Baby Alive

Sydney only asked Santa for one thing this year and it was Baby Alive. Of course, she was a good girl and got the eating/pooping/peeing doll. She actually is very good at taking care of her, and is having a lot of fun with her. The doll, however, does entail work from me....making her food, helping change her diaper, cleaning her up, etc. Sydney helps, but mostly it's me.
Sydney decided that she was Baby Alive's mommy and that she needed a daddy. So, she asked Travis if he would be Baby Alive's daddy. He said he would be. So, today, after the doll eats, she poops, and Sydney is attempting to change her diaper when she starts saying how yucky and stinky the poopy diaper is (it really doesn't smell at all) and tells Travis that he needs to finish changing her diaper. Travis says, no, you need to finish doing it and Sydney immediately says...."you are baby-alive's daddy and you need to change her diaper. That's how it works". Of course I am so proud of my example setting! ha ha!!! So, Travis decides that he doesn't want to be baby-Alive's daddy anymore and I then suggest that Grayson be her daddy. Sydney says "mmmm, I guess that will work". Then after a few minutes she said "And if Grayson doesn't want to be Baby-Alive's daddy, then Gavin (Grayson's younger brother) can be because he is so good to me." How old is she??? It's not over yet. After thinking for a bit, she then says, Gavin is little, though, so maybe big Aidan (Kudlas) can be Baby-Alive's daddy". So funny. The only thing he has to do is change the poopy diapers. ha ha. Good luck with that one Sydney. :) Actually, she's learned from Travis that daddy's change the poopy diapers when they are home from work. I'm a good teacher. :)

Nativity

The Cast/ Mary and Joseph


My friend, Andrea, and I started a new tradition with our families. This year, however, it consisted of all her family and just me and Sydney. Travis was coaching and Addyson was sick, so my parents were watching her. We've exchanged gifts the past 3 years and have had our kids take pictures with Santa together, but we wanted to add something else. So, I came up with an idea that has been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember. We had dinner and then we read the Nativity story out of John and Matthew and "acted" it out. Sydney was very excited about it and wanted to be Mary, which was fine. She also wanted Grayson to be Joseph, Miss Andrea to be the angel and of all things...she wanted me to be the donkey. I guess I know how she feels about me!! ha ha. It ended up being Sydney as Mary, Aaron (15 years old) was Joseph b/c Grayson wanted to be the star, Andrea was the angel, Edward (Andrea's husband) was a king, Jordyn (12) was a Shepard, Gavin (2) was a Shepard, Alayna (7 months) was baby Jesus and I was the narrator. It was fun, but I was a little unprepared, as it was kind of last minute. We plan on doing it every year and hopefully I'll be a little more prepared. We then took pictures then opened gifts. It was a great start to a great tradition I think. Oh, we also sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. It was Edward's idea and I thought it was great b/c the kids loved it, and it helped them remember why we even give gifts at Christmas.

Grayson and Sydney opening presents. Giving Grayson a big squeeze.

FYI

So, I've been trying my experiment of saying Merry Christmas to everyone (cashiers, bank teller, sales people, etc.) and it's been GREAT. EVERYONE has been a little surprised when I said it, but gave me a big smile back and has said "Merry Christmas to you" back to me. So, unlike my friend Andrea, my response has been nothing but positive, so I'm looking forward to wishing as many people a Merry Christmas as I can before the big day comes. I'll just have to be reminded to take it off of my blog title when Christmas is over!!

Test

So, Stacy challenged us to do this test. I'm always the same.....from when I first took this test at 22 and now at 32. I think that's pretty cool actually. I wonder what you guys think of my description....accurate to you or not? Let me know and take the test yourself and let me know! I never thought of myself as bossy and inappropriate and....loud? Yes, I know that I'm loud sometimes, but after reading this, I thought about it and can see how people may think my sarcasm and tendency to joke about things may be inappropriate, but I hope not! Sydney thinks I'm a princess, though, so that's what matters most, right? (check out the previous blog).

You Are An ENFJ

The Giver You strive to maintain harmony in relationships, and usually succeed. Articulate and enthusiastic, you are good at making personal connections. Sometimes you idealize relationships too much - and end up being let down. You find the most energy and comfort in social situations ... where you shine. In love, you are very protective and supporting. However, you do need to "feel special" - and it's quite easy for you to get jealous. At work, you are a natural leader. You can help people discover their greatest potential. You would make a good writer, human resources director, or psychologist. How you see yourself: Trusting, idealistic, and expressive When other people don't get you, they see you as: Bossy, inappropriate, and loud

What's" Your Personality Type?

