1.2.3.4. - I Declare a Time War

"I'm 4 Now!"

Cupcakes to school in her new outfit - pink cake with a layer of purple sprinkles and then chocolate frosting and then another layer of purple sprinkles

Breakfast request - Dad's Coffee Cake - done to perfection

Everyone got to ride in her new Jeep - It even has a radio that she and her sister promptly fought over.  Fast forward 12 years.

 

I got the candle, put it in my cupcake, and asked my dad to light it for me - I.N.D.E.P.E.N.D.E.N.T.

So loved being the center of attention

The last hat of the day

I've made a new rule in our house.  Nobody is allowed to be older than 7 unless you have well surpassed it already.  There are days I seriously feel like I went to sleep yesterday when Miss M was 2 and I woke up this morning and she was 4.  Stop the presses.  However, there are days I am happy that she climbs into bed and is still alive.  She is that kinda gal.  Sassy and naughty.  Kind and generous.  "I don't like you, Mom."  "I love you, Mom."  All in the same 30 second window. 

She changes clothes at least 7 times a day.  Pajamas are to be slept in, played in, eaten in, crafted in.  Didn't you know?  The outfits have to be just right.  If pants are on the docket they have to touch the floor.  Every skirt will find a pair of tights that must live on her body.  If headbands could stay on morning, noon, and night, they would finalize the outfit.  There are days I fight it.  But, there are more days where I choose not to.  It's not like Valley Forge is at stake.  It's just my sanity.

I call her my sister's daughter.  For those who know Alexis or, even better, knew her growing up, you know that everything had to be JUST RIGHT.  No sock could have the slightest wrinkle inside the shoe.  No shoe could have too much space.  And the mirror.  Everything was a mirror.  She would sit on the side of the table that allowed her to check herself out in the opposite large bay window.  Meet Miss M.  Today while she skipped from lunch at Panera (with just me & DH) right on down to Yogurtland (free on your birthday!), she sang a tune, "It's my birthday!  I'm 4!  It's my birthday!  I'm 4!" and she checked out her reflection in the Lane Bryant display windows.  I believe Alexis will be starting a cousins camp at her house shortly.  She can take my Miss M and straighten her socks and adjust her outfits and fix her shoes and I will take her Nate and make everything completely fair.  I get that. :)

Miss M planned out every minute of her day.  I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.  She's a gal who knows what she wants.  I like that.  "Mom, does Panera have soup?  Ok.  We can go."  She has a birthday party on Saturday with some friends.  A Princess Dance Party.  It's gonna be rockin'. 

Miss M, I am thrilled to be your mother.  You entered this world 4 short years ago so calmly, serenely, and peacefully.  You hardly cried.  You just wanted to look around and take it all in.  You are a protector of your little sister, a confidant of your big brother, and a hard worker.  I asked you today what you were going to do now that you are 4.  "More jobs, Mom.  I can do more jobs now."  Stand down, Mr. Clean!

And, you LOVE to eat.  Soup is your big thing.  Chicken Noodle, Cream of Mushroom, even Louisiana Rice & Bean.  And, spicy.  You'll choose to eat Fiesta Chicken over Chicken Nuggets any day of the week.  I did eat a lot of Mexican food while you were in my belly.  I love that we share that great love of yummy food.  Your favorite treat is Otter Pops and ice cream.  You don't like to eat bread (a texture thing, maybe?), you would drink apple juice all day if I let you, you get your own sippy cups of water now, and you have animation in your voice that would make Hannah Montana move over (you have no idea who she is, by the way, and I'm thrilled about that). 

You are learning your letters (ABCDEFGHIJKRQMNP) :)  and numbers and to write your name. You would draw for hours and make pictures for all of your friends.  You got to go to a bday party with Mr. A a few weeks ago and you were very last person still decorating a picture frame of Wonder Woman.  All of the other 6 year olds were done and on to the next thing. 

And, one more thing.  Your preschool teacher asked us the other day where you get your stubborn streak from.  I told her it must be your father.  :)  Love you THIIIISSS MUCH, Miss M.  Thanks for spicing things up around here.  Happy Birthday!

Love, Mom

Going to Bed Mad

My Mr. A was sent to bed at 6:45 tonight. He pushed his kind, never annoying, always polite little sister off the top of his bunk bed because she wouldn't get out of his room even though he has posted a sign stating that she is his "enumee" and is not "ullawed" in his room. He holds his room very sacred apparently and was willing to go to great lengths to get her out. While I'm sure she was not completely innocent, we are not in the business of having our children purposefully send one another to the ER. Thus, he went to bed - mad. and, fortunately, she did not go to the ER.

"Andrew enumee is Morgan and Morgan is not ulawd in Andrew room"  So let it be written.  So let it be said.

