Beauty and the Beast

The 24th is Matt's birthday and we had people over to help him celebrate. It wasn't really a surprise, but with everything that had been going on, it kind of slipped his mind. So he was happy to see everyone showing up at our house that night.
I love Disney movies; especially The Lion King, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and my favorite is Beauty and the Beast. I was super excited when they re-released The Lion King, but bummed to find it only in 3D and knew Emma was too young for that. So, I was even more excited when Beauty and the Beast came out in 3D and in non-3D. On the way to the theater, Matt said he couldn't tell who was more excited, me or her. I think it's safe to say we both had a really fun time!

 Taking a ride in her car before the movies

 

  Helping Daddy park the car

Picking out her candy-M&M's and Sweet Tarts!

 Enjoying some popcorn too

 Those of you who know Emma, know that she HATES getting or being dirty. She does not want anything on her hands, face or clothes. So, I've never really worried about her drawing on herself or her clothes. Guess I was wrong!

 

 

Daddy reading Emma a story in her new Big Girl Bed!!

   

  Taking a stroll through Target with Daddy!

He's getting so big!

Emma said they were going to the beach

Scary Times-but we're all alright!

We've had quite the week around here! Matt headed out to Wisconsin last Monday for work and Emma headed to a sleepover at Grandma's with Elle. Luke and I got to spend a little time alone together and he even got to sleep in the big bed with his Mama! We picked up Emma Tuesday afternoon and came home for naps. Luke went down from around 3-until almost 8. I made him his bottle and was preparing to climb in bed with both kiddos for a movie and popcorn. Those plans changed after I opened Luke's door and got him out of bed. He had big red spots on his face and my first thought was that he slept funny. I noticed his bright red ears next and thought double ear infection. After a closer look, I found red spots all over him and his lips were purple-and thought chicken pox! I wasted no time calling the doctor and they called back about the time I finished feeding him. She told me I needed to take him to the emergency room. I immediately sprang into action-I called Matt to let him know what was happening. Then, I called my grandmother to have someone come watch Emma, and I then called my parents to see if they could meet me at the hospital. I packed a bag, changed Luke's clothes, let the dog out, set the TV up for Emma and changed my own clothes in about five minutes. I did my best not to seem to frazzled and let Emma know anything was wrong and helped her get excited about aunt Jen coming over. After three long hours in the ER we learned that he probably had a severe viral reaction and a few doses of steroids should clear him right up. Matt was able to make it back early the next morning and we went to his doctor to see what she thought. She agreed that it was probably just a viral reaction and the steroids would help. If they came back after a week, it would most likely be an allergic reaction to something. Then we would have to start the look journey of finding out what he's allergic too. .Thankfully, those nasty bumps never came back.

 

 Despite all the bumps, all the nurses and doctors said how handsome he was!

Beep Beep!!

Luke got a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe car for Christmas from my parents and it even came with its own trailer! Emma got a pink one (no trailer) for her birthday last year and loves it, so we knew he needed one too. We left it in the box for a little while after Christmas, because we literally had nowhere to put it. Once the Christmas tree came down and we got Luke's room and the rest of the house back in order, I decided it was ready to come out of the box! So the other day, while Luke was napping and Matt was at work, Emma and I attempted to put it together. As soon as it came out of the box, Emma immediately wanted to get it in and ride it. I told her she had to wait until I was done putting it together. Once I finally finished it (after about 100 "Are you done nooooow??" from Emma), Emma hopped right in and took off all over the house. Now mind you, Emma has the EXACT same car-but she did NOT want to get out of that car. I asked her which one she liked better and her immediate response was this one! We reminded her that the red one was Baby Luke's and she seemed to understand that. Guess even plastic cars have that "new car charm" Luke did like his ride around in the trailer, too!

Emma Talk's and Lukie Laugh's

Remember how I said that Emma was getting a little sassy? Well, it is coming out even more! She is almost three going on 13, I swear! She is getting more and more feisty everyday and trying her best to see just how far her limits are. She has never had a discipline problem or really spent much time in time-out. She usually does what she's asked without a lot of fuss. But now, she is quick to get that little "Uhhhhh Moooom!!" and it freaks me out! Ha-maybe she'll get it all out before she's thirteen (hey, a Mom can dream, right??)

She is obsessed with the iPhone and wanted me to do something for her on it and apparently I wasn't quick enough and I told her to relax for a minute and she told me "Just calm down. Take a deep breath and calm down"

If she wants something that we aren't sure she can have, she'll say "Please, don't let me down!!"


I told her she was getting chicken nuggets from McDonald's and she starts licking her lips and said "Mmmm, that'll be sweet!"

Call whipped cream white frosting

She was being a little too sassy and told her she needed to drop the smart talk or it's time out time. She went and sat on the steps and I asked her what she was doing and she said she was sitting there because I had an attitude.

Oh, and did I mention she still loves sleeping in her shoes and will ONLY wear dresses everyday

Luke says "Hey Dada" all the time-where's the love for Mommy??

I went to get Luke out of his crib the other morning and I opened the door and hear "heeey" and see this for the first time!

Happy New Year!