My Mom was right!

So, Sydney went to the dentist on Monday to get x-rays and a teeth cleaning. She did super, by the way, and I was so proud. But, my proudest moment was when the hygienist asked her who her favorite princess is, and she quickly and confidently answered "My Mom". I just about melted right then and there. So, my Mom was right all along....I really am a princess.

What is he DOING???

While I'm driving with the two girls in the back, Sydney watching a movie with her headphones on, and she suddenly says "Moooooommmmmm....What is Jesus DOING up there???!!!" At first I thought she must of seen a picture of him on something or a nativity scene on someone's lawn and I just answer....

me:"Up where, honey?"

Syd "Up THERE!"...

Me: "Did you see him on a picture or something?",

Syd: "NO MOM, What is He doing up THERE?"...

Me: "in the sky?",

Syd: "NOOO MOOOOOM, Up THERE!!!,

Me: "in Heaven?",

Syd: "Yes! What is Jesus DOING up there?

It was so cute!! The only problem...I'm trying to explain to her that He's "working" by listening to our prayers and making sure the earth and sun and moon are working, etc. WHILE she's watching her movie. She thought it was very interesting that Jesus was working and wondered if He was working like Daddy was working. It was a great question and it was fun answering it. So, if anyone is reading this, I'd love to hear what you might say to a 3 year old who asked you the same question. Maybe help me out a little when it comes up again. :)

Holidays

I survived the food poisoning, then Syd got an ear infection and Addyson got Scarlett fever. We are all fine now, and thanks to the powers that be, Travis didn't get sick. It's amazing to me how kids just keep on going when they are sick. They go until they literally can't stand up anymore and then just collapse. How is it that when we get older our pain seems to affect us more? Don't get me wrong, my girls were tired and a little cranky, but for the most part, they wanted to jump around and play until their bodies just couldn't take it anymore. I guess they are preparing early for motherhood. :)
The holidays, despite the illnesses, have been wonderful so far. Halloween was a blast, as usual, and Thanksgiving was wonderful with my brother and his family here to visit. Sydney has loved decorating for Christmas and singing Christmas songs at the top of her lungs. She's been wanting to watch the movie "Santa Claus" (with Tim Allen) while we're in the car. I haven't seen this movie in years and can't remember details, so I'm at a loss when she asks me questions about it....I really need to sit down and watch it. I say this because at dinner last night she asked me if Santa was a psychiatrist. I was like....huh??? Where in the world did she hear that??? I then thought of the movie...of course. "No, honey, Santa's not a psychiatrist...that's a really good word, though, and you pronounce it so well, why do you ask?" ...I say this as I'm trying not to laugh at her cuteness. She explains the part in the movie to me, and then we're fine. But I know as a three year old I didn't have a clue what the word psychiatrist meant and I probably hadn't ever even heard that word before. Funny how things change. She also asked me if Santa was going to fall off our roof like Santa in the movie did. Why am a letting her watch this again? When we are at home, all she wants to watch is ScoobyDoo, and she's not scared of it yet. I hope that she never is, but it looks so scary to me (as a mom looking out for her kids). So many green ghosts, mummies and monsters. I guess the recorded laughter on it makes it all better. :)
More on the holidays....I just love Christmas....the decor, the music, the presents, Santa, the TV specials....it's just so fun. It's interesting being a mommy now of a child who is VERY inquisitive of Santa and all that he can do and what he'll do and how he does it and how he'll know we won't be at home for Christmas and if I'll move the candles I have in the fireplace so Santa won't break them when he comes down the chimney and if he'll like our decorations and if he'll bring her "Baby Alive" (which she sings the little tune every time she says it). So many questions that I have to think of answers to and remember the answers I told her. I'm trying to get her to focus on the fact that Christmas is Jesus' birthday and it's really just a big birthday party for Him, and that's what's most important......and she does talk about that that....a little bit. But, of course, Santa wins out when you are 3. I somehow feel like I need to do a better job of explaining.
On a more downer note....what's the freaking problem with saying Merry Christmas now? I gag at anything PC, anyway, and now "Happy Holidays" is the PC thing to say??? Well, screw that! My friend, Andrea, went around this morning making it a point to say Merry Christmas to everyone while she was running errands. She went quite a few places and only ONE person said Merry Christmas back to her. Only ONE! What's that about? I think I'll start saying Merry Christmas to everyone even when it's not Christmas.....Okay, no I won't, but I'm going to try and make it a point to say Merry Christmas to people I see. I'll start today.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Randoms

