Dylan's Birthday and Valentines Day

We had a family party for Dylan on his birthday. All of the family that lives in town came over and it was so much fun. Dylan just LOVES his cousins. (Especially the girls :) Notice that his cake is pink...yes, he picked out the colors that he wanted. What are we gonna do with this kid? If you notice, he is wearing a cute little tie outfit that he opened up before church. Needless to say, he would not take it off all day...at least it wasn't a dress!

Dylan is happiest when he is with his friends and cousins!

A Grandma sandwich!

Yes, I stood in line for this toy on black friday, I know I am lame, but whatever. When Dylan saw this crane/truck at the store he couldn't take his hands off it. I had never seen him so in love with a toy before, and I really wanted to get it for him. For something that has absolutely no educational value though, I was not going to spend 50 bucks. Not a chance! So come black friday I did what every mother would do :), I went and hid it the day before (since it was the only one), and I waited in line at 5:30 in the morning. By myself! What have I become!? I got it for over 50% off! I was stoked, and come Dylan's birthday, he was too! What we do for our kids....crazy!

Sydney and Grandma are so sweet, but have I mentioned that she says "Gampa" but has yet to say mama or Granma? Where are her priorities? She LOVES the men in the family.

Random Dylan quotes:

1. When brushing his teeth with his new toothpaste he said, "It tastes like a party mommy!"

2. "I think I'm sick because I have to go potty and I think my poop is gonna be a splatty poop."

Precious Moments

Dylan runs in our room at 5 in the morning with a 103 degree fever. Most kids that are this hot are lethargic and cranky, but Dylan? Of course not! Its like when I gave him benedryl once to sleep on the plane and he was as hyper as ever, what gives? We both woke up with Dylan last night, gave him his medicine, and cuddled with him hoping to get some sleep, but or course, he was wide awake and ready for a new day. Not only was he awake, but he was funnier than ever! At one point Dylan turned to me, put my face in his hands, and looked at me very seriously saying, "Mommy, if you don't get me a drink right now, I am going to die". Dramatic much? He continued to talk for about 45 minutes, without taking a break. Cameron and I meanwhile are trying to sleep, laughing at his enthusiasm, but begging for him to stop talking and go to bed. It was hilarious! Here are some of the highlights:

1)"You have to take a picture right now of my ears and neck so that we can show it to the doctor in the morning. They are on fire mommy". (He repeated this about 6 times throughout the night.)

2)"I am coughing so much, I just can't stop coughing. It hurts and I think my breath is turning blue"

3) Cameron and I "Dylan stop talking, it is still night time and we need to sleep" Dylan: "But I am sick and I am berry berry hot. See, when I put this water on my leg it makes me not so berry hot...it makes my leg cold, see mommy, and when I put it on my face it makes my face cold, see mommy, etc...etc...etc...(he wouldn't stop talking about anything and everything)

He talked, and talked, and talked, and TALKED!

It was a funny night, and I just want to say how much I LOVE night time moments such as these. I love when the kids are sick and I get to cuddle with them, sing to them, and just be there with them in their off moments. Everything is so quiet, peaceful, and there is so much beauty in such a simple act of love and comfort. Of course I hate the not sleeping part, and the being tired in the morning, but there are so many precious moments that take place in the middle of the night. I love them!

Along with those precious moments, I too love the random rage, and comedy that takes place mid morning. As a kid, I remember waking up in the middle of the night and hearing my mom and dad talking and laughing in their room. Sometimes I would hear a loud "ow!" Or a "stop snoring!" or just random laughter that would last a few seconds. I always wondered why they would have conversations at night. Of course as an adult I am sure some of these times were when they were being intimate (ewww, not my parents!), but I have also come to learn that many of these instances were probably like most of the moments Cameron and I share. Those random wake up moments where you bump each other and have a casual three word banter that you both remember and laugh about in the morning. Or when one of you wakes the other up on accident and somehow a conversation is sparked about the what we are going to do or not do that weekend. I don't know what it is about the night, but it brings out the comedy, the random crap, and the foul language in us both. It is hilarious! (Since it is totally out of character). I relish in those moments where Cameron and I are dying about the gas that was just passed that woke us both up, or him telling me to "suck it" because he won't stop snoring, or even better, when the kids crawl into bed with us and we both get the other nearly kicked out of bed leaving the other one laughing hysterically. It's mean, its cranky and tired, and it is funny (most of the time). I love it. I love the random private family moments where it is raw, and just us. I LOVE my family!

More Snow!

Here are a few more random snow pictures from the second day of snow. As you can tell, it had already started melting quite a bit but we still took advantage! We had so much fun making a snow man and sledding with the Mounts.

Hugs and Kisses.

At one point Dylan's hands were freezing and hurting (since he kept taking of his gloves, grrr), and he turned to me and said, "you know why peoples hands hurt so much in the snow mommy? Because people bury lots of knives in the snow, and then they cover it with really hot snow, so it hurts hands when we touch it". Wow, I have always felt the stabbing pain of freezing hands, way to put it into words D!
Sydney decided to wander off on her own. Makes me think of Robert Frost :"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by". Look at her out there all alone...she would have kept going if we hadn't seen her.

Dylan and his favorite girls!

Jordy and Casey.

Look how big he is getting! He is growing up way too fast!

White Valentines Day!

Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE the snow? Especially eating snow? ESPECIALLY when I am pregnant and craving shaved ice? YUM!

It snowed today for the second time this season. I can't believe it! It stuck about 5 inches which is more than I have ever seen out in these parts. It was beautiful. Cameron's work let out at 4 (instead of 8), so we decided to have a play day outside with the kids.
Syd getting her snugs on. I can't get enough of her eyes. She is gorgeous (but I know I am biased).Our little snow bunny, I mean, angel. :) Does anyone else think he looks like the kid from Christmas story?

