only thing I could think of to rid his behind of the hard rock of you-know-what was to shave it off. I grabbed the clippers and set to work. When I was done he was much better off, but he had a line next to his tail that looked awful so I decided to just bite the bullet and shear him, much like a sheep. However, I did not count on the clippers breaking in the middle of said shearing.

The nastiness on his rear was gone, but he ended up looking like he had mange. Poor Romeo!

I promise to never do that again...ever.

Through His Eyes

"Brenden, who is my mommy?" I ask.

"Grandma Ginger!" he says excitedly.

"And who is daddy's mommy?"

He lights up and exclaims, "Grandma Connie!"

"And whose belly did I grow in?"

He scrunches his eyebrows and concentrates before answering happily, "Grandma Karen!"

"And why did grandma Karen give me to grandma Ginger?"

He smiles, hugs my neck and says, "Because grandma Ginger is your mommy. And now, I get to have three grandmas. I'm a lucky boy!"

Yes, kiddo. And I'm a lucky girl.

Bragging...sorry!

Our Lauren...quite possibly the most stubborn, strong willed, crazy, funny, bright little girl I've ever met. She soaks everything in, from letter sounds, to how to correctly hold a crayon, to shapes, to complete songs (Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" is one of her favorites). Hopefully we can encourage her to love learning, work hard, and set her sights high. For now, I'll just sit here, enjoying the amazing little girl who I am blessed to have call me mommy.

Harmonica!