Thanksgiving went so well and then......BOOM/CRASH/BLAM! I got food poisoning from leftover turkey. It was lovely. I was so incredibly sick. Never been quite that sick in quite that way. WARNING>>>>>if you gross out easy, stop reading. Since there are no rules for blogs about potty talk, then I'll write about how sick I really was...okay, so I'm not that laid back to write details, but let's just say my body was emptying itself from both ends at the same time for almost 6 hours straight. I was literally in the bathroom, on the toilet and barfing in the trashcan for almost 6 hours straight. I also had the sweats/chills/sweats, etc. so much that I had to change my pajamas 3 times because of it and I ended up taking a shower at 3:00am b/c of my utter disgustingness (is that even a word? if not, it should be). After every possible food/liquid was forced out of my body, I slept for the next 18 hours....or tried to. Travis was WONDERFUL and took care of the girls and actually kept them out of the room for most of the day. Thank goodness it was Sunday and he was off work. Being so nauseated just made me depressed because it reminded me of what I feel like when I'm pregnant, and we want to have one more sometime in the next 2 years. Then to top it off, Sydney started getting sick with a fever which turned into an ear infection. I was feeling much better the next day, though, (still queezy, but not bad), so I was able to be a mom again instead of a yucky zombie. So, we get her meds and then, Addyson wakes up with the shakes from a very high fever. I call the doctor and they just say to give her motrin and monitor it for 24 hours. I'm praying she'll be better in the morning. Now all we need to Travis to get sick before his class on Saturday and during wrestling season...wouldn't that be lovely???

But on to better things.....I have to shout out to my bestest bud Andrea. (Can you shout out to people on blogs?). She's feeling left out of my blog because we talk everyday at least twice, but we hardly ever see each other, and I haven't written about her. I'm feeling awful about it. Just want her to know that she is muy importante and I love her more than enough to talk about her in my blog. Andrea, you're a rock star!!!! Even though you thought I was calling you a "freaking idiot" on the phone when I was really yelling at that driver that blocked the intersection.

Changing direction again.....What would Christmas be without the decor that goes along with it? Sydney seems to think that we don't have enough Christmas decor and has become my little "boss" on how to decorate. Little does she know that her "Annie" (my mom) goes way overboard on holiday decorations (which is a great thing b/c her house is just so magical on holidays) and I could never ever catch up to that, even though it would be fun...it's just impossible. So, I've got my little one pestering me to put lights on the outside of our house, and being persuaded to do this (I have had little sleep mind you) I actually bought lights to go on the outside of our house. Now, there is no one to put these up. Travis is at wrestling practically 24/7 and I have NO IDEA how to do this or have the coordination to climb a ladder and hang lights on our house! So, why in holy heck did I purchase these? Now I have to either hang them up or sorely disappoint my little 3 year old. UGH!

It's late....I've gotta go to bed.
Cheers.

Happy Thanksgiving

Sydney was a pilgrim in her school "re-inactment", and after school she insisted on still wearing her "pilgrim bonnet" all over town. So cute. I made some cute turkey cookies for her class as well, b/c Syd was the star-student. I'm learning to be crafty, so I was proud of myself. :)

Aunt Barb gave Sydney a little wheelbarrow and some "magic seeds" to grow in it, and now she has tall grass in her wheelbarrow that she is so excited about! She thinks that she is miss green-thumb now. If she only knew that her mother can't even grow weeds....

Sydney's "garden"

I LOVE autumn in Georgia! The leaves are BEAUTIFUL colors of reds, yellows, oranges and greens. I have a favorite road to go down in the fall here b/c it's kind of on the side of a mountain and it's wooded all around. Sydney always calls it "the forest" and the "curvy road". When there is a light breeze and a few leaves are falling and the colors are so bright, it just makes me so warm and fuzzy inside. I love it...it's just like a picture. I can't take a picture of it, however b/c it's a curvy road on the side of a hill and I'm driving. GA is just the place to be in the fall. Great weather, beautiful trees, great people.... :)

It's easy to forget that we are in the middle of a terrible drought. The news two days ago said that we only have 72 days left of clean drinking water if it doesn't rain soon. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so I'm praying so hard that it does. Sydney and I pray every day that it will rain! I don't know if GA has ever been in such a drought before. It's so weird because it's usually flooding here, not drying up. My friend, Natalie, posted pictures of how low the lake is on her blog, and it's so sad and just scary.