Marriage

Miss M is very worried about whom she will marry. Her dad is taken, she can't marry her cousins, and no other boys will do at this time. So, tonight she was asking me about it again. "Mom, WHO am I going to mawwy?" Me: "Some handsome boy you will meet when you are 24." "But, Moooooom, WHOOOO?!" "I don't know, sweetie!" "Well, fine. I will mawwy Andrew because he is a boy and he is HAND-SOME!" Andrew decided it was time to pipe in: "Ewwww! No, Morgan!! You can't marry your brother! But, I am handsome." Time will certainly tell, but they are pretty funny for now.

Lost Time

I've got lots to make up for.  Not going to do it all in one sitting, but while I'm about to "lose" an hour of sleep with Daylight Savings, I figure one more hour to blog won't hurt either! **photos courtesy of the talented Cheryl Bennett!

On my mind:

• My super delightful 6 yr old - he washes his baby sister's hair in the shower and her body too, then yells out, "Mom!  Sadie's all clean!"
• My super particular 6 yr old - he requested "spikies" as his style for church a few weeks ago.  I lathered my hands up with gel and proceeded to "mess" up his hair to get it all in.  Then I tried to spike it all up top, but before I could get too far, he says, "Mom!  You don't have to go all crazy and stuff."  Apparently he's 25.  But, a sweet, sensitive, yet great tease of an older brother.
• My super excited 6 year old - his Kindergarten teacher mentioned to me the other day that he should be a sports broadcaster when he grows up.  His enthusiasm for the small and simple things can often be compared to Al Michaels' "Do you believe in miracles?!!" excitement.  "Today we are having a 100 days party" to which Mr. A replies, "Ahhh, YES!"

•  This little 3 yr old firecracker.  She's all sorts of busy right now.  Her imagination is at a peak.  She spent a good 2 hours today putting stickers on envelopes to create invitations to her birthday party that is the end of May.  
• She is super particular about what she wears.  She even told me she couldn't wear a certain outfit to preschool the other day because all of the kids would laugh at her.  Really?  She's 3.  So, tonight, I decided to stop shopping for clothes that she wouldn't wear and bring her with me to pick out things she WOULD wear.  She was super cute.  "Mom, what ELSE can we buy me?!"  "Mom, I'm going to try something on.  Just for pretend."  
• Pretending is her world.  She brings her sister and her brother and her friends and anyone who will hop on along for the ride. 

•  Did I mention, however, that she's a bit accident-prone?  We joke that she trips over her own pinky toe, but it's the truth.  She is constantly kissing the tile (note the forehead shiner below).  Poor thing.  

•  My spunky Sadie.  This girl leaves all of us looking out the window for the sweet, calm, content, mellow, practically silent baby that lived in our house the first 12 months of her life.  She is completely gonzo and has been replaced by a larger than life toddler.  With opinions, screams, moves, and all sorts of words.  She puts my other 2 kids to shame in the "vocabulary at 19 months" department.  Some of my favorites as of late: "hea-by" for a garbage bag she was trying to haul around the house, "loves" - her hugs she gives to those who are sad or otherwise afflicted, and "coook" for Cookie Monster.   

•  Those eyes just make you want to drink a chocolate milkshake the minute you see them.  Boy, are they yummy.  And her mischievous grin?  Well, at least it's telling.  Sure do love her.  
• Speaking of yummy, just like her brother and sister before her, food is a highlight.  In order to get these pictures, we had to do a little bribing.  Do you think she enjoyed it?

 

Just about 3 weeks ago we finally moved into the place that we hope to call home for a very very long time! We are still getting rid of boxes and finding places for extra rubber bands, but it is certainly nice to be in a place of our own again.  We managed to live without so much of our stuff for 7 months that it almost makes it simple to throw many things into a "donate" pile within minutes of being unpacked from a box.  I'm sure we could do more, but it's a start. 

We are feeling fortunate for our blessings and look forward to all of the visitors who come to pay us a visit! 

Mr. A's 6th Birthday

It sneaks up on me every single year.  Mr. A's bday is just 4 weeks after Christmas, 3 weeks after New Year's, and usually only a week or 2 after all of the decorations come down.  Good news is I was well prepared this year, however. :)  Pictures to come, but here is a rundown of his bday celebration...