So, it has been a little while since my last post-I'm still trying to recover from Christmas and get all the toys put away and rearrange pretty much my whole house! I have to say, it is AMAZING how much more stuff there is with another person here. He has no idea what toys are his or sometimes if he's even playing with a toy. But he sure has a lot to choose from, that's for sure. Emma's birthday is right around the corner and then (gasp!!) it'll be time for his first birthday. So our house will once again become a madhouse with me trying to find space for everything!
We have a bonus room in our house, that never really got used much before I started sewing. It's split into two "parts" because the stairs come right up the middle. So on one side, I made room for all my new gadgets. The other side had random, unused pieces of furniture and some junk. After Christmas, it became impossible for me to put all of Emma's stuff away in her room. So after a few hours of rearranging, I was able to create the perfect little playroom for them! We can all be upstairs and I can work on projects on one side and Emma gets to find "new" toys all over again!
I found a yumm-o recipe on pinterest the other day-here's a link for the recipe Tater-Tot Casserole It is so good and you must try it soon! It is perfect for when you don't want to put much thought (or money!) into dinner and the kids will love it too!
Oh-and in case you were just dying to know-we spent New Year's at home eating waaay too much junk and having fun as a family!

Christmas Time!

I've said it at least 10 times and I'll say it one more time-this holiday season has FLOWN by! I can't believe how fast it was Thanksgiving and getting our tree, to already over and time for birthdays (Matt, Emma and Luke!) We started out the holiday season planning on cutting back a little and I swear there were twice as many presents under the tree than last year.
Christmas Eve was spent getting ready for our annual dinner with Roger, Katelyn, Blair, Mom, Rob, Elle and Christine. Matt decided that we should have filets for dinner and he got the biggest ones I've ever seen! Christine and Elle came over that morning to let the girls decorate some gingerbread cookies. I wish I had gotten a few pictures because it was hilarious! Emma was having fun with the sprinkles and ate arms and heads off quite a few of the cookies before they were decorated. Matt had to run out for some last minute shopping while I got the house in order. Everyone came over around 6 and we had a few apps and then the main course of our amazing steaks. Emma was getting so excited for Santa (Matt said he saw him flying in the sky) but was so sleepy. She couldn't make it to the end of Christmas Vacation, so we put her to bed and got to work. Santa spoiled that little girl rotten and toys just kept coming out! Matt and I were both exhausted and went to sleep anxious for her reactions in the morning.
Christmas Day started with coffee and cinnamon rolls-then we peeked into Emma's room and she was passed out. Doodle-her Elf-left her a pink Barbie tree in her room and when she spotted it, she popped right up. She finally realized that Santa came and was anxious to see what she got. The first thing she saw was her princess tent, sleeping bag and flashlight-she ran over to them and wanted to climb in and zip it up. She played for a few minutes before we were able to co-horse her out and showed her everything Santa brought her. It was game on after that-there was present after present after present! Matt and I both kept saying how we didn't remember getting all these for her but she was loving opening them all. There were two things she had talked about for over a month-a car for her Barbie's and a set of 6 fairy dolls from the Tinkerbell movie. Every time we went to Target she would see them and talk about Santa bringing them for her. Of course, we saved those until the end and she squealed and squealed when she opened them and was so excited to play with them. Mom and Dad got a little spoiled too and we couldn't forget getting some things for Luke's first Christmas, although we knew he would've been just as happy with the wrapping paper.
Before we knew it, we were out the door headed to Nana's for lunch. There was more than enough food and then it was present time again! Emma was having a great time with Marley tearing into more stuff and didn't even care what the present was-she just liked opening things. She helped us open a few things too. Then it was time to head out to Grandma's house and everyone had already opened their presents by the time we got there. Although, the amount that was still under the tree just for us was a TON! Our finally stop was to Grandmommy's and at this point, Emma had opened so many presents she was starting to become less than impressed with doing anything other than just playing. She did play Candy Land for a few minutes with us.
Emma and Luke both fell asleep on the way home and when we arrived home to unload everything, they had both gotten a second wind and started playing with their many new toys. I don't think Emma still realizes everything she got for Christmas yet.

 Christmas Eve Dinner

 Trying to get a few family pics

 Emma checking out her new princess flashlight and tent

 She loves her new Dora ballerina dress

 MORE presents!

 Marley and Emma opening presents

 Luke checking out his new toy

 

 Emma's new dollhouse furniture from Taylor

 Luke's new ride!

 Emma taking it for a test drive

 The pink tree from Doodle

 Emma worn out on Christmas
 

Look at all that loot and the sad part is-it's not even all of it!

 Luke loves his new exersaucer!

She Did It!

Emma has a long distance love for Santa-meaning she loves him until she seems him up close in person. Santa has been at the mall since the beginning of November and we've asked her every time we go if she wants to sit on his lap. Her immediate response is "NO!" and we stop at that. Last year we weren't able to get a picture with her and Santa because she would never get close enough to him and we didn't want to push the issue. Santa came to school and she was so excited that he was there and started jumping up and down and saying "Santa! Santa!". When they went to see him, she froze and wanted no part of it. She did get brave enough to take a coloring book and candy cane from him, though. A week later, there was a pancake dinner with Santa at her school. We didn't have too many high hopes that she would sit with him, but I grabbed the camera just in case! Santa arrived and everyone was excited to see him-Emma wasn't even phased, she didn't want to go near him. We tried getting a picture with her sitting next to him, but she just wanted to get away. After all the kids spent time talking with him, Matt had an idea. He asked Emma if she would get a candy cane from Santa for him. She walked over and asked him for one and they started talking. This was our chance!! Matt said "Emma, why don't you get on Santa's lap and tell him what you want for Christmas." She climbed right up and started telling him what she wanted. Hopefully she won't forget that she likes him next year!