On a lighter note....my brother and his family are in town for Thanksgiving, and it's been so great. Sydney and Caleb, who is 4, are the best of buddies and having a blast. Quinn and Kjirsten have 3 boys, Liam (9), Caleb (4) and Luke (2) and Kjirsten is expecting. We are so excited for them! I wonder if they'll end up having 4 boys like my sister, Kelly, has 4 girls! Travis and I are stopping at 3 no matter what....unless we have twins, which is unlikely.

Sydney & Caleb

Strong Liam!

Luke & Addyson

Wrestling Season for Travis officially began for me last Saturday. I'm officially a wrestling widow until March! Yes, March, the GHSA or some organization made the season two weeks longer. Hurray....that's me being sarcastic. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE that Travis coaches wrestling because he loves it and it makes him so happy and he thrives on the competition, etc., and he's a top notch coach. I just miss him because I really only get to see him for about 2 hours or less each day except on Sundays and the girls only get to see him on Sundays. But, he's home every night, he loves it, he's happy and it pays the bills, so I really can't complain. He's like a kid in a candy store this year because, first, he has awesome assistant coaches and second, he has a ton of young kids with a ton of potential. It's so great to see him so excited about wrestling again.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I'm sooooo thankful for my husband and family, my friends, for this wonderful nation we live in and for my Saviour Jesus Christ and for the knowledge that I have of Him and what He has done for me and for mankind. I don't know how I would be able to exist with joy without the knowledge that I have and am so thankful that I have wonderful parents who taught me to know Him and love Him. There are so many things that I'm thankful for that I just don't have the finger strength to type them out! I am truly blessed.

Halloween

So, Halloween was fun this year, as usual. The girls were ADORABLE in their little outfits. Addyson was a ladybug and Sydney was Supergirl. Her friend, Grayson, calls her Supergirl b/c he's either Spiderman or Superman, so that's the costume that she chose. She loves being Supergirl and likes to yell..."Supergirl to SAVE the DAY!!!" and then pretend to fly around. Addyson liked her ladybug costume, but was a little annoyed by the wings! One of Sydney's boyfriends, Aidan, and his family trick-or-treated with us this year. Last week when we were at his house and, he announced to everyone that he was going to marry Sydney.

Travis and I were invited to a "White Trash Halloween Bash" and dressed the part all too well. I had a black eye, tight 80's style jeans I found at Goodwill, tatoos, white pumps, a red bra showing under my racer-back tanktop and big hair. Travis had his wife beater, tattoos, flannel shirt w/ the arms cut out and an ace bandage on the hand that he "hit" me with. We thought we were quite the pair until we got to the party to see some of the other costumes....some were so hilarious. We had fun, but I know why I don't wear pumps very often.

Now this is scary!!!!!

five things

So, I got this idea from Kari C., looked like fun, so here goes.....

5 things I was doing 10 years ago: going to Grad School at University of Utah, bar hopping, driving my turquoise blue Saturn around, dating, Partying with my friend Mali


5 snacks I enjoy: Chocolate anything (since it's right after Halloween...twix and kit kats are my fav at the moment), wheat thins, animal cookies with icing, chex mix
5 songs I know the lyrics to: Only five??? All the songs on my Ipod, but I'll try to narrow it down to the first ones I usually listen to while jogging...Paul Revere (Beastie boys), The Adventure (Angels and Airwaves), Black Parade (My Chemical Romance), Sweet Emotion (Aerosmith), Jealousy (the Killers)

5things I would do if I were a millionaire: Make a big college fund for my girls, hire a housekeeper and someone to do my laundry, travel travel travel, have a little plastic surgery (a boob job would be nice), Put most in savings and live off the interest, Do whatever I darn well please! (i can think of sooooo many more than 5 things)

5bad habits: Going to bed too late, not budgeting my time, buying stuff online, picking my face, biting my lip

5 things I'd never wear again: big bangs, pleated pants, ugly tent-like maternity clothes, my hair short in a bob (looks gosh-awful on me), bikini...too many "love" marks on my belly from giving birth

5 favorite toys: Travis (ooh-la-la), ipod, computer, camera, craigslist

Natalie...tag you're it.

a little update

Okay, so I don't have my camera on my computer at home, so I'm going to try and do this quickly at my mom's. I don't have recent pics of the girls on Halloween OR Addyson's birthday yet! OR my house...sorry Rachel. I'm so bad. Addyson's birthday was very fun. She loved her cupcake that she ate. She made a total mess, of course. Sydney had an ear infection, though, so that put a big damper on the fesitivities. I'm adding some pictures from Sydney's fall fesitval where she dressed up like a cowgirl b/c I didn't want her to get her Super-Girl Halloween costume messed up. Also, here are some pics of the house....while the painters were still there and before we had moved in. I'll have to add more pics later.