- Wednesday - surprised by Mom with a trip to Disneyland (I found $100 RT tickets to SoCal just before Christmas and decided we had to pull the trigger!  It almost worked out for DH to fly the plane down there, but no such luck)!  School canceled b/c of snow, so he skied behind the tractor and then headed to the airport! 
- Thursday - beautiful, sunny, 65* day at Disneyland w/A. Michele, Scotty, W, and Oma.  Then, A. Kelly, Dalin, and Halle joined us for the afternoon/evening!  Longest we waited in line: 20 minutes and that was only a few rides.  The highlights according to Mr. A - Autotopia, Jedi training, SPACE MOUNTAIN!!  Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Indiana Jones.  Stayed for the parade and Small World all lit up.  CRASHED in the car complaining of how hungry they were. 
- Friday: ANOTHER beautiful, sunny, 68* day in So. Cal.  We hit California Adventure this time to ride TOWER OF TERROR (the favorite of Friday), see the Aladdin show, ride all the "pier" rides, and gaze longingly from the Ferris Wheel at Cars Land (which doesn't open until this summer) and dancing w/Phineas and Ferb.  That night, Nana & Papa took us to dinner!!  They met us at Downtown Disney and helped Andrew, Scotty & W celebrate their bdays (they all have a birthday w/in 9 days).  I let Andrew pick out his souvenirs after dinner and he was so thoughtful of his sisters.  He wanted them to have something special too.  Cute guy.  We watched World of Color to end the night and loved it. 
- Saturday - a lazy morning w/Judy and Gary and off to the airport and back to life! 
- Monday (his actualy bday) - Coffee cake for breakfast, take cupcakes to school for his class; homemade Mac n' Cheese dinner with "squeezy beans" as he called them (I finally figured out he was talking about edamame) and his very own giant ice cream cake made w/Tillamook Mint Chip (his choice) - A. Kimmy & U. Tom came to celebrate along w/U. Mike and cousins!
- Saturday - Bday party w/friends from church - pancakes and pajamas was the theme again! :)  I decided that I could re-use the idea because no one here knew about last year's!  So, pancakes, games, coloring, ice cream sandwich cake (his pick) and a pinata. 

And, now I am done.  No more birthdays for at least another 4 months!  Love my Mr. A, though.  He is the sweetest little boy, a great helper, a grand visionary (if only he'd tell us about them a little more often), a super travel buddy, a good friend, and an awesome big brother.  Love him so much.

Merry Christmas!

Here was our Christmas letter:

Our year has been full of “believe” moments! In April we decided to put our house on the market “just to see.” The next day we had an offer. The day after that, Tyler’s airline announced the opening of a pilot base in Seattle and I interviewed for a new job in Seattle.  So, in June, we all “held hands” and made the big move West to Seattle.  We left “unbelievable” family, friends, memories, and the house we brought all of our babies home to - and we cherish them all.  We can hardly “believe” Andrew (5 ½) started Kindergarten in the Fall, Morgan (3 ½) dances and sings her way through each day, and our “baby,” Sadie (16 mos) celebrated a birthday!  We are so grateful for a Savior who gives us a reason to “believe.”                

Much Love,, The Seamons Family

 And the card (done by my talented sister, Kim.  Thank you!!):

 

Halloween Sampling

Our camera was "misplaced" during the Halloween party.  It has been found, but we have yet to go get it.  That's on tomorrow's to-do list. 

Anywhoooo....a few cute pics of my kids ready for the big day:

• A Spiderman who didn't want to wear a mask
• A princess who refused to wear her crown
• A ballerina who only wanted to wear tennis shoes

At least they were consistent.

All smiles

Not-so-Baby S

Bones jammies - they glow in the dark and she could NOT figure it out

My "baby" is not so much a baby anymore.  I love it and hate it all at the same time.  She's a fiery little peanut who had her 15 month "check up" last week (on 11.11.11 to be exact...cool date) and I'm getting the details down before the paper disappears:

• Weight: 21 lbs 6 oz
• Height: 30 1/4 inches (2 1/2 feet)
• Head circumference (is that really still necessary??): 18

And with all of that she lands in the 25-50% range.  Keeping it average around here!

She is standing up by herself from the sitting position, toddling around everywhere, loves to go outside, starting to say more and more words (thank you, buh-bye, nack, da-da, mama, lala {Lola}, ba {bath}, na-nite, pleee {please}, and nah {no}).  She understands just about everything we ask/tell her to do and is such a cute little cuddler.  She learned to walk by pushing her sister's shopping cart EVERYWHERE with the itty-bitty baby inside.  She's trying to steal Miss M's baby too, but Miss M doesn't always go for that (shocking, I know).  They are cute buddies, though.

Miss M is a protector - sometimes Baby S likes it and sometimes she doesn't

We love you, Baby S, and so love the take-charge attitude you've acquired and how you find your place with that crazy older brother and sister of yours.  Keep it up!

Don't mess with me!

Chill in the Air

I'd be lying if I said the chill in the air is a new thing.  It's not, really.  But, I don't mind the chill if the sun is shining.  And, today it shone.  It warms me right up. 

