Christmas Cookies and the Broom

Last weekend Devyn and I made Christmas cookies and I must say that I was quite impressed with her cookie making abilities. She seems to be a natural in the kitchen...a skill that she must have inherited from her Daddy. Her favorite task was putting the icing on the cookies. She took it very seriously and wanted to make sure that Santa had some pretty cookies to eat when he came to visit our house. Below is a picture of Devyn with the cookies that she decorated.

Meanwhile Taylor played with her favorite toy: the Broom. It cracks me up. Taylor will pick up the broom which is twice her size and will play with it for quite a long period of time. She will chew on it, then shake it, will proceed to hit herself on the head with it, grunts and then will start chewing on it all over again. It is a very funny sight to behold.

Happy Birthday, Devyn!

Wow. I still can't believe it. My oldest baby is no longer a baby - or a toddler. She is officially a little girl. Last weekend Devyn turned 4 and I am still amazed at how grown up she is getting. Today she was practicing her writing skills (she has learned her alphabet and can write her name) when she said to me:

"Mommy, I am going to write the word cat."

Me: "Okay, do you need me to spell it out for you?"

Devyn: "No mommy, you spelled it out for me last week and I still remember how to spell it."

Like I said...she is growing up on us.

We celebrated her actual birthday with a special dinner at Boll Weevil. Not exactly the restaurant/dinner that Jeff and I would have selected but it was what she wanted. We tried to see if she would change her mind by asking her all week where she wanted to have her special birthday dinner. She finally got exasperated with us and told us not to ask her anymore. She wanted to eat at Boll Weevil and that was that.

The following day we had her Birthday party at JW Tumbles. It was our annual combined B-Day party with Sean and Noah. As usual it was a lot of fun. Devyn played and played and played. Overall I think she had a great Birthday weekend. Below are some pictures from the weekend.

Difference between boys and girls

The other day I was taking Devyn and a boy-friend of hers to soccer practice. As I listened to their conversation I was amazed at how the difference between boys and girls is so evident even at the young age of 3. Here is how the conversation went:

Eric: "What you for Halloween?"

Devyn: "I wanted to be Princess Fiona because she gets married to Shrek. But I couldn't be Princess Fiona because the dress was too big. So I am going to be an Angel instead."

After a long, pregnant pause Eric says: "Oh"

But it wasn't just any "Oh" - you could hear from his tone that he was thinking - Why do you want to be an angel? and why did it take so long for you to tell me you were going to be an angel?

Then Devyn inquired: "What are you going to be for Halloween?"

Eric shouted: "Batman!" followed by some strange guttural grunting noises.

After a short pause Devyn asked: "Who is Batman?"

So there you have it...the difference between boys and girls at the tender age of 3.

Below are a few pictures of Devyn as an Angel. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures of Taylor in a Halloween costume. I bought her a cute Dragon costume but it was way too hot outside for her to wear it for any length of time. And since I am becoming like my dad in my old age (cheap, cheap, cheap) I decided to take the costume back instead of putting her in it for a few cute pictures. So I have a pumpkin picture of her instead.

Back to School and other Cute Pictures

Devyn started back to pre-school last week. She was excited to see her old friends and to make some new friends. I have to admit that I am constantly amazed at the memory of 3 year olds. As I was leaving Devyn's classroom, one of her classmates from last year was walking onto the campus. He waved at me, so I waved back at him. And then he says to me: "Is Devyn in school today?" I was floored. From last year he remembered that I was Devyn's mommy. I thought that was really neat.

Devyn and Taylor are turning out to be great buddies. Devyn loves spending time with Taylor and making her laugh. And no one else can make Taylor laugh like Devyn does. Check out the pictures below...the girls are hanging out in Taylor's crib.

Here is a fun picture of Taylor laughing and blowing bubbles.

Devyn playing with toilet paper. Mommy wasn't too happy at first. And then I started laughing and thought it would make a great photo opportunity!

Mommy as the Soccer Coach??

As all of you readers know...I love my soccer. Love, love, love to play my soccer. So it goes without saying that Devyn is going to have to play soccer for a few seasons. And somewhere along the way I decided that I should be the coach of her team. It shouldn't be that hard, right? Wrong. What I found out is that coaching entails more than just running practice once a week. It also entails things such as: Opening Ceremonies, getting a banner for opening ceremonies, snack lists, picture day, knowing where the pictures are to be taken, and so on, and so on... Below is a typical question and answer session at our weekly practices.

Mom to me: Do we have a banner for Opening Ceremonies?

Me: Banner? We need a banner?

Mom: Whose bringing snacks this week?

Me: Snacks? We need snacks?

So I feel really sorry for the moms on my team. They must think I am the ditziest soccer coach ever. Thankfully they are very nice and have been training me on soccer coach etiquette. I guess I will find out at the end of the season if I pass the training.

Here is a picture of the team in front of their home made banner. Yes...several of the moms and I got together and made the banner the day before Opening Ceremonies. Who needs a professionally made banner? The team consists of Ramon, Jonnie, Devyn, Eric and Aaron. I am so excited b/cause they are a great group of kids!

Simple Pleasures

When confronted with the hectic and crazy drama we call life...I find that focusing on the simple pleasures life has to offer reminds me of what is truly important. Below are some pictures that illustrate some of the simple pleasures I have experienced over the past few weeks.

Simple Pleasure #1: The laughter of my children

- Devyn loves the role of older sister. Making her sister laugh is currently one of her favorite pastimes.

Devyn hamming it up for her sister. Taylor loves it when Devyn acts goofy.

Simple Pleasure #2: Spending time with family

Devyn with her cousins Madison and Carly.

Here is Devyn with her "GG" also known as her Great-Grandmother. Again, she is hamming it up for the camera. Have you noticed a theme yet? Devyn sure loves to show off in front of the camera!

Taylor and "GG"

Simple Pleasure #3: Family and Birthdays

Nana, Papa and Devyn celebrating her Papa's Birthday.

You know your baby has outgrown the bassinet when...

...she starts sleeping with her foot (and sometimes leg) sticking out of the side of the bassinet. I cannot believe how big Taylor is getting already. It seems like just yesterday she was a newbie. Now she seems HUGE to us. Check out her chunky monkey thighs! They are as big as Devyn's thighs are - and Devyn is 3! Taylor is doing great. Last week she had her 4 month well baby appointment. All went well. She is meeting all of her milestones and is quite healthy (knock on wood). At her appointment she weighed in at 15 pds., 6oz. and was 25 and a half inches long which was the 80th and 90th percentiles for her age.





Big sister Devyn is as busy as ever. Between swimming, gymnastics and playdates the summer has just flown by. It's so hard to believe that school will be starting at the end of this month. Devyn can't wait...as she puts it "school is one of my favorite things." I have to admit that yesterday Devyn just cracked me up. She was trying to ride her bike and couldn't get around the table. So she used a rather interesting collection of words to express her frustration with the situation. Now an adult would express frustration with a "Gosh darn it!" (or in my case a G_d Da_n It!). But not Devyn. She expressed her frustration with a "Freckles and Prune Juice!" You read that right. Freckles and Prune Juice. I have no idea where that came from...but I found it quite entertaining!