Our new address is:

3675 Gadolinite Trl.

Cumming, GA 30040

short

So, I haven't posted in a while because we've been moving. Thank you to Rachel Hudgins, who helped me pick out my wall colors for our dining, kitchen, powder, family and girls' rooms. It looks fabulous! So, we moved all of our stuff on the 20th and then my mother-in-law, Di, her sister, Crazy Aunt Barb and my brother-in-law, Cody, came to visit on the 22nd. I was a little stressed after the move.....i lost my cool on a few of the wrestlers Travis had moving our stuff and had to apologize! eek. Oh well....now they know why Travis is so tough...he has me for a wife. ha ha. So, being still stressed because our house wasn't' in order, I naturally wanted it to be for my mother-in-law, despite telling Travis I wasn't stressed. BUT, since his mom is so laid back it ended up being just fine.....especially when my friend Natalie and mom came and helped me put stuff away. They literally saved my sanity. While my Mom-in-law was here we went out to eat one night and Sydney was going to have a grilled cheese sandwich and she was so excited about it. She asked her Uncle Cody if he was going to have a grilled cheese sandwich too and he said, no, so she asked him if he was going to have a "boy"-cheese sandwich. It was so cute! We all just laughed. I don't think she liked us laughing at her, but I explained that we were laughing because she was so cute. Addyson has taken a few steps, but still prefers crawling at this point. It's so much faster for her. She loves our stairs too and I'm constantly chasing after her. We can't find a gate to fit our stairway....ugh.
We celebrated her 1st birthday when Di, Barb and Cody were here. She was so cute and loved the cupcake she got to eat. She just laughed and laughed. She now is in the 25% for weight and has advanced to the "slightly over 50%" for height. She's small, but not as small as Sydney was at this age.
More pictures to come....I'm at my mom's computer and don't have time to update pictures here.

Funny Girls

Sydney says the funniest things sometimes. I lost my voice due to a cold and the first day it was just really scratchy. I guess that sounds like her pre-school teacher, Miss Kitter, b/c she told me that I sounded like Miss Kitter then asked if I was pretending to be Miss Kitter. I explained to her that I was sick, etc., but the entire day whenever I would ask her to do something she would smile a huge smile and say "yes, Miss Kitter". Then I completely lost my voice and had to whisper the next day. That was lovely. Sydney asked why I was whispering and I told her that I lost my voice. She asked "Where did it go? Do you want me to help you look for it?". I, of course had to chuckle and then explained to her that it wasn't really lost,etc. She thought it was really cool, though, so she had to tell everyone at T-ball practice including the coach. They just looked at her like, "What are you trying to tell me??".
New story...last week Sydney couldn't go to school one day b/c she had had diarrhea the night before. The next Tuesday when she returned to school the first thing she said to the teacher when she got Sydney out of the car is "I don't have diarrhea anymore!", so I thought that was fine....but today.... three days later at gymnastics when Sydney got there, she proudly announced to everyone there that she didn't have diarrhea. Her coach just gave her a thumbs up.

And this is how 3 year old minds think......So, all of my parents' grandkids have always called them Annie and Poppy b/c Liam was the first and that's what he called them. Well, Sydney also calls her other grandparents G's and Pops. I had no idea until last Christmas that Sydney didn't think she had a grandma and grandpa (b/c she has two sets) until an older man came over and she asked him if he was a grandpa and she sat on his lap the entire night and told everyone that he was a REAL GRANDPA! I explained to her that she had two grandpas and two grandmas and she was thrilled! Well, that was months ago....almost a year ago, but out of the blue, Sydney started calling my parents Grandfather and Grandma. Not Grandpa, Grandfather. So funny. She insists we all call them that....we can't call them Annie and Poppy. Even in family prayer at night when I'm asking for blessings for Annie and Poppy, she'll correct me by whispering...no, no, Grandma and Grandfather. My grandmother, who we call Memama, and who Sydney has always called 'MaBear" is now great-grandmother. We have to call her that too. Of course, she can't hear very well, so she doesn't understand this at all, so Sydney gets frustrated sometimes when she calls herself Memama instead of Great-grandmother.

