My heavy heart...

My Autumn Beth is getting ready for lunch, at her new school. She is in Kindergarten. And she has done amazing. She asked me to let her walk herself in on the 3rd day! I cried, but she was so brave. As of yesterday, I am not even walking her to the front of the building. I am just driving her up, and she's out the door and on her own...in this big ol' world....well, maybe not that big just yet, but it sure feels like it to me.


My heart misses her so much. I am so sad that I am not there with her right now. I am so excited for her, but I get so excited at pick up time. However, she's exhausted at the end of the day and just wants to lay on the couch and watch tv, without her little brother. And that means upstairs, again, away from me. But at least she's home. But I am ready to cuddle and love on her.


Oh how I wish time had gone by slower. I wish she hadn't of grown up so fast. I wish I had a little more time to appreciate her and to play with her. I know she's only in Kindergarten and it's not boarding school or anything...my mind gets that...but my heart is struggling.


Just a couple more hours...

Reach further...

So, Autumn definitely has her daddy's competitive nature. She is a beast at times. I can't even walk upstairs without hearing her explaining the rules of last one up is the "rotten egg". Everything turns into a competition with her. Brandon seems to enjoy this... but to me, the one with no competitive bone in her body, it drives me crazy.

Anyways, at gymnastics, she has started the higher level class. And so they tried rope climbing. The very first time, she went the very highest. I was amazed and shocked and filled with pride. Well, since then, some of the other girls have gotten better at it. And Autumn has still continued to go high, but not as high as that first time. So, this past session, she was determined to reach the top (something she's not done before, came close...but not completely to the top). Being the mother that I am, I just told her to do her very best and I would be proud of her. Well, she started up the rope, after getting so high, she stopped. I thought she was through and heading down. Nope! She was just taking a break, and took one hand off the rope to wipe it on her outfit so that she could keep going. So, every now and again, you would see her wipe her hands and push herself that much more.

And yes, she made it to the top! Wow, talk about determination. I was so proud of her for working so hard and not giving up on something that meant so much to her.

Maybe she can teach me a thing or two about working hard and keeping focused on reaching my goals...

Owen's first real prayers...

As I was putting Owen to bed tonight, I told him that we needed to say our prayers. He put his hands in prayer mode, and waited. But tonight, I said for him to do it. So, Owen bowed his head, and said, "thank you, sissy, daddy, Au-wen (owen) and mommy. Amen" then slaps himself in the face and laughs. Such a silly but wonderful boy. I hope he falls head over heals in love with Jesus...that's my prayer for him!

bedtime...

The morning I decided to start this blog, is the same morning I looked back on Autumn's blog (mommy2autumn.blogspot.com) to compare age and bedtime habits. Surprisingly, ae was already in her toddler bed and she was going to bed on her own (somewhat), but having a rough time at naptime.

Owen; however, is nowhere near ready to be taken out of the crib...or at least I am not ready for him to be. I plan on keeping him in the baby bed till he's at least 5. I am serious. I can't imagine trying to get him to stay in bed. It just wouldn't work!!!

Anyways, bedtime and naptime works as long as I rock the boy to sleep, and he is actually tired enough to fall asleep. Then I have to wait for a while to make sure he's good and asleep so that he stays asleep when I put him in the crib. Well, this tends to be exhausting and very frustrating at times. Don't get me wrong, I love cuddling and rocking him. But it's a very long process at times, and then after all that time, sometimes it still doesn't work. And then he's crabby and cranky...and so am I.

So, tonight...I almost got him to sleep by rocking him (even though I know it's not the best way, sometimes it's just easier, that way I don't have to worry about him crying and waking ae up, too!) but he woke up crying as I put him in his bed. I left him there, crying. Almost went to him several times. But waited just a little bit longer. And I was on my way to go get him just a minute ago...and I checked the monitor...NOTHING...nothing at all....no crying, yelling, sobbing...nothing. Yay!!! After an hour, he feel asleep!!! Now, I just need to be consistent and try to let him do this for the next few nights so that it gets easier for him.