The kids love sledding, expecially Sydney who says "weeeeee" before we even start moving. When she sees a sled she will just walk over to it, sit, and wait for someone to push. Precious!
Daddy is the big risk taker. "Look out for the swingset!"
Daddy Daughter love.
Can you believe we will have another little girl in 8 weeks? WHAT?

I have to say, I LOVE the weather out here in GA. There are so many people that have such negative things to say about it, but compared to a lot of other places, this place rocks! The seasons are perfect. The winters are only cold enough to have snow a few times a year, and the summers are hot, but only bad for about a month and a half. I love it! (During those hot months it’s good to have friends and family with pools, lakes, and slip-n-slides to make it manageable. It really makes the summers fly by). So yes, I am a season gal. Seasons make for more spontaneity and fun, and who doesn’t want that? I love it out here, and I am glad that I am reminded of that every so often. Yay for Georgia, who would have thought?

Dylan's 4th Birthday Party!

Dylan had his first ever Kids Birthday Party this morning. We had ten little munchkins together at the same time. It was so much fun! The theme was Curious George of course.

There was cake

(Dylan even told me it was "the very bestest cake in the whole world!") Too bad it looks nothing like Curious George, but still cute.

There was jumping and "monkeying" around!

(In the best jumpy house ever I might add...I still have to give mad props to my parents every time I mention this thing...it is the greatest toy/gift EVER given!)

There was sliding and chaos!

Ten little monkeys jumpin on the bed...

There were presents!

(Way too many presents!)

And of course, there was a Pinata!

Go get it CC!

After the party was over and we were opening his presents, Dylan turned to me and said, "that was the best birthday ever mommy!" When I asked him what was his favorite part was he said, "my party mommy, I really liked my whole party!"

Did I almost forget to mention that it is snowing too? What a perfect day!

Random Odds and Ends

Dylan has learned basic anatomy.

Quotes:
1.
Dylan: Daddy I love you
Daddy: Dylan, what does I love you mean?
Dylan: It means that when someone goes away, you miss them because you love them.

2.
While watching the Disney channel with kids dancing in the street singing, Dylan turns to me and says with a smile real big, "I love girls mommy. I'm a boy and I just love girls so much!"

3.
After being on bedrest for a few days due to pregnancy, I pulled Dylan aside after he saw me crying. I talked to him about how much I needed him to help me and be a good boy. I then asked him to run and get his jammies. He got about halfway there and turned around running back to me saying, "mommy I think I just thought I would give you a hug and a kiss before I go and get my jammies." LOVE HIM!

Some of our latest projects:
Dylan is having his first ever kids birthday party tomorrow. He and I are both very excited! The last two parties that he has been to have had pinatas, so of course he has been begging for one ever since. Instead of paying 20 bucks for a ghetto monkey I decided it would be more fun (and cheaper) to try and make one as one of D's weekly projects. It turned out fabulous! I am so happy with it, it is way cuter than the one I almost bought too. Hopefully now it will break! Eek! I wish I would have taken pictures during the paper mache phase, Dylan and I were covered head to toe in the goop! SO MESSY, but FUN!

Dylan is obsessed with puzzles these days. I decided to pull one of my big ones out and attempt it, he actually enjoyed doing the "hard" one with me. It took us about a week (working on it during Syds naps).
I used to LOVE puzzles. In fact, one of my fondest memories as a kid was when I got to stay home with my mom, just her and I, to make a puzzle. She used to call in sick to work, and get me out of school just to stay home with her and work on a puzzle. It would take us all day, but we would complete it! How awesome is that? This only happened about five or so times in my life, and of course I was doing well in school or she never would have taken me out. I remember her asking me to stay home with her a lot more when I was in high school as a bonding thing...cute huh? But I rarely said yes to staying home due to tests and stuff...what is that about?). I love those memories and I see myself doing that someday with my kids, if only the schools weren't so strict about having Dr. notes these days. Paging Dr. Mount and or Dr. West. Love having them in the family! :) Just kidding you two (but not really).

Dylan is painting a project that he picked up at Home Depot during their monthly kids workshop. Check it out, a car storage!

Syd works on Dylan's silo. No kidding, Dylan started making silos a few weeks ago. He knew exactly what they were and what they were used for. Where on earth did he learn about silos? Cameron and I found that Bob the Builder had a segment on their morning cartoon about them. RANDOM! Pretty impressive though! It is amazing to me how much Dylan can remember every detail to everything he has heard. I wonder if he has a photographic memory. It is crazy the stuff he recites back to us after hearing it somewhere on the radio, tv, church, store, etc. I know I say he is smart, but I really think he has a gift. Its pretty amazing.

Boy Genius!

"Look what I can do!"
(And I promise, Mommy didn't even help me!)I even tried to write in my ginger bread house. I told mommy, "pretend that that L is the other way around because, because, because, there was no room with that door there to make it right")

Is he smart or what!?

My latest funnies:

1. Mommy finally put Sydney down for her nap and as soon as she came out of her room I was so excited to ask her something: "Mommy, are you thinking what I am thinking? That we can make a project?"

2. Mommy has been talking a lot about her baby in her tummy. Yesterday while driving in the car I told her where babies come from:
"Heavenly Father puts babies in girls tummies. He pretends to cut up their backs and he puts babies in there." Mommy was a bit startled and started laughing so I told her, "but Jesus gets really small mommy, so small that we can't even see him. He stays in the couch so that when girls sit down he puts the babies in their backs."
I think its funny that mommy doesn't know where babies come from. She told me something about a seed growing in her belly...that was funny. Daddy couldn't stop laughing.