Addyson has become my mountain climber......and she's very fast at it. I can't keep her off the kitchen table or shelves or beds or whatever she can pull a chair up to and climb up on. I can't leave her for a second and it's proving to be very challenging. As soon as I look at her she starts shaking her head back and forth (for no) b/c she knows I'm going to say "no, no". It's a game now. She'll climb up on the chair and stand up on it, and then wait for me to look at her, then she'll shake her head. I'll say "no, no, Addyson, sit down", and she'll sit down and laugh, then she'll stand up again, look at me and shake her head. I can't help but laugh, but I know it's just perpetuating the situation. Whenever she does something she knows she's not supposed to do, she'll start shaking her head for "no", but, she still does it anyway and screams bloody murder when I remove her from the dangerous situation.
She also likes to shake her head up and down for yes and finds this very funny. She's also VERY tough and can take Sydney's "tackle-hugs", wrestling holds and even thinks it's funny when Sydney picks her up and starts running with her. Mommy, however, finds this quite scary, especially on the hardwood floors or the tile.
Gotta run for now...Addyson calls!

Interpretation

I had to write this one down! Today we were talking about colleges because of the football games on today and also about Conference out of Salt Lake. Sydney asked where the speakers of conference were and I told her that they were in Utah. My Dad made the comment to Syd that she will live in Utah one day when she's in college at BYU. Sydney, of course, had no clue what he was talking about, so I thought I'd quickly explain....in my own mumbly talk...I said.."College is where you'll go after you graduate high-school"....and Sydney gets a horrified look on her face and says.."but I don't want to turn into a vegetable"....Sooooooo, in other words, Kate mumbles and doesn't explain things very well. "After you graduate high-school" turned into "After you turn into a vegetable" in two seconds. I had to take a two minute Laugh-hysterically break before sitting down and explaining to Sydney what I really said and then going through the sequence of school and how old she will be with each stage. She then had to get out the map and I showed her where Utah is and my mom and I sang the BYU fight song for her (which we sing often during football season).

Random Thoughts

I was listening to a "goodnight song" (link:http://www.readysetmom.com/readysetmom/2007/09/a-bedtime-song-.html) and it fits so well with anyone who has kids! Sydney is such a pro at stalling. I know this, yet, I get sucked in way too many times. She's actually quite good about going to bed when compared to other stories I've heard from other moms. Travis is so efficient with it and can put her down so fast. I, however, have to lay down with her for a little while and talk about funny things. Right now, she thinks it's so funny that pigs can eat just about anything, so she wants me to talk about the pigs with her. Then she'll start naming stuff and I have to tell her whether or not pigs would eat it. She thinks it's hilarious. I, of course, then start laughing, and then it's not "quiet" time anymore. Oh well...it's fun, but it definitely takes me twice as long to put her to bed than it does Travis. So, then funny turns into tears when I tell her that she needs to go to sleep, then that turns into me getting frustrated and not wanting to ruin the good feelings we had a 1/2 second ago. Why does it always have to end in threatening....."if you get out of bed young lady...." and so forth???? BUT, alas, it does. But in the morning she's happy and excited to see me and has seemed to forget that Mommy was so "mean" the night before. Speaking of mornings....there is nothing cuter than a baby when she first wakes up. When I go get Addyson in the mornings or from her naps, I just can't help but squeeze her tight and kiss her all over her face. She's just so darn cute!!!

Randomly changing subjects here..... We are moving into a new house in the next 2 weeks and I have been busy making myself crazy picking out paint colors. My friend, Rachel, has patiently been helping me over the phone. She lives in Washington state, but is an interior designer, so we hopefully picked out some good colors. We'll see!

Sydney's last day of soccer was yesterday and she starts t-ball next Wednesday. It was kind of funny because they have just been kicking their own ball into a goal or kicking it to one other person, but yesterday their coach had them try and play a mock-game of soccer. So, there was only ONE ball and everyone wanted it. Sydney did NOT like that at all. She would get to it and kick it then someone else would kick it away from her and she got extrememly frustrated. I think I need to let her watch it on TV and explain the concept to her a little better. She did, however, do a good job if she were playing football. She dove at the ball, picked it up and started running away as fast as she could. It was hilarious, but she was MAD that the other kids were taking her ball away.

