I Can't Think of a Title

So... it's been awhile since the blog has been updated. I thought I should get a post in before March was over. Not too much has been going on. We have been enjoying the new family room in the basement by watching too much TV. We have been enjoying the warmer weather by going to the park a lot and playing in the yard. We have been enjoying literature by reading a bunch to get Savanna's 500 minutes in March chart filled up. (she gets a Seven Peaks day pass if she does it, oh yeah!). We have been enjoying more sleep by giving Avery melatonin drops before bed, yes they have finally started to work! We enjoyed seeing the newest member of the Bayless family, little Adalynn, who was born this month. We enjoyed adding to our rock collection and searching for Topaz at the Rock and Gem show. We enjoyed St. Patty's day with green pancakes and milk, and green diapers for the next few days. We enjoyed a visit from Bubbas, up from AZ for a few days. And Miles and Avery enjoyed a mud bath in the backyard, I don't think they enjoyed the hose shower they got after though.

Tales of A Sleep Walker

Because this blog is a way for me to capture my family memories I really wanted to write about Savanna's sleep walking. I want her to someday read about the silly things she does that she never remembers in the morning. Savanna has been sleep walking for awhile now, it comes and goes in frequency but for that last few weeks it's been almost a nightly event. It always happens about an hour or two after she goes to bed, so James and I are usually still awake to witness it, and keep her safe. The first time she sleep walked James was working late so I was home alone. This was kind of freaky. She walked into my bedroom with this strange look on her face. We now are able to identify this glossy eyed look and know she is not fully awake. However, the first time she did it I had no idea what was happening. I asked her if she needed to go potty and she just stared and me with glossed over eyes and a huge goofy grin. I kept asking her what she needed and she just kept smiling at me, then started giggling and darting her eyes around the room. The giggle got louder and she never said a word. If I asked her if she was okay she would nod her head and keep giggling. It was so weird! It definitely freaked me out. I let her lay down in bed with me until she stopped laughing and I could tell by the look on her face that she had woken up and was conscious of what was going on. Sometimes she will wake up and come out of it but usually we just take her to the bathroom and put her back in bed. It always starts like that, she gets up, has that strange look and is giggling. She always goes pee, I think that is what gets her up, her need to potty, but she never fully wakes up. Mostly that's all it is but there have been a few exceptions. One time she wandered into my bedroom, pulled down her pants and undies and started to squat, I hurried and grabbed her and set her on the potty. Sometimes she grasps at the ground like she is trying to pick something up. One time she was reaching into Avery's crib trying to grab something and saying "I just want a pickle, give me the pickle!" Probably the worst time was when she climbed into Avery's crib! I heard Avery start crying, then Savanna joined in. When I went in their room Savanna was in with Avery and kept saying "I don't know! I don't know!" Thankfully she has never gotten hurt or tried to go outside or anything like that. Like I said, it almost always happens when James and I are still awake and can take care of it, and have a good laugh. Needless to say, we have decided against bunk-beds.

Butt Munch Birthday!

Ok, so I really did hesitate when deciding what to title this post. Butt Munch? How wildly inappropriate! However rude it may be, it's a befitting title. Despite my efforts to be a good mother and shield my children from the awful things of this world, Avery loves Sponge Bob Squarepants. It all started when I went out somewhere leaving the kids with James and it was discovered that all the seasons of Sponge Bob are on Netflix. For whatever reason, Avery fell in love! The inappropriate part is the way she says Sponge Bob: Butt Munch. I don't know why, that doesn't really sound anything like Sponge Bob but that's how it sounds coming out of her mouth, Butt Munch! So for her 2nd birthday we had a party, Butt Munch style. I made the cake and was pretty proud, it started out looking like Bart Simpson but with a little more work, we had a Butt Munch cake. Grandma gave her the Butt Munch t-shirt and stuffed doll. Auntie Trish made her a very snugly Butt Munch blanket, Ave's two favorite things: Butt Munch and manky's. She had Butt Munch balloons and plates, got a Butt Munch DVD and was soooo happy! We also had a birthday dinner at Nana's (I didn't get any pictures) where she got Butt Munch pj's! She also got spoiled rotten by her cousins and Aunts and Uncles, the family was very generous, Thank You! It makes me very sad that my baby is 2. She is such a sweetie, loves to snuggle and hug and say I love you. She is so smart and talks up a storm. She has a very loud voice when she needs to be heard above the din of her big brother and sister. She's a bit demanding and possessive, MINE!! But she is so much fun and at such a fun age. HAPPY BIRTHDAY V! Challenge: count how many times I typed Butt Munch!