Wish me luck! Yay, Owen! Thank you, God for calming him down, for protecting him, and for keeping me away just long enough for him to fall asleep...help me to do what's best for him...even if it's not always easy.
Amen!

My baby girl...graduated preschool!

I can't believe she's old enough to graduate preschool. I found a picture of ae yesterday. It was her first day of school picture from 2009. Owen was right at two months old, and she was a little over 3 1/2. I can't believe how much she has grown in the last two years. She is such a big girl.

Surprisingly, I didn't cry at her graduation. I was so proud of her for singing and smiling. I think I was just overwhelmed with pride and love, that I didn't allow myself to be sad. I can't believe she starts Kindergarten in a little over 2 months. Where has the time gone? I miss her being little. I love the young girl she's turned out to be, but I don't want her to grow up too fast.

I am so thankful that Brandon has worked so hard to allow me the opportunity to stay home with her and O. I will never regret this time with her. She was my true first love. My heart has never been the same since the first time I laid eyes on her. She is precious!

I am so proud of that big (my always little) girl!

Perfect way to start off Summer Break...

Today has been amazing (so far). Besides the fact that I have two little ones that aren't feeling the greatest (due to allergies and what not). But I have loved every minute of today...well, except for Owen not napping, and Autumn only taking a small nap, but other than that minor detail?!?

Here is how our first day of Summer Break has panned out:

I started laundry.
Fixed kids breakfast
Let them watch tv, Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Full House or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse depending on the child.
Then we went on a walk that turned into a nature walk...with baby birds, worms, and cicadas
Owen pulled the wagon half the way home...such a strong man!
Went outside, played with Bama, jumped on trampoline, swung a little bit
Came in and had snack time: Popcorn
Storytime
Playtime with blocks or Barbies while mommy folded clothes
Lunch
Nap or at least an attempt
Now they are both playing with Play-Doh

It's Owen's first time with Play-Doh...he loves it. He did of course ask if he could eat it. But at least he asked, that's more than Autumn ever did?!? She always just snuck and ate it anyways...

Now, if the rest of the summer turns out anything like today, it will be a blessing...so, here's to a wonderful summer!!!

Impressed!

I just got off the phone with Autumn's elementary school. I was calling to see when kindergarten phase in started, because Brandon just found out that he might be going to China with work the first week of August. Wow, I know!!!

Anyways, I talked to this nice lady, and she wasn't for sure the dates. So, I told her that is wasn't a big deal. I was just wondering, because her daddy might be in China. Well, she told me to hold on and she was going to connect me with the principal. I told her that that was okay, she didn't need to do that...and before I know it, I was talking him- the principal.

I asked my question and told him why...but also said that if he couldn't tell me right now that was fine. No, he was so very nice. Super amazing, and called Autumn by name. And said that he would put her in the 2nd phase in group and told me the dates. I thanked him. And he said, well, it's very important for daddy's to be there for their first day too.

I was so touched! What a first impression!!! I am excited about this first year of school for my sweet pea!

Here we go...again!

So, I decided it was time to blog again. I may be the only one to ever read this, but I am okay with that. I just enjoyed it so much when AE was younger. It was nice to just jot down little thoughts about how things were going, memories we were making, and a chance to vent when things were going crazy! And now that I am chasing two kiddos, I had to come up with a new blog. Sissy Poo is what Owen and I call Autumn when we go pick her up from Mother's Day Out. We sing, "Sissy Poo, Sissy Poo, Where Are You?" And you can guess how I came up with Owen's part of this blog...

I would write and tell you about how Owen decided that it was time to wake up at 4:30 this morning, and how he eventually went back sleep at 6am...however, I did not. I would tell you about the funny things they have done recently; however, one kid stinks beyond anything something should smell this early in the morning...and the other one is already demanding breakfast...so I must start the morning. Can't wait to vent...I mean, share our adventures!!!