Memama

What a day I've had! I was going to spend time responding to Natalie's "tag", which I will do later...if I find time, but I thought I'd post about today. I actually got in bed last night before 11:00pm, so that was a great start to today, but around 9:00 my grandmother, "Memama" wasn't feeling to well and feeling very weak, so I helped her sit down and got her breakfast. I told her not to get up without my help, but when I went to check on Addyson I heard a loud crash, and sure enough, she had gotten up, passed out and hit the hardwood floor...hard. She wasn't sure what was going on, so I explained it to her and she said she couldn't move. I wasn't about to move her, so I called my Dad and then I called 911. My mom was playing tennis, so it was just me and the little girls home with her. Thank goodness we hadn't moved yet, or she would have fallen and been by herself for 3 hours. She passed out while I was talking to the 911 operator and kept coming in and out. My sweet neighbor came over and helped with the girls (she kept Addyson from crawling all over Memama and trying to pull her glasses off and bobby-pins out of her hair!) Then she went and got mom from her tennis match after the paramedics arrived. Miraculously, Memama didn't break anything, but her heart rate was only 30 bpm. They had to life-flight her to the hospital. Sydney was so curious about everything. She didn't understand why Memama (Syd calls her "Ma-Bear) fell down and why she wasn't talking or moving. But, our neighbor, Dawn, took her and Addyson outside to see the firetruck and ambulence, so that was very exciting for her. She was so good at "babysitting" Memama for me when it was just us at the house. What a big helper she turned out to be. Well, Memama is at the hospital and they have one more test to do before they decide whether or not to put a pace-maker in. She's 88 years old and any surgery they do on her will be traumatic on her I suspect. So, it's a waiting game. They still aren't able to raise her heart rate about 38 bpm and her blood pressure is sky high....I don't know much about medicine, but it seems odd to me to have high blood pressure and a low heart rate, but I don't know anything. My Mom and Dad have been with her since the helicopter took her to the hospital. It will be an interesting evening I'm sure. My poor parents. They are such good children to their parents. They looked after and housed my Dad's mom and now my Mom's mom. They certainly have a lot of patience and love!

Just Bloggin'

Sydney, "Big Buddy" (the Governor), Travis, Addyson, Kate

Aidan (the red head) and Syd flying through the air.
Super Girl!
Addyson and Daddy...she's our water-bug.
Jake Perdue and Aidan Kudlas with Sydney

I just got some pictures back from my friend, Stephanie Perdue, from her family's going-away party, and thought I'd post them. Steph and fam moved up past Memphis, Tennessee and we are all so sad that they left. It's a long drive and we probably won't see them much. Her mom lives 2 hours south of us, so we won't see her when they visit her and Steph's husband, Jim's, parents live in Atlanta, but his dad is the Governor, so we won't see them when they come to visit either. Sydney, Addyson and Travis had their first visit to the Governor's mansion for their going away party, which was fun. I had been once when I was little...a brownie troup visit or somthing I'm sure. I'm mentioning this b/c of the picture I'm posting and also b/c of a comment Sydney made. When we were coming home from the beach she wanted a map of her own (b/c she couldn't play w/ my mom's GPS computer), so we gave her a GA map with the Governor's picture on it. She immediately got so excited and said "There's Big Buddy!"...that's what his grandkids call him and what he told Sydney to call him, but then said "He has a dog named Ivy and I love Ivy"...then went on and on about Ivy. While I'm trying to tell her how cool it was for her to meet the governor and swim in his pool, etc. all she cared about was his dog. So cute! So, I've included some pics of Sydney "diving" (more like belly-flopping) into the pool.

On a side note, I'm so glad that Travis doesn't have to travel often. He was only gone one night this weekend for a tournment and I was so sad! Even though with his coaching schedule I don't see him much, at least he's always beside me at night. He works so hard so that I can stay home with our girls which is so great and I admire him so much for it. When he's done w/ his EDS degree, it will make things much easier financially, but he can sure pinch a penny, which is good considering he has a wife who doesn't budget very well.

Sydney and Addyson continue to make me laugh and melt everyday. Addyson is a Daddy's girl which is so cute. She also has a blanket that she LOVES and when she sees it she just laughs and laughs and hugs it and squeezes it and puts it in her mouth.

Sydney is always full of funny stuff that I wish I wrote down, so I didn't forget. She calls the wart on my leg a wart-hog! Even though I've told her numerous times it's not, and even though she's seen real wart-hogs at the zoo....I can't help but laugh. She also insists that she has a friend in her pre-school class named Ballerina. I found out that it's Marina, but she doesn't believe me. :) My dad went to Montana to fly-fish and she asked him if he had a nice time visiting Hanna Montana. one more....(I could go on forever, but Addyson's waking up from her nap.) Whenever we sit down for dinner she says to Travis..."So, Sweetheart, did you have a nice day?". Her teachers at church and at school tell me how mature she is for her age and they just love her....of course, I'm so proud.