Now Thats Romantic

Valentines day began with my sweet Savanna bringing James and I cards she made while we were still in bed. I gave the kids their valentines, heart shaped suckers and a box of conversation hearts. They were so excited to have a treat and we all sat in our bed eating treats and saying "Happy Valentines Day!" and "I love you!" over and over again. I'm planning on making heart shaped grilled cheese for lunch and going to Savanna's school to help with the Valentine's party. Sounds like a fun day to me!
I wanted to mention how romantic my wonderful husband is. This year I did not get 3 dozen roses or perfume or jewelry as was typical when we were dating. This year and for the past 6 years now I have gotten the gift of being a stay at home mom. Being able to raise my children myself, not having to carry the financial burden of supporting them. I have a warm, comfortable home, a nice dependable car, all the food and clothes I need. I have kitchen cabinets, tile floors, pretty furniture, all that James built. My children have all those things too, plus so much more. James spent all day everyday for almost three weeks finishing our basement. I have a gorgeous, comfortable family room that we can all enjoy together. I have an extremely good life and a wonderful man to share it with. He is my best friend and an awesome father. All those things he does for me and our kids are the most romantic thing I could ever think of, I love you James!

Savanna's Sixth

Last year after Savanna's birthday she told me "Mom, I am so excited because next year I will be six!" I started to correct her, "No dear, you will only be five. Wait. You will be six!" Six seems sooo old! My babies are growing up so fast I can't believe it! We are having fun though. With the kids getting older it is much easier to go out and do things and we are getting much more sleep! Savanna is loving kindergarten and is a star student. She just advanced to reading level H, which is just about where kids should be at the end of first grade, I am so proud of her! She brings her readers home every night and it's exciting to hear her read a book she has never read before, she is learning new words everyday and really reading, not just reciting memorized stories. She is the most creative kid I know. I have stacks and stacks of cards and pictures she has made me. Her Aunt Bubbas gave her a huge pack of scrapbook paper and stickers and pens and glue and markers and she spends most of her time making creations. She is my big helper and is always fetching things for me and entertaining Miles and Avery. She is a very good big sister. When she started school her classmates started losing teeth and she would come home and tell me all about it. One day I told her we should check her mouth to see if she had any loose ones yet. She told me "I don't mom, I check all my teeth every night and none of them are loose." Eventually she came to the conclusion that she would have a loose tooth when she turned six. The morning after her birthday she came into our bedroom and announced her first loose tooth! She is so excited to lose it and have a visit from the tooth fairy!
After Miles' pirate party last year I decided that we would do birthday parties every other year and when we didn't have a party they could choose a family activity. Savanna chose to go bowling! It was so fun, all the kids really liked it and were good the whole time. Avery even packed around a ball and rolled it down the lane. Miles kept intentionally pushing the ball down the gutter but it didn't matter because he ended up winning the game! After bowling we came home for cake and ice cream and presents. I had taken Savanna shopping for clothes a couple of days before and she got Hello Kitty slippers and undies on her birthday. It was a great day!

I made a project then I blogged about it!

So, in an attempt to decorate my bedroom I moved a beautiful bookshelf that James made me for my 19th birthday up from the basement and put it in our room. It's so pretty and it has been sitting in the storage room ever since our "office" became Miles' room. I made bookends for it out of wooden letters, paper, and mod podge. I still need to pull up most of my books from the basement but, you get the idea. Pretty!

And...It's over!

Christmas has come and gone and the wrapping paper and toys are finally cleaned up! As the children grow older Christmas is becoming more and more fun. Savanna woke up at 6 excited as can be! She laid down on the floor in our bedroom playing games on the IPod until 7, then we woke up Miles and Avery and started the madness of present opening. They were so cute and excited. Avery was especially sweet, she was so animated and excited about everything. She had a smile on her face the whole day! After opening presents we had breakfast at home. Every year since we've been married we have gone to James' parents house for Christmas breakfast but we shook things up a bit this year and stayed home for awhile. We had eggs, sausage, cinnamon rolls and orange rolls, it was yum. After breakfast we went to church. We figured this was going to be difficult, how were the kids going to behave for and hour and 15 minutes on such an exciting day? I have to tell you, they surprised us. They did just fine and I actually got to hear some of the talks. It was a really good experience. Our Bishop spoke about the first Christmas Eve he worked as an EMT. He said that he thought working that night would be super easy, it was Christmas, everyone would be with family and loved ones and taken care of, nothing bad would happen. He said the first call they went on was a heroine overdose, the next five or six calls were attempted suicides. He realized then that not everyone had a happy Christmas and that there were a lot of people who were in need of compassion and help this time of year. It made me remember that Christmas is just another day and to be grateful for what I have and to remember others. It might seem like that story would have been depressing for a Christmas morning, but I thought it was something we all needed to hear.
After church we headed up to the Bayless' for presents and games and a wonderful Christmas dinner. The entire day was wonderful. Our whole family was together. Something that struck me at the end of the day was how well behaved my kids were. They were just sweet as pie all day. Like I said, Avery's smile never left her face. James' brother commented on how good they were being for such a crazy day, maybe that was my Christmas present, happy kids! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!