We had a crazy weekend.  Friday Mr. A had his final soccer game.  We all went and cheered him on.  In the past few weeks, I've been running in the jogger stroller over to his game w/Baby S and then run home with either him or Miss M in the stroller (there is a mighty large hill going TO the game, so I take the lightest traveler).  I had run to the game and it was Miss M's turn to ride home with me.  DH had pushed her to the top of a steep hill where the parking lot was and put the brake down.  I was getting Baby S in the car, DH was getting Mr. A in the car and the next thing I knew all I heard was Miss M screaming, "Mommy!  Mommy!  Moooooooommmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!"  The brake had come loose on the stroller and she was rolling down the very steep hill screaming and staring at me with a look of complete fear and terror on her face.  I started running as fast as I could.  I could hear DH's footsteps from behind me when we both had run down the first hill and got to the "flat" basketball court, but the stroller, while it slowed slightly, did not slow enough for either one of us to catch her before she hit the next hill and accelerated down toward the wall of the field.  DH did his best baseball slide to try to stop her before the stroller hit the wall.  To no avail.  I watched, as if in slow motion, as she hit the wall, and bounced out of the stroller and almost to a standing position on the ground crying her little eyes out.  DH got to her first.  "Are you ok?" "Does anything hurt?"  Screaming.  Only screaming. 

Several parents had watched it all and one came running down asking if we needed someone to call 911.  It looked that bad.  I could not believe it, but she was actually ok.  We were so extremely lucky and blessed and watched over.  I pushed the stroller back up the hill.  The push bar was completely cracked and disconnected from the stroller.  Bless that handlebar.  It had absorbed the impact and shielded Miss M.  We think that DH had put the brake bar down but that it had not "clicked" into the spokes and, so, when Miss M started rocking around in it while waiting for me, she had jolted it loose and thus the great roll. 

That night she complained about her ear hurting just before bed.  I thought it might have something to do with her hitting the stroller when she had hit the wall, so I gave her a little Tylenol and sent her to bed.  Saturday morning she woke up assuring me that it felt just fine.  Right?

We went down to Tacoma for DH's cousin's daughter's baptism and birthday party.  It was a sweet event, but Baby S was super whiny and Miss M started to follow suit at the party.  By the time we left they were both screaming and hot and fevery and Miss M was screaming about the pain in her ears.  She and I spent Saturday evening in the Urgent Care getting her a prescription for her ear infection.  I should have taken Baby S with me, but thought hers was just a virus and a cold and her teeth. 

DH and I spoke in church on Sunday.  It was a circus.  He went to bed at 10:30 and I went to bed at 12:30.  I had helped Miss M and Baby S who had both woken up.  He dealt with both of them as well around 2:30 or 3.  I jumped in around 3:30 or 4 to help with whomever was up.  It felt like a giant game of all-night Whack-a-Mole. 

By 6:30 I was up and in the shower and everyone else followed shortly thereafter.  Everyone had to go to church since we both had to speak!  Baby S was miserable and Miss M wasn't much more enjoyable on the misery scale.  Bless my sweet nephew who came to sit with us in church.  Between him and the new, cheap Crayola drawing books I had bought the day before, Miss M and Mr. A stayed quiet for a good 20 minutes.  I sat with the kids until after the sacrament.  I was the first adult speaker.  I gave my talk, sat down and listened to the choir, and then walked off the stand and took my two girls out in the foyer for the remainder of the meeting where we listened to DH give his talk. 

As soon as "Amen" was said, the 3 of us marched out to the car and I brought the 2 of them home and put them to bed. 

I started fixing dinner for Kim's bday dinner (she and Tom came over at 4) and cookies for CIM that night that was at our house (w/DH's cousins, aunt, uncle, brother and his kids).  I fell into bed Sunday night.  And, then Baby S was up from 2-3:30.  She was so miserable.  To the pediatrician we went on Monday morning.  Double ear infection. 

Enough already!!  I need a weekend from my weekend! 

However, we were all so blessed with what we needed.  For that I am so grateful.

Mobile

Before I learned last weekend (when my phone did this for the 2nd time in as many weeks) that my phone has a setting on it wherein if someone (a child who shall remain nameless) tries to put in the wrong password too many times it resets the phone (erasing all photos, videos, etc, etc), I uploaded a few pics to Facebook.  I usually don't upload that many, but, boy am I glad that I uploaded what I did.  I'd be super bummed if I lost them. 

One of them was a video, though, of Miss M starting to walk.  Her first steps actually.  Taken on October 1st and 2nd while her grandparents were in town to see it.  She'll take a few more now (6 or so at a time) and loves to push her sister's shopping cart everywhere it will squeakily go (WD40 stat).  It's gone, but I'll try to take some more. 

But here are the ones I DID save.

First day getting to ride the bus...pure happiness

Something about the setting, the coordinating chair and towel colors, the largesse of the beach and the chair in comparison to the little person in it.  Love it.

Cake and frosting take 2.  She devoured it both times.  And then she found her voice and became a very opinionated, demanding, and oh so stinking kissable, huggable, squeezable, muggable little 1 year old