Zoo Flashback

So, Travis and I are watching our much anticipated Season Opener of Survivor in China. Of course they show Panda bears, and Travis starts laughing. Hmmm..I didn't see anything funny, so he explains..... We have season passes to the Atlanta Zoo, which we have gone to several times this summer. One day, we were lucky enough to see the Panda's doing something other than stuffing their faces with "Bamboom" as Syd calls it. The baby panda was actually climbing a Bamboo tree and a crowd of people are oohhing and Aahhing and snapping pictures (me included) when Sydney yells out (her voice is loud anyway, so her yelling is like a foghorn)..."No, No baby panda! You're going to get in trouble if you climb too high!!" So, Travis and I just bust out laughing and about 3/4 of the people around did too except for the avid zoo "photographers" (who, if you go as much as we do, you'd be able to spot one immediately...they don't like little kids at the zoo at all let alone to let little kids in front of them to see the animals b/c they are taking "very serious" photos for their scrapbooks or blogs...I like to call them zoo snobs). As a side note...whenever I see one, I make sure I tell Sydney to just say excuse me and get right in front of them....which, by the way, doesn't get in the way of their picture taking since she only comes up a little past their knees. She, of course, is very obedient when it comes to looking at the animals and very loudly says excuse me while pushing her little self right up to where they don't want her to be. I'm so bad, I know. So, I'm posting some pictures of the baby panda, who, didn't get in trouble for climbing too high, much to Sydney's surprise, as his/her mother was too busy eating to notice, We are lucky to have a baby panda and two sets of gorilla twins at our zoo, which Sydney just thinks is fantastic. However, sometimes I think her favorite animals in the entire zoo are the darned pigeons that hover all over us while we eat our lunch there. Sydney does a good job of keeping them at bay, however, by running after them and yelling "come here birds!!" Three year olds are great!! :)

"Firsts"

We had a lot of "firsts" in the last two weeks. Sydney started preschool for the first time (and loves it), Sydney and Addyson went to the beach for the first time (and loved it), Sydney started soccer (and really likes it, but doesn't love it yet), Addyson said her first word "ball" and she can stand up without holding on to anything! Addyson also got her first black eye from falling while trying to climb onto a chair, but she's a tough gal! Travis had 19 wrestlers show up for an off-season practice, which is a first for him to have that many...GREAT sign for the upcoming season. Addyson's two top teeth are starting to break through as well, so by the end of the week she might have four teeth! So, we've been busy doing new things and having fun!

Here are some pictures of Sydney's first day of school (she goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00am - 1:00pm) and our trip to Panama City Beach, Florida.

The girls loved the sand at the beach the most. Sydney liked the ocean until a wave crashed on her and she got the "yucky" salt water in her mouth. So, we spent a lot of time at the pool as well, where she met some new friends, so it was really fun for her. She did like building sand castles and shoveling the sand. Unfortunately for me, she also liked throwing the sand. One evening Sydney, Poppy and I went out on the beach to chase crabs. Sydney and Poppy had the flashlights, while I had the bucket to catch them in. I was a little apprehensive, so I only caught five, but I tried (with all but the really big ones, and then I just acted like I was trying for Sydney's sake!) Sydney loved chasing them and loved the flashlight even more.

Addyson loves the water whether it's bath water, pool water, puddle water or ocean water. She also, come to find out, likes to eat sand. They do call the gulf beaches "sugar" sand, but that's a little much... ha ha.

We missed Travis, however, as he had to coach and go to class...he's currently getting his Ed. Specialist degree in Administration, so he was up in Tennessee at class all day the Saturday we went to the beach.

Sydney's schedule is very busy for a 3 year old, but since she asked me EVERY day...where are we going today? Where are we going the next day? Where are we going the NEXT day? ETC.... I have her in Ballet/Tap on Monday's from 1:00-1:45, School on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Soccer on Wednesdays from 10:00 - 10:45 (with her friend Alex Lindley) and gymnastics on Fridays from 10:45 - 11:25. On Thursdays after I drop Syd off at school, Addyson and I go to the park and I jog for about 2 1/2 - 3 miles and she loves riding in the stroller looking at all the people and all of the dogs!

I'm so excited that the Fall TV season is starting so I can watch my shows! I know it's pathetic, but that's where I get my kicks these days! Tonight I'm recording Grey's Anatomy, which I'm not sure if I'll watch this season or not....we'll see. Tomorrow night is the first night of Survivor, but next week is the exciting week. Hero's is on Monday along with two new shows Travis and I are going to tivo and try to watch! That's our "date" after getting the girls in bed!